Chapter Thirteen Mutual Summoning

  The West Wing is just as its name suggests, the westernmost small courtyard in the Ling Mansion. The courtyard is indeed a bit small, and if one were to be strict about it, this courtyard is even smaller than the place where Aunt Zhou lives at the foot of Miaofeng Mountain.

  But this courtyard was not unfamiliar to Yuandai. This used to be where Aunt Zhou lived, and when Yuandai first returned to the Ling family, she had also stayed here for a while. Now that she's back again, everything still seems vaguely familiar.

  Because they moved back, the yard was now spotless and tidy, but that's all. Mrs. Wang smiled and pushed open the main house, inviting the two inside. The brazier in the main room had already been lit, warming up the space. Looking around, Yu Dai nodded slightly. The interior was neatly arranged, with most of the furniture replaced with new ones, not luxurious but elegant and refreshing.

  Madam Zhou was apparently very pleased with this, and thanked the Wang family before giving Hongying a signal. Hongying understood and quickly took out the red envelopes that had been prepared in advance and handed them over one by one. The Wang family did not decline, each of them performing the ritual of thanks to Madam Zhou.

  In another moment, Wenping and Cailian also entered the house. The main room was suddenly crowded with people, and it was already packed with people.

  Wang and the others, seeing this, naturally also knew to take their leave. Seeing them go, Yuandai finally spoke up: "Mother can stay in the main house, I think the west wing is quite good, I'll just live there!"

  Zhou Yiniang naturally wouldn't say anything more about this. Although Wangshi and the others had left, the robust women that Ling Yuancheng had taken to another courtyard were still standing there, clearly indicating that Ling Yuancheng had given them prior instructions. Several senior maids each led a few people in carrying the trunks and other items piled up in the courtyard into the house, tidied up slightly, and then gave these robust women some silver coins as a reward before sending them off.

  Yuandai then bid farewell to Aunt Zhou and returned to her own west wing. Sitting on the kang in the inner room, Yuandai glanced at the boxes and trunks in the room with some distaste. Wenshu and Cailian were tidying up the room. Everything in the west wing, including the bedding, was brand new, obviously recently replaced. Although the colors did not quite suit Yuandai's taste, she was too lazy to make a fuss about it.

  "Don't bother putting them away!" Suddenly, Yuandai spoke out to stop Wenshu and Cailian who were about to put her daily clothes into the wardrobe. Wenshu was taken aback and looked at Yuandai in surprise. Cailian also had a bewildered expression.

  Yan Dandan said, "This courtyard, we can't stay for a few more days, why bother to tidy it up so much." She was very clear in her mind that being arranged to live with Zhou Niang was probably a warning from Madame Lu, and it wouldn't last long. Even if she didn't consider the relationship between Xiao Chengxian, children born out of wedlock in aristocratic families had never lived in the same courtyard as their birth mother.

  Wenping and Cailian were also not foolish people. After hearing this, they also felt it was reasonable, so they nodded in agreement.

  However, several maids were still busy with sweat dripping from their brows. They were busy non-stop when there was a knock on the door and Hongying, who was beside Madame Zhou, walked in smiling and bowed to Yuandai. "Madame is calling Miss over for dinner," she said. It wasn't until then that Yuandai and the others remembered this point.

  "Been busy all morning and even forgot about lunch, I'm really too busy!"

  Hongying said: "Don't mention you, even if it's us, we've all forgotten. It was Sixth Master who still remembered and had someone send over some food."

  Yuandai heard this and raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. She took Wenshu and others to have dinner at Zhou Yiniang's place. Since the courtyard was bustling with activity at this time and it was already late, Yuandai simply called for Cailian and other maids to join them for dinner.

  Zhou Yiniang saw this and although her face showed some hesitation, she didn't say anything. After they finished eating and the bowls and chopsticks were cleared away, while the maidservants were busy tidying up, Zhou Yiniang finally asked in a soft voice: "Yuandai, Madam is busy now, we can't disturb her, what about Old Lady's side..."

  Yuandai gently shook her head and said lightly, "Don't worry about these things, Mother! If the old lady wants to see us, she will naturally summon us!" The old lady of the Ling manor is now advanced in age. After the old master passed away, she devoted herself to Buddhism and had long since relinquished control over household affairs. Yuandai had only seen the old lady once before, more than two years ago, when she acknowledged her ancestors and returned to her clan.

  Zhou Yiniang thought about it and felt that there was some reason to it, so she nodded her head and sighed. Yuan Dai knew that Zhou Yiniang's heart was uneasy, but also knew that this unease of hers could not be calmed by just a few words, so she did not intend to say anything more about it.

  This day was spent in Aunt Zhou's worries and the busy work of the maids.

  After all, it was just over two years living in Miaofeng Mountain Villa, and although there were many things to bring back and forth, cleaning up wasn't too much of a chore. By the second day, the west wing was already in order, everything seemed like another villa.

  She had been used to living in a distant house, and suddenly moved into this place. When she woke up from her dream, she suddenly opened her eyes and saw the unfamiliar decorations, but still couldn't help being stunned for a long time. The one who came in to serve her was Cai Lian, who also brought some bad news.

