Qi Yue had no such feelings. She had no idea what A’Ru had just been doing. In fact, even if she knew that “her” husband hadn’t sent word or wouldn’t accept clothes or whatever, she wouldn’t have felt anything.

At that moment, she was in her room holding her surgical knife and other instruments, practicing motions in the air. She heard A’Hao, who was training her skills in the kitchen, call out “Sister A’Ru,” then heard the curtain rustle, presumably A’Ru entering her room. Just then, the courtyard gate was banged open, followed by a little maid shouting for A’Ru.

“Sister A’Ru, the peddler asked me to bring you a message – your brother is dying on the street,” the girl shouted roughly.

A’Hao, who had been enthusiastically preparing to practice her skills in the kitchen, sat down directly on the ground. After recovering, she saw A’Ru crying as she ran outside. Qi Yue was also startled – the words “dying” directly triggered her professional instincts. She grabbed her medical kit and followed out.

A’Ru had already run off with that maid, nowhere to be seen.

“Go quickly and see what happened,” Qi Yue hurriedly called to A’Hao, who was supporting herself against the door.

A’Hao acknowledged and flew out like a bird.

Qi Yue waited restlessly. Soon A’Ru came running back crying, and as soon as she entered, she knelt before Qi Yue.

“Young Madam, please let me go back to see him,” she sobbed and kowtowed.

“Of course you should go,” Qi Yue quickly went to help her up.

A’Hao also came running back, panting.

“…working as a laborer on the street, fighting over work with others, got slashed with a knife…” she described the specific information she’d heard from the peddler.

“Then go home quickly,” Qi Yue said. “Why did you come back?”

“This slave cannot see Nanny Su. Please ask Nanny Su for a pass token…” A’Ru kowtowed.

Like a leave permit, Qi Yue thought, and made a sound of understanding.

“Fine, no problem,” she nodded, then looked at A’Hao. “I…”

Young Madam had lost her memory, so naturally she wouldn’t remember these things. A’Hao immediately understood.

“I’ll take Young Madam’s token to find Nanny Su,” she said.

“Go quickly, go quickly,” Qi Yue waved her hand urgently.

She watched A’Hao take the token and rush out with A’Ru like flying birds.

Qi Yue waited for a while, but a little maid came running over.

“Young Madam…” she called out timidly from outside the door.

Qi Yue was in the courtyard and immediately looked at her.

This was an eleven or twelve-year-old maid, dressed like the little maid who had fought over lotus flowers that day, only thinner and weaker. Seeing Qi Yue look over, she lowered her head as if startled.

“A’Hao and Sister A’Ru are crying over there, unable to see Nanny Su…” she said quietly, then turned and ran as if afraid of being seen.

This child had kindly come to report. Hearing this, Qi Yue immediately started walking out. Only after leaving did she realize she didn’t know the way at all.

“Where are they?” she called out hurriedly. “I don’t know the way…”

Fortunately, the little maid hadn’t run far. She stopped and beckoned to Qi Yue, indicating she should follow.

Qi Yue hurried to keep up, having no time to admire the scenery of this ancient marquis manor. Following the path for a while, the little maid kept running ahead, only occasionally looking back to see if Qi Yue was following, as if afraid of being seen by others. After passing through two gates, they came to a courtyard where A’Ru’s crying could be heard from afar. The little maid pointed in a direction, then turned and ran away.

“Please, sister-in-law, tell Nanny Su – this is our Young Madam’s token, Young Madam has given permission…” A’Hao stretched out her hand, tugging at a woman’s sleeve pleadingly.

Here A’Ru was kowtowing continuously, her forehead already bloodied.

Four or five women stood at the courtyard gate looking indifferent. Two or three were cracking melon seeds while two others told them not to crack seeds.

“…You lamp stands, always spitting and scolding that the sweeping isn’t clean, yet you walk around cracking seeds everywhere…” a woman scolded with a laugh.

“…Do you know what kind of melon seeds these are?” the three women laughed. “I just went to Great Madam’s room to report, and because I reported well, Miss A’Luan grabbed these from the table for me. These are melon seeds that can only be eaten in the imperial palace in the capital…”

“Well, you’d better tell people – these seed shells can’t be swept up, they can still be chewed again…”

Everyone burst into laughter, drowning out A’Ru’s crying.

“Sister-in-law…” A’Hao cried out desperately. “Please speak to Nanny Su… Sister A’Ru only has this one relative…”

“Miss, what are you saying?” Finally one woman turned to look at her properly, pursing her lips in a half-smile. “Miss, you’re at least second-class rank. How can you say such laughable things? What do you mean by ‘relative’? Miss A’Ru sold herself with a death contract – what relatives could she have? Our manor is her home. Where would outside relatives come from? If she wanted relatives, why be greedy for those few taels of silver?”

“Heaven, earth, ruler, parents, teachers – even if sold for a few taels of silver, the blood ties of birth and raising cannot be erased. Are you saying that money can erase ruler, parents, and teachers?”

A voice suddenly interjected.

These words were rather literary, and the woman, being uneducated, didn’t understand the meaning at first. But she realized this was questioning her, and questioning her meant taking sides with these two maids. To actually take sides with these two maids – truly blind and asking for trouble!

