The Ninth Lady is a rebellious person.

Chapter 357 The Venerable One is Truly a Man of Discerning Taste
The Duke of Dingguo's Mansion is a family of meritorious officials for a century. The dukedom is hereditary and can be passed down through generations. The mansion covers hundreds of acres and features gardens and lakes, making it a scenic spot every ten steps.

The current Duke of Dingguo, Zuo Rui, is a valiant general guarding the northern border. He is nearly sixty years old this year. Many of the Zuo family members have followed the Duke of Dingguo in fighting and defending the north, and have made outstanding contributions. Moreover, the Zuo family has never participated in the struggle for the crown prince position, but has only been loyal to the emperor. Therefore, the Zuo family's title has always been as stable as a mountain.

What makes the Zuo family's title particularly secure is that three generations of the Duke of Dingguo have produced romantics, from the first Duke of Dingguo to the current Duke of Dingguo, and even Zuo Yan, without exception. The current Duke of Dingguo, Zuo Rui, lost his wife in his prime, but he refused to remarry, saying that he already had a son to carry on the family line and did not need to remarry.

Zuo Yan was also a romantic. He was thirty years old and had been married for many years but still had no children. He always had only his legal wife by his side. Even though his wife was weak and sickly and personally arranged for him to take a concubine for the sake of having children, he never wavered.

For an emperor, a ruthless general with weaknesses is the easiest to control. The Zuo family has been known for their romantic nature for three generations, which makes people feel at ease.
The rules of the Duke of Dingguo's mansion were very strict. The servants who came and went all walked silently. Even when they saw a frail-looking but elegant young girl with the young master by his side, they did not show any surprise or stare at her. Instead, they stepped aside with their heads down and waited for the girl to pass before leaving.

A family with a century of meritorious service, which the Marquis of Kaiping could not match.

Arriving at the main courtyard, Lang Jiuchuan paused slightly, his gaze falling on the roof. He glanced at Zuo Yan and saw that Zuo Yan's marital palace was even darker, clearly showing the signs of losing his wife. He sighed.

So it's today.

Zuo Yan found her gaze strange. He first looked at the roof she was looking at, but saw nothing. Just as he was about to speak, he heard a scream from inside the main courtyard. His expression changed drastically, and he rushed in.

As Lang Jiuchuan walked inside, he waved towards the rooftop and asked the steward who was still with him, "Do you have any yellow paper?"

The butler paused for a moment, then nodded: "Yes."

"Bring it here, and also some good wine and incense. Be quick about it."

The butler immediately turned around and went to do it.

The ghost messenger squatting on the main house felt very unlucky. He shouldn't have believed the nonsense of a charlatan who had just arrived in the underworld, who said he would have a windfall today. That's why he helped out of the shift for Youlai Wuwang. As a result, before he even encountered the windfall, he first met the most difficult ghost to deal with.

The ghost messenger floated to Lang Jiuchuan with a lifeless expression, saying in a businesslike manner, "Your Excellency, I am merely acting in accordance with the Book of Life and Death. Please grant me this favor."

Lang Jiuchuan asked, "What's your name? Why aren't you wearing a name hat?"

The ghost messenger touched his empty head. He was a newcomer and had forgotten. He then pulled out a white hat from his sleeve with two crookedly written words on it: "Be Good".

“It’s a good name.” Lang Jiuchuan saw the steward and servant hurrying over out of the corner of his eye, and said, “Wait a moment.”

The ghost messenger named Xiang Shan glanced at the time and decided to wait, since the time hadn't come yet.

"Miss, your things have arrived." The steward, sweating profusely, carried a jar of wine, while the servant carried yellow paper, incense, candles, and a freshly roasted pig's trotter.

The benevolent ghost messenger's heart skipped a beat, a suspicion creeping into his mind: Could it be?

At that moment, Zuo Yan, who had just entered the house and then ran out again, saw Lang Jiuchuan standing in the courtyard with bloodshot eyes. He came over and grabbed her, saying, "My wife has fainted, you have to hurry..."

