After that hurried encounter with Qi Ying in the carriage behind the alley, Shen Xiling fell into a state of bewildered dejection.

She couldn’t focus on reading, couldn’t concentrate on the accounts, couldn’t eat her meals, and had no heart even to play with Xue Tuan’er. All day long she remained listless, making anyone who saw her feel deeply distressed.

During this time, Song Haotang came to see her once about business disputes. She forced herself to listen attentively – it was nothing more than the trade guild repeatedly interfering and blocking her negotiations with other fabric shops. The situation was dire now, with the guild coming aggressively. Some fabric shops that had originally cooperated with her were developing cold feet, mostly forced by pressure to bow their heads and began distancing themselves from Shen Xiling. There was also a group of people who were extremely resolute, determined to oppose the guild to the end, still insisting on standing together with Shen Xiling.

Because the guild was secretly causing trouble, all the shopkeepers bore considerable losses. Shen Xiling was grateful for their righteous actions and transferred a sum of silver from Yilou’s accounts to fill the holes in the fabric shops. Though it couldn’t completely make up for everything, it at least showed her good intentions.

After this matter concluded, she rarely went out anymore, staying in Fenghe Garden all day without seeing people. The maids saw her despondent and were secretly anxious, each trying various ways to cheer her up, but nothing had any effect.

She was not only unhappy but also couldn’t eat much. She had always eaten little, but now it was even worse. Before long, she had lost a lot of weight. Zijun changed the patterns for every meal she made for her, and she always acted like she enjoyed it, but would only move her chopsticks a few times before eating no more.

The maids could all see that she wasn’t deliberately refusing to eat – she truly couldn’t swallow anything.

It was a heart ailment.

The maids were all very worried. Watching their young miss grow thinner day by day, they all felt this couldn’t continue. Finally, it was Shuipei who had the courage to make a decision, sending Liuzi to find White Pine, asking him to think of a way to see if he could pass word to the young master.

The few of them hadn’t held much hope at first, especially Shuipei, who had personally witnessed the young master’s cold demeanor that day, making her particularly pessimistic. Unexpectedly, she had only sent Liuzi to find Brother Bai during the day, and the very next day, a distinguished guest arrived.

The visitor was the mistress of the house, Yao Shi.

The sudden visit from the Qi family’s mistress greatly surprised everyone in Fenghe Garden. After all, this mistress rarely came to Fenghe Garden in the past, and even when she did, it was always when the young master was present. She had never dropped by so suddenly like this.

Shen Xiling was the most surprised, and also somewhat flustered. When Yao Shi arrived, the sun was already high, but she had tossed and turned very late the previous night before falling asleep, and hadn’t yet gotten up to wash and dress. Upon hearing that Yao Shi had come, she hurriedly got up to get ready. After hastily preparing herself, she rushed to the main hall to meet her, only to learn upon leaving her inner chamber that Yao Shi had already arrived at Woyu Courtyard and was sitting in her small flower hall.

Shen Xiling felt uneasy in her heart. She tried hard to calm her slightly irregular breathing before turning into the small flower hall.

In the small flower hall, Yao Shi was sitting and playing with Xue Tuan’er. The little cat was very docile in her arms, delighting Yao Shi greatly. She even wanted to feed it fruit, but Xue Tuan’er was picky and wasn’t very interested.

Yao Shi was laughingly scolding the little cat for being finicky when she looked up and saw Shen Xiling walking in. She smiled and said, “Wenwen, you’re up? Come, quickly sit beside me.”

Shen Xiling stepped forward and somewhat awkwardly bowed to Yao Shi, then heard Yao Shi wave her hand dismissively, saying, “You’re just too bound by propriety. Why be so formal in front of me?”

She put Xue Tuan’er down on the ground, and the little fellow immediately scampered away. Fengshang picked it up and took it outside. Yao Shi then took Shen Xiling’s small hand, looking her up and down, frowning as she said, “You really have gotten much thinner. Why aren’t you eating properly?”

Shen Xiling didn’t know about the maids secretly sending messages to Qi Ying’s side behind her back. Hearing Yao Shi’s words, she felt somewhat bewildered, finding that “really” seemed to suggest she had already heard about her recent condition from someone, and for a moment couldn’t respond.

