10 Sick
◎Our girl is sick today, I'm afraid she can't come.◎
In the main room, Old Lady Wei, wearing a purple robe with longevity patterns, was half-leaning on the couch, folding lotus lanterns for praying. Suddenly, she heard the maid report that her cousin and the second daughter had arrived. She hurriedly called them in and asked the maid to bring chairs for them to sit nearby.
After untying his cloak, Lu Jia'an didn't sit in the chair. Instead, he leaned over to the edge of the couch with a smile, leaning against his grandmother. "It's even colder now that the sun's out. Grandma, please be careful when you go in and out of the Buddhist temple. Don't catch a cold!"
Old Madam Wei patted her hands and said with a smile, "It's not cold when it snows, but when the snow melts, it's cold. You should be careful too." Then she looked at Chu Yufu, who was sitting obediently on the chair, and said with a smile, "The same goes for Fu girl. When the snow melts, the road is slippery. You should walk carefully."
"Yes." Chu Yufu nodded obediently.
A few days ago, she thought the scent of the sleeping sachet must have faded, so she made another identical one and delivered it personally. In addition, she occasionally "ran into" her grandmother when she came to visit her cousin. After several encounters, she had more contact with her grandmother in the past half month than her original self had in the previous two years.
After quietly listening to her cousin and grandmother chatting about storybooks for a while, Chu Yufu gently took over the conversation: "Grandma, Fu'er recently learned a technique to open up the meridians and help you sleep. Why don't you let your cousin read the story while I give you a massage?"
Upon hearing this, Mrs. Wei's smile deepened. She raised her hand and pushed up the cloud-patterned brocade forehead protector, then lay down and said, "Okay, let the little master give it a try."
She stood up and sat around to the side of Grandmother's head. She first warmed her fingers on the incense burner before gently placing them on the back of the old woman's neck. Her fingertips pressed precisely on the sleeping point, slowly applying pressure. "Grandmother, please close your eyes and rest."
Lu Jiaan sat on the footstool, flipping the pages of the book with a rustling sound, and leaned his head on his grandmother's lap to read.
Snow drips outside the window lattice, sandalwood incense wafts in the main room, and the sound of reading books is heard lightly.
Two beautiful girls, one lively and cute, the other well-behaved and quiet, gathered together in front of the old lady's bed, giving off a warm and peaceful feeling.
Mother Yang, who was serving in the main house, looked at the three generations of grandparents and grandchildren with a smile, stepped forward to fill the tea on the table, and seeing the old lady's relaxed brows, she couldn't help feeling happy.
Unexpectedly, after an incense stick of time, grandma actually began to snore softly. Chu Yufu stopped what she was doing, exchanged a glance with her cousin, carefully left the bed, and walked outside to whisper to Mother Yang, "Mother Yang, this meridian-opening and sleep-inducing massage is best done for four consecutive days. I'll come back tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, and the day after that, okay?"
"Well, I'll tell the old lady when she wakes up." Mother Yang responded with a smile.
The old lady slept until lunchtime. When she woke up, she felt extremely relaxed, her eyes were clear and her chest was at ease. When she learned that the second girl would come back the next day or the day after tomorrow, she smiled and nodded.
Mother Yang helped her sit up and said with a smile, "The second young lady may be engaged and will soon be married, so she seems to be closer to you than before."
In fact, not only is she closer to the old lady, but even her temperament seems different from before. Although the second girl was quiet before, she seemed a little depressed and less lively at first glance. Now the second girl seems much more clear-headed in her words and deeds.
But a servant has no right to judge her master, so it is not her turn to say these words.
"I heard that the other party is the third son of the Li family in the Imperial College?" asked the old lady.
"Yes, and a legitimate child."
"Oh?" The old lady turned to look at her, somewhat surprised. "Did the master make the decision?"
Mother Yang thought for a moment and said, "I heard it was decided by the Madam."
The old lady lowered her eyes and smiled, then sat down at the table, picked up the porcelain spoon, and stirred the bird's nest porridge in the bowl. "It's amazing that she, with her petty manners, is willing to let go?"
