The Wang family's carriage did not return directly to the manor but took a detour to the back gate of Prince Ding'an's residence.
Yinzhu was quite exasperated, "Miss, you're getting married in a few days. Please endure a little longer. It's best not to see the Prince before the wedding."
Wang Qingyao alighted from the carriage, "I'm not here to see the Prince, I'm here to see Jintiao."
Ever since Jintiao had his life saved, Xiao Yun had assigned him a small courtyard, complete with four maids and a nanny, to recuperate with good food and care.
However, Jintiao was accustomed to being alone and disliked being waited on by dedicated staff. Once he could get out of bed, he only kept the nanny for cooking and cleaning. The four maids were replaced by a young servant to help with fetching medicine and running errands.
"Oh dear," Yinzhu fretted, "Miss, you didn't say so earlier. How can we visit a patient empty-handed?" She looked around, searching for fruit stalls or markets nearby.
But the area around Prince Ding'an's residence was exclusively for the wealthy and noble, where would such things be found?
Yinzhu was extremely annoyed.
"Even a bunch of flowers would be good!"
Wang Qingyao looked at her frantic demeanor and pointed to a corner with her chin, "Look, there's a patch of wildflowers over there, and they're quite pretty."
She was merely teasing, but Yinzhu's eyes lit up. She ran over and unceremoniously picked a bunch of wildflowers, tidying them up.
Wang Qingyao gave her a thumbs-up, and Yinzhu puffed out her chest, feeling quite clever herself.
This was not their first visit to see Jintiao.
When Jintiao first woke up, Yinzhu had desperately wanted to stay by his side and personally attend to him.
Wang Qingyao understood her feelings of "a drop of kindness should be repaid with a gushing spring, a life-saving grace should be repaid with servitude." She allowed her to visit every few days. Only when Jintiao's injuries improved did the visits become less frequent.
The guards at the back gate recognized them and, familiar with the routine, led the mistress and servant to see Jintiao.
Although Jintiao could now get out of bed, his internal injuries had not healed. He couldn't do heavy work, let alone practice martial arts and return to duty. He was idle and quite bored all day.
He was happy whenever someone came to visit him.
Yinzhu found a clay vase in a corner, filled it with water, and arranged the flowers in Jintiao's bedroom. Indeed, the room instantly became much brighter.
When visiting a patient, there were always the same questions.
"How is your health? Have your injuries improved?"
"What medicine are you taking?"
"Don't overexert yourself, rest well, and I wish you a speedy recovery."
Yinzhu was also busy. Although the nanny who cooked would help with chores, she wasn't as meticulous as Yinzhu. Jintiao hadn't even mentioned that his clothes were torn.
Yinzhu found them and patched them up. Seeing that Jintiao's socks were worn out, she thought about making him a few pairs.
Her domesticity made Jintiao's face flush with embarrassment, and he couldn't stop her.
"Miss Yinzhu, you are a guest. How can you do these things?"
"What are you being polite about? If it weren't for you, I would have died long ago. Besides, I'm used to doing these things in my daily life, it's no trouble."
Wang Qingyao said, "It's fine, let her do it. If she doesn't, she won't be able to sleep tonight."
Jintiao sat restlessly, glancing at Yinzhu from time to time, feeling very embarrassed about troubling her.
After finishing patching the clothes, Yinzhu took a piece of cloth and squatted down to measure Jintiao's foot size.
Jintiao was so flustered that he stammered, "Yin-Yin-Yinzhu, what are you doing?"
"I'll make you a few pairs of socks later."
Jintiao was overwhelmed with gratitude, "How can that be?"
Yinzhu forcefully took his foot, pulled off his sock, and measured it a few times, "Why not? You are my savior. I'll do anything for you."
Jintiao's toes curled up in shame.
When Yinzhu finally finished measuring, she was about to put his socks back on. He quickly said, "I'll do it myself."
As he bent down, he pulled at his wound, and his brow furrowed slightly.
Yinzhu immediately noticed, "Don't move."
Her movements became even gentler, as if she were changing a dressing, afraid that if she used too much force, Jintiao would be in pain again.