Seeing her confusion, Yao Shi smiled and said, “Jingchen asked me to come see you. He heard that your sleep and appetite haven’t been good lately and is very concerned about you.”

Upon hearing this, Shen Xiling understood.

Qi Ying hadn’t returned to Fenghe Garden for so long – how would he know about her recent condition? It must be that someone around her had gone to find him.

She looked up at Shuipei, who immediately lowered her head halfway, and she understood.

Shen Xiling’s feelings were complex at that moment.

She was naturally grateful that her sisters were helping her this way, but she also felt that pestering him like this was somewhat inappropriate. Moreover, after all that pestering, he still hadn’t returned, and instead had troubled Yao Shi to make a special trip, which made it even worse.

She felt apologetic toward Yao Shi and said, “Thank you for taking the trouble to visit specially, Madam. I’m actually quite fine.”

Yao Shi looked at her with disapproving eyes and said, “Fine? You’ve gotten much thinner. You didn’t have much flesh to begin with, and now I’m worried a gust of wind might blow you away.”

Hearing this, Shen Xiling felt somewhat embarrassed and lowered her head. This gesture made her thinness even more apparent. Yao Shi felt truly distressed seeing this, and her thoughts turned to the scene of Jingchen coming to find her the previous night.

After entering government service, he rarely came to speak privately with his mother, but last night he had gone to Jiaxi Hall once, asking if she could spare time today to visit Fenghe Garden and look in on Wenwen.

Yao Shi had actually found it strange for some time. Ever since her son began keeping Wenwen three years ago, he rarely stayed at the main house anymore. Except for festivals or when he was truly busy with affairs, he seldom even showed his face at the main house. Lately, however, he had been staying at home every single day for three consecutive months, which naturally made Yao Shi suspicious.

She looked at her son and asked, “Has something happened to Wenwen? Why don’t you go see her yourself?”

Qi Ying didn’t answer.

Yao Shi knew his temperament best. Seeing this, she sighed and felt somewhat amused, saying, “What’s this about? Have you two had a fight?”

Her son had always been mature beyond his years, rarely losing his composure. When she asked this question, he showed some discomfort and said, “No, Mother is overthinking.”

Hearing this, Yao Shi smiled and said, “No? Then why do you stay at home every single day without returning there even once? Weren’t you always deeply concerned about Wenwen before, unable to rest easy without going back to see her every day?”

Qi Ying fell silent again at these words.

Yao Shi sighed, understanding the wisdom of not pursuing a cornered enemy too far, and stopped pressing him. However, her heart was worried.

She could see that Jingchen had something weighing on his mind. Though he maintained an outward appearance of calm indifference, how could he hide it from his mother’s eyes? Moreover, he had gotten thinner recently too. Even during the wars between north and south, he hadn’t become this thin, showing that his heart was troubled now.

Yao Shi patted Qi Ying’s back and said, “Alright, alright, I’ll go see her for you tomorrow. But first you must tell me what exactly happened between you two.”

Qi Ying looked back at his mother once, then lowered his eyelids, still saying, “There really isn’t anything.”

Nothing more was said.

Yao Shi felt that her son was good in every way except for this habit of not speaking about his troubles, which was truly infuriating. She also felt that his expression just now carried some weight that made her heart ache as well.

Coming back to the present, she looked at Wenwen sitting before her, who was also as thin as Jingchen, and felt even more helpless. Thinking it over, she realized that since she couldn’t get anything out of Jingchen, she might as well try with Wenwen. Perhaps she could learn more about the situation this way. She said, “I can also see that you and Jingchen have had some disagreement. He’s always been a man of few words – you can’t get anything out of him no matter what you ask. I wonder if Wenwen would be willing to tell me about it? Even if just to vent, speaking about it always makes the heart feel clearer.”

Yao Shi’s kind and gentle expression moved Shen Xiling’s heart, momentarily awakening in her the desire to confide. But thinking left and right, she really didn’t know why Qi Ying had suddenly grown distant from her, when clearly nothing had happened between them.

She felt both wronged and powerless, her fingers twisting together. After a long silence, she said truthfully, “I… I don’t know what happened either…”

The young girl’s expression was so aggrieved, looking like she was about to cry, which truly made Yao Shi’s heart ache.

