Chapter 5: The Big Sister (Part 2)

  Mrs. Tao was tired at the dinner party and Madam returned with her to their residence, settled Mrs. Tao in, then went back to her own room.

  As soon as they entered the house, Madame Wang called out to Chunyuan, "Have you been to Second Sister's place today? How is her complexion?"

  Chun Yao helped the madam take off her stone-green silver fox fur coat while responding, "I've been there, Second Miss's complexion is fine, she was lying on the bed reading a book at that time."

  The old lady showed a kind smile, and her words were full of concern. "This child only knows how to read those books of hers. On good days, she doesn't even know to go out for a walk. Even if she needs to rest quietly, she should still get some sunlight from time to time." The old lady said as she walked towards the window and looked at the starry sky, nodding her head. "It looks like the weather will be fine tomorrow, I'll go over early and take her to the courtyard to clear her mind."

  Chun Yao replied: "Yes."

  The old lady said: "Now you go and take a look, send some fruit over, big sister will have to go to her sister's place in a while."

  Spring is gone, and I am busy.

  The madam entered the Tao Mansion and gave birth to two daughters and one son. The eldest daughter was Shu Hua, the second daughter was Yao Hua, and the eldest son was An Ge. The eldest daughter was fine, but the second daughter accidentally fell into a lotus pond when she was young. Although she was rescued, her body had been soaked in the icy water of the pool, and she suffered from chronic illness afterwards. She rarely left the house during autumn and winter. The eldest son, An Ge, was born with a strong physique but unfortunately was an idiot from birth. Many doctors were invited to examine him, but there was no improvement. Old Master Tao had taken in several concubines, most of whom gave birth to daughters. Only the second and fourth concubines each gave birth to two young masters, but they both died before reaching one year old.

  After experiencing the pain of losing a child twice, Old Master Tao was heartbroken and no longer sought to have children through various means. Who would have thought that this would actually turn out for the better? Ten years ago, Sixth Madame gave birth to a son, and Old Master Tao was overjoyed, naming the precious boy Hongge.

  Sixth Aunt gave birth to a child and fell ill, Brother Hong didn't even make it two months before Sixth Aunt passed away, so Brother Hong was adopted by Eldest Aunt as her legitimate son.

  The lady washed her hands, drank two mouthfuls of tea, and dismissed the other servants, leaving only Chen Mama to talk.

  "This tea was brought by Big Sister, you try some too." The mistress left another cup of tea on the table for Chen Mama.

  The elder sister's filial things, the madam never gave to others, Chen Mama was a little surprised and delighted, "How can this be good."

  The lady smiled and said, "Just eat it."

  Chen Mama was brought by her from her natal family and had always been by her side. In this mansion with many people and prying eyes, even if it were a maid who grew up in front of her since childhood, she couldn't trust completely. Only this person brought from her natal family was someone she didn't have any suspicions about.

  In these years, Chen Guizhen has not been stingy in sharing her worries with her. The old lady thought of that night a few years ago... After that incident, Chen Guizhen's position in her heart became even deeper.

  Mrs. Dai said: "Shu Hua has returned this time with even more worries."

  Madam Chen nodded, "I also saw it, I think it's because of the child. But Madam has already asked Doctor Zheng to take a look, there shouldn't be any problem, Sixth Auntie is still...".

  The madam's eyes flashed, and Chen Mama hastily shut her mouth.

  Xiao Liu secretly looked for Zheng Langzhong to take medicine, but she couldn't deceive her eyes. If it weren't for her tacit consent, Xiao Liu wouldn't have been able to give birth to Hong Ge.

  The old lady closed her eyes, she had already calculated that if Xiaoliu gave birth to a boy, she would adopt him and raise him personally, and he would become the eldest son in the future. Unexpectedly, things turned out to be beyond her imagination, Xiaoliu was a person with a short life span, and passed away early, so it was even more natural for Hongge to become the eldest son.

  It's as if heaven is helping her out, a hint of a smile appears on the old lady's face. Heaven always stands by her side, that's why some people are born with a poor fate, while others are naturally wealthy and noble.

  Although there was a precedent of the sixth concubine, the first wife still worried, "That can't be unprepared, what if she still can't get pregnant, we need to have a countermeasure."

  Madam Chen had long known the master's thoughts. The eldest lady had gone through a lot of twists and turns over the years for the sake of her son, fearing that her elder sister would repeat the same mistakes. Besides, this marriage with the Hou family... "Otherwise, choose another one from the mansion, they are of the same bloodline, and the children born will be closer to the two ladies."

  The lady didn't speak for half a day. "Also, on the side of the Shangshu Mansion, you should also pay attention to it. Two things are done together, and carefully select candidates."

  "Ah, yes," said Chen's mother, turning her head and thinking for a moment before smiling slyly as she leaned in. "I do have someone in mind, someone who is not only beautiful but also shares your...". The mistress looked at her once before she continued, "You see, Sixth Miss..."

  The words had barely left his lips when a crisp crashing sound was heard, followed by the shattering of teacups.

  Madam Chen raised her head and saw the two maids colliding with each other, "You two scoundrels, I don't know whose soul has been taken away, you're so clumsy, one of these days I'll kick you both out of the house to get some peace."

  The two maidservants hastily knelt down and begged for mercy.

  Madam Chen scolded them again before letting them get up and talk. Xiang Qiao was from the sixth miss's room, but since the main mistress's quarters were busy, she temporarily came over to help out today. Earlier, she had made a bowl of soup for the main mistress in the kitchen, and when she brought it in, she happened to be bumped into by Ya Qin, who had rushed in, causing the tray to flip over onto the floor, with the soup splashing everywhere.

  "Then what's the hurry for?" asked Chen Mama, turning to Ya Qin again.

