Abandoned Woman Busy Farming

Chapter 1994: Chapter 1993: The Rat Shows Its Fangs

Fortunately, Lanlan awoke in the afternoon; it was still her. Jiao Ling heaved a sigh of relief, then finally rested a while under Lanlan’s persuasion.

With no more trouble from the Poisonous Insect master and the city’s prevention and quarantine efforts being well executed, no new patients appeared in the following two days. Ding Ji even suspected someone was sick but dared not come out, leading to a thorough door-to-door inspection in the city.

Among the quarantined individuals, only three contracted the illness; the others remained safe for now. Bai Ruozhu led a team to treat the mild and severe cases separately, following the plague management method, and fortunately, there were no deaths yet.

Luckily, the Phoenix Poisonous Insect hadn’t fully matured; otherwise, the entire city could have suffered, just like how Fen Gu had infected Ma Linglong and Ji Bao with its poisonous insect poison, which Bai Ruozhu couldn’t cure.

Another thorny issue loomed: Wei Yu would inevitably come looking for them. He could sense the location of the Phoenix Poisonous Insect, so unless they abandoned Lanlan, Wei Yu would certainly find them.

Not that Jiao Ling was willing to abandon Lanlan; these past days of interaction had also made Bai Ruozhu protective of the poor girl.

Moreover, she increasingly felt that Lanlan told the truth, silently praying that Ruolan would start anew and never meet such shameful parents again.

”Mother, you don’t need to worry too much. All he wants is to take the Phoenix Poisonous Insect. In the worst-case scenario, he’d kidnap me, but since the Phoenix Poisonous Insect hasn’t fully matured, he won’t kill me. Otherwise, whoever it’s switched to would have to raise it anew, and he can’t wait that long,” Lanlan said while soaking in the medicine vat, still munching on the dimsum Bai Ruozhu gave her, seemingly carefree, yet anyone watching couldn’t help but feel pity.

”Is he also raising Fen Gu anew?” Bai Ruozhu asked urgently.

”Yes, I saw him once recently. He seemed to have fed most of the Poisonous Insects on him to Fen Gu, and he looked terribly haggard, very creepy,” Lanlan shivered as she spoke, clearly detesting and fearing Wei Yu.

Upon hearing that Fen Gu was still being raised, Bai Ruozhu let out a great sigh of relief.

”His strength has greatly diminished now, so he’s turned to King Rui. This time he also acted on King Rui’s orders, telling Wu Wanqing to cause the plague; King Rui seemed to have rewarded him with lots of precious medicinal materials he urgently needed.”

Lanlan looked around after she finished talking and found Fen Jiu wasn’t there. Her topic suddenly shifted: ”Mother, why did you marry Wei Yu back in the day? I’m asking, hoping you won’t get upset; I’ve wondered about it for years and still don’t understand.”

She pouted, understandably troubled with a father like that.

Jiao Ling’s face paled a bit but didn’t get angry; she sighed, saying, ”I was foolishly stubborn when I was young, unable to see people’s inner qualities, only deceived by appearances. Back then, I was very headstrong and wanted to find a match for myself. With the matter of your grandmother, I resolutely avoided considering outsiders. Wei Yu hadn’t yet turned into this ghostly figure then, nor was he a Poisonous Insect master; he had even more talent in Mechanical Technique than I did, and his temperament was steadier than his peers, so I chose him.”

Jiao Ling shook her head, saying, ”But I later realized that his steadiness was actually gloominess and cruelty. Unfortunately, I understood too late; he somehow found Fen Gu and went mad raising Insects, even harming you and defecting from the Jiuli Clan.”

”Mother, it’s not your fault for not seeing through him; it’s his deep greed that drove him mad over a single Fen Gu,” Lanlan said, curling her lip in disgust. ”Seeing the look on his face when I was little always frightened me.”

”Don’t be afraid; Mother will protect you,” Jiao Ling vowed silently, promising not to let her daughter fall into the Evil Demon’s hands again.

On the afternoon of the third day, Fen Jiu returned from outside, bringing a herbal medicine to Jiao Ling, claiming it could nourish the soul, suggesting it be consumed when Lanlan’s condition stabilized.

Moved, Jiao Ling said, ”Fen Jiu, how can I ever thank you?”

Fen Jiu smiled, ”You don’t need to thank me; your daughter is my daughter too. I’ll help you take care of her from now on.”

Jiao Ling had been worried Fen Jiu might feel uncomfortable seeing Lanlan, given she’s her child with Wei Yu. Yet Fen Jiu said this without hesitation, making Jiao Ling’s eyes well up with tears. People say that when someone loves you, they love all of you. Fen Jiu’s genuine love has lasted a lifetime.

Bai Ruozhu made arrangements with Jianqi and the others, distributing drug powder to control Poisonous Insects to everyone. Although it’s mostly ineffective against Poisonous Insects like Fen Gu, Lanlan explained it had just been passed to Wei Yu and needed nurturing again, so it wasn’t particularly powerful yet.

After organizing everything, she headed to the quarantine zone, where an unresolved spy remained.

Earlier, she had asked Lanlan about it, and Lanlan confirmed Wu Wanqing hadn’t contacted someone like that. It’s probable that King Rui planted someone to monitor developments, clearly showing his lack of trust in Wei Yu, clandestinely having someone to watch over.

When Bai Ruozhu reached the quarantine zone, she was announced immediately, ”Lady Bai has arrived!”

Before Bai Ruozhu could react, a crowd surged forward, causing her heart to tighten—were they stirring up trouble again?

Unexpectedly, each patient knelt down one by one. Leading them were the four people who incited the riot that day.

”Lady Bai, thank you for treating us. Despite our contagiousness, you didn’t abandon us and patiently guided us. We were heartless, wanted to confront you at first. We’re bowing to you in apology!” exclaimed the middle-aged man in charge.

Others echoed, ”Thank you, Lady Bai!”

A group of them kowtowed, some with guilt in their eyes and tears falling, their heads banging the ground. Bai Ruozhu hastily told them to stand up, yet they insisted on three hard bows.

Bai Ruozhu approached the oldest elder when she suddenly spotted the spy. She paused and devised a new plan.

Turning slightly, she came to the spy’s side, helping him up, ”Everyone, please rise quickly. There’s no need for this.” She intentionally exposed her vulnerabilities, and sure enough, the spy’s eyes hesitated briefly before turning to determination.

A sharp dagger slipped from the spy’s pocket, suddenly stabbing toward Bai Ruozhu.

As Bai Ruozhu leaned back to evade the strike, she immediately knocked the dagger out of his hand.

Sure enough, the rat’s fangs were showing.

”Ah, an assassin is after Lady Bai!” someone shouted as Jianqi rushed to Bai Ruozhu’s side, stomping the person to the ground.

”Speak, who are you really?” Jianqi demanded.

”You won’t treat me well for my illness; I’ll take you down with me then!” The man, exposed, looked panicked, but quickly calmed down, feigning as an out-of-control patient.

Bai Ruozhu chose not to expose him, avoiding panic in the quarantine zone, only saying, ”All patients’ conditions are stable now; no one suddenly lost control except for him. I fear his condition may be extremely rare, so let’s isolate him temporarily from others.”

```