Lihoumen

Chapter 3 Came and left again
Qingqing sat on the couch with her eyes downcast.

Grandma Sun stayed beside her, sighing from time to time. Lingzhi stood at the door, tiptoeing, stretching her neck, looking towards the door eagerly. The master and his two servants were all very nervous and unsure.

At the western edge of Wujin, the sky gradually darkened. Finally, Lingzhi lost her patience first. She ran back to the house, glanced at Qingqing's face, and asked tentatively, "Madam, how about I go to the front yard to take a look?"

At this moment, the salutes had already sounded and the welcoming banquet had begun, but no one came to invite Qingqing over, and there was no sign of Shen Han.

Qingqing was also feeling uncomfortable. She looked up at Lingzhi, then at Grandma Sun who had been sitting there worrying about her, and then she slowly said to Lingzhi, "You don't have to go and see. It's getting late. Just go to the stove and get some rice."

After a pause, she added to Lingzhi: "Just take your and grandma's portions. I'm not hungry and I won't eat tonight."

"If Madam doesn't eat, I won't eat either." Lingzhi said angrily, her voice choking with sobs, "I will accompany Madam."

When she got married, there were originally many maids assigned to serve her in the courtyard. However, everyone saw that she was not welcome in this family, and soon they found ways to transfer them out one by one. Now, Qingqing is left with only Grandma Sun, whom she brought with her, and the young Lingzhi.

Qingqing forced a smile and said to Lingzhi, "You are still young and need to grow up. Come on, go and have dinner."

Grandma Sun wiped her eyes with her sleeve and said sadly, "I didn't expect this wealthy family to be so ruthless when mistreating people."

Qingqing smiled bitterly and replied, "The women in this mansion are all from prominent families. Someone like me should not have married into this family in the first place."

Grandma Sun was about to speak, but she suddenly burst into coughing, and the words she was about to say were swallowed back.

"Don't worry, grandma."

Seeing this, Qingqing first used both hands to smooth Grandma Sun's back. After her coughing subsided, she took Grandma Sun's wrist and carefully felt her pulse: "Grandma, you didn't finish the medicine I gave you last time, right?"

When the old lady heard this, she covered her mouth which was coughing intermittently and said, "I ate four pieces and then I felt much better. I didn't cough at night anymore. I didn't eat the remaining piece."

Qingqing frowned and said, "Grandma, you missed a dose of medicine. The disease cannot be cured. If you get anxious and get angry, or catch a cold, it will recur."

The old lady said hurriedly, "What the young lady said is absolutely right. I feel that although I don't cough as much as before these two days, it does seem to be recurring. I will boil the last dose of medicine and you can drink it."

Qingqing shook her head and said, "You didn't finish the five doses of medicine in a row. You'll need to take three more doses before you can get better."

Seeing this, Lingzhi said immediately, "Our Madam's medical skills are not inferior to those of Hua Yixian in the south of the city. A few days ago, I had a stomachache during my period, and Madam cured it with just acupuncture." Then, she advised the old lady, "Grandma, listen to Madam, it's right."

"Young lady's family has been practicing medicine for generations, so naturally they have great medical skills." The old lady said hurriedly, "This time, I must follow what the young lady says and drink the medicine honestly."

Qingqing gave the old lady some more instructions, and then said, "You guys go eat first, and then take a rest. I'm tired, so I'll go to bed first."

After saying that, Qingqing went to the inner room.

She didn't bother to take a shower or change clothes, so she just took off her outer shirt and removed her bra first.

After being freed from the Nale man's restraints, Qingqing breathed a sigh of relief greedily.

Although she was born in the countryside, she was very charming. When Shen Han brought her back to the mansion, the old lady subconsciously muttered "monster" when she saw her.

She was completely unaware of it at first, but later when she met her sisters-in-law, Li and Liu, she finally understood what was going on.

From then on, she tied her bra tightly every day for fear of giving people a chance to talk about her.

Qingqing lay on the bed, still thinking about Shen Han and Lin Ruoqing, her mind in a mess.

Seeing that their master was unhappy, Grandma Sun and Lingzhi had no appetite to eat. Lingzhi sat in the outer room, while Grandma Sun went to the side room at the gate to keep watch.

There is a full moon tonight, the moon is as bright as silver, and the light is lingering.

It was supposed to be a good day for couples to reunite, but I didn't expect it to turn out like this.

