My elder sister forced me to become a concubine; I was reborn and remarried into the emperor's

The maid then recounted the whole story.

Since the West Garden was surrounded by guards, everyone who enters and exits has been recorded, and their food and drink are delivered to them by outsiders every day.

Aside from Wei Nanxun initially breaking through the courtyard gate and being threatened, the two, mistress and servant, obediently stayed inside. The other servants in the courtyard were easily swayed by the wind; knowing that Wang was in charge of the household, they naturally wouldn't oppose their mistress.

To this day, Xiyuan has remained peaceful and has not experienced any accidents.

Yesterday, a steward named Qiu said he wanted to enter the courtyard to find a young lady and had something to report, but the guards stopped him because the young lady was unwell. Just in case, they also temporarily detained the steward.

Logically speaking, nothing has happened, and things should proceed smoothly until next month.

But this morning, Zhixia suddenly ran out and said that Wei Nanxun was sick. He had a fever all night and couldn't eat anything and vomited. Moreover, his whole body was covered with red rashes.

The guards, of course, didn't believe it and sent the man back.

Unexpectedly, a maidservant went to deliver the meal and discovered Zhixia lying by the bedside. She was also burning up with fever, her face was flushed, and her face and hands were covered with small red rashes, making her look extremely frightening.

Wang's first reaction was disbelief. How could someone be suffering from an epidemic? Could it just be a common cold? She frowned and asked, "Have you seen a doctor?"

The maid nodded: "It just so happens that Doctor Hu from the eldest young lady's courtyard was just about to leave after taking her pulse when he heard about this and was invited over."

"What did the doctor say?"

"Doctor Hu took one look at the illness and was so frightened that he wanted to leave, saying that he couldn't diagnose it. We had to plead with him, and he finally put on a veil and came over to take the patient's pulse. He said that it was almost certainly the case. After that, he wrote a prescription and fled in a panic, even losing his outer robe when he left. Now, half of the guards outside the West Garden have run away, and everyone in the manor is in a panic. They all say that Seventh Miss has a plague, and that people will die."

Wang still felt something was amiss: "Wei Nanxun hasn't gone anywhere, she's been staying in her room perfectly fine, how could she possibly have contracted the plague? Could she be faking it?"

The old woman serving by his side, who was knowledgeable and experienced, whispered, "Madam, you may not know this, but if a person comes into contact with a diseased animal, they will be infected with this evil disease. The West Garden is a remote place, full of wild cats, insects and rats. Maybe it was bitten by something bad."

Although Wang did not believe it, the epidemic was not something that could be contracted by children, especially in the sweltering heat of summer, when it was easy for the virus to spread.

If the scandal spreads throughout the Wei family and even the capital, it could affect the future of the entire Wei family, especially since her precious daughter is carrying the eldest grandson of the emperor, and there can be no mishaps.

She immediately told the old lady and Wei Rongxuan about it. The three of them sat around the table, all with solemn expressions.

"Has the eldest son's wife gone to find another doctor?"

"Mother, this kind of thing requires a doctor who keeps his mouth shut. Our family usually uses Doctor Hu. But my daughter-in-law had someone write down Seventh Girl's symptoms and take them to the pharmacy to ask. They all said it was pretty close to the truth."

"Do you think it's possible that she's faking it?"

“My daughter-in-law thinks it’s unlikely. She’s been confined to her quarters these past few days, and someone has been watching her the whole time. She hasn’t stepped out of the courtyard even once. She couldn’t fake such an illness. Besides, being able to marry the Crown Prince is a blessing she’s earned over several lifetimes. Others would kill for it. Why would she go to such lengths to pretend to be sick?”

For a moment, the room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. After a long while, Old Madam Wei said, "Eldest daughter-in-law is right. Then let's think of a way to get him out of the city. Even if he dies, he can't die in the mansion."

Wang Shi strongly agreed with this idea. She had long disliked Wei Nanxun, thinking she was a seductive vixen. If it weren't for a last resort, why would she let her into the palace to compete for the Crown Prince's favor?

