In that moment, the crowd’s expressions changed, and murmurs spread.
“She’s right. When Fu Yiniang was alive, Second Miss was so favored. Even if she’s out of favor now, who knows if she might rise again?”
“No matter how fierce Chunhua was, she’s just a servant. Relying on the matron’s favor, she’s done all kinds of dirty things here. Haven’t we all suffered under her at some point?”
Thinking of this, many maids fell silent.
Some of those who had helped Chunhua bully Gu Heng earlier now looked nervous, weighing the risks in their minds.
Seeing the timing was right, Gu Heng spoke again, loudly: “Starting today, I will not pursue what happened in the past. I only hope you all will do your part from now on.”
As she finished, Zhao Momo responded in a loud voice, “Yes! From now on, we will follow Second Miss’s lead!”
Her words stirred a ripple effect. Many maids and servant women followed suit, voicing their loyalty, and the atmosphere quickly turned lively.
When Zhao Momo had arrived earlier, the fight had already broken out.
Seeing Second Miss threatened at first, she’d wished she could take her place.
Later, when she saw the man from the next room stand up for Second Miss, although his methods were bloody, they had indeed suppressed the unruly servants.
In that moment, the weight in her heart finally lifted.
After the matter was settled, Gu Heng assigned everyone to their duties and sent them back to their rooms.
She herself felt drained, and after returning to her room, quickly fell into a deep sleep.
And again—she had a dream.
In the dream, the sky was dark and rainy, the ground always wet, never drying.
She wandered aimlessly around the zhuangzi, when suddenly someone pushed her shoulder.
She turned—and saw a transparent, floating figure with disheveled hair, looking like a ghost.
“Second Miss, why are you still here? Why haven’t you died yet? The plague on this zhuangzi was brought back by you. Everyone’s dead. Why are you still alive?”
As the ghost spoke, more spirits floated over and surrounded her.
Gu Heng held her head and backed away, crying, “No! That’s impossible! You’re all dead? What about Ah Zheng?”
At that, the leading ghost sneered, “Even now, you’re still thinking of your little lover?”
She suddenly leaned in close and said in a chilling voice, “With a jinx like you around, of course he’s dead. Died horribly. All that’s left now is a skeleton!”
These words sent a shiver through Gu Heng’s heart. The world spun—and the next moment, she bolted upright from her sleep.
At some point, her whole body had been drenched in sweat.
Throwing on a robe, she hurried toward the next room in a panic.
When she opened the door, the room was silent.
The person in bed hadn’t stirred from the noise and laid there quietly.
In that moment, Gu Heng could hear her heartbeat clearly. She didn’t even dare go near to check if Ah Zheng was breathing.
A gust of wind blew through, and the cold air slipped through her robe, chilling her to the bone.
Finally, she mustered her courage and walked toward Ah Zheng’s bed.
His face was unnaturally red, but he had not awakened.
Gu Heng reached out to feel his forehead, but quickly pulled her hand back—it was burning hot.
She almost couldn’t control her voice, exclaiming, “How could this happen?!”
As she backed away, she accidentally bumped into the teapot beside her. It rolled to the ground and clattered—not broken, but loud.
Hearing the noise, Zhao Momo hurried over, already dressed.
As she entered the room, she leaned against the doorframe, coughing twice.
Startled, Gu Heng turned and said, “Zhao Momo, why are you here?”
“I heard a commotion and was afraid something had happened to you, Second Miss, so I came right away.”
Zhao Momo limped in, her back bent. Gu Heng rushed over to support her. “You haven’t recovered from your leg injury yet. Why trouble yourself like this?”
Gu Heng let out a sigh. “It’s not that something happened to me—Ah Zheng suddenly developed a high fever in the middle of the night, and I’m a bit worried.”
Hearing this, Zhao Momo also reached out to feel his temperature. Her expression grew grave. “This fever is quite high. If it doesn’t come down soon, it could become life-threatening.”
Gu Heng’s face changed drastically. “Then what should we do? Do we have any medicine here at the zhuangzi?”
At her words, Zhao Momo frowned and thought for a moment. “Our zhuangzi is quite far from the town. When people here get minor illnesses or pains, they usually deal with it themselves. The nearest barefoot doctor is thirty li away. I’m afraid we don’t have any medicine at the moment.”
Gu Heng felt weak in her limbs and sat dazedly on a stool, murmuring, “Then what are we going to do…”
Suddenly, Zhao Momo seemed to recall something. “Half a year ago, I caught a cold. To save money, I only used half the herbs I prepared—the rest should still be there. Now that we’re out of options, we can only try to use that medicine and hope for the best.”
Hearing this, Gu Heng gratefully grabbed Zhao Momo’s hand. “Thank you so much!”
After retrieving the herbs, Gu Heng went to the kitchen and found a small medicine pot that had not been used in some time. She set it up near Ah Zheng’s bed and began boiling the medicine while keeping watch over him.
Suddenly, she heard footsteps behind her. Turning around, she saw Zhao Momo struggling to carry a bucket of ice water, with a cloth draped over her shoulder.
