The master and servant walked and spoke in low voices. Xiao Qiniang instructed Zhu Yu, "Send someone to move the items out."
Zhu Yu was Xiao Qiniang's personal maid and her most trusted confidante. Although not as capable as the deceased Xing'er, she was loyal to Xiao Qiniang, and thus Xiao Qiniang’s affairs were not kept from her.
"Your maid understands, Miss. Rest assured," she replied. Those items were not conspicuous, and it shouldn't be difficult to have them quietly removed.
Xiao Qiniang gave her a look, and Zhu Yu, seeing it, released Xiao Qiniang's arm and turned back.
Zhu Yu's return caused the guards at the door to be somewhat curious. "Miss Zhu Yu, is there something you need?" As she served Xiao Qiniang, the guards were polite to her.
"Our Miss is just worried about the General's illness and feels a bit uneasy. She sent me to guard here," Zhu Yu asked, "I wonder what the situation is inside."
The man didn't suspect anything and simply said, "Miss Zhu Yu, please rest assured. Deputy General Gong has already returned with the medicine, and he will likely recover soon."
Zhu Yu nodded, her eyes fixed on the door. "How are those two doctors?"
The guard said disdainfully, "They couldn't take a few blows and fainted. They're useless."
"It should be alright if I wait here for news!" Zhu Yu said, "You know Miss Qi is very filial. She wants to know the General's condition as soon as possible."
The guard would never have thought that Xiao Qiniang was the one who wanted to harm Xiao Rudí. He immediately said, "It's fine. Miss can wait. Go back and tell Miss Qi the news, so she can be a little more at ease."
Zhu Yu quickly bowed. "Thank you very much."
She waited at the door for about another quarter of an hour, and finally saw two maids carrying items into the room. Soon after, the two maids came out, carrying Xiao Qiniang's specially prepared tea and pastries.
Zhu Yu's eyes lit up, and she hurried to meet them.
The two young maids recognized her and quickly curtsied. "Sister Zhu Yu."
Zhu Yu was a top-tier maid by Xiao Qiniang's side, while these two were third-tier. They usually tidied things up in the outer courtyard and did odd jobs. Naturally, they were more respectful to her.
"What's it like inside? Has the General woken up? Tell me in detail, Miss Qi is waiting for my report." Zhu Yu's eyes were fixed on the trays in their hands.
Her back was to the guard, so she wasn't afraid of being seen.
The two young maids were completely unsuspecting and said simply, "He hasn't woken up yet, but the divine doctor said there's nothing serious, and he'll be fine after taking the medicine."
Fu Ling naturally took the trays from the young maids. "Tell me in detail, so I know how to report to Miss Qi later. Don't come back knowing nothing."
The three walked out as they spoke, without attracting anyone's attention.
Inside the room, Li Man'er personally confirmed that the medicine Gong Xiao bought was fine. She handed the medicine to Gong Xiao and said, "Please have the General assign someone trustworthy to brew the medicine quickly for the General to drink. I have sealed the General's acupoints with silver needles, so he is temporarily safe, but it is not good to delay for too long."
Gong Xiao dared not be careless. He quickly said, "Thank you, Miss. I will immediately send someone to brew the medicine. However, before the General wakes up, I will have to trouble you to stay and look after him for a while."
"Alright, no problem."
Liu Ya said indignantly, "Miss, I really can't believe them." She knew that walls had ears and some things couldn't be said, but she just complained once and said nothing more.
Li Man'er was indifferent. She wasn't as angry as Liu Ya. Instead, she was grateful to Xiao Qiniang. If this person hadn't schemed against her for no reason, she wouldn't have had the opportunity to know so many secrets.
Her maternal uncle was actually not from Zun Country, but a barbarian.
This impact was too great for her. She had just saved him, and they had confided in each other, but then... he was an enemy.
However, did Ning Daocheng himself know about this?
Perhaps he knew too, and couldn't accept it for a while, which was why he was reluctant to return to the Ning family for so long.
Li Man'er did not suspect that Xiao Qiniang was lying. There were very few people who could maintain their true selves under her powerful hypnosis.
Ning Daocheng was now a cripple. Even if he were found by the barbarians and placed on the throne, what of it? He would likely be a puppet, perhaps even a tool for the legitimate heir until a successor with the birthmark of a flower pattern was born.
Li Man'er frowned in disgust. Just thinking about it made her want to kill someone.
For now, let Ning Daocheng stay in the space. Future matters could be dealt with later.
"Miss, are you hungry? Do you want me to have someone make something to eat and bring it over?" Since Xiao Qiniang had already left, no one else should want to harm their Miss.
"No."
As they were speaking, there was movement from Xiao Rudí's side. Li Man'er went over and saw that he had woken up.
"Miss Li?"
"How do you feel, General? Does your leg still hurt?"
Xiao Rudí's leg didn't hurt now, it was just numb and felt uncomfortable.
"It's alright, this is normal. It will get better after you drink the medicine later." Li Man'er took his pulse and after a moment said, "From the pulse, it has been brought under control."
As they were speaking, Gong Xiao entered with a bowl of medicine. Hearing that Xiao Rudí had woken up, he was as happy as a child. He showed the bowl of medicine to Xiao Rudí and said, "General, I watched them brew this medicine from start to finish. There are definitely no problems."
He then showed the bowl of medicine to Li Man'er. "Miss Li, please take a look. Are there any problems?"
Li Man'er took the bowl of medicine and smelled it, knowing there were no problems. She immediately said, "No problems." She handed the bowl to Gong Xiao, but Gong Xiao did not take it.
"We soldiers are rough folk and cannot do such delicate work. Miss Li is a woman and a doctor. It would be most appropriate for you to help our General take his medicine."
Li Man'er looked at Xiao Rudí. The man seemed to have a poisoned brain; he didn't object, not even a sound, just closed his eyes and pretended to be dead.
Liu Ya was furious but said calmly, "Our Miss didn't even eat a few bites of breakfast this morning before being rushed here by Miss Qi. She has been busy all day, seeing to the patient, administering needles, and guarding the General. She hasn't even had time to drink a sip of water, and now you want to treat our Miss like a servant. This is perhaps improper according to etiquette! The General may be a rough man and not understand etiquette, but such duties of attending to the sick are usually performed by children for their parents, or by wives and concubines. Why doesn't the General call Miss Qi over?"
Gong Xiao did not expect that Liu Ya, a mere maid, would dare to lecture him at such length. What audacity!
Gong Xiao was about to say something when he heard someone outside say, "No need, I will attend to the sick."