Chapter 689 Preparation (Part 2)

The room is bright.

Yingniang was leaning to one side. Her dark hair was tied up in a bun. She was wearing a lake-colored jacket, a plain blue skirt, and golden willow-leaf earrings. From a distance, she looked gleaming with golden light, like a bunch of sunlight lost in the world.

Opposite her stood Xu Siqi, who was a head taller than her.

He was wearing an eggplant purple straight gown by Hangqi Fang Shengmin. His delicate eyebrows were tightly knitted together, and his clear eyes were full of worry.

"I've already asked for leave from the master. It's okay." Xu Siqi said in a low voice with a hint of gentleness in his coldness, "It's my eldest cousin who has been staying here to take care of mother..." He said with a hint of guilt, "It's my turn now. My eldest cousin, go and have a rest!"

Yingniang laughed out loud when she heard this. Shi immediately remembered Shiyi Niang who was still asleep, and quickly covered her mouth. After a while, she said, "It's your mother, isn't it my aunt? She doesn't sleep a lot in the middle of the night, and she hasn't slept for days and nights. Why would she need to change someone? Fifth cousin, you should go to school soon, right? Seeing you work hard, your aunt is happier than anything else. It's a hundred times, a thousand times better than you sitting here doing nothing..."

Xu Siqi couldn't help feeling embarrassed.

He passed the imperial examination in February. Eleventh Lady was very happy and made two pieces of clothes for him personally. She also gave him a Duan inkstone worthy of being the top scorer in the imperial examination.

"Go quickly, go quickly!" Yingniang said with a smile, "I'm here."

Xu Siqi hesitated and looked towards Shiyi Niang.

Shiyi Niang felt as if she was eavesdropping and subconsciously closed her eyes.

"Well, then!" Xu Siqi said after a long while. "If mother wakes up, you can ask her what's wrong with her? Should we call a doctor? If you can't make up your mind, send a servant to Douge's hometown. Father will definitely come back when he hears that mother is not feeling well." "I know." Yingniang smiled. She seemed a little indifferent to his nagging.

Xu Siqi also heard it. He stood there looking at Yingniang, as if he would not leave unless she agreed.

"Don't we still have our fourth cousin and his wife?" Yingniang said helplessly after a while. "Why should we go so far? Today is Master Dou's birthday. If we go there like this, it will be a joke." After saying that, she paused for a while and said, "Even if our fourth cousin and his wife can't make up their minds, don't we still have our fifth aunt and second aunt? Go to school! I know what to do?" The tone was as if she was sending Xu Siqi away.

Xu Siqi's face flushed, but he had to admit that Yingniang was right.

"Then... then I'm leaving! Mother has woken up. Remember to bring me a message." After he gave his instructions, he scurried out of the inner room.

Yingniang looked at his back and smiled.

The maid Wanxiang hurriedly whispered, "Miss, this is not at home, and the Fifth Young Master is not our Young Master Kang. You have taught him since he was a child, so he is used to it. Please be careful with your words."

"It's okay!" Yingniang smiled, "He has a good temper and won't take it to heart. Even his fourth cousin, his second cousin's wife, and even his eldest and third cousin's wives in Sanjing Hutong are all very easygoing. Don't worry."

The tone was very affirmative. No one mentioned Jiang.

Eleventh Lady was a little curious and opened her eyes. Then she heard the maid hurriedly say, "My dear lady, this is in my lady's room. If my lady heard you talking about people behind their backs, I'm afraid she would be unhappy."

Yingniang smiled embarrassedly and put her arm around Wanxiang's shoulder: "Okay, okay. Is it okay if I'm wrong?" She was a little worried in her heart. As she spoke, she looked at Shiyi Niang, and her eyes met Feng Yi Niang's.

"Ouch!" She blushed and looked embarrassed. "When did my aunt wake up?"

Eleventh Lady didn't want to embarrass her. She smiled and said, "I was half asleep and woke up when I heard someone was accompanying me!"

Yingniang smiled with her lips pursed, her eyes twinkling, and she looked very happy.

"Aunt, would you like to drink some water?" She hurried forward to help Eleventh Lady.

Eleventh Lady sat up by herself: "Okay, pour me a glass of water."

Yingniang nodded, and Wanxiang had already poured a cup of warm water and brought it over.

Shiyi Niang held the teacup and glanced around the room casually, only Ying Niang and her servant were there.

"My fourth cousin, Mother Song, and Guan Qing's wife are all busy," Yingniang said immediately, "I am the only one who has nothing to do, so I will stay here with you." She said seriously, "Guan Qing's wife said that you are not feeling well. Where are you feeling unwell? Is it a headache? Or is it a tightness in your chest?"

"It's okay," Shiyi Niang smiled and took a sip of water. "In this weather, it's hot if I cover myself with a thick quilt, and it's cold if I cover myself with a thin quilt. I just didn't sleep well at night." Ying Niang looked at Shiyi Niang carefully for a while, and only breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that she looked very good.

"Fourth cousin's wife came to ask you something. Guan Qing's wife said you had rested. Fourth cousin's wife was a little worried, so she came to see you. The mothers in charge were waiting for her instructions. She was afraid of disturbing you, so she asked Baozhu to help pass the message. I happened to come to give flowers to my aunt, and saw Baozhu running around sweating profusely. So I took the initiative to stay here and take care of you." Before Eleventh Lady could speak, Yingniang smiled and said, "Aunt, please don't blame me for taking the initiative. I was just afraid of delaying our visit to the Medicine King Temple tomorrow." This child has a strong observation ability.

