Dead!
Rong Zhi's eyes were wide open.
How could this steward be so ruthless!
A light appeared, and a few night watchmen with torches came to check the situation, likely disturbed by the noise.
They immediately spotted the maid's corpse on the ground.
"Steward, how did Chun Can die?"
One of the servants asked.
Li Hao's tone instantly shifted, feigning shock and sorrow.
"She was serving water to the master earlier, and it was too dark to see clearly. She slipped and fell to her death."
The servant was startled and approached with his torch. The light illuminated theζη on Chun Can's neck, yet there were no wounds on her head or face. It was clear that Li Hao's explanation of "falling to her death" did not hold water.
The servant said nothing but beckoned to the others.
" hurry up and take her away, don't disturb the master."
The others then jointly carried Chun Can away, leaving him alone. He approached Li Hao and said obsequiously, "Steward, rest assured, I will have someone bury her properly."
"Mm."
Li Hao grunted in response.
"Do you know what should be said and what should not be said?"
The servant nodded. "Of course, young master is missing, and you are the only one managing the estate now. You are our backbone. Whatever you say, we will do. Even if you say the sun rises from the west, we will agree."
It was clear that the words were full of flattery.
Li Hao was very satisfied and waved him away.
Hearing this, Rong Zhi instantly imagined a drama of murder and inheritance.
This Li Hao clearly intended to kill Master Zhang, and there was a missing young master here. It seemed this matter was not simple.
After the servant left, Li Hao returned to the room and looked at the dying person on the bed with a triumphant expression.
"Old man, you have lived long enough. Go to hell now. Your possessions, your people, all belong to me. Hahahaha..."
He covered Master Zhang's head with the quilt and pressed down hard.
The person under the quilt struggled violently but was no match for Li Hao. Li Hao's smile grew more rampant, and the veins on his arms bulged.
"Go to hell, go to... Ah!"
Before he finished speaking, he suddenly screamed, clutching his eyes and stumbling back a few steps.
When he lowered his hand again, blood was oozing from his eye sockets.
"Who is outside?"
He shouted, but the surroundings were silent.
Li Hao frowned and listened, then suddenly heard the sound of tiles shifting on the roof to the east. He yelled, "Seeking death!" and kicked open the door to give chase.
The moment he stepped out, a figure dropped into the room.
Rong Zhi watched Li Hao, who had already run far away, and snorted coldly.
"Trying to catch me? You'd have to borrow more legs from your mother!"
She quickly checked Master Zhang's condition and found that he was pale, his pulse weak and faint. Lifting the quilt, she saw his abdomen was slightly distended and felt hard to the touch. It was likely a chronic poison, exacerbated by improper tonics.
Under these circumstances, Rong Zhi could not detoxify him slowly. She thought for a moment and took out a green pill from her pocket, feeding it to Master Zhang.
Master Zhang had been severely tormented and was too weak to resist. He could only passively swallow as Rong Zhi administered the medicine.
Soon, Rong Zhi heard gurgling sounds from Master Zhang's stomach.
The rest was up to the servants of the Zhang estate.
While Li Hao had not yet returned, Rong Zhi opened the window and leaped out, arriving at a back gate in the rear courtyard. The night watchmen, holding lanterns, were dozing by the doorframe, one on each side. Rong Zhi raised her hand and slapped each of them.
"The master is awake, hurry and serve him."
She deliberately used a rough voice.
When the two servants woke up, the person was already gone.
"Did you hear anything?"
"Someone said the master is awake."
"Let's go check."
When Li Hao returned, the room was already filled with maids and servants. Master Zhang, who had been barely breathing, was now vomiting and having diarrhea. The room was filled with a foul odor, and everyone was in a panic, fetching basins of water and chamber pots. There was hardly any room to stand.
Li Hao, who had intended to ask what was going on, almost fainted from the stench as soon as he opened his mouth. He gagged and quickly retreated, looking around at the dark, endless night.
"Who in the hell is causing trouble?"
The cleanup lasted until the middle of the night. All the maids and servants were exhausted. Li Hao, with a dark expression, looked at the now clean room and Master Zhang, who was clearly showing signs of recovery on the bed.
He muttered, "Let you live a few more days." Then he turned and left.
All of this was seen by Rong Zhi, who was crouching on the roof not far away.
Although she hadn't clearly heard what Li Hao said, it seemed Li Hao wouldn't dare to make a move on Master Zhang for the time being.
This Li Hao murdered people and wanted to seize property. Chu Qingze actually colluded with such a person. Once Rong Zhi found evidence, she wouldn't let either of them off.
It was late, and it was too late to return to the village. Rong Zhi simply found a secluded alley and lay down on a pile of firewood covered with a tarpaulin for a while. When it was slightly light, she went directly to Chen Lin's house.
Compared to yesterday, Mrs. Chen was clearly much more energetic. Rong Zhi decided to help her get out of bed and walk a bit, as staying in bed for too long would weaken even a healthy person.
"Auntie, slowly."
Rong Zhi supported Chen Auntie's arm, helping her slowly get out of bed, being very careful throughout the process.
"I haven't moved for so long, I feel so weak..."
Chen Auntie sighed.
