Regent, please maintain your aloof image.

A few days ago, Su Qianrou asked Juxia to check all the accounts of the shops Lin Rong had given her. She found many problems, but because she was busy with the opening of the restaurant, she didn't have time to deal with them until the last two days when she finally had some free time and went to check on each shop.

That day, she was busy until evening before returning home. Just as she was about to enter the house, she heard someone calling her from behind, "Miss." She turned around and saw Wang Yun coming, looking very flustered.

Wang Yun ran up to her, panting heavily.

"Why are you here? Your grandfather's funeral arrangements have all been taken care of."

"Yes, thanks to Miss for asking Brother Li An to help, otherwise, I'm afraid my grandfather wouldn't have been able to be properly buried."

Three days ago, Wang Yun's grandfather passed away, but her uncle and aunt did not plan to hold a funeral and even intended to seize the old man's inheritance. Wang Yun naturally disagreed, but she could not do anything about it, so she went to Su Qianrou for help.

Then, Su Qianrou asked Li An for help, and the problem was resolved smoothly.

Inside the room, Su Qianrou sat on the couch, while Wang Yun stood in front of her.

"Are you really sure you want to stay by my side and be my maid?"

“Yes, I’ve thought it through. My mother suffered a massive hemorrhage when she gave birth to my younger brother, resulting in the death of both mother and child. My father died of illness ten years ago. If it weren’t for my grandfather, I might have been sold by my uncle and aunt long ago. Now that my grandfather is gone, I have no relatives left in this world.” Then she added, “Miss not only saved me but also helped me many times. She is my savior, so I want to stay by your side to repay you.”

"Since you have nowhere else to go, you might as well stay here for now. If you ever want to leave, just tell me and I will never stop you. However, I will never allow betrayal by my side, you understand?"

"Don't worry, Miss, I will never betray you, not even at the cost of my life," Wang Yun said firmly and forcefully.

"Alright, then stay."

"Please bestow a name upon me, Miss."

"Are you sure?"

"Confirmed, new name, new beginning."

Upon hearing this, Su Qianrou did not try to dissuade her. She then chose a name: "Spring, summer, autumn, winter, plum blossom, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum. Since orchids bloom in autumn, you shall be called Autumn Orchid."

"Yes, thank you, Miss."

"Get up. I don't like kneeling, and I don't like others kneeling to me, so you don't have to kneel down all the time in the future."

"Yes, I understand," she said, and stood up.

Chunzhu said happily, "Great! We have new friends!" Then, she took Qiulan's hand and said, "Qiulan, I am Chunzhu and this is Juxia. If you have any questions in the future, feel free to ask us."

"Okay," Qiulan replied softly, somewhat overwhelmed by her enthusiasm.

Su Qianrou smiled and said, "Chunzhu, take Qiulan downstairs to tidy up."

"Yes," Chunzhu replied happily.

Afterwards, Su Qianrou brought Qiulan to Zilan Courtyard. She had been busy all along, so she hadn't been here for a long time. Taking advantage of the free time today, she came to have a meal with Lin Rong.

When I entered the room, Lin Rong was leaning against the couch with her eyes closed, looking somewhat tired.

When Li Mama saw her, she was about to call out, but when she saw the woman shake, she stopped making a sound.

Then, Su Qianrou walked to the side and sat down, waiting quietly.

A short while later, Lin Rong woke up and slowly opened her eyes.

"Madam, you're awake. Miss has been waiting for you for quite a while."

Lin Rong then noticed Su Qianrou sitting in front of her and subconsciously asked, "Rou'er, when did you arrive?"

"I just arrived... Mother, are you feeling unwell? You don't look too well."

"It's nothing, just a bit of a headache, but it's an old problem, nothing serious... By the way, what brings you here today? You've finished everything at the restaurant."

"Yes, we're almost done with the work, and we'll be able to open in a couple of days."

"How's the accounting book going? And have you checked all those shops?"

"Yes, I've looked at them all. They're just minor issues, nothing serious. The accounts have all been checked, so there's no problem."

"That's good then." Then, he noticed Qiulan by chance and, seeing that she looked unfamiliar, asked, "Who is she...?"

"Oh, she is the maid I just took in today, her name is Qiulan."

Qiulan seemed lost in thought and remained unresponsive for a long time.

Su Qianrou couldn't help but remind her, "Qiu Lan, why don't you go and greet the Madam?"

"Ah, oh," Qiu Lan finally came to her senses, hurriedly knelt down, and said in a flustered manner, "This servant greets Madam."

Lin Rong was somewhat dissatisfied with her rather dim-witted manner, but considering that it was Su Qianrou who had chosen her, she didn't say anything. She only warned her, "Serve Miss well in the future and don't have any ulterior motives. If I find out that you have any disloyal intentions, I will not let you off easily."

"Yes, this servant will remember Madam's teachings."

Just then, Yunmeng and Qinghui walked in with dinner.

So, Su Qianrou helped Lin Rong to have her meal.

Qifengyuan

Su Qianrou had just finished bathing, so she was simply wearing a light pink gauze dress and sitting on the couch reading a storybook.

Suddenly feeling thirsty, I picked up a teacup but found it empty. I looked at Qiulan beside me and saw that she seemed distracted and absent-minded. I assumed she was thinking about her grandfather, so I asked, "Are you missing your grandfather?"

Qiulan seemed not to hear her and did not respond.

Seeing this, Chunzhu gently nudged her, "Qiulan, what are you thinking about? You can't hear Miss calling you."

"Ah," Qiulan finally came to her senses, "Miss, what's wrong?"

“I haven’t even asked you yet. You were already distracted in the Purple Orchid Courtyard, and you’re still like this now that you’re back. Do you miss your grandfather? Should I give you a few days off so you can come back to work when you’re in a better mood?”

"No, I was thinking of you, Madam."

"My mother."

"Ok".

"What happened to my mother?"

"This servant noticed that Madam's complexion seems a bit off; it looks like she's been poisoned."

Upon hearing "poisoning," Su Qianrou immediately sat up straight, looking at her with a serious expression. "Are you sure?"

Qiulan shook her head. "I'm not entirely sure. I'll have to take her pulse to find out."

"So, the reason you kept staring at my mother was because you suspected she was poisoned."

"Ok".

"Why didn't you say that in the Purple Orchid Courtyard just now?"

"I wasn't quite sure, so I didn't say anything. Please forgive me, Miss," she said, and then knelt down to beg for forgiveness.

"Go take her pulse now," Su Qianrou said, quickly standing up.

“Miss, it’s so late now, Madam is probably asleep. Why don’t we go tomorrow?” Chunzhu advised.

"No, if my mother is really poisoned, her life may be in danger."

“Miss, the poison Madam has likely been given a slow-acting poison. It won’t matter if she is delayed for one night,” Qiulan said.

"Are you sure?"

"This servant is certain," Qiulan nodded.

Su Qianrou then abandoned her plan to rush to Zilan Courtyard overnight.