Chapter 15: A Minor Illness

“It wasn't an illness; the little girl, Cui'er, just accidentally bumped herself.”

Mother Hu, who was in charge of the little girl, was called in and explained to the Old Madam with a smile.

Hearing this, the expression of the Old Madam of Count Ding'an softened slightly.

“How could she be so careless?” She shook her head and said, “If she is too young to be useful, then she shouldn't be used at all.”

This was essentially an order to kick the girl out. Once the Old Madam dismissed someone, who in the household would dare employ them again? The little girl could only be sold.

Beside her, Lu Jin’s brow furrowed slightly. She remembered this Cui'er; she was always sent to her side. A bump... that night, Lu Wenjie had indeed bumped into her.

However, Lu Jin said nothing, instead feeding the Old Madam another bite of sweet melon.

“There are other mothers to worry about her,” she said. “Please don't trouble yourself with it.”

Mother Hu said with a smile, “Indeed, indeed. Old Madam, please rest assured. This little girl can't bear to leave your side; it was only thanks to being here with you that she managed to save her life this time.”

*What does she mean by that?* The Old Madam of Count Ding'an felt a flicker of curiosity.

“That little girl is young and her skin is thin; the injury was actually quite severe. I saw it myself; I feared she wouldn't make it through the night.”

Listening to Mother Hu's narration, everyone in the room grew tense; it sounded terrifying.

Lu Jin, however, remained calm, knowing that Mother Hu wouldn't dare scare people like this without a reason.

“...There was no need to call a doctor; even if we had, they couldn't treat it, and it would only frighten the others. I thought I would just wait until dawn to carry her out.”

“I kept worrying about it, so I went over before dawn. As soon as I entered the room...”

At this point, Mother Hu suddenly slapped her thigh with a loud *crack*, startling everyone in the room. A timid maid even let out a small cry.

Mother Hu didn't continue to scare them and quickly stated the result.

“I saw that little girl standing on the floor, drinking water.”

This...

“Mother Hu, you must have seen wrong. Her injury wasn't that serious,” Xue Liu said with a laugh.

Others also complained, “Mother Hu, you just love to scare people.”

Mother Hu hurriedly waved her hands, swearing she wasn't lying. “If you don't believe me, call the girl in. Look, the injury is near the spleen, and there is still a patch of swelling; that is the most life-threatening spot. Moreover, the girl herself said she was dying, and the maid in the same room also said that when she checked on her in the middle of the night, the girl's body was cold.”

The Old Madam of Count Ding'an was becoming a bit impatient. “So what exactly happened? All this talk of life and death.”

Mother Hu knelt before the Old Madam and bowed low. “It is all because of you, Old Madam.”

The people in the room were stunned once again, and the Old Madam was equally puzzled. “Because of me?”

Mother Hu’s rhythmic, modulated voice rose again.

“...Cui'er said that in her state between life and death, she saw the Bodhisattva Guanyin manifest to heal her...”

“...Old Madam, this must be because you have offered prayers to the Buddha for many years. The deities are spiritually responsive, even protecting us lowly servants.”

“Don't disbelieve it; I know you don't. Old Madam, that night, everyone in the servants' quarters smelled a pure fragrance...”

“If only one person smelled it, it would be a lie, but how could everyone...”

“Old Madam, I have been by your side for half my life; I have no need to tell lies to gain favor.”

“I know this sounds absurd, which is why I didn't report it to you immediately. I have been watching her personally these past two days and even had a doctor take a look. He said the injury was somewhat heavy, but her life is no longer in danger.”

“I have lived half my life and have never seen such a miracle. To see it here with the Old Madam, I truly...”

Mother Hu became too emotional to continue, only offering another bow to the Old Madam.

Indeed, given Mother Hu's status, she would not use such a clumsy method to seek favor. A buzz of discussion broke out among the people in the room, and the clever head maids had already summoned some of the rougher maids living in the servants' quarters.

It was their first time stepping into the Old Madam's quarters; they entered timidly and tentatively, but they all said in unison that they had smelled a fragrance.

“There is still a fragrance in Cui'er's room right now,” a young girl even said boldly.

The Old Madam of Count Ding'an could no longer sit still and climbed down from the bed. “I will go see for myself.”

...

...

The servants' quarters was a place the Old Madam had never set foot in during her entire life.

The servants were all filled with trepidation; they hadn't even had time to clean. Several managing mothers simply took curtains from the storeroom and spread them on the floor so the Old Madam, the young lady, and the head maids could walk on them without getting their feet dirty.

Cui'er's cramped room could not accommodate many people, but even standing outside, one could indeed smell a faint, pure fragrance.

The Old Madam stood inside the room, looking at the little girl lying on the bed. The girl's face was deathly pale; even without being a doctor, the Old Madam could tell this wasn't an act. Combined with the faint fragrance lingering in the air...

