Xiang Yin felt extremely uncomfortable surrounded by unfamiliar men. "Miss, if you ask me, it's best to give up. With Eldest Miss holding up the household, even if you don't join the army, Eldest Miss will definitely not mistreat you in the future."
Ji Zixiu's eyebrows furrowed, and she reprimanded, "It's already difficult enough for Eldest Sister to support the Ji family. I can't rely on Eldest Sister for my entire life. Remember not to say such things again."
Xiang Yin lowered her head, rebuked, and after a long time, quietly said again, "If Second Madam finds out about you joining the army this time, what will you do, Miss?"
If Eldest Miss knew, she might be able to mediate.
But the problem now was that their own Miss joining the army was completely unknown to Eldest Miss.
Ji Zixiu took a bite of the dry steamed bun. "Once I'm successfully enlisted, I'll proactively confess to Mother. It's already a done deal, so even if Mother is unwilling, she'll have to agree."
Xiang Yin: "..."
Such a fait accompli...
Miss, you are truly confident that Second Madam cannot defeat you!
Inside the carriage, Princess Yun An curved her lips silently.
She hadn't expected Ji Zixiu to be so daring, to come and enlist alone in secret.
Turning her head, she looked at her stunned younger brother and chuckled, "Don't worry, I will definitely make Ji Zixiu obediently give up military service and go home."
Cao Yan's eyes lit up at these words. "Eldest Sister has a way?"
Princess Yun An nodded triumphantly and beckoned a maid standing by the carriage.
It was Ji Zizhao who was supposed to replace her in going to the Turks. Now, she didn't even spare Ji Zixiu a glance.
At this moment, Ji Zizhao was not at the Ji family's residence.
Chen Gang had everything prepared. Although the imperial court was to depart for Luoyang in three days, Chen Gang could not openly follow them.
Ji Zizhao arrived at the Xuan Yi Pavilion in advance, spread out the map drawn by Qing Zhu, and pointed to a red marker on it. "Tonight, Uncle Gang will lead his men to this location first. In three days, the imperial court's convoy will definitely pass by here. At that time, Uncle Gang only needs to quietly follow behind the convoy."
Chen Gang, however, was somewhat worried. "Master, the mountains and rivers of Luoyang seem to be incredibly profitable, but if they are truly divided among the Turks..."
Then they would be two countries. Even if they bought it with silver now, it was unlikely the Turks would acknowledge it then.
"Since the imperial court intends to send hostages and seek a marriage alliance, they don't plan to easily hand over Luoyang to the Turks." As long as the imperial court had this intention, even if she really plotted against the Turks, the Emperor would cover for her.
After all, for a country, sending hostages or forming a marriage alliance was less humiliating than ceding land.
"Now, which of the other great powers isn't eyeing us covetously? If the Turks could so easily snatch a piece of flesh from Yulin, other great powers might also be tempted to try their luck with Yulin."
The Emperor would not fail to understand such simple logic.
After arranging things with Chen Gang, Ji Zizhao got up and left the Xuan Yi Pavilion.
Sitting in the carriage, Ji Zizhao leaned wearily on the soft couch but felt no sleepiness.
The Turks were barbaric and cruel. Even though Ji Zizhao had already planned to find ways to protect Luoyang under the Emperor's wing, she could not afford to be careless.
At the entrance of the Ji family mansion.
A young servant who had been waiting at the entrance saw Eldest Miss's carriage stop. He quickly shouted, "Eldest Miss, something bad has happened!"
Ji Zizhao, supported by Qing Zhu, alighted from the carriage. "What happened?"
"Second Madam heard that Second Miss went to the military camp to enlist privately. She couldn't bear it... and took poison to commit suicide!"
"Qing Zhu, go to Zhaoyuan and get my medicine box." Ji Zizhao's delicate eyebrows knitted together, and she strode into the mansion.
The Lan Yuan was already in chaos.
