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Chen Feng opened the package brought by Steward Luo, finding inside a bag of candies, a bag of snacks, a bag of preserved hawthorn fruit, and four books.
Dabao said, “Abbess Liao Chen heard that my uncle and I were going to the private school in Shuishu to study, so she gave us two books and encouraged us to study hard. Sister Hanyan is returning to the capital, and she is also going back to the monastery.” They seemed reluctant to part with her.
Chen Feng felt truly grateful to Abbess Liao Chen, a kind and understanding woman. She then asked, “Since the master of that house has gone to the capital for official business, why did they still send Miss Chu back to the capital?”
Dabao replied, “It seems they said it was time to have sister Hanyan checked and get medicine. Also, next month will be Sister Hanyan’s birthday, and they said relatives from the capital and the provincial city will come to the capital to celebrate with her.”
For dinner, they had dumplings filled with celery and pork. Everyone enjoyed the meal, and even the two birds and the dog seemed pleased.
After dinner, the family gathered in the east room, listening to Dabao recounting some events at Tangyuan. Chen Lu was delighted with the two new books he had received, grinning from ear to ear. It was the first time he had held new books. The books at home were all worn-out hand-me-downs from Chen Ming, yellowed and missing pages.
Suddenly, they heard someone calling outside the door. It turned out to be Mrs. Luo, the wife of Steward Luo.
Why was she coming over to their house at this late hour? Chen Feng wondered, but quickly welcomed her into the west room. Mrs. Wang came over to accompany her, and Chen Feng served tea, bringing out peanuts and candies to entertain her.
Mrs. Luo was the most influential and respected woman in the vicinity, even difficult for the Gao family, Gao Lizheng to invite her as a guest.
In her forties, she had a beautiful appearance, dressed in silk and satin, with a jade-inlaid golden hairpin on her head. At this moment, she showed no arrogance, holding Mrs. Wang’s hand as she smiled and said, “I know the mother is skilled in embroidery, and unexpectedly, her daughter is even more skillful, both in handiwork and in mind. The dolls she made are lovely, pleasing young miss and Madame. Especially Madame, oh, I’ve never seen them so happy. Madame specifically sent me to express gratitude. Thank you for your thoughtfulness.” She added, “My grandson and granddaughter also like the dolls you made for them. Thank you.”
Mrs. Wang humbly replied, “It’s our pleasure. If your Madame and Mrs. Luo like them, it’s our good fortune.”
Mrs. Luo opened a package, revealing two sets of writing materials, two pieces of paper, and said with a smile, “These are from Madame for your two sons, to encourage them to study hard.” Her expression then turned serious as she lowered her voice, “Also, ask Dabao to keep his mouth shut. Young miss’s matters shouldn’t be spread around.”
Mrs. Wang hastened to say, “Don’t worry, our Dabao is clever. He knows what to say and what not to say.”
Mrs. Luo nodded, then took out a purse, from which she produced four small silver ingots, saying, “These are from Madame for you. She appreciates the excellent dolls Ms. Feng made. She acknowledges your efforts. However, these little swallow dolls are young miss’s favorites to play with. We hope you won’t make similar dolls and sell them. Please understand, we wish that the little swallow smiles, and only young miss can have this kind of kindness.”
Chen Feng realized that, in the end, they were still concerned about spreading news of her family’s young Miss’s illness. Even if they had the courage of a lion, they wouldn’t dare to do such a thing.
Mrs. Wang felt awkward, but Mrs. Luo still managed to slip the silver into her hand.
Mrs. Luo then opened another small package, revealing a small box containing six very beautiful jasmine flowers and a small jar emitting a sweet fragrance when opened. She smiled and said, “I bought these jasmine flowers in the capital to give to Ms. Feng to wear. This jar of preserved hawthorn fruit jam is made by me and is especially delicious with steamed buns and flatbreads. These are our gifts, please don’t disdain them.”
Chen Feng and Mrs. Wang expressed their gratitude once again.
Later, Mrs. Luo looked at Chen Feng with even warmer eyes and said with a smile, “Ms. Feng, you truly have a clever and nimble heart. No one would have expected that dolls could be made so beautifully.”
Then, hesitating as if wanting to speak, Mrs. Luo seemed to have something to discuss privately with Mrs. Wang, so Chen Feng tactfully excused herself.
It turned out that Mrs. Luo was inquiring about the medicine Mrs. Wang had given Chen Feng and where he had received treatment. She added, “It’s a distant relative of our family. She’s not well, so I wanted to ask.”
As this topic arose, Mrs. Wang recalled the previous hardships and travels, and her eyes reddened involuntarily while she spoke more.
She recounted the various clinics and pharmacies where she had sought treatment for her daughter, the numerous folk remedies she had tried, the cold words and criticisms she had endured. People had said the illness was incurable, but she had refused to believe her daughter would remain mentally challenged. She also mentioned how many bodhisattvas she had prayed to, and the decree from the eminent monk at Lingyin Temple for Chen Feng. She even mentioned the incident of taking Feng to Yingshuan Monastery to seek medical advice from Abbess Liao Chen.
She continued, “Even now, I still remember the compassionate look in Abbess Liao Chen’s eyes when she looked at our A’Feng. She didn’t treat A’Feng as a poor person, didn’t look down on us, and even provided A’Feng with vegetarian food…”
Mrs. Luo’s eyes seemed to redden as she listened and said, “Abbess Liao Chen is truly compassionate. And, I won’t hide it from you, my Madame is Abbess Liao Chen. Due to some unavoidable circumstances, she left home. It’s good that you know this, but please don’t spread it around. Your Dabao is delightful, and it seems young miss can only play with him. In the future, when young miss comes to the estate to visit my madame, Dabao should still accompany her to play. If Golden Treasure really manages to find your family next year, take him to Tangyuan to play with our young miss…”
After Mrs. Luo had learned about Chen Feng’s medical treatment process from Mrs. Wang, she left the Chen family content. Before leaving, she told Dabao, who saw her off, “When young miss comes to Tangyuan again in the future, please let Dabao play with her.”
Dabao obediently replied, “Okay, I’m looking forward to sister Hanyan coming to the countryside to play again.”
After seeing off Mrs. Luo, Mrs. Wang handed the purse containing the silver to Chen Feng, saying, “You came up with those dolls, so you should take this silver.”
Chen Feng took the purse with a smile, took out two silver ingots, and handed them to Mrs. Wang, saying, “Mother also contributed. These two are for you.”
Mrs. Wang said, “You came up with the dolls, so take three, and I’ll take one.”
Chen Feng insisted, placing the two silver ingots into Mrs. Wang’s hand, and said, “The silver they gave us also signifies that they don’t want us to talk about making these swallow dolls, which means not discussing the illness of their young miss.” Then he turned to Chen Lu and Dabao, saying, “Remember that? Don’t speak to anyone about Miss Chu’s situation.”
Chen Lu and Dabao nodded eagerly.
Upon returning to Tangyuan, Mrs. Luo was met by Steward Luo, who assisted her inside and closed the gate. In a low voice, she asked, “Wife, have you clarified everything?”