“Can’t you speak human language? If you can’t speak properly, then…” the woman spat and said with a sour expression, looking around to see which blind fool was speaking.

“A’Hao,” Qi Yue said.

A’Hao was just tugging at that woman’s clothes. Hearing the call, she immediately slapped the woman.

A’Hao had firmly remembered Qi Yue’s words about taking opportunities to get even and worrying about consequences later. Hearing the call, she raised her hand without hesitation.

A crisp slap silenced the previously laughing scene.

“How dare you speak to Young Madam like that?” A’Hao shouted, then ran back to Qi Yue’s side in a few steps.

Qi Yue couldn’t help wiping cold sweat, looking at A’Hao, not knowing what to say. This really wasn’t her intention to hit someone, though she also didn’t much like that woman’s attitude…

“Young… Young Madam.” Finally a woman recognized who had come, rubbing her eyes, somewhat recognizing yet not recognizing, stammering tentatively.

The woman who’d been slapped was completely dazed.

“You little hoof dare hit me…” she was about to jump up and shout, but hearing this form of address, her voice cut off abruptly.

Everyone stared blankly at the woman standing before them.

They hadn’t seen her for three years, and everyone’s memory was blurred. She seemed familiar yet unfamiliar…

“What did you just call me? You said I don’t speak human language?” Qi Yue looked at this woman and asked.

“Young Madam… Young Madam, this old slave didn’t know it was you…” the woman hurriedly apologized. After the initial surprise, her face showed defiance as she covered her cheek. “This old slave was speaking to these two misses. This old slave said nothing wrong. Since she sold herself with a death contract, how can she just ask to visit relatives…”

“I see it’s not that I don’t speak human language, but that you can’t understand human language,” Qi Yue smiled, looking at this woman. “Did I ask you about that?”

The woman was stunned by her rebuke.

“Then what is Young Madam asking about?” she stammered automatically.

“You just said I don’t speak human language?” Qi Yue asked.

What was this about? The women were somewhat exasperated. After dying once, she dared to speak, but she was still that hopeless case, saying all sorts of nonsense.

“This old slave didn’t know it was Young Madam…” the woman was also getting annoyed. In front of so many people, to be embarrassed by this ghost-like Young Madam…

“Just answer yes or no. Where do all these excuses come from?” Qi Yue interrupted her.

A woman nearby tugged at that woman’s sleeve.

“It was this old slave who spoke improperly,” the woman said through gritted teeth with lowered head.

“There, that settles it,” Qi Yue said, waving her hand and softening her voice. “Since I speak human language, you should understand it, right? Even though this maid sold herself with a death contract, the debt of birth and raising, the affection between siblings, cannot be wiped away. Now that her brother has met with disaster, if she as an elder sister doesn’t visit him, that would truly be a beast’s heart.”

The women looked at Qi Yue with strange expressions.

Was Young Madam cursing them? She was, wasn’t she?

“What’s happening?” came a voice from inside the courtyard, followed by the sound of clothing and footsteps as a woman emerged.

This woman was around forty, wearing a blue-purple jacket, with a round, fair face, finely drawn eyebrows, and light powder. As she walked over, she raised her hand to smooth her hair at the temples, revealing two thin gold bracelets on her wrist and a jade ring on her finger.

Speaking as she walked out the door, her gaze fell on Qi Yue in front of the gate, and she froze.

“Young Madam!” She hurried forward several steps, her face showing surprise and joy. “How did you come here? In this blazing sun… if you had something to say, you could have sent a maid. How did you come yourself? Can your health handle it? Where are your people? Have the maids been slacking off?”

She spoke rapidly, her expression changing from surprise to joy to confusion to sternness in succession, flowing like clouds and water, completely natural without any affectation or false sentiment.

Qi Yue unconsciously smiled back, feeling very warm toward her.

Could this be that person who managed all miscellaneous affairs, Madam Xie’s first companion – similar to the position of a chief eunuch before the emperor – the inner courtyard steward of Dingxi Marquis Manor, Nanny Su?

“Nanny Su,” A’Hao called out.

“Nanny Su, it’s like this, A’Hao…” Qi Yue continued with a smile, while extending her hand toward A’Hao. “Give me the token.”

A’Hao quickly presented it.

“What does Madam need?” Nanny Su asked hurriedly.

“This maid of mine, A’Ru, has a younger brother at home. Just now someone at the gate brought word that something happened and it might not be good. She wants to go back to see…” Qi Yue smiled and handed over the token.

Nanny Su immediately understood what was happening.

“Take the token to escort Miss out, grab some money, and hire a good physician,” she turned and said.

The two maids following behind immediately acknowledged. One unfastened a token from a full string of various tokens hanging at her waist, while another went to help A’Ru, who was kneeling and crying on the ground.

“Sister, let’s go quickly,” they said, their faces anxious as if this were their own urgent matter.

A’Ru kowtowed to Qi Yue, wiped her tears, and left stumbling.

Here Qi Yue looked at Nanny Su and smiled.

“This token has been stored too long – it’s gathered dust and looks old…” she looked at the token in her hand, made of sandalwood, finely carved with flowers, bearing her name, gleaming moistly in the sunlight. “I was afraid if the two maids took it out, people wouldn’t recognize it, so it’s better for me to come in person.”