The blush on Jintiao's face had not subsided.
Wang Qingyao sat nearby, cracking melon seeds, her eyes curved into crescents, smiling as she looked at Yinzhu and then at Jintiao.
Ah, they looked more and more like a match.
A life-saving grace, and now she's offering herself in return, not bad, not bad.
Wait, Wang Qingyao suddenly remembered something. Wasn't Yuanbao pursuing Yinzhu? He even gave her a crystal hairpin last time!
Oh dear, a love triangle. I'll have to ask Yinzhu about her thoughts on this later.
"Jintiao, the Prince has come to see you."
Just as Wang Qingyao was thinking about Yuanbao, Yuanbao's voice was heard.
It turned out that Xiao Yun had brought Yuanbao to visit Jintiao.
"Oh, it's the Prince." Yinzhu hurried to block the doorway, "Miss, you should quickly hide."
Wang Qingyao looked around, but there was nowhere to hide. Hearing the approaching footsteps, she had no choice but to lean against the wall and face it.
When Xiao Yun saw Yinzhu, he knew Wang Qingyao was there. Through Yinzhu's wide-spread limbs, he saw Wang Qingyao standing facing the wall. He was stunned for a moment before understanding.
"Are you that superstitious?" he called out.
Wang Qingyao rolled her eyes at the wall. She wasn't superstitious at all; wasn't she just trying to please her boss?
"It's better to believe in something than not," she said.
Xiao Yun asked Yuanbao to put the tonics on the table, and then said, "Imperial Physician Lu is at the manor. I'll have him prescribe some cooling pills and ointments for you." He then instructed Yuanbao.
Wang Qingyao was puzzled, "I'm fine."
Xiao Yun smiled and explained, "For your wedding day."
With the wedding dress layers upon layers, it was indeed possible for the future Princess Consort to suffer from heatstroke. Wang Qingyao hadn't thought of preparing any medicine, only considering getting a fan.
She and her boss indeed had a gap in their thinking.
Yuanbao returned after a considerable time. It turned out that Imperial Physician Lu had also come along.
Ever since Wang Qingyao had diagnosed Zuo Yun's pregnancy last time, Imperial Physician Lu had marveled at the younger generation's prowess and had long wanted to spar with her in medical skills.
Hearing from Yuanbao that she was here, he immediately followed.
However, he was old, and walking such a distance in the heat slowed him down.
The current situation was somewhat complicated. Imperial Physician Lu wanted to duel with Wang Qingyao, Wang Qingyao couldn't meet Xiao Yun, and Xiao Yun didn't want to leave, wanting to watch the show. After a stalemate, Wang Qingyao said, "Imperial Physician Lu, I don't know much about medicine. Last time, I just guessed. If you don't believe me, we can have another match next time. Today is really inconvenient."
Since the future Princess Consort had said so, Imperial Physician Lu couldn't insist. However, he didn't believe Wang Qingyao's words. How could someone who knew nothing about medicine guess that a woman was pregnant?
The granddaughter-in-law of Duke Zhongyong had said that Miss Wang the Second was very confident and certain at the time.
Wang Qingyao asked Yinzhu to get the ointment and pills, covered her face with a handkerchief, and quickly slipped out of Prince Ding'an's residence.
Upon returning to the Wang manor, Old Madam Wang, as usual, summoned her and asked what the various masters in the palace had said and if anything special had happened.
Wang Qingyao naturally did not mention the matter of the jade pendant. She recounted trivial things.
The old madam was quite satisfied, feeling that Nanny Nian had taught her etiquette very well, and she had not embarrassed the family.
Wang Qingyao then took the opportunity to ask for Nanny Nian to be the head nanny in her courtyard and accompany her into Prince Ding'an's residence.
The old madam paused for a moment and said, "How can that be? She is not a servant of the Wang family." After a pause, she shifted into a more comfortable position, "Actually, I have been looking for a head nanny for you these past few days. In the outer courtyard, there is Nanny Hua. Her husband is a stableman for your eldest uncle. She previously managed the residence in Yuhua Lane and is quite capable. Let her go with you to Prince Ding'an's residence."