“Second Miss… the doctor—he died… it wasn’t our fault, was it? We only came to ask for medicine, we didn’t hurt him!”
The other maid also nodded frantically, afraid they’d be implicated.
Gu Heng let out a long sigh. “No, it wasn’t our fault. But since he gave us medicine, and he no longer has family, let’s at least bury him properly.”
The three of them dug a pit on a hill in the village and buried the doctor respectfully, even making a gravestone for him.
Afterward, they took the medicine chest, got back on the ox-cart, and headed back to the zhuangzi.
The two servant girls had looked normal when they left, but now, sitting on the cart, they were pale and already coughing.
They looked at Gu Heng, fear in their eyes.
“Second Miss, it seems like we’ve caught it too… are we going to die?”
The other girl began to sob. “Xiao Hua is only five this year. She was sold to this zhuangzi with us last year. She’s lying in bed all alone now, waiting for us to bring the doctor back to save her. But not only did we not bring the doctor back… we’re sick ourselves. What should we do?”
The two of them broke down in tears, hopelessness filling their eyes.
Gu Heng was affected by their despair too, and her spirits sank.
“What are your names?” she asked.
The girls glanced at each other before the one with longer hair replied first. “I’m Xiao Shu, the eldest.”
The thinner one, though weak, still had bright eyes. “I’m Xiao Cao, the second sister. We had a younger brother too, but last year our family ran out of food. Our parents sold us so our little brother could eat.”
Hearing this, Gu Heng was overwhelmed with emotion.
These three sisters had been sold away, their names barely more than nicknames—clearly unloved at home. Life at Baixue Estate hadn’t been kind to them either. Their faces were sallow, and they looked pitifully thin.
She wanted to save them—but didn’t know if she could.
“Hand me the medicine chest,” she said.
The two girls obediently passed it over.
Gu Heng opened it and saw many herbs neatly stored, sorted into compartments and labeled.
Fu Yiniang hadn’t always lived at Qianchun Brothel. Her family had once been wealthy—her maternal grandfather was a well-known physician. She had talent in this field and learned much from him as a child.
Later, when the family fell, her father committed a crime. All the men were exiled, and the women were sold into brothels. That was how she eventually ended up as the top courtesan of Qianchun Pavilion.
After raising Gu Heng, she devoted herself to raising her—teaching her poetry, music, and even medicine.
Although Gu Heng didn’t have the same talent as her Yiniang, she had still learned the basics.
She remembered that when she was little, her Yiniang had taught her how to mix the ingredients for the antidote to a plague that had broken out many years ago.
After going over the memory, she found that most of the herbs listed on the sheet were already in the box.
She let out a breath of relief.
Raising her head, she looked at Xiao Shu and Xiao Cao. “If you trust me, I’ll decoct a dose of medicine when we get back. Each of you drink a bowl, and give one to Xiao Hua as well. We’ll see if it helps.”
The two maids, upon hearing this, clutched Gu Heng’s sleeves like they were grabbing onto the last hope of survival. “Second Miss, we’ll never forget your immense kindness for as long as we live!”
As they spoke, they had already reached the gates of Baixue Manor.
Gu Heng smiled. “Alright, let’s get off the carriage first. Whether the medicine works or not—we’ll have to try to know.”
Once the three returned to the manor, Gu Heng immediately began preparing the medicine. She brewed a large pot and gave it to the two maids, then prepared another bowl for them to take to Xiao Hua.
Next, she fed a dose to Ah Zheng.
Thinking of how Zhao Momo had forced herself to stay up despite her illness and kept coughing through the night, Gu Heng felt uneasy. She ladled out a bowl of medicine and walked toward the woman’s room.
On the way, she passed by the place where Chunhua was being held. After being locked up yesterday, she had kept shouting and cursing. But strangely enough, there wasn’t a sound from her today.
Gu Heng didn’t bother with her and went straight to Zhao Momo’s room.
As soon as she pushed open the door, a musty smell of rotting wood assaulted her nose.
It was Gu Heng’s first time coming here, and she found the place full of mold, with barely any furniture. “Bare walls and nothing else” would be a fitting description.
Seeing Gu Heng, Zhao Momo struggled to sit up. “Second Miss, you came yourself? It’s dirty here—not a good place for you to step into.”
Gu Heng shook her head. “It doesn’t matter.”
She handed the bowl to Zhao Momo. “I mixed this medicine myself today. Please drink it. Think of it as treating a dead horse like a living one.”
Without hesitation, Zhao Momo took the bowl and drank it down. “Thank you, Second Miss.”
Seeing this, Gu Heng nodded. “Since you’ve taken the medicine, rest well. I’ll go brew more and distribute it to the others on the manor.”
Zhao Momo was overwhelmed with emotion and let out a sigh. “Second Miss, you really do resemble Fu Yiniang.”
Gu Heng had just turned to leave, but hearing that, she turned her head and smiled. “Really?”
Looking at her, Zhao Momo seemed to be seeing someone else through her. “Truly—you’re just like her. Beautiful, and kind-hearted.”
Gu Heng had grown up hearing praise for her appearance, so she was used to compliments. But in this moment, a deep sense of joy and comfort welled up inside her.
