Wrongfully accused (revision)
As soon as he returned to his bedchamber, Rongwei brought him a medicinal meal that had been simmering over a low flame. Lin Xu ate it while it was still hot, but then he could no longer hold on and lay down in a daze.
It had been a long time since she had felt so carefree, and she slept exceptionally soundly. She had several dreams in a row, but she didn't want to wake up, and even the dreams felt incredibly unreal and she couldn't remember them clearly.
As voices and other sounds gradually appeared around him, Lin Xu slowly opened his eyes.
But his eyelids still felt unusually heavy.
Seeing that she was awake, Granny Qin looked her over carefully with concern before tucking the blanket around her, and said with a hint of reproach:
"She's finally awake. Miss slept more soundly this time, but she caught a cold and had a high fever all night. It scared this old servant half to death."
Lin Xu tried to speak, but found his throat tight and he couldn't utter a single word.
Granny Qin said with concern, "Miss, this illness is a result of your worries day and night in recent days. You've been working hard all day, and last night you didn't get a good night's sleep because of that bird, so your condition has worsened. However, we've already called two doctors to examine you, and they just told you to rest well and take good care of yourself for a while."
Lin Xu struggled to look out the window, only to see that the red sun was already low in the sky, as if it were evening.
Just as she was about to get up, a sweet, charming voice rang out beside her:
"Does Madam wish to sit up? I'll get you some soft cushions to lean against your back, so you'll be more comfortable."
The woman's voice was completely unfamiliar. Lin Xu struggled to open her eyes before she could make out the busy figure in front of her.
Fangxing, with her pretty face raised, moved with exceptional speed and dexterity. In a short while, she brought her several carved cushions and thoughtfully raised them a bit higher before earnestly helping her sit up.
Lin Xu saw this but remained silent. Zhu Ling brought over a bowl of hot tea, and perhaps noticing the worry in her eyes, she couldn't help but gently comfort her:
"Madam, please don't worry. The doctor said that you are not seriously ill and should recover after some rest. Last night, the Second Master looked very anxious. He paced around your bedside while scolding the doctor and almost all the servants in the entire villa. I could tell that he was very concerned about your illness."
Dou Yanxun...
Upon hearing this, Lin Xu couldn't help but furrow his brow.
She still had questions for him.
Since Fangxing was the only person who visited the western side room that day, it was not he who instructed Nongyu to poison the two birds.
But why didn't he offer a single word of explanation when faced with her accusations? She had wronged him...
She looked around, but couldn't find him.
Zhu Ling understood perfectly, and continued:
"Today, Master suddenly received a task from his superiors, saying that it was official business and he would have to go to a neighboring town to handle some matters related to the estate accounts. Second Master was afraid that he wouldn't be by your side when you woke up, so he specifically instructed me to tell you to rest well and not to worry."
Lin Xu was stunned for a moment, but didn't know what to say.
Just then, Zhu Ling said again:
"Madam is ill. The old lady specially sent Fu Lian to instruct you not to pay your respects these few days, but to rest well and recover as soon as possible."
Sure enough, a few exquisitely packaged items were piled up on the table to the side. The table was almost completely full, and Rongwei and Qingmo were moving the supplements, which were almost overflowing, to the storeroom.
Seeing Lin Xu's gaze fall on the overflowing tonics, Zhu Ling said:
"Madam's illness has alarmed the entire household. Yesterday evening, Miss Dou the Third came to the villa, saying she hadn't seen you in a long time and came to visit you. Unexpectedly, you had a high fever that wouldn't go down, so Miss Dou immediately went to consult the Old Madam. She also immediately went outside the mansion to invite a famous doctor to examine your pulse. Now, not only the eldest son's family, who lives right next to our villa, but also the two concubines have brought a lot of nourishing medicinal meals, which are almost overflowing."
Lin Xu frowned, but as soon as she stood up, she felt a wave of dizziness on her forehead, and her whole body felt weak and sore.
Zhu Ling rushed to help, but couldn't help but advise:
"I just gave Madam her medicine this morning, so she must be feeling weak and tired right now. Madam should rest more."
Lin Xu shook his head, feeling dizzy and lightheaded, but his worries overwhelmed him, and he said softly:
"When the Third Miss came over...did she say anything else?"
Zhu Ling then tried to recall carefully. But at that time, everyone in the courtyard was in a flurry of activity because their master had fallen ill. Even the Third Miss was shocked when she entered the palace. It was so chaotic that she couldn't remember it clearly.
Seeing Zhu Ling's hesitant expression, Lin Xu's heart sank.
Dou Zhen was usually busy with her studies at Zhiqiong Hall and rarely stayed at home during the day. Unless someone needed to see her, she probably wouldn't have come so abruptly.
But what exactly is her purpose?
She only pondered for a moment before she couldn't help but agitate her internal energy, coughing several times in succession. This startled Granny Qin, who had just left, and no matter how much she pleaded, she refused to let her leave the bed.
Lin Xu had no choice but to drink a cup of warm tea and ask for a copy of the estate's account book. She looked at it in the dim light, and soon the medicine took effect, and she fell into a deep sleep again.
Living such a leisurely life, time unexpectedly flew by.
