The backyard of the Jinzhou Governor's Mansion.
The maid, Tao Hong, pushed the door and walked into the bedroom, carrying a bowl of freshly boiled medicine.
"Is the Miss awake?"
"She's not awake yet. Sister Tao Hong, do you want to wake the miss up?"
"Wake her up. The doctor said that the medicine should be taken while it's hot."
Xiao Cui first hung up the gauze curtain, then lowered her head and glanced at the second girl who was sleeping on the bed. Her cheeks were thin and her complexion was sallow, but her eyebrows and facial features were extremely delicate.
The second girl has been weak and sickly since childhood. This time she has been ill for more than half a year and has become so thin that she has lost all her shape.
The second girl must be feeling very uncomfortable; even in her sleep, her brows were not relaxed.
Xiao Cui called softly, "Miss, take your medicine."
She thought that, like in the past, she would have to call her several times to wake the girl up. But she didn't expect that this time, the girl opened her eyes as soon as she finished speaking.
"Um..."
Gu Jiu responded, turned her head, frowned, and looked at Xiao Cui. Her eyes were cold but then became gentle.
Xiao Cui was stunned for a moment. The look in the girl's eyes just now was so strange. Could it be that she was dazzled?
Before she could think about it, she heard the girl's weak voice ringing in her ears.
"Help me up."
Xiao Cui came to her senses and hurriedly helped Gu Jiu up.
Tao Hong stood by the bed holding the medicine bowl. "Miss, it's time to take the medicine."
Gu Jiu didn't rush to drink the medicine. She took a handkerchief, covered her mouth, and coughed lightly. Her face was pale and weak.
The strong smell of medicine hit her nose, and she frowned subconsciously.
This medicine has a strong taste and strong efficacy. How can it be given to a girl of fourteen or fifteen years old who has been ill for a long time and has been weak and sickly since childhood?
Gu Jiu raised her head and looked at the maid, Tao Hong, a girl of about seventeen or eighteen years old, more beautiful than a flower.
Then she coughed twice, and her face became paler.
Tao Hong was originally a maid serving the Madam and only started to serve her a few years ago.
"Miss, it's time to take your medicine," Tao Hong said again; her tone was two degrees heavier than the last time. Her eyes were clearly filled with impatience and disgust.
disgust?
Gu Jiu could understand impatience. Even as a maid, taking care of a patient for a long time would make her impatient. This was human nature.
As for disgust, where should It start?
Gu Jiu lowered her head, a hint of doubt and ridicule flashing across her eyes.
She looked at Tao Hong and said softly, "Come closer; I don't have much strength."
Tao Hong took the medicine bowl and took another step closer.
Gu Jiu took two breaths before reaching out to take the bowl of medicine.
Just as her hand touched the medicine bowl and Tao Hong let go, her fingers suddenly trembled twice. Then she retracted her hand and dropped it to her side.
Bang!
The medicine bowl fell to the ground and broke into pieces.
The boiling hot medicine splashed all over Tao Hong and Xiao Cui.
"ah..."
They both shouted out in unison.
On the contrary, Gu Jiu escaped the disaster because she was sitting on the bed.
Gu Jiu picked up the handkerchief, covered her mouth, and coughed lightly, her face full of self-blame, sadness, weakness, and helplessness.
"Are you okay?" Her voice was tearful, and she was almost crying.
Xiao Cui hurriedly said, "Miss, don't worry about me; Maid is fine." As she spoke, she wiped the stains off her clothes.
Tao Hong frowned, looking at the new clothes she had just put on today. The hem of her skirt was stained with a large stain from medicine, which looked very ugly.
She looked at Gu Jiu with an irritated look on her face. Not only was she in poor health, but he was always causing trouble.
Gu Jiu suddenly started coughing violently, her face turning red.
"Miss, are you okay?" Xiao Cui was very nervous.
Gu Jiu waved her hand, signaling Xiao Cui not to worry about her.
After finally stopping her cough, she panted and said weakly, "Tao Hong, please go and boil another bowl of medicine. Please change your clothes while you're at it. They're dirty and not pretty to wear."
Tao Hong was full of resentment and said angrily, "Miss, Maid worked so hard to prepare the medicine; why are you so careless?"
