Chapter 4: Mother and Son

Madam Zheng came out of the old lady’s room and reached the gate of the courtyard, where a soft sedan chair was waiting for her. Mama He, who accompanied her, opened the curtain of the sedan. Chun Yue and Xia Lian helped her inside, and the four maids lifted the chair and headed to the Qing Hua Courtyard where Qin Meinang lived.

Mama He, walking behind the sedan, glanced behind her and saw a figure slip into the courtyard gate. She immediately recognized the person as the busy body, Pan, who was always looking for trouble and had nothing better to do.

It seemed that Pan was going to confirm that Madam Zheng really was too ill to walk and had been lying in bed for a long time, unable to attend to the proper courtesies as usual. People like Pan, though idle, sometimes served their purpose.

Not long after Madam Zheng left, Madam Gui also came out. She didn’t use a sedan, instead, her maids supported her on each side as she walked slowly. Mama Zhao, holding a lantern, chattered beside her, “Be careful! Second Madam can’t afford to fall, keep the cloak tight, it’s cold, and her dizziness hasn’t completely passed!”

At that moment, the snow stopped, and the ground turned white. The faint yellow light of the lantern made the scene blurry to the eyes.

Qin Meinang, with the help of Wang Mama and Cui Xi, was comfortably soaking in a large wooden tub filled with hot water. Cui Si and Cui Jian, along with several other maids, were tidying up the room. They sprinkled the rose petals that Meinang liked in the incense burner, and changed the bed linens from the canopy bed to new ones. Cui Si disgustedly pointed to the cushions and pillows on the west window couch and said, “These should be replaced too. Now that the Old Madam is better, there’s no need for her to come here and cause a distraction!”

Cui jian gave her a glare, “Replace them if you must, but keep your voice down. Don’t remind her of those things that will upset her!”

Cui Si didn’t argue, but grumbled as she gathered everything from the couch and ordered the maids to remove it. Cui Jian then replaced the cushions and blankets with clean ones.

Cui Xi found a set of smoky purple casual clothes from the wardrobe. She looked at them and said, “These are new. When the third madam invited the first madam to pick fabrics for her, they made four sets of home clothes, smoky purple, light green, pink, and snow cherry color. She’s worn the light green and snow cherry sets, but the pink one doesn’t suit her complexion, so she never wore it.”

Cui Xi placed the clothes on the incense burner to warm them and sneered, “She dares wear our madam’s clothes? Our madam is a natural beauty, with a delicate figure and a fair, glowing complexion. She’s even taller than that person by half a head. These are just casual clothes, made loose. If she had a fitted dress, let’s see if she could even wear it!”

When Qin Meinang changed into her clothes and came out, the wet nurse had just brought in little Heng Ge’er, who had eaten and bathed and was very excited. He reached out his little hands toward Meinang and smiled widely, showing his two small white teeth.

Wang Mama, Cui Xi, and the others watched with smiles as Meinang embraced Heng Ge’er and kissed his chubby little face. Heng Ge’er, dripping with saliva, leaned in to kiss Meinang, and she laughed while trying to avoid the slobber, but Heng Ge’er kept laughing too.

Just then, Xu Junying, who had entered quietly, saw this happy scene. He stood silently by the door, his expression cold and distant, with a hint of gloom.

Wang Mama cleared her throat softly, but Meinang was so absorbed in her play with Heng Ge’er that she didn’t notice. Wang Mama had to step forward and say, “Madam, Lord Hou is back.”

Meinang paused for a moment, still engaged in her play. She was good with children, having always loved playing with her colleagues’ babies in her past life, but she wasn’t used to being called a grandmother. It felt uncomfortable to be called “grandmother” at such a young age, a slender young woman in her twenties.

She quickly looked up, her thoughts turning, and finally decided to greet Lord Hou with the same sweet smile she had used to welcome her boyfriend in her previous life.

“Lord Hou, you’re back! It’s cold outside, right? Please sit by the warm kang. Cui Xi, bring a cup of hot tea for Lord Hou… Has he eaten yet? If not, Wang Mama can arrange something!”

Xu Junying’s eyes flickered lightly. He didn’t go to the couch but instead sat down at the round table. Cui Si took Heng Ge’er, and Meinang offered the tea cup, “Lord Hou, please have some tea.”

The faint fragrance of flowers wafted in, and the smoky purple silk clothes wrapped around her slender figure, her long black hair flowing down like silk. Xu Junying couldn’t help but look at her delicate, pink, soft fingers as she held the tea cup. He remembered how pale and lifeless she had looked just half a day ago, and now, she was fully recovered, vibrant and beautiful. But it was so cold, and she wasn’t even wearing an outer garment!

He suddenly realized that she wasn’t wearing her outer coat. This woman… How could she revive like this, so full of joy, and forget herself? If she gets sick again, he wouldn’t want to hold another funeral for her.

“Wang Mama, does the madam have no warm clothes to wear?” Xu Junying asked in a low voice.