My Sister Insisted on Swapping Marriages, and I Became a Marchioness Instead

Chapter 237: You Won’t Live Alone Either

"Replacing the plum tree with a peach tree?"

Nanny Zhao truly had no idea that Sixth Master Gu was so resourceful and clever.

After she held her breath and listened to Sixth Master Gu’s grand plan, a thought inevitably surfaced in her mind—wasn’t this a trick of deceitful substitution? When did it become a strategy of replacing the plum with the peach?

But regardless of the name of this plan, it seemed there was no other choice.

With a troubled expression, Nanny Zhao agreed, saying, "It will trouble Sixth Master, as long as the master’s illness can be cured, I will do anything."

Gu Jingjun, learning from past lessons, repressed his inner fury and said to Nanny Zhao, "Although I have had some disagreements with Mrs. Xu, she is the mother of my child, my wife, and I am responsible for her. You acted cleverly by hiding the illness, causing everyone to worry about Mrs. Xu. Mother is of old age and still had to be frightened, truly, you overstepped."

Nanny Zhao hurriedly brought out the excuses she had used to appease Nanny Rong and tried to coax Sixth Master Gu.

But to her surprise, Gu Jingjun frowned, looking at her coldly with his peach blossom eyes, and said, "Do you think saying these things will make me believe you? I can see through Mrs. Xu’s intentions at a glance. Is she so mad as to want her child to be motherless at such a young age? Does she want to cause discord between the Gu Family and the Xu family? She has not understood her position for so many years; she is a woman of the Gu Family first, then a daughter of the Xu family. You have followed your master for so many years, and I won’t bother recounting how you usually conduct yourself, but now, in a matter of life and death, are you going to indulge her nonsense?"

Nanny Zhao was speechless.

Sixth Master Gu had a gentle temperament and rarely scolded the servants.

Ordinarily, Sixth Madam often belittled Sixth Master Gu in front of her, calling him incompetent, saying he was foolish and profligate.

Over time, it was inevitable that Nanny Zhao looked down on this master a bit.

Unexpectedly, being scolded harshly by Sixth Master Gu, she couldn’t say a word.

The Gu Family remains the Gu Family after all.

In the end, Nanny Zhao had no choice but to kneel on the ground, crying and pleading for mercy, "I dare not do it again, please relieve your anger, Sixth Master."

Sixth Master Gu left a message, "Then do your work well and redeem yourself, otherwise if anything happens to your master, you won’t live alone, even if I can forgive you, can my third brother?"

Nanny Zhao trembled.

When Sixth Madam Gu woke up, she found out that her daughter’s condition had relapsed a bit, but fortunately, Doctor Li had come over to administer some acupuncture and stabilized her.

Nanny Zhao said, "Upon hearing that Young Miss’s condition had relapsed a bit, Sixth Master has been waiting outside the courtyard, continually reminding this old servant to take good care of the young master and madam."

Sixth Madam Gu smiled and said, "He still cares for the children."

Nanny Zhao continued, "Sixth Master urged the marquis to invite Doctor Wang from outside, initially wanting to invite the dean from the Imperial Hospital, but eventually got the dean’s disciple."

Sixth Madam Gu, feeling much more spirited, asked, "Where is the person?"

Nanny Zhao said, "The person is arranged to stay in the outer courtyard, saying that they will come to diagnose when madam is convenient."

Sixth Madam Gu said, "Quickly invite him over, what is there to delay at this time?"

Nanny Zhao said, "Sixth Master was dissatisfied with Doctor Wang being young and not the dean, and has been urging the marquis to find someone better. The marquis said that with the outbreak of smallpox in the mansion, few are willing to come, better to let him take a look first, and look for a good doctor once the epidemic is over."

Sixth Madam Gu chuckled lightly, "The marquis is right, there are not many imperial physicians who dare to come to the marquis mansion now, let him take a look first, Sixth Master, he is... indeed lacks understanding of general affairs."

