Ji Zizhao waited until her two younger sisters had left before looking at Qing Zhu beside her. "The pharmacies in the city are probably all closed by now. You go to Ji Shi Guan yourself and have Uncle Sun entertain Madam Xu."
"Why doesn't Young Lady ask Shopkeeper Xin and Shopkeeper Wang?" Qing Zhu frowned. What good was Madam Xu? Wasn't she the one who had personally handled Xin Lan's matter before?
"I've never hidden the family's disputes from them. Uncle Xin and Uncle Wang have tempers that are too fiery. Madam Xu is currently distraught. If she were to be further provoked by Uncle Xin and Uncle Wang and collapse, who would take care of Grandmother?"
Although Uncle Sun was used to backstabbing, he at least maintained a semblance of propriety on the surface.
Seeing that her young lady had said so, Qing Zhu could only obey and leave the main courtyard.
Half an hour later, Madam Xu returned to the main courtyard with the medicine.
The moment she entered, she saw the eldest young lady meticulously wiping the old madam's body with a damp soft cloth.
Madam Xu's eyes immediately turned red. "How can these menial tasks be done by the eldest young lady? Leave it to this old servant."
Ji Zizhao did not refuse. After handing the soft cloth to Madam Xu, she instructed, "Grandmother's diet must be light, but she still needs to get the necessary nutrition. Her staple foods should be buckwheat, soybeans, and millet. Avoid salty and greasy foods."
Madam Xu nodded with red eyes. She truly hadn't expected that after enduring so much, the eldest young lady could still care for the old madam so attentively. "Young Lady, about Xin Lan's matter, this old servant..."
"Madam Xu is someone by Grandmother's side, and it's only natural to serve Grandmother." Xin Lan was already dead, and what had happened had happened. Dwelling on the past now would only increase sadness and solve nothing.
Madam Xu nodded. "Young Lady is right. This old servant was confused."
Ji Zizhao then looked at Madam Xu and asked, "Before I returned, did anything happen in the manor?"
Grandmother's stroke was sudden. Without a strong stimulus, it would not have become so severe.
Madam Xu knew this matter could not be hidden. Thinking of how the young lady had fallen out with the old madam because of Xin Lan, she dared not conceal anything further. She quickly turned to a drawer by the side and took out a letter.
"Before the old madam fell ill, she was reading a letter from the Tong family. I hid the letter earlier because there were too many people around."
As soon as Ji Zizhao heard it was a letter from the Tong family, she understood everything.
When she lowered her gaze and looked at the letter in her hand, she indeed saw that every word was a condemnation of her personally requesting the Emperor to abolish the hereditary succession of the Ji family.
"I didn't expect the Old Master Tong to interfere in other people's family affairs." Madam Xu had also read the letter. In fact, she was more perplexed as to why the young lady had pushed the Ji family to such a dead end. But she dared not ask such a question now, so she could only vent her frustration by cursing Old Master Tong.
"Even Madam knows that it is wrong for men to interfere in other people's family affairs. How could Old Master Tong make such a low-level mistake? Looking at this letter, every sentence is a complaint and every word is a grievance. It is clearly intended to incite Grandmother to punish me."
"Does Young Lady mean this is Madam Tong's idea?" Madam Xu was truly angered. She no longer even referred to the First Madam by her surname.
Ji Zizhao shook her head. Even if Gu Peilan had such schemes, she wouldn't have that much status in the Tong family.
She suspected Ji Renran was the mastermind.
"I never expected this... I truly never expected it... This old servant will go to the Tong family right now to demand an explanation!" Madam Xu had been busy in the inner court for most of her life and naturally wasn't without some cunning.
Even if the young lady hadn't said it, she knew that this letter, which had informed the old madam, was intended to use the old madam's hand to punish the young lady. As a result, it had instead provoked the old madam into falling ill.
Although the matter of hereditary succession was something the young lady had handled improperly.
Did that mean the person who wrote the letter was right?
The old madam was old and could not withstand such a shock.
To put it bluntly, the person who wrote the letter probably didn't even consider the old madam's life or death.
"Even if Madam goes to their door now, what good will it do? The Tong family merely wrote a letter stating the facts. At that time, not only will Madam fail to get justice, but she might even be bitten back by the Tong family."
Old Master Tong had been an official his entire life; he was not a fool.
Now that he was willing to be Ji Renran's pawn, he was probably trying to force the Ji family to make a scene.
This way, the Tong family could take the opportunity to send Gu Peilan's family back to the Ji family in one go. Su Dan Novel Network
Not to mention Gu Peilan and Ji Renran, Ji Zongyou still owed her a debt. Ji Zizhao would naturally not agree to their easy return.
"Then what does Young Lady think should be done?" Madam Xu was truly at a loss.
"The person who wrote the letter to Grandmother naturally hopes that Grandmother will severely punish me. Similarly, they will be all ears waiting for news. But what will happen if they don't receive any news for a long time?"
They would surely be restless and anxious!
Madam Xu immediately understood. "Young Lady, please rest assured. This old servant will make arrangements now. I will ensure that everyone in the manor keeps their mouths shut and guarantees that not a single word leaks out!"
Ji Zizhao smiled and nodded.
Making a fuss at their door was only a temporary lesson. To make someone completely collapse required long-term torment.
Those who are eager to recover from illness are also in a hurry.
Often, the most life-draining are chronic illnesses.
"Ah ah ah... ah ah ah..."
The old madam, lying on the soft couch, had completely woken up. However, even though her mind and consciousness were no different from a normal person, she was now unable to speak and unable to move her hands.
She could only open her mouth and glare angrily at Ji Zizhao, shouting repeatedly to vent her inner rage.
The old madam knew clearly that Ji Zizhao had always looked down on Ji Zongyou and Ji Renran. But didn't Ji Zizhao consider that they were her sister and brother, and that Ji Zizhao's father's blood flowed in their veins!
She admitted that she was biased towards Ji Zongyou, but it was for the sake of the Ji family.
The old madam knew that Ji Zizhao would not be happy after Ji Zongyou was sent away. But she thought that they were family after all, and the matter would pass. She never expected Ji Zizhao to be so ruthless, using such a method to take revenge on her for a dead servant!
"Does Grandmother hate me?" Ji Zizhao, who was about to get up and leave, sat back down beside the soft couch.
The old madam glared at Ji Zizhao intensely. Hatred was natural. If it weren't for Ji Zizhao, how would she have ended up like this!
"Grandmother can hate me, because from the moment I made my decision, I no longer cared about Grandmother's thoughts. But please, Grandmother, think clearly about whose doing it is that you have become like this."
The old madam's heart jumped.
She was indeed angered by the letter, but she absolutely did not believe that her beloved grandchildren would harm her.
Ultimately, it was Ji Zizhao's heartlessness.