FBC – Chapter 36 Snatching People

The thirteen-year-old boy stood with a straight posture, gentle and refined in demeanor—a child anyone would instantly take a liking to at first glance.

He looked in surprise at the rarely-seen Second Sister, then respectfully bowed to his mother.

Turning toward Gu Hua, he cupped his hands and greeted, “Second Sister.”

Tears welled up in Gu Hua’s eyes again. She quickly wiped them away and turned to Shen Li.

“Miss Shen, sorry to trouble you.”

Shen Li took out her pulse pillow.

Madam Wang, who already trusted Shen Li deeply, pulled her bewildered son over. “Be good. Put your hand here and let Sister Shen check your pulse.”

Gu Ruiwen obediently placed his wrist on the pillow.

Shen Li quickly came to a conclusion. “Same as Madam, no need to test with needles. The poison is roughly the same, but since the young master is younger, the poisoning is a bit more severe.”

Madam Wang turned pale and staggered, nearly fainting.

“The same? Mother is poisoned too? Who did it?!”

The small boy’s face filled with shock. Though he tried hard to remain calm on the surface, the trembling hand clutching Madam Wang’s revealed his inner fear.

Gu Hua’s heart also clenched.

“Miss Shen, is there enough medicine for the both of them?”

“Enough for two days.”

Madam Wang’s face was bloodless.

Shen Li said casually, “I need to check what kind of poison it is and make a targeted antidote. Two days is enough. Don’t panic.”

Gu Hua steadied her emotions. “Mother, don’t let anyone else know for now. That includes… Father.”

Madam Wang nodded tearfully. “I understand.”

Her husband had been favoring Concubine Pei for years—especially this past year, when the Marquis Manor had been running at a deficit and depended on the Concubine Pei family’s financial support. He had become even more indulgent of her.

Without solid proof, her husband would never believe it and might even alert the enemy.

Or perhaps…

Even if he knew the truth, he might still choose to protect Concubine Pei—after all, silver and the future of the Marquis Manor were more important than the lives of mother and child.

No one had any appetite, and they barely managed to finish lunch. Granny Zhou instructed the maids to escort Gu Hua and the others to rest in the guest courtyard.

Gu Hua hesitated a moment and knelt before Madam Wang. “Mother, since Brother Jin isn’t well either, I want to examine him too. But I don’t want Concubine Pei to find out. May I trouble you to help?”

Madam Wang had lost all color in her face. If both young masters of the Marquis Manor had problems, she, as the main wife, would lose her standing.

She quickly nodded. “Alright. I’ll have someone bring Brother Jin back from school and take him directly to the guest courtyard.”

“Thank you, Mother.”

Gu Hua reluctantly gave her goodbye salute, careful not to show too much emotion.

But just as she entered the guest courtyard, she saw Concubine Pei standing there with a few strong servant women.

Concubine Pei glared viciously at her but quickly changed to a fake smile.

“You, escort the three young ladies to their rooms. I have some private words for Hua.”

Zhou Zhilian was extremely sharp.

Seeing this setup, she immediately became alert.

She moved beside Gu Hua. “We are ordered to follow Second Miss. Wherever she goes, we go.”

Concubine Pei snorted coldly. “I gave birth to her—I still have the right to command her!”

She signaled to the strong servant women, who rushed forward to seize Gu Hua.

Gu Hua’s expression changed, and she quickly backed away.

With a swish, Zhou Zhilian drew a dagger from her waist and pointed it directly at the charging women.

She shouted sternly, “I’d like to see who dares to take another step!”

Dong Hua casually snatched a broom and held it crosswise. “It’s been a while since I had a fight—bring it on!”

Shen Li slowly drew out a silver needle.

The servant women had never seen such a scene and froze in fear.

Concubine Pei hadn’t expected that apart from the silver-needle-wielding lunatic, the other two girls would be so fierce.

She trembled as she pointed at Gu Hua. “Rebellion! Absolute rebellion! You’ve got wings now, huh? Turning your elbows out, joining outsiders to bully your own mother!”

Gu Hua naturally couldn’t go with her—who knew what she was planning?