Servants knelt in the courtyard, trembling with fear, not daring to breathe too loudly.
If Second Madam were to have any accident, they, the servants, would have no way to survive.
In the room, Eldest Madam Lin Wanyun held the unconscious Second Madam Yu Fenglan in her arms, her face filled with anxiety.
Second Madam Yu Fenglan seemed to be in extreme discomfort. Even in her unconscious state, her brows were tightly furrowed. Suddenly, she instinctively slumped towards the ground and began to gag violently.
"Gag—!"
Something was expelled from her mouth, and Second Madam Yu Fenglan seemed to stabilize a little.
But the other madams in the room were terrified.
On the ground, there was a large patch of bright red blood!
Eldest Madam Lin Wanyun quickly held Second Madam Yu Fenglan closer and looked towards the door. "Don't just stand there, hurry and call a doctor!"
Third Madam Yin Wenying turned to run out, only to bump into Ji Zizhao, who had just entered.
The moment they saw Ji Zizhao, the madams in the room let out a sigh of relief.
For some reason, they felt a sense of security as long as Eldest Miss was present.
Ji Zizhao quickly walked to the bedside, flipped open Second Aunt's eyelids, and saw that her eyes were vacant and unfocused.
Then she reached out and felt her wrist. The Shengen of the stomach was gone, and the pulse was irregular.
Ji Zizhao quickly picked up Second Aunt from her mother's embrace and turned her around, having her lean against the bed. She then asked a servant to find a soft cloth and stuff it all into Second Aunt's mouth.
Eldest Madam Lin Wanyun was startled. "Zixiu, what are you doing?"
Ji Zizhao rolled up her sleeves. "Second Aunt's poisoning is too deep, it has entered the bone marrow. What she is spitting out now is her own vital essence."
The other madams listened and panicked.
"What poison is so potent?"
"But if she doesn't spit it out, won't Second Sister-in-law..."
Qing Zhu silently entered the room and placed the medicine box at her mistress's feet.
Ji Zizhao knew that her aunts were probably terrified, but at this moment, she had no time to explain. "Qing Zhu, please ask the aunts to wait in the courtyard."
Eldest Madam Lin Wanyun hesitated. "Zixiu, you must not act recklessly. I have already sent someone to find a doctor."
Ji Zizhao looked at her mother. "Mother, don't worry. I'm just temporarily staying by Second Aunt's side to help look after her. Mother should also arrange the household affairs first."
Eldest Madam Lin Wanyun knew that if this matter were to spread, it would likely affect the Ji family's reputation.
Fortunately, her daughter had always been steady. She took another deep look at Second Madam Yu Fenglan before leading the other madams out of the room.
Soon, Eldest Madam Lin Wanyun summoned all the servants in the mansion.
"Regarding what happened today, no one is allowed to leak any information. If this matter truly spreads, don't think I, the Ji family, will tolerate you any longer."
Faced with the majestic Eldest Madam, all the servants in the mansion knelt on the ground and nodded.
At the same time, Xin Bi from Huichun Hall, carrying his medicine box, hurried in.
The other madams, who were anxiously waiting in the courtyard, saw Xin Bi and, despite their haste, no one dared to step forward to ask or instruct him.
The four major medical halls in the imperial city were the most trustworthy places for medical skills.
However, despite being equally matched medical halls, the number of people visiting Huichun Hall and Miaoshou Zhai each year was very small.
It wasn't that Huichun Hall and Miaoshou Zhai had fewer casualties than the other two medical halls, but rather that the proprietors of Huichun Hall and Miaoshou Zhai were notoriously ill-tempered and difficult to provoke.
Who would dare to cause trouble at a medical hall when even thugs would detour around them?
Now, seeing Shopkeeper Xin of Huichun Hall enter Second Madam's room with a grim expression, the madams in the courtyard could only hope that Sister Zhao wouldn't come out crying later.