Guo shi saw Cui shi back to Songhe Hall before returning to Chaohui Courtyard herself.
Only then did she realize her stomach was empty, she was starving, and she was covered in sweat.
Mama Yu had servants attend to Guo shi’s washing and personally went to the kitchen to order millet porridge to be cooked, along with two light side dishes.
Guo shi ate the porridge with a sigh, managing only a few mouthfuls before she could eat no more.
“Please eat a few more bites.” Guo shi waved her hand. “Have them take it away.” Though hungry, she truly couldn’t eat anymore. She felt as if everything she ate was stuck in her chest, unable to be swallowed or vomited.
Mama Yu waved her hand. Though a hint of distress crossed her plump, pale face, she still had the dishes removed.
A young maid brought clear tea for Guo shi to rinse her mouth and then quietly withdrew.
The lights in the room flickered, mirroring the turmoil in Guo shi’s heart.
“Madam, you should rest. If you continue like this, your body will not be able to endure.”
Guo shi was trimming the lampwick with gilded scissors, then placing the lampshade back. Though her body was exhausted, her mind was remarkably clear, and she felt no sleepiness at all.
“Mama Yu, stay and talk with me!”
Mama Yu understood Guo shi’s feelings best and advised, “Madam, the Marquis’s health is the most important thing right now, and we must also find the poisoner. Why trouble yourself with other matters? No matter how capable the eldest young lady is, she is merely a monkey. Can she truly escape your grasp?”
“I used to think so too.” Guo shi idly played with her hair, her tone distant. “How I regret it!”
Mama Yu quickly grabbed her hand, anxiously saying, “Young lady, you mustn’t speak such nonsense.”
Mama Yu had been Guo shi’s dowry嬷嬷 (wet nurse/senior maid), accompanying her from her maiden home to the Li family. Decades had passed. Normally, she addressed her as ‘Madam,’ but in her distress, she blurted out ‘Young lady.’
“Yes, it’s better to be a young lady. One is so free at home!” It wasn’t wine that intoxicated them, but sorrow. Sorrow was another kind of wine, one that could shatter one’s heart into pieces.
“Madam, please put your mind at ease. You are the mistress of the Marquis’s estate, the Marquis’s lawfully wedded secondary wife. Though a secondary wife, you bore the Marquis a legitimate son! With the Heir Apparent and Young Master Yu, you have your foundation.”
Guo shi frowned. “How could I not understand this logic? But times have changed, and I fear it may be too late.”
Mama Yu immediately whispered, “Madam has always been meticulous in her affairs. The eldest young lady…”
“Do you think she has seen the light, or that someone enlightened her?” Guo shi’s voice had a slight edge of sharpness, but Mama Yu could tell that Guo shi was actually afraid.
“That little wretch has been feigning madness all along, deceiving all of us.”
When Cui shi had spoken to her about this matter earlier, she had been skeptical, but if Li Man’er were truly foolish, how could she have the ability to save the Marquis?
Mama Yu didn’t know how to console her after hearing this. Li Man’er’s stratagem of deceiving the heavens was indeed brilliant; she had fooled them all.
Her previously unruly and arrogant nature was like a death warrant, destined to claim her life sooner or later. But who would have thought that Li, the young lady who was considered useless, would be so adept at scheming?
“Today, she saved the Marquis, and with such medical skills, even the Old Madam will likely favor her more in the future.” It would be even harder to deal with her.
“Madam, you say the eldest young lady is truly that intelligent? She only stayed in the Ning family for a few years and managed to acquire such skills, even more formidable than those old men in the Imperial Academy?”
Guo shi sighed deeply and then said, “Others might not have this ability, but don’t forget, her mother was Ning Ru Ying.”
Mama Yu fell silent. Yes, Ning Ru Ying, the talented woman of Jiangnan, born into the opulent Ning family, was naturally intelligent from a young age and possessed peerless beauty. It was said that Ning Ru Ying could write exquisite hairpin script at the age of seven, and her mathematical skills were effortless.
Ning Lian Cheng doted on his only daughter, happier than if he had a son. He even praised her as being smarter than his son, remarking that if she had been born a son, the task of achieving the highest imperial examinations and bringing glory to their family would likely have fallen upon her.
Such an exceptional daughter had only been married into the Li family for a few years before her life was tragically cut short…
What use was intelligence, intelligence, and more intelligence?
Guo shi simply said, “I am tired. Let’s rest!”
Mama Yu personally helped Guo shi to lie down, then instructed the night-watch maids to be vigilant before returning to her own quarters to rest.
Li Man’er was not consumed by scheming against others like Guo shi. She firmly believed in one principle: in the face of absolute strength, all plots and schemes were mere paper tigers, easily pierced.
She was quite carefree. So what if she had transmigrated? It wasn’t a big deal. She wasn’t the first person to transmigrate, nor would she be the last.
The initial shock had passed, and she was now remarkably calm, having accepted it all.
What else could she do? She couldn’t go back.
It was just a pity that her lineage of Xuan Yi (Mysterious Medicine) might end with her.
It was all fate!
Li Man’er merely mused for a moment before falling asleep, completely unfazed by her surroundings.
Even if the sky fell, she would deal with it after she had slept her fill.
The next morning, Li Man’er rose early. After a simple wash, she shut herself in her room, refusing any assistance, skipping breakfast, and even having the windows tightly sealed. No one knew what she was doing.
The servants of Qingping Xuan found it strange, but they soon came to accept it. Their young lady was now incredibly skilled, even the imperial physicians were no match for her. It was only natural that her habits might change.
It was all thanks to the blessings of Madam’s spirit in heaven!
In reality, they were overthinking things. Li Man’er was simply trying to perform a marrow cleansing ritual on her current body.
The Xuan Yi sect was a lineage that had been passed down for thousands of years, but very few people in the world knew of its existence. This was mainly because their sect had too many stringent rules and regulations. Taking on disciples not only depended on talent but also required passing through rigorous tests. Those with wavering willpower were not accepted; those who feared hardship and suffering were not accepted; those with impure intentions were not accepted…
In the end, very few people became Xuan Yi practitioners, which led to their sect becoming increasingly low-key, gradually evolving into a state of declining talent, with its members rarely appearing in the world.
Li Man’er, by sheer chance, had been the heir of the Xuan Yi lineage in her past life. She had originally intended to make the Xuan Yi sect flourish under her leadership, but she had pushed herself too hard and ended up sending herself away.
This meant that the Xuan Yi lineage was effectively cut off by her.
Thinking of this, Li Man’er couldn’t help but sigh. She calmed her emotions, withdrew her silver needles, and began the marrow cleansing ritual.
The human body has over seven hundred acupoints. Marrow cleansing involved using these acupoints to wash away the body’s impurities, bringing the body to its most healthy and perfect state.