  Ya Qin knelt on the ground and hastily replied, "Madam, Jinxiu has gone mad and Eighth Miss is nowhere to be found."

  The lady's hand holding the tea lid suddenly stopped, she looked at Yaqin and asked, "What's going on?"

  Yaqin said: "Jinxiau was just in the courtyard, she said..." Yaqin swallowed hard and didn't dare to continue speaking.

  The lady said: "Just tell the truth."

  Ya Qin finally dared to say it again, "Jinxiu said that Eighth Miss is gone, she went ***, and ended up entering Fifth Miss's room," Ya Qin paused, "She also said that in the room, she saw..."

  Ya Qin swallowed her saliva and said, "I've seen Fifth Miss."

  The old lady's eyes jumped heavily, "What is this?" She originally wanted to stand up, but unexpectedly, her hand touched the table and knocked over the teacup, spilling tea water all over her body.

  Madam Chen was taken aback, and hastily went forward with the two maids to wipe away the mistress's tears. "Don't worry, madam, it's been a long time since anyone has gone into Fifth Miss's room, so it's normal that there are some cats and dogs making nests inside. Suddenly someone enters, those things will jump out and scare people. If you want to blame someone, blame Jinxiu for going there without reason. I'll go take a look first, call a doctor to give her some medicine to calm her down, she should be fine. Wait until tomorrow when she wakes up, madam can deal with her then."

  The old lady took a deep breath, Jinxiu was still steady after all, how could she have caused such a thing to happen. The old lady looked at Yaqin, "What does it mean that the eighth miss can't be found? Can't they even lose a living person?"

  Ya Qin was so scared that she didn't dare speak.

  The old lady stood up and said, "Go and bring Jinxiu to me. I want to ask her what's going on."

  Several maidservants dragged Jinxiu into the mistress's room, Jinxiu knelt on the ground, her eyes vacant, her face deathly pale, slumped to the ground, speechless.

  The madam glanced at the maid beside her and said, "Go, give her some hot water to calm down."

  Jinxiu was originally frightened out of her wits, broke out in a cold sweat, and struggled outside for a while. The cool wind blew through her clothes, chilling her to the bone. Now, with a cup of hot tea hastily gulped down, she suppressed the chill and suddenly started coughing. After coughing for a while, she seemed to have sobered up considerably.

  "What's going on?" asked Madame Tai-tai.

  Jinxiu's mind went blank, and the mistress's commanding tone made her flustered. She subconsciously started speaking, "I was accompanying Eighth Miss to watch the lanterns in the garden. Later... Eighth Miss said she felt a bit cold and told me to go back and fetch a cloak. When I returned, I met a maid and instructed her to get the cloak, while I went back myself."

  "The slave girl went back, seemingly having seen Eighth Miss enter Fifth Miss's courtyard."

  "I didn't dare to delay, and hurriedly chased after her. When I caught up to the courtyard of Fifth Miss, Eighth Miss was nowhere to be seen. I was afraid that Eighth Miss had entered Fifth Miss's room, so I shouted in the courtyard, but no one responded."

  "The slave girl plucked up her courage and pushed open the door."

  She's also foolish, if Eighth Miss were here, she would definitely respond to her.

  At that moment, she was really dizzy.

  "Just thinking about her approaching the house and seeing that scene, Jinxiu suddenly felt a chill run down her spine. 'Then... then... I saw Fifth Miss.' She lifted her head, her eyes filled with fear and weakness. 'Madam, it's true, I saw...' "

  Many people saw Jinxiu's expression and somewhat believed it, and those who were timid couldn't help but feel afraid.

  The lady's voice was stern and severe, "Nonsense, what kind of ghostly nonsense is this?"

  Old Lady Chen chimed in, "The sky is so dark, you must have mistaken it. You're just trying to scare people with your tall tales and white lies. The mistress has already given orders not to go near that courtyard, but I suppose you've been ignoring all of this."

  "Madam, madam... really, what I said is true... I really saw it... if you don't believe me, find two people to go and look for her, she's right there..." She knelt down at the feet of the big madam while speaking.

  "Everyone hold her down, I think this hoof has gone mad." Chen's mother shouted sharply.

  Two servants rushed forward and held down Jinxiu. Jinxiu's body was restrained, she had something to say but couldn't speak, and in her anxiety, she suddenly fainted.

  The old lady said: "Quickly go find the doctor to come and take a look, this girl is probably being confused by phlegm."

  Everyone hastily carried Jinxiu into the ear room.

  After a commotion, everyone returned to the house to listen. The big wife suddenly raised her head, "What are you all standing there for? Didn't they say that Eighth Miss was nowhere to be found? Why haven't you gone yet?"

  Madam said so, the big girl Rui'er who was waiting for a response outside the door hurriedly came up and said, "Madam, Eighth Miss has been found, she was in the garden when she met Master and was tripped by him."

  The big wife shouted out, "An Ge?"

  Rui'er said: "Master was playing in the garden last night, and since all the lights were lit up in the mansion today, Master seemed to enjoy it and slipped out through a hole in the corner of the wall. At first, we didn't know and were searching for him in the garden. Later, when we went outside, we saw Master entwined with a young lady. After asking around, we found out that she was the eighth Miss who had just entered the mansion today. That's how we brought the eighth Miss back."

  The old lady said: "Where is Miss Ba?"

  Rui'er said: "Waiting outside."

  The madam hastily said: "Quickly call him in."

  Yesterday took a bus back to Beijing, no place to update, really sorry, tonight make up another chapter.

  Thanks for Xiaoyi's long comment, I will try my best.

  By the way, I see that you all care about our baby at home. Our little tyrant princess is acting wildly and arbitrarily at home, probably influenced by my previous book, haha.

  I'm now her maid, being called here and there.