Rong Zhi said helplessly, "As a doctor, how frustrating it is to see a patient poisoned and be unable to treat them?"
Xia Yunting's eyes flickered. He seemed to recall something and said meaningfully, "It's precisely because you're like this that you..."
Xia Yunting didn't finish the latter half of his sentence. Rong Zhi was curious, "That I what?"
"Nothing... I mean, since you want to treat people so badly, why don't you treat me?"
"What's wrong with you? Are you injured?" Rong Zhi looked at Xia Yunting nervously upon hearing this.
Xia Yunting covered his forehead and frowned slightly. "No, I just have insomnia and dream a lot, and I can't sleep soundly. Xiao Mo, a little massage would do me good."
A while later, Rong Zhi was in Xia Yunting's bedroom. The man beside her was already fast asleep, his hand still tightly clutching her sleeve. Rong Zhi felt she might have been tricked.
Insomnia and nightmares? It hadn't even been fifteen minutes. She had only massaged a few acupoints on Xia Yunting, and now he was sleeping like a log, completely unconscious.
Rong Zhi felt that Xia Yunting had just tricked her into serving him. Yet, she couldn't leave now. Although Xia Yunting was asleep, his grip was so tight that Rong Zhi couldn't break free. She could only sleep next to him in her clothes. The next moment, a long arm pressed down on her.
Rong Zhi's back was facing Xia Yunting, so she couldn't see the slow curve of his lips.
The next day, Rong Zhi returned early. After all, she was officially Xing Jiahui's maid. If she returned too late and was caught by Madam Gu, it would be troublesome. Being punished was a minor issue, but if Madam Gu and Xia Jin colluded, and they found out what they shouldn't, Rong Zhi, the undercover agent, would be exposed.
Fortunately, Madam Gu wasn't in a position to pick on her because she hadn't shown up all morning. Rong Zhi recalled Xia Jin's bloodletting incident yesterday, and assumed Madam Gu's absence was related to it.
"Chun Tao, why don't I see Madam Gu?" Xing Jiahui also noticed Madam Gu's absence and asked about her after breakfast.
Rong Zhi could only reply, "Madam, this servant also didn't see Madam Gu this morning. Perhaps Madam Gu is overworked and hasn't woken up yet."
As soon as she finished speaking, Rong Zhi noticed Xing Jiahui's gaze on her, as if she could see through her just by looking at her.
"Chun Tao, can you leave the General's Mansion?"
Rong Zhi replied, "Madam, only those responsible for procurement can enter and leave the General's Mansion freely. This servant was previously a common maid for cleaning the back courtyard, and now serves you. I cannot leave the mansion. If Madam has any needs, this servant can ask Madam Gu to handle it."
"Then I'll just ask Madam Gu directly, won't I? What do I need you for?" Xing Jiahui's tone was impatient, seemingly dissatisfied with Rong Zhi's answer.
Rong Zhi wasn't foolish. The rules were the same throughout the General's Mansion. If she, a common maid, could leave the mansion freely, wouldn't she be exposed?
However, why did Xing Jiahui ask this? Why didn't she ask Madam Gu? Could it be that Xing Jiahui also suspected something was amiss with Madam Gu?
Thinking of this, Rong Zhi suddenly changed her tune, "Madam, this servant knows a young guard at the gate who is quite friendly with Dong Mei. He could turn a blind eye and let me out. Does Madam want something to eat?"
"Really?" Only then did Xing Jiahui look at Rong Zhi properly. She saw that Rong Zhi was plain-looking and not the most outstanding among the previous four maids, so she didn't harbor as much hostility towards her as she did towards Dong Mei.
"I want to eat the chestnut cakes from Old Li's shop in the south of the city. Go and get me some."
Rong Zhi agreed, "Yes," and left Xing Jiahui's courtyard.
She didn't go to the young guard directly. Instead, she went to find Xia Yunting and told him directly that she needed to go out, and then left through the main gate.
Strictly speaking, Xing Jiahui was the legitimate madam of the General's Mansion. If she wanted something to eat, wouldn't there be plenty of people eager to fetch it for her? But now, none of the people in Xing Jiahui's courtyard were loyal, so Xing Jiahui had no choice but to ask Rong Zhi to do this.
It was quite pathetic to think about.
Rong Zhi arrived at the location Xing Jiahui mentioned and bought a pound of chestnut cakes. When paying, Rong Zhi suddenly felt as if a pair of eyes were watching her from behind.
She didn't turn around immediately. As she was about to return to the General's Mansion, Rong Zhi suddenly turned her head and saw a man disguised as a sugar-coated haw vendor in the crowd, staring intently in her direction.
His face clearly conveyed "This person is clearly no ordinary person."
Rong Zhi quickly averted her gaze.
Her current attire was that of an ordinary maid in the General's Mansion, looking unremarkable and unlikely to attract any attention. Why was that person looking at her with such eyes just now?
But when Rong Zhi tried to look at that person again, he had already disappeared into the crowd. If she hadn't paid attention, she might have thought that glance was just her imagination. But only Rong Zhi knew that the glance just now was by no means how a normal person would look at others.
"Madam, the chestnut cakes are back," Rong Zhi handed the bought chestnut cakes to Xing Jiahui.
