After Steward Wang left, Doctor Chen came back with the medicine boy Shanshan. Just as he sat down and was looking at Si Li, who he thought would not wake up, Doctor Chen suddenly heard the courtyard door creak, and the sound of laughter came from far away, and his face suddenly darkened.
"The young lady needs to rest during her illness. It is inappropriate to make such a noise so late at night."
Si Li heard that he was shirking responsibility and said that it had nothing to do with him if the illness could not be cured. Doctor Chen was the doctor of the Si Mansion. The original owner had mostly endured her illnesses in the past and had not had much contact with him. He had a clear understanding of the original owner's status and would not help, but he was obviously afraid of being blamed.
At this time, there was not much money, and both the maid and the doctor were looking at their own interests, which made it convenient for Si Li to borrow strength. After bowing his head and coughing twice, Si Li said, "I just woke up today, so I sent them to buy some small things to eat. I won't do this again in the future."
"Hey, who opened the door? Xiao Que is so clumsy, maybe she stole something!"
Doctor Chen left the door of his private room open to avoid suspicion. When Qinglian came in and yelled at him, he felt a little embarrassed. He put down his wrist pillow heavily and said, "Nonsense!"
"Qingyu Qinglian." Si Li said before the maids could shout in surprise, "Pour a glass of water for Doctor Chen. Put away the things you bought before coming back. Leave the extra coins for me. I will need them later."
Qinglian was a little unconvinced, but Qingyu, who saw that Doctor Chen was dissatisfied, pulled her back. She quickly stepped forward and knelt down to salute, and continued Si Li's cover-up, "Doctor Chen, I wonder how the young lady is doing? She had a severe fever a few days ago, it was really scary." As she spoke, she put down two pieces of silver from her sleeves and turned to Si Li, "The manor is too remote, and there is a shortage of everything. I didn't buy food for the young lady, and I missed the time. I hope the young lady will forgive me."
It was not the first or second time that they made mistakes when they went out to play, but the original owner was soft-tempered and never intervened. After hearing the excuse, Si Li just smiled and did not comment, and Qingyu Bento's incident was covered up as usual.
Seeing the expressions of the three people, Doctor Chen beside them immediately understood whose pocket the medicine and medical fees that the young lady had underpaid went to. He would naturally not admit that he had asked for too high a price, so he mentally made a note of the two maids and said in a deep voice, "How can you recover from your illness if you keep making such a fuss?"
Qingyu was annoyed to see him pretending to be a gentleman, but seeing that the young lady had recovered and Doctor Chen was about to return to the capital, she had to respond to whatever he said to avoid him complaining to the lady. Qingyu flattered him, "Don't worry, sir. I'll pour you some tea."
Qinglian followed Qingyu out of the door and threw her hands away, angrily saying, "Why did you give her money? That old man is also annoying, how can he teach you a lesson!"
Qing Yu said slowly, "We can only deal with it for a few days, and wait until he leaves. If we displease the Madam, she will transfer you and me to another place, and then we won't be able to live the good life we have now. Think about it."
Qinglian remained silent. Si Li, who followed the opened screen and watched them leave, also stopped laughing. "Excuse me. Don't disturb Doctor Chen's rest. I'm fine except for fatigue and headache after waking up. I feel relieved after taking his pulse." Si Li seemed to have just noticed the look in Doctor Chen's eyes on the two pieces of silver on the bedside. She said shyly, "I didn't bring any valuables with me when I went out. It's hard to spend the loose change they have left."
Doctor Chen choked and almost blurted out "I don't mind".
Si Li added, "Mother should have transferred money to the manor. Doctor Chen will find the manager tomorrow. When she sees that I'm getting better, mother will definitely reward me." She was worthy of calling her mother, and she hoped that the original owner's good stepmother would not die a premature death.
The girl's eyes were bright, and it was obvious that she really thought so. Doctor Chen could not bring himself to ask the ignorant young lady for more medical fees, so he could only nod his head and say, "Madam will be happy for the young lady when she hears the news. The young lady is still young and does not understand these things. If the pulse gets better, you still have to take the medicine tomorrow. You have to take good care of yourself after a serious illness."
Before the stepmother gave new instructions, Dr. Chen, who tried not to take the blame, could only prescribe some ordinary tonic medicine, which would be a waste if the patient didn't take it.
Doctor Chen felt the eldest lady's pulse and was very surprised. He felt the eldest lady's pulse yesterday when she was unconscious, and it was very weak, obviously she was seriously ill and difficult to cure. Madam had used mild herbs, which had little effect on the disease. She thought the eldest lady would never get up again, but she got better today, and her pulse was stable, but she needed to recuperate from her past losses, which made it difficult for him to find an excuse to get some money from the herbs.
