But within half a quarter of an hour, Imperial Physician Bai sent someone in to remind them to leave: "The Marquis is very weak now, it is better to let him rest more, so that it will be conducive to his recovery."

Ning'er held the pearl box in her hands, still feeling a little unbelievable. Such a precious and priceless pearl, which the Marquis would not let go of until his death, was given to her so easily.

Even the old lady didn't say much, just frowned and glanced at it, then acquiesced. But she felt it was too hot to hold.

She returned to her room in a daze. Lingzhi was just coming out with the half-planted crabapple tree she had planted in the morning. When she saw her, she immediately asked, "Miss, how is the Marquis?"

There is no maidservant in the Xinyuan Marquis's mansion who does not care about the marquis. Although they usually only serve in Songshou Hall, they know very well in their hearts who is the most important master in the mansion.

Ning Er said softly, "The imperial physician said that his life is no longer in danger, but I feel that the Marquis is seriously injured and I don't know when he will get better."

Seeing her depressed, Lingzhi comforted her, "Don't be too discouraged, young lady. The Marquis is a man of good fortune. He is a hero on horseback. He has survived so many life and death situations on the battlefield. This time, he will surely be safe and sound and turn adversity into blessing."

Ning Er said gloomily, "This is natural."

She carefully placed the pearl box in her hand on the bed table and sighed, "But the Marquis was injured so badly. I heard from Xiangming that the wound under his ribs was so severe that the bone was visible! I don't know how painful it is and how much suffering he must have suffered."

Lingzhi saw the precious light leaking out of the box, and took a closer look. It turned out to be a huge, round, flawless pearl, shining brightly, not like an ordinary thing: "Girl, where did this come from?"

Ning'er glanced at the pearl, feeling a little heavy-hearted: "This is a gift from the Marquis." She instructed: "Find a good place and put it away carefully."

Lingzhi was surprised. The Marquis might have difficulty speaking at the moment, so why did he think of giving them such a treasure?

She thought about it and put down the crabapple in her hand: "Give me a peach, I will give you a jade. Miss, you got the pearl from the marquis, why don't you give me a gift in return?"

She placed the half-filled jade vase in front of Ning'er and said, "My Lord, you can't get up, so you must be lonely during your illness. This crabapple tree has green branches and delicate flowers, and it's charming and lively. Isn't it just right to give it to my Lord to enjoy and relieve his boredom?"

Ning Er hesitated and said, "But the Marquis gave me such a precious pearl, and I just gave him a vase of flowers. Wouldn't that be too simple?"

While saying this, she sat back on the kang and carefully picked the flowers on the table.

Zishan was looking for Ning'er, but saw her fiddling with a weeping crabapple in a vase. He thought that since the girl was interested in arranging flowers, she might not be unwilling to go out.

"Miss, the second master asked someone to send this to you." Ning'er looked up and saw Zishan holding a familiar envelope in his hand: "It said it was a letter to you, Miss."

She took it and looked at it, and sure enough, it was another visiting card from Lin Ruochan.

Ning'er suddenly had a headache. The previous letter was still on her dressing table and she hadn't figured out how to reply yet, and now the second letter came right after.

She sighed, opened it, and saw that it was covered with words. Lin Ruozhan had a cheerful personality, but his handwriting was very elegant.

She first complained that Ning'er did not reply to her letter, leaving her aside and making her wait in the mansion for two days; then she changed the tone and said that even if Ning'er was unwilling to stay, she should remember the last appointment they made and invite her to meet for a chat tomorrow afternoon.

Lin Ruozhan finally said that if the rules of the Marquis' Mansion were strict and Ning'er was not convenient to go out, he could send her a reply and let her visit instead.

Ning'er closed the post and shook her head helplessly. Looking at Sister Lin's attitude, if she waited for two more days, she would see her coming uninvited to Song Shou Tang to look for her.

Ning'er originally wanted to wait a few more days, at least until the Marquis's injuries had stabilized and it was confirmed that he was not seriously injured, before dealing with Sister Lin's visiting invitation.

