The sudden scream from inside the room startled everyone outside.
Nanny Li truly hadn’t expected it to be this serious, her brows furrowing uncharacteristically. “Did Miss Changying just have a nightmare and end up like this?”
“Exactly,” Lady Yao replied, her legs going weak at the sound of the scream, needing to lean on a maid beside her to steady herself. “She was perfectly fine before taking her afternoon nap, but she woke up like this. How can anyone go in now? Even hearing the word ‘Beidu’ usually triggers her episodes!”
Nanny Li turned to the two imperial physicians for their opinion. “What do you two think?”
The physicians exchanged cautious glances before offering a unified diagnosis. “From a preliminary assessment, it appears to be hysteria.”
“Hysteria? How is it treated?” Nanny Li asked.
One of the physicians inquired of Lady Yao, “How has the young lady been calmed down after previous episodes?”
Lady Yao answered, “It’s always her younger sister who goes in to coax and comfort her. The sisters are very close and trust each other the most.”
After a moment of consideration, the physicians told Nanny Li, “If it is hysteria, the focus should be on guidance and counseling. It’s best to identify the root cause of her condition and address it accordingly. As the saying goes, ‘It takes the one who tied the bell to untie it.’”
Nanny Li read between the lines—the physicians’ words essentially meant leaving it to fate, with no fixed timeline for recovery and no guarantee of improvement.
This outcome would be difficult to explain to the Grand Princess, who preferred not to cancel the marriage if possible.
“A single nightmare leading to hysteria?” Nanny Li couldn’t accept this conclusion.
One physician explained, “Hysteria stems from psychological distress. As they say, ‘What one thinks, one dreams.’ It all originates from inner turmoil. The nightmare may have merely acted as a trigger. However, these are textbook explanations; each case must be treated individually.”
The other physician thought for a moment and suggested, “If you’re concerned about the young lady’s health, we can perform pulse diagnosis using a silk thread, even through the door.”
“That would be helpful,” Nanny Li agreed, thinking that having a pulse record would at least be better than nothing.
“But…” Lady Yao hesitated. “Even if pulse diagnosis is possible, she likely won’t be able to take any medicine.”
Though Nanny Li refrained from voicing it aloud, she couldn’t help but think some unkind thoughts. This eldest sister-in-law was far too indulgent—even allowing her child to refuse a bowl of medicinal broth. Didn’t she know that spoiling a child was akin to harming them? Once things got out of hand, she wouldn’t be able to manage, and then she’d have plenty to cry about.
Inside the room, Yan Changfeng held her elder sister in her arms, soothing her. “If you don’t want to see anyone, then you don’t have to. It’s no big deal, right? It’s just Nanny Li. Even if Maternal Grandmother came, we still wouldn’t see her.”
Perhaps her words were too outrageous, but Yan Changying, who had been screaming, paused for a moment, and her sharp cries subsided.
Lately, Yan Changfeng had deliberately used this joking manner to discuss Beidu with her elder sister, believing that constantly avoiding the topic wasn’t helpful. Previously, their father’s situation had been resolved quickly, easing that particular worry. But the matter of Beidu was still far off, and it might never even happen. Would that mean her sister would never recover?
It wasn’t as if they could actually take a knife and slaughter the entire Pei family, so her sister needed to face it.
When the two sisters were young and learning etiquette together, Yan Changfeng had a sharp tongue, often mocking the teaching nannies and ridiculing the pretentious customs of the Beidu nobility. Although Yan Changying was obedient, it didn’t mean she disliked these things—she just couldn’t voice her feelings. Whenever she heard her younger sister speak this way, she felt relieved and joined in the laughter.
"That Nanny Li was frighteningly ugly even in her youth, looking like Zhong Kui himself. Now that she's older, the lines on her face are even more deeply carved, as if chiseled by knives and axes. If you pressed her face onto paper and hung it at the door, it would make a ready-made talisman to ward off evil. Though I've done nothing wrong, I'm still scared of her—just looking at her for too long would keep me awake at night. Eldest Sister, why don't you go ahead and scream a couple more times to scare her off?"
Yan Changying let out an almost imperceptible laugh. It seemed to have slipped out unconsciously, and even she didn't realize she had laughed, looking dazed afterward.
Seeing that it worked, Yan Changfeng redoubled her efforts with her glib tongue. Though Eldest Sister didn't respond, the look of worry and fear on her face had vanished.
After coaxing Eldest Sister to sleep, Yan Changfeng emerged from the room with a parched throat, only to find Nanny Li still standing in the courtyard waiting. This old woman was truly sturdy—after a long journey and standing under the sun for half a day, she remained perfectly still, making Lady Yao, who had long since slumped into a chair, look as if she were in her seventies or eighties.
