C36

"Bi He, open the door."

Upon recognizing Hui Xiu's voice, Bi He hurriedly got up to open the door. However, when she saw the person behind Hui Xiu, he couldn't help but be stunned in place.

Jin Lan rubbed his eyes. Pushing away the silk curtain, he stuck out half of his body and asked softly, "What's wrong?"

"Miss!" Bi He welcomed Hui Xiu and the person behind her in, looking a little excited: "Who do you think has arrived?"

There were two lamps burning in the room, one on the wooden table outside and the other on the small table by the bed, so that although it was dark outside, there was enough light in the chamber.

Jin Lan closed his eyes, and waited for his vision to clear before he looked behind Bi He. The first one to come over was Hui Xiu, and behind Hui Xiu, was Mama Tang! Just as she was about to shout out in joy, she suddenly stopped, her gaze fixated on the person behind Mama Tang.

Astonishment, disbelief, joy, ecstasy — a flash in her eyes. She sat up abruptly, threw open the curtain and jumped off the bed. She didn't even bother to put on her shoes as she rushed toward the man with her bare feet.

Mama Tang and the rest were all shocked by Jin Lan's sudden action. Luckily the bed in the Lingji Temple was not high, otherwise the wounds on her legs would have recurred. Even so, Bi He still hurriedly lifted up the shoes on the ground, and shouted to Jin Lan: "Please slow down young lady, the ground is cold, put the shoes on first."

How could Jin Lan understand? He ran straight to the side of the Mama Tang, his eyes red, and started crying. "Wan Ju!"

The person who entered the house behind Mama Tang was Wan Ju, who had been missing for more than a month! When she saw Jin Lan's actions, tears gushed out of her eyes. "Young lady!"

Jin Lan grabbed onto Wan Ju's hand. His voice was a little hoarse, but his face was full of concern.

Wan Ju shook her head, she lowered her head and started crying.

Seeing that, the Mama Tang tried to smooth things over: "Miss, at least put on your shoes. After walking for so long on the mountain road, Wan Ju is tired, right? Would you like to sit down and talk? "

Jin Lan then regained her senses, and quickly wiped away the tears on her cheeks. She nodded, and allowed Bi He to put on her shoes and coat, before pulling Wan Ju along to sit on the chair.

Hui Xiu only followed Madame SHen's instructions and brought the person to Jin Lan's room. This time, she did not bring many servants with her, as Madame SHen still needed someone to serve them, so after informing Jin Lan, she quickly returned to her room.

Due to Jin Lan's habit of drinking hot tea, Madame SHen had long since found Kong Ming, Little Shamei, and asked for a small stove to place in the corner. Bi He quickly brewed a pot of tea, and just as she was about to pour the tea into the cup to bring Jin Lan and the rest over, Mama Tang came to receive her hands, "It's been hard on you these few days."

Bi He pursed her lips and laughed, "Serving the young lady is part of my business, how can I say that it is hard?"

"You little girl." The Mama Tang shook her head helplessly, before placing the cup of tea that she had poured earlier on the tray. She smiled and said to Bi He: "Madam has let little master Kong Ming out of his room, in the third room to the right of the lady's room. I think Miss will have a talk with Wan Ju tonight, so you should go and sleep over there first."

Wan Ju's hand that was about to hold onto the plate went empty, and after hearing what the Mama Tang said, she could not help but be stunned.

Mama Tang was afraid that Bi He would overthink things, so she explained while beaming: "If everyone is stuck here, who will be serving Miss tomorrow? That's why I told you to go and rest, so that you could get up in the morning to take Wan Ju's place. "

Bi He glanced at Mama Tang and then glanced at Jin Lan, who was talking to Wan Ju. Her expression darkened immediately and she hung her head, a trace of bitterness appearing in the corner of her mouth.

"Hurry up and go. If you're free, help me get off the bed. I'll go take a rest later as well." Mama Tang exhorted again before picking up the tray to serve Jin Lan tea.

With such words, how could Bi He not realize that Mama Tang was trying to send her out? She could not help but look inside the house. Seeing that Jin Lan did not seem to notice the situation over here, she continued to chat with Wan Ju, much more lively than usual. Twisting her sleeves, Bi He turned and left the room dejectedly.

The two rooms in the Lingji Temple could not be compared to the mansion, and any activity in the rooms could be heard clearly outside. Jin Lan calmed his heart, and did not inquire about Wan Ju's encounters these past few days. Instead, he told her about everything that had happened in the mansion that everyone knew. After about half the time it took to brew a cup of tea, Mama Tang left the room, and Jin Lan peeked at the door from time to time.

Not long after, the Mama Tang returned. Facing her anxious gaze, she nodded her head almost imperceptibly.

Then, Jin Lan relaxed and turned to look at Wan Ju. Unexpectedly, Wan Ju had already left his seat and directly knelt in front of her.

"Miss, this servant thinks that I will never see Miss again!" Wan Ju's tears fell like rain as she sobbed, "This servant is useless, I have failed to live up to lady's request."

"What is this? Hurry and get up! " Jin Lan quickly helped her to her feet. "Don't worry, we'll talk slowly if you have something to say."

Mama Tang shut the door and also rushed over to persuade her. After much difficulty in stopping her tears, she poured her another cup of hot tea and went to guard by the door.