"Whether legitimate or illegitimate, they are all Madam's children. If they marry well, Madam will be proud." Mother Yang lowered her head, picked up a piece of fish belly and placed it on her plate, smiling and continuing, "Besides, Madam has been in charge of the household for nearly ten years, so you should rest assured."
It was no secret that the old lady disliked her daughter-in-law; the servants who had served her for a long time knew it to some degree. Most people assumed that the old lady was too picky and looked down on a woman from a humble family, perhaps including Wu herself, who felt that her mother-in-law looked down on her and was deliberately making things difficult for her.
But as the old lady's companion, Mother Yang knew the reason very well.
Back then, Mr. Chu was considered a good student. He won the third place in the imperial examination at a young age and had a bright future. The old lady took the trouble to select a beautiful girl from the family for him, but Mr. Chu refused to meet her and insisted on marrying Wu. The old lady did not get angry because she saw that her son was stubborn and Wu was good-looking and had literary talent, so she agreed.
But after Wu came into the family, she not only used the public funds to subsidize her younger brother, but also lavishly bought herself gold and silver jewelry. She also took advantage of her daughter to embarrass her pregnant concubine. The old lady was the daughter of the respectable Hedong Wei family, and she could see through her shady tactics at a glance. However, due to her pride, she did not want to expose her and embarrass her, so she often criticized her from the side.
Later, the old lady's third daughter, who was still unmarried, died unexpectedly. She was so grief-stricken that she burned incense and prayed in the hall all day long. She no longer had the energy to manage the household, so she handed it over to Mrs. Wu. Perhaps because Mrs. Wu was getting older, the family has been relatively stable and peaceful in recent years.
Now the second daughter is getting married, the cousin's family is about to return to Beijing, the master has a stable career, and the mistress is doing things steadily. The whole Chu family is thriving. The old lady has been enjoying her meals more recently. Thinking of this, Mother Yang smiled and picked up another piece of duck meat: "The duck skewers are well made today, please eat more."
The next day, the second girl came as usual, together with her cousin, holding the unfinished books, and spent time with the old lady.
The same thing happened on the third day, but on the fourth day, which was the last day, the sun was rising in the sky, but everyone in the room waited and waited, but there was no sign of the second girl.
Just when the old lady wanted to send someone to ask, the second girl's personal maid arrived.
"Madam, cousin, our daughter is ill today and I'm afraid she can't come."
Lu Jia'an was a little surprised when he heard this. He sat up straight and asked, "When did this happen? Is it serious?" Without waiting for the maid to answer, he turned to his grandmother and said, "Grandma, I'll go see my second sister."
The old lady nodded and agreed: "Mother Yang, you and Jia'an go and take a look together."
The group arrived at Zhuyu Courtyard, where the maid said Chu Yufu had just taken her medicine and gone to sleep. Lu Jiaan and Mother Yang gently pushed open the door to the main house, wanting to go in and see her. However, as soon as they stepped in, Lu Jiaan exclaimed in surprise.
"What's going on? Why is this room as cold as an ice cellar?"
A chill came towards them, penetrating into the bones, and both of them shivered at the same time.
On the desk in the left side room, the ink in the inkstone had frozen into ice, and the wolf hair brush hanging on the pen holder was also frozen stiff. Looking to the right, the green curtains of the big bed in the master room were half-drawn, and a charcoal basin was placed at the foot of the bed. Although there were still some gray embers in the basin, it had long lost its temperature.
"Is my cousin here?"
The bed curtains were lifted, revealing Miss Chu's face, which was three times whiter than the snow outside.
She was wrapped in a thick quilt, looking listless. Her fan-like eyelashes cast a dark shadow under her eyes. Her long black hair covered the pillow, and the strands of hair at her temples were wet with sweat and stuck to her cheeks, making her look haggard and sickly.
Lu Jiaan's heart tightened. He quickly sat down beside the bed, stepped forward, and held her cold hand. He said, "What happened? You were fine yesterday. How did you become so sick overnight?"
Mother Yang frowned and whispered to Lan Zhu, who was following behind: "How are you serving her? The girl's room is so cold, I think you don't want to live like this anymore! Hurry up and light some charcoal!"
"No, no need, cough cough!" Chu Yufu didn't have time to reply to her cousin. Seeing Lan Zhu was about to go out, she forced herself to stand up and call her.