After leaving Zhao Momo’s room, she wasted no time and quickly brewed another large pot of medicine, calling everyone from the manor over to distribute a bowl to each person.
For a moment, eyes everywhere were filled with tears.
Even the few manservants who had picked on Gu Heng yesterday now lowered their heads in shame.
Now, all of them were sick and feeble. A few couldn’t even get out of bed and were just waiting to die.
It was Gu Heng who had brought them hope.
At this moment, someone in the crowd hesitantly asked, “We who can still walk have gathered here, but that one in the woodshed… she seems too sick to even get up. Should we give her medicine too?”
Someone beside her immediately pulled her back and warned in a low voice, “That woman repeatedly offended Second Miss. It’s already mercy that she’s still alive! If she dies from the illness, so be it—just drag her body to the back hill and feed it to the wolves!”
Though they spoke in hushed tones, Gu Heng still heard them clearly.
She let out a long sigh, filled a bowl, and handed it to the closest old maid. “Take this and give it to Chunhua.”
The woman was stunned. “Second Miss, that one’s gone against you time and again—why save her?”
Gu Heng knew full well this was the thought in everyone’s mind. She had no choice but to raise her voice and speak clearly. “Disasters, whether natural or man-made, show no mercy. Now that we’re all facing this plague together, I’m doing this as the mistress of Baixue Manor. Chunhua hasn’t been cast out yet, so she’s still one of us. Since everyone else is getting medicine, she should too.”
Hearing this, those who had previously helped Chunhua scheme against Gu Heng felt their fear begin to ease.
These past two days, they had been worried that Gu Heng would hold a grudge and retaliate against them.
Even if she didn’t, the man by her side didn’t seem like a kind one.
When they were summoned to drink the medicine, they’d all thought it was time to be punished. Everyone had been uneasy.
Now, at last, they felt reassured and truly submitted to Gu Heng.
The maid took the bowl and agreed, heading toward the woodshed.
Everyone else began to disperse, returning to their rooms to rest.
But moments later, the maid came rushing back, face full of anger.
“Second Miss! That ungrateful woman in the woodshed—she heard this was medicine from you and not only refused to drink it, but even threw a fit and smashed the bowl!”
Everyone turned to look toward the woodshed.
Soon, a familiar stream of curses rang out.
“Gu Heng, you little b*tch! Trying to poison me, are you? You think I don’t know what you’re up to? I’ll never let you succeed!”
Hearing this, Gu Heng couldn’t help but roll her eyes.
“Leave her be then. Let her live or die on her own!”
The maid nodded repeatedly and spat in the direction of the woodshed. “Ungrateful mutt. Let her die sick and rot!”
The crowd all looked toward the woodshed with scorn.
Gu Heng ignored them and returned to Ah Zheng’s room, staying by his side all afternoon.
By dusk, she felt his forehead again and found his fever had finally gone down. She was much relieved.
The tension in her heart loosened all at once, and exhaustion washed over her. She returned to her room, intending to get a good night’s sleep.
But just as she was about to drift off, two people came knocking excitedly at her door.
Though annoyed, Gu Heng got up and opened the door.
As it opened, the smiling faces of Xiao Shu and Xiao Cao appeared. They said excitedly, “Second Miss, the medicine really worked! Xiao Hua’s fever has gone down!”
Gu Heng let out a deep breath.
That meant the medicine was truly effective—Ah Zheng’s recovery wasn’t just luck.
“That’s great! Are the two of you feeling better too?”
Xiao Cao nodded. “Yes. After napping this evening, we feel much better.”
Just then, Xiao Shu leaned in happily. “Second Miss, on our way here, we also heard some good news. Do you want to hear it?”
Gu Heng chuckled. “What’s with the mystery? What good news?”
Xiao Shu snickered and glanced in disdain toward the woodshed. “That woman in there was seriously ill but refused your medicine. This afternoon, she stopped yelling, and just fifteen minutes ago, she died!”
Xiao Cao also wore a look of vengeance fulfilled. “Over the years, she ran wild in the manor. Anyone who didn’t go along with her couldn’t even get enough food to eat and had to do all the dirty and exhausting work. Honestly, we’ve all wanted her dead!”
Gu Heng was stunned.
In her dream, Chunhua had died too. She hadn’t expected the same thing to happen in reality.
She didn’t feel pity—someone that vicious deserved what she got.
But in that moment, a wave of unease crept over her.
That dream of falling off a cliff had felt so real.
As if it had really happened in another life.
She never put much stock in the supernatural and had dismissed it as just a strange dream.
But now, she was starting to wonder—could her dream really be foretelling the future?
The dream from the past two days had already partly come true, even though she had brushed it off as a nightmare.
Then what about the one where she was imprisoned and poisoned to death? Was that even more likely to come true?
All at once, Gu Heng felt a chill over her entire body. Her vision darkened, and with a thud, she collapsed to the ground.
“Second Miss! Second Miss! Wake up! Please don’t scare us!”
She could hear the anxious cries of the two maids at her ears, but her eyelids felt as heavy as mountains—she simply couldn’t wake up.
Moments later, she felt herself sinking into complete darkness.
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