When they arrived at Yixin Courtyard, Xie Nanjia and the Fourth Aunt were stopped outside the door by Yun Yan.
"Fourth Aunt is back, congratulations." Yun Yan smiled warmly, as if she was really happy for Fourth Aunt, but the next moment she said, "Aunt, you came at an inopportune time. Madam is having lunch. How about you wait here for a while?"
As soon as Xie Nanjia came over, she lowered her head, acted like a timid country girl, and stood quietly beside the Fourth Aunt.
The fourth concubine suppressed her anger and said, "I will go and serve Madam her meal."
"No need." Yun Yan waved her hand. "My aunt has come a long way, how can I trouble you? The Third Aunt is waiting in the room. My aunt, please wait here. I will come to call you as soon as the Madam finishes her meal."
After saying this, he turned around and left without giving Fourth Aunt a chance to speak.
The fourth concubine was so angry that she was shaking all over: "Little hoof, you know I have come a long way, but you still ask me to stand under the scorching sun. Isn't this obviously embarrassing me?"
Xie Nanjia raised her head and persuaded her gently: "Auntie, calm down. I will help you wait under the shade of the tree."
The fourth concubine sighed, "Your knowledge is not enough here, right? She asked me to wait here just to show me her power, not to let me sit in the shade of the tree."
"..." Xie Nanjia was indeed negligent. She herself had never punished Zhao Jingping's concubine in this way. She had lived in the manor for more than a month and had forgotten Qin's methods.
As a result, she had no choice but to accompany Fourth Aunt in the sun.
Yunyan returned to her room. Qin was just wiping her lips with the handkerchief handed to her by the Third Aunt. When she saw her come in, she said calmly, "Someone's coming?"
"Madam, I'm here and waiting outside the yard!" Yun Yan replied.
"I haven't seen you for more than a month. I wonder how you look now?" Qin handed the handkerchief back to the third aunt and asked with a hint of laziness after dinner.
"The sun is scorching and the wind is strong in the village. I'm sure you'll be tanned black." The third aunt said gloatingly.
"It's not dark. I think it's no different from before I left, just a little bit messy." Yun Yan said.
"It's not dark?" Qin yawned. "I'm a little tired. Let her wait a little longer. I'll take a short rest and see you later."
Since you are not tanned anymore, then stay in the sun for a while longer!
Yunyan responded with a smile.
As soon as Qin raised her hand, the third aunt bent down to support her, and carefully helped her to the back to rest.
After she finished all the work, Madam Cao had no choice but to ask the maids to clean up the dishes.
Qin liked the way these concubines bowed down to her and acted like subordinates. She felt happy and turned to ask Yunyan, "Does the Fourth Aunt have anyone to serve her?"
"There is a little girl." Yunyan replied, "She looks timid, and I think she was found temporarily from the farm."
"Yes." Qin nodded, "No matter if you are timid or not, it's enough to have it."
The implication is that the Fourth Aunt is only worthy of a maid like that.
She had rested here, but Fourth Aunt was still basking in the hot sun.
Although Xiu'er was thin, she had been doing farm work on the farm since she was a child, so it was not a big deal for her to be exposed to the sun. However, Fourth Aunt couldn't stand it. Soon she was sweating profusely, her face turned pale, and her body was shaking.
Xie Nanjia listened carefully to see if there was any sound of a child crying in the yard. She thought that the child was so young and must be raised by the Qin family. But after listening for a long time, she didn't hear any sound. She didn't know whether the child had fallen asleep or was too well-behaved and didn't like to cry.
Whenever she thought of her child, her heart felt like it was being burned on an iron plate. That kind of torment is probably only understood by a mother.
She simply couldn't wait any longer. Seeing Fourth Aunt's frail appearance, she whispered to her, "Aunt, you might as well pretend to faint. Otherwise, I don't know how long you'll have to stand there."
The fourth concubine was about to faint, so there was no need for her to pretend. Her eyes rolled back and her body fell limply to the ground.
Xie Nanjia took the opportunity to rush into the yard to call for help.
"Oh no, the fourth aunt fainted."
Qin leaned on the couch and dozed off for a while. She was thinking about something and was not really asleep. When she heard that Fourth Aunt fainted, she opened her eyes and sat up: "Did she really faint or was she pretending?"
"It's probably true." Madam Cao said, fanning herself. "She has such a delicate body. She has traveled hundreds of miles and has been exposed to the sun for a long time. How could she bear it?"
"Then let someone pour water on him and bring him in once he wakes up!" Qin said.
Yunyan agreed and went out.
After a while, the fourth aunt came in, all wet, followed by Xie Nanjia.
Xie Nanjia saw Qin sitting on the square couch at a glance. She was wearing a plain thin silk summer shirt, holding a string of prayer beads in her hand, and her hair was loosely tied in a bun. Her charming face had a faint expression, as if she had just woken up from a nap. She looked very warm and amiable, without any airs of a marquis's wife.
Xie Nanjia lowered his head, with a hint of sarcasm at the corner of his mouth.
The most dramatic person in the He Mansion is probably the Marquis' wife.
Qin's room was filled with ice, so it was very cool. The fourth concubine had just been exposed to the sun for a long time, and was splashed with water. She shuddered when she came in, knelt down tremblingly, and kowtowed: "Your servant greets the madam, and pays respects to the madam."
"Oh!" Qin laughed, "Fourth sister has been out for a few days. How come you have become so well-behaved? I have never heard you call yourself a slave in front of me before."
The Third Aunt smiled sweetly, covering her mouth: "It seems that this trip has given Fourth Sister a new understanding."
The fourth concubine's teeth chattered, and it was unclear whether she was cold or angry: "In the past, it was my fault that I didn't know the rules. Madam, please be magnanimous and forgive me this time!"
