Chapter 15 The Stage is Set
Old Madam Lin is really sick, very sick.
Song Yanxi took her pulse under the pretext of paying her respects. She was so anxious and angry that her qi was stagnant. She had to rely on a mouthful of medicine every day to survive.
Now, Nanny Zhang was beaten so badly that she couldn't get out of bed. The people under her care were not attentive enough, and even after consulting several doctors, there was no improvement.
In Zhu Yu's words, "Servants are also human beings. The old woman who has been married for many years can give up her dowry just like that. Everyone in Fushou Hall is afraid of becoming the next Aunt Zhang."
Fushou Hall was in chaos, and Lin Tingxuan's Lanxuan Courtyard was also in turmoil every day. The maids and servants who served there were either beaten or punished if they didn't come out, and they were miserable.
Song Yanxi had to go to Prince Jin's Mansion to treat Mo Jinchuan in the evening. She had to catch up on sleep during the day. After finally squeezing out some time, she had to look through medical books to find ancient prescriptions. She simply pretended to be sick and stayed indoors.
For ten consecutive days, the door of Lingxi Pavilion was only opened in the morning and evening when people went out to buy things.
After Zhou had been in charge of the household for ten days and had given out three hundred taels of silver as compensation and still been blamed for it, she finally couldn't hold it in any longer.
She sat on the stool beside the bed, looking at Song Yanxi, whose face was pale and looked as if it could be blown away by the wind, and felt her face burning.
Song Yanxi smiled weakly and said softly, "Sister-in-law works hard at home, and yet she still comes to see me. I am really... really ashamed."
As she spoke, she coughed violently twice, and her already ugly face turned even more pale.
Seeing her like this, Zhou Shi didn't have the nerve to ask her to return to the position of housekeeper. She said with concern, "We're all family, there's no need to be so formal. You're not feeling well, so remember to take your medicine on time, and don't be too sad about your second brother's situation."
As Zhou spoke, she took Song Yanxi's hand and said earnestly, "You are still young. As long as you have the green mountains, you will never worry about having no firewood to burn. Everything else is empty and nothing is more important than your own health."
"Sister-in-law is right. Yanxi will remember it." Song Yanxi's smile became more sincere.
Zhou murmured, "Just remember it, just remember it..."
Realizing that she had talked too much, she quickly stood up and left, making the excuse that she had something to do in the yard.
After she left, Zhuzhi said, "Miss, it seems that the eldest lady already knows."
Song Yanxi nodded. "My sister-in-law has been waiting by my bedside these past few days. It's inevitable. She has her own difficulties. It's not easy for her to tell me this."
Zhuzhi hummed and said, "Young lady, you are too kind-hearted. The Su embroidery that the eldest lady is wearing, the red coral hairpin in her hair, and the bracelet on her wrist were all given to her by you."
Speaking of this, she couldn't help but feel pained, "What was sent to Fushoutang the day before yesterday were all good things. It was really a bargain for the old lady."
Zhu Yu had just come in to deliver a letter. Upon hearing this, she couldn't help but laugh and said, "Young lady, you're truly as foresighted as a god. Second Auntie returned yesterday with the tonic you gave her, and she praised you to everyone in the mansion, telling everyone she met how blessed the general and the old lady were."
People who accept favors are grateful and those who receive food are soft-hearted. This has been the case since ancient times.
The second aunt of the Lin family is short-sighted and has a notorious gossip. She knows everything about every family in the capital.
In addition, she is a married daughter of the Lin family, so what she says is more credible.
Zhuzhi tasted the flavor and looked at Song Yanxi with more and more admiration, as if writing on her face, "My girl is the smartest in the world."
*
"Miss, there's a letter from Prince Jin." Song Yanxi was flipping through a medical book when Zhuzhi hurried in from outside.
Song Yanxi opened the letter, took out the letter paper, and her face turned cold after just one glance.
After reading the contents of the letter, Song Yanxi asked Zhuzhi to bring a candlestick over and watched the paper turn into ashes before her eyes.
She then looked at Zhu Yu and said, "Tomorrow morning when you go out to buy things, go to Juweizhai to find Xu Bai and tell him that he can start doing what I told him to do."
Zhu Yu hurriedly wrote it down, but a look of worry appeared on his face.
Song Yanxi had explained everything clearly to Si Genzhu about how Lin Tingfeng faked his death, plotted to steal her dowry and wanted to force her to die.
Now that he guessed that it was him who came back, Zhu Yu was afraid that his daughter would suffer.
After all, since ancient times, women have regarded their husbands as their heaven. With just this one sentence, the general could suppress her daughter without doing anything.
Seeing through her concerns, Song Yanxi chuckled, "Don't worry, your girl is not that weak and easy to bully."
*
The day Lin Tingfeng returned to the city, the sky was cloudless, a rare good weather this month.
He and Zhuang Shihan rode together, their bodies tightly pressed against each other, their posture more intimate than that of a married couple.
Although the people of Da'an are open-minded, it is rare to see such disregard for worldly views.
As soon as the two entered the city, they attracted everyone's attention.
Zhuang Shihan's pretty face turned slightly red, and she pretended to get off the horse, but the man Lin Tingfeng grabbed her slender waist.
He said forcefully, "You are this general's wife. You don't need to care about what others think."
Lin Tingfeng said this with a low laugh, leaning close to Zhuang Shihan's ear and whispering, "You wanted it before, but now you don't want it anymore. Why do you like saying one thing and thinking another?"
"You!" Zhuang Shihan's face was as red as a ripe apple, and her almond-shaped eyes were full of shyness, making her look particularly attractive.
If Lin Tingfeng hadn't known that they were outside, he would probably have been unable to resist kissing her.
Amidst a burst of sighs, someone suddenly shouted, "Isn't this General Lin?"
"Which General Lin?"
"The one who died last month."
"Dead? Could he have encountered a ghost in broad daylight?"
The conversation between the few people was too fast. When Lin Tingfeng reacted, the people around him started to look at him with strange eyes.
His face turned cold. He didn't expect that he was recognized as soon as he arrived at the city gate after wearing casual clothes.
If I had known this earlier, I would have prepared an extra horse when I passed the previous post station.
Zhuang Shihan's expression was equally grim. She quickly lowered her head and hid it in Lin Tingfeng's chest, urging him, "Brother Feng, let's get into the city quickly."
Lin Tingfeng thought she was just shy, so he whipped the horse's butt lightly and entered the city gate.
As soon as they left, the people at the city gate gathered together, all with contempt on their faces.
Someone spoke up for Song Yanxi, "Madam Lin had just recovered from her illness yesterday, and she was busy going to Puming Temple to pray for her mother-in-law. Who would have thought that General Lin would come back from the dead and bring a woman back with him?"
"I heard from my uncle's niece that Madam Lin originally wanted to go with General Lin, but she was stopped by someone."
"On his wedding day, General Lin left for the war without even entering the bridal chamber. Madam Lin took care of the household chores at the General's Mansion, served her parents-in-law, and was deeply in love with him. How can he be worthy of Madam Lin by acting like this?"
At the same time, Song Yanxi, who they said loved Lin Tingfeng to death and was even willing to die for him, was now sitting in a carriage facing the street of General Lin's Mansion.
The stage has been set up, so as a character in the play, she naturally has to come and support it.
But the timing cannot be too early or too late.
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