Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

"What are you all doing gathered here? Have you finished your work?" Pearl snapped coldly.

When everyone turned around and saw it was the two of them, they shrank back and scattered in a flash.

Upon entering the courtyard, the two were immediately struck by the strong stench of blood. Although they were not as pampered as the young ladies of the household, they had been raised with great care and luxury in the Lu family since childhood. They had never witnessed such a bloody scene before. Suppressing their nausea, they found a young maid running around in the courtyard.

"Hey, why are you running around like that? Where's Xiaozhu?"

The young maid recognized the two head maids serving the concubine and quickly curtsied.

"Sister Pearl, Sister Jade, Sister Xiaozhu is taking care of Madam Mei in the east wing. She asked me to find the doctor in the manor to come and examine Madam Mei."

Having located the person, Pearl covered her nose, waved to the little girl, and let her go.

This was the first time the two women had entered this courtyard. They couldn't help it; Mr. Lu had been in the mansion longer than they had. When their young mistress married into the family, Mr. Lu was already living in this courtyard. So, they had truly never been here before. Following the direction the little maid had pointed, they arrived at the east wing and saw Xiao Zhu feeding soup to Madam Mei.

"Xiao Zhu," the two called out from the doorway of the side room.

Xiao Zhu looked up and saw two people. She quickly put down the bowl in her hand, slipped on her shoes, and ran out.

"My two elder sisters, what brings you here? Is something the matter?"

"Xiao Zhu, I'm asking you about Madam Mei's sister, where is that Jiu'er right now? The Prince wants her to go and give me an answer."

Pearl's words startled Xiaozhu, and it took her a moment to react.

"Yes, I don't think I've seen Miss Jiu'er all day!" she said, running past the two of them toward Jiu'er's room.

The two exchanged a glance and realized something was wrong. They quickly followed Xiaozhu to Jiu'er's room.

"Bang bang bang, Miss Jiu'er, Miss Jiu'er, it's me, Xiaozhu! Miss Jiu'er, are you inside?" Xiaozhu ran to the door of the back room where Jiu'er lived and pounded on the door.

But it was completely quiet inside, without a single sound.

Seeing the scene before her, Pearl yanked away Xiaozhu, who was about to continue banging on the door.

"Get out of the way, something must have happened in here. I'll kick this door open first."

As she spoke, she took a few steps back, jogged to the door, and then kicked it hard.

"Ah..." Pearl let out a painful scream as the door was kicked open.

She sat down on the ground in a split position.

"Ah...it hurts so much!" Pearl's eyes were filled with tears, and she felt as if her leg was being torn apart.

Emerald and Xiaozhu quickly helped her up from the ground, but even with their help, her thighs were still too painful to move. The two had no choice but to half-drag her to a chair in the flower hall by the entrance.

After settling Pearl in, Emerald and Little Bamboo finally had the time to look around the room and discovered a bulge under the blankets on the bed, as if someone was lying there sleeping.

With such a commotion outside, how could any living person possibly fall asleep?

"Xiaozhu, go up and take a look." Emerald nudged Xiaozhu, who was standing next to her.

"Sister Jade, I dare not," Xiaozhu said, her voice trembling with tears.

"Hurry up, the Prince is still waiting in the front hall. Now that the Master is dead, the servants in this courtyard will have to rely on the Consort's pleading to survive..."

Xiaozhu couldn't hear what Emerald was saying anymore; she'd been so busy she hadn't thought of that. Now, Emerald's reminder made her feel like she was half-dead. Her legs trembling, she slowly made her way to the bed.

Even though she moved slowly, the room was only so big, and she still managed to get to the bedside. She closed her eyes, not daring to look at what was under the covers, and with a determined heart, she pulled the covers off completely.

Instead of the expected gasp, she cautiously opened her eyes and looked at the bed. Her heart, which had been pounding with anxiety, finally settled. Underneath the cup was a bundle of blankets. She turned to look at Pearl and Jade, and found them still covering their eyes.

"My two sisters, look, there's no dead person on the bed, just bedding."

Hearing Xiaozhu's words, the two of them lowered their hands from their faces and patted their chests.

"so far so good."

Suddenly, Pearl's expression changed drastically. If there were bedding on the bed, then where was Jiu'er?

She looked up at the two of them, and only then did the two, who were still feeling relieved, realize what was happening when she looked at them with such a frightened gaze.

"Jade, you must go and report this to the Prince and the Consort immediately. My legs are hurting terribly right now."

"it is good"

After saying that, Jade tried to run away, but Pearl called her back.

"Wait, come back first. Find two people to carry Madam Mei over. I'm afraid she's involved in this matter."

"Okay, I understand. Is there anything else?" Emerald knew that Pearl was smarter than her. This matter was of great importance. Face and reputation didn't matter. Doing things well and not involving them was the most important thing.

"That's all. You go quickly, I'll be there soon."

Emerald turned and ran outside, beckoning two servants to carry the still unconscious Madam Mei onto a bench and to the front hall.

When they arrived, Consort Lu was pacing anxiously back and forth in the room, while Prince Ding'an, Zhou Jize, sat on the armchair with a gloomy face, exuding an aura of oppression.

The physician from the prefecture, whom they had met along the way, also came along.

Emerald quickly and clearly recounted the events that had just transpired, while the physician over there began administering acupuncture to Mei'er.

After Emerald finished explaining, Mei'er slowly opened her eyes. Staring at the beams on the roof, she didn't immediately realize where she was.

Immediately, she heard a sinister voice.

"Bring it over when it wakes up."

Then two guards came over and, without any pity, dragged Mei'er off the bed, grabbed her arms, and slammed her down on the ground in front of Prince Ding'an.

Seeing the prince staring at her with such a sinister look, Mei'er felt like she was being watched by a venomous snake.

"Madam Mei, is that Jiu'er your own sister?"

At this moment, Mei'er was unaware that Jiu'er had disappeared. When she suddenly heard the prince ask her this question, although she felt a little guilty, she still pretended to be calm and said with certainty.

"Your Highness, that's right. Jiu'er is indeed my younger sister."

"Hmph...my own sister? Do you know where she is now?" Zhou Ji continued to ask.

His question confused Mei'er.

"She...she's in the back room of the courtyard where I live!"

"How dare you!" Zhou Ji picked up the teacup that the maid had just brought and smashed it in front of Mei'er.

"You still dare to lie to me? I already sent people to look for her, and your sister isn't even in the courtyard. Now that Mr. Hua has been murdered, tell me, who killed him?"

At this moment, Mei'er finally remembered the bloody scene she had seen before she fainted.