Chapter 131: Disfigured

Clang, clang, clang! Several horizontal blades vied to be placed against the woman's neck, emitting a chilling white light.

The woman was so scared that her body went limp, and she almost dropped Du Mingzhu on the ground.

"A misunderstanding, it's a misunderstanding!"

Du Ren Mei hurriedly ran over to explain. "Constable Wang, Zhu'er is sick and has an upset stomach, so I let my servant carry her around to walk a bit. It's not a prison break."

"Oh? Is that so?" Wang Bujiu looked suspiciously at the woman's feet. "It's not that I'm lecturing you, Lord Du, but you are well-versed in the laws of Da Zhao. You should know that without the County Magistrate's order, taking a prisoner even one step out of the prison counts as a prison break. Measure your servant's feet; she's walked at least eight, nine, or ten steps, right?"

Ah, this... Du Ren Mei's eyes flickered, and he pointed at the woman and scolded her.

"You old cheap slave, you've lived for so many years in vain! You don't even understand words! I told you to carry the Miss around, who told you to run outside? Get back inside now!"

The woman was full of panic and apologized repeatedly.

Only then did Wang Bujiu signal his brothers to withdraw their blades and cupped his hands at Du Ren Mei. "Since it's a misunderstanding, we won't disturb your family's happiness. Please do as you wish."

After walking a few steps, he suddenly turned back. "By the way, Lord Du, you are the head of the household. You must keep an eye on your servants. If there's a next time, don't blame me for reporting it to the County Magistrate."

Du Ren Mei's scholarly face twitched, and he managed to squeeze out a smile.

"If there's a next time, I'll definitely break her legs!"

With this guarantee, Wang Bujiu finally left with his men, satisfied.

Du Ren Mei wiped away his smile and said unpleasantly to the woman: "Don't just stand there, why don't you hurry up and carry the Miss back to the cell?"

The woman looked toward Jiang Shi at the door.

Jiang Shi almost shredded the handkerchief in her hand, but she could only nod. "Come back."

She had indeed been too impulsive just now, planning to take her sick daughter and leave.

But after calming down and thinking about it, this way wouldn't work.

The crime of breaking out of prison was much more serious than poisoning one's own sister. That was contempt for the Emperor and trampling on imperial power. If the authorities blamed them, it would likely implicate the entire Du Mansion.

Even the Beian Marquis Mansion might not be able to protect her.

The best plan for now was to proceed slowly.

Jiang Shi sat by the bed, looking at her daughter who was wishing she were dead. Her heart felt like it was being pinched by fire tongs, filled with sorrow and pain.

"Doctor Jian, I'll have to trouble you to make a few more trips to the prison these next few days."

"No problem." Doctor Jian's attitude was very respectful. "Madam is the Heir Apparent's own younger sister, which is equivalent to being half a master of our Baohe Hall. Serving a master is what I should do."

Jiang Shi nodded and didn't bother with further pleasantries.

With her daughter now this sick, she really didn't have the heart for pleasantries.

Du Ren Mei was busy with official duties and couldn't stay here all the time, so he soon returned to the County Office.

Jiang Shi stayed here with a servant to take care of her carefully, almost not sleeping all night. Fortunately, a little bit of medicine was finally poured down, and Du Mingzhu's high fever gradually subsided.

Only then did Jiang Shi feel a bit more at ease and dozed off by the bed.

She wasn't woken up until dawn by the screams of the servant beside her.

"What are you shouting about?" Jiang Shi sat up, rubbed her temples, and brought out the dignity of a mistress of the house. "Don't you know Zhu'er is uncomfortable? Slap yourself."

The woman slapped herself twice, then pointed at Du Mingzhu on the bed, her voice trembling like a tune out of key. "Ma-ma-madam, the Miss, she..."

Zhu'er? Jiang Shi's heart sank suddenly, and she hurriedly looked at the bed.

Du Mingzhu had also woken up, not because she was woken by the servant, but because she was woken by the itching.

Seeing that both Jiang Shi and the servant were staring at her face in horror, Du Mingzhu felt puzzled, so she raised her hand to touch it, but suddenly froze.

No, why is it so itchy?

"Mirror! Quick, give me a mirror!" Du Mingzhu shouted.

Jiang Shi hurriedly hugged her. "It's okay, Zhu'er. It's just a few little rashes on your face; they'll be gone in two days. Don't be afraid, okay?"

Du Mingzhu didn't believe her and pushed her mother away with force.

Then she grabbed the medicine bowl from the stool by the bed and, in a fit of rage, smashed it against the old woman, "You base slave, I told you to get me a mirror!"

The servant endured the pain, knelt on the ground with a thud, and cried: "Miss, this old slave doesn't dare..."

Du Mingzhu didn't waste any more words and threw off the quilt, intending to get out of bed.

Jiang Shi closed her eyes and finally compromised. "Alright, Zhu'er, Mother will get it for you."

She gave the servant a look.

The servant scrambled to find the mirror and handed it to Du Mingzhu, trembling.

Du Mingzhu snatched the mirror and looked into it impatiently.

It didn't matter if she looked, but her eyeballs almost popped out.

The face in the mirror was red and swollen, covered with dense red blisters. From her head to her neck, there wasn't a single good spot; even her scalp hadn't been spared.

And it was constantly oozing disgusting pus.

It looked exactly like a poisoned toad; where was there any trace of her previous beauty?

"No, it can't be... this isn't me... this can't be me!!" Du Mingzhu threw the mirror hard onto the ground, held her head, and screamed like a madwoman.

Jiang Shi remained relatively calm and said to the servant: "Go invite Doctor Jian over."

The servant responded and turned to run away quickly.

Baohe Hall wasn't far away. In less than two quarters of an hour, Doctor Jian arrived at the prison, panting with his medicine box on his back.

Seeing Du Mingzhu's ghostly appearance, he was also stunned for a moment.

Huh, how could it be this serious?

According to his experience, although insects like cockroaches were poisonous, they weren't highly toxic. Usually, they only left a few small blisters or papules on the skin, accompanied by itching.

This was the first time he had seen such a severe reaction.

Doctor Jian didn't dare to be careless. He hurriedly took out the prepared ointment to apply to Du Mingzhu and prescribed a detoxifying formula, telling the servant to hurry and boil the medicine to bring over.

After working for half a day, the blisters on Du Mingzhu's face not only showed no signs of dissipating, but they also spread rapidly all over her body.

Just looking at it from the side made one feel terrified, let alone the person involved.

Du Mingzhu kept rolling and wailing on the bed, her hands unable to stop scratching her body, leaving behind shocking bloodstains.

Jiang Shi comforted her daughter while shedding tears of heartache.

"Doctor Jian, what exactly is going on? Why is it getting more and more serious?"

Doctor Jian wiped his sweat. "The cockroach's toxicity is too strong. I'm at my wit's end for the moment. Why don't you invite someone more capable..."

"Invite someone more capable?" Jiang Shi couldn't believe her ears. "You are already the best doctor in Baohe Hall. Even if you aren't the first in the entire Wutou Xian, you're at least in the top three. If even you can't do anything, where am I supposed to go to invite a better doctor?" ===== CHAPTER 132 =====