nd caused significant harm. Due to multiple offenses, he is sentenced to twenty-five lashes, confined to the ancestral hall, facing the spirits of our ancestors for a month of reflection, and copying...The doctor came to examine Gu Jingxi's pulse. It was strange that he had a high fever on such a hot day, so he asked Meng Jinyao what he had done and eaten in the past two days.

Meng Jin Yao spoke incoherently, claiming that her husband hadn't done anything out of the ordinary and hadn't eaten anything unusual. She said he had just felt hot last night, sweating all over and unable to sleep. He had taken a cold shower to cool down, but afterwards felt chilled so he covered himself with blankets and went to sleep. When she woke up this morning, she found him burning with fever and still unconscious.

The doctor listened intently and came to the conclusion that Gu Jingxi had caught a heatstroke, exacerbated by taking a cold shower after being in the heat. The sudden change in temperature caused his condition to worsen, leading to a high fever. He was burning up with fever, and if it wasn't brought down soon, his life would be in danger.

Then, the doctor wrote a prescription and instructed Meng Jinyao to keep the patient's diet light before leaving.

Meng Jinyu had someone send for a doctor and also gave the medicine prescription to a maid, instructing her to quickly fetch the medicine.

After finishing all of this, Meng Jin Yao returned to the room and saw that her husband was still lying there asleep. Although she knew he was fine, seeing him still unconscious made her feel a little worried. She couldn't figure out how he had managed to fool everyone like this, even the doctor.

After a long while, Gu Jingxi slowly woke up. He saw his little wife sitting by the bed, staring at him with wide eyes, her gaze filled with worry.

Seeing him open his eyes, Meng Jin Yao hurriedly asked, “My husband, how are you feeling now Is there anything uncomfortable”

Gu Jingxi said softly, "Don't worry, Yao'er. I'm fine, just a little feverish. Would you like to ask the doctor to take a look"

Meng Jinyao nodded: "The doctor just came by a while ago. He said you had a high fever, and your condition was quite serious. If it doesn't come down soon, it could be life-threatening."

Hearing this, Gu Jingxi gave her a approving glance and said, "Go to the dressing table's drawer and get me that white porcelain bottle for me."

Meng Jin Yao, hearing this, hurriedly went to get the things for him.

Gu Jingxi took the porcelain bottle, poured out a pill-like thing from inside and swallowed it. After about a minute or so, the unnatural redness on his face slowly subsided, returning to its normal color, and his body no longer felt feverish.

Meng Jin Yao seeing this, felt it was magical, and asked: "Husband, what is this"

Gu Jingxi replied, "This is a fever-reducing medicine. If you take another type of medicine, it will make you look like you have a high fever. An ordinary doctor wouldn't notice anything amiss. These are all things concocted by Wen Taishi. This old man specializes in developing such strange and unusual things, but they can be quite useful at critical moments."

Then Meng Jingyao asked, "Is this kind of thing harmful to the body"

Gu Jingxi said: "It doesn't affect the body, Ayao rest assured"

Meng Jin Yao, after hearing this, was filled with admiration: "Dr. Wen is truly amazing. Not only is he skilled at treating illnesses, but he also makes beauty-enhancing ointments! I never expected that he could even create something like this. It's both safe and effective."

Gu Jingxi silently added a sentence in his heart: That old geezer would still go to the dusty corners of the study to find improper books.

For a moment, Gu Jingxi said, "Ayao, I'm ill and need to stay in Huizhou City for a few more days to recover."

Meng Jin Yao replied, "Husband, please rest assured, I will cooperate well."

Gu Jingxi's "illness" came on with a vengeance. After taking a dose of medicine, his fever subsided, and he "woke up." He drank a bowl of light congee and went back to sleep. Who knew that by the afternoon, he started running a fever again and wouldn't wake up no matter how much they called him.

Meng Jin Yao again ordered the maidservant to go to the apothecary according to the prescription given by the doctor this morning to fetch medicine and boil it.

He repeatedly developed a high fever and fell into a coma. His condition was critical, and Liu the steward and the other servants were worried sick. They all held their breath, praying that their master wouldn't suffer any harm. If anything happened to him, the Gu family would surely be thrown into turmoil. The Marquis had no sons, so if he died, either the eldest son would inherit his title according to seniority, or his wife would choose a successor from the clan to adopt and inherit.

