Old Madam Luo had coughed half the night. She rose early to recite sutras in the small Buddhist shrine, looking unwell. When Yining entered with the soup, she saw the old lady leaning against her pillow, coughing as if her heart and lungs might come out. Xu Mama was patting Old Madam Luo’s back.
Yining brought the soup over, feeding it to Old Madam Luo spoonful by spoonful. She said softly, “I found this recipe in a book. Grandmother, please eat some of the fritillary bulbs too.” She knelt by the bed, her small face serious as she fed her grandmother.
Old Madam Luo stroked her head, sighing, “Our Mei’er is becoming more thoughtful.”
Xuezhi, watching from the side, smiled fondly, “Indeed, Miss Mei has been busy preparing this for you since early morning.”
Yining smiled without speaking. Xu Mama, Old Madam Luo, and Xuezhi had all watched little Yining grow up and treated her like a child, doting on her. Even Xuezhi used her pet name when being affectionate. In her previous life, Yining never had a pet name, only hearing her stepmother call her sister “Yin’er” when they were young, which she had envied.
Noticing Old Madam Luo’s purplish complexion, Xu Mama said, “This coughing can’t go on. I remember the old madam didn’t cough this badly last year. We should invite a good physician to treat her, or it will only worsen.”
A nearby matron said, “Xu Mama’s words remind me of Zheng Mama, who served the former Second Madam. She was skilled in medicine and cured the old master’s back pain when he was alive. Perhaps we could invite Zheng Mama back to examine the old madam…”
As soon as the matron finished speaking, the room fell silent, with no one responding.
Yining placed the small bowl on a black lacquered tray and wiped Old Madam Luo’s mouth with a handkerchief, feeling puzzled. The former Second Madam’s servant… wasn’t that the maid who had served Yining’s birth mother, Gu Minglan? Why did everyone seem to avoid the topic?
After finishing the soup, Old Madam Luo paused before saying, “When I allowed her to retire with honor, I said we wouldn’t invite her back, and she surely doesn’t want to return. My illness is chronic; I’ve endured it for years. Surely I can continue to do so.”
Xu Mama gently persuaded, “Zheng Mama is about my age. How big a grudge could she hold? We might not see each other much in the future. Though she resented us when she left, she kowtowed to you in tears. It shouldn’t be difficult to invite her back, and Miss Mei is still in the household. Zheng Mama would want to see her.”
What had Zheng Mama resented the Luo family for? Yining pondered, guessing it wasn’t hard to figure out. Though young Yining had no impression of Zheng Mama, from Xu Mama’s words, it seemed she was of good character. If she had conflicted with the Luo family, it was likely over Yining’s birth mother.
Yining asked Old Madam Luo, “Grandmother, who is Zheng Mama? I don’t recall you mentioning her. Is she coming back to see me?”
Old Madam Luo sighed, “Zheng Mama used to serve your mother. After your mother’s death, she was too stubborn and unwilling to stay with the Luo family, so she retired to her hometown.”
Yining followed up, “Can Zheng Mama treat Grandmother’s illness?”
Xu Mama looked at Yining fondly, knowing the seventh young miss was trying to persuade Old Madam Luo. After helping the old madam lie down, she said, “Although Zheng Mama is an inner chamber servant, her medical skills are exceptional. She once cared for the old madam, so there shouldn’t be any problem.”
Yining smiled, “Grandmother if Zheng Mama can treat you, let’s invite her back. Nothing is more important than your health!”
Seeing the sincerity on her young face, how could Old Madam Luo refuse? She sighed slowly, saying with resignation, “Very well, send someone to Zhending to invite her.”
Xu Mama smiled and went to instruct the servants to prepare horses for Zhending.
At this moment, Yixiu came to invite Yining to view lotus flowers on the back hill, saying many early summer lotus buds had already bloomed.
