“But it’s just a minor cold, and you can’t even walk anymore? Is it more serious than this old woman?”
Nanny Chen: “This… But when I asked you last night, you agreed.”
“How can I not remember that? Go and see. If she’s too sick to get out of bed, then she doesn’t need to come.”
Nanny Chen had no choice but to nod in agreement.
Seeing that Jun Jiuli only coughed occasionally, Nanny Chen had to ask her to pay respects to the Old Madam.
“Granddaughter cough… cough… cough… cough… pays respects to grandmother… cough… cough… cough… cough… cough…”
This performance stunned everyone. The Old Madam quickly had someone help her to sit to the side.
“Oh dear, why are you so sick?”
“Cough cough cough… Granddaughter also cough… cough… doesn’t know… cough cough cough.”
The Old Madam flinched inward a bit, covering her mouth and nose with a handkerchief. She shot an unfriendly glance at Nanny Chen.
“Have you called for a doctor? Go back and recuperate. Your eldest aunt and the others are here, so you don’t need to worry about me.”
“Granddaughter… cough cough… cough cough cough…”
“Never mind, stop talking. Pearl, hurry and help your mistress back. What are you all standing there so foolishly for.”
“Yes, Old Madam.”
Jun Jiuli and her party left in a hurry, but the several mistresses in Shou Kang Yuan gradually felt that something was not right.
The Madam Consort kept drinking water, her throat extremely dry and hoarse. The Old Madam felt dizzy and lightheaded, attributing it to the side effects of her foot injury.
She dismissed everyone and went back to bed. Soon after, she developed a high fever, and the maids quickly went to call for a doctor.
The Madam Consort was also burning with fever and unconscious. The doctor administered several bowls of medicine, but it was of no use.
Zhao Jingyi tossed and turned in bed with a headache, finding no taste in anything she ate. The doctor gave her a few acupuncture treatments, and she lay on the bed quietly. However, she still refused to eat. After a few days, she had lost a lot of weight.
The male members of the Zhao family who came to visit them also contracted the same symptoms. For the past few days, they all looked as if their heads were heavy and their feet were light.
Calling for outside doctors to treat the illness naturally could not be hidden from the Emperor. Upon learning that their illness was contagious,
He immediately ordered Duke Zhongyong to recuperate in his manor. He held no important positions in the court, so it didn’t matter how long he took off.
The Emperor marveled when he learned that the maids and servants in the Zhao manor were all fine. He wondered if this contagious disease was hereditary.
Lying in bed, the Old Madam felt pain in every pore of her bones.
“Oh, heaven’s sake. I should never have brought that wretched girl back. I’m already so old, and now I have to suffer like this. Ahhhh~”
Nanny Chen: “Old Madam, this matter is also strange. Why are no one else affected? Now, the rumors outside are saying that only people from our Duke’s manor are getting sick.”
“It’s all the fault of that little vixen. You saw how she was coughing that day.”
“Old Madam, now is not the time to dwell on this. If people outside truly believe it is a hereditary disease, then how will our sons and daughters be able to marry and have children in the future?”
The Old Madam felt as if she had been struck by enlightenment, and her eyes became sharp.
“This cannot be spread any further. Eldest son is of marriageable age. Go and call Madam to come over. We need someone to discuss this with.”
Madam had been agonizing over this matter these days. “Mother, what should we do? I am a daughter-in-law who has contracted such an illness. Who would dare to marry my eldest son? Wuwuwu~”
“Have you identified any suitable candidates before? Go and interact with them. Pull yourself together and don’t let anyone discover that you are still ill. Just tell everyone outside that the family has completely recovered and that they were all ill due to a cold. The doctor couldn’t diagnose it anyway, so let’s not scare ourselves and be led astray by outsiders.”
“But what about Eldest Son and the others? They’re all lying in bed, unable to get up. If they don’t go to the academy, how can we cover this up?”
“Find a trustworthy doctor and prescribe some potent medicine. Our Duke’s manor cannot continue to be sick like this. There are countless banquets in the capital these days. Take Jing Shu and Yi’er out to socialize.”
“Let’s forget about Yi’er. She looks so frighteningly thin. If she catches a chill outside, it will be even worse. Wuwuwu~ What a misfortune, to suffer such hardship in our Duke’s manor.”
“At this critical juncture, I believe you can bear the weight of the Duke’s manor. I am old. You must plan ahead for everything.”
Madam was furious. When the mess arrived, then you remembered me. Planning ahead, as if you ever could.
“Yes, your daughter-in-law respectfully follows your teachings.”
“I wonder how Jing Shu is doing.”
“She was the first to fall ill, so her condition might be bad.”
“A disaster!”
After speaking, she coughed heavily and waved her hand, signaling Madam to leave.
Madam returned to her courtyard and had her confidante take some medicine to visit Jun Jiuli.
When the nanny arrived, Jun Jiuli was playing cuju with a newly assigned young maid in the courtyard. She was full of energy and looked very healthy.
The nanny’s jaw almost dropped to the ground. “Second Miss, your illness is cured?”
“Thank you for your concern, nanny. It was just a minor cold, and it’s long gone.”
The nanny’s face immediately fell. “Then why didn’t Miss send someone to report it, causing Madam to worry about you every day?”
“Does Eldest Aunt worry about me? She’d better worry about Eldest Cousin and the others. I received news that everyone is ill and told me not to come for morning greetings. Thinking that I shouldn’t trouble the sick further, I didn’t send anyone to report it.”
“Second Miss, you… you are thinking of Madam?”
“Of course, where else can you find such a thoughtful and cute niece?”
“Your servant takes her leave.”
Jun Jiuli kicked the ball on the ground, hitting the nanny’s back. She cried out in pain and fell forward.
Her teeth sank into the dirt, and one fell out. She stood up, looking at Jun Jiuli angrily, and shouted unintelligibly, “Second Miss, you’ve gone too far.”
Jun Jiuli pretended not to hear. Pearl had also seen the attitude of the Duke’s manor towards her mistress these days and naturally disliked these wicked servants.
With Jun Jiuli’s permission, she trotted over to pick up the ball and bowed respectfully.
“Nanny, are you alright? My mistress is practicing, and her aim is a little off. She didn’t mean to kick you, I’m truly sorry, truly sorry.”
Saying this, she pulled the nanny’s hand and slipped a few copper coins into it, her eyes smiling like crescent moons.
“Nanny, hurry back and report to Madam Consort, don’t keep Madam waiting. We are all servants, how can we make our mistresses bow their heads and wait?”
After speaking, she turned with a sway of her small waist, her every step enraging the nanny. How could she not know that this little maid was mocking her? No matter how favored she was in the manor, she was still a servant.
She could only swallow this loss. Hmph, if she couldn’t control the mistress, surely she could control a little maid.