novelraw Chapter 458 - 436: This is going too far (1)
Chapter 458 - 436: This is going too far (1)
Li Yuzhu reached out to touch her face, "You’re too thin now. I’m worried that after treating your illness, your body won’t be able to take it, and you’ll recover slowly. Instead of recovering slowly and taking a year to get better, it’s better to rest for three days, eat well, nourish your body, and then recover quickly."
Compared to waiting a year to recover, Fifth Miss Zhao chose to wait three days.
"Alright, I’ll eat first, and then treat myself after my body is well-nourished," said Fifth Miss Zhao.
Li Yuzhu smiled, "That’s right." She went to open the door, "Sister-in-law Chai, Lily, Bita, Fifth Miss Zhao wants to eat something."
Sister-in-law Chai was very happy and urged Lily, "Quick, go prepare something to eat."
Lily breathed a sigh of relief, "Okay, I’ll bring it right away."
She happily ran to the main kitchen of the mansion.
Sister-in-law Chai and Bita walked into the bedroom.
Chai Tianlang was very well-behaved, knowing he was there to visit a patient, sat on a chair playing with a beauty hammer, without making any noise.
"Miss, do you want something to drink? I just brewed some warm tea, would you like a little?" Bita asked Fifth Miss Zhao cautiously and excitedly.
"No need, go play with Tian Lang. Having Cousin Yun and Miss Li with me is enough." Fifth Miss Zhao glanced at Chai Tianlang, who sat obediently playing, and shook her head.
Previously, she had never cared for children. Ever since Qian the fourth said she was barren and couldn’t conceive, her heart had collapsed.
So, children held such an important existence.
Sister-in-law Chai saw her staring at Chai Tianlang and called him over, "Tian Lang, come here to play."
Chai Tianlang slid off the chair and ran over to the bed with a smile, "Mom."
"Come and talk to your fifth aunt." Sister-in-law Chai pulled Chai Tianlang to the bedside.
Fifth Miss Zhao looked at Chai Tianlang with a smile, "Haven’t seen you in over half a year, you’ve grown taller and stronger."
Chai Tianlang was not modest, "Yes, everyone praises me because I eat a lot, so I’ve grown tall and strong. Fifth aunt, you should eat more too, so you can grow tall and strong."
This innocent child talk made Fifth Miss Zhao laugh.
Bita sighed in her heart, ever since her lady was divorced, this was the first time she had shown a smile in many days.
Fifth Miss Zhao smiled, and everyone else in the room felt much better.
Everyone chatted with Fifth Miss Zhao.
However, after discussing three topics, Lily still didn’t bring the food.
Sister-in-law Chai glanced towards the door and couldn’t help saying, "It’s past lunch, and dinner time isn’t here yet, so the kitchen should be quite idle. How come Lily has taken so long and hasn’t returned?"
Li Yuzhu looked at the hourglass on the table; they had been chatting for three quarters of an hour, enough time to prepare a whole meal.
Bita stood up, "I’ll go check."
Sister-in-law Chai and Miss Li didn’t know the situation in this mansion, but they did. If Lily didn’t come back for a long time, she must have been troubled by the kitchen staff.
Although Fifth Miss Zhao hadn’t eaten or drunk for the past few days, as maids, they still brought meals on time and would take them to the kitchen occasionally to heat them up.
The first day was fine, but by the second day, the kitchen staff started giving them looks.
Fifth Miss Zhao was ill, and these two maids were upset but couldn’t tell Fifth Miss Zhao.
Without anyone to back them up, the kitchen staff grew more and more dismissive, treating them more and more negligently each day.
The meals served were getting worse and worse.
What could they do?
When the mother didn’t care for her daughter, how could the servants be respectful to Fifth Miss Zhao?
If they weren’t respectful to Fifth Miss Zhao, how could they respect these maids?
Bita sighed in her heart, just hoping Fifth Miss Zhao would recover quickly and be tough on the servants, so their lives as master and maids would be easier.
At the kitchen, Bita indeed saw Lily arguing with the cooks.
A cook sat on the open ground in front of the kitchen, leisurely plucking feathers from a chicken, while Lily urged her to make a meal for Fifth Miss Zhao first.
"Master Zhao is entertaining guests tonight; I have to hurry and slaughter, clean, and stew the chicken. The afternoon is more than half gone, and if I don’t start stewing now, it won’t be ready in time. This is an old hen; it won’t stew tender in less than two hours. If we delay Master Zhao’s guests, can you take responsibility?" The cook sneered.
Another cook making dumplings said, "Do you still think this is the Qian Family, where you can order as you please? This is the Zhao family, not your Qian Family!"
In this mansion, who doesn’t know Fifth Miss Zhao was abandoned by the Qian family? The way these two cooks talked, it was clearly mocking Fifth Miss Zhao.
Lily, furious, rolled up her sleeves and stepped forward to argue. The dumpling cook sneered, "Oh, what’s the matter, miss? Want to fight?"
She looked disdainful.