Grandma Sun sat on the couch in the side room, feeling depressed and unable to sleep. She just looked out the window at the sky and sighed.

Suddenly, there was a rhythmic knocking sound on the gate of the courtyard.

Hearing the noise, Grandma Sun was suddenly delighted, and immediately walked out of the house, walking towards the door, and asked impatiently, "Who is it?"

"It's me." A clear and steady voice came from outside the door. It's my son-in-law!
She knew that her son-in-law would not ignore the young lady.

As long as she has the support of her brother-in-law, the young lady's life will be better.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Grandma Sun was full of joy and hurriedly agreed. Her steps unconsciously quickened. Because she was too happy, she tripped when she suddenly opened the door and was about to fall.

The man outside the door reached out and held her steady. After he looked back, he recognized her and asked, "Why is it grandma keeping watch?"

The man had a heroic and upright figure, with sharp features on his face and a pair of starry eyes that shone with a sharp light. The bright moonlight reflected on his face, making his features look even more profound and handsome. Even on a night like this, it couldn't conceal the dazzling brilliance of this immortal-like man.

I haven't seen you for three years. You look more mature and handsome than before.

Grandma Sun was so happy that she didn't know what to say for a moment. After a long while, she looked up at Shen Han and asked, "Sir, are you here to see the young lady?"

The old lady was a village woman who was not used to the addresses of wealthy families. She always followed the farmers' custom and called Shen Han "son-in-law" and Qingqing "young lady" in the tone of Qingqing's family.

Shen Han looked up at the main hall and saw that there was no candle inside. He frowned slightly and said, "I heard from my mother that the Madam is ill. Is it serious? She went to bed so early?"

"I haven't seen her since I came back."

Although Shen Han's words were calm, the old lady could still hear a hint of displeasure in her son-in-law's words, complaining that the young lady did not go to greet him.

The son-in-law had just returned, so how could he know the inside story?

Although the old lady was a village woman, she was not someone who would stir up trouble. If she revealed that it was the old lady who had concealed the matter from her master, it might cause disputes between the mother and her son. After all, the son-in-law had returned, and such matters should be properly handled by him himself, which was the long-term solution.

The old lady pulled the corner of her mouth and said, "The young lady also wants to go to greet you. Everyone in the mansion has gone, so how can the young lady not be anxious to see you? But the young lady also has her own unspeakable secrets."

"What's wrong with her?" Shen Han asked.

The old lady stepped aside to make way: "Sir, you should go in and see the young lady yourself."

"Isn't she asleep?" Shen Han said, "I was afraid of disturbing her."

He stepped into the door, but was a little hesitant about whether to go in.

"Third brother, why are you here? It took me so long to find you." While Shen Han was hesitating at the door, Second Madam Liu came over.

Shen Han stopped his steps and turned to look at Liu, asking, "Second sister-in-law, are you looking for me? Is there something wrong?"

Liu walked closer and realized that this was Qingqing's yard. Qingqing was Shen Han's wife, so Shen Han should come here. But Liu didn't think of this as a matter of course. Before she came here, she had already looked for Shen Han for a long time.

Liu glanced at Grandma Sun who was guarding the door, but she didn't hesitate to say, "It's Ruoqing. She just moved in and suddenly got a rash all over her body."

Shen Han frowned: "What's going on? Can we find a doctor?"

This Liu and Lin Ruoqing were both noble ladies in the capital. They were close friends when they were in their boudoir. So, ever since she knew that Lin Ruoqing was coming, this Liu was very concerned.

"I wanted to send someone to find a doctor, but Ruoqing was concerned about the time and the door of the mansion was already locked. She refused to let me find a doctor. You don't know her well. She always thinks of others and never likes to trouble others." Liu said.

"Since you are sick, just go find a doctor. There is no need to worry about this." Shen Han said.

Liu nodded in agreement and continued to explain: "She has always been unable to tolerate pollen. There were many peonies planted in Wutong Garden. Before you came back today, I had people pull them out. Perhaps the pollen hasn't dispersed completely yet, so she couldn't tolerate it after staying here."

"And there's Hao'er. Ruoqing is ill now and can't take care of him. Unfortunately, the child just arrived here and is shy. He won't follow anyone and keeps crying."

"Hey! There's a lot of chaos over there. I can't do anything about it. Third brother, go over and take a look."

"Then I'll go see the child first."

As he spoke, Shen Han turned around and strode towards Wutong Garden.

(End of this chapter)