Chapter 228: Chapter 228: Drawing In the Net
The difficulty for Cheng Ru began the second day after leaving Gaoyi Lane.
In the depths of winter, the charcoal in Qu Fulan’s house used to be of good quality, thanks to the connections Sister-in-law Chen had through the Pei Mansion.
Otherwise, can a woman go out to buy charcoal? Whether she can buy it or not is one thing; even if she can, it’s still inferior quality, as the good ones are all taken by the aristocracy.
At home, there was no charcoal left. Without the Pei Mansion’s connections, Sister-in-law Chen couldn’t buy any coal, and they needed the firewood for cooking, so they couldn’t waste it.
It was so cold this winter, you wouldn’t even want to step out the door.
Let alone doing anything, your hands would freeze the moment you took them out.
Qu Fulan was still wrapped in a quilt, reading and reviewing the ledgers.
The side of Pei Mansion, having always assisted Gaoyi Lane, now received orders not to meddle in anything and actually felt a bit uneasy about it.
Worried that if the Heir returned and saw, he would blame them.
After all, it was the Heir’s instructions to support that side.
These complaints reached Cheng Ru’s ears; she sneered, "The Young Master is busy with state affairs, how could he have time to care about these things? Besides, the affairs of the inner residence are originally managed by women, when did men ever interfere? Just tell them they’re not allowed to help that side. If something goes wrong, I’ll take responsibility; it’s not their place to worry."
Cheng Ru, once light in stature and ignored when she spoke, was now permitted to manage the inner residence comprehensively, naturally couldn’t tolerate even the slightest defiance.
"If anyone doesn’t listen, send them out of the mansion, there are plenty of replacements."
This news passed down, and no one dared to utter a word thereafter.
Not only was charcoal withheld, but people inside Gaoyi Lane residence weren’t even allowed to leave.
"Miss Cheng lost something and has ordered a lockdown in this area to catch the thief; no one is allowed to come and go freely."
Mrs. Chen said she was going out to buy vegetables but was rebutted, "Who knows whether you’re going out to buy vegetables or something else? Until the thief is caught, you are not allowed to leave."
Not being able to buy vegetables was somewhat manageable; they had some vegetables grown in the courtyard, but there was no meat, everyone was eating vegetarian.
Besides all these, Qu Fulan couldn’t even go out to collect the ledgers.
This went on for ten days to half a month,
none of this would matter; in such freezing weather, illness could easily strike accidently.
Qu Fulan fell sick, with both a cough and a fever, it was quite serious.
Even though she was a doctor, doctors can’t heal themselves; that’s one thing, the key issue was there were no medicines, and they weren’t allowed to go out and buy medicine, so how was she supposed to be treated?
This made the people panic again, what if she died of the illness? As long as those past little tricks were well concealed, even if the Heir returned, he wouldn’t find out. But if something happened to her, it couldn’t be covered up with a few words.
When Cheng Ru heard the news, she was even more furious, "It’s just a little illness, can it actually kill a person? Even if she dies, it’s her own failure, what does it have to do with anyone else? Just a lowly status, is a minor illness worth such a fuss!"
Gaoyi Lane held on for another three days, with almost no food left at home, everyone eating sparingly to save food for Miss Qu.
In the end, Miss Qu was so sick she couldn’t even eat, clearly not going to make it.
At this moment, Heir Pei returned.
He first went into the palace to see the Emperor, reported on some matters, then returned home to visit his parents and Mrs. Pei, and then directly headed for Gaoyi Lane.
Cheng Ru got the message while leisurely drinking tea; upon hearing the Heir had set off, she jumped up from her chair, spilling the teacup without realizing, "Wasn’t he supposed to come back in a month or two? Why did he return early? What’s the situation in Gaoyi Lane now?"
Only at this moment did she realize the urgency.
In fact, Cheng Ru wanted to torment Qu Fulan a bit before the Heir returned, to let her know her power; she planned to stop shortly before his return, so there would be no issue then.
But now the Heir returned early!
If she had known he would return early, how could she have done these little tricks?
"I heard she’s so ill she can’t get up, her life hanging by a thread."
Cheng Ru felt weak all over, "How did it get so severe? Wasn’t it just a fever and cough? How could it be life-threatening?"
"They say it was the lack of charcoal, got ill from the cold, and then couldn’t go out to buy food; cold, hunger and lack of medicine just..." the person couldn’t continue.
Cheng Ru’s face turned paler, yet she forced herself to calm down, saying, "Have our people return immediately, make sure no one is seen, and if asked, claim to know nothing!"
Just after saying this, someone rushed in with a face full of panic, "Miss Cheng, our people have been seized by the Heir!"
Cheng Ru swayed.
Meanwhile, at Gaoyi Lane.
Pei Ji’an stood with his hands behind his back in front of a row of kneeling people, pacing back and forth, glancing around, finally speaking without wasting words, "I’ll ask only once, what’s going on, think carefully before answering."
Someone, in a last-ditch resistance, tried to quibble, "We didn’t do anything, just happened to be in the vicinity."
Pei Ji’an didn’t blink, lifting his foot and kicking over, causing the person to fly like a sandbag into the wall, then tumble to the ground; he only had time for a scream before collapsing, vomiting blood and dying.
The whole process was utterly ruthless and cold-blooded.
Yet Pei Ji’an acted as if nothing happened, even smiling slightly, "Has the next person thought about what to say?"
What’s the power of nobility?
It’s disregarding human life.
How many nobles don’t view people of low status as human? There are plenty who toy with lives in secret, and nothing comes of it.
This is the ability and strength of nobility.
If others could do so, why couldn’t Heir Pei?
He certainly could, it just depended on whether he felt like it.
Today, he very much felt like it.
Since ancient times, the people cannot contend with officials, the poor cannot contend with the rich, let alone confronting this person in front who holds both power and wealth, a figure of utmost authority.
Facing someone like this, calling it an egg hitting a rock would be an understatement.
Seeing the fate of the one who tried to quibble, the rest were almost scared to faint, yet were kept awake, each trembling like stalks in the wind, daring not to conceal further, "Th-the situation is like this..."
Mrs. Pei was being coaxed and supported out of Fushou Hall by the Heir and was still confused, "What on earth is so wonderful that you must let me come and see."
Pei Ji’an just smiled saying she would know upon arrival, telling the elder not to inquire further.
At the same time, Marquis Pei and his wife also followed closely in leaving the mansion, having been invited out in Mrs. Pei’s name.
And then, there was Cheng Ru, being "invited" out of the mansion.
Everyone was "invited" by the Heir to the residence in Gaoyi Lane through different means.
Upon arrival, seeing the situation, Cheng Ru’s face turned as white as anything, just when she was about to speak, she felt a numbness at the back of her neck, as if acupoints were struck; she couldn’t move, couldn’t speak, and could only watch everything unfold with wide-open eyes.
Pei Ji’an had Mrs. Pei and the others enter the room to see Qu Fulan lying in bed.
At this point, Qu Fulan was so weak she was like nothing else; anyone with eyes could see she was gravely ill.
She was still unconscious, not having woken up.
Pei Ji’an then led everyone outside, without pretense, and without giving others the chance to speak nonsense, directly to a doctor from Pei Mansion beside him, "You tell."