Yang Chen remained in the room until the hour of Hai.
When Shuang Rui arrived at the South Courtyard and delivered the letter from Bingbu Shangshu Wu Xiong to Yang Chen, his expression changed drastically.
“Miss Lin, you’ve worked hard tonight. The Marquis Estate owes you another favor.”
Yang Chen then glanced at Yang Xiao. “Xiaoxiao, you and Miss Lin must cooperate well and take good care of Mother. There must be no mishaps.”
“Brother, don’t worry. I’ll handle everything here,” Yang Xiao promised, patting her chest.
Lin Jiaojiao also nodded in agreement.
Yang Chen rose and went to the study.
A moment later.
“Miss Lin, I’ve been on guard for half a day and my body hasn’t fully recovered yet. I’ll take a short rest in the side room first. I’ll trouble you to look after Mother.” Yang Xiao supported her waist, her face full of exhaustion.
Because Lin Jiaojiao had helped her out of a difficult situation that morning, she was relatively polite to her.
Lin Jiaojiao was also feeling physically weak but found it hard to refuse, so she forced a smile and responded.
“Don’t worry, the Marquis Estate won’t treat you unfairly. My brother will also remember what happened tonight.”
As a woman, after several interactions, Yang Xiao had noticed the different look Lin Jiaojiao gave Yang Chen.
By bringing Yang Chen into it, Lin Jiaojiao would be more dedicated.
After she left the room, only Lin Jiaojiao and a few attending mamas and maids remained inside.
Spring easily brings drowsiness. Lin Jiaojiao leaned against the bedside, her eyes half-closed.
Suddenly, she felt a chill in her chest and instantly became alert.
Yu Shi sat up, flailing her limbs and knocking over the medicinal broth placed on the bedside table.
“Water, water…” Yu Shi called out groggily, her eyes still closed.
Lin Jiaojiao had someone bring another cup of water and fed it to Yu Shi spoon by spoon, also helping her take the pills with water.
As she helped Yu Shi lie down again, she suddenly felt some wetness on one thigh and heard a trickling sound.
A foul odor wafted over.
Lin Jiaojiao’s face turned pale.
“Madam, Madam, she’s… incontinent…” She covered her nose and urgently called out. Granny Zhou quickly brought people to clean up.
By the time the clothes were changed, Lin Jiaojiao was completely exhausted.
Having lived in the General’s Mansion where servants attended to all her daily needs, she had never taken care of others before, and her inner irritation grew.
Yu Shi finally lay down again.
Lin Jiaojiao prepared to take a nap leaning against the edge of the bed.
Suddenly, she felt her neck tighten.
Then Yu Shi pounced on her, knocking her to the ground, sat on top of her, and choked her fiercely while shouting, “It’s all your fault! Why did you have to interfere? Tell me!”
“Madam, it’s me, I’m Jiaojiao!” Lin Jiaojiao was terrified and struggled violently.
Several mamas came over trying to pull Yu Shi away.
Unfortunately, Yu Shi was in a frenzied state, completely unreceptive to others’ words and frighteningly strong.
For a moment, they couldn’t pull her away.
Lin Jiaojiao resisted desperately, her face turning blue, struggling to breathe, feeling her life hanging by a thread.
Just before losing consciousness, Yu Shi finally released her grip and lay down.
Lin Jiaojiao lay on the floor, unable to move for a long while, tears streaming down her face.
She no longer wanted to live under someone else’s roof, no longer wanted to be manipulated at will.
She wanted to be her own master.
One day, she would soar to the highest branch.
Throughout the night, Yu Shi caused several more rounds of turmoil before finally calming down.
Lin Jiaojiao was utterly exhausted, with several new bruises on her body, and her hatred for Lin Tangtang multiplied.
She leaned against the soft couch and slept in her clothes, while several mamas dozed off nearby.
That night, in the West Garden.
Qin Mo’an didn’t come personally but sent a Shadow Guard to deliver a message: The first reinforcement troops heading to the Northern Territory were about to depart, and he needed Lin Tangtang to write a letter to her father, Lin Yulang.
Lin Tangtang’s eyes welled up with tears as she struggled to suppress her inner excitement, writing furiously.
She handed the letter to the Shadow Guard and wanted to inquire more about the situation.