Eleventh Lady smiled slightly, wanting to ask why Xu Siqi was here, but she swallowed her words when she thought of what she had just said, that she woke up when Yingniang admitted her fault, and said with a smile, "I'm fine. You don't have to be nervous. Send someone to talk to your fourth cousin's wife, and tell her not to worry."

As she was talking, Xiang came over with her child in her arms and said, "I heard that you are not feeling well. Where are you feeling unwell?"

"I'm fine." That's the bad thing about having someone visit you. You have to keep repeating your agreement.

Yingying twisted her body in her wet nurse's arms, asking Shiyi Niang to hold her.

Eleventh Lady picked up Yingying and put her on the kang. She immediately climbed to the window and reached out to catch the goldfish.

Xiang was startled and climbed onto the kang to grab the child, but Shiyi Niang had already smiled and carried Yingying to Yirui, Xu Sizhen and Jiang came.

"Mother, I heard from Sese that you are not feeling well." He looked a little worried. "Where are you feeling unwell?"

Although Yingniang was there to take care of him, she was still a guest after all.

Jiang felt uneasy, so as soon as she left the house, she sent someone to inform Xu Sizhen in the outer courtyard.

"I'm fine." Eleventh Lady smiled and asked her to sit down, "I was just about to send someone to tell you." Then she pointed to the armchair beside them and asked them to sit down, and asked about Jiang's preparations for going to the Medicine King Temple tomorrow.

Seeing Shiyi Niang leaning on the big pillow with a rosy face, Jiang Shi's heart finally settled down. She answered Shiyi Niang's questions carefully.

Yingniang retreated quietly.

Xu Sizhen and Xiang Shi both listened attentively, only the ignorant Yingying was mumbling something beside her, thinking that Jiang Shi was talking to her. Xiang Shi hurriedly took the child out.

Eleventh Lady nodded slightly. She gave Jiang two tasks, and Jiang completed them both very well.

"I'll leave tomorrow's work to you." Eleventh Lady said with a smile, "After you finish this, take a good rest for a few days."

Jiang said modestly, "Mother, you are too kind. I have the help of Mrs. Song from the Guanqing family, and I am just talking."

Eleventh Lady thought about how fluent Jiang was in answering questions just now, and it was obvious that she had put in a lot of effort. She smiled and brought tea: "Everything has been explained, you should go back to your room and rest! Get enough rest so that you can go to the Medicine King Temple tomorrow."

The two of them nodded respectfully and left the inner room. They saw Yingniang sitting on the big kang by the window in the west room, cutting paper-cuts, and Xiang was sitting beside her, holding the child.

"Fourth cousin, fourth cousin's wife, you're going back!" Xiang Niang stood up with a smile.

Jiang smiled and nodded, teasing Yingying.

Xu Sizhen picked up a paper-cut window paper and said, "What are you cutting? It's not New Year or any festival now, why are you suddenly cutting window paper-cuts?" It was Zhang Xijue Dengzhi.

"Isn't Sister Xi'er, who lives next to my fifth cousin, going to get married soon?" Yingniang said with a smile, "I'm free now, so I'll cut some window decorations for her."

He knew about this. Just now, Chief Steward Bai said that he wanted to send a few maids to work in Xu Siqi's room.

"It's a great cut!" Xu Sizhen said with a smile, "I'll just leave the paper-cuts for this year's New Year to my cousin!"

"I won't do it!" Yingniang joked with Xu Sizhen with a smile, "There are so many windows in the mansion. Even if I start cutting them now, I won't be able to finish them by the New Year! Besides, window decorations in the grocery store are only three cents and five cents. I'm not losing out if I cut so many window decorations for you guys for free!"

Xu Sinian found her story interesting and said with a smile, "It turns out that my eldest cousin likes Brother Kong Fang. She cuts paper-cuts for the windows when she sees him, and doesn't cut them when she doesn't see him."

All three of them laughed.

"What are you talking about so happily?" Xu Siyi walked in from outside. "Is mother awake? Did she say that she was feeling unwell?" His eyes immediately fell on Yingniang.

"Mom said it was okay." Yingniang smiled, "I think he was just tired and wanted to rest."

Xu Siqi's expression relaxed.

Xu Sizhen was surprised and asked, "How do you know that mother is not feeling well?"

"I noticed that my mother looked unhappy these past two days," he said, "and I was a little worried. I told Mr. Chang and asked him to come over to check on her. I didn't expect that my mother was really feeling unwell!"

Xu Sizhen felt a little ashamed.

He also felt that his mother was unhappy, but he didn't think of coming to see her...

Yingniang saw it clearly and said hurriedly, "Fourth cousin, fourth cousin's wife, let's have dinner with aunt later! More people will make it more lively. Maybe aunt's mood will improve!"

"Okay!" Xu Sizhen said hurriedly, "We'll bring Ting'er over later."

The atmosphere will be better with children around.

After everyone had discussed it, they went their separate ways.

Xu Siyi and Yingniang went to the inner room and chatted with Shiyi Niang for a long time. They waited for Jiange'er to finish school and had lunch together. In the afternoon, Xu Siyi and Jiange'er went to school, while Shiyi Niang and Yingniang chose clothes and jewelry to wear to the Yaowang Temple. In the evening, everyone gathered together for dinner.

Xu Lingyi is back.

He was very surprised to see a room full of people.

"Dad, you're back!" Jing'er was the first to jump out and greet him happily.

Xu Lingyi smiled and put his arm around his son's shoulders. Shiyi Niang then stood up: "Have you had dinner, Lord? If not, I'll ask the kitchen to add a few dishes!"

She smiled and looked no different from usual. But people who knew her could still see that her eyes were cold.

Xu Lingyi couldn't help but smile bitterly.