Chapter 14: My Younger Brother's Illness

  "Just pretend I'm asking for a personal favor, okay? Are you not going to grant it, Sister Lihua? If Master and Mistress were to blame me, I'll take full responsibility!" Yao Cunhui said with a smile.

  On the side, Yao Shizan's pale lips were tightly pursed, her eyes wide with tension as she stared at Li Xiang, her small face full of longing and expectation.

  "Alright, alright! Just this once, don't make it a habit." Yao Cunhui had already said as much, what more could Lixiang say?

  Yao Shizan was overjoyed and waved her small hands excitedly, cheering happily.

  "Alright, don't take this as a precedent." Yao Cunhui smiled wryly, feeling both bitter and sour in her heart.

  She must think of a way to solve this matter immediately!

  As long as Yao Shizan is still "ill", she has no way to stop Lixiang and Qingxiang from forcing him to take medicine, even if she clearly knows that this is poison, she can only watch him drink it with her eyes open.

  Because she had no reason to stop him.

  Accompanied Yao Shizan for a stroll in the courtyard, seeing that he was somewhat tired, Yao Cunhui personally helped him lie down before leaving Mingfeng Pavilion.

  Before leaving, Yao Shizan tightly grasped her sleeve, with two eyes pitifully begging her: "Second sister, will you come see me again tomorrow, okay?"

  Yao Cunhui's nose turned sour, and she forced a smile as she stroked his icy forehead: "Good boy, sister will come visit you in a few days when I'm free!"

  She also wants to come every day, but she dares not.

  "Oh." Yao Shizan expressed her inexpressible disappointment, and then immediately lifted her spirits again, cleverly nodding: "I'll definitely drink my medicine obediently, Second Sister, you come whenever you're free!"

  "Uh-huh!" Yao Cunhui nodded, heaven knows how much effort she had to put in to hold back the urge to erupt after hearing that sentence "Drink your medicine obediently".

  Returning to Luomei Courtyard, Yao Cunhui immediately summoned Honglian into the bedroom and asked her how much silver money she could use.

  Hong Lian saw the question and immediately brought out the box where she had been keeping her silver money, saying with difficulty: "Everything is here! In the past, Miss's monthly allowance was managed by Hong Zhi, do you want to call Hong Zhi over to ask?"

  Yao Cunhui shook her head and said, "No need to! Since we're all here, what's the point of asking Hongzhi again? Can't get back the silver that's gone who-knows-where from her hands? Besides, she's already cold-shouldering her, if we take the initiative to ask her questions, won't it be a waste of previous efforts?"

  Yao Cunhui counted the scattered silver coins, even the copper plates and red shells were counted clearly one by one. As a result, there were less than three taels of silver in total!

  This is all her family property!

  So poor! Yao Cunhui smiled bitterly.

  "Is it really gone?"

  "... is"

  "What's some valuable jewelry?"

  Hong Lian shook her head and saw Yao Cunhui so anxious and urgent, she felt very sad in her heart.

  "It can't be helped!" Yao Cunhui saw her like this and smiled, comforting her with a light tone. Since there was no silver, the path she had thought of in her heart would not work, so she could only think again and find another way.

  Yao Cunhui didn't know that her entire family fortune, which was less than three taels of silver, also included Hong Lian's monthly allowance...

  Two days later, Qian Si Fang indeed sent over four sets of new clothes for the current season. The fabrics were top-notch, the patterns were trendy, and the tailoring was first-rate. When Yao Cun Hui put them on, Hong Lian couldn't help but exclaim in admiration, she was so delighted that she almost shed tears! Since the passing of the former madam, Miss had never worn such fine clothes before! Even Hong Zhi couldn't help but offer a few words of praise.

  Yao Cunhui smiled slightly and sighed softly, saying: "Actually, as long as our family lives in harmony, I really don't want to fight over these things or grab them!"

  "Second Miss, you have a kind heart, I've always known that!" Hong Lian gently smoothed out the small wrinkles on her shoulder.

  "Second Miss, Big Miss will definitely be delighted to see Second Miss in this dress. Why not go to Yinfangyuan and let Big Miss have a good time too?" Hongzhi saw that Yao Cunhui did not dislike her speaking up, so she quickly smiled and fawned again.

  She was the person Ma put beside Yao Cunhui. If she couldn't get Yao Cunhui's favor and trust to reuse, what use would Ma have for her? The current Yao Cunhui is no longer the Yao Cunhui of the past. She naturally didn't dare show off in front of her again. She had to lower her posture, fawn on Yao Cunhui, and rebuild his trust in her.

  "Hongzhi is right, Second Miss, let's go!" Honglian's eyes lit up and she said happily. Honglian has always been straightforward and never had any ulterior motives. Although Hongzhi used to like to order people around and be bossy, on the surface, she didn't do anything that would actually harm Ya Cunhui in front of her. So Honglian simply thought it was a matter of personality and never suspected her sinister intentions.

  "Loss of red branches reminds, go, let's go!" Yao Cunhui also smiled, his eyes swept over the red branches, with a hint of friendly and shallow smile.

  Hongzhi was overjoyed and her confidence grew, she hastily said: "I'll order Xiaoli and Xiao Xing to take care of the house, I'll go with Honglian to accompany Miss!"

  "This time you just need to accompany me, and let Honglian stay behind to watch the house! You two are my big helpers by my side, remember, no matter what, one of you must always stay behind to guard the house. If something urgent comes up and you can't help but go out, be sure to lock the gate!"

  Hong Lian nodded in agreement and replied softly, while Hong Zhi accompanied her with a smile: "Second Miss is also too careful, this is in the mansion, where would it be stolen?"

