Chapter 9
Poisoned to death

“I did not mean that.”

After Ling Yun finished speaking, she reached out to hug Jin Si Hu, but Lin Jiayue turned sideways to avoid her.

“I’ll take it inside to play for a while and return it later.”

Jin Si Hu was heavy, but it was obedient and well-behaved in her arms. The cat’s affectionate behavior made Lin Jiayue feel a bit emotional.

Back in her room, she had someone cook chicken breast, and she tore it into pieces to feed Jin Si Hu in a bamboo basket.

“That cold woman has taken good care of you. It seems she’s not as distant as she appears.”

Jin Si Hu let out a soft cry and wagged its tail as if responding to Lin Jiayue.

“But you’re really dirty. I wonder where you’ve been playing.”

Lin Jiayue wiped the little guy clean with a warm water cloth and smelled a bit of fishiness from its mouth. She was surprised and said, “Did you go to the pond to catch fish? Eating raw fish can cause parasites.”

She paused, hesitating to touch Jin Si Hu again.

Two little girls, about eight or nine years old, walked along the corridor outside. They were wearing indigo dresses and had their hair tied in maid buns. Lin Jiayue knew they were low-ranking maids from the marquis’s residence and asked, “Where did Ling Yun go?”

“I just saw Sister Ling Yun walking towards the main courtyard. Are you looking for her, Miss Lin?”

Hearing that Ling Yun had gone to complain, Lin Jiayue’s face turned livid with anger. She pointed at the little maid and asked, “Is there a veterinarian in the residence?”

“There is.”

There are stables near the east and west gates, and the marquis’s horses are all top-notch, worth more than a hundred servants. Naturally, there are veterinarians dedicated to taking care of them.

The little maid didn’t know what Lin Jiayue wanted to do, so she obediently said, “The veterinarians are in the outer courtyard; only the servants can go there. If you want to see them, you need to ask the master. I don’t have the authority to let people into the inner courtyard.”

“No need, no need. Can you help me get something?”

Lin Jiayue rolled her eyes and, seeing the little maid nod, said, “Go find some deworming medicine for me, something safe for external use, and bring it back to me.”

“I understand.” The little maid ran out to find the woman guarding the flower gate and soon brought the medicine back to Lin Jiayue.

“Alright, you can go now.”

The little maid pursed her lips and left, feeling aggrieved that she neither received a reward nor a kind word.

“Considering how pitiful your owner is, I’ll help you get rid of the worms. After all, the rules are so strict in this era. Women can’t remarry, right? She might have to rely on you for the rest of her life.”

Lin Jiayue opened the paper package and looked at the white powder inside, feeling a bit troubled. She knew pets needed deworming but wasn’t sure how to do it.

Jin Si Hu smelled the medicine and started to get restless. It tried to leave, but Lin Jiayue held it tightly. “Don’t think I’m being too harsh. I don’t want to be, but I can’t sacrifice my own love just because I pity her.”

“When I met Jiang Xingjian, he was a clean and single man. Who knew your owner would end up marrying a dead man.” Lin Jiayue muttered as she grabbed some of the powder and applied it to Jin Si Hu.

“That should do it, right?”

The cat, with its keen sense of smell, started to twist and lick the pungent powder on its body. Lin Jiayue panicked, “Don’t lick it! If you eat it, you might get poisoned.”

Seeing Jin Si Hu licking more and more vigorously, Lin Jiayue hurriedly put it into a copper basin. She wanted to clean Jin Si Hu, but as she washed it, she noticed the little guy in her hands was panting heavily, and its body was gradually stiffening. She became increasingly panicked and kept rinsing Jin Si Hu. It wasn’t until the cat started foaming at the mouth that she cried out.

“Someone, come quickly!”

Jiang Xingjian had just returned from outside the residence when he saw Lin Jiayue rushing out of the house with the wet Jin Si Hu in her arms.

“Jiang Yi, save it, save it.”

Jiang Xingjian frowned, “What happened to it? What did it eat?”

“I don’t know, I don’t know. I just saw it had worms and wanted to help deworm it, but I didn’t expect it to eat the medicine. I specifically asked the veterinarian for something safe and low in toxicity. I really don’t know how it turned out like this.”

Lin Jiayue was very flustered, her hands trembling as she held Jin Si Hu.

Jiang Xingjian comforted her with a few words and then asked the servants to find the residence doctor. Lin Jiayue was still panicking when she saw Heng Wu in the distance, swinging a bell and calling for Jin Si Hu.

“Go get Heng Wu.”

A little maid brought over Heng Wu. Seeing Jin Si Hu wet and foaming at the mouth, she turned pale and cried out.

“Sister, sister, come quickly and see Jin Si Hu.” Heng Wu held Jin Si Hu in her arms and ran frantically towards the main courtyard.

Over the past few years, the young lady hadn’t gone mad from the torment of widowhood, mostly because Jin Si Hu was there to keep her company. The little guy was very intelligent and good at making people happy. If it weren’t for it, everyone in Long Xiang Zhai would have been unable to bear it.

Although the young lady had never said it, she treated Jin Si Hu like her own child. If it died, who knows how heartbroken she would be.

Heng Wu cried all the way, calling for Song Wan. When Song Wan took Jin Si Hu from her hands, the little guy was already convulsing.

“What happened?”

“First Master said it ate some medicine. The residence doctor has been called.”

Song Wan held Jin Si Hu, which was still foaming at the mouth, trembling with fear. When Jiang Xingjian entered the room, he couldn’t help but support her.

Her shaky appearance was truly heartbreaking.

“I’m sorry, I… I didn’t mean to. I just wanted to…”

“Send her away.”

Song Wan scolded, and Heng Zhi pushed out Lin Jiayue.

Jiang Xingjian frowned slightly but swallowed his words when he saw Song Wan’s bloodshot eyes.

The once chubby and majestic Jin Si Hu now lay in Song Wan’s arms, soaking wet and extremely miserable. Its legs were already stiff, but its big, round orange eyes were still blinking. It opened its mouth to breathe, but inhaling was becoming increasingly difficult.

Song Wan couldn’t help but hold it tighter, her tears falling onto its body.

“Meow…”

The weak cry made Song Wan’s heart ache. She quickly pressed her cheek against Jin Si Hu’s little face, softly comforting it, “Xiao Hu, don’t be afraid, mommy is here.”

The little cat tried hard to stretch out its paw to touch Song Wan’s face, but before it could lift it, it started convulsing again.

Tears began to fall from the cat’s eyes, its big, watery eyes looking at Song Wan as if it had something to say but couldn’t.

“Miss, the residence doctor is here. Let him take a look.”

Xiang Cao dragged the residence doctor to the courtyard. At this moment, she didn’t care about the propriety between men and women and shouted for the gatekeeper to let her in. Unexpectedly, she didn’t wait for her young lady but Heng Zhi instead.

“Please ask the doctor to leave. Jin Si Hu…” Heng Zhi choked up slightly but didn’t dare to cry.