The Most Wicked Accusation

If she was half-driven by revenge before, Xiao Yue now had completely lost the drive to live on. Even if she was not revived, Xiao Yue was, as people liked to describe them that way, a barbarian. She liked to be free, wearing only one layer of cloth if possible, running with bare feet, swimming, and playing with tribe kids. Even helping her mother do some chores regarding their farm sounded a thousand times better than doing what Third Madam did every day: a big fat nothing.

Just like every other sleep-deprived person would do once a chance to sleep was given, Xiao Yue spent the next day sleeping. 'General Long Zhao Xue' left that very day, and his first wife sent him off. The Second Madam was still sitting the month so she was naturally excused. Where was the Third Madam? Why was she not visible at all in the farewell-bidding crowd?

"Where is the Third Madam?" someone would whisper.

A gasp was heard, then another question followed, "What? How do you not know about this?"

A few heads would stick together, and someone would lower their voice to share the news.

"Third Madam is not able to step off the bed. She is currently resting her body."

Some of the elder maids and servants immediately understood, but the younger ones innocently asked, "What happened?"

A kind sister then explained further, "Well what do you think happened? The general has been visiting the Third Madam's manor recently, and naturally she had to serve him. The maids and servants could hear their intense lovemaking from their own bed-chambers!"

The younger maids would flush but surprisingly did not excuse themselves from the conversation.

"If you ask me, Third Madam sure has strong stamina. The general is at the prime age of his life. Him wanting it every night is nothing extraordinary, but for the Third Madam to be able to satisfy him every night, enough for him to come again and again, well the Third Madam sure is capable!"

The maids aah-ed and ooh-ed.

"Can we expect the arrival of another young master soon?"

"You bet! Second Madam just gave birth. Of course, the general will not lie with her for a while. While he and the Third Madam started their marriage on the wrong foot, Third Madam has proven herself to be more than dedicated to turning a new leaf. The general as a healthy man with needs, when offered such love and attention by a young woman, how could he resist??"

A giggling round followed.

"Maybe the Third Madam is already expecting!"

"I will not be surprised if that's the case!"

The gossiping maids were so immersed in their chat that they had long since forgotten to keep their voices down. First Madam naturally heard about it but she remained indifferent. Unfortunately, the discussion continued even within each manor, so naturally, Second Madam also heard about it. Her beautiful face darkened more and more with every sentence uttered by the maids.

Invigorated by their mistress' strong position in the household, the maids and servants of Third Madam's manor worked extra hard to serve their mistress. No one openly said it, but everyone was hoping, praying that the Third Madam was indeed pregnant with a second young master. Xiao Yue was thus pampered to no end the moment she opened her eyes.

A maid was there to carefully help her get down from the bed. She took Xiao Yue's arm when the latter took a seat on a chair, afraid that Xiao Yue might accidentally fall down.

When Xiao Yue said she wanted to take a bath, a group of maids fussed about the bathwater temperature. They could not agree on the perfect temperature. For some it was too cold, for some it was too hot. Xiao Yue waited so long for the bath to be ready that she shooed them all and stepped into the bath, uncaring about the temperature. The next person who came inside was Yu Fen. Xiao Yue sighed in relief. Yu Fen was a senior maid. She would not act as crazily as the others...

Seeing that Xiao Yue was alone, Yu Fen let out a gasp.

"Young Lady how could you be taking bath alone??? Is there no one to scrub your back and watch over you???"

"..."

Xiao Yue had it with the excessive concern about her daily activities.

"What is wrong with everyone? Am I dying? Can I not do anything by myself anymore???"

Yu Fen gasped at Xiao Yue's ominous words.

"Young Lady!" she chastised. "How could you say something like that!"

She clasped her hands together and recited some sutra in a hurried tone. Xiao Yue rolled with her eyes and did not bother to voice a complaint when Yu Fen proceeded to scrub her skin ever so gently, as if Xiao Yue might tear upon excessive force.

After not tending to her little garden for days, weeds had started to grow wildly around her prized herbs. Absolutely an eyesore. It unexpectedly made Xiao Yue happy. Finally, there was something for her to do!

"YOUNG LADY AHHHHH!!!"

"No Third Madam don't!!!"

Xiao Yue did not care what the maids and servants were shrieking about. She took off the pesky shoes, tied up her dress, rolled up her sleeves, and got to work. The maids and servants helplessly took off their own shoes and boots to help her tidy up the garden.

After all weeds had been pulled out, Xiao Yue noticed something strange. Those who did not work directly with the plants might not notice, but Xiao Yue could see that some parts of the wolfsbane plants were missing.

"Did anyone touch this plant?" she asked, pointing at the purple, helmet-like flowers.

The maids gathered around the wolfsbane plant and one by one confirmed that they did not touch it.

"Third Madam has told us that the plant should not be touched, so we never touched it."

The others confirmed in unison.

Xiao Yue was deep in thought. A maid offered, "Third Madam, sometimes Second Young Master Long's dog, Bai Bai likes to come and mess up the garden... We always keep him away when we see him, but maybe he happened to chew on the flowers when we were not looking."

Xiao Yue smiled.

"Maybe," she said, while rubbing at a sharp cut at a stem.

She was pretty sure that someone cut some parts of the plant using a sharp tool, like a knife. Dogs, like most animals, knew to avoid poisonous items instinctively. Whatever Bai Bai chewed on when he came by, it was most definitely not the poisonous wolfsbane flower.

The missing parts disturbed Xiao Yue's peace of mind. She did not know who cut off her plant and for what. She only hoped that it was some mischievous guard who fell for the beauty of the flowers and went to present it to a love interest, who hopefully did not chew on it!

For safety measures, Xiao Yue dug out the plant and put it inside a large pot, and placed it in her living room near the window, where it could still get sunshine during the day.

It was around this time that Little Young Master Long Yan started to contract some fever. Newborn babies were prone to getting sick, so it was nothing out of ordinary. Nevertheless, the First Madam and Second Madam were quite busy tending to the feverish baby. None of them had prior experience with children so they were greatly panicked. Palace medics were summoned every day. After the baby's fever continued for three days, messages were sent to the palace to inform Long Zhao Feng, who was unfortunately gone on another mission from the king.

Xiao Yue did not feel right to mingle with the two madams at the time, so she only kept quiet, said and did nothing. On the fifth day just after breakfast time, Second Madam burst into Xiao Yue's manor. Her loose hair and pale face framed a pair of glaring, red-rimmed eyes. Adding that to her disheveled appearance, one could tell that she was extremely tired and agitated.

Xiao Yue had just opened her mouth to greet the Second Madam before the latter launched at her like a cheetah and they both fell on the floor with a loud thud.

Second Madam grabbed Xiao Yue by the lapels and managed to slam her a few times against the carpeted floor before Xiao Yue's attendants pulled her away.

"You wicked, wicked woman!" the Second Madam shouted at her.

"How dare you poison my child???"

Xiao Yue's eyes widened at the accusation. The watching crowd also gasped in surprise.