Xing Jiahui took the paper bag and looked at Rong Zhi with disbelief. Her expression was as if she had seen chestnut cakes for the first time in her life, filled with deep surprise.
This made Rong Zhi feel rather baffled. What was going on?
Xing Jiahui didn't eat them immediately. Instead, she put the chestnut cakes aside and asked Rong Zhi, "How did you get out?"
Rong Zhi replied truthfully, "This servant sought the General's permission. The General said this servant could go out."
"The General? The General saw you?" Xing Jiahui's voice suddenly rose, filled with excitement. She was afraid she had misheard, so she asked again.
After receiving a positive answer, the excitement in Xing Jiahui's eyes could no longer be suppressed.
Rong Zhi lowered her head, thinking that Xing Jiahui was probably confined and hadn't seen Xia Yunting for a long time, so she assumed everyone in the General's Mansion couldn't see him.
In fact, if it was for official business, Xia Yunting wasn't that difficult to see.
As she was lost in thought, her hand suddenly felt a weight. The chestnut cakes had already landed in Rong Zhi's palm.
"This is a reward for your excellent service. Tonight, you will do one more thing for me."
Rong Zhi looked up, "What is it?"
That night, Rong Zhi waited outside Madam Gu's door, not understanding what Xing Jiahui was planning.
She was asked to watch Madam Gu?
Today, Madam Gu claimed to be ill and had been lying in her room all day. Rong Zhi pretended to be watching Madam Gu, but in reality, she was just freezing outside Madam Gu's room.
After waiting all day, there was no movement from inside. Just as Rong Zhi thought there would be no gain today, a rustling sound suddenly came from inside. It sounded like Madam Gu was changing clothes.
Rong Zhi quickly hid. A moment later, Rong Zhi heard footsteps from inside. Madam Gu pushed the door open. Seeing no one outside, she left the courtyard and headed straight towards Xia Jin's courtyard.
Rong Zhi also quietly followed.
With the experience from last time, Rong Zhi had a rough idea of why Madam Gu was going to see Xia Jin. She deliberately maintained a distance, and before long, she sensed someone behind her.
Rong Zhi immediately guessed it was Xing Jiahui, because the footsteps behind her were very disordered, and she seemed unable to conceal her presence.
Rong Zhi suddenly had a guess: Xing Jiahui didn't know what Madam Gu was doing behind her back, which was why Xing Jiahui had asked Rong Zhi to follow Madam Gu.
If Xing Jiahui knew what Xia Jin was doing, she would probably be terribly shocked.
As expected, it wasn't long before a scream from Madam Gu came from Xia Jin's room, though it was much quieter than last time.
Rong Zhi felt Xing Jiahui's gaze fixed on her.
She remembered that her current identity was just an ordinary maid. If she saw such a scene and remained indifferent, it would not be the reaction of an ordinary maid.
Moreover, an ordinary maid couldn't eavesdrop outside without being discovered, especially when the other party was Xia Jin.
She almost revealed herself.
Rong Zhi, after thinking this through, deliberately let out a cry of alarm.
"Who?" The person inside was at the door in an instant, with a murderous look on his face.
It was Xia Jin. Madam Gu had not appeared.
Rong Zhi thought that since Xia Yunting didn't intend to punish Xia Jin yet, she couldn't openly fall out with him. So, she pretended to be scared and pointed inside, asking Xia Jin, "Steward, what are you doing?"
"What business is it of yours?" Xia Jin saw that it was one of those four girls and his expression became even more impatient.
"Get lost!"
Rong Zhi shouted, "I heard Madam Gu's voice. Madam Gu belongs to Madam. What did you do to Madam Gu?"
Xia Jin snorted, not intending to pay attention to Rong Zhi. He turned to go back inside and close the door. At this moment, Rong Zhi suddenly turned around and shouted, "Madam, please save Madam Gu!"
Xia Jin suddenly stopped in his tracks and looked around. Finally, his gaze settled behind a tree not far away.
Xing Jiahui walked out with a very grim expression.
She didn't know when she had been discovered. This maid was so bold as to directly point her out.
She had noticed Madam Gu acting suspiciously these past two days and wanted to use this maid to find out what Madam Gu was up to. She hadn't expected this little maid to have such sharp eyes and recognize her.
"So it's Madam." Xia Jin saw Xing Jiahui and bowed with a fake smile, "It's late at night, Madam. Why aren't you sleeping and instead have come to my servant's quarters? Is there something you need?"
Although he appeared respectful, Xia Jin's attitude was far from it. In his opinion, Xing Jiahui had been confined not long after entering the General's Mansion, which was unheard of in the entire imperial city, indicating that Xing Jiahui was useless.
There was no need to be too respectful to useless people.
How could Xing Jiahui not see this attitude? She put on a stern face, walked closer, and said coldly, "Madam Gu was acting suspiciously late at night, and I sensed something was wrong. I didn't expect she would be here with you. What exactly are you doing behind my back? Confess everything, or don't blame me for telling the General."
Faced with such an accusation, Xia Jin surprisingly showed no deference. "If I'm not mistaken, Madam is still under confinement, isn't she? Aren't you afraid the General will blame you for leaving your courtyard privately?"
"You..."