Exile with Storage Space: Family Fortunes in the Barren Lands-Chapter 705 - 658: Guoguo’s Uncle Chang (2)

Mu Yuanxiu also looked at her, his eyes questioning.

Li Yuzhu walked to the stove, reached out her hand to warm herself, and said with a slight smile, "She is much better. She said her head doesn’t hurt anymore, and she doesn’t feel suffocated in the chest."

Li Guoguo, like a little adult, patted his chest and breathed a sigh of relief, "That’s good, that’s good."

This made Zhou Zhaodi, who came in with them, laugh.

Outside, the wind howled and the snow whirled, Zhou Zhaodi closed the door tightly and asked if Li Guoguo wanted to sleep.

Guoguo shook his head vigorously, "I still want to play with Aunt."

Zhou Zhaodi tried to persuade him again, but Li Yuzhu waved her hand, "Zhaodi, you must be tired from driving the carriage, go to sleep first. I’ll put Guoguo to bed later."

Zhou Zhaodi, a ten-year-old girl, driving a carriage on the road, it was indeed hard for her.

"Alright, San Niang." Zhou Zhaodi was indeed tired and came to coax Guoguo to sleep as well.

This small courtyard had four rooms: a main hall, a kitchen, and two bedrooms.

Li Yuzhu had given the west bedroom to Zhou Zhaodi and Guoguo, while she and Mu Yuanxiu stayed in the east room.

Zhou Zhaodi yawned and carried the steaming kettle from the stove to wash up.

Li Yuzhu refilled the pot with cold water and placed it on the stove, and began talking to Mu Yuanxiu about Baili Rui’s parents’ illness.

"Poisoned?" Mu Yuanxiu looked at Li Yuzhu with surprise, "Poisoned, really?"

Li Yuzhu nodded, "Correct, poisoned. Moreover, both of them were poisoned. Lord Baili was poisoned with Bianxia, and his wife was poisoned with Yellow Azalea."

"Baili Mansion invited over a dozen doctors, none of whom noticed the poisoning?" Mu Yuanxiu’s gaze narrowed in even more surprise.

Li Yuzhu said, "That is exactly what puzzles me. Because it’s so strange, I only told Second Madam Baili about it."

Mu Yuanxiu pondered slightly, "It’s very suspicious. The Baili family’s affairs must not be simple." He looked up at Li Yuzhu, "Yu Zhu, it was right for us to come to Baili Mansion. If we were any later..."

"Aunt, is someone trying to harm Brother Rui’s parents?" Guoguo, sitting on the side, suddenly spoke.

Both turned to look at him.

Oh no, there was a little one eavesdropping.

"Guoguo, what Aunt and Uncle were talking about just now, don’t speak of it outside." Li Yuzhu hugged Guoguo and quietly reminded him, "It’s very important, very important, don’t tell anyone."

Guoguo nodded seriously, "I won’t say, I’ll help Brother Rui catch the bad guys."

"Leave the bad guys to the adults; you just happily build your snowmen." Li Yuzhu pinched his nose gently.

They were guests in someone else’s home; heaven forbid this little ancestor causes trouble.

Guoguo frowned slightly, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

When steam rose from the pot again, Li Yuzhu carried Guoguo into the bedroom to bathe.

While she examined Baili Huang and his wife, Mu Yuanxiu, with the help of Baili Mansion servants, moved their luggage into the small courtyard.

It was cold at night, so she didn’t fuss, using only a warm, wet cloth to wipe Guoguo all over and change him into clean clothes.

As for Guoguo’s inch-long hair, she planned to wash it the next day when it warmed, as he wore a hat all day and it wasn’t dusty.

Washing Guoguo’s hair in the middle of the night might make him catch cold.

Guoguo wanted to sleep with Zhou Zhaodi, and Li Yuzhu carried him over.

Zhou Zhaodi was already half asleep but hearing Guoguo’s laughter, she yawned and lifted the quilt to cuddle him.

Li Yuzhu tucked the quilt in for the two little girls and closed the door.

When another pot of water boiled, Li Yuzhu and Mu Yuanxiu took turns bathing and then went to bed.

They still slept separately.

However, the room had no extra beds, only a kang.

Two quilts were spread on the kang next to each other so closely they could still chat. Li Yuzhu was very satisfied with the kang.

.

In the lunar month in the Northern Land, it snowed and was windy daily.

Once night fell, people in the houses of the mansion did not go out, turning off the lights early to sleep.

With their missing grandson back and their young son and daughter-in-law’s condition improving, the old couple in Baili Mansion were in a good mood and went to bed early.

Even though Envoy Baili Huang and Second Madam Baili slept in separate rooms, they knew each other’s condition improved, which allowed them to sleep peacefully.

Baili Dalang Baili Ju was a foodie; after dinner, he ate a bowl of beef bone soup, not worrying about anything and going to bed early.

Only his wife, Ms. Wu, had not yet slept, talking with the housekeeper in the outer room.

"The second steward refuses to leave and has been sitting by the opposite house, wanting to see the First Madam," said the housekeeper. "First Madam, what should we do about this?"

The second steward mentioned by the housekeeper was Wu Fan, a middle-aged man who had been scolded by the Old Madam during the day.

Because he mistook a drowned child for being brought back by Baili Rui and made a big fuss to bury the child in the Baili family’s cemetery, he was severely reprimanded by Old Madam Baili.

He was chastised for not handling things carefully, sentenced to work at the estate to redeem himself, and his New Year’s bonus was withheld.

As the second steward, his annual New Year’s bonus was one hundred taels.

