When the horse carriage reached Fu General Manor, the two of them got off together. Madam Qu politely welcomed them at the entrance of the yard as if nothing had happened last time. There was a hint of enthusiasm on her face. When she saw Mo Xuetong and Luo Mingzhu coming together, she smiled and said, “My Lady, you haven’t been here for a while. Old Madam has been talking about you for the past few days. She was mentioning you just now. I didn’t expect you to really be here.”
“Second Aunt, it’s not that I don’t want to come. I just can’t find time. How’s Grandmother these days?” Mo Xuetong put down Luo Mingzhu’s arm and held Madam Qu’s hand warmly. She asked as she walked in.
“Old Madam is in good health. She walked more in the past few days and sometimes went out to visit others. The day before yesterday, she went to attend the banquet held by the Marquise of Mingguo Manor,” Madam Qu stated with a smile. She was talking about the banquet where the Sixth Princess was involved in a scandal. However, only a limited number of people knew about it. Mo Xuetong was a little uncertain if Madam Qu knew about it.
Although her eldest uncle had become Fu General, his entire family, only his son was left here. Madam Qu was in charge of the affairs in the manor. Even though the two old maidservants brought by her grandmother were her trusted subordinates, Madam Qu might have a way to find out what had happened in Mingguo Manor.
“The banquet held by the Marquess Mingguo is good. Why didn’t Second Aunt go there that day?” Mo Xuetong smiled slightly, and a gentle smile appeared in her watery eyes.
“I happened to have something to do at home that day, and couldn’t leave for a while, so I didn’t go to the banquet.” Madam Qu smiled without any grudge, and it was hard to tell if she really learned something.
As they spoke, they reached the Old Madam’s room together. Maidservants had already lifted the curtains and guarded there. Mo Xuetong and the others entered together. The Old Madam, who was seated in the main seat, had already looked at them anxiously. Even though Mo Xuetong had seen her in Mingguo Manor, she did not have the chance to speak to her in private as something like that happened that day.
Since such a thing happened on that occasion, both of them knew that they had to avoid arousing suspicion. Therefore, they just greeted each other and said a few polite words on the surface. They couldn’t say anything else. After that, the banquet ended unhappily. After such a thing happened, no one knew what would happen. Even if they just saw it, they didn’t know what would happen. Everyone returned to their own manors early.
For some reason, Mo Xuetong felt that her grandmother looked especially old today. The wrinkles on her forehead deepened; her hair was all white; her eyes looked slightly anxious, and there were dark shadows under her eyes. All of these made her feel that the Old Madam was in an especially bad condition.
A lump came into Mo Xuetong’s throat as she looked at her grandmother. She thought of the Old Madam in her past life. She released Madam Qu’s hand and walked up to the Old Madam hurriedly. She curtsied deeply and said, “Grandmother…”
However, she could not continue, and almost felt that she was choking with sobs. It was as if she could not control her bitterness. In her past life, Fu General Manor had fallen; her grandmother’s condition had been worse and worse, and then, she became so skinny that she was almost beyond recognition. But now Mo Xuetong seemed to have seen the shadow of her past life. That was why her eyes turned red and she almost shed tears.
“Alright, I’m in good health. Tong’er, Mingzhu, come and let me take a look at both of you. Why are both of you so skinny? Do you usually have nothing to eat? Tell me, if there is anything you want to eat today. I will get someone to cook it.” The Old Madam also felt a little sad as she heard Mo Xuetong’s voice. She tried her best to hold back her bitterness and smiled as she gestured for the two girls to go over and sit on each side of her.
“Mother, don’t worry. I’ll ask the cook to make a sumptuous meal in a while. Anyway, we’ll treat them enough food.” Madam Qu sat down beside with a smile and answered.
“That’s right. Look at these two girls. They’re already grown-ups, but they don’t know how to take care of themselves.” The Old Madam wiped the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief and looked them up and down with a smile.
“I have to deal with the affairs of the entire manor, and Princess Caifeng lived in our manor. I’ve never been in charge of household affairs in the Mo Manor. Recently, I’m so busy that I have no time to rest, so I naturally fail to care about myself. But, Second Cousin, what’s wrong with you? Isn’t it said that the Old Madam and Madam are still there? You, as the Young Madam, should not be in charge of the household affairs. Why are you so thin as well? Could it be that your husband doesn’t cook delicious food for you?”
Mo Xuetong rolled her ink-like eyes, looked at Luo Mingzhu and started to joke.
Her words turned everyone’s attention on Luo Mingzhu. Having something on her mind recently, Luo Mingzhu was much thinner than before.
The Old Madam looked at Luo Mingzhu with a frown and asked with concern, “Mingzhu, Tong’er’s words make sense. Are you bad at taking care of yourself or is the food just not to your taste? Do you want to bring a cook from the manor over? Bring your favorite one?”
Madam Qu also thought it was a good idea, so she nodded and said, “Yes, in the past, when Mingzhu was still in our manor, she always had a good appetite. She specially ate what that cook made. Well, you should just take the cook with you later, so as not to have the food to your taste and cause you to look so skinny.”
“Grandmother, Mother, what are you talking about? I’m not so delicate. If I bring a cook with me, the Li family would think that I dislike their food. Besides, I’m not thin. It’s just that I got a cold, so I ate less lately. Now I’m completely recovered and my body is recovering. Maybe next time I will be so fat that you would ask me to eat less.”