“Your Highness will come tomorrow. Miss Lin can ask him directly,” the Shadow Guard said before politely taking his leave.
With a heart full of anxiety and anticipation, Lin Tangtang tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
How she wished tomorrow would come sooner!
The next day.
As the sun gradually rose, Yang Xiao arrived in the room, yawning.
“Miss Lin, you’ve worked hard. Please go back and rest quickly,” Yang Xiao said.
Lin Jiaojiao had dark circles under her eyes, her hair was disheveled, and her face showed clear signs of exhaustion, as if she had aged several years in an instant.
“It’s alright. I’ll continue staying here, waiting for Madam to wake up,” she said, supporting her weary body as she moved to the bedside.
Yang Xiao glanced at her but said nothing.
After a while, Yu Shi finally woke up, her expression clear and alert.
She ate some rice porridge, inquired about the events of the previous day, and praised Yang Xiao and Lin Jiaojiao.
Granny Zhou brought in the prepared medicinal brew and reported the expenses incurred from the previous day’s treatment.
“Another ten gold spent?” Yu Shi felt bitterness in her mouth after taking the medicine, and her heart felt equally bitter.
“Zhong Daifu left a prescription. Madam needs to take the medicine for five more days, and the daily cost of the herbs is nearly ten gold!”
Yu Shi felt her head spin.
Did this mean her Head-wind episode would cost a total of fifty gold?
“Mother, money is merely an external possession. What matters most is your health,” Yang Xiao coaxed Yu Shi.
Yu Shi glanced at her daughter but remained silent.
She wasn’t in charge of the household and naturally had no clear understanding of the estate’s finances.
The current surplus in the public coffers was only a little over a hundred gold. Spending so much at once—how would the Marquis Estate continue to operate in the future?
She had no intention of using her own dowry to subsidize the estate’s expenses.
“Madam, actually, my sister owns a pharmacy in the capital. All the herbs needed should be available there,” Lin Jiaojiao revealed Lin Tangtang’s private business in front of Yu Shi.
After suffering through the night, she wasn’t about to let Lin Tangtang stay out of it!
“A pharmacy? What’s its name?”
“Jirentang,” Lin Jiaojiao said, having accidentally learned that Lin Tangtang’s mother had left her a pharmacy.
“That pharmacy isn’t too far from the Marquis Estate.”
Granny Zhou recalled that there was a small shop selling sugar figurines next to the pharmacy. She used to frequently buy sugar figurines from there for the young masters and misses of the estate.
“In that case, Granny Zhou, go to Jirentang to get the medicine,” Yu Shi said, a sly glint flashing in her eyes as she whispered a few words into Granny Zhou’s ear.
Granny Zhou arrived at the pharmacy.
It was still early, and the pharmacy had just opened.
Granny Zhou compared the prescription and gathered a five-day supply of medicine.
The shop assistant, seeing a big customer purchasing expensive herbs, felt instantly delighted.
After wrapping the herbs, he swiftly calculated the total on the abacus.
“Thank you for your patronage. That will be fifty gold in total.”
“Understood, young man. The Jingbei Marquis’s Residence is your employer’s future in-laws. I am the estate’s steward Mama, here on the orders of the Madam of the Hou Estate to purchase these herbs. Since we’ll soon be one family, there’s no need to charge for the herbs, right?”
Granny Zhou wore a smile that carried authority.
“This… I’m not in a position to decide. I must first consult the manager.”
Seeing that Granny Zhou had no intention of paying, the shop assistant took the herbs back inside, called another assistant to mind the shop, and went into the inner room.
After a moment, he hurried out and said, “The manager said since we’re in-laws, he can give you a discount. But business has its rules—it can’t be free unless our owner personally intervenes.”
Seeing the shop assistant wouldn’t budge, Granny Zhou returned to the Marquis Estate in a huff and reported the matter to Yu Shi.
“What’s so difficult about that? Then let’s put it on credit first.”
Yu Shi leaned back on her reclining chair, drawing out her words, “As for when to repay it, isn’t that up to us?”
Marry a chicken and follow the chicken, marry a dog and follow the dog—since Lin Tangtang had entered the Marquis Estate, everything about her belonged to the estate.
How would she dare to demand repayment?
She had no idea that this move of hers had planted a ticking time bomb for the Marquis Estate.