The old madam learned that Xiao Man was in a coma and immediately went to Shui Yue Xiaozhu. Ye Qing was tidying up, and Xiao Man lay on the bed, her face a little pale, as if she were asleep.
"Doctor Ye, how is my eldest daughter?"
"Old madam, please do not worry. The eldest young lady is merely injured consecutively, causing severe depletion of her vital energy, which has led to her falling into a deep sleep. After a period of recuperation, she will be fine," Ye Qing said calmly.
"It's good that she's fine. If something were to happen to my eldest daughter, I wouldn't know how to face my son." The old madam glanced at the sleeping Xiao Man, her heart filled with an indescribable feeling.
She both hoped Xiao Man was truly ill and didn't hope she was ill; she was deeply conflicted.
"Old madam, please rest assured, I will certainly tend to the eldest young lady's health."
Hearing this, the old madam turned and left. Madam Yan glanced at the motionless Xiao Man lying on the bed, a sharp glint flashing in her eyes. If someone told her Xiao Man had no problems, she wouldn't believe it even if she were beaten to death. Xiao Man's injuries had almost healed, yet she suddenly fell into a coma. Ye Qing was certainly not telling the truth.
Concubine Lin's gaze swept across Xiao Man's room, her eyes landing on the scriptures placed at the head of the bed. These were the scriptures she had sent over the previous two days. A light of unknown meaning flickered deep within her eyes.
Her gaze then fell on the maids serving her. These maids were all skilled in martial arts, and coupled with the guards outside Shui Yue Xiaozhu, it was not an easy task to enter Shui Yue Xiaozhu without making a sound.
"Doctor Ye, is there anything we can help with?" Xiao Xiang quickly stepped forward and asked. She absolutely did not want anything to happen to Xiao Man, as her own life was in Xiao Man's hands. If Xiao Man were to have an accident, she would not be able to survive either!
"Second young lady need not worry. The eldest young lady will be fine. Second young lady may return now."
Xiao Xiang reluctantly left Shui Yue Xiaozhu. After everyone had left, Ye Qing turned and looked at the woman lying on the bed, "Everyone is gone, how long do you plan to keep up this act?" Xiao Man slowly opened her eyes, her pair of bright eyes looking at Ye Qing with a gentle smile.
"Thank you, Doctor Ye, for your assistance."
"I am a doctor. If you continue to deceive people like this, how can I continue to practice medicine and save lives in the future?"
"I am indeed physically weak and need rest. Doctor Ye did not lie." Xiao Man sat up. "Going forward, I will have to rely on Doctor Ye for more help."
Ye Qing was somewhat helpless, "Alas, once the arrow is shot, there's no turning back. Since I've already spoken, I will naturally help you to the end. However, you absolutely must not take any more medication recklessly."
"Rest assured, I will not take medication carelessly." Xiao Man's eyes were deep and icy. This was not taking medication carelessly; this was an attempt on her life.
As soon as Doctor Ye left, the smile on Xiao Man's face vanished. "Go and investigate who Lin Yiniang came into contact with when she was at Ziyun Nunnery. Find out everything, no matter how small. Also..."
Xiao Man handed a small white porcelain bottle to Ying Xue. "Find a way to sprinkle this in Fourth Sister's room. Lin Yiniang does have a mind, but unfortunately, the person who concocted the medicine was not skilled enough to remove the smell. Let her try my medicine and see whose is superior."
"Yes, Miss."
After Ying Xue left, Qiu Tong looked worriedly at the scriptures placed at the head of the bed. "Miss, why keep this harmful thing at the head of the bed? Let your servant throw it away."
"If I don't place it in a conspicuous spot, wouldn't that be a disservice to the good intentions of Lin Yiniang and Fourth Sister?" Xiao Man leaned against the bolster and said softly, "We must thoroughly cleanse this household."
When Nangong Yu sneaked into Xiao Man's room in the middle of the night, Xiao Man had already retired. Sensing someone had entered the room, Xiao Man merely opened her eyes to glance, then closed them and continued to sleep.
"You know I'm here, yet you pretend to sleep."
"Not sleeping at night makes one grow old easily." Xiao Man turned over, her back to Nangong Yu. They had even planted poisonous flowers and plants beneath the wall, yet why did everyone still enter as if this were an unmanned area?
Nangong Yu poured himself a cup of tea and drank it in one gulp, slumping onto the chair. Fine sweat beaded on his forehead, as if he were trying his utmost to endure. The moon outside was exceptionally round, and its moonlight streamed in through the window lattices like scattered silver.
Xiao Man, not hearing any movement from Nangong Yu, couldn't help but feel puzzled. She turned over and found Nangong Yu sitting by her bed. "What are you doing?"
"I've been on the run from pursuers lately and haven't been able to sleep properly, so I've come to your place to rest lazily." Nangong Yu feigned nonchalance, the pain emanating from his bones like wild wolves gnawing at his skeleton, causing him to tremble but unable to show it.
Xiao Man intended to get up and light a lamp, but Nangong Yu stopped her. Nangong Yu grabbed her arm, "Just let me rest here for a while. I'm truly too tired. You lie down and don't get up."
Xiao Man lay down again. By the moonlight, she watched the person slumped by her bed. A mask concealed his face, yet she could still see Nangong Yu's slightly trembling body.
"You're injured?"
"No," Nangong Yu said through gritted teeth. The pain spread through his limbs, as if something were crushing all his bones, then reassembling them, only to crush them again.
He longed to embrace Xiao Man, as if only then could the tormenting pain be alleviated.
Xiao Man reached out to take Nangong Yu's pulse. Who knew that Nangong Yu would suddenly make a move and knock Xiao Man unconscious.
As Xiao Man fainted, only one thought ran through her mind: carelessness!
Nangong Yu embraced her, greedily inhaling the faint fragrance emanating from Xiao Man. The bone-gnawing pain gradually subsided, but it also gave rise to a hint of lustful thoughts. With the warm jade in his arms, he was unsure whether his stirrings were due to Xiao Man as a person or Xiao Man's usefulness.
By the time Xiao Man woke up, the person was long gone, as if no one had entered her room. The warmth in the bedding was only her own. But she knew that the pavilion master of Tianji Pavilion had broken into her room last night and knocked her unconscious. What was his purpose?
Xiao Man rolled over and went to check the Phoenix Pearl hidden in the secret compartment. The Phoenix Pearl was still lying in the secret compartment, and there were no signs of anything being disturbed in the room. Could it be that, as Qin Yu had said, he merely wanted to borrow her place to sleep?
For some reason, Xiao Man felt something was not right. She got up and pushed open the window.
The night was not yet over, and dawn had not broken. At this time, most people were in the deepest stage of sleep.
Xiao Man's eyes grew cold, her figure like a flying swallow, swiftly disappearing into the darkness.
Perhaps this night was truly not suitable for Xiao Man to go out, because as soon as she stepped out, she encountered Yu Qianmo being chased by Dongfang Wei. Xiao Man's first reaction was to run. Getting involved with this brat would leave her half-dead, especially now that she had no power or influence!
Yu Qianmo was also being chased miserably. Those shameless people from Tianji Pavilion had actually tied him up and thrown him to Dongfang Wei. Dongfang Wei was interrogating him about the whereabouts of the Phoenix Pearl. How could he know who took the Phoenix Pearl? He must have lost his mind at the time to have thrown the Phoenix Pearl to someone else!