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“Why would your family send someone to follow you?” Abai asked, confused.
“Why are you asking so many questions?” Lin glanced at him. “Just do your job.”
Abai shut his mouth.
The Young Master clearly came from a wealthy family. Could it be a power struggle within the family?
Perhaps it was a wicked stepmother, Abai’s imagination ran wild.
At Pingyang Marquisate, the carpenter finally delivered the wheelchair.
“Since it’s for the Master, we wouldn’t dare sit on it. Madam, would you like to try it?”
Xu Qingyi nodded, sat down, and carefully tested it. The carpenter’s craftsmanship was excellent, and she felt no discomfort. She smiled and praised, “It’s very comfortable.”
“We made several adjustments,” the carpenter said.
“You’ve worked hard. It’s excellent, and I’m very satisfied.” Xu Qingyi gave the carpenter a reward through Su Ye and instructed others, “Take it to the Eldest Young Master’s room first.”
In the Eldest Young Master’s room.
Was this a wheelchair?
Guan Qi and Mo Yan looked curiously at the strange-looking chair. “Young Madam, can the Young Master really sit in this?”
“Of course. I’ve already tried it. Help the Young Master sit up,” Xu Qingyi said.
It was still hot outside. They should let the Young Master try it indoors first to see if any improvements were needed. If not, he could be taken outside in the evening to breathe some fresh air.
Xie Yunzhi listened with some anticipation.
Being confined to his room during his lucid moments was difficult, even for someone as patient as him.
“Yes,” Guan Qi and Mo Yan replied. Then, following Xu Qingyi’s instructions, they carefully lifted the Eldest Young Master from the bed and helped him into the chair.
The Eldest Young Master was tall and strong; even though he had lost a lot of weight, he was still quite heavy, making the process extremely strenuous.
Xu Qingyi also lent a hand to prevent the Eldest Young Master from being bumped or injured.
The moment he sat down, Xie Yunzhi felt much more comfortable; he was finally not lying down.
Lying down for extended periods was exhausting, a kind of tiredness difficult to describe. It was bearable, but prolonged immobility could drive a person mad.
Xu Qingyi pushed the wheelchair. Aside from its weight, the wheels moved smoothly.
It certainly wasn’t as advanced as modern wheelchairs, but it was more than adequate and usable.
What she considered merely satisfactory was astonishing to others.
Guan Qi and Mo Yan stared, amazed. It actually worked!
“Young Madam, let us try,” they said.
“Go ahead.”
They took over the task of pushing the wheelchair, each trying it out. They then laughed excitedly, “Wonderful! With this chair, we can now push the Young Master around!”
“Didn’t I say it would work?” Xu Qingyi smiled.
The Old Madam also had trouble with her legs and had already instructed the carpenter to hurry and make another chair.
As Xie Yunzhi sat in the wheelchair, he could once again directly feel Xu Qingyi’s deep affection for him.
“Young Madam is amazing!” the servants chimed in unison.
Everyone increasingly hoped the Young Master would wake up soon; they couldn’t let such a wonderful lady like her continue to wait in vain.
However, judging by how Xu Qingyi appeared, she never seemed to show any bitterness; she looked happy every day.
Xu Qingyi: “…”
With an ideal life within reach, how could she not be happy?
As the heat of the day began to fade in the evening, a cool breeze swept through the courtyard.
Two young servants pushed Xie Yunzhi to the pavilion. The air there was fragrant with the scent of lotus leaves, particularly pleasant.
Xie Yunzhi breathed in the long-awaited fresh air, his mood lifting.
Yet, he found it puzzling that Xu Qingyi was not there.
This was the chair she had given him, and it was the first time he was using it. She should have been present.
That’s right.
Xu Qingyi should have been there, but she had gone to pick up her son from school.
She was a bit late, and Heng pouted, complaining, “Mother was late this afternoon. I’ve been out of school for a long time.”
How could it have been a long time?
It wasn’t even half an hour.
But children are children. Xu Qingyi said helplessly, “Mother was late. Couldn’t you just go back to the courtyard with Su Ye?”
“No, you promised you’d come to pick me up,” Heng said confidently.
“Yes, Mother was wrong.”
Heng finally smiled and held out his arms. “Hug.”
“You little clingy thing,” Xu Qingyi picked up Heng, only then realizing that Shen Zhijie was still there, accompanying her son. She quickly said, “I’m sorry, Scholar Shen. I’ve taken up your time.”
