Before dinner, Zhao Lanzhi came back from school and went to serve the old lady first.
Xie Nanjia said that he had not seen the old lady for a long time and wanted to kowtow to her. He asked Su He to rest at home and he went with Zhao Lanzhi.
When they arrived at Ci'an Residence, they were stopped by a little maid guarding the door before they could enter the upper room.
"The old lady is angry. Miss Fourth, please wait a moment before going in, to avoid being implicated."
Zhao Lanzhi had been serving the old lady rain or shine in the past few months. Under Xie Nanjia's guidance, she got along very well with the servants in Ci'anju. Therefore, the little maid did not treat her as an outsider and reminded her with good intentions.
"Why are you so angry? Who made grandma angry?" Zhao Lanzhi asked.
The little girl looked around and lowered her voice and said, "It's not the Madam yet. She came to bother the old lady about her niece's matter again. She spent the whole afternoon and just went back."
"Is that so?" Zhao Lanzhi nodded. Qin was her stepmother, so she couldn't say anything.
The little girl said, "Why don't you take a walk in the garden first? I'll call you when the old lady wants to serve you food."
Just as Zhao Lanzhi was about to agree, Xie Nanjia said, "It's not a good idea to just let the old lady get angry. What if she gets sick from being angry? Miss Four should go in and try to persuade her. Maybe a few words of advice will help the old lady get better!"
Zhao Lanzhi thought about it and felt that what she said made sense, so she took her into the house.
The old lady sat on the couch with a gloomy face. There were some broken porcelain pieces scattered on the floor. She had driven out all the servants, and only Aunt Hua was with her.
"How's grandma?" Zhao Lanzhi stepped forward and bowed.
The old lady was angry and ignored it.
Zhao Lanzhi was half squatting, not knowing whether to stand or not.
Xie Nanjia also hurriedly took a step forward, knelt on the ground respectfully and kowtowed to the old lady, and said crisply: "Xiu'er pays his respects to the old lady!"
The old lady hadn't seen her for some time. She was quite surprised to see her. Her frown relaxed for a moment and she said in a muffled voice, "Everyone, get up!"
The two of them stood up.
The old lady continued, "I have no appetite today. I don't want to eat. You guys go back now!"
"..." Zhao Lanzhi glanced at Xie Nanjia subconsciously.
Xie Nanjia shook her head slightly.
Zhao Lanzhi walked to the bedside, sat down next to the old lady without saying anything, hugged her arm affectionately, and coaxed her: "Grandma, how can you not eat? Nowadays, the days are short and the nights are long. If you are hungry for a long time, it will easily hurt your stomach."
The old lady snorted angrily, "You're almost dead, why bother worrying about your stomach? You might as well starve to death, and save yourself from getting angry."
"Grandma, please don't say that. If you get angry and something bad happens, what will your granddaughter do?" Zhao Lanzhi leaned against her like a pitiful kitten.
"Alas!" The old lady sighed and patted her head, "It's you who makes me worried."
Xie Nanjia beside her suddenly covered her mouth and chuckled.
Nanny Hua and Zhao Lanzhi were both shocked, thinking that this girl must have gone crazy. The old lady was angry, but she behaved so rudely.
The old lady also looked at her unhappily and asked in a deep voice: "What are you laughing at?"
Xie Nanjia hurriedly said, "I am sorry for being rude. Please forgive me, old lady. It was just that I remembered what the Second Young Master said and I couldn't help myself."
"Second Young Master, what did he say?" asked the old lady.
Xie Nanjia replied with a smile: "The second young master said that if all the grandchildren in the three mansions were added together and asked who the old lady loved the most, if he ranked second, no one would dare to rank first."
The old lady was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing: "You little monkey, you are really shameless. Which eye of his can see that I love him the most?"
Nanny Hua and Zhao Lanzhi were both stunned. They tried to coax her for a long time but failed. Xiu'er made the old lady laugh with just one sentence. This girl really couldn't resist.
"Why did he say that and where did he say that?" the old lady asked with a smile.
"We talked about it in the paddock," Xie Nanjia replied. "The second young master couldn't get used to the food cooked by the chef, so he asked me to cook for him. Later, Mr. Cheng and many other young masters came to eat and drink for free. They all praised me for my good cooking. The second young master was very proud to show off to them, saying that I was specially sent by the old lady to serve him. Those young masters were very envious and said that the second young master had the most caring grandmother in the world. They wanted to exchange this treasure and that treasure for the second young master. The second young master said that it was impossible, because I only have a grandmother like this, and I would not exchange her for mountains of gold and silver."
"Haha, did he really say that?" The old lady smiled happily. "I was worried that he was bored at home, but from what you said, it seems quite interesting. What other interesting things did he do? Tell me more about it."
"There are so many interesting things to do." Xie Nanjia said, "Why don't you serve the food, old lady? You can listen to the story while eating. I guarantee that everything will go well with the meal."
"Okay, okay, pass the food, pass the food!" The old lady nodded at her with a smile, "You, girl, are also a monkey spirit. You and that monkey cub are a perfect match."
Xie Nanjia chuckled and thought to himself, I don’t want to be with him!
