Chapter 18

Poisoned?

Shen Wei frowned upon hearing this. It wasn’t entirely surprising; there were countless dark secrets in these large households. But given Madam Xie’s capabilities, it wouldn’t have been easy to poison her under her watch.

Before she could respond, Moqi lowered her voice further and said, “The person who poisoned Madam was an old servant of hers, who confessed it was on Concubine Liu’s orders…” She paused and added, “Concubine Liu had just given birth to the Second Master at that time.”

Although Moqi’s words were subtle,

Shen Wei understood. In these households, the status of women often depended on their sons. If Madam Xie had died back then, it wouldn’t have been impossible for Concubine Liu, with her status and having given birth to the Second Master, to take her place. The book mentioned Concubine Liu briefly, noting that she became ill after giving birth to Lu Buyang and died a few years later.

Shen Wei hadn’t expected so many hidden details behind this.

She suddenly felt a deep aversion to this era, an aversion so strong it made her chest tighten. She withdrew her hand from Moqi’s arm, her expression calm, and said lightly, “You go back first, I want to take a walk alone.”

She knew this wasn’t in line with the original character’s behavior, but she couldn’t care about that now.

She only knew that if she returned to Taoran Zhai and faced these people, she wouldn’t be able to keep her emotions in check.

Moqi was taken aback by her words. She opened her mouth to say something but stopped when she saw Shen Wei’s face… She nodded slightly, handed the lantern to Shen Wei, and asked, “Should I wait here for you?”

Shen Wei just shook her head. Without saying anything, she stepped onto the small path.

She could feel Moqi’s gaze on her, perhaps curious or suspicious, but Shen Wei didn’t want to explain or stop. She just wanted to walk, to a place where no one could find her.

—-

Shen Wei walked for a long time until she reached a secluded spot and finally stopped. She had walked too fast and was now slightly out of breath.

She placed the lantern on the ground and leaned against an old tree, bending slightly to catch her breath. Perhaps because of the intense walking or the sweat she had worked up, her mood had stabilized. She looked up at the clear moon in the sky, which made the world seem as pure and clean as it was.

Shen Wei’s red lips opened and closed, silently mouthing the words: “Dad, Mom…”

She missed her parents, who were far away in the 21st century. During the day, she dared not show any signs of longing, and only at midnight, in her dreams, could she softly call out to them… In the past, she disliked her parents interfering in her life, always using the excuse of being too busy with work to go home. Even when she called, the conversations were brief.

But now, she truly missed them.

She wanted to go back, to return to that era, to be by their side and tell them “I’m sorry.” But all of this was just her wishful thinking.

She didn’t even know what had happened to her 21st-century self. Maybe she had already died; who could say? If it were possible, she hoped that the Shen Wei of this era could inhabit her 21st-century self. That way, at least her parents would have someone to accompany them, and they wouldn’t be too sad.

Lu Qihuai stood with his hands behind his back under a tree. His position was well-hidden and unlit; if one wasn’t paying attention, they wouldn’t notice him. He had been standing there for a long time. One could say he had followed Shen Wei all the way here. Earlier, he saw Shen Wei walking alone on a small path and wanted to greet her

Unexpectedly, Shen Wei didn’t notice him at all.

He sensed something was off with her, so he followed her here. Now, two quarters of an hour had passed, but the woman not far away was still looking up at the bright moon in the sky.

In the clear moonlight, he saw a tear slide down from the woman’s slightly upturned chin. When he looked again, her eyes were already closed.

Lu Qihuai didn’t know what Shen Wei was thinking. He only knew that something was seriously wrong with her now.

Based on the information he had; this Shen Wei was vastly different from the one before. Even though she usually hid it well, the subtle differences couldn’t escape his eyes. Lu Qihuai rubbed the pattern on his jade pendant with his thumb, his eyes never leaving Shen Wei’s direction. He saw the woman reopen her eyes, and the inexplicable emotions in her eyes were completely gone.

Lu Qihuai watched as Shen Wei bent down to pick up the lantern and continued walking back. He remained standing there, watching her walk further and further away.

It wasn’t until her figure disappeared into the darkness that he raised his eyebrows and turned to leave.

—-

The next morning.

Moqi carefully combed Shen Wei’s long hair with a jade comb.

Shen Wei’s hair was well-maintained, black and shiny, smooth even without rose water… While combing her hair, Moqi couldn’t help but observe her through the bronze mirror. Last night, when Madam returned, it was quite late. She had wanted to ask what had happened.

But before she could speak, Madam had faintly said, “I’m tired,” and went to bed early.

Moqi felt something was wrong but couldn’t pinpoint what it was. However, seeing that Madam looked no different from usual today, she thought perhaps it had something to do with what she said last night.

Madam was always kind-hearted. Back in the Shen family, she was protected by the Marquis. Even after coming to the Duke’s residence, she was still protected by the Duke. No one dared to bring up the private matters of the inner residence to her.

How could she have expected that the women in the inner residence would go to any lengths for their own ambitions?

Moreover, Madam had always gotten along well with the third wife. Given the third master’s condition, it was normal for her to feel upset.

Thinking of this, Moqi’s doubts from the night before dissipated, replaced by a sense of guilt. Knowing Madam’s nature, she shouldn’t have brought up those matters in front of her. She sighed inwardly and then smiled gently. Her expression softened, and she said softly, “The Da Cheng Temple sent a message saying the old madam didn’t sleep well last night, so you don’t need to go for morning greetings today.”

Shen Wei responded with a light “hmm.”

She noticed the change in Moqi’s expression. Although she didn’t know what Moqi had thought of, seeing her current demeanor, it seemed she no longer had any suspicions. This relieved Shen Wei. Moqi was always cautious and meticulous. If she had real doubts, explaining it would have been quite troublesome.

Now that Moqi no longer had any doubts, Shen Wei could also relax.

Shen Wei remained seated, allowing Moqi to comb her hair, and said, “I remember there were some precious medicinal herbs among the things my brother sent yesterday…”

After saying this, she selected a Ruyi hairpin from the jewelry box and handed it to Moqi, adding, “Later, take these personally to the third house. Even if they can’t be used, it’s at least a gesture of our goodwill.”

Moqi quickly agreed.

While they were speaking, the embroidered curtain with the pattern of birds returning to their nests was lifted, and Yiqin walked in. She held an invitation bordered with gold leaf and respectfully said to Shen Wei, “Madam, this is an invitation from the Empress, inviting you to the palace tomorrow to admire the lanterns.”