Wan Ju held the teacup and took a sip, then impatiently started talking about what had happened recently.

"That morning, this servant left the house. I had wanted to go home first, but halfway through, I started thinking about how long I could keep this herb dregs for, if it took too long, it would probably be hard to identify them. So I thought about it and went back to the medicine store. Although this servant grew up in Yangzhou, I have sold myself into the palace since young. Other than knowing how to return home, I am unfamiliar with other places. Thus, after many twists and turns, and after asking around, I found a medicine store. "

"This servant gave the handkerchief wrapped in medicinal dregs to the shopkeeper and asked him to help me find out what kind of medicine was inside. In the end, the result was …" As she spoke, she couldn't help but shiver. Her eyes were filled with fear and her body couldn't help but tremble.

Jin Lan was stunned. He immediately reached out and placed his hand on the back of her ice-cold hand, "Don't be afraid, everything is over."

Wan Ju raised her head. In the face of Jin Lan's caring and encouraging eyes, Xiao Bai's complexion slightly retreated. His trembling body also slowly calmed down. She secretly cleared her throat and continued, "The shopkeeper brought the handkerchief to the back, and it took about half an hour for it to come out. Once it was out, he shouted for several big men to tie up the servants."

"How could this be?" Jin Lan couldn't help but exclaim softly, "Everything is fine. Why is he tying you up?"

"This servant asked too. That storekeeper aggressively threw the handkerchief on the table. He said that the thing inside was a poison that could kill a person!" In the end, it had left a shadow in his heart, causing Wan Ju's face to suddenly turn white, and the tears he had stopped sliding down once again, "And you still say that your servant used this medicine to harm others, so you want to tie me up and go to the officials!"

Jin Lan frowned. Although she suspected that there was something wrong with the medicine, it shouldn't have become a deadly poison. Putting aside the fact that Madame SHen looked safe and sound for the time being, even Doctor Jiang, who had come to help her pulse when she was unconscious, was unable to find anything. It could be seen that either there was no problem with the medicine, or there was very little poison in it, which was why it was hard to find.

But why did the medicine store manager swear it was poison? And even sending Wan Ju to the officials?

Her brows knitted as she thought about it for a moment. Then, she suddenly looked up at Wan Ju and asked, "Did you tell him that you are a servant of the Ye Mansion?"

"This servant didn't say anything at first, but after that, as he became more and more shocking, this servant, this servant, was afraid. That's why I said it."

Jin Lan followed up with another question, "Will the shopkeeper send you to the officials' office after knowing your identity?"

Wan Ju nodded his head, "Yes, he said that since you are a member of the clan, then we should send you off immediately, so as to not let us servants harm our masters."

This was strange, he was just an ordinary medicine store manager, after knowing Wan Ju's identity he still insisted on sending him off? Generally speaking, if one isn't afraid of offending others, they should just send it to the mansion for reward. How could it be …

"Miss." Seeing Jin Lan's sullen face and him sitting there without speaking, Wan Ju thought that she was angry at him for not speaking properly and felt uneasy in her heart. She glanced at her timidly, then lowered her head and muttered: "This servant, this servant did not mean to leak the information, this servant is only, just … …" At the end of her sentence, she was as loud as a mosquito.

Speak out, speak out... Jin Lan's eyes lit up, and he suddenly grabbed onto Wan Ju's hand, asking urgently, "Were you talking about the Ye Mansion or the Patrol of Salt Censors?"

"Servant, servant …" Wan Ju was shocked by Jin Lan's sudden action, but after hearing her words, she started to think carefully, and after a long while she replied with certainty: "I did not say that I was talking about the Censorate, or that I was talking about Ye Mansion."

That's right! Jin Lan realised, then revealed a cold smile, it seemed like Wan Ju was deceived. What defense medicine, what poison, this was all a scam! I'm afraid that even the people who were guiding her on the way were pre-arranged.

She took a deep breath, composed herself and indicated for Wan Ju to continue.

"Later on, the shopkeeper said that he was afraid that this servant wouldn't want to meet the official, but he was also afraid that I would take the opportunity to run away, so he decided to get a small sedan chair and block this servant's mouth, saying that he would carry her to the yamen. At first, those people seemed to be walking around the city, but later on, they became more and more remote, as if they were going out of the city and to the outskirts of the city. This servant was so anxious that she kept on kicking the palanquin, but the more she walked, the faster she moved. "

Under the bright light, she could clearly see that Wan Ju's forehead was drenched in cold sweat. In her heart, she was wondering if it was time to end this matter here, and for the rest of his life, she could easily imagine that Wan Ju's life was at stake. After hesitating for a moment, she secretly sighed, Forget it, no matter how Wan Ju took the risk, it did not matter, as long as she was fine, everything was alright.

But before she could open her mouth, Wan Ju continued, "When the palanquin landed, it was at the river bank. The surroundings were completely deserted, and even this servant was unable to recognize it. And then there was a pain in the back of my neck and I didn't know anything. " After saying that, she stopped, her gaze towards Jin Lan became uncertain, and after a long while, she stuttered: "When I woke up, I was in the infirmary, yes, it was the Doctor Gong who saved this servant!"