The Lucky Heiress

Zhu Zongyu’s explanation cleared up Wei Ruo’s previous doubts.

His argument was reasonable and well-founded, devoid of any flaws.

The details fit the logic and were consistent with what Wei Ruo had discovered.

As Wei Ruo fell silent, Zhu Zongyu took the initiative and said, “As the son saved my life, I will definitely provide a generous reward. I beg you to care for me until I am healed and, once I have contacted my family to arrange for their arrival, I will prepare lavish gifts.”

Zhu Zongyu looked sincerely at Wei Ruo who said, “A generous reward is unnecessary, a little medical expense money is enough, and don’t bring any trouble for me.”

“Rest assured, my only desire is to live. Moreover, you are my benefactor, I am nowhere near expressing enough gratitude; I certainly won’t deliberately cause any trouble for you,” Zhu Zongyu said.

Wei Ruo looked at Zhu Zongyu for a while, then said, “You should rest well. You are not allowed to leave your bed in the next few days. If you need anything, ask Manager Yu; he will take care of your daily life.”

Zhu Zongyu’s gaze shifted to the nearby Manager Yu, he thanked him, saying,

“I am deeply grateful for your life-saving grace.”

“I merely lent a helping hand, I can’t take credit for saving your life. Your savior is our young master,” Manager Yu quickly responded.

After giving a few more instructions to Manager Yu, Wei Ruo left.

Upon Wei Ruo’s departure, Manager Yu looked at Zhu Zongyu on the bed and lamented, “Master Zhu, you truly are lucky. With such severe injuries, most people wouldn’t survive. It was fortunate that you encountered our young master, giving you a chance to reclaim your life.”

“Your young master is a doctor?” Zhu Zongyu asked.

“Our young master knows some medical skills, but he does not practice medicine outside. Once you recover and leave, please do not casually mention it to others,” Manager Yu warned.

“Alright, I’ll remember that,” Zhu Zongyu said.

Speaking, Manager Yu could not help but mutter, “Our young master is a truly good person, not just to Master Zhu, but also to those who are destitute and suffering, those who can’t afford to eat at home, our young master always gives a helping hand whenever he can. Thanks to our master, everyone on the manor had a good year.”

Listening to Manager Yu’s stories, Zhu Zongyu was thoughtful.

After finishing his lamentation, Manager Yu directed his attention back to Zhu Zongyu, “Rest for now, Master Zhu. I will bring you some easily swallowed liquid food soon. Eat a little, as our young master said before he left. You have been kept alive by soup medication these days, your gastrointestinal system is weak and cannot handle too much food at once. You can only have some light porridge.”

“Okay, thank you,” Zhu Zongyu replied.

###

When Wei Ruo returned to the Tianqin Garden, she was enthusiastically surrounded by the three Yuan sisters.

Each of them had prepared gifts for Wei Ruo. Yuan Qiuniang gifted Wei Ruo a brocade bag she had embroidered herself, as she noticed that Wei Ruo often used such bags to carry items and figured that she needed it.

Yuan Jiuniang gifted Wei Ruo a box of rouge, stating that her elder brother had brought it from the Capital City, a place from where one could not buy it in Taizhou prefecture.

Yuan Shiniang gifted Wei Ruo a velvety flower hairpin she made herself.

It was evident that all three of them had carefully chosen their gifts as reciprocation for the loquat syrup, a gesture that should not be too generous, yet not too modest.

“Thank you, your gifts are lovely, I really like them,” Wei Ruo thanked them.

“We should thank Miss Wei. After using the loquat syrup you gave us, our grandmother’s cough has significantly improved. She even sleeps peacefully at night and has been more energetic these past few days,” Yuan Qiuniang said.

“Yes, a few days ago our grandmother was coughing incessantly, a sight that terrified our elders,” Yuan Jiuniang added.

Ailing elders especially fear illness, particularly during the chilly winter months. Even a cough, though seemingly mild, is life-threatening if it worsens.

“Thanks to the loquat syrup, our grandmother has significantly improved. Our father and uncle have praised us greatly for this, going so far as to reward us. This is all thanks to Miss Wei,” Yuan Qiuniang continued.

Seeing all three sisters smiling joyfully, Wei Ruo felt happy.

Thereafter, Yuan Qiuniang mentioned to Wei Ruo, “Yesterday, Old Lady Xiu, our grandmother’s close confidante, came to our house to see our grandmother. After seeing the improvement in her condition, she too wanted this loquat syrup. As such, our grandmother asked us where we got it from. Because we didn’t talk to you in advance, we simply said it was from a good friend and isn’t available anywhere else, but we would have to ask the friend first if we can give her more.”

Yuan Qiuniang was insightful. She perceived from Old Lady Xiu’s behavior yesterday that if she found out who gave them the loquat syrup, she would surely ask for it. In order to avoid putting Wei Ruo in a difficult position, she decided not to reveal this information.

“It’s alright, you can tell her what you just told me, I’ll fetch another jar for you. Just give it directly to Old Lady Xiu,” Wei Ruo generously said.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit. Nihil, obcaecati!

“Wei Ruo, you are truly a wonderful person. We are really very thankful to you this time.” Yuan Qiuniang, representing the three sisters, thanked Wei Ruo again.

“It’s not necessary to be so polite. After all, we are classmates,” Wei Ruo said.

For Wei Ruo, though there were no particular reasons to befriend the three Yuan sisters, she was delighted if they could live in harmony.

“Mmm, if Wei Ruo ever needs our help in the future, don’t hesitate to ask,” Yuan Qiuniang said.

The remaining two sisters nodded in agreement.

“Okay,” Wei Ruo responded with a smile.

Thus, before class ended, Wei Ruo handed a new jar of loquat syrup to Yuan Qiuniang.

After that, Wei Ruo returned to the Military Prefecture.

During dinner, Wei Ruo noticed that Madam Yun seemed off, but she did not particularly want to inquire.

At that moment, Wei Qingwan spoke up, “Mother, are you not feeling well? Is there any discomfort in your body?”

“There’s nothing wrong with me,” Madam Yun denied.

Even though she claimed there was nothing wrong, she did not seem to be doing well.

“Mother, if there’s something wrong, please tell me. I am worried about you,” Wei Qingwan said with concern and heartache.

“There really is nothing wrong,” Madam Yun reemphasized.

If it were anything else, she would investigate but she couldn’t bring herself to speak about this particular matter.

“Mother, I’m really worried about you,” Wei Qingwan’s eyes were sparkling.

This touched Madam Yun’s heart and she instinctively looked toward Wei Ruo.

She noted that Wei Ruo appeared calm, completely oblivious to her troubled expression.

This made Madam Yun’s spirit sink. She was bitterly disappointed with Wei Ruo.

Madam Yun sighed and said, “Wanwan, don’t worry about me. I’m just a bit tired. Once I finish the tasks at hand, I’ll be fine.”

She then addressed Wei Ruo, saying, “As for you, don’t always think about running around outside. Start concerning yourself with matters at home. As the eldest legitimate daughter of the family, you should shoulder the responsibilities you ought to fulfill.”

Wei Ruo responded in a nonchalant tone, as if she failed to notice the dissatisfaction in Madam Yun’s tightly knitted brows..