At this moment, Madame Xu finally spoke up. “You child, you are still so blunt and outspoken, never guarding your tongue.”
She gave Xu Zhaoyue a reproachful look before turning to look gently at Bai Ci.
“Do not take it to heart, my child. A'yue has been spoiled by me since she was young. She is still small and simple-minded, completely ignorant of the ways of the world. She always speaks directly and means no harm; she certainly did not intend to make things difficult for you.”
Madame Xu still wore a warm smile. She seemed to be mediating, but in truth, every word was an excuse for her daughter.
She truly was a master of inner household politics.
“As you spend time together day after day, you will come to understand her nature. She only appears spoiled, but she has no malice in her heart.”
These words were spoken gently and appropriately, but upon closer inspection, every single word was laced with favoritism.
She had even changed how she addressed Bai Ci, calling her “my child,” as if she truly doted on her like her own daughter.
That earlier display of pity and care, which had made it seem as though she wanted to cherish Bai Ci to her very bones, was quietly stripped away when contrasted with her attitude toward her actual daughter. The mask peeled off, revealing the true colors of calculated self-interest.
“Yes, I understand,” Bai Ci replied in a soft, thin voice, maintaining her docile and slow-witted facade.
Seeing how sensible and well-behaved she was, Madame Xu nodded in satisfaction. Putting an end to the brief interlude, she gestured for the brother and sister to sit down for breakfast.
Not long after breakfast, a servant softly announced that Dr. Zhou had arrived.
Dressed in simple plain robes, the half-gray-haired Dr. Zhou walked steadily into the main hall.
“Madame,” Dr. Zhou greeted, stepping forward and bowing.
“No need for such formality, Dr. Zhou.” Madame Xu nodded slightly, then gestured for Bai Ci to extend her hand.
“I troubled you to come today to take my new daughter-in-law's pulse. She has suffered since childhood, so her body is frail, and she carries many old injuries. I must trouble you to examine her carefully and prescribe some remedies to nurse her back to health.”
“Rest assured, Madame. This old man understands.”
Dr. Zhou sat down and took out a pulse pillow.
Bai Ci raised her hand and placed her wrist upon it.
Dr. Zhou placed his fingertips on Bai Ci's wrist pulse, slightly closing his eyes as he focused on assessing her pulse.
A moment later, he withdrew his fingers. His expression remained entirely unchanged, just as calm and indifferent as when he had first entered.
With the examination finished, Dr. Zhou did not immediately state his diagnosis. Instead, he asked for paper and ink, leaned over the desk, and quickly penned two prescriptions.
As he wrote, his movements showed not a single moment of hesitation or deliberation, conveying absolute confidence.
Once he finished writing, Dr. Zhou presented the papers with both hands. Still without offering a single detail about her condition, he spoke respectfully.
“The Young Madam's constitution is somewhat weak, entirely due to years of hard labor. It is nothing serious.”
“This old man has written two prescriptions.”
“One is for oral consumption, specifically formulated to gently nourish her Qi and blood, replenish her physical weakness, and treat the underlying deficiencies left by years of hard labor to gently strengthen her foundation.”
“The other is for topical application, designed to soothe her meridians, disperse old injuries, and repair the wear and tear on her muscles and bones.”
“She only needs to take the medicine on time and rest quietly. Within a few months, her Qi and blood will be abundant, and her old injuries will completely vanish.”
Madame Xu nodded in satisfaction. She then instructed the servants to escort the doctor out, retrieve the medicine, and brew it, arranging everything flawlessly.
After the morning's affairs concluded, Bai Ci sat with Madame Xu for a while longer, listening to her instruct her on the rules of daily life.
Once Madame Xu gestured that she could return to rest, she followed Jinghong, who had been waiting to the side, out of the main hall. They walked back along the corridor toward the bridal chamber in the rear courtyard.
Winding their way through the layers of courtyards and pavilions, away from the main hall, Bai Ci could finally relax a little, leaving her mind free to think.
Since she didn't need to maintain her persona in every single aspect right now, she walked behind Jinghong while multitasking, reviewing everything that had just transpired in the main hall.
From the initial show of heartache and pity, to actively inviting a physician to treat her body, to the repeated instructions for her to take good care of her health...
Was Madame Xu truly a good person?
Of course not.
When Xu Zhaoyue had made things difficult for her in public just now, Madame Xu's seemingly gentle mediation had actually been a display of blatant favoritism and excuse-making. That was the exposure of her true attitude.
Running the known information through her mind once more, Bai Ci quickly figured out the underlying logic behind Madame Xu's behavior.
She was someone the Xu family had spent great effort to find. Her Eight Characters of Birth matched Xu Qinghe's, making her the bride who could ward off his bad luck and prolong his life.
A marriage to ward off bad luck naturally demanded auspiciousness and perfection.
If she, the bride brought in to ward off bad luck, died before the sickly Xu Qinghe, the failure of the ritual would be the least of their worries.
If her death instead dragged down Xu Qinghe's remaining life force, he would probably die even faster.
People who resorted to such measures might not fully believe in them, but since they had gone through with it, they had no choice but to act as though they believed.
Therefore, Madame Xu had to stabilize her, nourish her, and protect her.
Keeping her healthy and alive wasn't out of affection, but merely to preserve the auspiciousness of this marriage, securing Xu Qinghe's final trace of life. It was to ensure that this pawn used to extend his life didn't expire prematurely and ruin the entire plan.
Having figured this out, Bai Ci now had a clear idea of how to operate right on the edge of Madame Xu's bottom line.
Over the next few days, life in the Xu household was extremely peaceful, yet suffocatingly oppressive.
Bai Ci was trapped inside this exquisite and magnificent cage.
Her daily routine was so rigidly structured that it felt like a carbon copy of the day before, leaving her with absolutely no freedom.
She had to rise and wash as soon as dawn broke, heading to the main courtyard on time to have breakfast with Madame Xu and the Xu siblings.
After breakfast, she was confined to the rear courtyard, forbidden from stepping even a single pace out of the gate.
Jinghong shadowed her every step. While it was called serving her, it was actually surveillance; every single move Bai Ci made was watched and noted.
Three days passed in this manner. Trapped in a tiny courtyard with her movements restricted and her senses cut off from the outside world, Bai Ci could not gather any useful information at all.
What was the main quest of this instance? What were the clear conditions?
She had absolutely no clue.
Aside from sitting quietly, resting, drinking medicine, applying ointments, and sleeping, there was nothing else to do. It was dull, tedious, and irritatingly oppressive.
This bound and passive state of confinement would make even the Hedonists, who believed in slacking off, feel incredibly uncomfortable.
Let alone Bai Ci.
She was accustomed to actively seeking out clues and had always maintained a proactive attitude toward escaping Anomalous Infections.
After weighing her options, starting from the second night, Bai Ci deliberately stayed up late into the night.
Her spirits were already low, and after intentionally staying up, her mental state visibly deteriorated.
Faint dark circles gradually formed under her eyes, and an irrepressible weariness hung over her brow. She looked completely listless and exhausted.
Thus, by the morning of the fourth day, even Xu Zhaoyue, who was usually at odds with Bai Ci, kept her mouth shut. Before leaving, she even awkwardly suggested that Madame Xu call for the doctor.
“My child, I see that your complexion has grown increasingly haggard over the past two days. Have you not been sleeping well at night? Or is there somewhere you feel unwell?”
Rate on N.U.
