tallest building

Chapter 119 Difficult to Recite Sutras

Zhang Ma saw right through Leng Shi at first glance, knowing that she was the kind of person who would use any despicable means to curry favor with those in power.

However, she still had to maintain a facade of harmony, so she said, "Madam Cui, please don't be so polite. Our lady said that sending these things is still too meager."

Because Miss Cui is kind and righteous, she rushed to the manor to report that day when she discovered that villains had kidnapped our fourth young master in the suburbs.

She tirelessly accompanied us in the search for most of the day. When we couldn't find it for a while, Miss Cui stayed at Jingxu Nunnery to continue the search.

How could we not be grateful for such actions? Fortunately, our fourth young master returned safely in the end. Our madam had a scare and has been ill these past few days, but she has not forgotten our second young lady.

Therefore, I repeatedly instructed that this old servant should send over some gifts first, and I hope you will accept them and not refuse them.

After hearing Zhang Ma's words, Leng Shi finally understood the whole story. Although she was unhappy, she knew how to put on an act in front of outsiders, so she quickly said to Cui Baozhu, "My child, you are too tight-lipped. Why didn't you tell me?"
This is a good deed that saves lives, and it also brings good fortune to oneself. As a mother, I'm overjoyed to hear this!

Then she turned to Zhang Ma and said, "Zhang Mama, I'm not bragging, but although my daughter didn't come out of my belly, I love her even more than my own children!"
When I came to this household, she was only seven or eight years old. I practically raised her myself. I always told her that she should be kind to others and have upright character, and she took it all to heart.

Zhang Ma then smiled and said, "Indeed, it is because of Madam's good teaching that the Second Miss has performed such a good deed."

Madam Leng beamed and hurriedly asked Zhang Mama to sit down and ordered someone to serve tea.

Why would Zhang's mother drink her tea? She declined, saying, "We have to go back and report! We won't bother you any longer."

She then said to Cui Baozhu, "Our lady invites the second young lady to visit our residence on the 19th. A carriage will come to pick her up. If the lady and the third young lady are not busy, please come along as well. It will be more lively with more people."

Leng had a son and a daughter. The daughter was the eldest and was three years younger than Cui Baozhu. She also had a twelve-year-old son.

With Leng Shi present, Cui Baozhu did not agree immediately, but instead looked at her stepmother.

Leng was naturally willing to accept such an invitation, saying, "How could I dare refuse your invitation? However, your wife is currently ill and may not have fully recovered by then, so please don't trouble her. As for our two families visiting each other frequently, it's fine to do so anytime."

“Madam, please don’t worry. She will definitely recover by then,” said Zhang Ma. “In that case, it’s settled.”

Leng repeatedly agreed, and Cui Baozhu was also quite happy.

After returning home, Zhang's mother discovered that the young mistress of the Feng family had brought Feng Tianzhu to visit Wen Mingqian.

"Zhang Mama, you're finally back," Madam Wu said with a smile when she saw Zhang Mama. "I brought one of our cooks with me. I'd like you to teach her a couple of medicinal dishes so she can make them for the master and mistress when she gets back."

"When it gets hot, neither of them has a good appetite. The Duke ate a piece of melon a couple of days ago, trying to cool off, and he still has a stomachache."

"Don't worry, young mistress, I'll teach her in a little while," Zhang Ma readily agreed.

Wen Mingqian then asked her, "Did you see the Cui family?"

"We've met Miss Cui and her wife, and we've delivered all the gifts," said Zhang Ma. "They've also agreed to come to our mansion as guests on the nineteenth."

"You want to invite Cui Baozhu?" Madam Wu asked.

“Yes, we should naturally thank them for what happened in Chang’an,” Wen Mingqian said. “Were you busy that day? You should have come early!” “To be honest, I was quite surprised too. I didn’t expect Cui Baozhu to do such a thing. I thought she was just a wicked person, like Song Xiulian!” Wu said. “But her stepmother is not easy to deal with. She’s shrewd and shameless. She’s the kind of person who’s willing to take advantage of anyone.”

“What the young mistress said is true. I think the second wife of the Cui family is also someone who likes to play the abacus.” Zhang Ma said, “No wonder their family has no background, yet they were able to rise to the fifth rank.”

Before the words were even finished, Feng Tianzhu and Gong Chang'an walked in, with Gong Bao'an following closely behind.

"Take it easy running in this heat, look at all this sweat," Wu said, pulling Feng Tianzhu over to wipe his sweat.

“What’s wrong with sweating? Didn’t Physician Liu say that I need to sweat more to alleviate my symptoms?” Feng Tianzhu said. “How long has it been since I last had an attack after playing with Chang’an?”

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Wu said, "That's true. It's been three months already, hasn't it? And she hasn't had a single relapse."

"That's great." Wen Mingqian was also happy for her. "As he gets older and his body becomes stronger, he should be able to get better gradually."

"Oh, I've been dreaming of this day," said Mrs. Wu. "God help him, please let him get better!"

Gong Chang'an stood close to Wen Mingqian, and Wen Mingqian raised his hand to wipe his sweat.

Gong Baoan watched from the side, and his eyes welled up with tears.

Although he was young, he was sensible. No one in the mansion treated him badly, but he had lost his mother, and he always felt lonely and sad.

To this day, he still doesn't know about his birth mother's evil deeds. He only knows that she was originally pregnant with a little brother, but he died later, and then his mother also died.

Seeing others being embraced by their mothers, I can't help but recall the days when I was cherished by Madam Song.

"Bao'an, come here." Wen Mingqian called softly to Gong Bao'an.

When Gong Baoan came up to her, she took his hand and said, "Didn't you say yesterday that you wanted to eat rock sugar dumplings? I've already asked someone to make some, but because they're chilled, you can only eat a little. Eating too many will give you a stomachache."

"Thank you, Madam." Gong Baoan's face immediately lit up with a smile. "I definitely won't eat too much."

"When the weather gets cooler, you can go to the place where Brother Chang'an studies. The two of you will have company while studying and playing with the young master." Wen Mingqian had already made his plans.

"That's wonderful!" Gong Baoan jumped up with joy. "If I can always be with Fourth Brother, I won't be afraid of anything."

"Let's go out and play! Don't disturb the adults' conversation here," Gong Chang'an said. "I have something nice to give you."

Upon hearing this, Madam Wu grabbed him and asked with a smile, "Young master, tell us what good stuff it is?"

"The old man Li who drove us back last time had a bamboo basket in his car with three puppies inside. He was originally going to sell them."

My mother wanted to thank them, but they refused to accept it no matter what. So I suggested exchanging the gifts for the three puppies in the car.

These three puppies, though mixed breeds, are very clever and have already been weaned; they're healthy enough to survive. I was thinking, wouldn't it be great if the three of us each took one?