Mei Xiyuan and Lu Tianjiao stepped forward and, upon seeing the little girl's face clearly, exchanged bewildered glances and asked each other a question.
"Sister, do you recognize her?"
"Does my sister know this person?"
Before she could ask any questions, seeing the little girl lying unconscious in the cold rain, soaking wet, Mei Xiyuan anxiously said to the waiter, "Could you please help me move this little girl to my room as soon as possible?"
"Well..."
Perhaps worried that his employer would scold him for meddling, the waiter reached up and touched the back of his head, then looked at the inn not far behind him, his face clearly showing some difficulty.
Mei Xiyuan suddenly realized what was happening and hurriedly took out a silver ingot from her pocket and stuffed it into the waiter's hand.
He continued, "You don't know this, but this young lady is definitely not a swindler. She is my savior. Please, young man, if the shopkeeper causes any trouble, I will bear all the consequences."
"Alright, alright, saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda. Since it's also a kind gesture from you, I'll go all out to help you today."
As the waiter spoke, he stuffed the silver into his pocket, then bent down, picked up the little girl from the ground, and hurried into the inn.
"Thank you, thank you so much," Mei Xiyuan said sincerely.
Upon returning to her room at the inn, Mei Xiyuan instructed someone to change the little girl into a dry set of clothes.
He personally fed the patient a strong ginger soup to dispel the cold, and only when he saw the patient's complexion gradually become rosy and that the patient was sweating profusely did he feel relieved.
Finally, she personally wiped the sweat from her forehead, carefully tucked the blanket around her, and then slowly got up.
At this moment, Lu Tianjiao finally spoke up, saying, "I never expected that the one who saved my sister that day was this little girl. This is truly unexpected!"
Recalling her dangerous experience that day, Mei Xiyuan still feels a bit scared.
She sat down by herself, took a sip of hot tea, and slowly said, "If this little girl hadn't appeared in time that day, I'm afraid I would have been..."
Ultimately, not daring to think any further, Mei Xiyuan silently fell silent.
Then, recalling what the waiter had just said, she exclaimed with admiration and curiosity, "I never expected that even a little girl would be so brave, fearless, and loyal. I imagine her young master must be even more extraordinary."
Upon hearing this, Lu Tianjiao swallowed the mouthful of tea in his hand, gave a cold laugh, and said, "Hmph... this little girl's mistress is indeed quite extraordinary..."
Upon hearing this, Mei Xiyuan finally came to her senses and asked, "By the way, how did you come to know this little girl, sister?"
Lu Tianjiao said, "She is a maid from the Yi family in the west of the city."
"The Yi Mansion in the west of the city?"
Upon hearing this, Mei Xiyuan was somewhat surprised, as if she vaguely sensed something, but she couldn't believe it and wanted to confirm it again: "Sister, you mean..."
Lu Tianjiao told her clearly and deliberately, "This person is Yi Shangyun's personal maid, named Yan'er."
"Yan'er..."
Hearing Lu Tianjiao casually mention the little girl's name, Mei Xiyuan felt as if she had been struck by lightning and stared at Lu Tianjiao's face.
Then, he suddenly shifted his gaze to the profile of Yan'er, who was lying on the bed.
In an instant, all the hatred that had been building up inside him surged up.
Mei Xiyuan slowly stood up, went over and glared angrily at Yan'er's face again, secretly clenching her fists, her teeth itching with hatred: "I never thought you were that bitch's maid."
In an instant, the words the two of them had spoken in the pavilion that day echoed clearly in her ears once again.
"What? It seems that the kind and gentle sister who always repays kindness is now changing her mind?" Lu Tianjiao said casually when she saw that the sister was stunned.
As she spoke, she quietly stood up and walked to Mei Xiyuan's side, continuing to urge her in her ear, "Shouldn't you have someone drag her out and dispose of her quietly, then throw her to the dogs? Didn't you just say that you weren't satisfied with your anger? If this little girl dies, that bitch will surely be heartbroken."
Unexpectedly, after a moment of thought, Mei Xiyuan smiled slightly and said, "No, keep her. I have a use for her."
As Lu Tianjiao was pondering her thoughts, Mei Xiyuan instructed her, "Go find the manager yourself and ask him to arrange another superior room for us. Also, give him some more silver and have him send that shop assistant to fetch a doctor to give this little girl a thorough examination."
"What are you trying to do?" Although he was extremely puzzled, seeing that Mei Xiyuan was no longer speaking, Lu Tianjiao had no choice but to comply and agreed, "I'll go and arrange it right away."
Immediately afterwards, he turned and left the room.
Because of Yan'er's appearance, the inn's income, which was already much lower on rainy days, increased by a bit.
Therefore, the waiter was not punished by the shopkeeper.
After about two hours, and with the doctor's careful treatment, Yan'er finally opened her eyes again, still feeling drowsy.
Perhaps because her mind was full of searching for the missing Yi Shangyun, Yan'er opened her eyes and, in a daze, mistook Mei Xiyuan, who appeared in her sight, for her beloved master.