  Due to overthinking and catching some wind at night, Aunt Zhou fell ill again.

  Yuandai furrowed her brow and didn't speak, after washing up, she went to the side of Aunt Zhou. Wangshi had been accompanying her there for a long time, with an even more anxious look on her face. Seeing Yuandai arrive, she hastily stood up and said: "The young lady has arrived!"

  Yuan Dai nodded slightly towards her, said a word of hard work, and then walked forward to look at Aunt Zhou. Aunt Zhou was lying on the bed with a dazed expression, her originally pale face now flushed red, with a wet towel on her forehead, apparently running a fever. Hongying, who was beside her, saw Yuan Dai approaching and quickly pulled out Aunt Zhou's hand from under the quilt.

  Yan Dai slightly bowed her head and gently placed her jade-like hand on Madame Zhou's pulse. After a brief moment, she withdrew her hand and asked: "Is that prescription still effective?"

  Hongying, who was standing beside him, hastily replied: "Yes!" Yuandai nodded and instructed her to continue taking the medicine according to the prescription.

  Hongying nodded and quickly walked to the side, opened the small cabinet with golden hinges in the room, searched for a moment, and soon found the prescription that Yuandai had given to Zhou Niang. She took the prescription and hurried out to fetch medicine. With an indifferent expression, she stood in Zhou Niang's room for a moment, but Yuandai didn't stay long. After instructing Wangshi to take good care of Zhou Niang, she brought Cailian back to her own west wing.

  Inside the western wing, Wenping had already prepared breakfast. Yuandai reluctantly sat down at the table, took a few sips of porridge, and then put down her chopsticks. Wenping had been by her side for a long time and had understood some of her temperament, knowing that Miss was in a very bad mood at this moment, so she naturally didn't dare to speak casually, lest she provoke her anger. Hui'er and several others were also good at observing words and expressions, and they too were being cautious.

  Wenping felt a little depressed and thought she should go see Aunt Zhou, so she quietly told Cailian and went to the main house. At this time, Aunt Zhou had already taken medicine in the main house and her fever had subsided somewhat. Wenping whispered a few words to Hongying, then returned to the west wing, but it was almost noon by now.

  Yuan Dai was sitting crookedly on the windowsill, holding a book in her hand, seemingly reading, but she hadn't turned a page for half a day. With just one glance, Wen Ping suddenly felt like she couldn't breathe, and even her breathing became much lighter.

  She has been following this young lady for more than two years, and she has hardly ever seen her get angry. Even on a day like today, her expression was unprecedented. Sometimes, the young lady's aura really made people's hearts tremble, Wenjing thought silently to herself. After hesitating for a moment, she finally stepped forward and said in a low voice: "Miss, it's almost noon, do you want me to send lunch?"

  As soon as the words came out, Yuandai suddenly woke up from a dream and moved her eyes to look at Wenshuang. Just as she was about to speak, a strange maid's voice suddenly came from outside: "Cailian, is Ninth Miss here?" The voice wasn't loud, but it was enough for Yuandai to hear.

  After hearing this voice, Yuandai was still okay, but Wenshu couldn't help but raise an eyebrow and show a hint of unusual color on her face. From the outer room, Cailian's voice quickly responded, extremely enthusiastic, even with a hint of flattery: "Yunhua sister, how did you come?"

  Yunhua smiled and said, "Look at what you're saying, I'm here at this time, of course it's the old lady's intention." These words were spoken with a self-satisfied tone, clearly pleased that she could represent the old lady on this trip.

  Cai Lian was overjoyed and didn't care about these things anymore, eagerly asking: "Is the old lady going to see our young mistress?"

  Yun Hua didn't answer her either, and instead asked another question: "Is Ninth Miss around?"

  At this moment, Yuande had already understood the intention and although she found it strange that Old Lady Xiao suddenly wanted to see her, she didn't show any displeasure. She raised her eyes and gave a signal to Wenshuai, who understood immediately and loudly said: "Is Cloud Hua sister outside? Come in quickly!" As she spoke, she hastily walked a few steps, lifted the curtain and went out.

  Before long, Yunhua was invited in. Yunhua's age was similar to that of Wenping and Cailian. In fact, she used to attend to Old Lady Xiao with Wenping, but after Yuandai returned, Wenping was given to Yuandai by the old lady and left her service. Seeing Yuandai, Yunhua hurriedly came forward to pay her respects, smiling and saying: "Ninth Miss is safe!"

  Yan Dai smiled faintly at her and finally stood up, asking: "Old lady found me, is there anything?"

  Yun Hua, however, didn't dare to be slow in responding to her and hastily replied with courtesy: "In response to Ninth Miss's question, Eldest Young Miss Xiang is currently at Old Madam's place, chatting with Old Madam. Just now, Old Madam suddenly had an idea and ordered me to invite Ninth Miss over for lunch!"

  Yan Dai suddenly realized this and came to her senses. It wasn't until now that she suddenly remembered, the Xiao family was actually her own grandmother's maiden home. Calculating it out, her grandmother was still the aunt of Xiao Chengyan and his siblings, and she had been foolish to forget that there was a relationship between the Ling and Xiao families all along.