Chapter 260: Your Mother Really Loves You

Chapter 260: Your Mother Really Loves You

Ah Wu noticed that Xingxing looked listless and immediately ordered the two household maids from their wing, Shuangxiu and Shuangjia, to keep watch near Yamei'er's house. They were to take turns and make sure to catch Da Xi as she left the house.

Fortunately, their efforts paid off. Under the alternating surveillance of Shuangxiu and Shuangjia, they finally saw Da Xi finish her lunch, look around, lock the front door from the outside, and leave with a bamboo basket covered with a cloth.

Ah Wu quickly told Xingxing the news.

Xingxing threw her arms around Ah Wu in a big hug: "Thank you, Auntie Ah Wu!"

After Ah Wu married into the family, Xingxing changed her address, no longer calling her Ah Wu sister, to avoid confusing the family hierarchy.

Xingxing grabbed her small purse and stuffed some sweet candies into her pocket, and was about to run to Yamei'er's house when Ah Wu quickly said, "Xingxing, don't rush. Yamei'er's house is locked from the outside, and your friend won't be able to open the door for you."

Ah Wu then suggested, "I'll have your fourth uncle bring a ladder for you!"

But Xingxing was brimming with confidence: "It's okay, I'm sneaking in to see Yaya this time, so I can't be too obvious—I'll crawl through the doggy door!"

Although Yamei'er's front door was locked, this didn't stump Xingxing. The two friends knew every hidden gap in each other's fences from years of playing together.

Xingxing skillfully crawled through the doggy door at Yamei'er's fence, which was covered with tangled dry branches.

Yamei'er's house was unnervingly quiet, with no sound at all.

Xingxing shivered inexplicably.

For some reason, she had been to Yamei'er's house many times, but this time, Xingxing felt something was off.

Was it because she was sneaking in without Yaya's parents knowing?

Xingxing pondered but didn't dwell on it. The little girl happily tiptoed, like a thief, towards Yamei'er's room.

Although Yamei'er's family wasn't wealthy, their small courtyard was neatly kept.

Xingxing stood outside Yamei'er's room and whispered, "Yaya, I heard you have a fever? Are you feeling better?"

Yamei'er, clearly awake inside, was delighted to hear Xingxing's voice: "Xingxing?! How did you get here?"

But then she sighed: "...Oh, Xingxing, you should leave quickly. Cough cough, yesterday I had a fever, and my mom got really angry, saying I didn't take care of myself and won't let me go out to play anymore... When I get better, cough cough, we'll sneak out to play again."

Xingxing nodded her little head but then remembered Yamei'er couldn't see her through the door, so she whispered, "Yaya, I'm not here to play. I just heard you had a fever and came to see you... Has your fever gone down? Are you feeling better?"

Yamei'er was touched: "...Much better! I still have a bit of a fever, but it's okay. My mom said if I take my medicine on time, I'll get better!"

Still uneasy, Xingxing whispered, seeking Yamei'er's opinion: "Yaya, I still want to come in and see you. I brought you some fever-reducing pills given by Grandmother Da Xi and some candies~"

"My mom will be angry if she finds out..." Yamei'er hesitated for a moment but couldn't resist her friend's gesture of crawling through a doggy door to visit her. "Alright, come in quickly, and leave before my mom gets back!"

"Okay!"

Xingxing happily pushed open the door.

But the moment she opened the door, a musty smell hit her.

She paused, instinctively looking towards the window.

Sure enough, the window was tightly shut.

Xingxing whispered, "Patients need fresh air even more."

Yamei'er was lying on the heated bed, covered with a quilt and had a medicinal bag on her head, likely to reduce fever.

On the table beside her, there was an empty bowl with slight brown stains, likely from the medicine Yamei'er had taken earlier.

Xingxing approached with concern to the side of the heated bed, took Yamei'er's hand, and felt it was very hot.

"Yaya, you're so sick..." Xingxing was on the verge of tears.

Yamei'er, however, was quite optimistic. Despite her fever, her little face was somewhat pale, and she smiled, "It's not that bad. Actually, my mom put a heated stone bottle under the quilt, so my hands are warm from being under the covers."

Xingxing pursed her lips, pulled out some fever-reducing pills from her sachet, and placed them near Yamei'er's lips: "...These are the pills Daxisipo gave me. She said even if you don't have a fever, they can nourish your body."

Everyone in the surrounding villages knew of Daxisipo's reputation.

Yamei'er trusted her and opened her mouth to take the medicine.

Xingxing immediately took out some candy and fed Yamei'er a piece: "Sweeten your mouth."

Yamei'er squinted her eyes happily: "So sweet!"

Seeing Yamei'er smile, Xingxing couldn't help but grin along.

Xingxing leaned on the edge of Yamei'er's heated bed, wanting to chat with her, but her little nose twitched as if she smelled something unusual.

Xingxing sniffed again, looking puzzled.

Yamei'er misunderstood and blushed slightly: "Xingxing, I have a fever and I'm all sweaty. My mom won't let me go out to the toilet, maybe the chamber pot in the room isn't covered properly..."

"No, it's not that..." Xingxing shook her head, unsure how to describe it.

For most of the past year, she had been learning medicine from Daxisipo, spending most of her time identifying the properties of various herbs.

This smell seemed like the small piece of herb Daxisipo had given her before.

Xingxing thought uncertainly.

That herb was called Soul-losing Grass. The name sounded scary, but Daxisipo told her that whether a herb is scary depends on how it's used. This herb could make people feel like they were floating and slightly relieve pain when added during severe pain.

However, Xingxing was still too young, and Daxisipo had only let her smell it while preparing a prescription, not specifically teaching her, just wanting her to gain some experience.

Therefore, Xingxing wasn't very sure now.

She thought maybe she had misidentified the smell.

Yaya only had a fever, why would she need pain relief?

"By the way, Yaya, why aren't your roosters crowing?" Xingxing suddenly remembered that when she came in, the yard was eerily quiet.

Yamei'er chuckled again: "My mom said yesterday that I'm sick and weak, and the remaining rooster at home doesn't lay eggs and crows every day, so she was afraid it would scare me. She decided to kill it to nourish my body."

Yamei'er seemed to savor the memory, "The chicken soup last night was so delicious!"

Xingxing exclaimed, "Wow, your mom really cares for you!"

She decided! Even though Aunt Ruan didn't like her and gave her a strange feeling, she decided not to hold it against her just because Aunt Ruan was so good to Yamei'er!