Chapter Seventeen: Ling Yuanxuan

  Yan Dai walked over, glanced at the crowd: "It's already this late, yet you're all still standing outside in a daze. Everyone go back to your rooms!" Her voice wasn't particularly loud when she said this, but it had an inexplicable intimidating power that made people involuntarily shiver.

  Even without looking at the crowd, Yuandai took a step forward and headed towards the west wing. Wenshuang saw this and quickly stepped forward to roll up the curtains for her. As soon as she entered the inner room, Yuandai sat down on the kang and thought for a moment before suddenly calling out: "Wenshuang!"

  Wenping stepped forward, and Yuandai unexpectedly asked: "Wenping, are you familiar with the people who take care of flowers and plants in this mansion?"

  Wen Ping was shocked, and it wasn't until after a long while that he nodded his head.

  Yan Dai nodded, and then instructed: "Tomorrow you go to the mansion's flower house to see if there are any early-blooming plum blossoms. If there are, have them move as many as possible here, don't worry about the cost, just focus on using them!"

  Wen Ping frowned upon hearing this: "It's only November, how can the plum blossoms be blooming so early? Even if there are one or two plants that happen to bloom early, Madame has always loved plum blossoms the most, and they must have been sent to Chunhui Garden already. Besides, what does Miss want with the plum blossoms?"

  Actually, Yu Dai knew that it was only the beginning of November and plum blossoms couldn't bloom so early. She had instructed Wenping just in case. At this moment, hearing Wenping say this, she couldn't help but sigh and say: "You can go take a look tomorrow, if there really aren't any, then we'll have to give up!" After saying that, she thought for a moment before continuing: "My evening primrose blooms with a fragrant scent, I originally wanted to find some plum blossoms to cover it up a bit, but now it seems like it won't be possible!"

  Wenping suddenly understood Yuandai's meaning, and smiled, saying: "Miss, just rest assured! The west wing where we are currently living is the most secluded courtyard in the mansion. Moreover, the evening primrose blooms at night, and it's dark and deserted outside. Who would be wandering around here? Even if the fragrance of the flower is strong, it can't fill the entire mansion with just one plant!"

  Yuandai knew she was right, and after a moment of silence, she finally sighed and said slowly: "But I'm afraid I've been too careful! This flower, I think it's extremely precious, but no matter who comes to ask for it, I won't be able to give it away. And that's why I don't want others to pay too much attention to it!"

  Wen Ping nodded lightly as she listened.

  …………

  The next morning, everyone in the Ling mansion was still busy, but the West Wing was quiet and peaceful, as if it had been forgotten by people.

  Yuandai got up early, washed and went to the main house to see Aunt Zhou. Aunt Zhou had already gotten up, sitting in front of the dresser with a pale face, slightly puffy, her eyes swollen like peaches, clearly showing that she had cried again last night. At this moment, seeing Yuandai come in, she hurriedly covered her face with a handkerchief, wanting to say something but not knowing how to express herself.

  She glanced at her silently, and Yu Dai raised her hand to signal the people in the house to leave. After everyone retreated, she took a slow step forward: "Mother! I'm fine! You shouldn't think too much about it either, just take good care of your own body!"

  Zhou Yiniang has been in the Ling Mansion for many years, suffering countless grievances. Although she is weak and loves to cry, over the years, her tears have long since dried up. She had resigned herself to a life of just enduring humiliation and living with a low profile, but her daughter's unexpected return has once again given rise to some hope in her heart. However, looking at it now, she fears that even her daughter will be dragged down by her own misfortunes, making her feel unbearable pain.

  Last night, after hearing Wang's words about Hu's mother on her sickbed, she almost didn't sleep all night, shrinking in the quilt, the more she thought, the more unbearable it was, and finally cried for half the night, until the second half of the night, before barely falling asleep. Originally, seeing Yuan Dai only made her feel ashamed in her heart, but after hearing Yuan's words, she couldn't help but shed tears again.

  Yan Dai saw her like this, couldn't help but sigh, and grasped Zhou Niang's hand, saying in a low voice: "Just endure for a few more days!" She was gentle by nature, actually didn't know how to comfort others, even if it was her own birth mother, some words were still hard to say.

  Aunt Zhou choked back a sob and after a long while, she finally said: "It's all because Mother is useless..."

  Seeing her cry made Yan Dai's heart even more annoyed, and she said with a hint of anger: "You've been crying for so many years, the more you cry, the more bitter you become, the more bitter you are, the more you cry. Besides hurting yourself, has it ever been useful?"

  She and Zhou Yiniang were mother and daughter, but they had been separated since childhood. They couldn't be described as having a deep mother-daughter relationship. At this moment, her tone suddenly changed, inexplicably taking on an overbearing air that immediately scared back the tears that were about to well up in Zhou Yiniang's eyes. Zhou Yiniang stopped crying and timidly raised her head to look at her, and was shocked for a while.

  Yan Dai saw her like this, and besides sighing, there was nothing else to do. After a while, she slowly said: "Don't cry, I've already said it before. In the past, when I wasn't here, it didn't matter. Now that I'm back, in the future, I won't let you suffer this kind of humiliation again!" Seeing Zhou Niang listen to these words, her tears were about to overflow again. She couldn't help but feel helpless and had no choice but to call Hongying and others to come in, while she herself excused herself and left.