Shen Zhijie laughed. “It’s alright. I was reviewing here anyway.”
Xu Qingyi glanced at the books on the table—the Four Books and Five Classics—and asked with a smile, “Scholar Shen, will you be taking the Spring Examinations next year?”
“I should be,” Shen Zhijie replied.
With no worries holding him back, why should he wait?
In fact, he owed everything to the appreciation of the lady before him.
“Good. I wish you great success,” Xu Qingyi said sincerely, remembering that Lin would also be taking the Autumn Examinations. “Scholar Shen, if you have time, you could exchange ideas with my Lin. He’s also taking the examination for the Xiucai title this year.”
“If Young Master Lin is willing,” Shen Zhijie smiled.
Xu Qingyi beamed. “Then it’s settled. I’ll ask him for some of his essays later.”
After bidding farewell to Shen Zhijie, Xu Qingyi took Heng to the courtyard to find the Eldest Young Master and encouraged Heng to accompany his father for a walk. “You’ve been sitting in the study for so long. Are you tired? Come down and take a walk with your father.”
Xie Yunzhi heard Xu Qingyi’s voice from afar, and it seemed Heng was with her.
He wondered how Heng’s first day of school had gone.
“I don’t want to walk. I want Mother to hold me,” Heng, having been away from his mother all day, clung to Xu Qingyi’s neck, refusing to let go.
Guan Qi and Mo Yan snickered aside. Young Master Heng was so clingy; only the Young Madam would indulge him.
Xie Yunzhi, as the father, couldn’t smile.
If he were awake, he would have spanked Heng.
Regardless of etiquette, a four-year-old child was quite heavy. Carrying him around all day would be tiring for even a strong man, let alone a slender woman.
Wasn’t this tormenting her?
“Alright, alright. Consider this compensation for Mother being late to pick you up today,” Xu Qingyi conceded good-naturedly.
Xie Yunzhi: “…”
Hearing this firsthand, he finally understood the servants’ comments about Xu Qingyi’s affection for Heng.
Clearly, it wasn’t just affection; it was spoiling.
“Perhaps we should visit Grandmother,” Xu Qingyi suddenly suggested.
The Old Madam was elderly, and the weather had been hot these past few days, and she hadn’t visited Danhuai Courtyard yet.
It was likely not that she didn’t want to come; various reasons had kept her away.
Mentioning the Old Madam made Xie Yunzhi’s heart tighten, and he had no objections.
In Yi’an Courtyard.
As the evening heat began to fade, the Old Madam finally perked up a little and was enjoying a bowl of lotus seed soup that the maid had brought her.
Suddenly, she heard outside, “Old Madam, the Young Madam and Young Master have arrived!”
With a clatter, the porcelain spoon in the Old Madam’s hand fell back into the bowl.
She then sat there in a daze, thinking she must have misheard.
How could Yunzhi come here…?
After her eldest grandson fell into a coma, she rarely visited him. She avoided it because seeing him would inevitably bring her heartache.
As time passed, it became increasingly difficult for her to take that step.
“Was the message incorrect?” the maid, having overheard, furrowed her brow and asked the servant girl.
“No, it’s true.” The servant girl didn’t know how to respond, so she let the Old Madam and the maid figure it out for themselves.
As Xu Qingyi pushed the Eldest Young Master inside, she felt a twinge of anxiety, unsure if the Old Madam would scold her for being rash.
She was certain the Old Madam cared deeply for the Eldest Young Master, but she wasn’t sure if the Old Madam would appreciate seeing him in this way. If her good intentions backfired, it wouldn’t be good.
Xie Yunzhi felt just as anxious.
Today, being able to sit up and go outside, feeling the breeze, was already satisfying. He hadn’t expected Xu Qingyi to bring him to Yi’an Courtyard.
He missed his grandmother but was also afraid that seeing him would upset her.
The moment they entered, the Old Madam recognized that her eldest grandson had come and was momentarily stunned. “Yunzhi… you…”
Then she noticed that his eyes were still closed.
“Heng, you should be able to walk now, right? Go and pay your respects to your great-grandmother.” Xu Qingyi set Heng down and smiled as she greeted the Old Madam. “I took the liberty of preparing a wheelchair for the Eldest Young Master, so he can get some sun and visit you whenever he likes.”
“Greetings, Great-grandmother, I came to see you with my father,” Heng said sweetly, his little mouth as sweet as honey.