Struggling to her feet, she weakly called out, "Miss, Miss, you're finally back..."
When Mei Xiyuan saw Yan'er wake up, she quickly bent down to help her sit up, and said happily, "Thank God, Yan'er, you're finally awake!"
Only then did Yan'er get a clear look at the face in front of her, and she exclaimed in surprise, "You are...!"
Mei Xiyuan realized that she must have covered herself with a veil that day, so the maid must not have recognized her. She then looked at the maid standing beside her.
The maidservant hurriedly took out a silk handkerchief that Yan'er was familiar with, which had been cleaned and folded neatly, and handed it to her, saying, "Thanks to your help that day, my mistress and I were able to escape danger. We are deeply grateful and have no way to repay your kindness."
When Yan'er reached out to take it, she took a closer look at the maid's face and recognized the two people in front of her. She exclaimed in surprise, "It's you!"
Mei Xiyuan nodded and said with a smile, "That's right, it's us. It seems we're really destined to meet again! We've met again so soon."
Although Yan'er was preoccupied, she smiled faintly at him, glanced around the spacious and bright room, and asked, "Where is this...?"
The maidservant hurriedly introduced, "This is the inn where we are staying temporarily. This is the top-class room that my young lady specially chose for you."
Yan'er asked in bewilderment, "An inn? Why are you at an inn? Why aren't you going home?"
Mei Xiyuan slowly explained, "To be honest, we actually came from the south of the city. We originally intended to buy some goods in the capital, but due to some matters, we were delayed on our return journey. We found you collapsed on the street in the heavy rain just now, so we brought you back here."
"I see, thank you, Yan'er." Upon hearing this, Yan'er lowered her head to express her gratitude.
Mei Xiyuan quickly stopped her, saying, "It's just a small favor. Compared to the kindness you showed us before, it's nothing."
After saying that, he instructed the maid beside him, "Alright, we don't need you here anymore. Go and see if the young lady's medicine is ready."
"Yes," the maid replied as she withdrew.
Mei Xiyuan then said warmly, "Your body hasn't fully recovered yet. The doctor said you need to rest in bed. Why don't you lie down for a while longer?"
Upon hearing this, Yan'er suddenly became anxious and said, "No, I have important business to attend to and must leave immediately."
As she spoke, she threw off the covers and tried to get out of bed.
Mei Xiyuan quickly stopped her, saying, "Even if you have something urgent to do, you need to take care of your health first. You're so weak right now, you can't go anywhere."
Ignoring all his advice, Yan'er stubbornly said, "No, I have to go find my young lady. Something has happened to her, something must have happened to her. I have to go save her. Don't stop me, I must go save her."
Although Yan'er was thin and weak, she had been serving others since she was a child and had some strength. Mei Xiyuan couldn't stop her at all and was pushed aside in a few moves.
Although she managed to break free from Mei Xiyuan's obstruction, she ultimately succumbed to her physical discomfort.
As soon as he stood up, he swayed and couldn't stand up anymore.
Seeing that she was about to fall to the ground, Mei Xiyuan quickly reached out to support her and said angrily, "You little girl, why are you so stubborn? Deep down, you really are quite similar to your young lady."
Yan'er sat back down on the bedside, leaning against the bed railing, and said breathlessly, "You... how do you know my young lady... do you recognize my young lady?"
Mei Xiyuan immediately realized she had misspoke and quickly covered it up, saying, "How could I possibly know your young lady? I just saw you like this and thought your master must be like you on ordinary days."
But when the topic turned to the clouds on her clothes, Yan'er became anxious and burst into tears: "Waaah..."
Mei Xiyuan quickly comforted her, "Alright, alright, stop crying. Why are you crying?"
As she spoke, another idea suddenly popped into her head: "Why don't you tell me about your young lady? Perhaps I can help you?"
Upon hearing this, Yan'er sniffed and looked at Mei Xiyuan's face...
The two talked for a long time, and Mei Xiyuan finally understood that Yi Shangyun had been a very pitiful person since childhood.
However, it cannot be denied that she is a kind, brave, and strong woman who can face so much discrimination and setbacks in life on her own. No wonder Xuanyuan Han is so infatuated with her.
She even thought that if it weren't for Xuanyuan Han, they might have become very good friends.
At this moment, it must be said that life is always full of unexpected twists and turns.
Just as Mei Xiyuan was lost in thought, Yan'er suddenly asked, "By the way, Yan'er has not yet asked Miss's surname. I just heard Miss say that she came from the south of the city, but judging from Miss's accent, she doesn't seem to be from Western Qin."
Mei Xiyuan immediately came to her senses and said awkwardly, "I..."
Just then, Lu Tianjiao hurried to the door and gently called to Mei Xiyuan, "Sister, come here for a moment."
Mei Xiyuan then instructed Yan'er, "Yan'er, wait for me a moment, I'll be right back."
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