High-class maid

If you get close to her, you can hear her saying, "My benefactor, my benefactor..."

The second prince's residence.

Song Wenyang looked at the imperial physician taking his pulse. The physician frowned and remained silent. After Song Wenyang finished taking his pulse, he exchanged a glance with another imperial physician, and the two switched places.

After the two princes had both taken his pulse, the second prince asked, "How is his health? Is there anything unusual?"

The older imperial physician replied, "Your Highness, upon examining this young master's pulse, it is weak and feeble, almost imperceptible at the two cun positions, yet seemingly present..."

"What is it? Speak boldly!" the Second Prince asked.

"There seem to be signs of poisoning." After saying this, the imperial physician lowered his head even further.

Even though he had already heard from Song Wenyang that he had been poisoned, the Second Prince still held onto a sliver of hope. Now that it was confirmed by the imperial physician, the Second Prince was truly certain.

"What kind of poison might be diagnosed?" the Second Prince asked.

"The pulse is faint and intermittent, which suggests that the poison was not administered in large quantities. May I ask what discomfort this young master has been experiencing lately?" the imperial physician asked.

"Nothing's different, except I'm dreaming more than usual," Song Wenyang replied after carefully considering his symptoms.

"Your Highness, for now we can only prepare some calming medicine. As for the rest, I need to go back and consult the classics. Because this young master's pulse is unusual, I must be extremely cautious."

"Alright, you may go back now. If you need anything, feel free to send someone to let me know," the Second Prince said.

"Yes." After saying that, the imperial physician ran back like the wind, leaving the young imperial physician to prescribe a calming medicine for Song Wenyang.

Song Wenyang was surprised by how quickly the imperial physician acted, but the Second Prince explained with a smile, "This person has always loved studying medicine. The people in the Imperial Hospital jokingly call him a medical fanatic. You don't need to be offended."

"I see. Thank you very much, Brother Rong. I never thought that even though I was so careful, I would still be poisoned."

"There's no need for such formalities between us. Get well soon, I'm still waiting for your advice!" The Second Prince patted his shoulder and comforted him.

"Do you know who poisoned you? It was your... stepmother."

“Although everyone thinks it was her, I always felt she didn’t have that kind of guts.” Song Wenyang shook his head in denial.

Although his stepmother was bad, she wasn't so vicious as to want him dead.

"Who could it be?" the Second Prince asked, then, realizing his mistake, offered a reassurance.

“Brother Song, there’s no need to be sad. We are in the same boat. I am also not valued by my father. I would rather be poisoned too, at least then he would look at me.”

Song Wenyang patted his shoulder and comforted him, "It will be alright."

"Yes, it will be alright!"

Days passed like flowing water. One day, Wang came to the old lady's courtyard and found Shen Xing'er, who was seeking peace and quiet.

"Mother, what brings you here? Aren't you busy today?" Shen Xing'er asked with delight when she saw Wang Shi.

“A few days ago, I helped Madam deal with some servants related to Zhu Zide. Now that I have some free time, I rushed over to find you,” Madam Wang said, sitting down with Shen Xing’er at the door.

"Speaking of which, aren't you busy? You still have time to slack off here. Be careful Danxue doesn't see you," Wang asked.

"Hehe, Sister Danxue is even more free than me. The maids in Jinling are unwilling to give us a chance to shine." Shen Xing'er said jokingly, resting her chin on her hand.

"Then you should rest more. Once you return to the capital, things won't be so leisurely."

"Mother, did you come to see me because you need something?" Shen Xing'er knew Wang Shi all too well. If it wasn't something, her mother wouldn't have come to the old lady's courtyard to see her. She was afraid that others would say that Shen Xing'er was benefiting from Wang Shi's influence.

“Nothing can be hidden from our Xing’er. I went to see your father the other day. His idea was to use this money to buy a larger courtyard in the capital and use the rest to buy fertile land. I’ve come to ask what your plans are.”

“Well, my daughter thinks it would be better to buy it as a shop, preferably a two-story one, so we can rent it out,” Shen Xing’er suggested.

“That’s a good idea, but if we buy this shop, we can’t buy the big courtyard house. Don’t you want to live in a bigger house?” Madam Wang asked.

“Mother, we don’t have that many people in our family, and besides, we only come home for a few days a month. Instead of this, we should buy a shop.”

“Alright, then we’ll do as my daughter says. We’ll buy a shop when we get back to the capital.” In the end, Madam Wang made the final decision, and the matter was settled.

"But what if my father disagrees?" Shen Xing'er asked worriedly. After all, this wasn't just one or two taels of silver, but a whole hundred taels. She should respect Shen Kun's opinion.

“No, he’s a grown man. He should just earn money for the family and be the head of the household. It’s up to us women to be in charge,” Wang said.

"Mother, you are truly a role model for us all. Your daughter must learn from you." Shen Xing'er gave her a thumbs up, which made Wang Shi laugh heartily.

The next day, all the masters ate breakfast together. After the old lady had eaten and drunk her fill, she cleaned her mouth, wiped her lips with a handkerchief, and then said...

"Jiuchuan has sent a letter. We will set off in half a month and arrive in the capital before the weather gets cold."

"Yes, Mother, after living in Jinling for so long, I'm starting to miss the food in the capital," the second wife flattered.

"If it weren't for Yi'an's marriage, we would have gone back after the New Year. It's been so many years since we've celebrated the New Year in Jinling," the old lady said with emotion, recalling the past.

Green Ink, who was serving tea to the masters, paused for a moment, then continued walking downstairs as if nothing had happened. If you looked closely, you could see that her fingertips were white, as if she was restraining something.

"I'm sorry to trouble Mother. Fortunately, the weather isn't too cold now. Once we're in the capital, we can spend the winter here," the First Madam said.

"By the way, I haven't been to our estate in Jinling for years. When your father was alive, he loved taking care of his little plot of land. I used to complain that he was a good-for-nothing, but now I miss it."

The First Madam said, "That's no problem at all. Let me make the arrangements today, and we'll go to the estate tomorrow. We've been in Jinling for so many days, and we haven't even had a chance to go out and see the world yet."

The old lady nodded and said, "I'll leave this matter to you. It'll be a good opportunity to see how well the farmhands are being taken care of. Oh, and don't send any messages to the estate, lest they try to fool me."

"Yes, daughter-in-law understands," the First Madam replied respectfully.

After the First Madam returned to her room, she began to arrange matters for the next day. The Eldest Miss, who was about to return to her room, was also called over by her.

“Sheng’er, you’ve come of age now, it’s time for you to learn these household management skills, so you won’t be clueless when you go to your husband’s family.”

Xiao Luosheng blushed instantly after hearing what her mother said. She murmured, "Mother, what are you saying? I'm still young."

"Forget it, you're just trying to flatter me. You can handle the carriage arrangements tomorrow," said Madam Wang.

In the second courtyard, the second wife was also busy.

"Madam, this is the third letter that Master has sent you this month. Are you sure you don't want to reply?"