Chapter 406

**Chapter 411: Beyond Expectations (Part 2)**

The sobbing gradually softened into sniffles.

Fang Jieer looked up shyly. "Aunt..."

"Are you feeling better?" Eleven Miss asked, looking at her, her eyes warm with kindness.

Fang Jieer nodded, her expression noticeably lighter. She dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief. "Mother always puts on a brave face when she visits... It’s been weighing on me..."

But her status and position kept her from speaking freely.

Eleven Miss nodded in understanding.

But Fang Jieer didn’t know what else to say.

Her daughter’s birth, the Emperor’s disappointment, the Empress’s sympathy, the Crown Prince’s consolation—even her father’s suggestion that the Zhou family intended to send a daughter of an old ally into the palace to secure favor, or her mother’s hint that she should arrange for a trusted maid to serve the Crown Prince—all were expected, the most tactful moves given the situation. But a stifling frustration lingered in her heart, one she could neither dispel nor voice.

After much deliberation, she thought of Eleven Miss—the woman who would embroider even a coarse cotton jacket with colorful silk threads to make bat-shaped buttons...

And Eleven Miss did not disappoint her.

No hollow pleasantries, no perfunctory platitudes—just the simple advice: "Then have a good cry. Just remember, after this, never cry again." Like a mother’s love—whether right or timely, sternness came after indulgence.

At that moment, all hesitation disappeared. She surrendered to her emotions and wept freely. Once the tears dried, the knot in her heart loosened, and with clarity came acceptance. Some words no longer needed to be spoken.

Eleven Miss watched silently.

Fang Jieer, raised in a princess’s household and naturally sharp-witted, hesitated as if holding back. Recognizing that she had regained her composure and rationality, Eleven Miss set aside the earlier moment and steered the conversation toward casual topics. "And the little princess? Is she with her wet nurse? It’s a pity I wasn’t well enough to attend her third-day ceremony. Who does she take after more?"

No prying, no shock, no uncomfortable silence—just a smooth transition, offering Fang Jieer an effortless way forward.

Fang Jieer was taken aback, yet Eleven Miss’s response felt perfectly natural. A woman of such grace and wisdom was never meant to be ordinary.

A sweet smile spread across her face. "The little princess looks like me. The wet nurse brings her to me every afternoon." She called for a maid. "Go see if the little princess is awake. Have the wet nurse bring her to meet Lady Yongping." The maid scurried away.

Eleven Miss quickly interjected, "Don’t wake her if she’s asleep!"

"She naps all day," Fang Jieer laughed, her happiness shining through. "It hardly matters if she’s woken." Then she began describing the princess—how tiny her hands were, how dark her hair, how bright her eyes when she looked at people—growing more excited as she spoke. She not only had the baby brought out for Eleven Miss to see but also kept her in conversation until dusk before finally letting her leave the palace.

Lord Xu was waiting at Chengguang Gate. When he saw her, he rushed over. "Are you all right?"

Eleven Miss, pale, barely stepped out of Shenwu Gate before vomiting.

A guard who knew Lord Xu quickly fetched hot tea. A few sips later, Eleven Miss felt a little better and gestured for Amber to hurry home.

Lord Xu handed the guard his card before boarding his sedan chair and returning to Hehuali.

As soon as they got home, Eleven Miss fell into bed, skipping dinner entirely and falling straight asleep.

Seeing how exhausted she was, Lord Xu didn’t disturb her, only instructing Amber and the others to prepare a late-night meal.

Yet Eleven Miss slept straight through till dawn. When she woke, she was starving, but after a few bites of plain congee, she was sick again.

"Why is it like before?" Lord Xu fretted.

"It’s nothing!" Eleven Miss reassured him. "Perhaps I’m just overtired. A couple of days’ rest will set me right."

But two days passed with no improvement, alarming even the elder madam, who scolded Lord Xu. "The Crown Princess is young and naive, but you should know better! How could you let her go into the palace?"

Lord Xu could only stand to the side with an awkward, self-conscious smile.

Eleven Miss, fearing he might lose face, quickly reassured the elder madam, "It's my difficult pregnancy! His Lordship didn't anticipate this relapse."

Seeing how Eleven Miss shielded Lord Xu, the elder madam felt both pleased and worried, fearing further discomfort for her. She proposed having Tian Mama and Wan Mama attend to her.

Eleven Miss agreed without hesitation and instructed Amber to retrieve four bolts of gold-embroidered brocade, four bolts of imported woolen fabric, four bolts of white silk from Shujiang, a pair of gold Buddha-hand hairpins, a pair of delicate gold bracelets, and four gold rings from the storeroom as rewards for Tian Mama and Wan Mama. The two women bowed repeatedly in thanks and began serving in Eleven Miss’s chambers, diligently tending to her health.

Yet Eleven Miss’s condition showed no improvement. By the fifteenth of the third month, she was confined to bed. Tian Mama and Wan Mama sensed something unusual and gently questioned her about her discomfort.

Eleven Miss gave a wan smile. "It's just a strange smell—whenever I catch a whiff, I feel nauseous." The two women and Amber searched the room inside and out but found nothing amiss. Just as they grew puzzled, Eleven Miss began vomiting again.

Tian Mama, deep in thought, stood beside Eleven Miss and detected a faint, intermittent scent.

She had a sudden thought.

Begging pardon, she inspected all of Eleven Miss’s belongings but found no trace of the scent.

