Daughter of aristocratic family

Chapter 9 Sickness
  Zhao Jiahua mentioned the opera text in order to elicit: "A famous opera troupe from the Jiangnan area will perform a month-long opera at the Jiqing Theater in the city next month. Let's go and listen to it then."

She lives in the city and knows more than the two of them.

Zhao Wangshu raised his eyebrows, "Will the old lady let us out?"

"We can convince her to take us there," Zhao Jiahua said.

"We have just arrived and are not familiar with the old lady. If we don't talk well, it will be bad if we offend the old lady. We have to rely on Sister Hua for this." Zhao Wangshu said with a smile.

"Sister Hua, please." Zhao Shuqing cooperated tacitly.

"I'm afraid I won't be able to accomplish anything on my own, so you have to act accordingly." Zhao Jiahua was cautious and did not take over everything.

Zhao Wangshu smiled, "We can do this."

"I listen to my two sisters." Zhao Shuqing looked obedient.

At this time, the sound of people talking came from outside the house. It was the group of people who went to the garden to enjoy the flowers and came back.

In early winter, the flowers and trees are withered, the north wind is biting, and the biting cold is really not suitable for flower viewing.

The three of them picked up the cups in unison and drank tea in silence, without going out to say hello to those people.

And Zhao Shuangzhi and the others didn't come in to look for the three of them.

At the beginning of the Youshi period, another maid came to invite the girls to go to bed and have dinner with the old lady.

After nightfall, the weather got colder. Zhao Shuqing not only wore thick clothes, but also put on a hand warmer.

Seeing her like this, Zhao Jiahua frowned and said, "It's still early winter, and you are so afraid of the cold. What should you do in the severe winter?"

"She stayed at home during the winter and didn't go out much." Although Zhao Wangshu didn't have much contact with Zhao Shuqing in Zhuangzi, it was well known that Zhao Shuqing was sick and weak.

Zhao Shuqing smiled bitterly, "I can hold on." This is not home, no one will take care of her so meticulously, and she can only bear it one by one.

The girls braved the cold wind to go to the upper room to have dinner, and then came back again despite the cold wind.

In the middle of the night, Zhao Wangshu was awakened by the noise outside. She lay still and heard the sound of green branches standing vigil getting up.

After a while, Luzhi came back. Zhao Wangshu turned over and asked, "Luzhi, what happened outside?"

"The girl was woken up." Luzhi walked to the bed, "Miss Qing is sick."

Zhao Wangshu was stunned for a moment. He really didn't expect that Zhao Shuqing's body was in such bad shape, "I have to go and take a look."

The green branches lit the candles and helped her put on her clothes.

As soon as the master and servant went out, they met Zhao Jiahua who had also been woken up and came to see the situation.

They greeted each other and entered the west wing together.

"How is Miss Qing?" Zhao Wangshu asked with concern.

"My girl's body was so hot that she almost fainted." The maid Zhao Shuqing brought from home said with tears in her eyes.

This is a high fever!
  Zhao Wangshu said anxiously: "Hurry up and call the doctor."

"They refused, saying it was so late and there was a curfew on the street." The maid said sadly and indignantly.

This is why they are so noisy.

"You are so brave, daring to trouble the master like this." Zhao Jiahua pointed at those people, "Wait a minute, Fengling, go find the eldest lady and tell her that Miss Qing is very ill."

"Yes, girl." Fengling took the order and left.

Zhao Wangshu and Zhao Jiahua did not leave, but sat in the small living room in the west wing and waited.

After a while, Mrs. Zhao arrived. Zhao Wangshu and Zhao Jiahua hurriedly stood up and said, "Madam." "You are here too." Mrs. Zhao came in a hurry and was a little out of breath.

After asking about the situation, Mrs. Zhao said: "I will take care of Shuqing. You all go back to your room and rest."

"Yes." Zhao Wangshu and Zhao Jiahua left obediently. After all, they had to avoid the doctor when he came later.

