High-class maid

"Auntie, let's talk this out. Don't get upset. Hua Rong hasn't seen you in a long time. She asked me about you the other day." Seeing the tense atmosphere between the two, Madam Miao quickly tried to appease them.

The old lady snorted but didn't reply. The first wife sat beside her, seemingly deferring to the old lady.

"By the way, what about the brothers Yi'an and Yizhou? Erfeng hasn't seen them for many years and misses them very much," Miao asked.

“Yizhou isn’t in the manor; he’s gone to visit his friend. Yi’an got a new book a few days ago and is reading it in his study right now. I even had someone bring him his meals.” The First Madam’s expression finally softened when her son was mentioned.

"Auntie, may I go see my cousin Yi'an? I happened to bring a few books with me, which I think will be helpful for his studies," Xiao Erfeng asked, bowing his head.

The First Madam glanced at the Old Madam and, seeing that she did not object, instructed the servants to take Erfeng to Xiao Yi'an's courtyard. After all, it was within their residence, and he alone could not cause any major trouble.

Unfortunately, the lady's head maid was having an upset stomach, and when Xiao Erfeng came out, only Lümo was outside the door.

"Young master, is there anything you need?" Green Ink stepped forward and asked respectfully.

Xiao Erfeng gave her a crooked smile and said, "Let's go!"

Green Ink felt a sense of relief, as if a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Without asking where he was going, he led him directly to the young master's courtyard.

"Young master, this is our young master's study." After leading Xiao Erfeng to the place, Lü Mo turned to leave.

"Wait!" Xiao Erfeng called out to Lümo, then said, "I've never been good with directions. You wait here until I've finished catching up with my cousin, then you can take me back."

Green Ink glanced at the study, unsure if Xiao Yi'an inside had heard, but the young page standing outside the door certainly had. She nodded, standing outside the study with a clear conscience.

“Cousin, it’s been so many years, you still love reading as much as ever.” Xiao Erfeng pushed open the door and sat down on the soft couch opposite the desk, smiling as he spoke.

Xiao Yi'an put the book on the table and continued, "It's been many years since I last saw you, and my cousin is still as unruly as ever."

Xiao Erfeng was taken aback by his words, but then laughed heartily as if nothing had happened.

"Cousin, look, these are some good books I found in Jinling. I'm sure you'll like them." After saying that, she walked over and handed the books to Xiao Yi'an.

Caught off guard, Xiao Yi'an only caught a faint, pleasant fragrance. He paid no attention and casually picked up a book to read.

"Hmm, they are indeed quite good, but I wonder where you found these books? Are they genuine or counterfeit?"

“I specially found this for you, brother. You know that I, your younger brother, have never liked these things. It would be a waste to keep such a good item in my hands. Giving it to you is the best use of it.”

When Xiao Yi'an saw that he rarely said a few nice words, he thought that he had grown up. He was about to stand up and tell the page to serve tea when he suddenly felt dizzy.

"Brother, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?" Xiao Erfeng quickly helped him up, and anyone who didn't know better would think he was genuinely concerned about Xiao Yi'an.

Xiao Yi'an was no fool; he had already guessed that he had fallen into Xiao Erfeng's trap. He tried to push him away, but found that his hands simply wouldn't obey his commands.

"Brother, lie down here and rest for a while. I'll go call someone," Xiao Erfeng said, helping him to the soft couch. Then, he opened the door and instructed the young page.

"Your young master is not feeling well, go and inform the madam immediately."

The young page was skeptical, but seeing his hesitation, Xiao Erfeng opened the study door and said, "Hurry up! If you delay the young master's treatment, and the madam blames you, I won't defend you!"

The young page looked inside and saw that his young master was indeed lying there. Without thinking, he ran away.

"Old Madam, Madam, the young master's page requests an audience." Danxue's voice interrupted the masters as they were speaking in the hall with forced smiles.

Miao wiped her nose lightly with a handkerchief, glanced hurriedly at Liu, and then shut her mouth.

"Let him in."

"Madam, young master is not feeling well. Young Master Erfeng is unsure of what to do and asked me to call you over," the young page said anxiously before he could even stand properly.

"What?! Lead the way at once!" Liu stood up, speaking in a panic. Then, remembering there were other people inside, she cleared her throat and said...

"Aunt, there is an emergency at home. Please excuse the lack of hospitality. Please make yourself at home." After saying this, she instructed her page to lead the way, while she helped the old lady follow behind.

"What are you saying? I watched Yi'an grow up. This child must be tired from reading. I haven't seen him for many years. I'll go with him!"

After Grandma Xiao finished speaking, she reached out her hand to Xiao Huarong, who quickly took her arm, and the group walked over in a grand procession.

The old lady assumed she just wanted to watch the excitement and didn't stop her. At this time, Liu also thought that Xiao Yi'an was tired from reading and just wanted to see his son as soon as possible, so she didn't have time to care about anyone else.

The group hurried towards the front yard. Madam Wang had already sent word through her page to fetch the family physician.

"Feng'er, it's so cold outside. Why aren't you inside taking care of your cousin? What are you doing standing outside the door?" Old Mrs. Xiao asked before her sister-in-law could even speak, seeing her beloved grandson standing outside in the cold wind.

Xiao Erfeng scratched his head awkwardly, pointed inside the room, and didn't say anything.

The First Madam realized something was wrong, so she told everyone to wait where they were and then quietly pushed open the door and went inside.

When she saw Green Ink on the soft couch, she felt a rush of anger to her head. Forgetting all propriety and shame, she slapped Green Ink across the face.

"Ah! Madam, why are you hitting me!" Green Ink screamed, wrapping herself in the blanket and trying to crawl inside.

Hearing the commotion, everyone outside guessed what had happened. Their expressions varied, and Wang, who had rushed over with the royal physician, waved him away.

Xiao Yi'an was also awakened by Lü Mo's voice. He looked at his angry mother in front of him, then at Lü Mo wrapped in a blanket, and recalled everything that had happened before he lost consciousness. He immediately realized that he had been tricked.

"I'm going to beat you up, you shameless slut! Of all the things you could do, you had to scheme against your master. Don't you even look in the mirror and see how much you're worth? Do you really think I'm easy to manipulate?"

After saying that, he slapped Lümo across the face twice more. This time, Lümo didn't dare to scream anymore and just kept hiding behind Xiao Yi'an.

Xiao Yi'an rose with disgust, then knelt on the ground and said, "Mother, this is all my fault. I never imagined that Xiao Erfeng would be so vicious as to drug me!"