Meng Jin Yao looked at her husband, who seemed refreshed and vigorous. She asked, "Husband, how long will you be sick"

Gu Jingxi smiled and said, "At least I need to be sick for three or four days. After I recover, I'll have to rest for another ten or eight days before I can set off back to Beijing. Otherwise, if my body isn't well-rested and I get tired on the road, it won't hold up."

Meng Jinyu glared at him: “You suddenly fell so ill, those servants almost thought I would be a young widow.”

won't leave you a widow.

Gu Jingxi, having said this, pulled her into his arms. Just as he was about to act mischievously, she stopped him and said, "My husband is still in a coma. Don't be reckless, or if we make too much noise later, the maidservants will misunderstand me. They'll probably think I don't even spare the patient."

Upon hearing this, Gu Jingxi suddenly felt downcast.

When night fell and the sky was completely dark, Gu Jingxi changed into her black night clothes and went out to do business.

To avoid suspicion, Meng Jin Yao didn't let her maid come in. She waited for him in the room for more than an hour, and she was already starting to feel sleepy, but he hadn't returned yet, so she fell asleep first.

-

Wei Mansion.

Gu Jingxi went to Deqing County on the pretext of visiting his elders, but Wei didn't take it lightly. He secretly sent someone to follow Gu Jingxi to Deqing County and set up a surveillance point near the county government office. After two days and two nights, they didn't see Gu Jingxi come out, seeming to be only visiting his elders as claimed.

Wei DaRen, listening to his confidant's report, let out half of the worry in his heart. He then asked, "When did Gu JingXi depart for Beijing today"

The attendant replied respectfully, "My lord, Marquis Gu and Madam Gu have not yet left Huizhou. It is said that Marquis Gu fell ill, delaying their journey."

"Are you ill" Lord Wei frowned, feeling that something was amiss. "How could you get sick so coincidentally"

The attendant replied, "I also asked the doctor who was treating Lord Gu, and he said it was due to heatstroke. Because he took a cold bath while feeling the chill, the sudden change in temperature overwhelmed his body, leading to a high fever."

"Master Wei's brows furrowed even tighter: 'What if the doctor is bribed and gives you false information'"

The attendant chimed in, "That's something I hadn't considered, but the physician did say that. Seeing his master's furrowed brows, he suggested, "Master, Lord Gu is ill. You should visit him with a gift. Whether he's truly sick or feigning illness, you'll know at a glance. If Lady Gu tries to stop you from visiting, then she's definitely up to something.

Upon hearing this, Wei the Elder praised: "This is a good idea. You're quite clever."

The attendant said humbly, "It is my honor to be able to share the burden for you."

On the roof, Gu Jingxi and Yu Chuan listened to their conversation.

Yuchuan glanced at his master, his voice as soft as a mosquito's whine: "Lord Hou, this study has been carefully searched by the little one, there is no secret compartment, the study is full of books, and there are no account books. You will have to search again later"

Gu Jingxi shook her head slightly.

At this moment, the sound of talking in the study below had ceased, and the attendants had left.

Soon after, Master Wei also left the study and headed to his courtyard with Madam Wei. As soon as he entered the courtyard, he ordered a maid to prepare water, apparently preparing for a bath, dressing up, and then going to bed.

Mrs. Wei saw him, her smile froze for a moment, but because of the maid present, she quickly recovered and spoke to him in a gentle voice.

The maidservant prepared a bath, and Lord Wei went to the clean room to bathe. He did not need a maidservant to attend him while he bathed.

When Gu Jingxi saw him enter the meditation chamber, he went to the roof of the meditation chamber and lifted a tile to look down.

Yuchuan: "..."

What's there to see about men taking a shower We are all guys.

Thinking about this, Yu Chuan also pried open a tile and took a glance. He figured he might as well get a feel for the Lord Hou's peculiar habit. With Wei Da Ren's physique, glancing at it would be an insult, yet he could still discern a flower which managed to fool him. Otherwise, if the old uncle had found out that the mistress was missing, it would have been them who suffered. Because as the mistress's chief maidservants, they were the m...