Mrs. Lin watched the sun set behind the mountains, but Peony had not returned, so she couldnt help but feel anxious and called Waner to go out and ask for news to see if Peony was having dinner at Madame Qis place. Waner went out for a short while before bouncing back: "Mom, Young Mistress is back."

  Lins mother was busy calling out to her children to lay out the meal and fetch water: "Hurry up, the food is going to get cold."

  The dishes were just served, and under the corridor came the sound of childrens voices chanting: "Peony is the most lovely, peony is the most lovely."

  "Peony said weakly: Flicking is also lovely."

  Peony entered the house, lazily lying down on the couch and said: "In a while, Mother will send someone to clean up a room. Today, Madam rewarded me with two people, one is Li Mama and the other is Lan Zhi."

  Mrs. Lin stopped what she was doing and asked in surprise, "Why would the lady suddenly send people over?" Peony had been ill for so long, and all the Liu family knew was to make excuses to keep sending away the people sent by the He family. When Yu Tong got into trouble, they were short-handed here, but they never sent anyone. Now that theyve suddenly sent these two people, it looks suspicious no matter how you look at it.

  "Is there any way? Cant refuse after all."

  As soon as Peony said this, the room fell silent, and several people looked at her with a difficult expression. She thought to herself that it was just two more servants, whats the big deal? They couldnt ride on her head, could they? With so many people watching her alone, she couldnt show weakness. So she plucked up her spirits, got up, washed her hands, picked up her chopsticks and prepared to eat, smiling: "A straight body is not afraid of a slanted shadow, isnt it better to have two more people helping you with things?"

  Lins mother hunched her back and just sighed: "Although it is said so, but..."

  Peony saw her frowning, the wrinkles on her face becoming denser, looking extremely worried and distressed. She couldnt bear it in her heart. Knowing what she liked to hear most, she made eye contact with Yuhe: "Today theres also good news, Yuhe will tell Mom about it."

  Yu He De Ling, busy laughing said: "Mom, today the lady has spoken, from tomorrow morning on, both aunts will bring the young masters and misses over to pay respects to our young mistress. The lady also said that she wants to invite a doctor to help our young mistress recover her body."

  "Thats it, the lady didnt take you seriously before, but now that she values you, of course, shell send someone to your quarters. Which courtyard in this estate doesnt have a few people given by the ladies? This is nothing unusual." Lin Mamas eyes lit up, and the worry on her face was swept away as she exclaimed excitedly, "Young Mistress, youre going to turn things around! You must seize this opportunity well and give birth to a legitimate son soon!"

  "Peonys words got stuck in her throat, and she hastily changed the subject: Suddenly youre taking me so seriously, it makes me feel uneasy. I dont know whats going on. It all feels strange."

  Lin Mama laughed and said, "Whats the big deal? As long as its beneficial to us, thats all that matters." Seeing Peony counting rice grains, she walked over and added a stir-fry of lamb liver to her bowl: "Its getting late, young mistress, hurry up and eat your meal. After bathing, get some rest early, and youll have energy tomorrow if you sleep well."

  The body is the capital of revolution, I must have a strong body! Peony clenched her teeth and ate the rice and dishes in the bowl clean, making Lins mother and Yuhe and others happy for a while.

  Madam Qi finished her evening lessons, and Old Madame Zhu efficiently directed the maids to attend to her as she washed up and sat down under the canopy to cool off. Since Liu Caiyu had not returned yet, Old Madame Zhu brought over her needlework basket and chatted idly with Madam Qi while waiting.

  Under Old Lady Zhus deliberate guidance, the topic shifted from past events of over a decade ago to Peony: "Earlier when Madame said that both aunts and young master and miss would go to pay respects to Young Mistress, I saw that Young Mistress was stunned. Later, hearing that they were going to invite a renowned physician, she was even more grateful."

  Madam Qi glanced at her and said lightly: "You must be very curious why Im taking care of her business today, backing her up, and rewarding her?"

  Zhus nanny smiled and said: "This old slave doesnt understand, looking at Young Madam also doesnt understand."

  "Madam Qi said sternly, "All Im doing is for the good of our family. Although weve encountered this unfortunate event, its already done and cant be undone. If we make a fuss about it now, it will only lead to more trouble. If we let Zishu and Qinghua continue their reckless behavior, theyll end up killing someone, offending the He family, and exposing our secrets. Not only will Master Lius reputation and Zishus future be ruined, but our Liu family will also be known for being heartless and ungrateful. It will be impossible for us to establish ourselves in high society here in the capital."

  Madam Zhu smiled and said, "The mistress has always been very far-sighted. But I think that the young mistress seems weak but is actually very resilient, how could she be so easily swayed?"

  Madam Qi suddenly flared up, slamming her hand on the table and coldly sneering: "How did she get that illness last autumn, do you think I really dont know? Are you really deaf or just pretending to be deaf?"

  She accumulated a lot of prestige, and this outburst scared Zhus mother-in-law so much that she became flustered and knelt down: "Madam, please calm down, I know I was wrong. Please madam, I have been following you since I was seven years old, now it has been almost forty years, and I have never had a second heart."