Bita walked over, held down Lily, and smiled apologetically at the dumpling cook, "Auntie, don’t be angry, how dare she hit you? She saw you were busy and thought of making the food herself."
"Then you can do it yourselves." The cook wrapping dumplings cast a cold eye at them.
Lily glared angrily at Bita, who signaled back to her.
Lily pouted, secretly glared back at the two cooks, and indeed rolled up her sleeves to start looking for ingredients.
Only Fifth Miss Zhao was dining, and having gone hungry for three days, she shouldn’t eat anything too oily or filling, so they decided to make a bowl of steamed eggs.
Lily broke three eggs into a bowl and quickly started stirring them.
On the other side, Bita was not idle either; she ladled water into the pot and placed a bamboo sieve inside for steaming.
Lily finished beating the eggs and put them in the pot, covering it with a lid, while Bita lit the fire.
The maids busied themselves together, and those two cooks exchanged glances, sneeringly pursed their lips, focusing only on their own tasks, ignoring Bita and Lily.
The two finished steaming the eggs, and Lily found a small tray to carry them to Fifth Miss Zhao’s quarters.
"What took you so long?" Fifth Miss Zhao asked immediately when she saw them return.
On the way, the two had agreed not to mention anything about the kitchen to Miss Zhao.
Someone already in a bad mood would only risk falling ill again if further angered.
"Oh, the cook was cleaning, making a mess of the kitchen, so we had to wait until they tidied up before we could start cooking," Lily said with an awkward smile.
After wanting to eat, Fifth Miss Zhao suddenly realized her hunger, too hungry to think straight, as the dizziness set in, slowing her thoughts. She didn’t delve deeply into the maids’ words and simply said, "Bring it over."
Lily brought the egg custard over and placed it on the bedside table.
Fifth Miss Zhao refused to be fed; she picked up the spoons and started eating.
Sister-in-law Chai watched her eat, occasionally reminding her to eat slowly.
Chai Tianlang helped by blowing on it, "I’ll help cool it down for Auntie Five."
Fifth Miss Zhao took a spoonful and scooped one up to feed Chai Tianlang.
Chai Tianlang shook his head, "I’m not hungry; I had a bowl of rice and a meatball at noon."
Sister-in-law Chai concurred, "Auntie Five, don’t mind him; just eat yourself."
Fifth Miss Zhao continued eating, chatting occasionally with Chai Tianlang.
Only Li Yuzhu paid attention to the expressions of the two maids.
She noticed that the two maids were secretly exchanging glances, their expressions tinged with anger.
Could it be that they had been upset in the kitchen for so long?
Once Fifth Miss Zhao finished eating, Li Yuzhu prescribed some supplements for her.
"I’ll come back in three days," Li Yuzhu said, "For the next few days, don’t worry about anything; whether someone mocks you or insults you, just pretend you didn’t hear anything. Eat well, sleep well, and rest well, so I can treat your illness. Your recovery will be swift only when you’re in a good physical condition."
The two maids standing guard also chimed in, "Yes, yes, Miss must maintain a good mood."
Of course, Fifth Miss Zhao wanted to get better quickly, so she nodded, "Alright, I’ll listen to you."
After leaving Fifth Miss Zhao’s quarters, Li Yuzhu and Sister-in-law Chai visited Old Mrs. Zhao, then went to say goodbye to Mrs. Zhao.
When they came to see Mrs. Zhao, they happened to encounter her on her way out of the courtyard, leaving Mrs. Zhao with no choice but to meet them.
She smiled awkwardly and said, "Are you heading back? I’m busy, so I won’t see you off."
She didn’t even offer the customary invitation to stay for dinner.
Sister-in-law Chai gently raised her lips in a smile, "Yes, seeing Auntie Five better, we’re heading back."
"You’ve been considerate; she’s stubborn, just like that. You don’t need to mind," Mrs. Zhao said perfunctorily.
Li Yuzhu looked up at Mrs. Zhao. How could this woman be so indifferent to her own daughter?
"Also, Auntie Five just had a bowl of steamed egg custard. Miss Li checked her condition and said there’s not much of a problem; she’ll greatly improve after treatment," Sister-in-law Chai added.
Mrs. Zhao’s expression remained indifferent, "Understood, it’s getting late; I have other matters, so you should return as well."
After speaking, she left with the housekeeper and maids.
Sister-in-law Chai glanced at her, nodded to Li Yuzhu, "Let’s go."
After leaving the Zhao family, they got into the carriage, and Sister-in-law Chai sneered, "If Big Aunt were more concerned about Auntie Five, she wouldn’t have seen her trying to harm herself the other day. Fortunately, someone saved her; otherwise..."
She snorted hatefully, too angry to continue.
Thinking about Mrs. Zhao’s character, Li Yuzhu said, "Sister-in-law Chai, we can’t change their mother-daughter relationship, but we can ensure Fifth Miss Zhao’s recovery. Once she’s well, everything else isn’t a big deal."
Sister-in-law Chai thought of the pressing matter and felt much more assured, "Yes, yes, why worry about other things? We should focus on Auntie Five’s health."