Chapter 242: Falling Ill

 Chapter 242: Falling Ill

"Have you heard? The Eldest Young Master, Third Young Master, and Fourth Young Master are trapped in Xingyun Prefecture and can't get out. They might die there!"

"Really?"

"How could it not be true? There’s an outbreak of plague in Xingyun Prefecture. Can anyone who catches the plague survive?"

"The Eldest Young Master is the legitimate eldest son. If he dies, Madam will surely be heartbroken."

"Madam must have fallen ill because of this news."

"Thinking about it, if the Eldest Young Master and Fourth Young Master can’t come back, it will surely break Madam’s heart."

In the back yard of the Yan residence, a few maids were gossiping, unaware that Old Madam Yan had come out for a walk.

When Old Madam Yan overheard the conversation, she felt a sharp pain in her chest, her vision darkened, and she began to gasp for air before collapsing backward.

"Old Madam!"

Aunt Sun quickly shouted and rushed to catch her.

The maids were horrified, realizing that they had frightened the Old Madam.

---

In the main courtyard.

Because Madam Li had fallen ill, Daohua temporarily took over the household affairs and hadn’t attended her classes these past few days.

She had just finished handling some matters when she saw Wang Man'er hurriedly running towards her.

"Miss, it’s bad! The Old Madam has fainted!"

Daohua immediately stood up in alarm, walking out while asking, "What happened? How did Grandmother faint?"

Wang Man'er replied, "The Old Madam heard that the Eldest Young Master, Third Young Master, and Fourth Young Master are trapped in Xingyun Prefecture."

Daohua froze for a moment, her expression growing cold. "Heard it from whom?"

Wang Man'er explained, "The maids were gossiping in the yard, and the Old Madam overheard."

Daohua narrowed her eyes. "The news about Xingyun Prefecture should be strictly confidential. How would the maids know about it?"

Wang Man'er hesitated.

Indeed, the information about the Eldest Young Master and the others was only known in the main courtyard. How could the other people in the residence have heard of it?

Daohua, still concerned about the Old Madam, quickly ordered Wang Man'er, "Go and have aunt Fang round up those gossiping maids and ask them where they got the information from." She then rushed toward Songhe Courtyard.

---

At the same time, news that Yan Wenxiu, Yan Wentao, and Yan Wenkai were trapped in Xingyun Prefecture and infected with the plague spread throughout the Yan household.

Like Madam Li and Old Madam Yan, Wu Shi couldn’t bear the news and also fell ill.

---

Songhe Courtyard.

"How is Grandmother? Has the physician arrived?"

As Daohua entered the room, she saw Old Madam Yan weakly lying on the bed, her eyes still damp from crying.

Aunt Sun responded, "The physician has seen her. He said it's anger-induced heart strain."

Upon hearing Daohua's voice, Old Madam Yan opened her eyes and slowly reached out her hand.

Daohua immediately knelt by the bed and took her hand. "Grandmother!"

Old Madam Yan weakly said, "Your brothers..."

Daohua reassured her, "Grandmother, don’t worry. All three brothers will be fine. The people in the household are just spreading rumors. They don’t know the full situation."

Old Madam Yan closed her eyes briefly, then opened them again, a look of regret on her face. "It’s all my fault. I should have stopped your father. If Wenxiu and the others hadn’t gone to Jiguang, none of this would have happened."

Daohua squeezed her hand. "Grandmother, don’t think that way. No matter what, when we agreed to let the older brothers go to Jiguang, everyone’s intention was for their well-being. They’ve encountered a setback, but once they get through it, it will definitely help them in the future."

Old Madam Yan shook her head. "I no longer hope for them to have a good future. I just want Wenxiu and the others to grow up safely, marry, have children, and live a long life, not like this..."

Daohua interrupted gently, "They will. All three brothers will marry and have children. Grandmother, Xiao Yeyang is also in Xingyun Prefecture. The situation isn’t as bad as we think."

Old Madam Yan closed her eyes again, remaining silent.

Her granddaughter was still too young to understand the horrors of the plague. When she was younger, a neighboring county had experienced a plague that wiped out nearly everyone. The entire city had been emptied.

Would her three grandsons make it back?

Seeing this, Daohua didn’t know what else to say. At this moment, any comforting words felt too weak and powerless.

She sat by the bed for a while, and when Old Madam Yan finally fell asleep, Daohua quietly left. As she stepped outside, she heard that Third Aunt had also collapsed, and she let out a heavy sigh.

"Let’s go see Third Aunt."

Daohua spent the entire day moving between the Old Madam’s courtyard, the Third Branch’s courtyard, and the main courtyard. It wasn’t until her grandmother, Third Aunt, and her mother had taken their medicine and gone to sleep that she, exhausted, finally returned to her own courtyard.

By then, the moon had risen high in the sky.

"Miss, eat something. You haven’t had your meal yet."

Wang Man'er brought in the black rice and yam porridge she had been simmering.

Daohua picked up the spoon, took two bites, and then lost her appetite. She looked at Gu Yu and Li Xia. "How many masks have you made from the fabric I asked you to stitch?"

Gu Yu quickly responded, "The needlework room has sent over five hundred this year. Including the ones made the other day and the ones Miss Zhou sent, we should have about a thousand now."

Daohua nodded and then turned to Wang Man'er. "How's the collection of medicinal herbs from Zheng Bo going?"

Wang Man'er replied, "Over ten carts have already been gathered. Zheng Bo said that the steward of the Zhou family introduced a few herbal merchants. We should be able to gather another batch in the next couple of days."

Daohua thought for a moment. "Have Zheng Bo continue collecting them without stopping. By the way, the herbs on our estate are ready for harvest. Send someone over tomorrow to check. If they're ripe, gather them all."

Wang Man'er glanced at Daohua and cautiously asked, "Miss, are you planning to send all these herbs to the Eldest Young Master and the others?"

Daohua looked out the window, tapping her fingers on the table. "I plan to go to Xingyun Prefecture."

Upon hearing this, Wang Man'er and the others’ expressions changed immediately.

Daohua turned to look at them. "Think about it. If I go, I might take you with me. Of course, I won’t force you. If you're scared, you don’t have to come."

Wang Man'er didn’t hesitate and immediately replied, "Wherever you go, I’ll go."

Gu Yu and Li Xia exchanged a glance before quickly saying, "We’re coming too."

Daohua smiled but didn’t say anything further.

Wang Man'er asked, "Miss, when are we leaving?"

Daohua paused for a moment. "In a few days. We need to gather more herbs, and I need to arrange a few things at home before we leave. Alright, we’ve been busy all day. Go get some rest."

---

The next morning, Daohua came to the main courtyard. Seeing Madam Li still asleep, she quietly left and asked Ping Tong, "Did Mother sleep well last night?"

Ping Tong shook her head. "She woke up several times in the night, calling out the Eldest Young Master and Fourth Young Master’s names while crying."

Daohua was silent for a moment. "This can’t go on. If this continues, Mother’s health might deteriorate before my brothers return. Go and ask a physician to come. Have him prescribe something to calm and help her sleep."

Ping Tong nodded.

Daohua said, "I’ll go take care of the household matters first, and then I’ll check on Grandmother and Third Aunt. You keep an eye on Mother and notify me immediately if anything happens."

"Yes!"

As Daohua left, Ping Tong felt a sense of relief.

Thankfully, the eldest daughter was handling things. Otherwise, things would be chaotic by now.

(End of chapter)