A ray of sunlight streamed through the window, refracting countless rays of light. The floor was bathed in a soft golden glow, creating a warm and inviting atmosphere.
Yuxi opened her eyes, yawned lazily, stretched, and let out a satisfied sigh. She got dressed, climbed out of bed, walked to the window, opened it, and looked out at the bright sunshine, feeling happy.
Yuxi went to the training room and practised Wuqinxi for another two-quarters of an hour. After a short rest, she started her morning routine. As she was having breakfast, she suddenly saw Xu Wu rush in, exclaiming, "Madam, something terrible has happened at the Charity Home!"
Yuxi put down her spoon and asked, "What happened at the Charity Home?" The chances of the children being kidnapped were minimal. There was a gatekeeper, residents lived nearby, and Yu City wasn't big. If anyone was alerted, it would be impossible for these people to take the children away.
Xu Wu replied, "Many of the children at the Charity Home have suddenly fainted, and some are also vomiting uncontrollably. The situation is very serious." If it weren't serious, Zhuye wouldn't have sent someone to inform Yuxi.
Yuxi rushed out, ordering as she walked, "Send someone to invite all the physicians in Yu City to the orphanage!" With so many children, one physician might not be enough.
Mama Qu quickly grabbed a coat and put it on Yuxi. Although the weather was fine today, it was still chilly outside in the winter.
The group arrived at the Charity Home as quickly as possible. As soon as they arrived, even before they entered the building, they could smell a strange odour so strong it almost made them faint.
Yuxi asked Zhuye, "Has the physician arrived yet?"
When Zhuye shook her head and said the physician hadn't arrived yet, Yuxi asked seriously about the children's symptoms. Upon hearing that the symptoms were vomiting, diarrhoea, and abdominal pain, Yuxi's face became very grave. She immediately said, "These children are not sick; they are poisoned. They must have eaten something unclean. Quickly make them vomit to get all the food they ate this morning out of their system, and they will be fine." She also noted that the children were only mildly poisoned, not severely. Otherwise, the first priority wouldn't be to make them vomit, but to give them an antidote."
There were more than a hundred poisoned children, and the Charity Home only had about forty staff, which was simply not enough. Yuxi instructed, "Go and call all the women who help out at Qingming Hall." Qingming Hall was very close to the Charity Home, so these people could come over quickly once they received the news.
Zijin ran out to find Xu Wu and asked him to send someone to call the people from Qingming Hall. As soon as Zijin left the room, a round-faced woman in her thirties walked in from outside. Panicked, she called out to Zhuye, who was standing next to Yuxi: "Miss Zhuye, when will the physician arrive? Ah Heng is dying..."
Although Yuxi could tell that the poisoning wasn't very severe for these children, some had weaker bodies, and this level of toxicity could be life-threatening for them. Hearing this cry, Yuxi also grew anxious and approached the woman, saying, "Quickly take me there to see..."
Before she could finish speaking, she saw the woman suddenly pull out a dagger from her sleeve and thrust it into Yuxi's chest, who was only a step away from her.
Yuxi was greatly alarmed, but she quickly reacted and dodged the fatal blow by sidestepping. However, due to their close proximity and the presence of people around her, Yuxi couldn't avoid it completely, and her arm received a deep cut.
Just as the woman was about to stab her a second time, Master Yang arrived. Yuxi was just about to tell Master Yang to spare the woman's life when Master Yang swiftly killed her with a single stroke of his blade. There was great reluctance in the woman's eyes, for she did not close them as she died1.
This unexpected incident happened too quickly, taking less than a minute from start to finish. Zhuye was so frightened that her entire body stiffened, rendering her speechless.
Master Yang bent down to examine Yuxi's arm, his expression changing significantly. He quickly took out a green bottle the size of a thumb from his pocket and poured out a green pill the size of a peanut. He said to Yuxi, "The knife is poisoned. Eat this quickly." After Yuxi swallowed the pill, Master Yang proceeded to bleed her. It was necessary to release the poisoned blood; otherwise, it would be extremely dangerous.
As she watched the dark blood being released, Yuxi couldn't help but feel a growing sense of horror. "They actually coated it with a deadly poison?" After saying these words, she began to feel dizzy.
Shiliu quickly regained her composure. When she noticed that Yuxi had taken the pill without drinking water, she immediately brought a cup of water and said to Yuxi, "Madam, have a sip of water!" Drinking water would help the pill dissolve faster.
Master Yang looked at Shiliu and asked, "Aren't you afraid that the water might also be poisoned?" Master Yang's words were merely a reminder to Yuxi, urging her to be more careful. If she continued to be as careless as she was now, even ten lives wouldn't be enough to survive such carelessness.🦊
Shiliu's hand shook, spilling a good portion of the water.
Master Yang was deeply frustrated and looked at Yuxi, asking, "What kind of people have you hired?" It was bad enough that they stood there stunned when their master was attacked, but in a situation like this, they even dared to bring untested water for Yuxi to drink. Their brains must be filled with tofu residue3.
Yuxi's face turned pale as she replied, "It was my carelessness." Little did she know that someone was lurking in the Charity Home, planning to kill her.
Zijin rushed in as soon as she heard that Yuxi had been assassinated. When she saw Yuxi's arm dripping with blood, her face turned blue and purple.
Master Yang barked, "What are you standing around for? Get over here and help!" He had already reminded her that, as a personal guard, she should never leave the person she was protecting. But Zijin obviously didn't take his words to heart, and look what happened.
Master Yang continued to let Yuxi's blood flow until it turned red. Only then did he apply the hemostatic medicine to the wound and bandage it with gauze. By this time, Yuxi had already fainted from excessive blood loss.