Nanny Zhao’s expression was somewhat complex.

Before long, Doctor Wang came with a medicine chest. He was a tall, young man with some stubble on his face. Perhaps because he rarely entered the inner courtyards of official families, Doctor Wang spoke little and was somewhat restrained in his actions.

Sixth Madam Gu, forcing herself to meet him ceremonially, then had Nanny Zhao explain the condition and placed a wrist pillow on the table for him to feel the pulse.

Doctor Wang sat on half the seat with his body tilted, not daring to look directly at Sixth Madam Gu. His fingers for pulse diagnosis had some thin calluses, and his skin was somewhat sallow, with nails cut short and bare.

Sixth Madam Gu found it strange, but didn’t bother asking.

After feeling the pulse for a while, Doctor Wang finally spoke, and what he said was much like Doctor Li’s, only the condition was much more severe than before.

Nanny Zhao anxiously asked, "Is this illness curable?"

Doctor Wang pondered for a moment and said, "There’s a connection between patient and healer, if Sixth Madam trusts me, try taking medicine for a few days, if there’s improvement, continue the treatment. To be honest, madam’s illness requires restful recuperation, less worry and less stress. Someday, when you can eat and sleep well, this illness will be cured."

Sixth Madam Gu stopped Nanny Zhao and said, "No more questions, let Doctor Wang prescribe the medicine."

Nanny Zhao escorted Doctor Wang out to write the prescription, asked about dietary restrictions, and saw him out.

Returning, Nanny Zhao told Sixth Madam Gu, "Doctor Wang’s words were much like Doctor Li’s but the prescription is different. I have already ordered someone to decoct the medicine."

Sixth Madam Gu became exhausted again, lying softly on the couch, saying, "That’s good, now that I am so ill, it’s just a dead horse being treated as if it were alive."

Nanny Zhao’s tears fell at once.

Sixth Madam Gu said, "Nanny, don’t cry, if anything happens to me, the young masters and misses will depend on you to help them. Sixth Master is soft-hearted, and if he marries a new wife, he might forget me, though he is close to the children, with the Old Madam watching over, hopefully, things won’t be too bad."

Nanny Zhao sobbed and said, "At this time, why think about these things, the imperial physician has said, think less, worry less, it is just taking a few doses of medicine to get well, why so pessimistic."

Sixth Madam Gu sighed weakly, "If anything happens to me, I fear my brother won’t retrieve the pepper he obtained, tens of thousands of taels of silver, it’s truly painful."

Nanny Zhao paused, then quickly added fuel to the fire, saying, "Madam is utterly right, the Xu family already resents us for Zhenzhen, they will surely swallow the money. The housekeeper mamas in the mansion have contributed silver as well, this old servant even put in several hundred taels herself, if the Xu family turns their back, this money might even have to come from madam’s dowry."

Sixth Madam Gu gritted her teeth.

When drinking the medicine, she had a bit of a decisive demeanor.

The unspeakable heaviness in Nanny Zhao’s heart lightened.

Qin Yuan, upon hearing that Sixth Madam Gu was taking her medicine obediently, felt much relieved.

She had a simple dinner and, under the lamplight, carefully wrote a memorial, her eyebrows more relaxed than they had been during the day.

Hong Ye had been buried in the small room all day long accounting, seeing her in this state, she grabbed Cui Ming for a careful inquiry, and upon learning it was due to Sixth Madam Gu’s illness, she said, "Sixth Madam brought this upon herself, why is Miss worried?"

Cui Ming poked Hong Ye with a finger, "We have a clear conscience, but who knows? With the mansion sealed and Sixth Madam’s courtyard locked, if anything happens to her, who will take responsibility? The Xu family resents our marquis house because of Miss Zhen, won’t that cause a huge uproar? I gather from Miss that there is concern about the marquis mansion being criticized, otherwise, would Miss have such a hard time writing this memorial? I’ve seen her revise it several times."