Immediately afterwards, intermittent sounds of quarreling came from the next room.
"...Go and get the charcoal."
"Sister Yunsui, the girl said that it can only be burned at night."
"You're such a stubborn girl! It's already this critical moment, why are you still saving all this money?... We'll figure it out when the time comes. There'll always be a way."
Mrs. Yang and Lu Jiaan were both stunned, their eyes falling on the burnt charcoal ash at the foot of the bed.
Miss Chu Er's face flushed first, then turned paler than before. She forced a smile and said, "I have a fever and I'm sweating all over. There's no need to burn charcoal." Then she gently took her hand and touched her forehead.
When Lu Jiaan's fingertips touched her fair face, he felt the cold sweat on her face, and the hand holding his was trembling slightly.
At this time, Lan Zhu, who was standing by the door, suddenly knelt down, kowtowed twice on the ground, and cried.
"Girl! Girl, how long are you going to endure this? Are you really going to freeze to death in this yard? You... you! Woo——"
"...You unruly girl, what are you doing! Get up!" Miss Chu's eyes suddenly turned red, and she stared at her fiercely with a pair of big, unintimidating rabbit eyes. Her lips were bitten white, and tears were rolling in her eyes!
Lu Jiaan was stunned. She sat beside the bed for a long time but couldn't find the sound. Before, she only knew that her second cousin was living a hard life, but she didn't expect it to be so bad.
Since the beginning of winter, my eldest cousin has changed her fur cloak more than three times, and my second cousin has to be very frugal even when burning charcoal. My aunt seems to be quite gentle, so why is she so bad to my second cousin? Is it because she is not her biological daughter?
The second sister has been wanting to stay at her place these past two days. Is it because her own yard is too cold and she can't stand it anymore? Is she making sachets in this freezing room? How can she hold a needle?
Mrs. Yang was better than Lu Jiaan. After she realized what was happening, she pulled Lan Zhu up and said in a low voice, "Go light the charcoal basin first. The girl is precious, so what's that little thing worth?"
"Hey!" Lan Zhu burst into laughter, raised her sleeve to wipe her face, ran over to pick up the charcoal brazier and rushed to the ear room.
Mother Yang has seen clearly in Cishou Hall these days that the second girl is a well-behaved and gentle hibiscus flower. She usually even smiles with her lips pursed. Although she is not the smartest, she is the most kind and obedient.
People with this kind of personality are naturally the easiest to bully.
At such a young age, he lost the protection of his biological mother and had to make a living under his stepmother. He suffered all kinds of grievances but still wanted to endure it. Being well-behaved and obedient is a good thing, but his character is too weak. If he hadn't happened to have an appointment with the old lady this time, who knows when this matter would have been discovered!
Now, what exactly is going on? Didn't Mrs. Wu just promise the second daughter a good family? She seems to love her, so why is she treating her so harshly in private?
After a while, Lanzhu and Yunsui came in holding two charcoal basins and placed them at the head and foot of the bed respectively.
Lu Jiaan put her arm back into the quilt and whispered comfortingly, "Don't be afraid, Grandma will definitely make the decision for you."
"...It's all my own fault. Mother, mother, you are doing this for my own good." After a moment of silence, Chu Yufu lowered her head and whispered.
The little girl is simple-minded, and her grievances are clearly hidden under her wet eyelashes. Even a fool can see it. But even at this point, she still clings to the saying "it's for my own good". She is really a softie, which makes people angry!
"you--"
Lu Jiaan's eyebrows arched, ready to explode in anger, but he paused when he saw her pale face. An inexplicable desire to protect her exploded in his heart. He stood up angrily and walked out, not forgetting to instruct the maid before leaving: "Take good care of your daughter!"
Mother Yang followed her out and closed the door tightly when she left, not letting any wind in.
Chu Yufu heard the footsteps outside the door go away, raised her sleeve to wipe away her tears, and whispered: "I'm not feeling well, I need to sleep for a while, don't come in unless you have something to do."
The two men responded, tucked in the quilt for her, closed the door and left.
【Author’s words】
Angel, we will update according to the list before V! Update at 9 am [erect ears rabbit head]
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