Gu Heng immediately stepped forward to take the water from her hands.
“Your legs are already not in good shape—you shouldn’t be carrying water. Let me do it from now on.”
But Zhao Momo shook her head. “Second Miss, you’re a noble-born lady, a master. How can you do this kind of hard labor?”
Gu Heng took the cloth, soaked it in the ice water, wrung it out, and placed it on Ah Zheng’s forehead to help bring down his fever.
After finishing, she turned to Zhao Momo with a serious expression. “You were once acquainted with my Yiniang, and in this entire household, you’re the only one who treats me kindly. If you fall ill because of me, I won’t be able to forgive myself.”
Zhao Momo was about to speak again, but Gu Heng draped a thick robe over her shoulders. “Go back and rest for now. We can talk more tomorrow.”
Seeing the hesitation still in her eyes, Gu Heng’s tone hardened. “That’s an order. You must obey it.”
At that, Zhao Momo finally relented. “Alright then, but Second Miss, you must take care of yourself. Don’t exhaust yourself too much.”
Gu Heng nodded. Zhao Momo coughed twice and finally left.
That night, Gu Heng finished boiling the medicine and fed it to Ah Zheng.
But he never woke up the entire time.
She stayed by his bedside, hardly closing her eyes. Every time the cloth grew warm, she rinsed it and reapplied it to his forehead.
By morning, her hands were red and frozen from the cold water.
When daylight broke, she checked Ah Zheng’s temperature again, but it still hadn’t gone down.
Anxiety gripped her heart.
Outside, the zhuangzi had clearly descended into chaos—several servant girls rushed by in panic, their footsteps hurried and disordered.
Gu Heng pushed the door open and stopped them with a stern expression. “What’s going on? Why are you all in such a panic?”
The two servant girls she stopped looked exhausted, with dark circles under their eyes. They had clearly not slept. At her question, they could only answer honestly.
“Second Miss, starting yesterday, a strange illness suddenly broke out on the zhuangzi. Half the people are already feverish and coughing. Our little sisters started getting worse last night. We were just about to leave the zhuangzi to find the barefoot doctor.”
Gu Heng felt a chill in her heart.
As expected, last night’s dream wasn’t baseless.
The epidemic in town had likely already begun spreading. Even this remote Baixue Estate had been infected with so many cases.
If it continued like this, everything from the dream would come true.
She made up her mind in an instant.
“Wait here for me. I’ll go with you.”
The two servant girls didn’t dare refuse her and also thought it might be safer to have one more person, so they agreed.
Gu Heng returned to her room, changed into warmer clothes, and tucked all the money she had earned from selling dendrobium into her clothing. Then she left with the two girls.
Even the zhuangzi’s groom had fallen ill the day before, so the three of them could only take a slow ox-cart toward Yueyan Village, thirty li away.
Gu Heng was so anxious on the road that every second felt like a year. It took them nearly two hours to reach their destination.
As soon as they got off the cart, they saw that Yueyan Village wasn’t faring well either—people lay everywhere, groaning in discomfort.
The three of them asked as they walked, and finally reached the village’s medicine hall—only to find it in utter disarray.
The barefoot doctor laid on the floor, his fate uncertain.
Gu Heng rushed over and helped him up. Seeing that he was still barely breathing, she pinched his philtrum. “Doctor? Doctor? Are you alright?”
At the sight of three strangers, the doctor looked dazed for a moment, then sighed deeply and pointed to a medicine chest nearby. In a hoarse voice, he said, “You’ve come to take medicine too, haven’t you? Unfortunately, you’re too late. Most of it was already looted. There’s only what’s left in that chest—take it if you want.”
After saying that, he coughed violently—blood came out.
The two servant girls cried out in fear and quickly backed away.
Gu Heng had always been squeamish at the sight of blood, but now her worry outweighed all else. She furrowed her brow and said, “We’re not here to steal medicine. Many people on the zhuangzi have fallen ill. We came to ask for your help.”
The doctor gave a bitter smile. “It’s too late. Look at me—I can’t even help myself. How could I help you?”
Gu Heng helped him into a chair and sincerely asked, “What happened to you? How did things become like this?”
After catching his breath, the doctor replied slowly, “No need to save me. A few days ago, my whole family caught the plague… and passed one after another. I held on a bit longer, but I’m beyond saving now. Earlier today, the illness outside worsened. Families with strong young men came here and took most of the medicine by force. When I refused, they beat me.”
Hearing this, Gu Heng’s anger flared. “Even if they were looting, they shouldn’t have targeted the medicine hall! That’s the only hope for this village! And to attack you—what beasts!”
The doctor gave another bitter smile. “It’s alright. I’ve lived long enough. It’s time I go to heaven and reunite with my wife and child…”
With those words, he took a deep breath and shakily pointed to the medicine chest. “I hid that one well. They didn’t find it. Take it—maybe there’s something in there that can help. Even if it’s hopeless, you can still try.”
Gu Heng wanted to say more, but the doctor suddenly coughed violently again and, before their eyes, vomited a large pool of blood.
Then he collapsed to the ground—lifeless.
The three were horrified.