She quickly drew the young girl into her arms, and suddenly before her eyes appeared the image of three years ago when she knelt in Old Madam’s Rongrui Hall. At that time, despite suffering such great injustice, she hadn’t shed a single tear, yet now, merely mentioning Jingchen was enough to bring her to the verge of tears.

Yao Shi felt moved, thinking their feelings for each other were truly deep, while silently blaming her son for handling things poorly and making the poor girl so heartbroken.

She gently patted Shen Xiling’s thin shoulders, comforting her: “Good child, don’t cry. Since nothing happened, then it must be his fault. To suddenly treat someone coldly for no good reason – how hateful!”

Shen Xiling sniffled, pressed her lips together and said, “No… it’s not his fault. Perhaps I did something wrong without knowing it…”

Hearing this, Yao Shi laughed and said, “Still defending him? Don’t you think I know what kind of disagreeable temperament my son has? It must be his fault – stop protecting him.”

Hearing this, Shen Xiling lowered her head and couldn’t help blushing.

Seeing her emotions calm down, Yao Shi smiled and released the arm that had been holding her. She sighed and said, “Jingchen is a hard-hearted person, but when it comes to family, most of the time he’s tough on the outside but soft inside. He may have encountered something recently and neglected to care for you properly, but he definitely keeps you in his thoughts. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have asked me to come see you. Don’t you think so?”

Shen Xiling blinked and nodded.

Yao Shi smiled, lovingly touching her little face, and continued, “He’s still constantly reminding me about your coming-of-age ceremony. Every few days he instructs me about it, worrying about every little detail, nearly driving me to distraction – I told him that if he’s really so worried about my handling it, he should do it himself. That finally shut him up!”

This half-serious, half-joking complaint made Shen Xiling laugh, and the maids serving in the small flower hall all smiled too.

Seeing the young girl smile, beautiful as a blooming flower, Yao Shi felt even more strongly that raising daughters was wonderful. She coaxed her further, saying, “Exactly, smiling is so much better. From now on, no more tears.”

After a pause, as if suddenly remembering something, she exclaimed “Oh my!” and said to Shen Xiling, “Look at my memory – today I came not only to see you, but also for another important matter.”

She turned to face the woman she had brought from the main house and instructed, “Quickly, have the maids bring up the items.”

Shen Xiling was puzzled, not knowing what Yao Shi had brought. After a moment, she saw a line of maids from the main house enter carrying items. Looking closely, she saw they held square trays containing the ceremonial clothing and shoes she would need for her coming-of-age ceremony: the colored robes and shoes, plain jacket and skirt, curved-hem deep robe, and wide-sleeved formal dress, along with various hairpins and ornaments, all exquisitely beautiful.

Shen Xiling hadn’t expected Yao Shi’s preparations to be so meticulous. She was just an orphaned girl living under another’s roof, with no blood relation to them – how could she deserve such generous treatment? Such grand ceremonial clothing would be appropriate even for a legitimate daughter of a noble family. How could she be worthy of it?

Shen Xiling felt both grateful and frightened. She looked at Yao Shi, wanting to speak, but Yao Shi cut her off first, half-seriously scolding her: “Don’t you dare say anything about declining. I’ve always loved girls, but who would have thought I’d have four sons in a row? I thought I was destined to have no daughter, but then you came along – this must be fate. I insist on arranging everything properly for you. I won’t allow you to say no.”

Shen Xiling truly didn’t know what to say. She wanted to bow in thanks again, but Yao Shi stopped her, laughing: “Though I arranged for these things, it was Jingchen who paid for them. If you want to thank someone, thank him – don’t thank me. Come, quickly take a look first. Do you like these styles? If you don’t like them, they can still be altered.”

Author’s Note: Other families have mothers-in-law maintaining relationships with daughters-in-law through their sons, but in your family, the son relies on his mother to please his daughter-in-law (eye roll). The next few chapters will have scenes between the leads – their romantic storyline is about to begin!

(By the way, I suddenly received so much reader support! Thank you to all the angels who nourished this story~ Also thank you to those who commented and voted~ Additionally, I’ve opened a new pre-collection next door, “She’s Really Too Hard to Chase,” a sweet campus romance about two top students, planned to start during winter break. Please collect it if you’re interested, thank you!)