"I didn't mean it." Gu Jiu's eyes were instantly filled with tears. "I know my health is not good enough and I've dragged you down. I also want to get better soon... cough cough... Tao Hong, since you came to my side, I've wronged you all these years. If you don't want to, why don't I tell Madam and you go back to serve her?"
"What nonsense are you talking about, young lady? Madam has given me to you, and I will serve you for the rest of my life. Xiao Cui, take good care of you; Maid go and boil the medicine."
After saying that, Tao Hong turned and left the bedroom.
As soon as Tao Hong left, Gu Jiu wiped away the tears in his eyes and looked calm and composed.
"Miss, don't be sad. Sister Tao Hong is just a little harsh with her words," Xiao Cui comforted Gu Jiu.
Gu Jiu smiled calmly. What a silly girl. Tao Hong is not just a bit fierce with her mouth.
"Xiao Cui, give me that piece."
Gu Jiu pointed at the largest piece of medicine bowl fragment on the ground.
Xiao Cui was puzzled. "What do you want this for, Miss? Be careful not to hurt your hands."
"It doesn't matter; just give it to me."
Xiao Cui picked up the fragment, which was the base of the medicine bowl, with some medicine still on it. She handed the fragment to Gu Jiu.
Gu Jiu lowered her head and sniffed the medicine carefully. Then she dipped her hand in some of the medicine juice and put it in her mouth to distinguish it carefully.
Qiang Huo, Bupleurum, Forsythia, Atractylodes, Tangerine Peel...
This is an antipyretic medicine used to dispel external evil and relieve external symptoms.
There is nothing wrong with the prescription, but the medicine is not suitable for the condition, and there are also problems with the medicinal materials.
As she had judged before, there was something wrong with the medicine she was taking.
"Miss?"
Xiao Cui was a little nervous; she didn't know what the girl was doing.
Gu Jiu smiled at her gently and placed the fragments in her hand. "The smell of medicine is strong; clean the room."
"This servant, follow your command!"
Xiao Cui was busy sweeping the floor and the footstool.
Gu Jiu looked at the quaint environment around her and sighed. She never expected that God would be so kind to her that she would travel through time and space after her death and be reborn as a girl named Gu Jiu.
Gu Jiu came from modern society and died of complications caused by heart disease.
Unfortunately, she was born with congenital heart disease.
She was also very lucky. Before she was born, her family's business was on the verge of bankruptcy. After she was born, the family's business miraculously came back to life.
In just over a decade, Gu's business has grown from a small company with less than a hundred people to a large group company with tens of thousands of employees worldwide.
Her parents spent all their money and traveled around the world to treat her illness. Her two brothers spoiled her and made her the happiest sister in the world.
My father said she was the god of wealth and fortune in the family, bringing good fortune to the family. Unfortunately, she did not bring good fortune to herself.
I started taking medicine as soon as she could eat, and she started reading medical books as soon as she could read.
From childhood to adulthood, she underwent dozens of heart surgeries of varying sizes, including a heart transplant, but she still could not escape the complications and died on her twentieth birthday.
But she had no regrets before she died.
Since childhood, she has had a rich life, with parents who care about her and dote on her and two handsome brothers.
There is also Professor Hu, who treated her as his own disciple and taught her everything he knew. Professor Hu is a doctoral supervisor at the Medical University, an academic leader, and also her attending physician.
At the last moment, she said goodbye to everyone in her family so that they would not be sad about her death. Just as if she had gone to another world.
This was just a joke, but she didn't expect that when she woke up from the dream, she really arrived in another world.
The original owner of this body was also called Gu Jiu.
The original owner was a premature baby, born weak. Her biological mother, Su, named her Gu Jiu in the hope that she could live a long life.
Six months after the original owner was born, Su died of illness. Not long after Su's death, the original owner's father made his concubine Xie his legal wife.
Since then, the original owner and her brother have been living under the shadow of their stepmother Xie.
In early winter last year, the original owner and her sisters were invited to visit the Hezhong Prefecture Governor's Mansion.
Unexpectedly, the original owner was pushed into the water.
She was rescued and soon developed a high fever.
The wife of the prefect called a doctor to reduce her fever.
The fever subsided, but the original owner developed a coughing problem.
