The Mute Wife Who Brings Prosperity-Chapter 656 - 618: Infected with the Plague (First Update)

Chapter 656: Chapter 618: Infected with the Plague (First Update)

Early the next morning, Mingxiang Courtyard.

"Madam, it’s time for breakfast." Qiu Yan looked at Su Yi sitting at the table like a statue, "It’s getting late, we’ll be leaving soon."

Qiu Yun lowered her head as she served porridge to Su Yi, echoing nervously, "Young Master is just angry for a moment. Madam should go out to avoid it for a while. After two years of peace, Young Master will definitely send someone to bring Madam back."

Listening to the servants’ useless consolation, Su Yi only felt more bitterness in her mouth.

She hadn’t closed her eyes all night, lying on the bed thinking a lot.

Why she had to compete with the noble Eldest Princess for a man who didn’t even love her.

Why she chose a scoundrel over the excellent Lu Pingzhou and got pregnant with a bastard.

The most ridiculous thing was that, when she was smug about her "revenge," the man had long seen through everything, played the fox replacing the Crown Prince’s baby right under her nose, and then watched coldly as she played the fool for more than ten years.

Every time she thought of this, Su Yi felt utterly foolish.

Looking at the breakfast on the table, she had no appetite at all, "Where’s Young Master?"

"Young Master went out early this morning," Qiu Yan said, "Does Madam have anything else to do?"

"I knew he wouldn’t want to see me." Su Yi sighed and stood up, "Let’s go."

Qiu Yan let out a soft "ah," glancing at the untouched food on the table, "Madam hasn’t had breakfast yet."

As she spoke, she gave Qiu Yun a meaningful look.

Qiu Yun also advised, "Why not at least have some water, Madam? It’s a long journey, and we don’t know how long it will take to find lodging after leaving the Capital, going hungry isn’t an option."

As she spoke, Qiu Yun poured tea for Su Yi.

Feeling irritable, Su Yi didn’t think much and drank a couple of gulps of the tea Qiu Yun handed her.

Seeing this, Qiu Yan secretly breathed a sigh of relief, then put on a smile, "Madam, the carriage is ready. Since you’re not hungry, shall we set off immediately?"

"Hmm," Su Yi responded, stepping outside.

On the way, she encountered many servants, each looking at her as if she were a guilty woman about to be drowned for a crime of debauchery.

Even though she knew Lu Pingzhou wouldn’t let word of the incident get out, Su Yi instinctively felt ashamed and quickened her pace.

Once outside the Hanging Flower Gate, Su Yi remembered she hadn’t said goodbye to the old masters. Though she wanted to make a token gesture of farewell, she thought they probably wouldn’t want to see her now, knowing her misdeeds, so she abandoned the idea.

The carriage set off, heading towards the suburbs of the Capital.

This time, Lu Pingzhou assigned her four maids and one nurse, with accompanying guards whose real task was to supervise her, not let her escape on the way.

Among the four maids were Qiu Yan and Qiu Yun.

But in reality, these two were only leaving the city to run errands for Lu Pingzhou, not to accompany Su Yi to Suzhou.

The tea Qiu Yun gave Su Yi earlier had a sedative effect, and after getting into the carriage, Su Yi felt drowsy before she could say anything and soon fell asleep.

There were only Qiu Yan, Qiu Yun, and Su Yi in this carriage, while the other two maids and the nurse sat in the one behind.

Watching Su Yi not wake up, Qiu Yun nervously looked at Qiu Yan, "Isn’t this wrong for us to do?"

It was the plague, not a joke, one misstep, and Madam could lose her life.

Qiu Yan glared at her, "Do you want to stay in the Capital or not?"

"Of course I do, but..." But she had never done such a heartless thing, she was afraid.

Afraid the coachman outside might hear, Qiu Yan lowered her voice, "Then don’t meddle, or I’ll report to Young Master, and you can wait to be exiled with Madam."

Qiu Yun’s face turned pale with fright, and she fell silent.

In the snowy weather, they couldn’t really wait until nightfall to find a place to stay, so shortly after noon, they found an inn in a small town.

The carriage stopped, and with Qiu Yun’s help, Qiu Yan carried Su Yi out of the carriage.

Mother Fang, who got out of the carriage behind them, quickly asked what was wrong with Madam.

Qiu Yan didn’t let her see Su Yi’s face, giving Qiu Yun a look to stay behind and explain while she hurriedly headed upstairs with Su Yi on her back.

