Chapter 139.2
Grannie Fang followed her out. Closing the door, she asked, "Eldest young miss, how"s Madame?"
Gu Jiao replied, "Her illness has recurred. Her condition has become similar to that when she was still in the Hot Spring Villa."
Grannie Fang felt afraid at once, asking, "Is it that serious?"
"It"s not as serious as it was at first." Answered Gu Jiao.
Grannie Fang’s expression eased a bit as she lamented, "After the Madame returned to the estate, she wasn’t in the greatest mood, but she was able to put up with it all this time. Until that day, when she went to Bishui Alley and learned that the young master had been bullied, she broke out completely. She charged into the courtyard of the third young master and made a scene... She also brought a dagger along... She said at that time, "Let us all just stop living and die together"... This servant was really frightened back then."
Gu Jiao didn"t know there was such a thing.
Judging from Grannie Fang"s description, Yao shi was completely irrational at that moment.
It wasn’t surprising that Yao shi wanted to teach Gu Chenglin a lesson, but it was inconceivable that she intended to kill Gu Chenglin and die with him.
The former was a mother’s rage while the latter was the suicidal behavior of clinically depressed patients.
Yao shi had been on steady treatment for so long, and she only forgot to take the medicine twice. It shouldn"t have this kind of effect.
"What has Madame been eating recently?" Gu Jiao began to inquire about Yao shi"s diet in detail.
Grannie Fang explained everything in great detail, "...Since the incident with Wet Nurse Fang, this servant has paid special attention to Madame’s meals."
[T/N: Quick reminder - Wet Nurse Fang is the servant that tried to aggravate Yao shi’s illness by disclosing the mixed up to her, and also tried to poison Yao shi when that failed.]
"Is there anything left in her breakfast? Show it to me." Gu Jiao said.
"Yes! Madame doesn"t have a good appet.i.te, so she will only eat a little and won’t touch the food again. She keeps it behind the green screen cupboard. " Grannie Fang went to bring Yao shi"s breakfast.
Gu Jiao tested them one by one.
Grannie Fang asked, "Is there a problem with the food?"
Gu Jiao shook her head, saying, "None. Show me the Madame’s bedroom."
"Yes!" Grannie Fang took Gu Jiao to Yao shi"s bed chamber, and Gu Jiao checked every corner of it. The incense, the pancreas soap and the rouge powder were also examined without exception.
"There’s no problem here too." She concluded.
Was she just being paranoid after all?
Gu Jiao questioned again, "Who does Madame often come into contact with?"
Grannie Fang shook her head and said, "No one. Madame never steps out of her courtyard whenever she’s at the estate, and when she does go out, it is to visit eldest young miss and the youngest master. Lord Marquis used to come here a lot, but recently, there have been many things in the Ministry of Works, and Lord Marquis has never returned home for several days in a row.”
Gu Jiao stroked her chin in thought.
Grannie Fang still had some lingering fear about Yao shi’s poisoning back in the villa. She asked, "Eldest young miss, do you suspect that the Madame… has been harmed?"
Gu Jiao pondered for a moment before saying, "From my investigation so far, there is no evidence of that."
As soon as her voice fell, a cold wind blew in from the outside, mixed with a few snowflakes and a faint delicate fragrance that seemed to be unnoticeable.
Gu Jiao looked in the direction where the fragrance was coming from and asked, "What"s on the other side of the wall?"
Grannie Fang replied, "It"s a greenhouse. During fine weather, the door of the greenhouse will be open, and the whole courtyard will be filled with the scent of the flowers. It snowed yesterday, and fearing that the flowers inside would be ruined by the cold, the door was locked."
Gu Jiao said lightly, "Let’s go to the greenhouse and have a look."
Grannie Fang hesitated.
"What"s the matter?" Gu Jiao asked.
Grannie Fang said in a dilemma, "The greenhouse belongs to the Old Madame, and most people aren’t allowed to go in at will. Why not wait till this servant calls the second young miss over and asks her to take eldest young miss there..."
Before she could finish her words, however, Gu Jiao had already climbed over the wall.
Grannie Fang：“…”
……
Pine Crane Courtyard.
Old Madame Gu leaned against the arhat bed and sighed without a sound.
She had been in a bad mood lately because her precious grandson was still locked up in the ancestral hall.
The weather was already freezing cold, and with the heavy snow last night, the ancestral hall had already turned into an ice cave.
Her poor grandsons had never experienced such hardship since childhood.
She sent someone to block Gu Changqing early in the morning, asking Gu Changqing to let them out.
Gu Changqing did listen to her this time, but he only released Gu Chengfeng.
Old Madame Gu was so furious that she had a headache. Only after she used some incense from Concubine Ling did she feel much better.
But she still felt a stone pressing her heart.
"Now that he is all grown up, his wings have hardened. He doesn"t even take this grandmother of his seriously anymore."
"How can that be? Shizi’s purpose for doing so is also to discipline the two young masters.” The servant girl ma.s.saging her legs with her fist said flatteringly.
The Old Madame could complain about the shizi, but they, the servants couldn’t talk about him negatively.
Old Madame Gu added, "In the end, the first fault lies on their father! Of all the bad people to marry, he must marry a bearer of ill luck back to the estate! Not only is she herself useless, so are her children! They actually bullied the original di son! I think they want to rebel!"
"May Old Madame calm down." The servant girl said.
Old Madame Gu harrumphed, "She can even lose the baby upon birth. If the three of them were here in the first place, could something have gone wrong?"
How dare the servant girl reply to that? She simply hardened her scalp and listened.
Old Madame Gu gritted her teeth and continued, "A girl who grew up in the countryside, of course she’s ill-bred! Uncouth by nature!"
The servant girl just lowered her head. After hearing a lot of private words, would she be silenced later...
"Don"t let her fall into my hands, or I"ll have to teach her a lesson!" Old Madame Gu became more and more angry as she spoke. She asked, "Where"s Yao shi? Summon her for me!"
Having been back in the estate for so long, Yao shi only stayed in her room on the pretext of being ill every day, and did not appear in front of her, neglecting proper rules.
A wet nurse, one of Old Madame’s confidants, advised, "Why bother to lower oneself to her level? Even a beating of the rod can"t elicit a half a sentence from her!"
That was true. It wasn’t that Old Madame Gu hadn’t tried to straighten Yao shi before, but no matter how Old Madame Gu tried to teach her a lesson, she was like a soulless wooden doll and Old Madame Gu only felt her fists landed on cotton.
In the end, Old Madame Gu simply had no idea if Yao shi felt wronged or not. In other words, it was like Old Madame Gu was just being angry by herself.
"Have the peonies in the greenhouse bloomed yet?" The confidant wet nurse quietly asked the servant girl who was beating Old Madame Gu’s leg.
The servant girl answered, "Yes, this servant went to see it in the morning, and they look awesome!"
Old Madam Gu loved flowers, especially peonies. Gu Jinyu liking peonies was something influenced by Old Madam Gu.
Unfortunately, peony flowers were seasonal. In order to make them bloom in winter, Old Madame Gu spent a large sum of money to build a greenhouse with a glazed roof.
The servant girl said, "This servant shall go and get some pots of peonies for the Old Madame."
Old Madame Gu waved her hand, saying, "It"s such a cold day, won"t they be ruined by the cold if you take them out? Forget it, I"ll go and see them myself."