The lady hurriedly handed Zhun Ge to the wet nurse beside her. Just as the little maid squatted down to help her put on her shoes, the eldest lady walked in hurriedly.

She was pale and panicked, tears falling before she even opened her mouth: "Speaking of Yuanniang, she..."

"It's okay, it's okay." The old lady winked at the eldest lady, indicating that Zhun Ge was present, "I just missed you and asked me to pick you up to talk."

Only then did the first wife notice Zhun Ge beside the old lady.

She forced a smile at Zhun Ge: "Zhun Ge, have you eaten?"

Zhun Ge smiled and answered his grandmother in a baby voice: "I ate it. I ate rice balls."

"So good." The eldest wife forced a smile and patted his head. The wet nurse held Zhun Ge and bowed to the eldest wife. Zhen Jieer also came forward to meet her grandmother. The eldest wife took out a jade monkey from her bosom for Zhen Jieer to play with. Zhen Jieer thanked her. The old lady had just put on her shoes and smiled and asked Wei Zi to take the two of them downstairs to play. She accompanied the eldest wife to Yuan Niang's place.

The room was quiet, with benzoin lit, its sweet smell making people feel comfortable.

Seeing the lady dowager and the first wife, Mother Tao, who was taking care of Yuanniang by her bed, stood up quickly.

The lady motioned for her to keep quiet, and Mother Tao bowed silently to the two of them.

The eldest wife walked to the bed and sat down on the small stool where Mother Tao had sat before, tears streaming down her face silently.

The lady took a handkerchief to wipe the tears of the eldest wife, and she and Mother Tao sat with her by Yuanniang's bed for a while. Then she left Mother Tao and went to the front yard.

"...I asked Doctor Liu from the Imperial Hospital to take her pulse and prescribe some calming medicine," the old lady tactfully told the first wife about Yuanniang's condition, then took out the prescription that Doctor Liu had just written from her sleeve and handed it to the first wife.

"Why did he vomit blood? Wasn't he fine during this period?" The eldest wife muttered as she took the prescription. She took advantage of the light in the yard to carefully read the prescription: "This is a prescription for supplementing qi and blood. Although the medicinal materials are expensive, people like us can afford it..." As she spoke, she suddenly came to her senses, was stunned, and covered her mouth and cried again.

The lady was also sad and started crying along with him.

Yao Huang and the others came forward to comfort him: "...Don't cry and hurt yourself, the Fourth Madam is still counting on you to help take care of the Fourth Master!"

After hearing this, the two of them gradually stopped crying.

The maids gathered around the two of them and went to the side room to the east of the main house, where they fetched some water and helped them wash their faces.

The old lady and the first wife washed up again. Just as they sat down, the first wife started crying again.

"Good sister," the lady advised her, holding back her sadness, "If Yuanniang wakes up and wants to see you, your behavior will only make her even sadder."

The eldest wife then took out a handkerchief to wipe her tears. The old lady asked someone to fetch well water to apply to her eyes. Seeing that her mood gradually calmed down, she personally brewed a cup of tea for her.

The eldest wife took the teacup and just took a sip when a little maid ran in: "Madam, Madam, the fourth wife has woken up and wants to see you two."

The eldest wife heard the teacup being thrown away and walked out, leaving the maid who came to report the news four or five steps away. The old lady hurriedly followed.

Yuanniang was lying on her back on the bed. When she heard the noise, she turned her head to the side, her eyes dull and unfocused.

The lady's heart trembled.

Yuanniang, I can't see anymore...

The eldest wife had not yet noticed her daughter's abnormality, so she walked over and held her hand: "Yuan Niang, are you feeling better?"

Yuanniang's eyes turned towards the eldest wife, but couldn't find a place to rest, so they slid to the other side: "Mother, when did you come?" Her voice was weak and thin as a mosquito.

"Just arrived." Lu'e had already brought a small stool and placed it behind the first wife. The first wife sat down and asked Yuanniang, "Are you feeling unwell?"

"It's okay!" Yuanniang smiled and shook her head: "Have you seen Zhun Ge?" She spoke with difficulty.

"I saw it, I saw it," the eldest wife said hurriedly, "He is having a great time with Zhenjie!"

"That's good." Yuanniang smiled and said, "Mother, I asked the Marquis to pick you up here. I thought... if anything happened to me... there would be no one to take care of Zhun Ge... I wanted to pick one of my sisters... a gentle and kind one... to take care of Zhun Ge..."

These words were finally spoken!

The first wife did not feel the slightest bit of joy after the victory of planning ahead. Instead, she felt bitter and unhappy. She felt sorry for her daughter. She had finally come to this day, and it seemed that she was about to get her reward after all the hardship. But who knew that she was actually making wedding clothes for others.

She looked at her daughter, who was pale and thin, and felt grief and anger in her heart. Tears streamed down her face and she couldn't utter a word.

Yuanniang couldn't see her mother's expression, and her hands were flailing in the air: "Mom, Mom..."

The eldest wife looked at her daughter in surprise: "Yuan Niang..." She held her daughter's hand tightly in her palm, "Your eyes..."

"It's okay, it's okay." Yuanniang held her mother's hand, "I was just dizzy for a moment, and I couldn't see clearly!"

The eldest wife was very confused and wanted to ask for details, but Yuanniang smiled and said, "Mother, please help me... pick one of my sisters... to take care of Zhun Ge! I am worried about him..." After a few words, her lips turned white.