"Is Miss Changying alright?" Nanny Li had been unable to see what the girl looked like after all this time and was growing restless. If not for being startled by the earlier screams, she would have insisted on going in to take a look.
Yan Changfeng sighed with worry again, extending her arm to show Nanny Li the marks left by Eldest Sister's pinching. "I finally managed to calm her down. Just asking if she wanted to see anyone set her off like this—I couldn't even hold her back. It's fortunate you didn't go in, or you might have pushed her to harm herself by banging her head. How would we explain that to Maternal Grandmother?"
The two imperial physicians chimed in appropriately, "It's indeed not advisable to use force."
Nanny Li had no choice but to relent for now. "Very well, let's trouble Eldest Aunt to offer this old servant and the two imperial physicians a cup of hot tea first."
Upon hearing this, Lady Yao immediately perked up, hurriedly rising from her chair to make arrangements.
Half a quarter-hour later, in the main hall of the second courtyard.
Lady Yao took the seat of honor, while Yan Chuanxing, with downcast eyes and a submissive demeanor, voluntarily sat in the guest seat, flanking his daughter on either side like two guardians.
"Nanny Li, please take the seat of honor," Yan Changfeng warmly urged Nanny Li to sit in the upper seat.
"How could that be proper?" Nanny Li naturally refused.
"Why not!" Yan Changfeng declared with great seriousness. "You represent Maternal Grandmother, just as if she were here herself. Sitting in the seat of honor is only right. Besides, Maternal Grandmother must have given you many messages to relay to my mother. My mother has been so grief-stricken lately that her hearing has grown a bit weak. It would be inconvenient to speak from too far away."
Lady Yao, forced into being hard of hearing, twitched at the corner of her mouth.
Hearing this, Nanny Li felt she could no longer refuse and reluctantly took the seat of honor.
Though rigid, she rarely wasted words and always got straight to the point. "Grand Princess heard about Miss Changying's illness. Though anxious, she remains optimistic. She believes a dream cannot foretell the future, and the events in the dream are likely mere delusions. She suspects it may be due to Miss Changying's nervousness as her wedding approaches, or perhaps she was frightened by something unclean. Therefore, she intends for me to take her back to Beidu to stay at Huguo Temple for a couple of days. If there's time, she can also meet with the Heir Apparent of the Pei family. Once the two young ones get acquainted, such worries will fade. As for the two imperial physicians, they are here to assist. Miss Changying has been ill for a long time and may have weakened her constitution, so she needs recuperation."
Yan Changfeng's heart sank. All this talk was just Maternal Grandmother's way of taking Eldest Sister to live with her.
Grand Princess had always held prejudices about her daughter's marriage and, by extension, distrusted her daughter and son-in-law. She constantly feared the couple would ruin the next generation. Ever since Yan Changying was born, she had wanted to bring her granddaughter back to Beidu to raise her.
Initially, she had intended for Yan Chuanxing to expand his business to Beidu, so the whole family would have a reason to settle there. However, the Yan Family had built its foundation in Yangzhou Fu—it wasn’t something they could just up and leave. Moreover, Yan Chuanxing was somewhat reluctant to conduct business under his mother-in-law’s watchful eye. With a large extended family involved, everyone wanted to extract some benefit from the merchant household, making it impossible to run the business properly.
Later, seeing that the couple’s relationship was harmonious and the family business was growing steadily, the Grand Princess lost her excuse and had to let the matter drop. Now, with her granddaughter in such a state, it was clear proof that the couple truly didn’t know how to care for a child. This ready-made opportunity was one she certainly wouldn’t let slip by.
Lady Yao understood perfectly. Though she wasn’t particularly capable, she had one redeeming quality: she knew her own limitations. As a result, she never pushed herself forward at critical moments. Over time, she had honed a skill for playing dumb and acting smooth.
Whenever Mother mentioned taking her daughter away, she usually pretended not to understand, thus dodging the issue. So she simply nodded at Nanny Li and said, “Mother has indeed considered everything thoroughly.”
With her sharp eyes, Nanny Li naturally saw through the eldest young lady’s intentions. However, the situation was indeed tricky at the moment, and it was better to temporarily set aside the matter of taking Changying away.
“The Grand Princess sent me here with the understanding that I should act according to circumstances. Since Miss Changying’s condition is more severe than the Grand Princess anticipated, I have no choice but to stay longer before making a decision. We must have the imperial physician examine her pulse and invite Taoist priests or Buddhist monks as needed. Coincidentally, the abbot of Huguo Temple is traveling nearby. The Grand Princess has already sent him a letter, and he should arrive within the next couple of days.”
The three members of the family seated there felt their minds buzz in unison.
Well, this old woman was planning to stay for a long time!