"It's alright, he won't die." Lang Jiuchuan deftly broke free from his hand, took the yellow paper, and began folding ingots. He then instructed the steward and the others to arrange everything on the offering table.

Zuo Yan's face darkened, and veins bulged on his forehead as he saw the scene before him: "What are you doing?"

"This brat is hard to deal with; he won't leave without a bribe," Lang Jiuchuan said calmly.

Zuo Yan: "?"

The benevolent ghost messenger exclaimed, "!" Immediately afterward, he saw the man fold several gold ingots, burn incense and make offerings, draw talismans and burn treasures. Before long, those good things were in his hands.

So this is where the windfall is supposed to be.

Xiang Shan, the ghost messenger, looked at the heavy object in his hand, then at Lang Jiuchuan, who was smiling at him without saying a word. After hesitating for a moment, he put the object away and said, "Your Excellency is truly a man of great taste. Please, I will go and do the next order!"

Whether she can pull someone back from the brink of death depends on her.

Anyway, he follows the Book of Life and Death.

The benevolent ghost vanished in a flash, and Zuo Yan and the others felt a gust of cold wind pass through the hall. The incense, candles, and paper money burning on the ground suddenly went out, and they all felt a chill run down their spines.

"Let's go see your wife." Lang Jiuchuan walked inside and said to the butler, "You can put the things away now."

Zuo Yan was a little confused. He looked at her leisurely figure and then at the pile of incense and candles on the ground. He waved his hand and quickly followed.

The butler hesitated for a moment, tore off a piece of chicken, took a bite, and spat it on the ground with a "pui" sound. It had no taste!

Inside, there was a strong smell of medicine and a hint of blood; the atmosphere was heavy and oppressive.

The servants and maids in the room were all at a loss. When they saw Lang Jiuchuan, their eyes were both surprised and somewhat numb, and their eyes were full of confusion about the future.

Zuo Yan caught up and led her into the inner chamber, where a pale-faced physician was already administering acupuncture with silver needles.

On the bed lay a frail and thin woman, covered by a thick quilt, which made her appear even more delicate, like a child.

Lang Jiuchuan never expected to see a woman even more frail than himself, nor did he expect that the imposing Zuo Yan would be attracted to such a delicate woman who seemed as fragile as if she could be blown away by the wind.

“My wife wasn’t this frail when she was still young,” Zuo Yan quickly explained, as if he understood Lang Jiuchuan’s gaze.

Lang Jiuchuan smiled and stepped forward. When the physician heard that she was a doctor and had been brought by the young master, he stepped aside. He saw her take the lady's hand and said, "The lady started having a high fever last night, which has been fluctuating and has not subsided. She even vomited blood just now."

The Crown Prince's wife's face was no bigger than the palm of her hand. Apart from an abnormal flush on her cheeks, her skin was pale and bluish-white, so white that even the tiny blood vessels could be seen. And the aura of death had almost completely covered her face.

When Lang Jiuchuan placed two fingers on her pulse, he looked at her face while taking her pulse and felt something was strange.

She took the pulse for a long time, even using two fingers, and when she withdrew her hand, she said, "Let's try acupuncture to reduce the fever first."

The physician wanted to say no, as he had already performed acupuncture twice, but seeing that Zuo Yan hadn't spoken, he remained silent as well.

Lang Jiuchuan took out the gold needles she carried with her, selected acupoints and inserted them. Most of the gold needles were placed on the head, hands and feet. After all the needles were inserted, she also performed a needle incantation on the gold needles.

The needles trembled in unison. After a moment, Lang Jiuchuan removed the needles. With each needle removed, some black blood came out from the unclosed acupoints.

The physician's pupils contracted. How could this be?

Zuo Yan's face also darkened, his hands clenched into fists. What kind of situation would cause blood to turn black? Is this poisoning?
(End of this chapter)