Chapter 66: 066 Granting Medicine (First Update)

 Chapter 66: 066 Granting Medicine (First Update)

Shen immediately saw through the intentions of the matriarch and Liu Shi, and calmly said, "Mother, as you know, Qiniang is the lifeline of my younger sister!"

The words Shen spoke shut down what the matriarch was about to say, causing her expression to sour, feeling as if her face had been wiped clean.

The room fell into a heavy silence, so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.

The one whose expression turned the most unpleasant was Chu Qianling, sitting next to Liu Shi. However, her veil covered most of her face, hiding the twisted curve of her lips.

Chu Qianling was seething with anger, her nails digging deep into the soft palm of her hand.

Her mother had been humble and kind in front of her aunt, saying all the right things, but her aunt remained unmoved. It was clearly Chu Qianchen who had damaged her face, yet now they were expected to swallow their anger and go beg the first branch!

Suddenly, Chu Qianling stood up. Her abrupt movement caught the attention of everyone in the room.

"Sister Ling..."

Liu Shi called out, thinking her daughter was about to storm off in anger. But the next moment, Chu Qianling curtsied to Chu Qianchen and said, "Second Sister, that day it was my fault. I hurt my face in a panic and wrongly vented my anger on you, thinking you had intentionally harmed me."

Seeing this scene, the matriarch sighed deeply, feeling that, after this trial, the once delicate Chu Qianling had matured a great deal.

Chu Qianling took a blue-and-white porcelain teacup from the tray held by a maid and walked toward Chu Qianchen.

"Second Sister, if you drink this cup of tea, will you forgive me?" Chu Qianling stood before Chu Qianchen, intentionally positioning her back slightly toward the matriarch. She curtsied, bending her knee, and extended the cup toward her.

A cold glint flickered in Chu Qianling’s eyes.

Her face had been ruined, but she wouldn’t let Chu Qianchen walk away from this, laughing at her. She would make Chu Qianchen pay, make her taste the bitterness of disfigurement.

A sinister curve formed at the corner of Chu Qianling’s lips behind her veil, and at that moment, her hand slipped, splashing the tea cup toward Chu Qianchen...

Chu Qianchen had already been paying attention to every movement of Chu Qianling. Calmly, with a smile on her lips, she heard a voice in her ear: "If the enemy doesn’t move, I won’t move; if the enemy moves, I’ll move first."

When Chu Qianling tilted the tea toward her, Chu Qianchen didn’t hesitate. She swiftly kicked, and in a flash, Chu Qianling was knocked with the foot. Her position just happened to block the kick.

No one noticed.

Chu Qianling felt a sharp pain in her right foot and gasped. Her balance faltered, and she stumbled toward the small table beside Chu Qianchen.

The slightest imbalance set everything in motion. As she fell, her right hand bumped into the tea cup, sending it flying toward her left hand...

"Crash..."

The sharp, desperate scream of a woman almost shook the roof.

The hot tea spilled all over Chu Qianling’s left hand, instantly burning her skin bright red, with large and small blisters rising. Her sleeve also became soaked, sticking to her skin, and it was stained with tea leaves. The teacup shattered on the ground, scattering porcelain pieces across the floor.

Chu Qianling's cry was heart-wrenching.

Her face turned pale, and her eyes were filled with tears, looking pitiful.

Chu Qianchen seemed startled, and with a tone that didn’t match her heart, said, "Third Sister, how can you be so careless? Your face is already injured, and now your hand..." She feigned not wanting to continue.

"Chu Qianchen, you did this on purpose, you vicious woman!" Chu Qianling’s face twisted in fury, her right hand raised to slap Chu Qianchen, as though she wanted to tear her apart.

Shen gave a glance, and Chen Mama quickly seized Chu Qianling’s right hand, stopping her.

“Ling, have you had enough of this?” the matriarch snapped sharply, feeling a headache coming on.

Just moments ago, she had thought Chu Qianling had matured, but now the girl was throwing another tantrum. It was clear that it was Chu Qianling who slipped and fell, causing the tea to spill on herself, yet she was now blaming Chu Qianchen for it.

