Chapter 49 Old Madam Mo Wakes Up

Why was everyone in Madam Mo's room glaring at her with such hostility?

Ignoring them, Chu Xi walked straight up to Madam Mo's bedside.

Seeing that the old lady was already awake and her eyes were open, Chu Xi smiled joyfully and said, "Madam, you're awake. That's wonderful." With that, her eyes reddened and her voice choked with emotion.

Zhao Cheng held up a handkerchief, shook it open right in front of Chu Xi, and asked, "Miss Chu, is this yours?"

Chu Xi glanced at it and nodded. "Yes, this handkerchief is mine. I had no idea where I dropped it and was just looking for it." She reached out to take it, but Zhao Cheng flicked his wrist, causing her to grab at empty air.

Noticing the anger in his eyes, Chu Xi felt perplexed and asked, "Steward Zhao, how has this handkerchief offended you?"

Zhao Cheng then spread the handkerchief out fully and challenged, "Does Miss Chu recognize the pattern embroidered on this?"

Caiping, standing closely behind her, had already spotted it and felt her heart sink into her stomach.

At this, Chu Xi looked closely at the fabric and finally realized with a start that the embroidery depicted three pitch-black crows.

During the three years she had been imprisoned in the Duke Zhenguo's Mansion, they had suffered from constant starvation and bitter cold, which had forced her to develop a thrifty habit. This handkerchief had originally been discarded by someone else; she had picked it up and kept using it to this day, never once paying attention to the fact that the pattern on it was actually three crows associated with witchcraft and curses.

Now Chu Xi finally understood why everyone in the room had looked at her with such fury.

After all, three crows symbolized a curse, and three together signified a curse of utter destruction upon an entire family.

Chu Xi hurriedly explained, "Steward Zhao, I only noticed the pattern just now. I've never looked at it closely before. I'll have someone burn it right away."

Caiping instinctively wanted to step forward, but Zhao Cheng intercepted her, handing the handkerchief to a servant with the command, "Take this and burn it immediately."

Filled with deep regret, Chu Xi looked apologetically around the room.

With a dark expression, Zhao Cheng said, "Miss Chu, let this be the last time. From now on, no such objects must ever appear within this General's Mansion again."

"Rest assured, Steward Zhao, Chu Xi will be extremely careful from now on."

"Enough," came the extremely frail voice of the old lady from the bed.

Chu Xi hurriedly leaned over and asked, "Madam, are you feeling better?"

Madam Mo looked at her with a feeble gaze filled with a complex and tangled web of emotions.

Several times she parted her lips as if to speak, only to swallow the words back down.

Seeing this, Chu Xi felt a twinge of doubt, but she kept her silence.

At that moment, Mother Wang spoke up, "Miss Chu, starting today, I shall be the one attending to Madam. You need not trouble yourself any further."

Hearing the peculiar tone in Mother Wang's voice—which sounded precisely as though she were being guarded against—Chu Xi stood up and asked, "Is Madam completely out of danger now?"

Zhao Cheng shook his head at her with a worried look.

"Then..." She wanted to ask whether the old lady had revealed who had poisoned her.

Understanding her intent, Zhao Cheng shook his head again and answered, "She hasn't said."

Chu Xi sighed softly. "Since that is the case, I shall take my leave first. If I am needed, just call for me at any time." Knowing her presence was unwelcome, she wisely chose not to linger.

On her way back, Chu Xi turned her head repeatedly to look back at the old lady's courtyard.

Caiping asked with a puzzled expression, "What is wrong with our young lady? Since the old lady is awake and hasn't accused you of the poisoning, you should set your mind at ease."

Yet Chu Xi faintly felt that something was amiss; a persistent premonition of impending doom lingered in her heart, refusing to dissipate.

Upon returning to her courtyard, she sat down and resumed her embroidery. Around noon, she heard voices speaking outside.

Recognizing the voices of Wang Mu and the eunuch dispatched from the palace to inspect her embroidery, a wave of relief washed over her, as if a heavy stone had finally dropped from her chest.

Moments later, the eunuch stepped inside. Chu Xi rose and bowed respectfully, "Greetings, Eunuch Li."

Eunuch Li stepped forward to inspect the hundred-birds-paying-homage-to-the-phoenix embroidery piece she was working on. "My, what magnificent craftsmanship and superb skill! You've embroidered these birds so vividly that they look completely real. I shall report this to the Empress Dowager the moment I return, so she can rest easy."

His shrill voice made Chu Xi smile faintly without a word, her handsome and docile demeanor instantly winning the eunuch's favor.

"Very well, I shall report this back to the Empress Dowager." How could Eunuch Li, well-versed in the ways of the world, fail to understand why Wang Mu had intercepted him earlier and brought those matters to his attention?

Hearing this, Chu Xi curtsied and said with utmost respect, "Thank you, Eunuch Li." Her calm and composed reaction amidst chaos commanded his deep admiration.

"No need for thanks. I can see this piece will still take some time to finish. There is no rush; embroider it slowly. All I need to do is return and make my report to the Empress Dowager."

The underlying meaning of his words was clear: take your time with the embroidery. Should any disaster truly strike, as long as this piece remained unfinished, she would be safe. It would buy her time to seek a way out and stall until the General returned.

Clever as she was, Chu Xi grasped the hint instantly and offered her thanks once more, "Thank you, Eunuch Li, for your deep consideration. Chu Xi will certainly ensure this embroidery satisfies the Empress Dowager completely."

After seeing Eunuch Li off, Chu Xi let out a long breath of profound relief.

Caiping brought her a bowl of ginseng soup, which she drank in one rare, unbroken gulp, before lying down on the arhat bed for a brief nap.

Seeing her behave so unusually, Caiping grew frantic with anxiety.

"Young lady, what is the matter with you? You look as though you are steeling yourself for a fierce battle."

Raising her gaze, Chu Xi smiled at her and said, "I simply wish to recover my strength sooner. Stop worrying and letting your imagination run wild."

Suddenly, Wang Mu rushed in in a panic. "Young lady, Caiping, when I went to see Eunuch Li off just now, I ran into the Junior Minister of the Court of Judicial Review entering the mansion right at the front gates."

The needle in Chu Xi's hand froze. "Steward Zhao reported the case to the authorities yesterday. It is only natural for the Junior Minister of the Court of Judicial Review to come and investigate."

Just then, a voice called out from outside, "Miss Chu, the Junior Minister of the Court of Judicial Review requests your presence in the front hall."

The breath Chu Xi had just exhaled instantly rushed back up into her throat.