With Liu Chun attending to her, Tongjia Lanzhu soaked into the steaming bath barrel, and the pallor on her face quickly faded.
The hazy mist made Lanzhu’s cheeks begin to turn pink.
At fourteen, nearly fifteen, Lanzhu’s skin was even whiter than the snow outside, smooth and delicate. Her body was slender but not frail, and the curves hidden beneath the water were extremely enticing.
Unfortunately, there were only Lanzhu, Liu Chun, and Liu Xia in the room, so no one was there to appreciate this beautiful scene.
After soaking for two quarters of an hour, Liu Xia noticed that the mist was no longer as thick and approached, “Gege, it’s time to get up.”
Lanzhu, who was drowsy from the bath, was startled awake by Liu Xia’s voice and immediately saw Liu Xia looking at her with concern.
“Then let’s get up.”
After a flurry of activity, Lanzhu finally lay down on the bed at the end of the hour of Xu.
The quilt had been warmed by a hot water bottle, and as soon as Lanzhu lay down, she couldn’t help but rub her face against the soft quilt.
“Turn off the lights.”
“Remember to wake me up early tomorrow.” Not long after saying this, Lanzhu had already fallen into a deep sleep.
Seeing this, Liu Chun gently lowered the bed curtain, then snuffed out the lamp wick, leaving herself to keep watch for the night.
The next day, just as dawn was breaking, a slight noise came from the door, instantly waking Liu Xia, who was dozing off.
As someone trained in martial arts, Liu Xia had sharp ears and eyes, and even though the person deliberately slowed their movements, she still heard it.
Liu Xia first carefully looked into the bed curtain and, seeing that she hadn’t woken the Gege, breathed a sigh of relief.
Then she turned her head towards the door and saw Liu Qiu with her head tucked in.
Liu Xia silently got up, walked to the door, and lowered her voice, “What’s the matter?”
“I’m here to take over for you,” Liu Qiu whispered back.
“The Gege hasn’t woken up yet. Why don’t you go make breakfast for her first?” Recently, the Gege’s appetite hadn’t been great, and Liu Qiu wondered if her cooking could win the Gege’s favor.
“Alright.” Liu Qiu naturally had the same thought as Liu Xia.
Cooking was her best skill, and if it didn’t please the Gege, what use was she?
Liu Qiu quietly retreated, but not long after, Liu Xia heard the faint sound of clothes rustling from inside the bed curtain.
“Liu Xia.”
Liu Xia lifted one side of the curtain and softly responded, “Gege, I’m here.”
“What time is it?” Lanzhu, not yet fully awake, squinted her eyes and asked in a slightly hoarse voice.
“It’s not yet the hour of Chen, Gege. Why don’t you sleep a little longer?”
“Ha~” Lanzhu opened her eyes, let out a delicate yawn, and the corners of her eyes glistened slightly with moisture.
“No more sleeping, help me up.”
After getting up and washing, Lanzhu sat by the window, looking at the snow outside that had finally stopped. A captivating smile appeared on her clear and beautiful face.
“It’s finally stopped.”
“Now Gege can rest assured about Father.”
“Mm.”
Liu Chun also asked, “What does Gege want to do today?”
Unable to go to the main courtyard to pay respects, and with the outside still wet, Lanzhu didn’t want to go out.
“Go find the calligraphy copybook. I’ll write a couple of pieces later.”
“I’ll go right away.”
…
Today’s breakfast, Lanzhu ate two more chicken rolls than usual, which delighted Liu Qiu.
This proved that her cooking was more to the Gege’s liking than the kitchen’s, which naturally made her happy.
“Did Liu Qiu make today’s breakfast?” Lanzhu could naturally taste it.
“Gege, you have a sharp tongue. Yes, today’s breakfast was made by me,” Liu Qiu said happily.
“Your skills haven’t declined, you deserve a reward.” Although Liu Qiu had made mistakes before, Lanzhu wasn’t the type to hold grudges.
As a master, one must be clear about rewards and punishments.
“I remember there are a few pairs of gold earrings with lilac flowers in my jewelry box. Take them out and divide them among the four of you.” Lanzhu was always generous with her people.
“Thank you, Gege, for the reward.” Liu Qiu happily curtsied, then walked briskly towards the inner room.
Not long after, Liu Qiu came out with a small box, “I’ll take this pair. Liu Chun, which one do you want?”
After choosing her favorite, Liu Qiu handed the box to Liu Chun and the others.
“I’m fine with anything, you all choose first.” Liu Chun remained as steady as ever.
“Liu Dong, you choose first.” Liu Xia wasn’t very interested in these things. Compared to the usual thoughts of young girls, Liu Xia’s temperament was more resilient.
Liu Dong craned her neck to look and finally chose a pair of lilac flower earrings that were about to bloom, “Then I’ll take this one.”
“Gege, do you think it looks good?” Liu Qiu eagerly tried on the earrings after choosing them.
Lanzhu looked up, “It looks good.”
After admiring herself for a while, Liu Qiu reluctantly took off the earrings.
This action made Liu Chun, who was frowning, look much better.
Although a bit out of line, she knew her place.
Liu Qiu’s temperament had changed quite a bit recently.
Afterward, Lanzhu quietly began to copy the calligraphy, each stroke serious and meticulous. By the time she finally finished two pieces, the hourglass on the table had already leaked more than half.
“Gege, take a break, be careful not to strain your wrist.” Seeing that Gege wasn’t planning to put down the brush, Liu Chun quickly stepped forward to persuade her.
Lanzhu rotated her wrist, and a feeling of soreness and swelling instantly hit, causing her fingers to tremble slightly.
