After the whole family was swept away, I lay down flat

Chapter 771: Mystery in the Lotus Pond
Although it is not yet the middle of winter, the temperature is already very low. It has snowed several times this month. The lakes and ponds in and outside the city have been covered with a thin layer of ice, and people have all put on thick winter clothes.

In a season like this, Wu Ke falling into the water was no joke.

A serious illness is inevitable, and if you are unlucky, you may even lose your life.

He has not yet married and had children. If something happens to him, Wu Qiong will be the only one left in the Wu family. How can they revive the family? Even to continue the bloodline, they have to consider letting Wu Qiong marry a son-in-law. But in a place like Chang'an, what kind of man can be willing to be a son-in-law?
As soon as the Zhenguo Mansion received the news, it immediately sent people to invite famous doctors in the city to treat Wu Ke. When Ma Shangyi heard the news, she also rushed to visit him. Jin Jiashu had been on good terms with Wu Ke recently, so there was no reason for him to go with him. Even his cousin Xie Wenzai, along with the two elders Cao and Lu, rushed to Wu Ke's courtyard to see how his student was doing.

Now Wu Ke has been sent back home, to the small courtyard next to the Zhenguogong Mansion. Although he has changed into clean clothes and received preliminary help, he is said to be still unconscious, shivering with cold, and has a high fever.

The famous doctor invited by the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion prescribed a prescription for him, and Madam Zhou Liu personally gave him the medicine, but the fever did not subside. He woke up once in a daze, but fell into a coma again without saying a word. It made people anxious and worried that something had really happened to him.

That night, Ma Shangyi stayed in the courtyard, taking care of Wu Ke together with the wife of the Duke of Zhenguo, Mrs. Zhou Liu, and Wu Qiong. Jin Jiashu did not return home until the second watch, accompanied by Guard Lin and Zhou Xiaojian. He got up early the next morning and rushed to the Hai family to explain the whole story.

Hai Xiya had not yet gone to the government office. He was having breakfast with his wife Ma and granddaughter Haitang. He actually received a message from his cousin Xie Wenzai last night. He knew that Wu Ke's condition was not optimistic and was quite worried. However, Xie Wenzai and the two old men, Cao and Lu, were old and were teachers. They were persuaded to go home by the people in the Zhenguo Mansion last night. He didn't know what happened later. Jin Jiashu came to report the news, letting Hai Xiya know that Wu Ke's condition was slightly stable around the second watch, and the fever had subsided a lot. He was also quite happy.

Hai Xiya said, "If the fever can be reduced, Wu's brother will probably wake up soon. But it's winter now, and it won't be easy for him to recover from this illness. He still needs careful care."

Jin Jiashu said, "I'll go to the Wu family and ask around later. After this night, I think his condition must have improved."

Ma frowned and said, "Why did he fall into the water? Could it be that someone wanted to harm him?!"

When Jin Jiashu was at Wu's house yesterday, he had heard about this incident, but there were so many people talking at the time that everyone's story was different. After asking carefully, he found that there were very few people who witnessed Wu Ke falling into the water. Almost everyone rushed over after hearing the sound of someone falling into the water, and only then did they realize that the person who fell into the water was Wu Ke. As for how he fell into the water, no one has come forward to explain the truth yet. It is estimated that they will have to wait until he wakes up before others can find out the truth.

Jin Jiashu introduced the stories he had heard: "He went to a friend's house to attend a literary gathering. There was a small banquet after the gathering. Others toasted him with a few glasses of wine. He felt a little dizzy, so he wanted to go to the garden to get rid of the smell of alcohol. Some people said that he walked to the lotus pond to appreciate the flowers and accidentally slipped and fell in. The lotus pond was only covered with a thin layer of ice and was not solid at all; some people said that he went to the edge of the pond to appreciate the koi in the water and accidentally stepped on a stone, and his foot slipped into the pond; others said that two figures hurriedly left the lotus pond at the time, and they suspected that someone had an argument with him and pushed him into the water.

"But no one knows who those two people are, and no one knows why they went to the lotus pond. That place is far away from the banquet venue. Besides, it was winter, and the lotus flowers in the pond had long withered. There was no scenery to speak of. The water in the pond was frozen, so how could one see any fish? Even the people from that family would not go there for no reason, not to mention that Wu Ke had only been a guest there twice. The last time he had tea and chatted in the flower hall in front, and was led by the host to walk around the garden and admire the chrysanthemums, but he never went to the lotus pond..." If no one had led him, would Wu Ke really have known that there was a lotus pond in that place?
Just by listening, Ma could sense that there must be something fishy going on here: "Who on earth is this? How dare they kill someone in Chang'an?! Who did that family invite to the literary party?!"

This aspect is even more complicated. Yesterday's literary gathering was hosted by a well-known scholarly family in Chang'an City. He has always had a wide range of friends and has literary gatherings, poetry gatherings, tea parties, and banquets every month throughout the year. Because his family is elegant and generous and has a good reputation, many people are willing to come to every gathering.

When making friends, the literati and scholars did not follow so many red tapes. If they received an invitation from his family, and they had a friend they liked, they would also go over to eat, drink and chat. The host did not mind at all, and was happy to make more new friends. After a long time, every time his family held a banquet, even the host did not know who the guests were. The guests might not know each other, but they would sit together to drink and chat. If they got along well, they would become new friends. If they did not get along well, they would turn around and leave to find someone else to get along with. There would be no disputes for no reason, which would embarrass the host.

In such an occasion, the place is large and there are many people coming and going. They may not know each other. Who knows who has sneaked in? Wu Ke met the son of that family by chance and was interested in his collection of books. After chatting for a few times, they felt that they got along well, so he was invited to go. He brought a servant with him and did not tell other classmates. When the incident happened, the servant was sent by him to have tea and food with the entourage of other guests and was not there. It was because the noise when he fell into the water was loud enough to alarm the servants of the host family who passed by and rushed to rescue him from the water in time, otherwise he might have died in the lotus pond without anyone noticing.

Wu Ke got into trouble in someone else's house, and the owner of that house was also in a state of confusion. Their family's rescue was quite prompt and timely. They immediately gave him warm water, changed him into clean clothes, and fed him ginger soup. Then they sent him back home in a carriage and repeatedly told the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion that they would definitely find out the whole story.

The Duke of Zhenguo Mansion also took this very seriously. If Wu Ke really just fell into the water by accident, it would be fine. But if someone was trying to secretly murder the orphan of the Wu family, the Duke of Zhenguo Mansion would never let it go easily!

But no matter what, the most important thing right now is to make Wu Ke's condition better first.

Hai Xiya and Ma looked at each other anxiously, both worried whether there were new spies from the Sun family in Chang'an City. If the Sun family really sent someone over again, what shameful plot would they have?
Haitang looked at the expressions of her grandparents and could guess what they were thinking.

She lowered her voice and said to Jin Jiashu, "Brother Jin, try not to go out these days. If you must go out, you must bring enough people with you. It would be best if you can go with Guard Lin, but if that is not possible, you must not let Zhou Xiaojian and Lu Ga Wa leave your side. If there really are people from the capital who want to harm Wu Ke, I'm afraid you won't be safe either. Don't neglect your own safety because you are worried about others!"

Jin Jiashu was stunned for a moment, then he quickly sat up straight and said solemnly: "Don't worry, Sister Hai, I will be careful!"

(End of this chapter)