Liu Shi, being a mother, could likely guess what her daughter had intended to do, but since it was her daughter who had been wronged, she had to stand up for her.

Just as Liu Shi was about to speak up, Shen Shi “kindly” reminded her, “Second sister-in-law, I see that Ling’s hand is badly burned. You should really get a physician right away.”

Liu Shi snapped out of her thoughts.

Right, they needed to get a physician quickly!

“Hurry, hurry, send for Physician He from Baicao Hall!”

A maid hurried off to fetch the physician, and Liu Shi quickly helped Chu Qianling leave Rongfu Hall.

Before they left, Liu Shi shot a glare at Chu Qianchen, her eyes filled with venom, wishing she could tear her apart.

The commotion was so loud that it couldn’t be kept secret within the household, and it soon spread. When other members from the different branches arrived at Rongfu Hall later, none of them mentioned the second branch.

Soon, Physician He from Baicao Hall arrived.

After examining Chu Qianling's burned left hand, he gave her a box of ointment for burns and had a maid apply it. He cautiously added that Third Miss might be left with a scar.

Liu Shi’s anger flared at the physician’s words. She immediately dismissed him, her face full of displeasure as she muttered, “A bunch of quacks.”

One says there will be a scar, then another says the same. These quacks, all they do is talk about scars. How are they even physicians?

Chu Qianling’s face darkened as the burning pain in her left wrist reminded her of the moment when her face had been injured. At that time, the pain was so intense that it seemed to reach all the way to her heart.

Every time a physician had told her that her face would be scarred, it felt like another cut to her heart.

“Chu Qianchen, you vile woman!” Chu Qianling gritted her teeth, her anger so intense that she wanted to rip Chu Qianchen’s fox-like face apart.

It was clearly Chu Qianchen who had tripped her! Even the matriarch had been deceived by her.

Liu Shi quickly comforted her, speaking gently, “Ling'er, don’t worry. I’ll definitely find a divine physician for you!”

“You’re safe with me,” she continued, reassuring her daughter. “In a few days, it’s your grandmother’s birthday. His Highness, the Second Prince, will definitely come. I’ll ask the Second Prince to help. I don’t believe any divine physician would refuse him!”

When Liu Shi mentioned the Second Prince, Chu Qianling’s heart tightened. The image of her cousin Gu Nanzhao’s handsome face flashed in her mind, and she felt as though a thousand needles were stabbing her chest.

Now that her face was ruined, her cousin would never look at her again. He would only have eyes for Chu Qianchen!

What’s so great about Chu Qianchen? She only relied on her face and knew how to charm men.

A surge of fury rose in Chu Qianling’s chest.

In a fit of rage, she grabbed a nearby teacup and hurled it to the ground.

“Crash!”

The teacup shattered, but she still wasn’t satisfied. She swung her arm, knocking all the cups and bowls from the table to the floor.

“Ah!”

A maid in green clothes cried out in pain.

She had tried to stifle the sound, but it still caught the attention of Chu Qianling and Liu Shi.

The maid’s forehead had been cut by a shard of porcelain from the broken teacup. She held her hand to the wound, blood streaming down between her fingers, a shocking sight.

The room fell silent, and the startled Chu Qianling froze.

Liu Shi frowned and scolded, “How unlucky!”

The maid immediately knelt down and apologized, “I am at fault.”

She stopped covering the wound, and blood continued to flow down her face, staining her delicate features with crimson, making her appear frightening.

Chu Qianling stared blankly at the maid, at the blood running down her face.

Since her own injury, she hadn’t looked into a mirror for a long time.

Chu Qianling’s pupils dilated, and a thought struck her: Is my face now like the maid’s, with blood and injury?

“Mother... Mother,” Chu Qianling said fearfully, instinctively covering her face with the veil, her body trembling. “My face... Mother…”

Liu Shi quickly grasped Chu Qianling’s uninjured right hand, offering a few gentle words of comfort before impatiently shouting at the kneeling maid, “Useless thing, get out of here! Just seeing you makes me irritated.”

