Chapter 268: Chapter 105: Tingzheng Has a Fever Chapter 268: Chapter 105: Tingzheng Has a Fever The Old Madam passed away, and both Mr. Yun and Nanny Wang were dismissed.
Yueyao was initially surprised to hear about Nanny Wang’s dismissal, since she remembered that Nanny Wang later became Yuebing’s trusted nanny. However, things had changed, so it was not surprising that Nanny Wang no longer held that position.
When the Embroidery Lady Mah left, she imparted the essence of Gu embroidery to Yueyao and gave her an exquisitely embroidered piece, created using the Gu embroidery technique.
Feeling grateful, Yueyao gave a generous gift upon her departure. She said to the lady, “If there’s anything in the future that I can help with, I will certainly not refuse as long as it’s within my means.” If it was beyond her capability, she couldn’t do anything about it.
Yueyao was not one to make promises lightly, but during this time, the Embroidery Lady Mah had been very kind to her, genuinely sharing her knowledge without holding back, which deeply moved Yueyao. It was as if she had received teachings from a master!
Embroidery Lady Mah just listened and did not take it to heart. Yueyao was an orphan who relied on her aunt and uncle for support; how could she bother Yueyao? Even if there were issues, she would not turn to Yueyao for help.
When Embroidery Lady Mah went back to her residence and opened the thank you gifts from the young ladies, Yueyao’s gift was the heaviest, as it contained a silver note worth two hundred taels. Embroidery Lady Mah’s ten months of compensation at Lian Mansion amounted to only three hundred taels of silver.
The maid beside Embroidery Lady Mah looked at the silver note and whispered, “People inside the Lian Mansion say that the Third Young Lady is generous. A single gift amounting to two hundred taels of silver, the Third Young Lady is indeed magnanimous.” Not everyone could afford such a grand gesture.
Embroidery Lady Mah softly said, “The Third Young Lady also has it tough.” She had been through a lot herself. Yueyao having such an amount of silver would definitely attract the attention of others, but the child was smart and knew how to win people’s hearts with money. She hoped that Yueyao could continue without mishap.
Yueyao couldn’t possibly be so generous to everyone. She had sent Mr. Yun a thank you gift of ten taels of silver; as for Mr. Qi, she hadn’t learned from him, so naturally, there was no need for a gift.
With the teachers and nannies gone, Yueyao no longer had lessons, so her daily routine changed again. She now started her mornings with physical exercises, followed by breakfast and calligraphy practice, then embroidery. When tired, she would stroll in the backyard, and after sufficient rest, she began reading books, followed by more calligraphy practice for an hour; at night she read for a half-hour before starting to copy scriptures.
The only difference was that Yueyao’s bedtime was now a half-hour earlier than before, which was quite a significant improvement.
Nanny Hao, witnessing Yueyao’s diligent schedule, felt admiration arise within her. Ever since she arrived at the Lanxi Courtyard, she saw the young lady continuously studying, not resting for a minute, and never playing for a day. At this point, Nanny Hao genuinely regretted that if the young lady were a boy, with her intelligence and talent, coupled with her dedication to learning, becoming the Top Scholar would be effortless.
Her hand feeling a bit sore from copying, Yueyao put down the brush and stretched in an ungainly manner, but there was no one else in the study to witness.
Hua Lei came in and said, “Miss, it’s time to rest.”
Hua Lei and Qiao Lan had different roles to play; Hua Lei was responsible for personally attending to Yueyao, while Qiao Lan managed the household items such as jewelry and clothing and assisted Nanny Hao with the maids. Nanny Hao was mainly in charge of all miscellaneous and trivial matters of the Lanxi Courtyard; she also gathered information to keep track of the movements within the mansion.
Yueyao, looking up at the moonlight shining through the window, turned to Hua Lei, who was tidying the scriptures, and asked, “What time is it now?”
Hua Lei paused before answering, “The second quarter of the Hai hour. Miss, you should go to sleep. You need to get up early tomorrow!” Yueyao’s nightly routine was very fixed, similar to her schedule at the Nunnery. Of course, at the Nunnery, she either copied scriptures or painted Buddhas, but here, she did whatever she wanted.
Just as Yueyao left the Small Buddhist Hall, she heard urgent knocking from outside. The knocking was loud and frantic, signifying that something important was happening.
A sense of foreboding flashed through Yueyao’s mind. She quickly ordered, “Open the door, let’s see what has happened.”
A little maid came in and said, “Miss, the Fourth Young Master has developed a high fever. The Outer Gate is locked, and we can’t fetch a doctor. We need the Miss to think of something; otherwise, the Fourth Young Master is in danger.” This was the effect of Nanny Deng’s earlier investment in bribing someone to get the message through. Otherwise, the news would not have reached them.
Yueyao’s heart sank and she said, “I will go have a look.” In her previous life, Tingzheng’s fever had been neglected, leading to his death, and now she couldn’t be sure whether it was natural or foul play. Regardless of whether Tingzheng’s fever was natural or induced, locking the door to prevent a doctor from being called was intentional murder…