Chapter 2: Mother

  Liu Rong naturally didn't know that someone had seen this small scene, and even if she did, she wouldn't have paid attention to it; now she just wanted to hurry back and give the medicine to her mother to decoct.

  She only saw her pace change from a quick step to a small run, and just as she was about to arrive at her own place, her footsteps slowed down again. When she saw the door that should have been tightly closed, it was wide open, and her face turned very ugly.

  The quick footsteps became somewhat urgent, almost rushing into the house, and then saw a woman standing in the center of the house, wearing a yellow satin jacket with a first-class maid's hair bun.

  The woman stood tall and proud, facing her mother's maid Winter with a scowl: "Where is Rong? How did you take care of her? Lady Zhong is ill and doesn't care about anything, but as someone in this house, don't you know how to take good care of the young lady? What kind of master teaches such useless people. Don't forget, even if she's a concubine daughter of the Liu family, she's still a daughter from a wealthy household, not some fallen household like the Zhong family. At this time, instead of staying in the house, you're running around outside, if it gets out, it'll lose face for the Hou family and affect the young ladies in the mansion finding good marriages, can you bear the consequences?"

  Upon hearing his words, Liu Rong calmed down instead and a hint of sarcasm appeared on her face.

  Dong Er lowered his head and muttered, not knowing how to respond. Mrs. Zhong on the bed had a cold expression, not saying a word, as if she was used to it, or didn't care at all. It wasn't until they heard the urgent footsteps that they looked up, seeing Liu Rong return, with a hint of worry between her eyebrows.

  Dong Er rushed up as if she had seen a lifesaver: "Miss, you're back."

  Liu Rong glared at Dong Er, blaming her for not taking care of their mother. Then she walked over to Zhong Shi's side and showed a sweet smile: "Mother, you're awake! Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?"

  Jian Liu Rong was different from usual, with a thick layer of concern on her face. Zhong Shi, who had been cold and distant all along, couldn't help but curve the corners of his mouth into a faint smile, like a fleeting glimpse of a rare flower. Even though his expression wasn't good, he still shone brightly, but only for a moment before returning to his usual calm demeanor: "Mother is fine, don't go running around recklessly from now on."

  "Yes, daughter is well-behaved."

  Liu Rong smiled and replied, then helped Madam Zhong adjust her pillow and tuck in the quilt. Seeing that Madam Zhong's complexion was slightly better, she instructed Dong'er: "Dong'er, this is ephedra. I've divided it into six portions. You'll decoct one portion each day and give it to Madame in three doses. The other two packets are tonics; after the ephedra is used up, you can decoct some more for Madame. This way, Madame will recover in a few days."

  Noticing the medicine in Liu Rong's hand, Zhong Shi slightly furrowed her brow, but didn't say a word.

  "Yes, Third Miss." Dong'er responded happily from the side, wanting to leave, but hesitated and took a glance at Qiao'er who was already covered in frost beside her.

  Liu Rong furrowed her brow, following Dong Er's gaze to the woman. It wasn't until now that she made a face as if she had just seen the woman for the first time. She only looked at her for a moment before turning back to Dong Er.

  After a few days of getting along, Dong Er already knew that the young lady from her own household had forgotten everything except becoming more agile after waking up from falling into the water, and hurriedly said in a low voice: "This is Qiao Er girl from Big Madam's room."

  Jian Liu Rong looked at herself, Qiao Er raised her head high, like a victorious rooster: "Rong Jie, you are the daughter of a wealthy family, you should be sensible, how can you run around randomly. The old lady asked you to go to the pear garden, but you were not in your room, what if there was something important, wouldn't it delay you?"

  Liu Rong raised an eyebrow, and immediately looked at Dong Er with a seemingly innocent expression: "Dong Er, what are you talking about? In the mistress's room? When has my mother's room ever had such an improper maid?"

  “……”

  "Who did you say was not dignified?" Chao Er's eyes suddenly became sharp.

  Liu Rong looked at Qiao'er with a hint of shyness: "I heard those housekeepers outside say that they would casually utter a few words to tarnish the reputation of their masters' families, and wouldn't rest until all the young ladies in the household were slandered. They're just some shameless, low-born maids brought up by masters who have no sense of propriety." Liu Rong's expression turned urgent: "Are those housekeepers deceiving people?"

  Dong Er's face showed a slight astonishment, and then she saw Liu Rong's eyes constantly rolling, that flowing movement made her mouth twitch, Third Miss was like this, pretending to be... However, Dong Er was originally a bit afraid of Qiao Er, so although she had the urge to speak up, she habitually didn't dare respond to her own miss.

  Liu Rong's uninteresting pout, but her heart was tangled. Dong Er being so afraid of Qiao Er meant that Qiao Er had been showing off on this side for a long time, and every time it was their side that suffered losses. That's why she could get away with being so unbridled here.

  It can't go on like this!

  "Ah!" Qiao Er was stunned by Liu Rong's words, and for a moment, she couldn't speak.

  "Qiao'er, what's wrong with me?" Liu Rong stared at Qiao'er with a puzzled expression, and when she saw that Qiao'er couldn't speak, she smiled and turned to Dong'er, who was standing obediently beside her: "Dong'er, why don't you quickly go close the door? My mother's health is not good to begin with. It's fine if other people without manners don't understand, but you're a maid from the Zhong family, carefully taught and trained, how could you not know to close the door that someone else opened?"