Could it be that God couldn't bear to see her get into trouble?
Muttering to himself, Doctor Chen frowned and sighed, "Ah..." While sighing, he glanced at Si Li, thinking about finding a reason to scare the little girl and the lady so as to get more money.
With emergency medicine to save her life, and the system waiting for "mutual benefit", Si Li was not worried about her own safety. Seeing Doctor Chen's posturing, she deliberately said anxiously, "I, am I having a last gasp?"
The two maids were startled when they heard this and stopped in front of the door.
Doctor Chen said sullenly, "Although she has woken up, she has been weakened by the cold. She'd better stay in bed more and go out less. If she gets other diseases, it will be difficult to treat. If she takes good care of herself, she may be able to recover." The severity of the cold to her daughter's family can be serious or not. If she thinks more deeply, it means that she will not be able to have children in the future, so she will have to spend a lot of effort to treat her. According to his observation, the lady has to keep her face, so she has to do it. He can get a lot of money from it.
He didn't say anything final, so if the lady wanted to ask another doctor to verify it later, he could shirk his responsibility. Who said the young lady was not sick? It was because his medical skills were good enough to cure her!
Si Li lowered her head, her shoulders trembling slightly, which made Doctor Chen feel a little uncomfortable. "Don't worry, young lady. I'll change the prescription and send the medicine tomorrow. If you take good care of yourself, you'll be fine."
"Thank you." Si Li said in a low voice.
Doctor Chen walked away even faster, stopped in front of the door, and glared at Qingyu Qinglian fiercely, "Get the medicine tomorrow!"
Humph, if you dare to touch his medical fees, I will make the two girls spit it out tomorrow!
Qingyu Qinglian walked in sleepily, put down the teapot, stood beside the bed and stared at Si Li who was resting with her eyes closed.
In their imagination, Si Li would either die of the disease, or they would continue to eat and drink with the young lady's monthly salary after she recovered. They never thought that she would have to spend a lot of effort to recuperate after she woke up. No matter how much money she had, the young lady knew that illnesses needed to be treated. After all the monthly salary was given to Doctor Chen, what would they have to do? Not only did they lose the benefit of the monthly salary, but they also had to take care of a bedridden patient. They were tired of boiling medicine for three days. If they had to stay for another five or ten days, they might as well find another job in the mansion instead of staying with Si Li!
Si Li saw the hesitation on the faces of the two maids, silently praised Doctor Chen for his cooperation, and coughed lightly, "It's getting late, I just boiled some water, you can rest after I wash up. I think Xiao Que is quite likable, I will ask her to come over to help you tomorrow, so that you don't get tired from running around."
The maids, who were ready to leave, nodded perfunctorily and helped Si Li to wash up, not paying any attention to the busyness she was saying.
With just one person and a small courtyard, what can one be busy with?
When Qingyu Qinglian woke up the next day, she immediately realized that something was wrong.
Qingyu woke up early and yawned as she came out of the side room. She saw Si Li walking in the yard, drinking water from a Yohen Tenmoku cup. The dark brown porcelain flashed dark blue spots under the girl's pale fingertips, which was extremely exquisite.
The porcelain worth one gold was held carelessly like this, as if it would fall at any time. The second young lady brought a new set of tea sets with her when she went out, but she forgot them on the farm before she could use them. Who knew that Si Li would pick them up?
Qingyu took two steps forward to hold it, and said in a reproachful tone, "Miss, how could you mess with the Second Miss's things?" Si Li used to get up early and wash herself. There was always sparks in the kitchen stove to warm the water, so she was not worried about this at all. But when she thought of the Second Miss's look of fussing after she found that her things had been touched, she felt a pang in her heart.
Si Li looked over and said, "Is this Atang's? I've never seen her use it. But we sisters don't need to care about this. She won't be angry with me for this. But forget it, just don't use it. Here, take it back."
Si Li didn't know how much Tianmu glaze porcelain was worth today, but that didn't stop her from comparing the obviously finely crafted teacup with the plain white porcelain bowl in the original owner's house. She wasn't being jealous, she was just feeling sorry for the original owner!
Si Li took the opportunity to walk around the house and confirmed that there was nothing in the west wing where she lived except the original furniture of the manor, a package of clothes and two empty lunch boxes. Compared with the east wing where Si Tang lived, which had not been removed in time, it was completely different.
The brocade curtains, the exquisite celadon teapot on the table, the pearwood musical instrument stand that was not taken away when she left... the furnishings in the east chamber all showed the noble style of a young lady from the prime minister's mansion. Perhaps only a naive girl like the original owner would think that her treatment was no different from that of her younger sister, and she went out to play with only two boxes of homemade cakes.