Yining agreed to go, but as she reached the outer chamber, she quietly stopped to listen to Old Madam Luo speaking inside: “…Although the second son indeed wronged Minglan, Yining was only half a year old when Minglan passed. Hui’er was only twelve then. That she could leave Yining and Hui’er behind, I’m displeased with her too. I thought she was honest and loyal, but it turns out she was the type to abandon others when leaving.”
Then came Xu Mama’s voice: “I always felt Zheng’s nature wouldn’t allow her to act this way.”
“How can we know?” Old Madam Luo’s voice was faint. “You’ve been with me a lifetime. What kind of people haven’t we seen?”
Just as Yining heard this, Luo Yixiu noticed she hadn’t followed and came back looking for her.
“Yining, why aren’t you coming? What are you doing standing there?”
Yining gestured for her to be quiet, but Yixiu’s voice was loud, and it was unclear if those inside had heard. The voices inside did pause briefly. Yining had no choice but to follow Yixiu, pulling her out of Old Madam Luo’s courtyard.
Yixiu looked confused: “Oh my, what were you doing just now? Were you eavesdropping on Grandmother?”
Realizing she might have uncovered a secret, she patted Yining’s shoulder understandingly, “Don’t be embarrassed. I often eavesdrop on my mother too. She thinks I’m asleep, but I’m just pretending while lying in her arms. I hear everything she says to the nannies. Quick, tell me, what did you overhear Grandmother saying?”
Yining glanced at her, adopting a tone of educating a child, “Why pry into such matters?”
Yixiu, seeing Yining was half a head shorter than her, tugged at her hair bun, saying, “Look at you, acting all grown up! You still won’t tell me. I always tell you when I eavesdrop on my mother.” She lowered her voice slightly, “A few days ago when your brother broke Fourth Sister’s aquamarine, my mother secretly complained to the nanny that Yilien was ‘raised by a concubine’ and shouldn’t dare let children play with such things.”
Yining hadn’t known that her normally proper and serious aunt gossiped. Of course, the aquamarine was indeed expensive, and Chen Shi couldn’t blame the child, so she could only endure the pain herself.
As they walked, Yixiu continued, “My mother often talks about your mother too. She says she’s vulgar and uncouth, that she makes noise when drinking soup, so much that it puts her off her food. Once, your mother wore a huge ruby and gold ring, and my mother could barely hold her tongue.”
Yining replied, “Mother is just a bit straightforward in her ways.”
As they talked, they reached the back hill. Indeed, pale pink buds had opened, looking beautiful. Some young maids were picking lotus leaves by the pond and curtsied upon seeing them.
Yining saw them holding armfuls of lotus leaves and pink-white buds and told them to rise. Yixiu casually asked, “Which household are you from? What are you picking these for?”
The maids looked at each other, and then a pretty, pear-blossom-like maid said, “Fifth Young Miss, we were assigned by the First Madam to serve Young Master Cheng. The madam said ordinary flowers are too common and told us to pick some lotus flowers for Young Master Cheng’s study.”
Yixiu made a sound of acknowledgment, uninterested in any Young Master Cheng, and told the maids to hurry and deliver them.
However, Yining stopped them and asked, “If you’re arranging lotus flowers, why pick so many leaves? What are they for?”
The maid replied, “These leaves are for the Fourth Young Miss. We don’t know what they’re for. The Fourth Young Miss said something about drying lotus leaves to make tea, which can clear heat. So we need to deliver these leaves to her as well.”
Yining felt an inexplicable strange feeling. As the maids left, she and Yixiu sat on the corridor railing. Seeing the beautiful lotus blossoms, Yixiu wanted to pick some for her study. Yining let her go, lazily leaning against the railing to soak up the sun.
Xuezhi smiled, “You haven’t been as active since your illness. Shall I go pick some lotus flowers for your study?”
Yining waved her hand. She wasn’t a young girl anymore; why would she be so fond of flowers…
At this thought, Yining seemed to realize something and sat up straight.