Aunt Hua hurriedly ordered someone to serve the meal and called a little maid to come in and clean up the mess on the floor. She was filled with admiration for Xie Nanjia.
When the food was served, Zhao Lanzhi diligently served the old lady, while Xie Nanjia was responsible for telling stories and entertaining her. The old lady laughed as she listened, and soon forgot about her quarrel with Qin.
The maids and servants listened to the laughter in the room and were amazed. This Xiu'er was truly amazing. There was no one she couldn't coax.
After the meal, the old lady was still not satisfied, so she asked someone to clear away the food, replace it with tea, and continue listening to Xie Nanjia's stories.
"Why didn't I find you such an interesting girl before? Ordinary things become particularly interesting when they are embellished by your little mouth." The old lady sighed.
Xie Nanjia smiled and said, "How could I do that? It must be because the old lady has been at home for too long, so everything she hears is new. It's not that cold today, and the old lady is in good health. Why don't you go out for a walk, go shopping, worship Buddha, and visit your old sisters? Isn't it much better than staying at home and getting angry?"
"Yes, yes, Xiu'er is right." Nanny Hua also chimed in.
The old lady sighed, "It's easy to say. If I go out every day, the house will become her world. Maybe she will marry her daughter-in-law while I'm shopping."
Xie Nanjia smiled slightly and patiently counseled her: "Old Madam, please don't be offended if I tell you the truth. Even if you stay at home every day, you can't stop this. First, the cousin is already pregnant. Second, the Prime Minister's Mansion is not a peasant family in the market. We can't just give some money to get rid of it. If this matter gets out, our two families will become the laughing stock of the capital. How will the Marquis put his face? How will he face the emperor and his colleagues in the court? The Marquis is worried about state affairs all day long, and when he returns home, he has to be caught between you and your wife. He is your flesh and blood. Your wife doesn't understand him, don't you feel sorry for him?"
These words made the old lady burst into tears. How could a mother in this world not love her child? Even though the Marquis already had many children and grandchildren, in her eyes, he was still a child, her own child. If she didn't love him, who would
"You are right, you are right." The old lady held Xie Nanjia's hand and said repeatedly, "Your master has a miserable life. He married a selfish wife who has never been considerate. From the time of marriage until now, he has never been happy. Well, I will take care of my own son. From now on, I will no longer care about this matter. Let him do whatever he wants!"
Everyone was delighted to hear this.
Aunt Hua said, "Old Madam, you have finally figured it out. Starting tomorrow, I will accompany you to go out and play. We can have fun in the capital and go wherever we like, okay?"
The old lady laughed so hard: "You can scatter if you want. I can't scatter with my old bones."
Everyone laughed along, the gloom in the room dissipated, and laughter and joy were restored.
The next day, the old lady really ignored everything and went out to play with the maids and servants around her.
When Qin heard the news, she couldn't believe her ears and asked Cao Mama, "What is the old lady planning now? Is she playing some tricks on me?"
Nanny Cao couldn't say for sure either, and suggested sending someone to Ci'an Residence to inquire.
Qin agreed and sent a smart little maid out to inquire.
Not long after, the little girl came back and told Qin everything she had heard.
When Qin heard that it was Xiu'er who coaxed the old lady and persuaded her to no longer care about her, she was very surprised. She thought to herself that this girl was really my lucky star. She could always help me out of my urgent needs. Maybe she was a savior sent to me by God because he saw that my life was not going well.
Thinking of this, she suddenly realized that she had not seen this girl for a long time since Xiu'er accompanied Zhao Jingyu to the Xishan enclosure. She immediately ordered Madam Cao to call Xiu'er to see her as soon as possible, as she happened to have some urgent matters to discuss with Xiu'er.
Xie Nanjia ran to the west wing early in the morning to get her bag. She thought she would have to argue with Zhao Jingyu, but she didn't expect that she just explained her purpose outside the gate, and the guards at the gate went in and took out her bag. They didn't even let her in. They said goodbye to her politely and then closed the door ruthlessly.
Xie Nanjia held the bag in confusion for a long time, unable to believe that the trip would be so smooth. Was it because the guards did not report to Zhao Jingyu, or did Zhao Jingyu not want to see her
She thought about it and felt that neither was possible.
It was impossible for the guards not to notify Zhao Jingyu, and if Zhao Jingyu didn't want to see her, she wouldn't have made things difficult for Xiaofu and Xiaoxi in the first place.
So, there is something fishy about this matter.
She walked back slowly, wondering what went wrong. After thinking it over, she could only think of one possibility: Zhao Jingyu was not recuperating in the west wing, but was trying to escape.
As for why she did this, she had no idea.
But she didn't have time to think about it at the moment. The old lady went out to play, and Qin would definitely ask someone to find out the reason. If her guess was correct, Qin would probably send someone to find her soon.
Therefore, she had no time to check on her treasure. She hurriedly went to Sijinyuan, handed the bag to Hualou for safekeeping, and then hurried back to Yilanyuan.
Just after returning to the courtyard and before walking into the room, Yunying came over and said that the lady wanted to see her.
(End of this chapter)