She said coolly, “Concubine Pei, times have changed. I advise you to behave yourself.”

Concubine Pei glared at her hatefully, then stormed off with her group of women.

Gu Hua breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Zhou Zhilian and Dong Hua with admiration. “You both know martial arts?”

Zhou Zhilian sheathed her dagger with a grin. “Don’t forget, the Duke Yong’s manor is a military family. Everyone here has a few tricks up their sleeve. It’s just that we haven’t fought in a while, so we’re a bit stiff.”

Gu Hua clung to Zhou Zhilian’s arm like a fangirl. “Sister Zhou, teach me sometime!”

It could be useful for self-defense.

“Sure! You teach me to write, and I’ll teach you swordsmanship.”

“Yes, yes!” Gu Hua was overjoyed.

After they had dinner in the guest courtyard, one of Madam Wang’s maids arrived with Gu Jinwen, who had just returned from school.

Gu Jinwen was a year younger than Gu Ruiwen, but half a head shorter, skinny and small—he looked more like an eight-year-old.

As soon as he saw Gu Hua, he instinctively wanted to run to her, but he suddenly noticed three unfamiliar faces all staring at him.

He stopped in his tracks, eyes reddening as he softly murmured, “Second Sister… you’re back?”

Gu Hua’s heart ached. She went forward and patted his head. “Have you eaten?”

He nodded. “Just finished.”

Gu Hua spoke gently. “Let Sister Shen check your pulse.”

Gu Jinwen didn’t dare look directly at Shen Li, but obediently placed his hand on the pulse pillow.

Shen Li noticed the scars on his wrist and frowned. “How did it get like this?”

Gu Hua felt a pang of sorrow but didn’t explain.

Gu Jinwen flushed and tried to withdraw his hand, but Shen Li pressed it down. “What are you pulling away for? Sit still.”

After a while, she instructed, “Switch hands.”

Once both wrists were checked, she said calmly, “It’s nothing serious, but it’ll take effort to nurse him back.”

Gu Jinwen grew uneasy, not knowing what was wrong.

Shen Li frowned at the timid boy. “Kid, you need to walk 5,000 steps every day. Otherwise, you won’t live long.”

“Five thousand steps?” Gu Jinwen trembled.

“He gets winded easily when running. He’s weak and rarely exercises,” Gu Hua quickly explained.

“That’s exactly why he needs to run. Start with a slow jog. Once he can handle it, increase speed. He’s so short, he won’t find a wife in the future.”

Gu Hua couldn’t help but laugh as she saw Gu Jinwen’s flushed face.

She whispered, “Big Sister brought you tasty treats. Go eat them with Sister Dong Hua, okay?”

Gu Jinwen obediently followed Dong Hua, turning back every few steps to look at his Second Sister.

Gu Hua held back her emotions and called to a maid at the door, “Granny Du, come in. I have something to ask you.”

Granny Du had served Gu Jinwen since birth.

She bowed respectfully. “Greetings, Second Miss.”

Gu Hua smiled sweetly and handed her a brocade pouch. “Thank you for looking after my little brother.”

Granny Du weighed it discreetly—it had at least one or two taels of silver, half a year’s wages!

She immediately broke into a bright smile. “It’s my duty to care for Second Young Master. I don’t deserve your reward.”

Gu Hua’s tone shifted. “My little brother is frail. If anything happens to him, you’ll be the first to be punished. Don’t you think so, Granny Du?”

Granny Du hurriedly nodded. “Yes, Second Young Master has a small appetite and never grows.”

“Hmph, it’s probably all those random medicines!”

Shen Li interrupted coldly.

Granny Du’s face stiffened. “Second Young Master is sickly, so he’s taken a lot of medicine.”

“The problem is, it’s the wrong medicine,” Shen Li corrected sharply.

Granny Du’s face turned deathly pale.

_{I am confused here. What’s with concubine pie? Why is she doing all of this? She’s not doing for her son, because she’s abusing him too. So what’s the catch here? Or is this where, apart from supposed FL and ML all other characters behave like brainddead persons? what do you think?}