A noob translator, きつね, translated this noob translation. Please read this chapter at xin-shou.site. If you read this in another location other than the site stated, it has been taken without the translator's permission. Please don't support this kind of act.
Zijin picked Yuxi up and carried her back to the carriage. As she stepped out of the door, she saw several dozen women entering. They were the female workers of Qingming Hall. At this point, Zijin could no longer pay attention to these matters. She quickly took Yuxi back to the Yun Residence.
After learning of Yuxi's assassination attempt, Xu Wu immediately ordered the exits and entrances of the Charity Home to be sealed off. Although the assassin was already dead, it was certain that there were still accomplices within the Charity Home.
Shortly after Yuxi left, the summoned physicians arrived. When Xu Wu saw Physician Bai, he informed him of Yuxi's condition. Physician Bai immediately turned around and proceeded towards the Yun Residence.
After examining the children's symptoms, the physicians unanimously agreed that they were suffering from food poisoning and that it was necessary to induce vomiting.
The process of inducing vomiting was excruciating, but it was necessary to minimise the harm caused by the toxins by expelling them from the body. Therefore, even though the children looked pale and were in great pain, the onlookers, despite their sympathy and tears, did not stop the procedure.
After Zhuye calmed down, although she was very worried about Yuxi, she couldn't leave at that moment. She was stunned to hear one of the physicians, surnamed Hua, say that the children were suffering from food poisoning. Previously, Yuxi had only mentioned that the children were poisoned without specifying that it was food poisoning.
Zhuye shook her head and said, "Impossible. The children ate wowotou and rice congee this morning, which they eat every day. How could they be poisoned?" Considering the children's young age, Yuxi was concerned that a poor diet would be detrimental to their health, so she provided them with wowotou and rice congee every morning. In Yu City, the price of rice was twice that of coarse grain.
As an employee of the Duke's residence, Zhuye naturally knew about food incompatibilities. However, the problem was that the children at the Charity Home only ate wowotou and rice congee in the morning, so how could they be poisoned?
Physician Hua frowned as he listened and said, "Rice congee and wowotou would obviously not cause a conflict, but there's no doubt that these children have food poisoning." After a short pause, Physician Hua turned to Zhuye and asked, "Was there any leftover food from this morning? If so, take me to see it."
Zhuye said, "Yes, there is still some leftover food from this morning." She immediately took Physician Hua to the kitchen in the backyard.
They inspected the leftover food from the morning, but unfortunately, nothing was wrong with it. Physician Hua asked Zhuye, "How many children in the Charity Home are experiencing vomiting and diarrhoea?"
Zhuye hesitated for a moment before replying, "We haven't counted yet, but it's probably around 150 or 160." After a pause, she elaborated, "The Charity Home houses a total of 618 children, but 245 of them have gone to study at Qingming Hall, leaving us with just over 300 children."
After hearing Zhuye's answer, Physician Hua concluded, "Miss Zhuye, it appears that the poisoned children were the first group to have their meal. They consumed the contaminated food, leaving only clean food remaining." With such a large number of people affected, the only possibilities were either the water or the food. However, the water was drawn from the well in the backyard, and he had already verified that it was safe. Therefore, the only remaining issue was the food.
Zhuye's face turned pale as she questioned, "Why would these people want to poison these children?" The oldest of these children was only twelve years old. How could these people do such a thing?
Physician Hua shook his head and replied, "This old man doesn't know the answer to that question. Fortunately, the children's poisoning is relatively mild, and they have already undergone induced vomiting. I will now prepare a prescription for an antidote. Once it's brewed, let the children drink it a few times, and they should be fine." Physician Hua's medical skills were one of the best in the city.
Zhuye's mind was in turmoil, but she managed to control her chaotic emotions and said, "These children are all counting on you."
Physician Hua replied, "Rest assured, as long as these children are not too weak, they will be fine." However, he couldn't guarantee the outcome for those who were already physically weak.
Zijin quickly took Yuxi back to the Yun Residence. As soon as they exited the carriage, they saw Xu Daniu walking towards them and asking, "Are you Miss Zijin?"
At that moment, Zijin had no time to answer Xu Daniu's foolish question. She quickly lifted Yuxi out of the carriage.
Xu Daniu looked at the unconscious Yuxi and busily exclaimed, "What's wrong with Madam?" As he thought about what had just happened, Xu Daniu's heart pounded.
Zijin carried Yuxi and dashed towards the backyard, with Master Yang following closely behind her. He said, "Madam met an assassin at the Charity Home and was stabbed with a highly poisoned knife!"
After hearing this, Xu Daniu cursed, "Darn it, they're even using such despicable tricks on Madam now!" The reason for his outrage was that this tactic had been used against Yun Qing in the past. However, unlike Yuxi, Yun Qing wasn't that helpless, and the poisoned blade didn't even graze him.
Master Yang remarked, "This matter is not as simple as it seems." Judging by her technique, the woman who tried to assassinate Yuxi seemed entirely unskilled, not at all like a professional assassin.
Xu Daniu didn't dwell on these thoughts and quickly asked, "Is Madam all right?"
Master Yang remarked, "She's fortunate that the poison has been expelled from her body." After draining the poisoned blood and taking the antidote pill, she was certainly out of danger. However, she had lost a considerable amount of blood, so she would need to rest and replenish her strength.
Footnotes Full List
- Chinese idiom: die with a grievance (or everlasting regret); die dissatisfied
- Now everyone knows that the children are one of Yuxi's weaknesses after her own family.
- garbage, rubbish, junk
きつね's Musing
Someone's going to be so pissed off.
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The Rebirth of Han Yuxi