Chapter 113: Chapter 68: Rabbit Corpse_3

Xiang Cao was astonished.

"It’s true!" Xia Rongrong, afraid that her maid would not believe her, spoke with even greater urgency, recounting what she had just seen, "When I entered, she hadn’t finished washing the poison off her hands and stood in front of the dead rabbit, staring at the corpse like a monster..."

Xiang Cao was startled by her description but still managed to maintain a hint of rationality, "Perhaps Doctor Lu was just testing medicine?"

"Impossible! What kind of medicine can poison a person to death, besides, you didn’t see the way she looked at me just now..."

Xia Rongrong remembered the way Lu Tong had turned to look at her when she accidentally startled her. Unlike her usual gentle and composed demeanor, the woman, hidden in the gloom of the lamplight, had eyes that were silent and cold, regarding her as if she were looking at a corpse, devoid of any emotion.

She suddenly shivered.

"We can’t stay here!" Xia Rongrong stood up abruptly, beginning to pack her clothes in a hurry, "We must pack our things and leave at once."

"Miss," Xiang Cao stopped her, "If you calm down, what about the young master from the main branch?"

Du Changqing?

Xia Rongrong suddenly remembered her cousin, murmuring, "Right, my cousin doesn’t know yet, I have to tell him about this."

Xiang Cao said, "Now, the medical hall relies on the medicinal tea made by Doctor Lu for profit. I’ve heard Ah Cheng say that Doctor Lu and the young master from the main branch split the profit equally. Living in the medical hall these days, I have seen that the young master trusts Doctor Lu a great deal. Even if you tell him, he might not believe it. Even if he does believe, he might not drive Doctor Lu out."

Lu Tong is the cash cow of Renxin Medical Hall, who would have the heart to drive a cash cow out?

Upon hearing this, Xia Rongrong immediately felt at a loss, "Then what should we do?"

She usually lacked decisiveness, and her trip to Shengjing was intended to establish a connection with the Du Family. Little did she know, she miscalculated the current wealth of the Du Family and Du Changqing didn’t seem to have that sort of interest in her, leaving her in an awkward in-between position. Now faced with this situation, Xia Rongrong didn’t know what to do.

"Miss, why not ask Shopkeeper Bai from Xinglin Hall?" Xiang Cao suddenly suggested.

Xia Rongrong paused, Bai Shouyi?

Speaking of which, a few days ago, Wen You, from Bai Shouyi’s side, had come to visit her.

Xinglin Hall had borne a grudge against Renxin Medical Hall because of the Chun Shui Sheng incident, which Xia Rongrong also heard about from Ah Cheng. Bai Shouyi had met with a sizable loss but placed the blame squarely on Lu Tong’s shoulders.

However, after such a long time, Bai Shouyi had not been able to find anything to hold against Lu Tong, so he had Wen You approach Xia Rongrong, keen on a "collaboration" with her.

Wen You stood before Xia Rongrong, saying, "Miss Xia, my shopkeeper said, if you don’t want Doctor Lu to stay at the medical hall, it happens that my shopkeeper also wants to drive Doctor Lu out of Capital City. Why not cooperate to achieve our respective goals?"

Xia Rongrong frowned, "Cooperate?"

Bai Shouyi’s method of cooperation was simple, asking Xia Rongrong to tamper with the medicinal materials that Lu Tong regularly prepared.

This was immediately refused by Xia Rongrong.

If there really was an issue with Lu Tong’s medicines, it would be Renxin Medical Hall that suffered the consequences, and by association, Du Changqing too would be harmed. Moreover, Xia Rongrong was well aware that in the medical hall, Lu Tong would not let anyone else handle the preparation of medicinal materials and the development of new medicines. Her maid Yin Zheng was particularly sensitive, and there was simply no opportunity to intervene.

Wen You, however, was not willing to give up and slipped a silver note into Xia Rongrong’s hand, saying, "You don’t have to answer right now, Miss Xia. Once you’ve decided, just send someone to talk to my shopkeeper in our shop."

Xia Rongrong accepted the silver, and while she was initially a bit nervous, as the days passed, she gradually put the matter out of her mind. She didn’t expect to be reminded of it today by Xiang Cao.

She looked at Xiang Cao with some hesitation, "Is this alright?"

After all, Lu Tong was a part of Renxin Medical Hall, and it seemed somewhat disloyal to discuss the affair of Renxin Medical Hall with an outsider.

Xiang Cao sighed, "Miss, although what you saw today was unexpected, it doesn’t prove that Doctor Lu was actually making harmful poison. The young master from the main branch listens to Doctor Lu and will definitely take her side. The moment you speak out, you will not only alarm Doctor Lu, but it would also harm the harmony between you and the young master."

"But it’s different with Shopkeeper Bai. Doctor Lu has previously embarrassed Xinglin Hall, and Shopkeeper Bai bears a grudge against her. If Doctor Lu really is up to something shady, Shopkeeper Bai definitely won’t let her off. Besides—"

"Besides, didn’t you take fifty taels of silver from Shopkeeper Bai before? When someone has accepted a gift, they’re obligated, and if his people come to ask for it, the young master will surely be angry."

Thinking of those fifty taels of silver, Xia Rongrong’s face flushed.

The silver had been spent on hairpins and jewelry, and if Bai Shouyi came asking for it, she really didn’t know how to cope.

Seeing her swayed, Xiang Cao quietly bowed her head, concealing a hint of a smile at the corner of her mouth.

Xiang Cao had been Xia Rongrong’s personal maid for many years, and on this trip to the capital, Xia’s parents had specifically instructed her to ensure the marital union between Xia Rongrong and Du Changqing.

Although Du Changqing’s wealth was not as great as before, he still owned a shop and a residence in Shengjing, which was better than many others, and this marriage was feasible.

However, having stayed in the medical hall these days, Xiang Cao had come to see clearly that Du Changqing had no special feelings for Xia Rongrong; instead, he seemed much closer to Lu Tong.

Xiang Cao had come with the explicit purpose of securing a marriage with Du Changqing, and if she failed to do so, not only would Xia Rongrong be disappointed, her parents would also find it difficult to accept. She suspected that Lu Tong and Du Changqing might have a private romance, and though there was no evidence, Lu Tong, being in the medical hall, carried herself vaguely like the mistress of the house, with both Ah Cheng and Du Changqing deferring to her.

Xiang Cao wanted to drive Lu Tong out of the medical hall, but had never found a way to do it. Who would have expected that tonight, Xia Rongrong would stumble upon the scene in the kitchen?

This was an opportunity sent by the heavens.

Paying no heed to the scrape on her leg, Xiang Cao scrambled out of bed to fetch paper and a pen for Xia Rongrong.

"Miss, why are you hesitating? The only one who can help us now is Shopkeeper Bai. Write to him quickly, if there’s indeed an issue, at least it can be remedied in time."

Inside the dimly lit room, the light faintly illuminated the spilt water on the floor. Xia Rongrong gazed at the water stains for a long while, biting her lip, and finally stood up as if she had made up her mind.

"I understand."

"I will write it."

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read