As the courtyard gate opened, a hand stretched across the threshold from outside.
A-Fei’s first reaction was to look around, checking if anyone had witnessed this scene.
Seeing no one nearby, he sighed in relief and muttered: “People these days are truly awful. With such a wide street to faint on, they choose to collapse at someone’s doorway!”
Yu Jin, waiting for help, thought silently: “…” He truly hadn’t expected that Si’er’s errand boy would be this sort of person.
This residence was rented by Jiang Si. Old Qin had lived here before, but after he infiltrated Duke Dongping’s estate as a coachman, A-Fei would come by daily – partly for a safe place to stay, and partly to maintain easy contact with Old Qin.
Yu Jin knew all this clearly, which was why he had come here instead of returning to Quezi Hutong after being poisoned.
Anyone running errands for Si’er would surely inform her upon seeing his condition, and then she would come – no need to wait until nightfall.
A-Fei, in whom Seventh Prince Yu had placed great hopes, furtively peeked around before bending down to grab his arms, whispering: “This won’t do, we need to dump him at someone else’s doorway quickly!”
Yu Jin: “…” Unable to endure anymore, he lifted his head to indicate he was still alive.
A-Fei startled, rubbing his eyes: “Oh? This face looks familiar!”
Yu Jin’s eyelids twitched.
Hadn’t this fellow seen him before? How could someone as strikingly handsome as himself not leave a lasting impression after just one meeting?
“Cough, cough—” Yu Jin managed a weak cough.
A-Fei suddenly realized: “This seems to be someone Miss knows.”
After saying this, A-Fei fell silent again.
Seventh Prince Yu nearly had the poison attack his heart: Why was he still hesitating after recognizing him?
“Miss doesn’t seem to have a very good relationship with this person,” A-Fei continued to hesitate.
Yu Jin’s whole body trembled, tasting blood in his throat.
He wanted to jump up and snap this fellow’s neck!
After a moment’s deliberation, A-Fei sighed: “Well, better drag him in first and ask Miss what she wants to do.”
Not making rash decisions was one of A-Fei’s better habits.
Though Yu Jin was tall, he still had a youth’s slenderness, so A-Fei didn’t struggle much to drag him into the courtyard before going to send word through Old Qin.
Old Qin had already adapted well to his current life, or rather, to the chance to reunite with his reincarnated fiancée, any kind of life was the same to him.
When A-Fei found him, he was lazily basking in the sun.
A-Fei was incredibly envious: “Old Qin, you’re living the good life.”
Old Qin pulled his gaze from the white-draped main gate of the Marquis Yongchang’s estate and smiled without speaking.
Since Miss had gone to the Marquis’s estate, he kept watch here daily. Though he couldn’t go inside, at least he could quickly know if Miss encountered any trouble.
After hearing A-Fei’s news, Old Qin quickly passed the message to A-Man.
A-Man didn’t dare delay upon hearing it and hurriedly ran back to Haitang Residence: “Miss, something’s happened!”
Jiang Si had just returned to the estate and, following custom, needed to cleanse herself of inauspicious energy before paying respects to her elders. After all this busy activity, she had only just sat down to rest at Haitang Residence.
“What’s happened?” A-Man’s pallid face made Jiang Si’s heart skip a beat.
“Young Master Yu is in trouble!”
Jiang Si gripped her teacup tightly, her voice rising slightly: “What’s wrong with him?”
“Young Master Yu has fallen unconscious. A-Fei had Old Qin bring you the message.”
Jiang Si’s hand loosened, and the teacup spun on the table.
A moment later, Jiang Si stood up and hurried out: “Where’s A-Fei?”
“Waiting outside the estate.”
Jiang Si walked faster and faster as if her feet had grown wings.
How could he have suddenly fallen unconscious when he was fine before? Was it illness or something else? And how did A-Fei know about it?
A series of questions had Jiang Si almost breaking into a run, desperate to see A-Fei immediately and get answers.
A-Man, hurrying behind her, secretly shook her head.
So Miss cared this much about Young Master Yu? Then why was she always so cold when they met?
Ah, Miss’s thoughts were harder to understand than those murder cases! Never mind, treating Young Master Yu as a future son-in-law couldn’t be wrong.
In a corner outside the estate gates, A-Fei was waiting idly when he suddenly spotted a familiar figure and quickly waved.
Jiang Si hurried over, barely maintaining her composure as she asked: “What happened?”
“This humble one doesn’t know either. When I opened the door, he collapsed at the entrance. Seeing it was someone Miss knew, I came to inform you.”
“Where is he now?”
“In the rented residence.”
Jiang Si rushed to the rented house with a tense expression, her heart in turmoil.
Given Yu Seven’s unusual status and his guards, how could he have collapsed there?
Coinciding with Yu Jin’s conferment as a prince, Jiang Si couldn’t help thinking deeply.
She had experienced firsthand in her previous life just how vicious those seemingly noble and proper royal family members could be.
The rented residence wasn’t far from Duke Dongping’s estate. Jiang Si walked quickly and soon arrived.
“Why isn’t the door locked?” seeing the courtyard gate merely pushed to, Jiang Si gave A-Fei a look.
A-Fei looked skyward.
Why was Miss asking such an obvious question? Of course, it was because it didn’t matter! He’d thought this person was unimportant to Miss, who knew she’d be this anxious!
A-Fei felt very wronged.
Jiang Si had already entered and immediately spotted Yu Jin silently slumped over the stone table under the courtyard tree.
“Not knowing his condition, I didn’t move him inside—” A-Fei explained nervously.
Fortunately, he hadn’t dumped him at someone else’s doorway, or there’d be no way to explain this now.
Yu Jin, resting his head on his uninjured arm, twitched his eyebrows.
Si’er had come faster than he’d imagined.
“How are you?” Jiang Si came to Yu Jin’s side and called out softly.
Yu Jin struggled to lift his head and looked at Jiang Si.
Seeing his ashen face, Jiang Si was startled and blurted out: “You’ve been poisoned?”
Yu Jin laboriously raised his right hand and weakly said: “It… seems so.”
Jiang Si saw a shallow cut on his arm, with blackened blood already congealed around the wound, emitting a faint putrid smell.
She gently pressed near the wound.
“Don’t—” Yu Jin struggled to get out a word, smiling at Jiang Si, “It’s unsightly.”
A-Fei silently crouched in the corner.
Even at this moment, Yu Jin’s smile was as bright as the clear moon, but it pierced Jiang Si’s heart with pain.
Jiang Si glared at Yu Jin with a cold face: “Shut up!”
At a time like this, he was still talking about being unsightly.
Did this man think she cared for him because of his looks?
Jiang Si didn’t have time to question how Yu Jin had been injured. She checked his forehead temperature, examined his pupils, and bit her lip as she took something from her purse.
It was a jade box the size of an apricot, with small air holes on top.
Jiang Si carefully opened the jade box and pinched out a plump worm with two fingers.
Yu Jin’s eyes contracted, speaking with somewhat more strength: “What is that?”
“A worm, of course,” Miss Jiang replied matter-of-factly.