Bai Suzhen and Xiaoqing walked into Ao Ningshuang's room one after another. They looked up and saw Ao Ningshuang sitting quietly beside the bed, Ao Qingmei standing beside her, and Hu Meiniang sleeping on the bed.
Seeing Ao Ningshuang's pale face and tired look, Xiaoqing frowned and took a few steps forward, saying distressedly, "Sister, you don't look well. Do you feel unwell?"
"Third sister, I'm fine." Ao Ningshuang shook her head gently, staring at Hu Meiniang on the bed with a calm gaze. The person in the sleep did not seem to be sleeping peacefully, with frowned eyebrows and trembling eyelashes, as if she was having a bad dream. Sighing softly, she gently stroked the frowned brows with pity, comforting the sleeping person.
"Big sister, who is this Hu Meiniang? She is so important that you are not afraid of wasting your own body and mana to save her." Xiaoqing frowned and glanced at Hu Meiniang on the bed. She was standing a little off and could only see her profile. However, she could clearly see the jade pendant hanging on Hu Meiniang's neck, which was exposed from her clothes. It was indeed the blood jade that belonged to her big sister. What her second sister said just now was true.
"As long as I can save her, it doesn't matter if I lose some magic power." Ao Ningshuang smiled faintly, with deep affection in her words.
Xiaoqing's heart skipped a beat, and she vaguely felt something strange. The corners of her mouth twitched, and she was about to ask something, but Bai Suzhen came forward and secretly pulled her back, signaling her with her eyes to ask questions later. "Princess, how is Miss Mei Niang?"
"She's fine, but she's still a little weak. I'm afraid she'll need a few days of recuperation before she can recover." Ao Ningshuang looked up at Bai Suzhen, paused, and asked, "Miss Bai, can you let Mei Niang stay in Bao'an Hall for a few days until her injuries are healed before leaving?"
Bai Suzhen smiled and said, "Of course it's okay. I'll give instructions in a moment and ask the kitchen to prepare some more nutritious meals and send them here in the next few days. I hope Miss Ao's friend can recover soon."
"I'm really sorry to bother you, Miss Bai." Ao Ningshuang smiled apologetically, her eyes full of gratitude.
"Princess, why do you need to be polite to Suzhen? In fact, this Bao'an Hall was originally bought by Qing'er with money raised. In fact, Qing'er is the real manager." At this point, Bai Suzhen couldn't help but look at Xiaoqing with a smile. She thought of how Xiaoqing stole silver from the Suzhou treasury at night and used the government treasury as her own accounting office. She felt amused and helpless.
"Third sister always has more ideas." Ao Ningshuang's gaze fell on Xiaoqing, with understanding in her eyes.
Xiao Qing pulled the corner of her lips and avoided their gazes uncomfortably. At this moment, she suddenly noticed that Ao Qingmei, who was standing beside the bed, had a strange look on her face. She crossed her arms, her eyes turned around, and looked back and forth at Hu Meiniang on the bed, sometimes frowning, sometimes deep in thought, as if she was studying something. She couldn't help but feel curious, so she walked over and tugged at her sleeve, and said inexplicably, "Hey, second sister, what are you doing?"
"Third sister, why do I feel that this Miss Mei Niang looks familiar... as if I have seen her somewhere." Ao Qingmei was staring at Hu Meiniang in a daze. When she heard Xiaoqing's voice, she couldn't help but murmured.
Xiaoqing suddenly raised her eyebrows, thinking to herself: Could it be that this Hu Meiniang is really from the heaven, and my second sister has just seen her? Before this thought was finished, she heard Ao Qingmei say "eh" lightly, clapped her hands suddenly, and said with a smile: "I was wondering why she looked familiar, it turns out that this Miss Mei Niang is somewhat similar to Sister Bai." Xiaoqing was startled, and when she looked up, she saw Ao Qingmei's eyes looking past her and staring at Bai Suzhen behind her, with a look of realization on her face.
Ao Qingmei didn't notice it before, until she came into the room just now. When she took a closer look, she suddenly realized that the woman on the bed looked very familiar, as if she had seen her before. But for a moment she couldn't remember when and where she had seen her before. Until she looked up and caught a glimpse of Bai Suzhen just now, her eyes lit up and she realized that Hu Meiniang looked similar to Bai Suzhen.
"Third sister, come and see, does Mei Niang look very similar to Sister Bai?" Ao Qingmei stretched out her hand and pulled Xiaoqing to the bed. Xiaoqing was half-believing and half-doubting, but after taking a closer look at Hu Meiniang's appearance, she suddenly showed a look of surprise on her face, "It really is... Sister, come and take a look for yourself." Xiaoqing excitedly pulled Bai Suzhen to the bedside. Bai Suzhen glanced at Xiaoqing and Ao Qingmei, and saw that the two of them looked at her and then at Hu Meiniang on the bed, with a look of surprise and amazement on their faces. She became curious in her heart. Could it be that Miss Mei Niang really looked like her? At the moment, she looked at the bed, and after a careful look, Bai Suzhen's eyes moved slightly, and she also laughed. She had to admit that the subtle details of the woman on the bed were indeed somewhat similar to her.
"It is said that things are similar and people are similar. I never thought that Sister Bai and Miss Mei Niang, who do not know each other, look similar. It is also a kind of fate." Ao Qingmei sighed, and suddenly her heart moved. She turned to look at Ao Ningshuang: "Sister, you met Miss Mei Niang before, did you realize that Sister Bai looked similar to her?"
Ao Ningshuang coughed slightly and nodded gently. When she first met Bai Suzhen, she did notice that Bai Suzhen and Mei Niang had similar facial features in some places, but one was gentle and generous, while the other was weak and delicate, and their temperaments were completely different. "I think Miss Bai and Mei Niang will become friends in the future."
Bai Suzhen smiled and thought the same thing in her heart.
"Okay... I'll take care of Mei Niang. Miss Bai, second sister, third sister, you don't have to stay here." Ao Ningshuang said while coughing. Bai Suzhen was well versed in medicine and could tell that Ao Ningshuang's cough was more serious than before. She guessed it was because of the battle in Phoenix Mountain and the spell she just cast to heal Hu Mei Niang, which made her weak and exhausted, and her old illness worsened.
"Princess, are you okay?" A hint of worry flashed across her eyes. Bai Suzhen wanted to cure Ao Ningshuang's old illness, but when she remembered what Ao Ningshuang had said in the pavilion before, she had to give up.
"Sister, drink some water first." Ao Qingmei patted Ao Ningshuang's back gently and handed her the poured tea.
Ao Ningshuang took the cup of water, raised her eyes and smiled faintly at Ao Qingmei, and said, "Thank you."
Ao Qingmei leaned forward and glanced at Hu Meiniang on the bed, then leaned over to Ao Ningshuang's ear and whispered, "Sister, I don't think Miss Meiniang will wake up for a while, so how about this, I'll help you take care of her while you go and have a rest, okay?"
Ao Ningshuang patted the back of Ao Qingmei's hand on her shoulder. She knew that she meant well, but she shook her head gently, unwilling to take her eyes away from Hu Meiniang on the bed: "I want Meiniang to be able to see me by her side when she wakes up."
The author has something to say: I have been at home for some time recently and have been disconnected from the Internet, so I have not been able to update. I am really sorry. Now that I am back, I will make sure to seize the time to write.
ps: Although it’s a little late, I still want to say to everyone, Happy New Year.