Marrying a rich man after rebirth: The daily life of a legitimate daughter

The old lady finally understood that He Shulan had never done any housework: "Don't worry about the kitchen work, go take care of the patient."

The prince was lying on the bed, unconscious. He didn't need He Shulan to take care of him. He sat by the stove and chatted with the old grandmother.

He Shulan was very curious why the old lady and her husband lived alone in this remote wilderness.

The old lady did not hide the truth from He Shulan: "We originally lived in a village not far from the capital, and we lived a very comfortable life until the bandits came and burned, killed and looted the village. My son and daughter-in-law died under the bandits' knives. In order to protect our only granddaughter, my husband and I decided to move here."

"Then marry off your granddaughter."

The old lady sighed and said, "The child has grown up and doesn't like staying in this wilderness. We old couple have no choice but to let the child leave."

He Shulan saw that the old lady was not young anymore. Although she was in good health, she would have no one to take care of her if something happened. She asked, "How long will it take for your granddaughter to come back to see you?"

The old lady thought for a while and said, "She hasn't been back for nearly a year. She recently wrote two letters to me and my husband. She said that she wanted to earn money by working as a maid in a wealthy family, and told us not to worry about her."

"Being a maid in a wealthy family is hard work, but you can earn money." He Shulan then asked, "Which family in the capital does your granddaughter work as a maid in?" The old lady took her and the prince in. This kindness was not enough to be repaid with money. When she returned to the capital, she would take care of the old lady's granddaughter.

"My granddaughter works as a maid in the Prince's Mansion. She got in through connections and acquaintances."

He Shulan was stunned. This was too coincidental. "What's your granddaughter's name?"

The old lady didn't understand why He Shulan asked so clearly. Thinking that she probably had no bad intentions, she told He Shulan: "Her name is Xi Niang."

He Shulan silently memorized the name and returned to the Prince's Mansion to help her arrange a better job.

Soon, the ribs on the stove were cooked and the two ended their conversation.

Although He Shulan could not do housework, she had no problem serving the patient meals. She opened the lid, picked out a few pieces of ribs with meat, crushed the meat with chopsticks, put it into thick soup, brought it to the bedside, pried open the prince's mouth, and fed him the meat and soup together.

After serving the prince, He Shulan had dinner and went to bed to rest early.

……

Chunxia and Qiudong were extremely anxious when they learned that their master was missing. They dragged Nanny Chen to the old lady's yard to inquire about the news.

In just one day and one night, the old lady looked much older. She looked at the three servants in front of her with a tired expression and said, "Shaoqing of Dali, we have been looking for the prince and the princess, but there is no news until now."

Qiu Dong was so anxious that she cried: "On the day when the Princess went to the countryside for a banquet, I should have gone with her. If anything happened, I could be there to take care of them."

"The Princess is the master. She won't let you go with her. You can only stay in the Prince's Mansion." Nanny Chen replied expressionlessly, "I hope they can return safely."

Chun Xia was so irritable that she couldn't stay any longer: "Let's go to the place where the Prince and Princess disappeared."

"Shaoqing of the Dali Temple, it has not been found until now. Do you think we can find it if we go there?"

Chun Xia looked at Nanny Chen who was speaking: "Do we have to wait anxiously in the mansion forever?"

The old lady didn't want to either. She was more anxious than anyone else, but there was no point in being anxious. If they went, they would only cause trouble for the Dali Temple Shaoqing: "I know you are very loyal to the master. Especially at this time, we must be patient."

The three of them stopped talking and stood quietly beside the old lady, waiting, hoping to get the news as soon as possible.

Li Wanrong, who was pregnant, also learned about the prince's disappearance. She came to the old lady's courtyard with her belly bulging and asked, "Is there any news about the prince?"

The old lady didn't want to pay attention to Li Wanrong at first, but she was worried that she was pregnant and that something might happen to the baby. She couldn't explain it to the prince, so she patiently said, "The Dali Temple's Shaoqing led the yamen runners to search for a whole day and night, but there is still no news."

Li Wanrong's eyes went dark and she almost fainted. She held on to Xing'er's hand to steady herself. Was she going to be a widow with her child? Thinking that the prince was gone, there was no one in the prince's mansion to protect her, and the old lady didn't like her. If she continued to stay in the prince's mansion, the old lady would definitely make things difficult for her: "I'm not feeling well, so I'll go back to the courtyard first. If there's any news about the prince, please send someone to let the old lady know."

The old lady nodded.

Li Wanrong returned to the yard and began to pack her luggage.

Xing Er asked in confusion, "Aunt, where are you going?"

"Of course I'm leaving the Prince's Mansion." Xing'er was the maid she bought from outside, and she would definitely follow her for the rest of her life. Li Wanrong did not hide it.

"Why do you want to leave?"

Li Wanrong looked at Xing'er and said, "It's unclear whether the prince is alive or dead. If anything happens to the prince, the old lady will definitely not let me go. Let's leave quickly while the prince's mansion is in chaos."

Xing Er also knew Li Wanrong's situation and did not stop her from leaving: "But the old lady has issued an order not to let you leave the Prince's Mansion."

"I have been wandering around the mansion these past few days, trying to find a way to escape. There is a dog hole in the West Garden that leads to the alley next to it. We can crawl out from there."

Xing Er looked at Li Wan Rong's slightly bulging belly and asked, "Can you crawl out?"

"Of course." Li Wanrong replied, "That dog hole is quite big, just enough for me to crawl out."

Xing'er no longer hesitated, helped Li Wanrong pack her luggage, returned to her room, and packed her own luggage.

The master and servant took advantage of the dark night and strong wind, when all the servants in the mansion had gone back to their rooms to rest, and came to the West Garden with their luggage, and quietly climbed out through the dog hole.

……

He Shulan, who was sleeping soundly, heard whispering voices beside her ears. She opened her eyes and saw that the unconscious prince had woken up and opened his mouth to shout for water.

She lifted the quilt, put on her coat, picked up the cup on the table, helped the prince up, and fed the water into his mouth.

After drinking a glass of cold water, the groggy prince suddenly woke up and asked He Shulan in a hoarse voice: "What's wrong with me?"

"You've caught a cold." He Shulan placed a pillow behind the prince so that he could sit more comfortably.

The prince was afraid that the old lady and Li Wanrong would worry, so he tried to get up from the bed and return to the prince's mansion, but his legs went weak and he fell on the bed.

He Shulan helped the prince sit down and said, "Your body has not recovered yet, don't run around."

"I want to go back to the Prince's Mansion."

"I want to, too." He Shulan said as she covered the prince with a blanket. "Your body is no longer able to walk on the rugged mountain road, and I can't carry you on my back. You should rest well first and get well. Then we can leave together."