The person's clothes were somewhat disheveled, his upper garment half undone, and an unnatural flush on his face.
Jiang Wan's eyes turned cold. She lunged at the man and kicked him in the groin, causing him to immediately clutch himself and kneel on the ground.
"Dad, keep an eye on him!"
With that, Jiang Wan rushed into the room with the open door.
Inside, the air was thick with a cloying fragrance. Several pieces of clothing were strewn on the floor, and a young woman lay unconscious on the bed.
It was Zhang Qiaoxiu.
Jiang Wan quickly threw the aphrodisiac incense onto the ground and stomped it out with her foot. Then, she hurried to the bedside, pulled the covers over Zhang Qiaoxiu, and shielded her body.
She swiftly used her special ability to examine Zhang Qiaoxiu, confirming that she had not suffered any harm. Then, with nimble hands, she re-tied Zhang Qiaoxiu's clothes, which had been mostly undone.
This process was quick. As soon as everything was tidy, Chen Yuezhi ran into the courtyard.
"What on earth happened? Husband, where's Wanwan?"
Jiang Pan was also bewildered, having no idea why his daughter had done all these things. He had simply done as she instructed.
Just then, Jiang Wan emerged from the room and said to Chen Yuezhi, "Mom, come in and help."
Chen Yuezhi entered the room with a puzzled expression. Upon seeing Zhang Qiaoxiu on the bed, her face paled with shock. "Wanwan, what's wrong with Qiaoxiu?"
Jiang Wan nodded and pointed to the incense on the ground. "It must have been the Xu family's doing."
"Fortunately, I ran into Sister Qiaoxiu in the county today and asked my subordinate to keep an eye on her. Otherwise, Sister Qiaoxiu would have been framed."
"Mom, check Qiaoxiu's pulse first and see if it's serious."
Chen Yuezhi hurried forward to take Zhang Qiaoxiu's pulse. As she did, Chen Yuezhi's expression grew even more grim.
"Wanwan, we need to take Qiaoxiu to your maternal grandfather's place. Her condition isn't good, and I can't resolve the effects of the medicine on her."
Jiang Wan nodded. Her special ability could only heal injuries; it couldn't break down or metabolize drugs.
Chen Yuezhi carried Zhang Qiaoxiu out of the house. When Jiang Pan saw Zhang Qiaoxiu, he finally understood what had happened.
In a fit of rage, he began to beat the man who was present.
The man, already weakened by alcohol and lust, could not withstand Jiang Pan's fists. Within moments, he was beaten black and blue, crying out and begging for mercy.
Jiang Wan, protecting Zhang Qiaoxiu, turned and instructed, "Dad, don't beat him to death. Take him to the yamen first. This matter is far from over!"
Chen Yuezhi said, "We'll take Qiaoxiu to Master first. You go back to the village later and bring Erlang and Qiaoxiu's parents here."
Jiang Pan's face was terrifyingly grim. He nodded, "Then you all be careful on the road."
Jiang Wan hummed in response and left with Chen Yuezhi.
As they drove the carriage back to the foot of the medical hall mountain, the group of people seeking medical treatment recognized the Jiang family's carriage and swarmed around them again.
Jiang Wan shouted, "All of you, get back!"
Chen Yuezhi alighted from the carriage, carrying Zhang Qiaoxiu. "The young lady in the carriage has a serious illness. Please understand."
At this moment, Zhang Qiaoxiu's condition was very poor. Her face was pale, yet strangely flushed, and she was covered in a cold sweat. She indeed looked like she was suffering from a severe, acute illness.
The crowd quickly parted, clearing a path.
Chen Yuezhi, carrying Zhang Qiaoxiu, ran up the mountain.
Although the path up the mountain was not steep, Zhang Qiaoxiu was a grown young woman, and carrying her was no easy task for Chen Yuezhi.
If Jiang Wan hadn't been supporting her with her special ability, she would not have been able to carry the person up the mountain.
"Maternal grandfather, maternal grandfather! Come quickly!"