The maid, Qingyu, didn’t dare to stay. She hurriedly cleaned up the broken porcelain and left.

Once outside, she felt her face throb even more painfully. Looking at the blood on her hands and the piece of broken porcelain stained with blood, tears of frustration flowed down her face.

“Stop crying,” another maid, Hong Jian, comforted her while wiping away her tears with a handkerchief. “If your tears get into the wound, it’ll be even harder to heal.”

She handed the handkerchief to her and added, “Go ask for leave from Zhang Mama. At least go see a physician. If a scar is left, it will be a problem.”

Qingyu nodded tearfully.

She was just a second-tier maid serving tea in the Second Madam’s courtyard. If her face was ruined, the Second Madam would definitely not keep her anymore.

A personal maid who attends closely to her mistress has to be at least presentable in appearance. Who would want to keep a maid with a scarred face, causing an eyesore?

Third Miss has used all kinds of medicine, yet the scar on her face won't heal, and she’s just a maid. She can only afford the cheapest wound medicine. How could her injury possibly heal?!

If she were to be demoted to a lowly servant, not only would her monthly wages be halved, but she would also likely be assigned to a small, lowly boy servant in the future.

Her life would be ruined.

The more Qingyu thought about it, the more miserable she felt, and the tears flowed down like beads. She didn’t dare cry too loudly, fearing it would be heard in the house and upset the masters.

Hong Jian, seeing Qingyu so downcast, couldn’t help but feel a sense of sympathy, as though the tragic fate of the rabbit made the fox sad.

Since Third Miss's injury, both the Second Madam and Third Miss had been getting more irritable. Just last month, a little maid was sold after failing to sweep up the fallen leaves in the courtyard, all because the Second Madam was angry.

They were all born into the family, with their relatives working in the Marquis residence, and being sold was like being torn apart from their family.

Moreover, at their age, it was unlikely they would be sold to a good place.

“Qingyu, stop crying for now,” Hong Jian patted her back and comforted her, “Go ask for leave quickly. I heard that the sooner an injury is treated, the faster it heals. Maybe your injury isn’t as serious as you think…” She glanced toward the room, “Your wound is small, it should be treatable.”

Qingyu snapped out of her daze and nodded hastily. She was about to leave but looked nervously at the closed door.

“Don’t worry, I’ll cover your duties for now,” Hong Jian gently pushed her and urged, “Hurry up.”

Qingyu hurriedly left, pressing her handkerchief to her injured face.

Her cheek burned with pain, and her heart felt hollow, as though she was lost in an endless night, with no hope in sight.

Distracted by her worries, Qingyu didn’t notice how many people were staring at her along the way, curious, speculating, and scrutinizing her. It all created ripples, like a stone dropped into a lake, spreading across the vast Marquis residence.

The happenings of the Second Branch reached Chu Qianchen three days later, through Hu Po’s report.

Chu Qianchen was weaving a cord, her fair and slender fingers moving gracefully, with the purple silk ribbon looking beautiful against her skin.

Hu Po continued, “These past few days, Qingyu has visited several physicians, spending nearly all her savings. The physicians all said that the wound on her face doesn’t look large, but it’s deep, and it will definitely leave a scar.”

“Even worse, the scar is in a bad spot, and her hair won’t cover it.”

“Qingyu’s parents are both dead, and she lives with her brother and sister-in-law. After she was injured, she stayed for three days, but her sister-in-law has been grumbling and accusing her of living off them for nothing.”

Originally, most of Qingyu’s wages had been taken by her sister-in-law, who claimed that since she wasn’t married yet, her wages should be given to the household. Back then, her sister-in-law had been decent to her, but now, seeing that Qingyu’s face was ruined and she would likely be kicked out of the residence, her sister-in-law no longer treated her kindly.

Hu Po hesitated and said, “Miss, I was hoping you could give me some medicine for her.”

(End of chapter)