Chapter 90: Causing Trouble

Li Zhiyun said, “No need. If you’re unwell, go back. I have enough people here to help me look.”

Hearing this, Ji Rong agreed and helped Chunxiu leave. After walking a short distance, Chunxiu nervously whispered, “We’re in trouble, Sister. What do we do?”

Ji Rong glanced at the servants approaching and snapped coldly, “If you don’t want to die, shut up. We’ll talk about it when we get back.”

Reprimanded, Chunxiu fell silent. Finally reaching their room, her legs nearly gave out, and she barely managed to collapse into a chair. After catching her breath, she complained, “You said no master in the residence kept dogs. Now that Fifth Young Master has just returned, you’ve killed his dog. If Lady Two finds out, she won’t let us off easily.”

Ji Rong frowned. “Are you blaming me? Would I have done this if it weren’t for testing the medicine? And you—didn’t I repeatedly tell you not to panic? Yet you dropped the food container. If it weren’t for my quick thinking and Fifth Young Master’s inexperience, he would’ve seen through us already.”

Chunxiu knew she had almost caused disaster and stammered, “I didn’t mean to. What should we do now?”

After pondering for a moment, Ji Rong opened the cabinet, retrieved the dog’s body wrapped in old clothes, and forcefully broke its still-flexible limbs. She then took a knife and deepened the wound, exposing some of the internal organs.

Chunxiu turned pale, nearly vomiting. After suppressing her nausea, she trembled and asked, “Have… have you gone mad?”

Ignoring her, Ji Rong placed the dog’s body back in the cabinet and instructed, “Fifth Young Master won’t find us here anytime soon. Go back to the firewood shed and act calmly. Don’t give anything away. As for the rest, I’ll handle it.”

“But—” Before Chunxiu could finish, Ji Rong straightened her clothes and urged, “Don’t ask questions. Go quickly. Remember—don’t show any cracks in our facade. Otherwise, everything we’ve done will be for nothing.”

After Chunxiu left, Ji Rong sat alone in the room, her eyes darting to the door at every slight sound outside, fearing Li Zhiyun might barge in with others. She wasn’t as confident as she had claimed. Fortunately, nothing happened until evening approached.

Before dusk, the sound of women talking reached her ears. Knowing the dancers had returned from practice, Ji Rong retrieved a pearl-encrusted silver ring from her jewelry box and slipped it onto her index finger. Strangely, she wore the pearl side facing her palm, contrary to usual. Taking a deep breath, she stepped outside.

Zhang Chenyue was chatting with someone. Seeing Ji Rong emerge, she approached with concern. “Sister, after resting so many days, are you feeling better?”

Ji Rong coughed lightly behind her hand and replied softly, “Still the same. My body is useless—I caught a chill from the wind and have been sick for days.”

A woman beside Zhang Chenyue asked, “I heard Sister Ji Rong is skilled in medicine. Haven’t you taken your own pulse and prescribed some medicine?”

“I’ve examined myself. It’s just a common cold. The problem is my weak constitution—it takes longer to recover. Thank you for worrying.” Before finishing, she coughed again. Zhang Chenyue urged, “It’s windy outside. Sister, go back inside and rest so you don’t catch another chill.”

After stopping her cough, Ji Rong waved dismissively. “It’s fine. I’ll fetch dinner from the kitchen first.”

Hearing this, Zhang Chenyue quickly offered, “Let me get dinner for you, Sister.”

Ji Rong subtly glanced at Yunyi and Jiang Caiping approaching and thanked her graciously. “Thank you, younger sister.”

As she passed Yunyi and Jiang Caiping, Ji Rong stumbled, clutching Yunyi’s sleeve to steady herself. After regaining her balance, she quickly released her grip and apologized profusely.

Yunyi scrutinized her and asked, “You seem so frail. Should I tell Aunty Yang to call a doctor for you?”

Ji Rong expressed gratitude. “Thank you for your concern, younger sister. I’ve taken my own pulse, and there’s no major issue. I’m just a bit weak.”

Yunyi smiled. “I almost forgot—Sister comes from a family of medicine. Your expertise might surpass some doctors in the city.”

“You flatter me,” Ji Rong replied, touching her forehead. “I feel dizzy. I’ll go inside now. Once I’m better, I’ll chat with all of you.”

After Zhang Chenyue escorted Ji Rong inside, Jiang Caiping whispered, “Sister, do you think Ji Rong is really sick or faking it?”

Yunyi didn’t answer but instead asked, “What do you think?”

Jiang Caiping wrinkled her nose. “In my opinion, she’s definitely pretending. She’s avoiding morning and evening dance practice to focus on developing the tendon-repairing muscle-regenerating powder we saw in her notes. Thinking about how she faked being frail makes me nauseous.” She huffed. “I don’t believe she can make the powder. Let’s see how she explains it to the Young Master later.”

Yunyi made a gesture to keep quiet. “Keep this between us. Don’t say anything.”

“I know.” Jiang Caiping made a face. “She’s so cunning—first ingratiating herself with the Young Master, then Lady Two. Sister, do you think she’ll find some blood-nourishing formula next to please the Governor or Second Young Master?”

Yunyi chuckled. “If she does, it’s her talent. We can only envy her!”

“I’m not envious!” Jiang Caiping muttered. Then she added, “By the way, I heard earlier that Fifth Young Master has returned.”

“You talk too much,” Yunyi teased. “Didn’t you say you felt sticky and needed a bath? Hurry to the kitchen to heat water before the stove goes out. If there’s no hot water for bathing, don’t blame me.”

Upon hearing this, Jiang Caiping stopped talking about Ji Rong and went with Yunyi to the kitchen to boil water. They encountered Li Niang there and decided to have dinner together.

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Several days after sending the pair of shoes, Yunyi asked Li Niang to visit again to check if Wu Laosan had read the letter hidden inside. On her return, Li Niang brought the shoes back, saying they were too tight after trying them on, so Wu Laosan asked her to bring them back for Yunyi to adjust.

Upon inspecting the shoes, Yunyi found a piece of paper stuffed inside with four clumsily written characters: Safe and sound, don’t worry.

Seeing these words, Yunyi finally relaxed. Wu Laosan must have read the letter and used the excuse of adjusting the shoes to send her this message.