The eldest wife nodded with tears in her eyes.

Yuanniang had no choice but to ask her mother again: "Is it okay?"

Are you going to tell this to the Madam?

The first wife thought about it and said loudly: "I promise you, I promise you everything!"

Yuan Niang smiled, then looked around at the lady and said, "Mother, look, which sister of mine do you think is better?"

The old lady thought that when the first wife heard Yuanniang say "find a younger sister to take care of Zhun Ge", she was only sad but not surprised, and her heart was already in a thousand twists and turns. Now seeing Yuanniang asking her, she smiled lightly: "My wife is my mother, and she has personally taught several young ladies. She is very familiar with them. I just hope that Zhun Ge will be well!"

The eldest wife didn't know what to say.

If I talk about Shiyi Niang directly, will it cause resentment among the Xu family? If I don't talk about Shiyi Niang, what if I end up making things worse? But if I don't explain it today, I will let my daughter down again...

While she was hesitating, Yuanniang whispered, "Mother, what do you think of Eleventh Lady? Although she is young, she is dignified and well-mannered..." Her voice was very weak.

The lady was slightly startled.

Unexpectedly, Yuanniang chose Shiyi Niang!

She thought of what happened in the courtyard that day.

Could it be that Eleventh Lady was also involved in this?

The thought flashed through my mind, and I felt a little unhappy.

The eldest wife saw that her daughter had said this and knew that she must be quite sure of it. She nodded repeatedly and agreed with her daughter: "Whatever you say is fine. I will do whatever you say."

Yuanniang asked the lady, "How do you feel?"

The lady pondered and said, "Isn't it too small?"

"He is a little young." Yuanniang smiled palely, "But being young has its advantages. If you take care of him for two years, he will be more stable and people will be more assured when he does things."

In a flash of lightning, the lady suddenly understood.

If you are still young, you can’t consummate your marriage… After a few years, Zhun Ge will grow up…

This is consistent with Yuanniang's usual style!

Madam, please think about it.

The larger the age gap between brothers, the less conflicts there will be!

"Yuan Niang is still very thoughtful." The lady smiled and said, "It depends on what my wife thinks."

It passed without any setbacks...

The eldest wife breathed a sigh of relief. She nodded and said, "I watched Eleventh Lady grow up. She is a good child. She will definitely treat Zhun-ge well in the future."

As Yuanniang listened, her eyelids slowly drooped.

"Yuan Niang!" The eldest wife's heart skipped a beat and tears streamed down her face.

The lady also nervously took a few steps forward to the head of the bed and called out "Yuan Niang".

Yuanniang slowly opened her eyes again: "Mom, I'm tired and want to sleep for a while!"

"Okay, okay, okay." The eldest wife said hurriedly, "You go to sleep, you go to sleep, I'll stay here to watch over you."

Yuanniang listened and smiled slightly, revealing a childlike and peaceful smile.

* * * * * *

After seeing off the first wife, the old lady went to Banyuepan.

Xu Lingyi is painting.

Seeing his mother coming in, he dropped his brush and went to meet her: "If you have anything to say, just ask the maid to call you. Why bother coming here yourself? It's so far..."

"I was just thinking of taking a walk." The lady said, and walked to the drawing table with the help of her son.

Amidst the clouds and mist, an old woodcutter wearing a straw raincoat and hat is walking alone on a narrow path. His loneliness and desolation are vividly portrayed on the paper.

The lady looked at it for a while, sighed softly, turned around and sat on the Luohan seat in the main hall.

Xu Lingyi personally brewed a pot of Laojunmei for the lady.

The lady took the teacup and took a sip. She looked at the pear blossoms outside the hall that looked like the first snow and said with a smile, "This flower will bloom for a long time."

"Spring came late today." Xu Lingyi sat on the armchair below his mother and followed his mother's gaze. "However, the apricot tree next to it has produced a few small green fruits. Do you want to go and have a look later?"

The lady became interested and stood up and said, "Let's go and take a look!"

Xu Lingyi hurriedly supported his mother, and the maids and servants surrounded them and went to the Xinglin Garden next to Banyuepan.

Under the spring light, the lady slowly told Xu Lingyi Yuanniang's decision: "...We all thought the same thing. I just don't know if this girl is consistent in her words and deeds."

Xu Lingyi paused.

"Mother, no matter if she is consistent in her words and deeds, since Yuan Niang dared to let her take care of Zhun Ge, she must have some means to control her." He looked at the warm and spring day beside him, "Don't worry!"

The lady stopped.

She looked at her son with a serious expression.

"What's wrong?" His mother suddenly stopped. Xu Lingyi lowered his head and saw the strange look in his mother's eyes. He smiled and asked, "What do you want to say?"

"I heard that Xiaowu asked Danyang to wear the servant's clothes and took her to the teahouse to listen to opera..."

Xu Lingyi smiled and said, "Mom, don't worry. I will talk to him properly. He will never act like this again."

The lady looked at her son in a daze, was silent for a moment, and said sadly: "No need, if they are happy, I am happy too. Let them be..." Her eyes were slightly wet.

Xu Lingyi looked at his mother in confusion, not knowing why she was sad!

※

I would like to recommend Wei Feng's new work "The Immortals", which is a good choice for those who like fantasy! Of course, those who like romance should not miss it either!

(*^__^*) Hehehe…