Hai Xia was still hesitating when the previously clear sky started to become overcast with thick clouds. She immediately didn't dare to delay and began helping to gather the clothes and quilts.
Just as they managed to bring the quilts inside, a downpour suddenly ensued.
Hai Xia was truly amazed, "Sister Haitang, how did you know the weather would change?"
Qu Fulan sat by the window, watching the raindrops fall heavily into the courtyard, quickly forming a puddle and flowing through the low spots.
"Because when the time is right, the weather changes."
She said such an ambiguous thing.
Hai Xia didn't ask what the timing was. She felt that everything Sister Haitang said made sense, so she just listened tentatively, knowing that even if she asked more, she might not understand it all.
Something happened at the third house in the late afternoon.
At that time, the rain had just cleared, and the sunset was infinitely beautiful.
A rainbow even appeared in the sky, and all the maids stopped their work to look up.
The maids inside the house ran outside to see.
The courtyard was bustling.
Hai Xia also pulled Haitang out to see, and just as they reached the corridor, they bumped into Hai Chun. Upon seeing them, Hai Chun rolled her eyes and let out a cold snort, then went to look at the rainbow on the other side.
Hai Xia and Haitang didn't mind and continued watching on their own.
An old servant woman entered from outside, saying to anyone she saw, "The good Second Miss suddenly fell ill, such a misfortune!"
Hai Xia, being the liveliest and most curious about the happenings in the household, immediately went over upon hearing this.
"Mrs. Cui, what happened to the Second Miss?"
Seeing it was Hai Xia, Mrs. Cui said, "She was perfectly fine at noon and was just eating snacks with esteemed guests a moment ago. Suddenly, she just... took ill."
Isn't that just like not saying anything?
Hai Xia wanted to ask more, but Qu Fulan grabbed her hand and said, "Don't ask. The master's affairs aren't for us to inquire about."
Hai Xia then kept silent.
That Mrs. Cui was merely indulging in gossip without daring to reveal the actual situation.
So what was the actual situation?
The Second Miss was at home entertaining the noblewomen from the Capital City. Although she was married far away to Pingzhou, she definitely couldn't break connections with this side. Who knows when her husband might get promoted to the Capital, and these connections would be greatly useful.
The women were drinking tea and eating snacks, chatting joyfully.
Suddenly, the Second Miss sitting there contorted her face, and her body twitched.
Initially, someone thought it was just that the sunset dazzled their eyes, making them see things incorrectly, as it could happen.
But then the Second Miss twitched two more times, and then completely lost her composure, twisting her body and scratching herself in the presence of the crowd.
Which of the noblewomen present wasn't well-bred and taught to be impeccable? Their hair ornaments wouldn't even sway easily, let alone tolerate someone scratching themselves publicly like that?
It was truly indecent! Disgraceful!
The noblewomen hurriedly rose to leave, afraid that if they stayed longer, they would get implicated, and rumors might make others think they were also improper.
The Second Miss tried to retain them, but they left nonetheless, and her reputation was ruined. Meanwhile, her body itched unbearably, and she couldn't help but scratch desperately, the more she scratched, the worse it got, wishing she could tear her skin off yet still couldn't relieve the itch.
Initially, it was her back that itched, then it spread to the front, then to her neck and face, where she discovered dense red rashes as big as soybeans.
In no time, if the maids and nannies hadn't intervened, she would've scratched her face to shreds.
Even so, the Second Miss's clothes and hair ornaments were in disarray, utterly improper.
The matter quickly reached the grandmother, and a doctor was hastily summoned.
When the household doctor came to see the illness, the Second Miss was lying very uncomfortably on the bed, gritting her teeth, enduring the strange itch, and stretching her hand out from the curtain to let the doctor see.
The doctor looked at the red rashes on the Second Miss's hand and examined for a long time but couldn't come up with a diagnosis, nearly rubbing off his beard in puzzlement.
The Second Miss waited half a day and, without seeing the doctor speak, couldn't restrain from angrily saying with a trembling voice, "Prescribe me the urgent medicine first, what's the point of diagnosing further?"
The grandmother also asked, "Prescribe some treatment first, let's see."
Doctor He hurriedly stood and made an obeisance with clasped hands, "Forgive this old one for being incompetent. I couldn't diagnose the cause of Second Miss's condition, but I could prescribe a medicine to try. As for its effectiveness, I dare not guarantee."
Grandmother said, "Whether it works or not, we'll only know after trying, go along and prescribe."
The result was the ointment applied for the Second Miss had no effect, and she nearly went mad.
Then Grandmother thought of Haitang, thinking that since she could cure insomnia that even doctors couldn't, maybe she could handle this strange ailment too, so she had her called over.
Qu Fulan was soon summoned to the third house.
But she only took one glance before kneeling to Grandmother, "This servant doesn't know how to treat this. Please forgive me, Grandmother."
How could there be any blaming? It's not like one is a divine healer, capable of curing any disease.
Waving her hand, she let Haitang leave.
Qu Fulan, as she left the Second Miss's room, still heard her groans of agony inside.
Just hearing the sound made her feel... satisfied.
Yes, it was her who administered the drug.
Yesterday, while massaging the Second Miss's shoulders, after Yueyuan said she was highly useful to Grandmother, the Second Miss still wouldn't give up trying to take her away.
Qu Fulan took action.
Her space, besides being able to store things, also had some items, like a medical box.
The medical box contained all sorts of drugs, both poisonous and non-poisonous.
Qu Fulan, herself skilled in medicine, could make life-saving drugs but refrained from making harmful ones. Otherwise, being discovered would cost her life.
The space with its pre-equipped poisons saved her a lot of trouble. The medicines in the space didn't exist in this world, leaving no trace even if investigated.
It was a tasteless powder that required only a small amount to cover one's body in red rashes, itchy beyond words, wishing to scratch off a layer of skin.
This intense itching would last an entire night, tormenting the victim to the brink, while the next day it would be bearable, reducing to brief periods of minor itching.
The soybean-sized rashes, if untreated, would last a whole year before disappearing completely.
This way, she wouldn't have the mind to mess with others anymore.
Qu Fulan wanted precisely this effect.
This wasn't a spur-of-the-moment plan when massaging the Second Miss but a preliminary plan she had even before learning of Second Miss's plans—what is called the worst-case scenario.
After learning from Yueyuan about Second Miss's ultimate plan aligning perfectly with her predictions, her plan to use the drug was cemented, just awaiting the opportunity.
As a result, when the Second Miss presented the opportunity herself, how could she pass it up?
The drug wasn't immediate but required a trigger condition for it to activate, which was drinking tea, any tea would do, and after drinking a certain amount, the toxin was activated.
Having boiled tea in the mansion for so long, Qu Fulan naturally knew the usual tea consumption of the household.
Thus, it wasn't until today that the Second Miss's outbreak occurred, and no one would suspect her involvement.