Unlimited estates for rural beauty-Chapter 129: Interrogating the Hot Pot (5)
"Miss, Baihe has gone to rest, and now it’s Xia Lian and Sister Xia Lan in attendance,"
"...Mm, okay, I know." She watched the sun rise slowly in the east as a new day just began.
"Has Uncle Ma woken up yet?" Sitting beside Uncle Ma’s bed, looking at him still deep in sleep, a wave of distress washed over her.
"Not yet, Baihe said he would wake up in the afternoon when she left." Xia Lian picked up the wet towel to start wiping Uncle Ma’s face.
"Mm, then the two of you will have to work harder today, call me once he wakes up." After giving her instructions to Xia Lan and Xia Lian, she went to Yingsu’s room and nearly cried at the sight of Yingsu lying on the bed.
"Miss," Yingsu struggled to get up to pay respects when she saw the miss had come but was stopped by Feng Xuxu.
"Lie down quickly, and recover your health as soon as possible." She helped Yingsu back down and properly covered her with the blanket. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂
"Miss..." Yingsu started with a choked voice.
"What’s this, crying? If you keep crying, you won’t look pretty anymore." Feng Xuxu took out a handkerchief to wipe the tears from Yingsu’s eyes.
"Miss, I really shouldn’t, I can do it myself." She took the handkerchief from the miss, head bowed in shame—it was her first time crying since she’d grown up.
"Don’t tell Xiao Chen about what happened last night."
"Miss, why?" Yingsu asked, her eyes still wet with undried tears.
"It’s all right now; telling him would only make him worry more." Feng Xuxu didn’t want to distract Xiao Chen.
"I have something here, give this to Xiao Chen, he will need it." Feng Xuxu took out Panpan’s confession, which she had prepared early in the morning, and handed it to Yingsu to pass along to Xiao Chen.
"Okay, I will send it out as soon as possible." She took the letter and tucked it safely into her bosom.
"You should focus on healing your wounds quickly, don’t fret, and if you need anything, just ask nurse Feng."
"Yes, miss, I will recover as soon as I can," she said, baring a row of small teeth, bewitching and lively, a stark contrast to her usually cold beauty.
Feng Xuxu left the Lotus Garden and walked along. Every house servant she encountered greeted her, each beaming with joy, which genuinely delighted Feng Xuxu.
"Big brother, why haven’t you eaten yet?" She saw her elder brother still sitting there when she arrived at the dining room, the food on the table untouched.
"I’m not very hungry," he said, ladling a bowl of rice porridge for his little sister.
"Brother, I can do it myself; you go ahead and eat." She took the bowl from her brother’s hand and tasted a spoonful—sticky and fragrant with the smell of rice.
"After eating, let’s go hang up couplets and window decorations," her brother said casually, having finished eating. He set down his utensils and spoke to his sister.
"Okay, and after that, let’s visit Dad and Mom’s graves."
"Mm, okay." They ate briefly, then together made a symbolic gesture of hanging couplets on the manor’s main gate.
Armed with a basket full of offerings—favorites of their late parents—the two hadn’t been out for a moment before they reached the gravesite. They cleared the grass nearby, added more soil to the grave mounds, and wiped the dust off the tombstones before kneeling to arrange food and wine for their parents.
"Dad, Mom, my sister and I have come to visit. Life is good now, thanks to my sister’s blessings. There’s no need for you to worry about us anymore. Jiaojiao and I are engaged, and after the warmth of spring blossoms next year, I will bring her here to kowtow to you."
After burning paper offerings and bowing several times, brother and sister walked back home hand in hand.
Early on the first day of the new year, the manor’s gates were nearly broken down by the throngs of people from two villages who seemed to have agreed to all come early in the morning. They greeted each other outside, exchanging fortunate words, each face beaming with festive cheer.