Zhao Shuqing was so sick that he couldn't stand it anymore. For five days in a row, the yard was filled with the smell of medicine.

Zhao Wangshu and Zhao Jiahua, who lived with her in the first courtyard, had not disliked the smell of medicine, but Zhao Shuangzhi, who lived in Wujin, ran over and shouted, "Why are you boiling medicine in the courtyard?"

"What's bothering you about the medicine we're making here?" Zhao Jiahua rolled his eyes.

"The smell is so bad, can't you smell it?" Zhao Shuangzhi asked loudly.

Before Zhao Jiahua could speak, she continued: "I fell ill when the wind blew. I'm afraid it's just a paper lantern."

"Zhao Shuangzhi, you're going too far." Zhao Jiahua frowned displeased.

"I'm telling the truth. She is very sick. If she spreads the disease to everyone and makes everyone sick, then that would be too much."

"If you're afraid of getting sick, don't come here and enter the yard. Let's go, let's go." Zhao Jiahua turned away without politeness.

"This is not your home, why do you drive me away?" Zhao Shuangzhi refused to leave.

"I live here in the courtyard, so I have the right to drive you away." Zhao Jiahua said as he casually took the wooden fork holding the lantern and was about to beat him.

"Zhao Jiahua, you barbarian!" Zhao Shuangzhi took advantage of the maids to stop Zhao Jiahua and ran away quickly.

"Go away quickly." Zhao Jiahua let his maid snatch the wooden fork away.

After driving Zhao Shuangzhi away, Zhao Jiahua went into the house to see Zhao Shuqing, and saw Zhao Wangshu advising the tearful Zhao Shuqing, "Slight illness is a blessing, and you can live a long life."

"Sister Qing, don't pay attention to what Zhao Shuangzhi said. She has never been able to spit out ivory from her mouth. She is very mean." Zhao Jiahua also tried to persuade her.

Zhao Shuqing was in a low mood, "I'm really useless. I get sick all the time. I'm dragging around with this broken body and annoying people. I might as well just die."

"Sister Qing, ants are greedy for life. Don't take those gossips to heart. If you are not in good health, just take good care of yourself and you will be well." Zhao Jiahua persuaded her in a long way.

Zhao Wangshu only said one sentence, "Your parents are still alive, how dare you talk about death?"

People cannot live without thinking about themselves, but they cannot only think about themselves.

Zhao Shuqing's tears fell more quickly, falling drop by drop, like pear blossoms with rain.

"Thinking too much can harm your health. Only if you keep an open mind about everything will your life be easier." Zhao Wangshu stuffed a handkerchief into her hand.

"Sister Qing, who is less than a hundred years old, always worries about being a thousand years old. The days are short and the nights are long, so why not travel by candlelight!" Zhao Jiahua said freely.

After the two people's persuasion, Zhao Shuqing finally stopped crying.

The next day, she refused to stay in her room to recuperate, no matter what. Once she entered the courtyard, she had class with everyone.

As soon as you enter the east wing, the decoration is very elegant. There are dozens of tables and tables, and the four treasures of the study are placed on the tables.

The person who taught them "The Thousand-Character Classic" was a female gentleman named Mo, who was hired by the Zhao family with a lot of money. She looked like she was in her mid-thirties.

Today she was wearing a plain blue long cotton-padded jacket with straight trim, her hair was combed into a bun, held up by a magnolia flower hairpin.

Seeing a sickly girl sitting in the seat that had been vacant for five days, Mr. Mo said calmly: "They have learned ten sentences in the past five days. I will not waste their time by teaching them again just for you. You follow and learn first. If you don’t understand, I will teach you alone later.”

"Yes, sir." Zhao Shuqing stood up and responded respectfully.

What she didn't say was that her father was a teacher at Zhuangzi's school. When she was seven years old, she could recite the entire text of "The Thousand Character Classic".

(End of this chapter)