“You want Mother and Father to take care of their health, you should also take care of yourself.” Liu Chun took the brush from Gege’s hand, casually placing it on the inkstone, then took Gege’s hand and massaged the meridians on her wrist.
“It’s nothing, just a moment of soreness, it’ll be fine soon.” Lanzhu looked at the serious Liu Chun and smiled helplessly.
Even though she was only three years older, Lanzhu felt that Liu Chun always treated her like a child.
“Just in time, Liu Qiu made plum blossom cakes and milk cakes, have some snacks and rest for a while.”
“Now that you mention it, I am a bit hungry. Let Liu Qiu bring them up.” Lanzhu didn’t refuse Liu Chun. After all, writing two pieces was about enough, and if she continued, Liu Chun would probably worry.
Lanzhu washed her hands on the side rack, then gracefully stepped out of the study.
Outside, Liu Qiu had just finished arranging the pastries. Seeing Gege come out, she immediately beamed a big smile, “I was just about to call you.”
“Milk cakes should be eaten while hot, they won’t taste good if they cool down.”
“Gege, try it and see if it suits your taste.”
Lanzhu sat at the table, picked up a piece of milky white milk cake, and took a bite. It was soft and delicate, and most importantly, it didn’t have any of the usual dairy smell.
“Liu Qiu’s skills have improved a lot.”
Hearing this, Liu Qiu finally relaxed, “As long as Gege likes it.”
“This is easy to digest. Liu Qiu, make some more later, and I’ll take some to Mother in the afternoon.” Last night, she noticed that her mother’s complexion was a bit haggard. It was late, so she didn’t have time to ask in detail. Today, she should go and check on her.
“I understand.”
The sky, which had been overcast for more than half a month, finally cleared today. Although the thick snow outside hadn’t melted much, the paths cleared by the servants were starting to dry and were much easier to walk on than before.
After lunch, Lanzhu took her people to the main courtyard again.
When she arrived, her mother had just finished lunch and was drinking tea.
“Yujin, why are you here?”
“Didn’t you just come yesterday?” Hesheli Shi put down her teacup and looked up to ask her daughter.
“Last night, I noticed that Mother had dark circles under her eyes and was a bit worried, so I came to check on you today.” Lanzhu gestured for Liu Qiu to place the food box on the table, then sat beside her mother.
A warm feeling flowed through Hesheli Shi’s heart, “Mother is fine, it’s just that with age, I have trouble sleeping at night, it’s nothing serious.”
Lanzhu disagreed, “Mother, how can you think like that?”
“Insomnia is a big deal, you should have the family physician take a look.” Mother had many things to handle every day, and if she didn’t rest well at night, how could her body be healthy?
“No need to trouble yourself.” But Hesheli Shi felt it wasn’t a big deal.
“I knew you would say that, so I took the liberty of having someone call the family physician. He should be here soon.” Lanzhu knew her mother well, so she decided to act first and report later.
Hesheli Shi was slightly stunned, then chuckled, “You!”
While the mother and daughter were talking, the servant’s report came from outside, “Madam, the family physician is here.”
Hesheli Shi tidied her sleeves and then composed her expression, “Let him in.”
Soon, Yishui brought in the family physician, who was over fifty.
“This servant greets Madam and Eldest Miss.”
“Rise.”
“Thank you, Madam.” After rising, the family physician kept his body slightly bowed, his eyes fixed on the carpet beneath his feet, not daring to look around.
“Physician Chen, please check on Mother.”
“As you command.” Physician Chen took a pulse pillow and a cotton cloth from his medicine box and carefully placed them on the Madam’s extended wrist.
After a quiet diagnosis, Physician Chen’s expression didn’t improve.
Seeing this, Lanzhu grew anxious but didn’t dare to speak rashly and disturb him.
When Physician Chen finally let go of the hand with a troubled look, Lanzhu couldn’t wait to ask, “Physician Chen, is my mother unwell?”
Hearing this, Physician Chen lowered his head even more.
“In response to Eldest Miss, Madam is… is…” He glanced at the other maids in the room, showing a look of difficulty.
Sitting in her seat, Hesheli Shi understood, “Yiyun, have the others leave first.”
“Yes, Madam.”
After dismissing most of the maids, Physician Chen finally spoke hesitantly, and just one sentence was a heavy blow to everyone in the room!
Lanzhu’s face turned pale as she asked again, “Physician Chen, what did you just say? I didn’t hear it clearly.”
“In response to Eldest Miss, from Madam’s pulse, it appears that Madam has been poisoned.” After repeating this sentence, Physician Chen wished he had never come to the main courtyard today.
Clearly, Liu Quan was also on duty today, so why did he have to take this job? Now that he knew such a big secret, how could he extricate himself?
Lanzhu suddenly stood up, her expression somewhat agitated, “Poisoned?!”
“My mother is staying at home, how could she be poisoned?!”
Hesheli Shi had protected Lanzhu well. Although she had taught her daughter some skills, she was reluctant to let her daughter be exposed to such dark matters.
Even when entering the palace, she arranged everything for her daughter, not letting her handle these things herself.
Compared to the agitated Lanzhu, Hesheli Shi’s expression was calm and unruffled. Only when she first heard about the poisoning did her expression show a moment of shock, but she quickly composed herself.
“Yujin, don’t worry.”
“It’s just poisoning. The matter was discovered early, so it’s not a big problem, right, Physician Chen?” The last two sentences were clearly directed at the physician.
Author’s Note:
Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or watered me with nutrient solution between 2035-05-25 05:00:00 and 2035-05-25 22:31:45~
Thank you to the little angels who watered me with nutrient solution: 39353541 3 bottles; Tunan 1 bottle;
Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!