  "This is my bottom line, what's it to you? Got a problem with that?" Yao Cunhui gazed at Hongzhi with a hint of a smile. Some people are just like that, give them an inch and they'll take a mile!

  Suddenly startled, Hongzhi's face turned red and hot, she was speechless, she forgot that things are different now than they were in the past!

  "I don't dare!" Hongzhi subconsciously shrunk her shoulders, suddenly feeling that she was as insignificant as a speck of dust in front of this woman.

  "Let's go!" Yao Cunhui hooked her lips and smiled lightly, her willow eyebrows slightly raised, and she walked ahead on her own. Hong Zhi was taken aback, hastily quickening her pace to follow, and timidly reached out to hold onto Yao Cunhui's arm.

  The master and servant had just left the yard when they ran into Yao Cunmei and Ma Qunfang, who were walking in their direction. Both parties naturally stopped in their tracks.

  Yao Cunhui wore an autumn-colored, floral-patterned, cloud-fragrant silk changshan with a soft and smooth texture, exquisite workmanship, and a two-inch wide hem at the neckline, sleeve openings, and front placket, embroidered with delicate, intertwined rose flowers in silver thread. The changshan fell just above her knees, below which was a pale pink, water-droplet patterned long skirt, embroidered with subtle, dark-toned flower clusters, elegant yet charming, and particularly becoming on her.

  Yao Cunmei and Ma Qunfang only felt a flash of light in front of their eyes, facing Yao Cunhui in front of them, both had a moment of loss, followed by a surge of intense jealousy.

  Yao Cunmei raised her chin and let out a cold hum, she really wanted to say something hurtful to Yao Cunhui, but after experiencing Yao Cunhui's sharp tongue, Yao Cunmei subconsciously felt a little afraid of her and didn't dare to mock her.

  "Your cousin looks really beautiful today! Is this the dress that Qian Si Fang just sent over?" Ma Qunfang smiled and looked her up and down, praising her.

  "Really! Let's go tease Big Sis!" Yao Cun Hui smiled: "I was just about to go to Big Sis' place, do you want to come along, Cousin and Third Sister?"

  "If you want to go, just go! We're too lazy to go anyway!" Yao Cunmei curled her lip in disdain.

  "Big sister's wedding dress is embroidered beautifully, the peony flowers look just like real ones, even butterflies are mistaken for real flowers and fly down! Don't cousin and third sister want to take a look?" Yao Cunhui showed off with great pride, as if she was the one who had embroidered such good things.

  "Hah!" Yao Cunmei sneered disdainfully, coldly saying: "Ignorant! There's never been such a thing! Fakes are ultimately fake, and butterflies wouldn't be so blind, unless someone deliberately made it mysterious, sprinkling on some fragrance powder! Fabricating lies, what's the point of that!"

  Although Yao Cunmei was sharp-tongued and had eyes on the top of her head, it could not be denied that her embroidery skills were extremely high, even surpassing those of Yao Cunjia. This was also something that she and Ma Shi took great pride in. Ma Shi felt comforted by this and thought that he hadn't wasted all that silver inviting masters to teach her.

  "Suit yourself!" Yao Cunhui's expression was clear: you can't have the grapes, so you say they're sour. She shrugged and smiled slightly.

  Yao Cunmei's anger suddenly flared up, and she shouted: "Go if you want to go! I'd like to see just how capable our elder sister really is!"

  Yao Cunhui smiled slightly and said with infinite admiration: "Elder sister's skills are indeed beyond reach!" This stimulated Yao Cunmei to almost jump up.

  In the courtyard of Yaofang, Yao Cun Jia saw a brand new Yao Cun Hui and his eyes lit up. He was surprised and delighted to hold her hand, with a warm smile from the bottom of his heart, warmly surrounding Yao Cun Hui.

  Yao Cunhui smiled at her.

  "A few sisters have come to see me, but it's truly rare for you all to come. Quickly, please take a seat!" Yao Cunhui warmly greeted the three as they sat down and ordered Green Lotus and Green Leaf to pour tea.

  In front of Yao Cunmei and Ma Qunfang, she also didn't dare to be overly close to Yao Cunhui.

  "What good tea is there in the Yao Cun Mei's house? Why would Yao Cun Mei care about the tea here? She didn't even bother to take a look, and directly asked: 'I heard that big sister's embroidered flowers can attract butterflies, I don't know if it's true or not? Let me open my eyes too!'"

  "How can it be fake? Don't believe me, go and see for yourself. What's the point of such beautiful flowers attracting butterflies?" Yao Cunhui spoke up firmly before Yao Cunjia could say anything.

  Yao Cun Jia naturally wouldn't lose face in front of his own younger sister, so he just glanced at Yao Cun Hui and smiled it off, which was equivalent to acknowledging her.

  "Is that so? Then I'd like to see just how true it is!" Yao Cunmei hummed softly as she got up and walked towards the embroidery frame in front of the moonlit window. Ma Qunfang followed her over.

  On the embroidery frame is a pillowcase, embroidered with peony flowers opening for wealth and nobility. Next to it is a bamboo basket woven from bamboo strips, inside which are placed balls of five-colored silk threads.

  "Hey, be careful, you'll dirty sister's dowry!" Yao Cunhui had always been wary of Yao Cunmei, and seeing her walk by made his heart tighten, so he hastily followed after her.

  "Look, it won't lose any flesh! It's even worse than my craftsmanship, nothing special—" Yao Cunmei said disdainfully, and accidentally pushed Yao Cunhui back, Yao Cunhui lost his balance, the teacup in his hand suddenly fell, a whole cup of tea poured into the bamboo basket, ruining a whole basket of silk threads!

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