  Wenping returned with her to the western wing and carefully observed Yu Dai's expression, unable to help but softly say: "Actually, your aunt is also a pitiful person!"

  It's said that Aunt Zhou is also considered half the mistress of the Ling manor, and Wenping saying this to her is not in line with etiquette. However, now that Yu Dai has already regarded Wenping as a trusted confidant, Wenping's words at this time have become endearing.

  She stood silently for a moment, then sighed and said softly: "She is my mother, but unfortunately we can never really get close to each other!" Her voice was extremely soft, and Wen Xuan, who was standing beside her at this moment, couldn't hear clearly.

  After lunch, Yuandai took a nap as usual. When she woke up, Wenshu came in to serve her washing and mentioned things outside. It turned out that it was just past noon, and Lingyun had already brought his wife and children back. Yuandai still looked calm and didn't say a word about it.

  All the hustle and bustle outside had nothing to do with Xi Yuan. At least on this day, Xi Yuan was calm and peaceful without a single ripple.

  …………

  After moving back to the Ling mansion from another courtyard, Yuan Dai didn't bring back most of the flowers and grasses she had planted before. The ones she did bring back were partly stored at Yuan Zhen's place, but for now, she felt a bit idle. With some disinterest, she put down the book in her hand, and let out a long sigh.

  Wen Ping brought in the tea and saw her like this, couldn't help but smile: "If Miss likes it, why not ask Huafang to send some flowers and plants to raise them!"

  She gave him a gentle smile and said lazily, "I won't be able to stay in this mansion for much longer anyway, so why bother with all the fuss! Let's just wait until things settle down tomorrow and talk about it then!"

  Wen Ping didn't mind hearing this, but once she did, her heart couldn't help but churn with emotions. The stability that Yuan Dai mentioned naturally referred to the future after she married into her husband's family. Wen Ping was well aware that when Yuan Dai got married, she would definitely be one of the maid servants accompanying her. If Yuan Dai married well, it went without saying that Wen Ping would follow her; if not, she wouldn't have a good ending either.

  Thinking of this, Wenping couldn't help but feel a surge of emotions, her expression pensive.

  Her thoughts, Yuandai wouldn't be unable to see through, but she also didn't intend to say much about it. She raised her hand and lightly tapped the small table beside her a few times before suddenly speaking up: "Since we're idle anyway, Wenshu, go get my Go board!"

  Wen Jing listened to the sound, and only then did she calm down, responding with a nod. She walked over to one side, just about to open the trunk and carefully inspect it, when the door curtain on the other side suddenly moved, and Cai Lian had already walked in: "Miss, Shao Yan's attendant, Yan Liu, has brought something for you!"

  She raised an eyebrow and nodded: "Please let her in!"

  Yan Liu's age seemed to be similar to that of Wen Ping and Cai Lian, with a delicate face and slender figure. Her clothes and jewelry showed that she was a capable maid by Ling Yu Xuan's side. As soon as she entered the door, she bowed to Yu Dai and smiled: "Please, Ninth Miss, our missus asked me to bring some things from Lianghuai for Ninth Miss and Auntie. They are rough goods, I hope Ninth Miss and Auntie won't dislike them!" She said, taking a box from behind her little maid's hand, holding it with both hands, and presenting it.

  Yan Dai suddenly understood, and with a hint, she stood up, and then had Cai Lian take the things from her hands. With a faint smile, she said: "Go back and thank your mistress for me!" After saying that, she thought for a moment, and then said: "There's nothing good here, but I still have some Tian Xiang Tang Bing left over from before, made according to an ancient recipe. You can take some back to your mistress as my return gift!"

  She said here, Wenping heard the sound on the other side and hurried over, opened the small box made of tortoiseshell, took out a medium-sized blue porcelain jar with a wide mouth, and presented it to Yanliu with both hands. Yanliu smiled and thanked Yuantai, took the small jar, chatted for a while, and then left.

  After Yan Liu left, Wen Ping went over and opened the box that Yan Liu had brought. Inside was a set of eight-color rouge and powder, a small porcelain jar with a lid adorned with colorful butterfly designs. Just looking at it made her feel that it was extraordinary. Yuan Dai couldn't help but smile as she watched.

  Wen Ping picked up a small jar, looked at the bottom of it and smiled: "I said how did this thing get so fine, it turned out to be the famous 'Yuan Ji' fragrance shop in two Huai, I heard that the things in this shop are good enough to compare with the goods!"

  She couldn't help but glance at the box with a hint of amusement, and said nonchalantly, "Put it away!" As she spoke, she asked again, "Did they come from Auntie Zhou's place?" This tenth young lady had already given her something, so naturally she wouldn't have left out Auntie Zhou.

  As expected, Cai Lian responded in a loud voice: "Exactly! I was originally at my aunt's place and saw Yan Liu and the others coming over here, so I brought them along!" In recent days, she had sensed Yu Dai's displeasure, so she rarely appeared in front of him.

  Yuandai nodded, and as for the things that Ling Yuexuan had sent over, she didn't really care about them. However, the fact that Ling Yuexuan could still remember her and Zhou Yiniang at this time should make Zhou Yiniang feel a little better. As Yuandai thought about it, she couldn't help but develop some goodwill towards Ling Yuexuan.