Chapter 8: Breastfeeding Mother

Mingzhu has been restless these days, finding it difficult to fall asleep and easily waking up.

When she saw Mingzhu fall asleep, Sùlán quickly and gently placed her feet on the embroidered stool and covered her with a thin blanket.

Gěng māmā lifted the curtain and saw that Mingzhu was asleep, so she gestured for Sùlán to leave.

Sùlán quickly called another senior maid, Sùméi, to watch over Mingzhu, then quietly left and stood in the corridor with Gěng māmā, asking, "What are your orders, māmā?"

Gěng māmā sternly scolded Sùlán, "I didn't want to say anything in front of the young lady earlier, but you have been serving by the young lady's side for many years. How do you not know what is urgent and important? When the young lady quietly left at night, you only knew to follow her, but didn't think to send someone to inform me. Luckily, this mountain is peaceful and there are no bad people around. Otherwise, if something happened, it wouldn't be enough to punish your whole family!"

She used to be Lady Fù's personal maid and later married the steward and became Mingzhu's wet nurse.

She had safely cared for Mingzhu until she was sixteen, gaining Lady Fù's trust. Of course, she had a lot of face and was not one to easily forgive Sùlán for such a mistake.

Sùlán blushed and nervously pleaded, "I was in a hurry and didn't think about it. I was wrong. Please, māmā, cover for me and don't tell Lady Fù."

"Whether to tell Lady Fù is not up to you."

Gěng māmā glared at her. "Where were the others? Why were you the only one on duty at night?"

Sùlán whispered, "Māmā, you know, since that day when the young lady had a nightmare and woke up, she has been restless and often talks nonsense at night, easily waking up. She didn't like having too many people around, and only felt at ease when everyone else was gone. It took a lot of effort to persuade her to let the maids stay in the outer room."

In fact, Mingzhu had her own reasons for not allowing anyone to attend to her while she slept, but they were unaware of it and thought it was just her temper.

Gěng māmā sighed, feeling helpless. "Is it true that the young lady lost her shoe on the corridor? Wasn't there another one there? We searched everywhere but couldn't find it. It's a personal belonging of the young lady. If someone picks it up, it could cause trouble. How can I explain this to Lady Fù?"

The shoe was not lost by the young lady herself, but was related to the English King Yuwen Chu.

The first one had already fallen into the abyss and couldn't be found.

As for the second one, Sùlán nervously tried to remember, but couldn't recall if it had been knocked off the cliff by the guard named Zhang Huan from the Yuwen Mansion.

Seeing this, Gěng māmā pinched Sùlán's arm and scolded her in a low voice, "You useless girl, you don't know anything. What's the use of you?"

Sùlán winced in pain and begged for mercy.

Gěng māmā knew she probably wasn't telling the truth and threatened her harshly, "I know you are loyal to the young lady, but you need to understand the urgency of the situation. If this matter becomes serious, both of us will be in trouble. Why don't you speak up? Do you want me to report to Lady Fù and have you punished, implicating your parents?"

"The young lady was dancing on the corridor and accidentally lost one..."

Sùlán hesitated to speak the truth, and Gěng māmā continued to press her. Just then, Sùméi came out and said, "The young lady is awake. She wants you all to come in."

Mingzhu had a temper, and even the Prime Minister and his wife couldn't control her when she was upset.

Gěng māmā guessed that they had woken Mingzhu up, and when they went in, they couldn't please her. She blamed Sùlán, "You stubborn girl, if you had told the truth earlier, we wouldn't have woken the young lady. It's all because you don't understand. Do you need me to teach you how to respond when we go in?"

Sùlán remained silent and respectfully greeted Mingzhu, saying with a smile, "Young lady, are you awake?"

Mingzhu, leaning on the recliner and staring blankly out the window, did not respond to Sùlán's words. She turned her back to Gěng māmā and coldly said, "It was me who told her not to speak. Gěng māmā, tell me, should she listen to you or to me?"

Was there even a need to ask?

She was the mistress of all these people, so of course they should listen to her.

Gěng māmā was embarrassed by Mingzhu's rebuke in front of the maids and was so ashamed that she choked up and was about to kneel down and kowtow to her.

"I was confused. I only remembered that Lady Fù entrusted the young lady to me when she was so young. I always remembered to treat her as my own child and care for her..."

At this point, she glanced at Mingzhu, who was indifferent and didn't rush to help her up, so she continued to act, kneeling on the ground and crying in distress.

"I was too concerned and lost my sense of measure. I thought Sùlán and the others were instigating the young lady to do wrong, but it was all for the young lady's own good..."

Mingzhu calmly interrupted Gěng māmā, "There's no need for you to keep mentioning your kindness. I have always remembered your kindness. Over the years, I have been grateful for your care. Now that I am grown up, I don't want you to work day and night for me. When I return this time, I will tell my mother to find a good house for you and let you live in comfort."

Was she trying to drive her away?

Old Nanny Geng was startled and couldn't help but cover her face in shame, bursting into tears. "Serving Miss is the old slave's duty. How dare I mention any favors? If I haven't served Miss well and earned her disdain, I have no face to continue serving. Please, Miss, take back your command."

None of the Su sisters expected Mingzhu to be so furious this time. Afraid of retaliation from Old Nanny Geng, they quickly stepped forward to plead for her.

Mingzhu then said, "I am already grown up and know what I should do. Please don't treat me like a clueless child. What happens in my room is my decision. Do you all understand?"

Old Nanny Geng fell silent, no longer relying on her age or crying, just quietly shedding tears.

Mingzhu glanced at her and calmly said, "Help Nanny up."

But she didn't offer her a seat.

Sulan and Sumei exchanged a glance, understanding that Mingzhu was truly asserting her authority over Old Nanny Geng. They obediently helped her up without saying a word.

"Nanny, go rest. You've been with me all night, and you must be tired. You don't need to serve me in person these days."

Mingzhu stood up and gestured for Sulan and the others to come forward and help her change and freshen up.

Old Nanny Geng, who had always been highly regarded in front of Mingzhu, like a second mistress, naturally couldn't accept this sudden blow. She was convinced that Sulan and the others had spoken ill of her in front of Mingzhu, so she refused to leave, crying, "Why does Miss suddenly loathe me so? I have no face to live on."