Chapter 4 Preliminary Agreement

  Watching Su Yuxiang leave, Yao Yanyu didn't say much, only looked at Li Niangniang with a thoughtful expression when she was about to leave. Li Niangniang was such a sharp person, and as soon as Yao Yanyu returned to her room and sat in front of the dresser, removing the hairpins from her head, she came in carrying a bowl of silver-threaded swallow's nest congee.

  Cui Wei hurriedly smiled and went forward to take over the things, saying in a low voice: "Thank you, nanny, for thinking of us girls."

  "Your girls are also my girls, aren't they? Now you're here and still talking to me like that?"

  Cui Wei was taken aback, but could only smile wryly and say no more. Yao Yanru smiled as she looked at her wet nurse, Feng Nian, and said, "I have swallow's nest here, so I won't be able to eat the silver ear soup. Nian, go take a look at the fire, and later send some to Li Nian's room for her to use."

  The old woman busily bowed and smiled: "Thank you very much, miss."

  Yao Yanyu gave Cui Wei a glance, and Cui Wei led the little maids out of the room and closed the door. Li Nian'er hastened to come forward and help Yao Yanyu undo her hair bun, taking an ivory comb to detangle her hair.

  "Auntie, sister is like this..." Yao Yan looked at the somewhat blurry figure in the copper mirror with a difficult expression and asked: "Do you have any plans for the future?"

  Mrs. Li sighed: "The master has come to this today, it's because we servants didn't serve well enough, the old master will definitely punish us, and we'll have to go back and take our punishment." However, if Miss Yao Yanru is willing to keep her, then the Governor's Mansion won't turn against their own daughter just because of a few servants. This was also why Mrs. Li had been trying to find an opportunity to get close to Miss Yao Yanru.

  Yao Yan nodded and said: "Actually, for Nainai, it's best if sister's illness gets better."

  "Oh my girl!" Li's expression was so sorrowful that she couldn't even force a bitter smile, and tears fell from her eyes. "Didn't I think of this? The young lady has been by my side since birth, and I've served her for over twenty years... in the end..."

  Yao Yanru looked at the tears on Li's face, turned around and patted her hand, and comforted: "Don't be sad, in my opinion, big sister may not be that bad."

  Madam Li was taken aback for a moment, and after a long while, she let out a deep sigh: "At this time, why must you say such things to comfort an old servant like me?"

  Yao Yan said in a serious tone: "I'm not comforting you. Although I don't have 100% confidence that I can save your sister, there is still some leeway."

  Mrs. Li was shocked and knelt down at the feet of Yao Yanyu, hugging her legs and asking eagerly: "Miss, is what you said true?"

  "It's come to this, how could I possibly joke about such a thing?" Yao Yan pulled Li up and said slowly: "I understand some medical skills, but it's not convenient for me to say how I learned them now. However, I don't have any practical experience in medicine, so I can only take it one step at a time. At most, I only have half the confidence. But this matter is unlikely to be agreed upon by the madam of the house, as well as the second and third masters, after all, I don't have any medical experience, they won't let me do whatever I want. So, if you want me to try, you must keep this a secret."

  Mrs. Li slowly came to her senses, looking at Yao Yanyu with a puzzled expression and a mind full of doubts, really unable to guess what this second lady was after. Not to mention that after she cured the eldest girl's illness, she herself was in a very embarrassing position, just saying that how could she say something so confidently? With only half certainty? Even the big shots at the Imperial Hospital didn't dare say such things, how could she?

  Yao Yan had long expected Li's suspicion, so she wasn't annoyed and only smiled faintly to ask: "May I ask you, what did the imperial physician say about Eldest Sister's illness?"

  "Actually... it won't be able to get through this summer, and that's around the end of this month or early next month."

  "It's been less than a month, hasn't it?" Yao Yan sighed softly. "Think about it again, if I wanted to use this opportunity to harm my sister, what more could she lose? Or what else could I gain from it? Why would I want to harm someone who only has one month left to live, and that person is still my sister?"

  "The young lady is right, there's nothing for her to gain." Li Jiaojiao was sincere. What else could the second daughter have to gain? As long as the eldest daughter closes her eyes, she would be the third madam, and everything that belonged to the eldest daughter before would be hers. The eldest daughter didn't have any children, so if she had kids in the future, they would be the legitimate heirs of the third master. She really had no reason to harm the eldest daughter anymore.

  "I can tell you my plan." Yao Yan looked into Li's eyes and said, "I'm telling you what's on my mind, just hoping that you, Nanny, can help me too."

  Madam Li felt relieved at this moment, and she didn't dare to believe that someone without ulterior motives was not easy to control. She hurriedly bowed her head and replied: "Miss, please speak. As long as you can cure Big Miss, I will do anything for you."

  "I don't want to be the second wife of Su's husband." Yao Yan's voice was low and determined, "I don't want to stay in the Hou Mansion. I want to go to the countryside alone, live a quiet life on my own. So, if I can cure my sister, I hope she will allow me to leave the mansion and move to the farm in the countryside. These words I couldn't say at home, after all, Master and Mistress have raised me for so many years, poured too much heart and soul into me, even if I said it, it wouldn't be as I wished. But if I can cure my sister, this is also a way for me to repay Master and Mistress. So, will you help me, Nanny?"

  "Is this really true?!" Li's nanny was greatly surprised and could hardly believe it.

  Yao Yan picked up a jade hairpin from the dressing table and slammed it to the ground with a "crack", shattering it into several pieces.

  "If I have half a sentence of falsehood, may I have such a calamity."

  "Miss!" Li's wife was startled, her body trembled and she knelt down in front of Yao Yanyu: "This old slave deserves to die! This old slave didn't mean to question you. What this old slave meant was, Miss, when you went to the Zhuangzi Temple to live that austere life, not to mention the masters and mistresses at home who couldn't bear it, even the eldest miss..."

  "You don't have to worry about this. Everyone living in this world has different pursuits. I am not willing to get involved in the struggles of these wealthy families, nor do I desire wealth and glory. I just want to live a simple life, peacefully until old age."

  Actually, these words shouldn't be said to a servant like you, but Yao Fengge is now in a state of confusion, sometimes good and sometimes bad, and it's really impossible to wait any longer. If Yao Yanyu wants to treat her illness, she must first get through the people around Yao Fengge, otherwise, even if there is only one Li Nian'er, she won't be able to get close to Yao Fengge, let alone use acupuncture and medicine to regulate her body.

  The matter has been made clear, and as Li's nanny for Yao Fengge, she would naturally be unwilling to follow Yao Yanyu. The master-servant relationship of over 20 years is not fake.

  One night passed without incident, and the next morning, Yao Yanyu came to visit Yao Fengge. It's unclear what Li had said to Shanhu, but as soon as she saw Yao Yanyu, she bowed her head and paid respects, looking more respectful than before.

  Li Auntie got rid of all the little maids in the house on the pretext that the young lady was going to talk to Third Granny, leaving only Coral alone to attend to her, and even she herself stood guard outside, not allowing anyone to get close.