She ate and slept all day, and when she woke up she would read a book. Occasionally, when she was particularly energetic, she would tease the two birds. The parrots were well taken care of by the servants and quickly recovered, becoming lively and energetic again.
After four or five days, she finally recovered.
However, Dou Yanxun never returned.
Sometimes, she would sit idly by the window, watching the clouds stretch out and then roll back together, and she couldn't help but think of some past events.
In the past, due to the circumstances of the time, she had not paid much attention to or cared much about these things.
For example, after being dismissed by her, Granny Chang suddenly disappeared without a trace. Most of the old people in the mansion had worked for the Dou family for many years and always had ways to keep in touch with each other, but she vanished without a trace after leaving the mansion.
Or perhaps, the one who walks on the rooftops in the dark, his whereabouts mysterious, and who obeys Dou Yanxun's orders.
Within the vast Dou mansion, were there any other people who knew or had ever noticed his secrets?
As she pondered this, she casually covered the thick ledger.
She scrutinized the numbers of the several estates that came with her dowry every day. After a while, she knew by heart which estate had a poor harvest last year and which estate had an old and senile manager.
The handwriting in the accounting office in the northwest suburbs of Beijing was extremely small, and reading through the few crooked lines of accounts made her eyes ache. So she sat up and called Rongwei to pour her a cup of hot tea.
Rongwei smiled and arranged the four or five small dishes of pastries and snacks that had been brought up on the tray, and then poured her a full cup of Jingshan tea.
The tea liquor is bright and clear, emitting a faint fragrance; the tea leaves, harvested in spring, are naturally the freshest they could be.
Lin Xu looked at him and laughed, "What's wrong? Is there some good news today that you can't keep quiet anymore?"
Upon hearing this, Rong Wei glanced at Lin Xu with delight, then said softly:
"Madam, please don't try to make me happy. I just heard on my way in from the main courtyard that the two gentlemen have returned together and are now paying their respects to the master and madam. I am happy for you, Madam."
Upon hearing this, Lin Xu lowered his eyelashes slightly.
He's back?
However, after a moment of distraction, her fingertips began to ache from being on the hot rim of the cup for too long.
Lin Xu then removed his fingers and smiled, saying:
"I happened to have made some lychee green wine in the kitchen a few days ago, and the timing of my return was just right."
Dou Yanxun doesn't have many hobbies, but enjoying a drink under the moon is one of them.
The household had recently acquired fresh lychees from Nanling, and Madam Bai distributed some to each of the households. At that time, she was bedridden and could not eat anything considered "hot" in traditional Chinese medicine, so Granny Qin instructed the cooks to make wine from the fresh lychees.
Several days have passed, and the lychee green must have finally developed its flavor... Someone certainly knows how to time things perfectly.
Having received her instructions, Rongwei happily withdrew, and a moment later, Zhuling followed Fangxing in, giving her a knowing look.
This is asking her if she wants to put on makeup and change clothes.
She had just recovered and her illness had just subsided. Even at home, she wore ordinary clothes, plain and simple, without a single bright color to her name.
The two had not seen each other for a long time. Before leaving, Dou Yanxun was particularly concerned about her health and even took his anger out on everyone, venting his anger on the servants in the villa.
By all accounts, their relationship should be much closer than before.
As intelligent as Zhu Ling was, she had long since keenly sensed that the lady's thoughts... seemed to be somewhat different from before.
A three-tiered lacquered wooden dressing case was filled with countless bright and dazzling kingfisher feathers.
Zhu Ling picked up two pearl-inlaid hairpins of different sizes and carefully compared them in the mirror. She saw that the person sitting in front of the mirror had only a faint eyebrow color, and finally, with a calm expression, said:
"It doesn't need to be so complicated."
Zhu Ling looked at Lin Xu, puzzled.
But then she continued:
"My husband is going on official business. The journey is arduous, and he is already exhausted. He only wants to rest and doesn't care about these things."
Lin Xu closed her dressing case and stood up. She remained as plain as ever, without any adornment, and against the backdrop of the lingering sunset light streaming in from the window, she appeared as pure and serene as cold jade, exceptionally tranquil.
Her already beautiful face, after several days of recuperation and daily nourishment with bird's nest and ginseng, has gained a more gentle and refined charm.
A little more would be too voluminous, a little less would be too delicate.
Now, just by standing there gracefully, she exudes a faint sense of peace and tranquility, something she never had before.
Zhu Ling was stunned by that beauty for a moment, and unconsciously looked away.
She was clearly someone who served Lin Xu diligently day and night, yet even she couldn't help but feel a sense of bewilderment when looking at Lin Xu's current appearance. She cautiously speculated that the lady seemed to have a more open-minded perspective on some past events...
Thinking this, a moment later, he heard the voice of a little maid relaying a message from the courtyard.
The young maidservant spoke timidly, saying that the second master had just paid his respects to the master in his room and had only rested for a short while when an official invited him to a social engagement. So, the three of them, along with the pregnant eldest son and Lang Ge'er who was not yet a year old, all left the mansion in a carriage.
Zhu Ling hurriedly went to check Lin Xu's expression.
But she stood there, unmoved by his words, her expression completely unchanged.
Madam... you must be feeling sad too.
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