Jiang Yi laughed and said, âDonât worry about that. Can I let you see anything unclean? Besides, we have to send him back, so we have to clean him up properly to avoid being accused that our Jiang family abused private punishment.â
âDid you or didnât you?â
âDo you really need to ask?â
Jiang Yi took her through two gates, bypassed two long corridors, passed through three rockeries, a small lake, and finally came to an iron door.
Jiang Ning was completely lost.
âIs our house that big?â
âYou fool, weâre at Uncleâs house now!â
âReally?â Jiang Ning looked back and couldnât recall when she had come to the main Family house from the second.
Jiang Yi shook his head and sighed when he saw her lost expression, âYouâre exactly like our mother, getting lost everywhere, even in our own yard. What will you do in the future?â
Jiang Ning glanced at Gucheng.
Jiang Yi knew what she was thinking and said, âGucheng is ultimately Uncleâs man, not to mention a man. Can he follow you for the rest of your life without taking a single step away?â
âI have others.â
âThatâs true. In the future, youâll probably be staying in the palace, so you wonât get lost anyway.â
âEven outside the palace, I wonât get lost. Do you think Iâm still a three-year-old child?â
As the siblings argued, they approached the iron door, and Jiang Yi looked at the servant behind him.
The servant immediately stepped forward to knock on the door.
A short and thin woman with a clean and gentle appearance opened the door. Seeing Jiang Yi, she immediately knelt and greeted him.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
âThe servant wishes Third Young Master peace.â
âSister Fu, this is our Seventh Miss.â Jiang Yi was very polite to the woman, introduced Jiang Ning to her with a smile, and then said to Jiang Ning, âSeventh Sister, this is Sister Fu, an elder in our family.â
Jiang Ning knew that some of the servants in the family, although nominally subordinates, were often respected for having fought alongside the older generation or made meritorious deeds, even more so than the young masters and misses.
So she quickly smiled and greeted, âSister Fu.â
Upon seeing Jiang Ningâs face, Sister Fuâs eyes lit up, and she knelt down to kowtow to her, saying, âIâve heard that Seventh Miss has returned home, but I havenât had a chance to greet her yet, I hope Seventh Miss wonât blame me.â
Jiang Yi laughed and said, âSister Fu, please get up. Our parents wonât even let you kowtow. Arenât you shortening our lives by doing this to me and Seventh Sister?â
âThird Young Master, we cannot break this rule.â
âI brought Seventh Sister here to take a look. Has Mu Jian been cleaned up?â
âYes, we were just preparing to send him out. Third Young Master and Seventh Miss have come at a good time.â Sister Fu smiled, made room, extended her arm to support Jiang Ning, and said, âSeventh Miss, be careful; the ground is slippery.â
Although Jiang Ning didnât know Sister Fuâs background, seeing Jiang Yi treat her so courteously, she didnât want to boss her around, so she smiled and stepped aside, following Jiang Yi in.
The courtyard was clean and quiet, covered in snow.
There was no unpleasant smell.
âSeventh Sister, come here.â Jiang Yi pulled Jiang Ning along and pushed open the door to one of the rooms.
The room had only a bed and a table.
Mu Jian lay on the bed, his clothes neat and clean. Except for his pale lips, he looked no different from before.
Jiang Ning walked to the bedside and asked, âBrother, whatâs his condition now?â
âI fed him some medicine to prevent any trouble when we send him out later.â Jiang Yi approached with his arms folded.
Jiang Ning looked at Mu Jian, âHe doesnât look like heâs been punished.â
âReally? Take a closer look.â
Jiang Yi smiled and stretched out his hand, pulling up Mu Jianâs sleeve.