Qiu Yun told Mother Fang that Madam was feeling unwell just after leaving the Capital and wanted to rest first.

Qiu Yan and Qiu Yun were both senior maids by Su Yi’s side, so when Qiu Yun said this, Mother Fang naturally didn’t suspect anything. She turned to instruct the coachman to park the carriage in the rear courtyard and then led the two second-class maids into the inn.

They had three rooms, with Qiu Yan and Qiu Yun staying in Su Yi’s room to keep watch, so they opened two rooms altogether.

At dinner time, Mother Fang didn’t see Su Yi come out and came to ask. Qiu Yun gave the same excuse, saying Madam had no appetite.

Mother Fang thought that Madam was probably upset about being exiled, so she couldn’t eat. She told Qiu Yun to comfort Madam, not to harm her health over it.

Qiu Yun nodded repeatedly, dismissing Mother Fang with a few words.

After she left, Qiu Yun closed the door and went into the inner room, where Qiu Yan was standing by the bed, frowning hard, "Why hasn’t the person come yet?"

Qiu Yun said, "Maybe during the day there were too many people, and he was afraid of being discovered, so he didn’t dare to come. Let’s wait a bit longer."

"He better show up as agreed, or we’re both done for."

The seemingly gentle and jade-like Princely Heir was definitely not a benevolent person. If they messed this up, he had plenty of ways to drive them mad.

Just thinking about it made Qiu Yan’s hair stand on end.

...

In the dead of night, the inn had already closed its doors, the cold wind howling outside, and a hunched, emaciated, ragged man appeared in the backyard.

Qiu Yan saw him from the rear window and hurriedly went down to meet him.

Qi Hai wore a wide-brimmed hat, covering most of his face.

Qiu Yan kept her distance as much as possible and asked in a low voice, "Did anyone see you when you came?"

Qi Hai replied, "Don’t worry, I used to do many things for her, and I have some counter-surveillance skills, so I wouldn’t make such a low-level mistake."

The "her" both understood without saying.

Hearing this, Qiu Yan nodded in reassurance, pointed to the second floor, "She’s in the third guest room on the left, go on, and be quick."

Qi Hai suppressed the urge to cough and silently climbed the wooden stairs to the second floor.

Qiu Yun had already blown some confusing smoke into the next room where the three others were, and when she turned around, she happened to see Qi Hai, she was tense with nerves.

Qi Hai gestured for her to stay silent.

Qiu Yun nodded, said nothing, and quietly went downstairs to join Qiu Yan.

Qi Hai pushed the door open, lifted the curtain, and by the dim light, he saw the woman on the bed. Her eyes were closed, and she breathed lightly, oblivious to external sounds, clearly unconscious and comatose.

Qi Hai pressed his lips tightly together.

He once loved this face deeply, spent countless nights cheek to cheek with her.

Yet at this moment, Qi Hai only wanted to destroy her, make her live worse than death!

The darkness in his eyes deepened, and with a venomous grin, he opened the quilt and lay down, pulling the woman into his arms.

He had contracted the plague, initially discovered early enough to still have a chance for a cure, but he had lost the will to live.

He simply couldn’t accept dying alone. It was she who seduced him first, and now if he must die, then they would die together.

To take someone with him to the grave, he didn’t think he would lose out.

...

It wasn’t until the latter half of the night that Qi Hai came down, having washed his mouth, hands, and face.

"How did it go?" Qiu Yan asked nervously, watching him.

"If nothing goes wrong, she’s already been infected." Qi Hai said this with a face of relished revenge, recalling his agreement with Qiu Yan, "Don’t forget what you promised. As long as this is done, you will ensure my parents live out their days in wealth and comfort."

"Of course," Qiu Yan lifted her chin, "Our Young Master is an honorable person, always keeps his word."

As she spoke, Qiu Yan took out a stack of silver notes from her bosom and waved them in front of Qi Hai, "Once the doctor confirms tomorrow that Madam has contracted the plague, within two days, someone will bring the money to your parents."

"Then, I leave it to you, Miss," Qi Hai cupped his hands.

"Get going!" Qiu Yan urged him, covering her nose, really not daring to come into too much contact with this person, fearing the illness would spread to herself.

After Qi Hai left, Qiu Yan and Qiu Yun returned to Su Yi’s room, but neither of them dared to step into the inner room again.