Chapter 42: Probing (2)

  Yan Dai suddenly heard this and couldn't help but smile lightly, her expression returning to normal as she said: "If we're talking about this, I wonder if Du Ruo sister still remembers the maid Zhenzhen who used to be by my side back then?"

  Du Ruo's eyes sparkled slightly, and after a while, she said: "Ah! Yuan Zhen? I remember now, wasn't it the maid from Xu's family back then?"

  Yan Dai nodded and said, "It's really her! To say that my adoptive father in Wan Prefecture was not wealthy, but he could be considered quite well-off. Although I have returned to my ancestral home, it wouldn't be right for me to completely abandon the family business. Moreover, Yuan Zhen is a maid, but we grew up together since childhood and are like sisters. So, I handed over all the property in Wan Prefecture to her. This silver apricot comes from a large silver apricot tree that was grown in my adoptive father's house. The corn and sweet potatoes were also grown in our family garden! In the past, every winter, we would roast some sweet potatoes and corn indoors, and Yuan Zhen always remembered this. Even now, she still sends them to me every year!"

  She said that, on the other side of the iron mesh, Wenping was already smiling and saying: "Miss, it's done!" As she spoke, she had already taken a large iron chopstick to pick up some smaller corn and sweet potatoes and put them in a small ceramic dish, which she then brought to the table.

  Ling Yuexuan cheered and quickly grabbed an ear of corn, carefully peeling off the slightly charred green leaves on the outside. A fragrance suddenly wafted out. Yuan Dai also couldn't help but laugh and said, "Only the outer layer of golden grains can be eaten, not the inner core!" Ling Yuexuan responded, not caring that the corn was still a bit scalding hot, and hastily stuffed it into her mouth. As she ate, she blew air to cool it down, and her mouth still didn't forget to exclaim, "Delicious, truly delicious!"

  Xiao Chengyan saw that she had snatched the corn away, so she could only stretch out her hand to take the roasted sweet potato. The sweet potato was roasted with a slightly charred outer skin, and apart from the fragrant aroma, there was another indescribable sweet scent. Xiao Chengyan blew on it gently while slowly peeling off the outer skin, and indeed, as Yuan Dai had said, the inside was golden yellow in color and had a rich fragrance. Xiao Chengyan carefully took a bite, and found that it was sweet like honey, and couldn't help but exclaim: "No wonder it's called sweet potato, it's really sweet!"

  Disturbed by these two, Du Ruo couldn't ask any further and had to end the conversation with a sigh.

  After eating, Ling Yuexuan raised her head and looked at Xiao Chengyan, unable to help but burst out laughing: "Sister Xiao... look at you... haha..."

  Xiao Chengxian didn't think much of it at first, but after hearing this sentence, she naturally looked up to see Ling Yuanshuang. Upon seeing her, she couldn't help but burst out laughing: "Tenth sister, you still have the nerve to laugh at others? Take a look at yourself first!"

  At this moment, both of them had ten fingers blackened and their faces were also smeared with several patches of soot, looking quite comical. The two of them laughed for a moment, then looked at Du Ruo, who was in the same state, and couldn't help but laugh again. When they looked at Yuan Dai, however, they saw that she was sitting on one side, watching the three of them laughing.

  Yuán Yuǎn Dài originally often ate these, and early on, she wrapped them in a handkerchief, held them in her hand, and slowly ate them. Naturally, it was even less embarrassing than the three of them. Líng Yuǎn Xuān shouted in dissatisfaction: "Ninth sister, you are really too much! You didn't even tell us about these!"

  Yan Dai smiled leisurely and said: "If I had told you earlier, wouldn't I have lost the chance to see your three beautiful faces again?"

  Ling Yuexuan let out a loud "ah" and rushed over, first not caring about anything else, wanting to wipe her hands on Yuandai's hand.

  Yan Dai saw her like this, and hastily dodged to the side, laughing: "You little girl, I kindly invited you to eat together, but you repay kindness with resentment, tsk...". Originally she had dodged quickly, but unfortunately Ling Yuanxuan's movements were even faster, and her hand still couldn't avoid being smeared with a streak of black ash.

  Wen Ping Zheng had just brought in water and saw this scene, couldn't help but laugh: "Tenth Miss, stop making a fuss, first come over to wash your hands and face!"

  Everyone gathered around to wash their hands and faces, while on the other side, Wenping and Hui'er were again brewing tea.

  Du Ruo accepted the tea and smiled at Yuan Dai: "Today I came, originally it was Old Lady who sent me to deliver swallow's nest!" She said, and then handed over a small box she had been holding in her hand to Wen Ping. Wen Ping hurriedly stretched out his hand to receive it.

  Du Ruo continued, "This swallow's nest was a New Year's gift from one of the old marquis' disciples to show his respect. The old lady saw that it was better than the ones at home and thought of Ninth Miss. She said that Ninth Miss had a weak body and using some swallow's nest would be perfect for her!"

  Yuan Dai listened and hurriedly smiled, saying: "Please thank the old lady for me too, sister!" She said this, then furrowed her brow, thought for a moment, before continuing: "I don't have anything suitable to show my filial piety to the old lady here, so please take some silver apricot kernels to her on my behalf! These things were grown in our own home, although they're not worth much and can't be used excessively, but eating ten or twenty of them every day is greatly beneficial for one's health!"

  Du Ruo smiled and responded, looking at the time it was already late, so she got up to bid farewell. Wen Ping saw her wanting to leave, hurriedly picked up the food box for her, and laughed: "That silver ginkgo looks small, but it's actually heavy, let's send it over ourselves after a while. This food box has charcoal fire, warming up just baked food. Although it's not something good, it wins in novelty, I think the old lady will like it!"

