Chapter 132 That's it? Seriously ill? Unable to get out of bed?

Of course, Ma had opinions about the Grand Princess.

Before Yao Qingling got married, she wasn't this bold. She wasn't ashamed to return to the mansion after the divorce. Instead, she threw tantrums and disobeyed her time and time again.

Madam Ma even felt that Yao Qingling, after serving as the young mistress of the Duke's mansion for several years, looked down on her after returning and was constantly at odds with her.

She thought to herself: What good can Yao Qingling learn from Princess Deyang besides her domineering ways?

Of course, Madam Ma was dissatisfied with the eldest princess, but she would never dare to admit it.

"I didn't say that. The Grand Princess comes from the palace. Is there anywhere in the world more disciplined than the palace?"

Yao Qingqi, who had been watching the commotion from the sidelines, remained silent until she saw that Madam Ma had been found to have made a mistake.

She coughed lightly to change the subject, then looked at Qingling with feigned concern: "Sister Qingling, what's wrong with you? It's so serious! You didn't give me any information. If I had known sooner, I would have come to see you."

Ms. Ma realized what was going on after being reminded of this.

She was led astray by Yao Qingling, focusing on the issue of "money and people," and almost gave Yao Qingling a handle to use against her.

She quickly followed suit, saying, "Yes, what kind of illness is so serious? You call me Aunt, and I knew nothing about this. What will people think of me if they find out?"

“I don’t want people to say that I, the wife of a marquis, have mistreated the orphan of my deceased brother-in-law.”

Zhan Xingzhuo was immediately accused of abusing his wife and was subjected to a barrage of insults from the public. It is said that he was even pelted with rotten eggs and vegetable leaves.

Ma then carefully examined Qingling's complexion.

However, Ma has not seen Yao Qingling for a long time since the last time she had a fight with Yao Qingqi.

According to custom, juniors should pay their respects to their elders morning and evening to show filial piety. However, Yao Qingling had to take care of the shop and could even get away with not returning home for a night. Madam Ma found it annoying to see her, so she simply chose to avoid seeing her.

Looking at her now, all that could be seen was that Yao Qingling was much fatter than when she first returned to the manor; nothing else was noticeable.

Her complexion was quite good, not at all pale or sallow.

However, he seemed a bit weak; he was out of breath after saying just a few words and his voice wasn't loud.

That's it? Seriously ill? Unable to get out of bed?

Ma was even more convinced that Yao Qingling was just trying to get special treatment.

She's only been looking after a shop and hasn't made any contributions yet, but she's already putting on airs like the young mistress of the Duke's mansion. Who gave her such power?

Hmph, this is a handle that Yao Qingling herself handed over.

Ma said, "Since you are sick, then call a doctor to take a look. You have to get rid of the root of the disease, otherwise it will easily recur."

As she spoke, she was about to send her maid to fetch the doctor who was usually used in the mansion.

"...Since you are sick, you might as well stay at home and rest and recover. Once you are fully recovered, the whole family can rest assured."

Qingling stopped the maid and smiled, "I specially invited this female physician to cure the root of the illness. Aunt, you may not know, but this Physician He is the daughter of Imperial Physician He. The Imperial Physician taught her his family's special skills."

Imperial physicians only treated the emperor and the concubines in the palace. If Ma Shi questioned the female physician's medical skills, she was questioning the imperial physician's medical skills.

Although the imperial physicians were not of high rank, they were still the closest to the imperial relatives. No matter what ideas Ma had, she did not want to offend such people.

Madam Ma rolled her eyes, then looked He Yin up and down, somewhat embarrassed: "Really? You're quite lucky, you even found the daughter of the imperial physician."

She didn't want to offend the imperial physician, so she couldn't find an excuse to find another doctor to treat Yao Qingling, and she couldn't let her rest and recuperate while closing down the shop.

Yao Qingqi suddenly stood up, walked to He Yin, and circled her twice. "Sister Qingling, how come a girl with such good medical skills wasn't invited by other noble families? Why was she brought here for you?"