This penalty, along with being sent away, not only eliminated his one hundred taels of New Year’s money but also the gratuities from other mansions visiting during the New Year, possibly reducing his earnings by two hundred taels compared to other years.

Wu Fan was a distant relative from the First Madam’s maternal family, acting as her dowry steward.

The incident today made the Old Madam very angry. Wu Fan dared not seek help from others and came to plead with the First Madam.

Madam Baili, vexed by other matters, was furious hearing about his refusal to go to the estate, saying, "Does he want me to personally see him off?"

The housekeeper was jolted by her shout, "First Madam, I will go and report back to the second steward."

"Relay my exact words! At a time like this, how dare you plead for them? No sense of awareness!" said Madam Baili with gritted teeth and anger.

The housekeeper replied and went off to pass the message.

A maid walked out of the bedchamber, "Madam, the master asked why you haven’t slept, what are you angry about so late at night?"

"Sleep, sleep, sleep, how can he sleep? Eat, sleep, and then eat again, doesn’t he have any sense?" Madam Baili’s willow eyebrows shot up, "Something happened in the mansion, and he can still sleep!"

The maid was so frightened by her shouting that she dared not speak further and quickly retreated.

Another lanky housekeeper glanced at the bedchamber and whispered, "Madam, what should we do next? Li San Niang from Zhen An Prefecture seems capable, she’s cured Second Master and Second Madam’s illnesses."

Madam Baili shot her a stern look and lowered her voice with a severe expression, "Shut up, is this the time to talk about such things?"

The lanky housekeeper glanced again at the direction of the bedchamber, quickly shut her mouth, and dared not speak anymore.

Madam Baili squinted and stretched her hand towards the fire stove, warming her hands by rubbing them slowly, "Why such a rush, still so young, it’s just by chance."

She curled her lips in slight disdain and let out a light snort.

.

A night of good sleep.

Li Yuzhu awakened from the warm kang.

The snow outside illuminated the creamy white paper of the window, making it glow even brighter.

Li Yuzhu stretched lazily and yawned as she got off the kang.

Mu Yuanxiu was not on the kang; his side of the bedding had already been tidily folded.

On the stove at the kang’s head, something was steaming, hot and fragrant.

Li Yuzhu dressed properly and went over to lift the lid to see.

There, a few eggs were steaming on bamboo strips, along with four bowls of warm lamb bone porridge and four corn cobs, which were presumably breakfast for the four of them.

At the head of the kang was a kettle, with boiling water steaming inside.

In the cold Northern Land, every house had a kang in the bedroom and a ground stove in the hall.

On the kang were placed a pot and a water-heating jar, and on the ground stove were placed a copper kettle.

Hot water and hot food were available all day long, convenient for use at any time.

After washing up and combing her hair, Li Yuzhu went outside.

Outside, Mu Yuanxiu was braiding Guoguo’s hair, while Zhou Zhaodi was adding firewood to the ground stove.

Li Yuzhu smiled and said, "You are up early."

"San Niang, Guoguo and I just woke up, but San Guye was up earlier," Zhou Zhaodi said with an embarrassed smile.

Once Guoguo’s braids were done, Mu Yuanxiu brought out breakfast from the pot on the kang, and the four sat together to eat.

After finishing breakfast, the head maid Yin Zhen came from the Old Madam Baili’s side.

"Li San Niang, the Old Madam sent me to invite you to check on our Second Master and Second Madam," Yin Zhen said.

Li Yuzhu smiled, "I was just about to go when you arrived."

She sipped some tea, rinsed her mouth, and headed out with Zhou Zhaodi.

But this time, Guoguo insisted on going with her.

She said she wanted to see Baili Rui’s parents.

This child is quite the little smart one.

Li Yuzhu was unable to persuade her, so she agreed, "Don’t run off, stay close to me."

Guoguo nodded obediently, "Hmm."

Mu Yuanxiu stayed in the room to rest, while Li Yuzhu took Zhou Zhaodi and Guoguo, and followed the head maid Yin Zhen to Baili Huang’s study.

After taking medicine and having IV drips yesterday, Baili Huang was no longer lethargic and had naturally woken up this morning.

He leaned against the bedside, flipping through a book.

In fact, inside his bed was a thick stack of documents piled up.

Li Yuzhu thought to herself, this man is truly diligent, just slightly better from illness, yet he’s already working.

"How is the master’s health?" Li Yuzhu stepped forward, smiling with a nod to greet.

Zhou Zhaodi also followed, calling "Lord Baili."

"A bit better, thanks to Li San Niang’s miraculous medicine." Baili Huang put down the document, coughed lightly, and smiled faintly.

At this time, he noticed the little girl in red beside Li Yuzhu, and couldn’t help but smile and say, "Whose family is this little girl? She’s so clever."

He smiled and beckoned to Guoguo.

"She’s my niece Li Guoguo. She’s fond of Xiao Rui and joined us in sending him home," Li Yuzhu said with a smile, then gently patted Guoguo’s head, "Guoguo, call Uncle Baili."

But Guoguo smiled sweetly and responded, "I’m the little girl from Uncle Chang’s family." She released Zhou Zhaodi’s hand, dashed to the bedside, and climbed onto the bed with her little legs, "Uncle Chang, Guoguo missed you."

Baili Huang was stunned, Uncle Chang?

The children of his wife’s sister’s relatives liked to call him Uncle Chang because he was tall and long-legged, taller than most men.

His little sister-in-law’s children are young and were supposed to call him Uncle because of their age, not distinguishing between uncles and aunt’s husbands, they followed other children to call him "Uncle Chang," which he allowed without concern.

How did this unfamiliar little girl know he was "Uncle Chang"?