Qingyu had just hurriedly caught the teacup that Si Li had dropped when he heard Si Li say, "Glad you're awake. The steward brought rice and a basket of cucumbers this morning. Call Qinglian to wash the cucumbers. We'll eat this today."
Cucumber? Why would the steward send this when he has nothing better to do? Before Qingyu could find an excuse to refuse, Si Li said, "You two got up late, I can't let Madam Li in the kitchen wait all the time, from now on, the small kitchen will cook by itself, it will be convenient for both sides."
In the past, Qingyu liked Si Li's considerate nature the most, but now he was blocked enough and said after a while, "It is her blessing to work for the young lady, why does the young lady have to do it?"
Si Li looked at her disapprovingly, "We can do it, why bother her?"
You do it? Qingyu sneered in her heart. For so many years, she only knew that this young lady could make some cakes. She had never seen her cook before. She was just showing off her ability. In the end, didn't she still ask others to do the work? She immediately made up her mind. After washing the cucumber, she went to the kitchen early to eat by herself, leaving Si Li alone to wake up hungry.
Qingyu called Qinglian up, and the two of them bit each other's ears for a while, then turned into the small kitchen. Si Li didn't care what they were thinking, and touched her stomach, which had eaten a steamed bun brought by Wang, and was not panicked at all after eating it.
Even if Qingyu and Qinglian were not her stepmother's people, they were also accomplices who bullied the original owner. Si Li had no interest in keeping them around after completing the system mission. She thought that these two maids would run away after two days of hardship, so it was just right for her to take advantage of their remaining value.
Si Li squinted her eyes and looked at the autumn sun that looked like a spoonful of mayonnaise, which made her body warm. When she heard Qing Lian calling her in, she leisurely got up from the rattan chair. Now that she had just recovered from a serious illness, she naturally didn't want to stand hard when she could lie down.
A basket of washed cucumbers was still dripping on the kitchen floor. Si Li felt glared at as she entered the room. She turned around and saw Qing Yu Qing Lian holding a hot towel with both hands, her red and frozen fingers faintly visible. She showed a distressed look at the right time, took the cucumber and handed it to the two of them, "Are you tired? Eat a cucumber to relax. I won't ask you to sweep the yard anymore. Take a rest first. I'll call you when I'm done."
Qinglian's nose almost twisted in anger. You still want them to sweep the yard? What a wishful thinking! Who cares about this broken cucumber!
Qingyu's face also looked a little ugly. He said "Miss, please be careful" and walked out.
Si Li was the only one left in the kitchen, which was just what she wanted. In the morning, when no one else was awake, she tried to boil a pot of hot water, but the system didn't respond at all. Obviously, hot water didn't count as a dish, so she couldn't fool the system. The cold cucumber salad was a recipe that the system had approved, so she couldn't deny it. She took a picture of the cucumber and seasoned it casually, and she was happy to get the money.
Cut the cucumber into sections and smash it with a kitchen knife, then cut two cloves of garlic, add some vinegar and a spoonful of salt. After mixing, the finished product is a pile of large and small pieces of cucumber, green and white, with nothing tempting except the appetizing vinegar flavor.
The process was completed, but the system prompt still did not sound. Si Li raised her eyebrows and poured the cucumber from the wooden basin into the plate, making a display. Only then did the system voice reluctantly appear.
[System: Novice Mission 2 completed, the Appraisal section has been opened, please check and use it yourself. ]
Si Li: Where is my penny?
[System: Due to dish failure, the system reward will be deducted. ]
Only then did Si Li see the small translucent green words floating on the plate, "A plate of cold cucumber salad with too much vinegar and very poor knife skills (failure)".
What's wrong with failed products? Failed products have no right to be served!
At the same time as the system announced the opening of the appraisal section, in the East Palace far away in the imperial city, a eunuch hurried into the study holding a half-man-high wooden box, with an expression that was hard to tell whether it was joy or fear, "Your Highness, Your Highness! It's lit!"
The young man sitting in the main seat had a cold face, and he looked as indifferent as an immortal on the top of a sacred mountain, making people feel that disturbing him would be a sin. He raised his hand to stop his subordinates from speaking, glanced at the silver-light mechanism in the wooden box, and curled his lips, "Send someone to check whether there are any new people taking office in the three places of Shangshi Bureau, Shangshan Supervisor, and Guanglu Temple recently."
The subordinates caught a glimpse of the prince, who always had a cold face, smiling faintly, which they had not seen in many years. They suppressed their uneasiness and bowed deeply, "Yes."
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The author has something to say:
Lili (making a declaration of deception) Isn’t it enough if the food is edible?
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Happy International Women's Day, my dears! I wish you all beautiful days and good luck in everything!