As soon as she reached the mountain, Jiang Wan shouted at the top of her lungs, causing many people in the medical hall to turn their heads.
Seeing Chen Yuezhi, who was carrying a young woman and was drenched in sweat, the medical hall attendants rushed to help.
Chen Yuezhi sidestepped, avoiding their grasp. "I can manage myself. Quickly find an empty examination room so I can settle her down first."
The attendants busied themselves preparing a place. As soon as Chen Yuezhi had placed Zhang Qiaoxiu down, Divine Doctor Jin arrived.
"What's going on?"
Jiang Wan quickly closed the examination room door, blocking the curious eyes of others, and then said in a low voice, "My second sister-in-law was drugged and doesn't look well."
Upon hearing this, Divine Doctor Jin's expression also became extremely serious. He quickly took Zhang Qiaoxiu's pulse.
At this point, the drug Zhang Qiaoxiu had taken had begun to take effect, causing her to writhe uncomfortably and struggle to tear off her clothes.
Jiang Wan, not wanting Zhang Qiaoxiu to lose her composure, struck her with a palm, knocking her unconscious.
Divine Doctor Jin, who was just about to insert needles to make Zhang Qiaoxiu sleep: ...
Jiang Wan gave a dry laugh. "This way seems more efficient."
Divine Doctor Jin shot her a glare. "If you keep hitting people like that, even healthy people will end up with problems."
He then turned and asked Chen Yuezhi to prepare a basin of cold water. He also wrote a prescription and asked Chen Yuezhi to personally fetch the herbs and decoct them.
This matter concerned the reputation of a young lady, so it could not be handled by others.
Chen Yuezhi bustled about, fetching the herbs, bringing them to the back of the examination room to decoct, and then returned to help give Zhang Qiaoxiu a cold bath.
Jiang Wan assisted by the side.
After a great deal of effort, Zhang Qiaoxiu's complexion gradually returned to normal.
By the time Erlang and Zhang's parents arrived, Zhang Qiaoxiu had already taken the medicine.
Zhang's parents and Erlang were unaware of what had happened and thought Zhang Qiaoxiu had suffered an acute illness, leaving them deeply worried.
When they arrived and saw the person sleeping peacefully, they finally relaxed a little.
"In-laws, what happened to our Qiaoxiu?"
Chen Yuezhi sighed. "In-laws, I want to move up the wedding date for the two children. The sooner the better."
Zhang's parents were even more bewildered.
On the way, they had even worried that Zhang Qiaoxiu's sudden acute illness might cause the Jiang family to break off the engagement. Why would the Jiang family now want to expedite the wedding?
Chen Yuezhi said, "Since things have come to this, I won't hide it from you any longer."
"The Jiang family has gained some influence, and people have become covetous, wanting to marry their daughters to Erlang. Our Jiang family does not wish to get involved with such people, which is why we hastily arranged Qiaoxiu's engagement. We originally thought that once the engagement was set, those people would give up. We didn't expect them to harbor malicious intentions and try to harm Qiaoxiu."
Only then did Zhang's parents understand what had happened, and their faces immediately turned pale with fright.
They were ordinary farming folk and had never experienced such scheming in their lives.
Erlang was so angry that he insisted on going to confront the Xu family.
Jiang Pan kicked him back. "What use is brute force? You stay by Qiaoxiu's side obediently now and do not leave her!"
Erlang, his neck stiff with anger, retorted, "So, this is just going to be let go?"
Chen Yuezhi slapped him. "Of course, it can't be let go. But if you go looking for them like this, will they admit it? If they start spouting more nonsense, will Qiaoxiu still be able to live with her reputation intact?"
As she spoke, she looked apologetically at Zhang's parents.
"In-laws, this matter, in a way, is trouble that our Jiang family has brought upon Qiaoxiu. The only way to resolve this now is to quickly hold the wedding for the two children. Otherwise, I fear that further unpleasant rumors might spread. What do you think?"