The next day.
Chen time.
"Madam, are you awake?"
Xiao Lingling walked into Old Madam Xiao's room carrying a copper basin filled with warm water. She carefully placed the basin on the shelf in the corner of the room, not daring to make too much noise for fear of waking up the sleeping old lady.
She estimated the time when the old lady usually woke up and prepared the water that Old Lady Xiao would use to wash up when she woke up.
When Xiao Lingdang came in, she did not see Wang Xinlan on the chaise longue in the side hall. The bedding she had placed on the chair last night was still folded on it intactly, with no signs of having been used.
Seeing this, she couldn't help but feel suspicious.
Ever since the old lady caught a cold a few days ago, my cousin has been resting on the chaise longue in the side hall these past few nights in order to take close care of her.
Xiao Lingling would prepare clean bedding in advance every day, and she still remembered where she put it.
Obviously, the quilt on the chaise longue was still in the same position where she had placed it yesterday.
This means that my cousin did not sleep in the side hall last night.
Xiao Lingling felt a little strange. Wang Xinlan did not sleep in Old Madam Xiao's room.
"Well, what time is it now?" Old Madam Xiao sat up from the bed. She raised her hand and rubbed the back of her neck. "It's been a long time since I felt like I could sleep till dawn. As I get older, I feel like my body will fall apart if I sleep for too long."
She opened her mouth and muttered.
The old man is always nagging. If he doesn’t sleep well, he will feel tired. If he sleeps too well, he will also feel tired.
"Madam, it's still early now, just a little after the morning hour." Xiao Lingling replied as she walked towards Madam Xiao. "Madam, your neck is uncomfortable? Maybe you got a stiff neck when you slept at night? Let me massage it for you."
She saw the old lady pounding her cervical vertebrae, so she sat on the edge of the bed, raised her hands, placed them on Madam Xiao's shoulders and neck, and massaged her with moderate strength.
"Madam, how about the force? Is it a little too heavy?" Little Bell pressed twice, licked her lips, looked up at Madam Xiao, and asked in a soft voice with her mouth open.
Madam Xiao closed her eyes in enjoyment. When she heard Xiao Lingling's words, she raised her hand and waved, "The strength is just right."
"Okay, old lady, you can close your eyes and I will press the little bell for you."
When Xiao Lingling heard what Old Madam Xiao said, she nodded and opened her mouth to speak.
A quarter of an hour later.
"Okay, Xiao Lingling, stop and rest for a while. I'm much better." Old Madam Xiao opened her eyes, stretched her neck, turned her head to look behind her, reached out her hand and gently patted the back of Xiao Lingling's hand, signaling her to stop.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Lingdang obediently put away her hands, then stood up, licked her lips, and asked respectfully: "Old Madam, I will change your clothes for you."
"Yeah, okay."
Old Madam Xiao nodded.
She blinked and looked up into the house, as if looking for something.
"Is the old lady looking for my cousin?" Xiao Lingling watched Old Lady Xiao's eyes moving around the house. She blinked, fluttered her thick long eyelashes, and moved her mouth.
In the past, when the old lady woke up, the cousin would also get up, stay by her side, talk to her and cheer her up.
The old lady must have gotten used to waking up and seeing her cousin.
The old lady might be a little uncomfortable not seeing her at this time.
Madam Xiao shook her head. "My cousin hasn't had a good rest these days because she has been taking care of me. I think she is very tired. If she hasn't gotten up yet, let her sleep a little longer. No, wait until she wakes up in the morning and then go and wake her up."
The old lady also felt sorry for her poor granddaughter.
She lost her mother when she was born. Although Erlang of the Wang family was Lan'er's nominal father, he was just a decoration.
Ever since they brought Lan'er to the Xiao family, the Wang family has been like a dead family, never sending anyone to inquire about their whereabouts.
Wang Erlang was even worse. His own daughter died because she wanted to carry on the Wang family's bloodline, but he didn't feel the slightest bit of guilt. Less than a hundred days after Xiaowu's death, he went to brothels to look for prostitutes.
Xiao Wu died during childbirth that day. Old Mrs. Xiao was so angry that she refused to let her daughter's soul be buried in the Wang family's ancestral tomb.
Even though her daughter had already left, Old Madam Xiao still ordered someone to write a divorce letter on her behalf, and forced Wang Erlang to sign and seal it, thus completely severing ties with the Wang family.
Wang Erlang took advantage of the fact that the two families had divorced and had no relationship with each other, and behaved more and more unruly.
Although Old Lady Xiao didn't like Wang Erlang's style, she didn't bother to waste time arguing with someone like him.
It would be better if the two families never had any contact with each other again.
Xiao Lingling bit her lower lip, blinked, and lowered her eyes, "Old lady..."
She swallowed, raised her eyes to look at Old Madam Xiao, and seemed to be hesitant to speak.
It seemed that the old lady didn't know that her cousin was not in the room. She was a little hesitant, not knowing whether she should tell the old lady the truth.
The reason why Xiao Lingling was hesitant was that she was afraid that her masters would think she was meddling.
Madam Xiao noticed Xiao Lingling's abnormality. She turned her head to look at her, blinked her eyes, and asked with her mouth open, "Xiao Lingling, do you have anything to say to me?"
The little maid had been with her for several years, and the old lady knew Xiao Lingling's personality. It was obvious from the look on her face just now that she had something to say to her, but she seemed to have some concerns, so she hesitated to speak.
Xiao Lingling bit her lower lip and said hesitantly, "Madam, Xiao Lingling doesn't know whether she should say it or not."
She blinked, looked at Old Madam Xiao, and spoke.
"Xiao Lingdang, you have been by my side for many years. Is there anything you shouldn't say? Just say it directly."
Old Madam Xiao spoke in a gentle voice.
"Cousin..."
"Mother, is Xinlan here with you?"
Xiao Lingdang was about to reply when Mrs. Xiao's voice suddenly rang out from outside the house, interrupting what she was about to say. Mrs. Xiao's voice could be heard inside the house before she entered, and it sounded a little anxious.
“Bang—”
"Ma'am, please walk slower."
Mrs. Sun, the personal nanny beside Mrs. Xiao, saw that she was so anxious that she didn't even bother to look at the road below her feet. She quickly reached out and supported Mrs. Xiao's hand, fearing that she would not pay attention to the road and accidentally fall.
"Little Bell, take down the coat on the screen for me so I can put it on first."
Old Madam Xiao asked Xiao Lingling to fetch her coat.
Wan'er has always been a steady person and rarely gets so anxious.
"Wan'er, what's wrong?"
"Mother, Xinlan is missing!"
When Madam Xiao saw that Wang Xinlan was not in Madam Xiao's room, she frowned.
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