Chapter 98 – Master Yan’s Decision
Yan Xiaosi swaggered out of the Yan family’s house, leaving Old Master Yan in his anger.
With Yan Xiaosi leaving, Ms. Zhong, Yan Shuqin, Yan Shuxue, and Yan Shuyun naturally wouldn’t stay in the Yan’s house for a moment longer.
Ms. Zhong stiffly paid respects to Old Master Yan, who was still angry, and said, “It’s getting late, father. My children and I will head back to our place at the edge of the village.”
Old Master Yan remained silent.
Ms. Zhong took his silence as consent, stood up, signaled Yan Shuqin, Yan Shuxue, and Yan Shuyun, and the mother and daughters left to follow Yan Xiaosi.
Once the people from the third household of the Yan family left, the villagers in the Yan family’s house all dispersed and went back home to sleep.
Soon, only Old Master Yan, Ms. Li, Yan Shujing, and the servant Old Woman Li were left in Ms. Jiang’s room.
Ms. Jiang, having just recovered a bit from her illness, was not as energetic as before. After asking Ms. Li for the key to the storeroom, she fell asleep.
Ms. Li stood by the bed, looked at Ms. Jiang who was sound asleep on the bed, and was so angry that she gritted her teeth.
The old woman, she thought, was incredibly hardy.
Though she harbored hatred in her heart, her face showed concern and worry for Ms. Jiang.
“Father, should we really trust Yan Xiaosi’s words and prepare medicine for mother according to his prescription? The third brother died early, and that child was not properly educated. We don’t even know who he learned his medical skills from. If we prepare medicine according to that prescription, and it causes a problem for mother…”
Old Master Yan gave Ms. Li a displeased look and sternly said, “Do you really hope your mother gets better?”
Though the old man was heartless and ruthless, he had, after all, been a county official. He was not confused. He clearly knew whether Yan Xiaosi’s demonstration was good or bad.
The stern look on the old man’s face made Yan Shujing’s heart skip a beat.
Old Master Yan was looking at Yan Xiaosi with new respect. It was not wise to speak ill of Yan Xiaosi in front of Old Master Yan at this time. Fearing that Ms. Li would anger Old Master Yan, Yan Shujing hurriedly said, “Mother, Third Uncle was a genius, and cousin Xiaosi, being his son, naturally wouldn’t be lacking. Cousin Xiaosi’s acupuncture has already improved grandmother’s illness. His prescription surely won’t have any problems. We should follow it and prepare the medicine.”
Even though Ms. Li was unhappy and did not want Jiang to recover, she dared not say anything in front of Old Master Yan.
In the middle of the night, the father and son from the main branch of the Yan family and the family from the second branch hurriedly returned.
“Mother, Mother, how did you suddenly fall ill?”
Ms. Hu, wife of the second son, started crying loudly from the moment she got off the carriage. As she cried, she rushed toward Ms. Jiang’s room.
From the urgency of her steps, one might think that she was very worried about her mother-in-law, Ms. Jiang. But there clearly wasn’t a trace of grief or sorrow from her crying.
Ms. Hu rushed toward Ms. Jiang’s room with Yan Boshu, Yan Wenqing, and Yan Shuxiu following behind her.
Yan Bozhang and his son Yan Wenfeng from the main branch had arrived earlier and were already in Ms. Jiang’s room, expressing their concern for Ms. Jiang.
Ms. Hu rushed into the room, expecting to see Ms. Jiang in a near-death state. However, what she saw was a different scene.
Ms. Jiang was sitting up in bed, leaning against a soft pillow, with Yan Shujing feeding her porridge.
When Ms. Hu rushed in abruptly, she was glared at by Ms. Jiang.
Ms. Jiang, displeased, frowned and scolded, “What are you doing, rushing in here like that? You’ve nearly scared me to death, and I’m not even dead yet.”
Seeing that Ms. Jiang was eating, in good spirits, and speaking loudly, Ms. Hu was as disappointed as Ms. Li.
As long as the old woman was still alive, the keys to the main house’s storeroom wouldn’t fall into their hands.
Though Ms. Hu was displeased in her heart, she didn’t show it. She smiled and walked to the front of Ms. Jiang’s bed, “Mother, I was just worried about your illness. I might have been a little too loud.”
“Grandma, are you feeling better?”
Yan Shuxiu walked in, saw Yan Shujing feeding Ms. Jiang porridge, and rolled her eyes. She really disapproved of Yan Shujing’s pretentious actions.
This eldest sister always did these superficial things in front of Grandfather and Grandmother.
Seeing Yan Shuxiu, dressed in a pink dress and wearing a small hairpin flower, looking so pretty, Ms. Jiang’s face lightened up a bit, “Xiu’er, you’re back.”
This granddaughter was beautiful, she would surely marry well in the future.
Yan Shujing stood up, her heart sank seeing Yan Shuxiu dressed in such a delicate outfit, but she kept a smile on her face.
“Sister Xiu is back. It’s been a month since I last saw Sister Xiu. Sister Xiu has become even more beautiful.”
This was not a genuine compliment to Yan Shuxiu, but a reminder to Ms. Jiang that the family from the second branch hadn’t returned to the main house for a month and didn’t seem to care about the people here.
After Yan Shujing’s words, both the patriarch and Ms. Jiang’s expressions darkened, especially Ms. Jiang’s. Ms. Jiang glared at her second son, Yan Boshu, who was standing next to Ms. Hu, and scolded angrily, “Second Son, you’re really making something of yourself, not even coming to see me, your old mother, for a month. Today, if it weren’t for my illness, would your family even have come back?”
“Father, Mother, isn’t it because the restaurant business is busy?”
Yan Boshu glared at Yan Shujing and quickly apologized to the old lady, “Didn’t I rush back the moment when I heard that you were sick?”
Yan Shujing lowered her head as she was being glared at by Yan Boshu, looking as if she had said something wrong, appearing timid.
Old Master Yan spoke sternly, “Second Son, don’t glare at Jing’er. She just said it casually.”
Yan Boshu knew her intentions all too well.
The comment may seem gentle and virtuous, but she was just like her mother, Ms. Li, crafty and malicious at heart.
However, in front of his father, he had no choice but to retract his glare towards Yan Shujing.
Seeing her father scolded by the patriarch, Yan Shuxiu gritted her teeth in anger, hating Yan Shujing to the core.
Yan Shujing, we’ll see.
The Yan family patriarch scanned the room. Seeing that the whole family was gathered, he pondered for a moment and said, “Since everyone is here, I have something to announce.”
Seeing the patriarch’s serious expression, both Ms. Li and Yan Shujing felt a pang in their hearts.
Could it be that the patriarch had made up his mind to bring the third branch back to the main house? As the mother and daughter were speculating, the patriarch continued, “Tonight, when the old lady suddenly fell ill, even Doctor Ge was at a loss. It was Yan Xiaosi who saved the old lady’s life. I see that his medical skills are extraordinary. He may be a promising talent. I am thinking of bringing the third branch back to live in the main house. Eldest Son, Second Son, do you have any objections?”
“Father, are you saying that Yan Xiaosi saved mother?”
“Father, is the Yan Xiaosi you’re talking about the youngest son of my third brother? How old is that child? How could he have treated mother’s illness?”
Yan Bozhang and Yan Boshu looked at their father in disbelief as they had trouble believing these words.
“Father, are you sure you didn’t see anything wrong due to your old age?”
“Yes, when Third Brother died, that child was only one year old. He had never attended school. How could he possibly understand medicine?”