From the early winter of last year to the late spring of this year, a full half year has passed. The original owner's illness has recurred and has never improved, and her body has become weaker and weaker.
Finally, in the early hours of this morning, the original owner passed away, and the modern Gu Jiu became the ancient Gu Jiu.
Gu Jiu rubbed her brows. The original owner left her with very few memories of what happened in the prefect's mansion last year.
She didn't know who pushed her into the water, and the real culprit was never found afterwards.
The wife of the prefect only brought two maids to make up the number, as an explanation, saying that the maids were negligent and did not serve her well, causing her to fall into the water.
Gu Jiu frowned and thought deeply: Was it the girl from the prefect's family who pushed her into the water, or were there evil intentions from her own sisters?
She remembered clearly that a hand pushed her down fiercely. This was definitely not an accident; someone was deliberately trying to harm her.
In early winter, Hezhong Prefecture had already frozen over.
In that kind of weather, pushing her into the water was clearly an attempt to kill her.
"Miss, do you want to lie down and rest for a while? Sister Tao Hong will need quite a while to boil the medicine again."
Xiao Cui's voice brought Gu Jiu back from her thoughts.
She looked at Xiao Cui and said nothing.
"Miss, what's wrong with you?"
Gu Jiu coughed lightly and said, "Go and call Qing Mei."
Qing Mei was originally Gu Jiu's maid, but since Tao Hong came, Qing Mei has been marginalized. Now she has become a needlework maid, with endless needlework to do every day. It is said that Qing Mei is good at needlework, so she should do more.
Xiao Cui said, "Sister Qing Mei is busy right now. If you want to see Sister Qing Mei, you'd better wait until night."
Gu Jiu stared at Xiao Cui with a serious expression. "Xiao Cui, who am I?"
Xiao Cui laughed, looking innocent, "Miss are the young lady!"
Gu Jiu frowned and shook her head slightly. "I am a young lady, and also a master. Don't you listen to the master's words?"
Xiao Cui's face turned pale in an instant. "Maid didn't mean to disobey you, young lady."
"Then call Qing Mei."
"But the slave has to serve the young lady."
Gu Jiu sighed softly and complained, "I'm sick, and you guys don't take me seriously, right?"
"No, you misunderstood. Sister Qing Mei has told you that there should always be someone by your side."
Gu Jiu laughed at himself, "I didn't know that in this courtyard, everything is decided by Qing Mei. I am the master, but I can't even order a maid around."
"Forget it; I will go to see Madam tomorrow, even if I have to risk my life. Qing Mei is so capable; why not let Madam recognize her as her goddaughter, and then you can serve Miss Qing Mei legitimately in the future?"
This is a heartbreaking statement.
No matter how dumb Xiao Cui was, she understood the implication of these words.
Plop!
She kneeled down suddenly, and her knees hurt.
When Gu Jiu heard the sound, she felt pain in her knees.
"Young lady, please spare me, please spare me! Maid is stupid servant. Maid did not mean to go against you, nor did this servant disobey you. Please give me one more chance. The Maid will go and invite Sister Qing Mei over right away."
Gu Jiu stared at Xiao Cui. She knew why Xiao Cui didn't listen to her and did everything according to Tao Hong's instructions.
This was the mess the original owner had left her.
The original owner was cautious by nature, unwilling to meddle in other people's business and even more unwilling to displease her stepmother, Mrs. Xie.
Ever since Tao Hong came to Zhilan Courtyard, the original owner would generally follow Tao Hong's wishes as long as it was not too excessive.
As time went by, it became a matter of course to let Tao Hong make the decisions on everything.
When the maids in the yard encountered problems, they would not come to Gu Jiu but would only go to Tao Hong.
Tao Hong works in Zhilan Courtyard. She is nominally a maid, but she does the work of her master.
But that was in the past. Now that she is here, the rules of Zhilan Courtyard should be changed.
Gu Jiu stared at Xiao Cui, "Do you really know you are wrong?"
Xiao Cui nodded repeatedly, "Servant, know she was wrong."
"Then I'll give you a chance to correct your mistake. Go call Qing Mei over and don't alarm Tao Hong."
"Yes, Servant will go and invite Sister Qing Mei over right away, but Servant won't tell Sister Tao Hong."