  Dong Er was taken aback, seemingly not expecting the usually tactful Miss to suddenly become so direct and severe. However, she quickly nodded in agreement and hastily walked to the door, closing it behind her. As she turned around, she saw Liu Rong frowning at her, and again hurriedly nodded before rushing out with the medicine in hand, once more closing the door behind her.

  Seeing Dong'er leave, Liu Rong also ignored Qiao'er and walked back to the bedside, looking at Zhong Shi with a sweet smile: "Mother, are you thirsty? Do you want me to pour some water for you?"

  Zhong shook his head, although he didn't say anything, a faint disapproval appeared on his cold face, but it seemed that he was used to not speaking much, even if he thought Liu Rong did something wrong, he still didn't open his mouth.

  Liu Rong naturally knew that Zhong Shi did not agree with her direct conflict with Qiao Er. But seeing the state of Qiao Er and Dong Er, she knew that Liu Niang and this side had already completely torn their faces and were irreconcilable. If they still forced a smile to pretend everything was fine, when something happened later, it would be even more embarrassing, so it's better for everyone to know what's going on and let the other side not dare to bully them!

  With a determined mind, Liu Rong didn't want Zhong Shi to think too much about it, so she continued to smile at Zhong Shi: "Mother, when the Ephedra tea is cooked, you drink it three times a day, and in two or three days, you'll be fine. Then we can go out for a walk, admire those plum blossoms in the snow, and even build some snowmen. It's just that this house is too cold, otherwise I'd use hot towels to warm you up, Mother will definitely get better faster."

  Watching Liu Rong's happy smile, although Zhong Shi was worried and disapproving, the corners of his mouth finally hooked up slightly, and this arc did not retract again.

  But on the other hand, Cui'er, who was deliberately ignored by Liu Rong, had a darker and darker face. She was the first person in front of Madame Liu, when did she ever suffer such humiliation? According to her usual behavior, she should have scolded Liu Rong to apologize long ago, how could she not say anything today?

  Today's Rong Jie, I don't know if it's an illusion or not, but she seems completely different from the one I saw before. She no longer appears weak and timid, but instead has a lively spirit. Moreover, she seems to have gained an aura that makes people feel suppressed, leaving them speechless.

  But what's the use of changing, still have to rely on her master's breath. Thinking of this, Chao'er's momentum recovered a bit, and his voice became slightly sharp: "Rong sister, you probably forgot that the current Mrs. Liu is the mistress of the Liu mansion, not the one in front of you. The one in front of you should be called 'aunt', you know that only the mistress can be your mother in this mansion, I advise you not to break the rules again, otherwise you will be sent to the ancestral temple to face the wall and cultivate."

  Zhong's expression on his face faded, but Liu Rong's face suddenly turned bad. She had finally managed to make Zhong laugh with great difficulty, but was ruined by this person's one sentence. This clever guy really took himself too seriously and wouldn't let others off easily!

  Only to see Liu Rong suddenly turn her head and look at Qiao Er with a cold gaze: "I didn't know that this mansion had been taken over by a maid, the master and servant talking, you keep interrupting, is this what your mother Liu taught you? Indeed, whatever kind of master one is born to, they will teach out something that doesn't know its place!"

  Qiao'er was looked at by Liu Rong, and she felt a inexplicable chill run down her spine. Her breathing paused for a moment, and her voice involuntarily softened: "This servant naturally doesn't dare to interfere with Master's affairs, but Madame is still waiting for you on the other side. If you delay like this, it will make Madame wait in vain, which would be unfilial. Even if it's Concubine Zhong, she also has a responsibility."

  Qiao'er said, taking a deep breath: "The message has been conveyed to you. If you still don't take action, I'll have to go back and report that Madam Zhong won't let Third Miss pass."

  Qiao'er spoke up to this point, and her momentum just recovered. Her face indeed showed a sense of regret for her previous shortness of breath.

  "You go down first, Rong will be right over." The always silent Zhong Shi finally spoke up, but it was to interrupt the two of them, not giving them a chance to continue their conflict.

  Qiao'er narrowed her eyes and took a deep look at the two of them, but instead of continuing to argue with them as she had imagined, she seemed to have suddenly understood something. She smiled meaningfully at them: "Zhong Yiniang has a good heart, and San Gu Niang is indeed all grown up. It's good that you're all grown up, and now it's time for you to make some contributions to this family."

  "What do you mean by that?" Liu Rong raised an eyebrow.

  "It doesn't matter, you'll naturally understand when you get to the side of the old lady." Xiang'er said with a slight bow: "Since that's the case, I'll go down first. The old lady has important matters, Third Young Lady should hurry up and not delay."

  After saying coldly, Cui'er left the room.

  The house seemed to have cooled down by several degrees for some reason.

  In the stillness, a rustling sound suddenly arose. Only then did Zhong Shi sit up and take down the clothes hanging beside her, struggling to put them on.

  "Mother, what are you doing?" Seeing Zhongshi putting on clothes, Liu Rong hurriedly stopped her. After all, although Zhongshi's spirit was slightly better today, her body had not recovered at all. If she went out and caught a chill again, even a minor cold could become life-threatening.

  Zhong's mouth curved into a faint arc, but his eyes were gazing afar. It was unclear whether it was Liu Rong's misconception, but she felt that those eyes had a hint of inexplicable sadness: "Madam has never cared about your existence since you were born, and now suddenly calls for you, I'm afraid it won't be good, let me accompany you instead."