"It's alright, Auntie, moving more will help."
Rong Zhi helped her slowly to the door. As soon as she saw the sun, Chen Auntie closed her eyes. She was unaccustomed to being in the sun for a long time, but after adapting, she became excited.
"The sun is so beautiful today."
She sighed, having not seen the sun for a long time.
"There's no one else at home, and my son is always busy. I wanted to go out for a walk, but he was always afraid I'd fall, so he kept me in bed. Later, I just couldn't get up anymore."
Her words were heartbreaking. Rong Zhi asked, "Why doesn't Brother Chen sell tofu on the street? That way, he wouldn't neglect his work and could take care of you."
"It's not that I haven't tried. There's a small tavern in front of our house that also sells small dishes. They sell prepared tofu cheaper than we do. People passing by wouldn't come to us anymore; they'd go to the small tavern."
So that's how it was.
Rong Zhi could help them for a while, but not for a lifetime. All she could do was help the elderly woman recover as quickly as possible.
They didn't walk outside for long, as Chen Auntie was tired. Rong Zhi helped her back to bed to rest, and then went to brew medicine.
Having found a clue, she intended to go to the mass grave tonight to see if she could find evidence of Chu Qingze's collusion with Li Hao.
She hadn't gone home yesterday, but given the current situation, it was the same to inform Xia Yunting after she had investigated.
She thought this, but before it was even night, Xia Yunting showed up.
When Rong Zhi opened the door, she saw a tall figure leaning against the doorframe, with a dark expression.
"Why are you here?" Rong Zhi was very surprised.
Xia Yunting did not answer but asked her, "What were you doing last night?"
Before, she always gave him notice for her actions. This was the first time she had stayed out all night. He had waited until the middle of the night and hadn't seen her return, and he felt an unexpected sense of emptiness.
"Come in first." Rong Zhi pulled him in before lowering her voice and saying, "I followed Chu Qingze to the Zhang family, the medicinal ingredient supplier, last night and discovered some things..."
She recounted the events of the previous night in the fewest words.
"I plan to go find evidence tonight. Once I find the evidence, I will teach him a lesson."
Xia Yunting's expression darkened further after hearing this. It was one thing to stay out all night, but now she wasn't going back tonight either?
Furthermore, he did not agree with Rong Zhi dealing with Chu Qingze.
According to the intelligence left by his subordinates, Chu Qingze was an ally, not an enemy. While this did not mean Chu Qingze was a good person, a falling out now was not a wise move.
He shifted his gaze to the small courtyard.
"Since you want to investigate, you don't need to stay here to take care of her. You've already gathered the information you wanted."
"That won't do. The elderly woman is still bedridden. How can I just abandon her?"
This was Rong Zhi's instinct as a doctor. She would never give up halfway before ensuring the patient was settled.
She said this firmly, her eyes pure, which made it impossible for Xia Yunting to doubt the sincerity of her words.
"How do you plan to settle it?"
"It's like this, Chen Lin sets up a stall selling tofu on the street. In front of this house, there's a small tavern that also sells tofu, competing with him. I'm thinking of a way to help him attract some business so he can do business from home and take care of his mother. That way, he can stay at home, and I won't need to come here anymore."
"What do you think?"
Seeing Xia Yunting's silence, Rong Zhi looked up at him and saw only a complex expression.
Xia Yunting nodded. "Alright."
In fact, he wanted to say that Rong Zhi was too "thorough." He had never met a doctor who would worry about a patient's livelihood. At most, they would help with the consultation fee. If they didn't charge too much, that was it.
Xia Yunting did not know that in her previous life, Rong Zhi had traveled all over the world, practicing medicine and treating the sick, and had witnessed the hardships of the human world. Therefore, she tried her best to help wherever she could.
Many people who came to seek her for medical expertise did so either because of her skills or her chivalrous nature.
As they were talking, Chen Lin suddenly ran in from outside, carrying a load on his shoulder, looking hurried.
"Miss Lin."
He had just called out when he noticed Xia Yunting standing beside Rong Zhi.
"Who are you?"
"This is my husband, Xia Lei."
Rong Zhi introduced him.
Chen Lin's eyes widened. He looked at Rong Zhi, then at Xia Yunting, and felt a sense of inexplicable disappointment.
"So you're already married."
"Yes."
Rong Zhi smiled. "Why did you come back so suddenly?"
"Oh, I just heard someone say that someone entered our house. I thought..."
"You thought a thief had broken in, right? Don't worry, my husband is just here to visit me."
Chen Lin breathed a sigh of relief and smiled sheepishly.
He had been in such a hurry that he had brought all the tofu back. Fortunately, business had been good today, and there wasn't much left.
"You should stay for dinner later. I'll go make it."
Saying this, he went into the kitchen. Neither of them refused.
While Chen Lin was cooking, Rong Zhi asked Xia Yunting, "You came alone, what about that little girl?"
The little girl was seriously injured and needed to have medicine applied daily; missing a day would not do.
"Don't worry, she doesn't need me to take care of her, and outsiders can't easily get into our house."
"That's good."
Outside the haunted house, Liu Hong looked inside with a thoughtful expression, hesitating whether to go in.