  Du Ruo hastily took over the food box: "It's hard for my sister to still remember the old lady's preferences. I originally said that when we leave, we should ask Ninth Miss for some to bring back and let the old lady taste something fresh. Unexpectedly, my sister had already prepared it!"

  Yuan Dai watched from the side, and finally smiled: "These things are occasionally eaten, actually good for people, but the old lady is advanced in years, it's not suitable to eat too much, sister must pay attention. If the old lady eats and likes it, I'll let them send some of each!"

  Leaving the Xiangfang Pavilion, Du Ruo walked slowly along the way. The wind howled and blew on Du Ruo's face, but it felt like a sharp knife cutting into her skin. Du Ruo raised her hand and gently brushed away the messy hair in front of her forehead that had been blown by the wind. Her fingertips touched something cold. She slightly raised her eyes to take a look at her fingertips, and she was surprised to find that there were water stains on them.

  A faint thought suddenly flashed through her mind, Du Ruo let out a soft sigh and murmured: "It's snowing after all!"

  In Chunhui Garden, Yanhui Zhai and Qinfang Zhai are not far apart. Du Ruo walked for a short while before arriving. Carrying the food box, she entered the main house directly. Du Ruo gave a slight bow and smiled at Old Lady Xiao: "Old lady, I'm back!"

  Xiao Lao Tai Jun was sitting at the head of the table drinking tea, and when she saw her come in, she put down her teacup and pretended to scold: "You little girl, where have you been gallivanting off to this time? I sent you to Qingfang Pavilion to deliver some bird's nest, and it took you so long to get back. It seems I've really spoiled you!"

  Du Ruo smiled and put the food box on the side table, saying: "As for what Old Lady said, when I passed by earlier, Ninth Miss was in the house with Xiao Miss and Tenth Miss eating some snacks. When they saw me coming, they invited me to join them! When I left, they also asked me to bring some back for Old Lady to try!" As she spoke, she opened the food box and took out what was inside.

  Although Mrs. Xiao was a knowledgeable and experienced old lady, she couldn't help but be surprised by the corn and sweet potatoes. Following Du Ye's instructions, she tried them one by one and found them to be deliciously sweet and quite unique, especially loving the crispy silver pears, which she ended up eating all of. As Du Ye served her, he also carefully told her about the events at Qin Fang Zhai. Mrs. Xiao didn't say much in response, but after finishing washing her hands, she dismissed everyone else in the house except for Du Ye and asked him: "When you went over today, how was Ninth Miss's complexion?"

  Du Ruo listened, stunned for a moment, and then thought carefully before speaking cautiously: "Miss Ji's face always looks sickly, her body is also slender, and her complexion doesn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary! However, from what I can see, her spirit seems to be quite good!"

  Xiao Lao Tai Jun nodded and a hesitant expression appeared on her face.

  Du Ruo observed from the side, then asked again: "Is the old lady suspecting that Ninth Miss is faking her illness?" However, in her heart, she was puzzled for a long time. She had been following Old Lady Xiao for over a decade and was familiar with her temperament. Throughout her life, Old Lady Xiao had enjoyed both wealth and honor, with children and grandchildren filling the house. In her younger years, it was still okay, but as she grew older, she came to prefer quietness over noise. Among her grandsons and granddaughters, except for a limited few, she didn't pay much attention to the others and never bothered with these formalities of paying respects.

  Xiao Lao Tai Jun slightly shook her head: "My temperament, others don't know, but you do. Don't mention that Jiu Piao Tou's body isn't very good to begin with, even if she was pretending to be ill and didn't come, I wouldn't argue with her about anything. What I'm thinking of now is Jiu Piao Tou's marriage!"

  Du Ruo's eyes flickered slightly as she spoke softly, "Didn't the old lady say a few days ago that she wanted to promote Ninth Miss and arrange a good marriage for her?" Du Ruo was not born into the Ling family, but rather was picked up by Old Lady Xiao more than ten years ago when she went to offer incense at Guanyin Temple. Seeing that Du Ruo was clever and had a good appearance, Old Lady Xiao decided to keep her by her side.

  All these years, the people around Old Lady had come and gone, but she remained. As a result, Old Lady grew more and more reliant on her, often discussing matters with her. Du Ruojin was intelligent and tight-lipped, only speaking when necessary, making it impossible to pry anything out of her. Seeing this, Old Lady naturally liked her even more, treating her like a confidante, and over the years, they reached a point where nothing was left unsaid between them.

  Xiao Lao Tai Jun listened to Du Ruo's words and nodded, sighing: "I originally had this intention, but now that I think about it, I'm also somewhat hesitant!" She raised her head and saw that Du Ruo seemed puzzled, so the old lady sighed again and said: "Jiǔ Jiǎo Tóu is not a child who grew up in the Ling family after all. In these many years, we have indeed not been good to her mother and daughter. With her temperament, if she really marries into their household, although it's unlikely that she'll be ungrateful, whether or not she will lend a helping hand at critical moments is also hard to say!"

  Du Ruo suddenly heard this, but it was a sudden and inexplicable fright, blurting out: "Old lady, you think... we... the mansion..." She knew that she couldn't say such things casually, so she only said a few words in a stuttering manner before not daring to continue.

  Xiao Lao Tai Jun waved her hand at her and said slowly, "The world is changing, who can say it clearly! I just want to prepare for the unexpected!" As she spoke, a worried look appeared on her face.

  Du Ruo saw this and couldn't help but feel a chill in her heart. She naturally understood that since the old lady had said "prepare for the rain", she definitely wouldn't be making empty warnings.