Servants did not use incense, let alone such a pure scent.

This truly was a miracle. The Old Madam of Count Ding'an pressed her palms together, closed her eyes, and silently prayed for the Bodhisattva's protection.

The others followed suit, falling silent, while some knelt and kowtowed in excitement.

“Good child, you have seen the Bodhisattva; you are blessed. Recover well, and good days await you,” the Old Madam said softly.

Lying on the bed, Cui'er looked at the magnificent Old Madam and nodded with tears in her eyes.

“What did the Bodhisattva look like?” Xue Liu couldn't help but ask.

The others also looked at Cui'er, their eyes filled with both excitement and envy.

“The Bodhisattva...” Cui'er's lips moved. In truth, what she had dreamed of was not a Bodhisattva.

She had been in such agony that she had been screaming for her mother in her heart, and then she truly saw her mother, who had been dead for many years, arrive.

Her mother was holding a lotus bud in her hand. Then the lotus bloomed, and she and her mother sat upon the flower. Her mother held her, patted her, sang her a lullaby, and rubbed her stomach, saying, *“It’s alright, it’s alright, it won't hurt anymore...”*

And then, the pain truly vanished. When she woke up again, she felt very thirsty and her throat was too sore to make a sound. There was no one in the room, so she propped herself up to go drink water, and that was when Mother Hu had screamed as if seeing a ghost...

Only then did she realize she had almost died. When she told Mother Hu about the dream, Mother Hu had run out in excitement, called a doctor to examine her, and personally watched over her for two days.

Of course, she hadn't dared to say she dreamed of her mother. The managing mothers hated it when little maids missed their families, claiming it meant they were complaining about being treated poorly in the manor. So, she only said she dreamed of a woman who healed her.

She hadn't expected it to alarm the Old Madam.

She certainly couldn't tell the Old Madam she dreamed of her mother, otherwise, wouldn't that imply her mother was a Bodhisattva?

“The Bodhisattva was holding a lotus...” Cui'er murmured, her gaze involuntarily drifting to the side.

The Old Madam's expression grew even more joyful. A lotus—that was right. The Bodhisattva Guanyin sits upon a lotus throne. Following Cui'er's gaze, she saw a broken porcelain vase placed on a small wooden stool by the bed, holding a single lotus... bud.

“Is it this lotus?” a maid called out with a trembling voice. “Did the Bodhisattva give it to you?”

The Old Madam's eyes also showed a hint of shock.

“It was given to her by our Young Lady,” a maid's voice rang out.

Everyone froze and looked toward the speaker, seeing it was Lu Jin's maid, Yaoqin.

“That day when Cui'er came to fetch us, the Young Lady thanked her for the hard work of carrying the lanterns and gave her this lotus bud to play with,” Yaoqin said.

Everyone's eyes turned toward Lu Jin.

Lu Jin smiled and said, “Don't look at me, everyone. I am certainly no Bodhisattva.”

Everyone was amused, and the Old Madam also laughed, reaching out to tap her lightly. “Don't be cheeky.” Then, with a hint of gratification, she added, “Good child, it must have been your lotus that drew the Bodhisattva here.”

Mother Hu gave Cui'er a meaningful look from the side. Realizing the cue, Cui'er propped herself up to kowtow to Lu Jin. “Thank you, Young Lady.”

Lu Jin hurriedly waved her off to stop her. “Quickly, don't do that. Just focus on recovering.”

Mother Hu asked, “The Bodhisattva has manifested in this room; should we set up an altar and prevent anyone from using it?”

The Old Madam quickly shook her head. “That would be disrespectful to the Bodhisattva.” Looking back at Cui'er on the bed, her expression turned compassionate. “Let her recover here properly.”

Having said that, she scanned the room once more and pressed her hands together to pray to the Bodhisattva.

Everyone followed her movement.

The servants' quarters was not a place the Old Madam usually visited. The Count, the Countess, the Third Madam, and others had heard the news and came to ask what had happened. The Old Madam then led her people away.

Xue Liu, who had followed to watch, walked at the very back and couldn't help but look back one last time.

“What, do you want to soak up more blessings from the Bodhisattva's place?” Yaoqin teased.

Xue Liu pursed her lips and smiled. Without saying anything disrespectful to the Bodhisattva, she pointed at the lotus bud and whispered, “That is...”

Yaoqin nodded and quickly explained, “Don't blame the Young Lady for not being clear; the Old Madam is in a good mood.”

To suddenly say that the lotus bud that drew the Bodhisattva was sent by the new Young Mistress of the Marquis of Dongyang—how unlucky.

Xue Liu nodded. “I know.” Having said that, she took Yaoqin's hand and walked out, yet she still looked back once more.

What she was thinking was: that lotus bud has been there for over ten days now; how has it not withered yet?

Could it really be some kind of eternal flower?