But it didn't seem to work at the moment, so she asked Zishan: "Did the Second Master have any instructions when he sent the invitation?"

Zishan said, "The Second Master said that if Miss Ning wants to reply, she can send it directly to Xinmiaozhai. If he is not here, someone will deliver it to Miss Xiangming and she will pass it on."

Ning Er nodded and said, "In that case, once this vase of flowers is ready, I will go directly to look for Sister Xiang Ming."

----

The master was seriously injured, and the whole mansion was filled with a gloomy atmosphere. The maids who came and went held their breath and kept quiet. When they saw Ning'er, they just bowed from a distance and walked away with their heads down.

In fact, according to the old lady's original intention, even in the mansion, the news of the Marquis' serious injury should be kept secret from some people as much as possible.

But that day, when Lord Kong sent the Marquis back to the mansion, it was so grand and impressive that it was impossible to conceal it. In less than half a day, the news spread throughout the mansion.

Since the matter was done, there was no need to cover up the truth. The old lady simply ordered all the servants to be punished, ordering them to be extra careful in serving, and especially not to gossip outside.

If you serve well and treat the Marquis well, everyone will be rewarded. If anyone dares to be sneaky and instigate trouble at this critical juncture, once discovered, his crime will be tripled, and no matter who he is, he will be beaten with a stick and expelled from the mansion.

After the repeated orders, no matter what people were thinking secretly, at least on the surface, the maids, old women, servants and managers all tightened their nerves and became extra cautious.

As soon as Ning'er entered the yard, she saw Xiangming standing in front of the double-crossed four-bowl diamond-shaped partition window, talking to someone.

The person had her back to the courtyard, her hair combed into three strands, her sideburns slightly raised, a jade-inlaid headband on her head, and a marigold pleated skirt. She was clearly dressed as a woman, but upon closer inspection, her figure was slender, like that of a lady.

Xiang Ming saw Miss Ning coming over with a bottle of pink cherry-like, gorgeous crabapple flowers, and hurried over to greet her: "Miss Ning, why are you here?"

Ning Er handed the bottle of crabapples that were about to bloom to Xiang Ming: "Sister, I saw that these crabapples were delicate and lovely, so I just put one in. But it doesn't look good. I wonder if it will offend the Marquis if it is placed in his room?"

"Oh, what a beautiful flower!" Before Xiang Ming could reply, the woman said, "Miss, you are really too modest. The Marquis will definitely like it when he sees it."

Ning Er looked carefully, and who else could it be but Song Qiuxin? She hadn't seen him for a while, and she had changed a lot. Ning Er hurriedly bowed, "Hello, Aunt Song. Why are you here?"

Song Qiuxin hurriedly returned the greeting and asked, "Miss Ning, are you all right?"

She looked worried as she glanced into the room. "The imperial physician told the Marquis that he must be with someone, and the old lady was worried about him, so she asked the servants to look after him. Sister Ye is not feeling well and cannot stay up late, so she asked me to come and serve the Marquis, so that we can both take care of each other."

Ning Er turned to look at Xiang Ming, only to see her nod and smile, "That's right. Not only that, the old lady also specifically asked Aunt Song to move here for a while. This will save her from having to travel back and forth every day."

Ning Er couldn't help but go to see Concubine Song. As soon as she entered the house, the Marquis left the mansion. I'm afraid the two of them didn't even talk to each other in private.

It is no wonder that the old lady was anxious. She wanted to keep this beautiful concubine in front of her son every day while the marquis was sick and needed care.

As time goes by, they fall in love. When the Marquis recovers, he will naturally remember Aunt Song's contribution in taking care of him.

Ning'er couldn't help but admire Old Madam Zhu. It was true that being the mistress of a noble family was not something that ordinary people could bear.

When the Marquis just woke up in the morning, she was still at a loss and crying like a tearful person. It was only half a day, and the Marquis was still lying sick in bed, but she had already arranged everything in the house after her son recovered.

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