Chapter 7: Old Lady Jiang

  Ning Fen watched with a cold eye, secretly sighing in her heart. Fortunately, although Old Lady Jiang was not particularly concerned about the third house, she had never treated them harshly and was quite amiable towards them. However, compared to the first and second houses, Ning Shiboke, this illegitimate son, naturally did not hold any power or influence in the eyes of those in charge, and his wife was even more inconspicuous.

  At this time, Old Lady Jiang turned her gaze to Yu Shi and said: "Sixth Sister is much better now?"

  Yu said with a busy smile: "Yes, yesterday afternoon I invited the doctor to come and take a look, saying that she was fine, so today I hurriedly brought her to pay respects to our ancestors."

  Her voice fell, and only Yuan Shi laughed: "Sixth sister is indeed filial, but today's date must not be missed. Don't mention the old lady, even the daughters-in-law are looking forward to seeing the third old master, I wonder what he looks like now."

  "Alas, he's fallen on hard times, what can you expect? Sigh... I think about it and my heart aches. A fine young master from the Duke's estate, yet he's been drifting outside for half his life. It's hard to imagine how he's managed to get by."

  Yuanshi and Qu furen comforted each other for a few words, then a small maid came in and asked Yuanshi: "Second madam, the kitchen has prepared breakfast, do you want to serve it now?"

  Yuan Shi turned back to ask Old Lady Jiang, "The Third Elder Master doesn't know when he'll arrive. Lian Wang came back yesterday and said he was still fifty miles away. Even if he sets out early today, it will be at least mid-morning before he arrives. I think the master wants to arrange for him to have breakfast outside. Why don't you and the young ladies also eat?"

  Old Lady Jiang nodded, and the maids filed in one by one. Ning Fengbi accompanied Old Lady Jiang to breakfast with her sisters. Qu Fu Ren and Yuan Shi Yu stood before Old Lady Jiang, serving her. The originally lively room was now silent as a ghost town.

  After dinner, everyone washed their hands, and the maid brought tea. Madame Yuan and Madame Rong excused themselves and returned to their rooms for dinner. Old Lady Jiang then chatted with her sisters-in-law.

  Ning Fengbi listened quietly beside her, but her thoughts had already flown to the three old masters who were about to arrive. Suddenly, she heard Old Lady Jiang laugh and say: "Sixth Sister is still so unwilling to speak, this time she's fallen ill, it seems like she's even more reluctant to open her mouth."

  Ning Xianyue smiled and said, "Sixth sister is indeed steady. Yesterday when we went to visit her, she had a lot to say and responded very properly." Just then, Old Lady Jiang chuckled and said, "What a big deal about being steady at such a young age? It's not too late to emphasize it when she's eight or nine years old."

  Ning Fengbi looked up at Old Lady Jiang, and in her heart, she didn't know what kind of feeling it was. In the past, she had only felt that this old lady was biased, not putting the third house in her eyes at all. Now looking back, perhaps in that life, on the surface, she was quiet and gentle, but in her heart, she was still stifled after all, so some concerns were simply unheard of.

  Now that she has been reborn, her mindset has completely relaxed, and she can even feel the kindness and concern from those around her. At least, the old lady is not as selfish as she thought, and she doesn't care about the third house at all.

  Just then, footsteps were heard outside, and it turned out that Madame Qu and others had returned. She originally wanted to say a few words to the old lady, but this interruption also missed the opportunity, so she could only lower her head and continue to pretend to be clever.

  They waited for almost an hour, and even the eloquent Lady Yuan had nothing to say. They sent someone to check at the second gate several times, but there was no news. Just as everyone was getting anxious, they heard the sound of footsteps outside, "thud thud thud", followed by a young servant's voice saying: "Reporting to the old lady, the first lady, the second lady and the third lady, the carriage of the third old master has stopped at the gate and is coming this way.

  "Alright, you go and attend to the gentlemen," said Yuan hastily. She stepped forward and, together with Madame Qu, supported Old Lady Jiang on either side. Seeing tears well up in the old lady's eyes, Yuan also used her handkerchief to dab at the corners of her own eyes as she softly comforted her: "Old lady, this is a joyful occasion, a grand joyful occasion! Don't be sad, take care of your health."

  Yu Shi and the girls, as well as the maidservants, followed Old Lady Jiang out of the door. Before long, they saw a group of people turning from the corridor, among whom an old man with white hair and three long whiskers under his chin was wearing a white silk changshan, walking towards them surrounded by Ning Shilan, Ning Shayuan, and Ning Shiyuan, the three brothers. Seeing Old Lady Jiang and others, the old man quickened his pace, and before he even approached, he knelt down, trembling with voice: "Is it... is it sister-in-law..."

  One sentence made Old Lady Jiang burst into tears, and she hastily told her three sons: "Quickly... quickly help your uncle up."

  Having said that, she carefully looked at the old man and burst into tears: "The world's affairs are unpredictable, and it's so sad to think that from your birth until now, you've only seen each other once. Your brother thought of you every day when he was alive, but unfortunately, he didn't live to see this day..." Before she could finish speaking, she started wailing and beating her chest.

  The old man also cried, tears streaming down his face: "It's all because of my brother's unfilialness. If I had known earlier, I should have come to recognize him sooner. But in those years, my brother was down on his luck and had no one to rely on, he really had no face to see his older brother. Who could have thought that a moment's hesitation would lead to eternal separation between heaven and man..."

  In the Ningxi courtyard, a burst of crying suddenly erupted, and after a long while, Yuan Shi's voice was heard: "Old lady, Third Old Master, everyone stop crying. It's easy to be reunited today, it's a joyful event, it's heaven's blessing. Old lady, please invite Third Old Master into the house quickly."

  Mrs. Jiang suddenly remembered and hastily wiped away her tears, saying: "That's right, look at me, I was so busy crying... Quickly, Lan'er, help your Third Uncle into the house..." After speaking, she yielded to one side, but Old Master San refused to enter before her; in the end, it was still Mrs. Jiang who entered first, followed by Old Master San.

  There was no need to mention the next reunion, and when they talked about their experiences over the years, it was another sad occasion. Fortunately, Yuan's words were quick-witted and often said with a smile, which alleviated much of the sorrowful atmosphere.

  Before long, it was noon, and a banquet was opened in the Fushou Hall. The three old gentlemen had their nephews accompany them to have dinner on the other side of the screen, while the old lady and the girls were inside.

  After finishing lunch, Old Lady Jiang and Third Elder said a few more words, then said: "You're also getting on in years, this trip must have been tiring for you. I heard that previously you were practicing medicine, now that you've returned here, you don't need to worry about food and clothing anymore. If you like it, continue reading your medical books, researching your medical skills. If not, spend your days strolling with the elderly of our clan, looking at books, discussing the world, playing chess... life won't be difficult. I've specially arranged for someone to prepare a courtyard for you in the northeast corner, go take a look and see if it's satisfactory. If there's anything that needs to be added or subtracted, please don't hesitate to let me know. Since you've returned here, naturally you're one of our family members now... I already consider you like a younger brother, only afraid that you won't treat me like an older sister."

  Apologies to everyone, I know this time the update is a bit early, so I couldn't double update, but after becoming a V user, I'll strive to update more often. Please give me some recommendation tickets and clicks, as well as collections, they're all important tools for hitting the new book chart!