Chapter 41 Weakness
The royal physician rushed over and, after carefully taking her pulse, sighed: "The young lady's body is far too weak. Now that she has a fever, she needs to be properly cared for and cannot be subjected to any more stress."
In fact, the physician had already been quite cryptic, but everyone present understood what he meant, especially Xie Yankang, who recalled that when they were on the ship, the doctor had said that Xie Qingran was malnourished.
He frowned deeply, looking at Wang Shi with displeasure: "How could the eldest daughter of the Xie family be malnourished? Why is she not given any food at home?"
Before she could finish speaking, Baozhu came over with a bowl of plain porridge and side dishes. Before she even entered the room, she started muttering, "Miss, the kitchen is really going too far. I asked them for so long, and they only gave me this little bit of plain porridge. Please make do with it!"
Upon entering and seeing so many people, Baozhu was so frightened that she knelt down on the ground, even dropping the bowl of white porridge she was holding. The faint smell of sourness wafted into everyone's noses.
Xie Yankang's already unpleasant expression worsened.
He had assumed that Xie Qingran would have no worries about food and drink in the Xie family, but he never expected that these people would treat his daughter so badly without his knowledge!
Even though he wasn't close to this daughter, he never thought of mistreating her.
"Wang, this is the daughter you raised for me. Good, very good indeed!"
"My Xie family is so poor we can't even survive, yet we're feeding my daughter stale white porridge, is that it?!"
Enraged, Xie Yankang smashed a water glass, which landed right at Wang's feet.
"I...I really don't know!"
"Master, Qingran is also my daughter. How could I use such despicable means to abuse my own daughter?"
"It must be the servants in the kitchen causing trouble; I will punish them severely!"
Wang Shi didn't know how Xie Qingran's life had turned out this way in the Xie family, even though she had clearly instructed them to take good care of her.
They were all completely confused, but Xie Hanyue, who was standing to the side, nervously tugged at the hem of her dress.
Xie Qingran felt incredibly ironic looking at them. They were all saying it wasn't their fault, but if they hadn't been so lenient and indulgent, how could things have turned out this way? How could she be unable to even get a decent meal in her own home?
"Enough!"
"Clean up Rose Garden and make it a place for Qingran to live. From now on, Rose Garden can have its own small kitchen. All expenses will be covered by the household budget of my family. Although my Xie family is not as wealthy as a country, it is not a problem to support a little girl!"
Xie Yankang glared at Wang Shi fiercely, then turned and left.
As he passed the bowl of white porridge spilled on the ground, he paused for a moment, then angrily kicked the unsightly broken bowl away.
Having managed the household affairs for so many years, this was the first time Wang Shi had been publicly reprimanded by Xie Yankang and humiliated. She felt a burning pain on her face and subconsciously looked at Xie Qingran. Seeing her pale face and white lips, she couldn't utter a single word of blame or complaint. She could only grit her teeth and turn away.
Xie Zhaoye then spoke up: "You've been wronged, why didn't you say so?"
What good would it do to say it?
Who cares?
Xie Qingran simply sat on the bed, neither sad nor happy, and gave a self-deprecating smile.
"You, you don't need to act like this. We didn't mean to mistreat you. It must be that your subordinates are just paying lip service!"
"I'll go find out right now!"
Xie Zhaoye was taken aback, and his temper flared up. He strode outside.
For a moment, Xie Hanyue was the only outsider left in the room.
There was no one else around. All the pretense on Xie Hanyue's face vanished. She clenched her fists and stared intently at Xie Qingran, her expression sinister like that of a venomous snake: "Sister, what a shrewd move!"
"I don't understand what my sister is saying." Xie Qingran remained expressionless, only looking coldly at Xie Hanyue.
Xie Hanyue stepped forward, glaring fiercely at Xie Qingran: "Others may not know what's going on, but I know it all too well. Isn't all of this just your self-inflicted injury scheme? Xie Qingran, let me tell you, I've lived in the Xie family for over ten years. I am the true eldest daughter of the Xie family. You think you can take me from her? You're dreaming!"
"So, my sister was using a self-inflicted injury ruse before?" Xie Qingran finally raised her eyes and looked at Xie Hanyue. Her eyes were devoid of warmth, but filled with sarcasm.
Xie Hanyue was stung by her gaze and, in a frenzy, raised her hand and slapped her across the face!
This time, Xie Qingran did not choose to submit passively; instead, she gripped Xie Hanyue's wrist tightly.
"Instead of letting your sister go crazy here, she should be thinking about how to shut her up."
"I wonder if those servants can keep their mouths shut?"
Xie Qingran curled her lips into a smile and forcefully pushed the person away.
"Baozhu, see the guests out!"
Xie Hanyue stumbled, stepped on the white porridge on the ground, and almost slipped and fell. The hair ornaments on her head jingled, and she looked truly disheveled, completely different from her usual gentle and quiet self.
She stared intently at Xie Qingran, then suddenly laughed: "Fine, I'd like to see how long you can keep up this smugness!"
After saying this, Xie Hanyue pushed Baozhu, who was standing behind her, aside and strode outside.
"Young Miss, are you...are you alright?"
Baozhu quickly stepped forward, looking at Xie Qingran with a worried expression.
"It's alright, just pack your valuables and get ready to move."
Yingxing Pavilion was originally a remote and dilapidated little courtyard, but Rose Garden was different. It was second only to the main courtyard, but it was larger and better than Xie Hanyue's Jade Heng Pavilion!
From this point, Xie Qingran knew that Xie Yankang had begun to recognize the value of his daughter.
Xie Qingran's gaze fell on the things that Hongshan had sent, knowing that the current favorable situation was inseparable from Xiao Jue.
As is customary, Xie Qingran naturally had to reciprocate with a gift.
Having managed the inner quarters for many years, Wang Shi figured out the whole story in just one afternoon. She was somewhat surprised to learn that Xie Hanyue had instructed her to do so, but she didn't make a fuss about it. She only told others that the old servant had cheated her master, showing no mercy and directly selling off all the maids and servants in the kitchen, completely replacing them.
In the evening, Wang came with her servants and maids to make room for Xie Qingran in the courtyard.
She looked at Xie Qingran with a complicated expression and said, "Now that you've moved to a new courtyard, you should have more people to serve you. You're almost of marriageable age, so I should get you a sensible nanny."
"Granny Qian was also part of my dowry, so now I'll give her to you." Madam Wang sighed, seemingly giving in to Xie Qingran.
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