Only Wei Rongxuan disagreed: "This person was specifically requested by the Crown Prince to stay. It would be inappropriate for us to act on our own without informing the Crown Prince after such an incident. Moreover, before my second brother left the capital, I promised to take care of his two children. I already feel guilty for sending his daughter to marry into the Eastern Palace without asking his opinion. Now that A-Xun is seriously ill, how can we drive her out of the mansion and abandon her? Mother, I cannot do it."

“Didn’t the Crown Prince leave the capital on official business a few days ago? The Crown Prince is a reasonable person. We’ll tell him the truth when he returns. Do you think he would make things difficult for the Yue family for the sake of Wei Nanxun?”

Regardless of what Madam Wang and the old lady said, Wei Rongxuan still disagreed. He insisted on finding a doctor to treat Wei Nanxun as soon as possible and make sure she recovered.

Just as the three were disagreeing, someone pushed open the door and barged in.

"Father, are you only concerned about being worthy of Second Uncle, and completely disregard your daughter's life or death?"

Wei Mingzhao's face was deathly pale. She gently stroked her lower abdomen and looked at Wei Rongxuan with tears in her eyes.

Her appearance made all three people in the room tense. It was Wang who reacted first and quickly stepped forward to help her to a chair: "Zhao'er, why didn't you stay in your room and take good care of your pregnancy? Why did you come here?"

"If I hadn't come, who knows how much longer we would have been kept in the dark. You actually wanted Wei Nanxun to marry me. Don't you know how restless she is? She managed to seduce the Crown Prince into breaking off the engagement. Who knows, she might even drug my food later and trick the Crown Prince into deposing me. Now she has this disease, and if things go wrong, the whole family will get infected. Father, don't you care at all about the life or death of your daughter and your unborn grandson?"

"Zhao'er, how did you know? Which loose-lipped, lowly servant girl..."

"Don't blame them, it was Mother who let it slip yesterday. Since Father feels indebted to Second Uncle and Seventh Sister, then let your daughter take care of them, so that Father can be at ease."

As he spoke, he actually turned to leave, which frightened Wang Shi so much that she hurriedly stepped forward to pull him away: "Zhao'er, Zhao'er! Don't go, let your mother go."

But Wei Mingzhao was unusually stubborn this time, and no amount of persuasion could dissuade her. Wang Shi could only look at Wei Rongxuan and say, "Master, are you only satisfied when you watch Zhao'er and her son go to their deaths?!"

With the mother and daughter threatening suicide, Wei Rongxuan, despite feeling guilty towards his younger brother, ultimately couldn't bring himself to be ruthless.

"Alright, alright, let's do as you say and send her out of the city. Let her go to the estate to recuperate first, and bring her back when she's better. I'll handle the Crown Prince."

-

The next day, just as dawn was breaking, a carriage with a green canopy was seen driving out of the back gate of the Wei residence.

The driver was wrapped in a thick cloth, and a fully armed old woman sat on the carriage shaft next to him. The two hurried as fast as they could and drove out of the city gate just as it opened.

The carriage bumped along the way, but finally arrived at the estate before sunset.

"Let's move the person down and put them in that small house over there. Let's get out of here quickly."

“Mama Wang, this isn’t right. Master instructed us to take good care of Seventh Miss.”

Madam Wang curled her lips, too lazy to pay attention to these two young women. They had to listen to the master, but the mistress held the power of life and death over them. If the mistress said to let them fend for themselves, who would dare to get involved in this mess?

"I've prepared all their clothes and food. How else can I take care of them? This is a life-threatening disease. If you miss, you can stay here. I have to leave as soon as possible."

He actually put the woman down and left. The driver hesitated for a moment, but when he saw the red rashes on the woman's exposed arm, he hurriedly followed her out.

"Aunt Wang, wait for me!"

After an unknown amount of time, the sky gradually darkened, and all was quiet.

The person on the wooden bed slowly propped themselves up and sat up: "Zhixia, wake up, we're out."