Just as Tian Mama puzzled over it, the fragrance wafted by again. Within moments, Eleven Miss leaned over the heated brick bed (kang) and vomited. Tian Mama kept silent and instead went to see the elder madam.

The elder madam’s face grew stern. She whispered to Tian Mama, "Stay close to Eleven Miss longer and try to pinpoint where that scent is coming from."

Tian Mama obeyed and left.

Meanwhile, an older woman from the ancestral hall came to seek the elder madam’s instructions: "The Ciyuan Temple has sent a nun, saying she’ll arrive before dawn tomorrow!"

After a moment’s thought, the elder madam told Yuban, "Go inform that woman to have the nun from Ciyuan Temple come see me."

Yuban relayed the message to the older woman standing in the courtyard.

The woman swiftly brought the visiting nun from Ciyuan Temple.

"Inform Abbess Jining that the memorial rites for my late fourth daughter-in-law will be held at Ciyuan Temple. Fourteen days of ceremonial rites are to be performed, with a thousand gold and silver paper ingots, a thousand paper coins, sacrificial offerings of three animals, and five banquet tables."

The visiting nun was delighted and immediately assented.

The elder madam then went to see Eleven Miss.

Several young maids were searching the grass around the house for something.

"What’s going on here?" the elder madam asked as she entered, waving Eleven Miss back down. She took a seat on the stool near the kang and turned to Tian Mama.

"The mistress mentioned it might be the scent of some flower," Tian Mama explained with a smile. "She’s smelled it in previous years, but this time it’s unbearable. So I had the maids search the area."

The elder madam nodded and instructed Madam Du to hand the blood bird’s nest—a rare and expensive variety of edible bird’s nest—to Tian Mama. "This can’t continue like this—stew it for her to eat."

Tian Mama hurried to the kitchen with it.

Eleven Miss was filled with guilt.

The elder madam comforted her instead. "This isn’t your fault." She then urged Song Mama to take good care of Eleven Miss before returning to her own quarters.

Xu Sizhun, under Master Zhao’s guidance, had been rehearsing the ceremonial rites for presiding over the memorial ceremony at home. After his lessons, he performed them for Eleven Miss.

Eleven Miss nodded approvingly. "Our Zhun'er has grown up."

Xu Sizhun held Eleven Miss’s paper-white hands, his eyes filled with worry. "Mother, you must recover quickly."

Eleven Miss recalled how Xu Sizhun had similarly held Eldest Miss’s hands during her illness and felt tears pricking her eyes. Smiling, she squeezed his hands reassuringly. "With Zhun'er helping me, I won’t have to worry. Of course, I’ll recover soon."

Xu Sizhun gave an emphatic nod, looking every inch the serious little adult.

On that day, he dressed in plain mourning clothes early in the morning to greet Eleven Miss.

Madam Du looked startled. “Is the fourth young master going to the temple today?”

“No,” Xu Sizhun replied. “Mother said she’s ill and asked me to lead the memorial rites in her stead.”

Madam Du’s heart sank.

How could she have forgotten about this!

She had someone serve Xu Sizhun his breakfast and went to report to the elder madam.

Upon hearing this, the elder madam also smiled bitterly. “At my age, it’s hard to keep everything straight.” Then she said, “Bring him here, and I’ll speak to him. Lord Xu and Eleven Miss probably don’t know yet, so you should inform them as well.”

Madam Du obeyed and went to Eleven Miss’s quarters.

Lord Xu’s face clouded over slightly upon hearing the news. Eleven Miss thought for a moment and discussed it with him: “Maybe the Marquis could take Chun Ge to the temple instead?”

It was the only option!

Lord Xu instructed Steward Bai to prepare the carriage and horses.

Madam Du returned to report to the elder madam.

Madam Tao lingered outside the ancestral hall, but Xu Sizhun never arrived, nor were the monks for the water-land rites anywhere in sight. She sent a young maid to look for Xu Sizhun.

“Madam Tao,” the maid gasped as she ran back, “the water-land ceremony for the late fourth madam has been moved to Ciyuan Temple. The Marquis has taken the fourth young master there.”

“How could this be?” Madam Tao gaped in disbelief. “It was all settled just a few days ago. Why was it changed to Ciyuan Temple?”

The maid whispered, “I heard the fourth madam is unwell, so the elder madam rescheduled the ceremony to Ciyuan Temple at the last moment.”

Madam Tao was so angry it made her sides ache.

“If she’s unwell, she should be even more diligent in honoring the late madam, asking for her blessings to recover. Instead, she’s pushing aside the dead for her own sake… Just because she’s with child—who knows if it’s a boy—she’s acting high and mighty! Back then, she was nothing but a servant’s girl, fawning over the madam…”

The maid broke out in a sweat and quickly pulled Madam Tao away. “Madam, let’s go back first! Didn’t you say you had someone write a prayer for the late madam to burn? We shouldn’t miss the timing!” After some coaxing, Madam Tao finally gave in and returned, instructing the maid to wait at the inner gate: “Tell me as soon as the fourth young master returns! This isn’t the end of it!”

The maid had no choice but to go to the inner gate.

As she passed Eleven Miss’s courtyard, she heard a young maid exclaim, “Found it, found it!”

Tian Ma immediately rushed over. “Show me, what is it?”

The maid held up a handful of grass-like plants. “Madam, smell this!” Tian Ma’s eyes sparkled with excitement. “This is it!”