Luo Mingzhu tugged at the Old Madam’s hand and pouted.
“Since you were sick a few days ago, why didn’t you send someone to tell me? I still have the pills you made at home last time. You just need to take this in the past,” Madam Qu said unhappily.
“Mother, I’ve recovered, a few days ago. Look, I’m in high spirits now. I’ll bring that pills with me later so that I won’t have to come back to get the pill when I get sick next time, Otherwise, it’s not good to be seen by someone else.” Luo Mingzhu turned around and smiled coyly at Madam Qu.
“Look, look, she’s different as she’s married. All she thinks about is her husband’s family. Oh, the Li family is really lucky to have such a good daughter-in-law who only cares about their family. She doesn’t even dare to disgrace their family, but has completely forgotten her mother’s family.” The Old Madam patted Luo Mingzhu’s head, pretending to be angry.
Everyone started laughing when the Old Madam was joking.
Luo Mingzhu’s face flushed because of their laughter. She was affectedly bashful for a few moments and suddenly stomped her feet to diverted everyone’s attention. She pointed at Mo Xuetong and pouted, “Cousin Tong, you are the one who is really skinny. Grandmother, Cousin Tong also likes the dishes cooked by the cook, so you can send him to King Xuan’s Manor.”
She looked embarrassed and anxious. She knew that everyone was laughing at her because she thought about her husband’s family. Seeing her looks, everyone laughed again.
“Your Cousin Tong is thin not because she loses her appetite. She is different from you. King Xuan’s Manor is big. Alas!” the Old Madam sighed after laughing because she thought of Mo Xuetong’s situation. King Xuan’s Manor seemed to be glorious, but in fact, they were as if treading on thin ice.
It was a prince’s manor and the Crown Prince was not decided. They were in the teeth of the storm now. Even in the back courtyard, they had to be careful. Xia’er had passed away early and Tong’er had been raised in Cloud City, so no one looked after her when she needed to be taught the most. When the Old Madam thought of this, her heart ached and her eyes reddened.
If her own mother had taught her personally before the wedding, Tong’er would not have been in such a flurry. She felt tired to manage the back courtyard. Now she became so weak, as if she would have fallen if the wind blew. She was already in poor health, but she looked even slender. That was heartbreaking for the Old Madam to see.
“Tong’er, if there is anything that you don’t understand about the back courtyard, you can ask your second aunt. She is in charge of the back courtyard of Fu General Manor and has never made any mistakes for so many years. If you don’t understand, just ask her more often. Then you may take fewer detours. There is no elder in your manor, who can make decisions. Your mother is pregnant now in the Mo Manor, so she can’t help you even if she wants to.”
The Old Madam patted Mo Xuetong’s hand and pointed at Madam Qu, helping her come up with ideas.
Mo Xuetong’s eyes lit up when she heard the Old Madam’s words. She looked at Madam Qu and said, “Second Aunt, I do have something to ask you. I want you to come up with some ideas for me. Do you have time?”
After saying this, she also felt a little embarrassed, and her face turned a little red! She blinked her eyes and looked at Madam Qu.
“Yes, I have time. How can I not have time? I have nothing to do at the moment. You can ask me any time,” Madam Qu said with a smile.
Mo Xuetong was overjoyed when she heard that. She then asked Madam Qu about the matters of the inner courtyards. Having been in charge of the back courtyard for so many years, the elder woman naturally knew clearly about these things. Even though there were many twists and turns, after her explanation, Mo Xuetong understood immediately. The two of them spoke happily and ignored Luo Mingzhu.
“Mother, Cousin Tong, you are not allowed to talk about such things here. It is rare for us to come here, but you are talking about these things. It is so troublesome. You can talk to me first. And after lunch when I and Grandmother have a nap, you two can find another place to talk. Luo Mingzhu did not agree. She tugged at the Old Madam’s clothes and said coyly, “Grandmother, don’t you think so?”
The Old Madam was delighted when she saw that she was still as innocent as a young girl. She held her hand and said with a smile, “Yes, yes, yes. Don’t talk about anything else right now. You can talk about it later. Let’s chat about family matters with our Second Miss first. Don’t ignore our Second Miss.”
“Grandmother, you’re making fun of me too!” Luo Mingzhu said angrily.
Seeing that she still looked like a little girl, everyone laughed together. Mo Xuetong and Madam Qu stopped talking about accounts.
Madam Qu and Mo Xuetong made an appointment to talk about these things carefully in the room next to them after lunch. Then, they chatted with the Old Madam for the moment!
The morning passed by in a happy time. After lunch, the Old Madam and Luo Mingzhu both said that they wanted to rest for a while. Mo Xuetong and Madam Qu went to the wing room on the right side of the Old Madam’s to talk about something. Luo Mingzhu returned to her courtyard where she lived before she got married. When she left, Luo Mingzhu asked Nanny Hu, who had been by Madam Qu’s side, to go with her, saying that she wanted to look for her favorite painting from the past. She did not know if Madam Qu had kept it in the warehouse.
Luo Mingzhu had grown up by Madam Qu’s side and was used to being spoiled. She threw things everywhere and when she wanted to find something specifically, it was normal for her to flip through things. Madam Qu did not suspect her. As she didn’t need Nanny Hu, she asked her to help Luo Mingzhu look for the painting that she used to like very much.