Qin still had a smile on her face and looked at her carefully. She thought to herself, "Aren't you lucky enough to not be killed? Then I will let you experience a life worse than death."
"What are you talking about, sister? I have never been angry with you, so how can I forgive you?" She said with a smile, "You just came back, you must be very sleepy, I won't let you sit here for long, I'll have someone clean up Qingfeng Courtyard for you, go wash up and take a rest, and when you are well rested, come and talk to me."
"Qingfeng Courtyard?" The fourth concubine was shocked. "Madam, where is my old courtyard?"
"The previous courtyard was given to my third sister." Qin said, "My third sister said her courtyard was too small and talked to me about it several times. So I decided to let her move to your courtyard."
"Yes, sister, we all thought you would not come back!" said the third aunt with a smile.
"..." Fourth Auntie stood up suddenly, water dripping down her body, "Madam..."
Xie Nanjia stepped forward in time to help her and pinched her hard with her nails.
The fourth concubine came to her senses, suppressed her anger, bowed and said, "Thank you, Madam. I will take my leave."
Qin frowned and looked at the puddle of water on the ground, then waved her hand and said, "Go!"
The fourth aunt nodded in agreement and walked out with Xie Nanjia.
Qin's eyes fell on Xie Nanjia's back and she smiled disdainfully.
Yun Yan was right. This girl was timid and looked unpresentable. It was just right for her to serve the Fourth Aunt.
In this way, she forgave Xie Nanjia for not kowtowed to her, thinking that the little girl was either really stupid or just scared.
As Xie Nanjia walked out, she listened carefully to the noises in the house, but she still didn't hear the child's voice, and she didn't see any of the child's belongings in the house or in the yard.
Could it be that the child is still living in my yard? She thought to herself, but then she felt that it was unlikely. After all, she was dead, and Qin Shi could not have raised the child there. Otherwise, she had allocated another yard and let the wet nurse and maids serve there.
I don’t know whether the two wet nurses we found earlier are reliable, caring, and whether their milk is good.
Just as I was thinking about it, a man came in from the door. He was wearing a white robe and had a handsome face. The jade pendant on his waist jingled as he walked. He looked like a rich and elegant young man.
Zhao Jingping!
As soon as Xie Nanjia saw him, his eyes suddenly became fierce, and he wished he had a knife in his hand to stab him right there and then!
If he had fulfilled his responsibilities as a husband, she would not have been killed in the delivery bed.
"Xiu'er!" Fourth Aunt felt the hand on her arm suddenly tighten, and she called out softly in pain.
Xie Nanjia came back to his senses and lowered his head quickly.
But Zhao Jingping heard the word "Xiu'er" and looked at the two of them suddenly.
"Fourth Aunt?" he asked in surprise, "When did you come back? How, how..." He wanted to ask why you were in such a mess, but his gentle and affectionate nature made him unable to say it out loud, and he asked with concern, "Go back and change quickly, so as not to catch a cold."
"Thank you, Your Highness." The Fourth Aunt bowed in shame.
Zhao Jingping smiled indifferently, his eyes fell on Xie Nanjia, and his eyes suddenly widened.
"Hey, where did this little girl come from? Why have I never seen her before?"
Xie Nanjia lowered her head even more.
"My Lord, I brought him back from the farm and I haven't taught him the rules yet." The fourth concubine pushed Xie Nanjia hastily, "Xiu'er, kowtow to the Lord quickly."
Xie Nanjia didn't want to kowtow, so she raised her head hesitantly and pursed her lips with a confused look.
Zhao Jingping's heart melted at the look of a frightened little deer. He waved his hands and said, "No need to be polite. We are new here, so there is no need to follow these conventional etiquettes."
Xie Nanjia sneered in his heart, knowing that his heart of sympathy for women was beginning to stir again.
"Your name is Xiu'er?" Zhao Jingping asked in confusion, "Why do I seem to have heard this name somewhere before?"
"Young Master, Madam wants you to come in." Without waiting for Xie Nanjia to answer, Yun Yan called out through the floor-length cover.
Zhao Jingping had no choice but to go inside, and before leaving he looked back at Xie Nanjia.
When the Fourth Aunt saw that Xiu'er had charmed the Young Master, she couldn't help but worry that the Marquis would also be charmed by her.
Therefore, she, who could hardly protect herself, began to think about replacing people.
Zhao Jingping entered the inner room and greeted Qin: "Mother, how are you?"
Qin glanced at him calmly: "Why do you have so much to say to everyone you meet?"
Zhao Jingping smiled awkwardly: "Mother, look at what you said, I was just a little surprised to see Fourth Aunt suddenly."
Qin was too lazy to argue with him, so she snorted and said, "Where did you come from?"
Zhao Jingyu said, "I just visited the child at Wanru's place."
"Oh." Qin's expression relaxed, "How is the child?"
"It's fine. He even peed all over me." Zhao Jingping said.
Everyone in the room laughed.
Qin also laughed: "So you came to greet me with the smell of urine?"
"No way, Wanru has already changed it for me just now." Zhao Jingping said.
Madam Cao smiled and joked, "It can be seen that Miss Cousin is very careful. She has long been prepared for the young master to give a big gift to father, and prepared a change of clothes for the prince in advance."
"Well, Wanru is indeed very thoughtful and cares about children very much." Zhao Jingping praised.
This was exactly the result Qin wanted to see. She smiled and exchanged a reassuring look with Madam Cao.
Zhao Jingping's mind was not here. Thinking about the little girl who looked like a fawn, he asked Qin: "Mother, have you ever heard of the name Xiu'er?"
(End of this chapter)