Chapter 281: Chapter 282: Illness

However, after these invitations were sent to the inner courtyard, they turned into sinking stones without a trace, with not a peep of reaction.

Those merchant families waiting for word couldn’t figure out what was going on. On one hand, they considered that since the Marquis paid them no mind, it was even more unlikely that the Madam from a noble family would.

Perhaps they simply look down on merchant families like theirs.

Lin Youning, however, doesn’t actually look down on them, which is why she hasn’t sent them responses. It could be due to acclimatization issues, and the fatigue from the journey, that she felt weak and unwell by the second day at Marquis Mansion, her whole body lacked energy, and by evening, she had developed a slight fever.

Since arriving here, Gu Yifeng had many matters to personally attend to, and Lin Youning feared disturbing him, so she instructed Shanmoi and the others to block this information, and meanwhile had Nanny Guo find a doctor to come for diagnosis and medicine.

She particularly instructed to keep Li Si monitored and prevent him from reporting the news to the front yard.

When Lin Youning talked about this, she jokingly looked at Shanmoi, “I’ll leave this matter to you. Li Si always has his own ideas, so I’m afraid he won’t listen to me. If you go over, give him a hint.”

Shanmoi’s ears turned warm, and it wasn’t until she had helped Hailan and the girl take her medicine and lay down that she left.

As luck would have it, Li Si was just about to head to the front yard, originally intending to inquire about the situation. He had gone out to buy things, but upon returning, he smelled medicine in the yard and thought to ask someone what was going on. Before he could go out to inquire, he was stopped by Shanmoi from behind.

“Where are you going?” Shanmoi asked him directly.

“I’m going to ask the gatekeeper what’s with the medicine smell in the yard?” Li Si said with a grin, but quickly became concerned. “Is the Madam feeling unwell?”

Other than the Madam, there was no one else who would dare to have such a strong medicine smell in the yard.

Seeing the worry and concern on Li Si’s face, Shanmoi softened her tone, thinking of how he cared for their girl. “The girl’s feeling a bit unwell, but she’s already seen the doctor and had her medicine, and she’s resting now. The Madam fears the Marquis would worry, especially since he just arrived here, so she asked me to remind you not to leak the news to the Marquis.”

Li Si looked troubled, “You know how much the Marquis values the Madam. If you hide this from him and he finds out, he’ll certainly be angry. I might not face much punishment, but if the Madam doesn’t recover and things get serious from the delay, what then? This isn’t something we can afford to delay. I think we should tell the Marquis first, so he has some awareness of the situation, don’t you think?”

Li Si had noticed that Shanmoi’s nature was quite straightforward; if you coaxed him, he wouldn’t hold a grudge against you.

When Shanmoi heard the illness might worsen, she hesitated too, “But the Madam has already said we mustn’t tell the Marquis. I think we should listen to the Madam.”

Then she glared at Li Si, “Don’t try and persuade me; you nearly convinced me to go along with you. I’ve told you this, if the Marquis finds out, the Madam won’t forgive you.”

After a firm glare at Li Si, Shanmoi turned and left, and when she returned to the room, seeing that the girl wasn’t asleep, she recounted her conversation with Li Si, which made Lin Youning and Hailan unable to hold back their laughter.

Shanmoi’s face turned slightly red, “I thought Li Si believed me to be gullible; he seemed nice usually, but I didn’t expect him to have such ulterior motives.”

Lin Youning couldn’t hold back her laughter, “There’s no need to take it seriously with Li Si; my brother has been busy these days, which is why he hasn’t been to the inner courtyard, allowing us to keep this hidden. If he were to come, even if I instructed Li Si, we wouldn’t be able to hide it.”

We can only hide it while we can, preventing my brother from dropping everything to come looking for me knowing my situation.

Thinking about her own condition, Lin Youning couldn’t help but sigh, she had come to help her brother, to take care of him, but she ended up burdening him instead.

However, when evening came and Gu Yifeng entered, he immediately noticed something was off.

Even though Lin Youning tried to maintain her spirits, she was still feverish, and it was too late to dodge when her brother reached out, his hand already resting on her forehead.

“When did the fever start? What did the doctor say?” Gu Yifeng asked two questions in succession and then had someone fetch the doctor’s prescription.

Seeing that her brother was already aware, Lin Youning chose honesty and had Shanmoi retrieve the prescription, which Gu Yifeng reviewed and nodded.

“According to this prescription, there should be internal heat causing weakness, leading to a cold.” Gu Yifeng was relieved. “Follow the prescription and take the medicine for some days.”

Lin Youning nodded, “You see, brother, there’s nothing wrong with me, so there’s no need to worry. You’ve just arrived here, and your own matters are more important.”

Gu Yifeng gestured for the servants to leave the room, and Lin Youning immediately adjusted her expression, looking seriously at her brother.

“In the Capital, we referred to each other as brother and sister, which was fine, but now that we’re here, if you continue calling me brother, others not knowing the truth might misconstrue.” Gu Yifeng looked at her, “In the future, when no one else is around, you may call me that, but when there are others, address me as Master or by name.”

Yifeng?

To call him that?

Lin Youning was hesitant to say it out loud, thinking it was better to call him Master.

“Now that we are husband and wife, in the eyes of others, we shouldn’t continue as siblings.” Gu Yifeng reassured her, “If you find it uncomfortable, there’s no need to explicitly refer to me in public. Speak freely as you wish.”

“No, no, let’s follow your… instructions, Master.” Lin Youning knew the more flustered she got, the less composed she appeared. Even if she lived twice, she understood everything, yet she always felt awkward in front of her brother, perhaps because her feelings for him were extraordinary.

Gu Yifeng smiled and nodded, “It’s not just you; I also need to get used to hearing it.”

With his words, Lin Youning relaxed even more and couldn’t help but laugh.

“Privately, I’d better call the Marquis. This way I won’t be confused going back and forth, leaving my brother feeling uncomfortable. From now on, I’ll call you Master.” Lin Youning found herself speaking more naturally.

Seeing the smile widening on Lin Youning’s lips, Gu Yifeng was slightly taken aback.

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