  When it comes to the experience of nearly forty years, Mrs. Qi is somewhat moved and sighs: "I know you are Zishus nanny, and you have been fond of him since he was a child, and you always follow his temper. But this matter is not a joke, and we cant let him do whatever he wants. He has been thinking about the Qinghua princess, and now that she is also free, its not surprising that they both have that thought in their hearts. However, he never thought that our family has only one heir for two generations, and only he can carry on the family line. My husband and I are still counting on him to have children and grandchildren. Dan Niang is still good, after all, she is soft-hearted, and even if she is heartbroken, she will only hide and cry, but she wont do anything drastic. But if it were that other person, our family would probably be in trouble. Her status is high, and even I might not be in her eyes, let alone others, how can they have a good life? Our family is not worthy of such blessings."

  "The old slave remembers, and will advise the young master from now on." Zhus mother let out a sigh of relief, fortunately, the mistress only thought that she was biased towards the young master and did not suspect anything else. It seems that the mistress has made up her mind firmly, and this matter cannot be mentioned again in the future. Tomorrow, I will find an opportunity to tell Qinghua Countys wife to think of another way."

  "Really makes one worried sick, that good-for-nothing Liu Chengcai, doesnt think about the consequences, does something shameful and then has his wife and son take the fall for him."

  Madam Zhu didnt dare respond and just smiled along.

  The next day, as soon as the sky was bright, Peony was woken up by a burst of noise. Biyu scolded the maids voice, the childrens crying voices, and Yuers soothing voice all mixed together.

  Whats the time now? Why are you coming to pay respects so early? Is it necessary to make such a commotion when paying respects? This group of women is really annoying! Peony irritably pounded her pillow several times, endured for dozens of breaths, but finally couldnt bear it. She turned over and sat up loudly shouting: "Yuhe! Whos being so unruly, making a ruckus outside at such an early hour?"

  The noise outside subsided a bit, and Yuhes sweet voice rang out: "As the Young Masters wife said, the two madams brought the eldest young master and the younger sister to pay their respects to you according to the mistress instructions. Have you forgotten?"

  Peony got out of bed, casually picked up a thin silk gown from the headboard and put it on, with her long hair loose, strolled to the outer room, glanced at Biyu and Yuer who were carefully dressed up, as well as the group of maids they brought: "I dare not forget Madams words, Im afraid some people have forgotten Madams words."

  Biyus face turned extremely ugly, and she forced a smile as she said: "The young mistress has not yet washed up, Im afraid that if we go to pay our respects to the mistress later, it will be too late."

  Yuer smiled and curtsied, saying: "Its all the fault of us maidservants. We let Sister Qiang snatch the tiger blanket from Master Qi. This caused a commotion and disturbed Young Mistresss peace. Please forgive us, Young Mistress." Seeing Kuaner present a basin of clean water, she proactively stepped forward to take it and personally attended to Peonys face-washing.

  Peony was not used to Liu Chongs concubine being so nice, looked at Yuer twice, saw that she was just smiling warmly at herself, and didnt decline, bowed her head to wash her face: "Forget it, children are always making trouble. It will take some time for me to recover, if Biyu is in a hurry, dont wait for me, go serve the lady first."

  Bi Yu hesitated for a moment, and then let the servant lead Qier out: "In that case, Ill go first. Young Madam can come slowly."

  Yuers face flashed a hint of disdain and she said in a low voice: "Young Madam, thats just her temperament, dont mind her."

  The peony didnt ask if it was possible or not, and called out to the rain lotus: "Come quickly and help me comb my hair and change my clothes."

  Her hair was like a cicadas wings, with golden pins and jade pendants swaying. Her pink skirt was short and her purple silk dress was embroidered with intricate patterns. The newly made-up peony shone brightly, and Yuers eyes flashed with a hint of envy and bitterness, but immediately changed to surprise and flattery: "Young Madam is truly beautiful. Such looks and charm are not only the best in our family, but also rare in the capital city."

  Peony sighed and said, "This is probably the only benefit of being a concubine." Seeing the young girl sleeping in the nannys arms with her eyes half-closed, she said, "Its hard for such a small child, let her not come in the future."

  Yuer hesitated for a moment and said: "I dont dare to disobey the rules. Let her start from elementary school, so that she can understand the general idea in the future."

  The peony smiled faintly and didnt say much, then walked out first.

  Arrived at Madame Qis gate, Madame Qi had already risen and was washing her hair, but Biyu and Qier were not waiting under the corridor.

  "Master has been taken in," said Zhu Niang quietly, "and Biyu is in the kitchen getting breakfast for Madame."

  The legitimate wife had not yet greeted a small concubine, nor was she being served by anyone else. To outsiders, it seemed that even if something wasnt the peonys fault, it would still be her fault. Yuer secretly glanced at Peony, but saw that she was watching with great interest as the old ladies took down and extinguished one by one the red lanterns under the corridor, looking very pleased, without showing any concern or taking Zhus words to heart.

  Aunt Zhu saw that Peony was unmoved, and instead seemed to be enjoying herself. She cursed under her breath: What a blockhead! Talking to her is simply a waste of energy.

  ——*——*——*——

  Walked by, recommended...