Qingling anticipated that they would press for details and find all the flaws, so she said calmly, "It's not good for Doctor He's throat. Other noble families have their concerns, but for me, I only ask to alleviate my injuries. Nothing else matters."

"A problem with your voice?" Ma looked at He Yin in surprise. "Is she mute?"

Qingling nodded, and He Yin gestured with her hand: "Madam, your face is flushed, your eyes are bloodshot, your tongue is red, you drink a lot of water and are irritable; your skin is rough and has blemishes, which is probably due to constipation. These are symptoms of excessive heart fire, you should—"

"Wait, what is she saying?" Ma didn't understand, frowned, and instinctively felt that it wasn't something good.

Qingling had someone bring pen and ink, and He Yin wrote it down and showed it to Madam Ma.

Ma: "..."

These symptoms were indeed mentioned to her by the doctor.

The female doctor only glanced at her a few times, yet she was able to diagnose her illness; she really was quite skilled.

She glanced at Yao Qingling again.

Even with a father who is a royal physician, a mute girl would find it difficult to marry well. Daughters of wealthy families don't need to have great skills, as long as they know how to manage the household and their husbands; studying medicine is useless, so this mute girl faces difficulties in finding a husband.

Yao Qingling was doing Imperial Physician He a favor.

Tsk, she's really shrewd; she managed to snag this little bargain.

Ma realized that Yao Qingling had come prepared, and that no matter what she said, Yao Qingling could always come back to her.

Mr. Ma could only raise the issue high and then put it down lightly, turning the page on the matter.

But she didn't let Granny Liang off the hook. She fined her three months' wages and threatened to beat her with a cane, emphasizing the importance of establishing rules.

Yao Qingling looked at Madam Ma with a hint of coldness in her eyes.

She knew that Ma was just taking her anger out on someone.

Is this how the head of the Marquis's mansion abuses his power?

Ma said again, "From now on, let's restore the custom of visiting each other morning and evening. That way, I can check on you and make sure you don't get sick again in the future. I, as your aunt, am completely unaware and will say that I don't care about you enough."

"Furthermore, the old lady is getting on in years and often suffers from illness. I also have many things to worry about in the manor and am sometimes unwell. Physician He's medical skills are superb. Our Marquis's manor has acquired such a treasure, and we can't let you use it all by yourself, don't you think?"

Qing Ling slightly curled the corners of her lips, showing no sign of anger.

Ma was simply taking advantage of the fact that she paid for the female doctor's services while they offered free consultations.

The requirement to perform morning and evening greetings was intended to establish authority.

Both of these points are easy to resolve; we'll just have to wait and see.

Yao Qingling smiled and agreed, "Auntie is right, Qingling understands."

On the surface, Ma managed to save face, but Qingling had already achieved her goal by keeping He Yin with her.

Yao Qingling took He Yin back to Mulan Courtyard.

In the late afternoon, Yao Qingling asked Lou Yue to take some silver and medicine to Granny Liang's room to compensate her.

Lady Hou is not good at being a mistress and will lose the people's hearts sooner or later; Qingling is winning people's hearts at this time and trying her best to turn the people in this mansion into her people.

On the other hand, Ma was not willing to give up.

After Yao Qingling left, she lost her temper.

At this moment, Yao Qingqi had already left, and Ma Peizhen brought lotus seed soup to offer to her.

Upon hearing this, Ma Peizhen's eyes flickered slightly. She said, "Sister Qingling is a very busy person these days, Aunt. You don't really need to make her pay her respects morning and evening. And you don't need to get so angry just because she secretly had another child."

"Then what do you suggest I do? With her so arrogant attitude, what will the servants in the manor think of me?"

Ma Peizhen whispered a few words in her ear.

Ma raised an eyebrow, her anger instantly turning to joy.

"You're so thoughtful, Qingqi. I wish Qingqi had half your thoughtfulness."