In the afternoon, after taking a nap, Su Hele returned to the pavilion in the garden.
In the garden, a new group of people had gathered. They were all transferred from Bitao Courtyard, and there was also a hired craftsman.
It was definitely too late to teach the servants how to build a thatched cottage from scratch, but with the on - site guidance of an experienced craftsman, it was a different story.
Coupled with her personal command, the thatched cottage would surely be completed soon.
With a few orders from Su Hele, although the servants were reluctant, they started to work hard.
The garden was once again bustling with activity. This time, without Nanny Wang causing trouble, the plan went much more smoothly.
Su Hele waved her flower - clustered silk fan, a faint smile on her face.
It seemed that Nanny Wang had finally understood who was in charge of the Anshun Marquis Mansion.
Thinking of last night, Su Hele felt secretly proud. She knew that He Jin couldn't do without her.
"The frame of the thatched cottage needs to be made a bit higher so that the view will be more expansive."
...
Su Nansheng was carefully examining the sachet in her hand when she caught a glimpse of Bitao stealing glances at her from the corner of her eye.
"What's up?"
Bitao had been waiting for this question. She gave a little giggle and said,
"Mistress, aren't you going to do something about the Second Young Mistress? Are you just going to let her cause chaos?"
Just now, she had sneaked into the garden to take a look. It was... really a sorry sight.
"Aunt Li's illness will get better, and the mistress will return from Hanguang Temple. We should let them see Su Hele's true capabilities before dealing with her. If I stop her now, it won't work, and I might even get dragged into trouble."
Su Nansheng stroked the twin lotus flowers on the sachet, her eyes deep.
One mustn't underestimate Su Hele. She was like the white oleander, appearing elegant and gentle on the surface but actually extremely poisonous.
Bitao agreed whole - heartedly and nodded, saying, "You're right. We'd better stay away from her."
Seeing Bitao looking so serious for once, Su Nansheng couldn't help but smile.
"But we can't stay too far away and miss the fun. Keep an eye on Aunt Li. If there's any movement on her side, come and tell me immediately."
Bitao naturally understood what Su Nansheng meant and immediately nodded happily.
Aunt Li had been ill for several days. It was about time she got better. Bitao had been waiting rather impatiently.
Bitao left to find out the situation in Yurong Courtyard, while Su Nansheng looked for some dried flower petals and scented tea leaves to put into the sachet.
As she was putting them in, Su Nansheng stopped.
He Xun hadn't returned to the bedroom since that night. Was he angry that she hadn't responded that night? But he hadn't continued either.
Thinking of this, Su Nansheng sighed and rubbed her forehead.
Weren't they planning to have a child soon? What was she hesitating about that night!
...
The garden had been noisy for two days with the sound of hammers and saws, and then it returned to quiet, as if the previous commotion had never happened.
However, the scenery in the garden had changed drastically.
All the colorful and competing flowers had been replaced by yellow and pink chrysanthemums. Since they were newly transplanted, they all looked droopy and listless.
Behind the chrysanthemums were thin bamboo shoots with their leaves also hanging down. The once - vibrant sea of green bamboo was gone, and some of the leaves were even curled.
Afraid that these painstakingly transplanted plants wouldn't survive, Sumo was leading a group of maids to water them, looking exhausted.
They hadn't had a moment's rest in the past two days. Su Hele was afraid that they would work too slowly and not finish before Chen Wanrong returned.
So, under her constant urging and at the cost of two young servants breaking their legs, the thatched cottage was finally completed.
At this moment, Su Hele was in the thatched cottage, chanting poems and composing verses with He Jin, looking very content.
"Hubby, isn't it a unique pleasure to find a quiet place to relax in the bustling city?"
Su Hele listened attentively to the chirping of insects outside. A proud smile appeared on her usually calm face.
He Jin was lying on the rocking chair, looking at the patch of sky above him. He let out a hearty laugh.
"I didn't expect you, A Le, to not be buried in the trivial matters of the mansion and still retain your innocent and carefree nature."
Hearing this, Su Hele poured a glass of wine for He Jin and said with a smile,
"Hubby, do you feel the same pleasure as the poet Dongli?"
He Jin took the wine and drank it in one gulp.
"Without leaving the mansion, I can feel the pleasure of seclusion. It's wonderful, truly wonderful."
"Hubby, why don't you give this thatched cottage an elegant name?"
A group of maids were standing outside the thatched cottage with their hands folded, looking utterly dejected. They were waiting for the two people inside to leave.
Because the Second Young Mistress had said that these chrysanthemums and bamboo needed to be watered with waste to grow more vigorously.
But the smell of waste was too strong, and it might offend the two noble masters inside and spoil their mood.
To avoid spoiling their fun and making the masters angry, they could only water the plants with waste after the masters left.
But when would they leave?
The maids looked at the already dark sky and felt that the days in the mansion from now on would be even darker than the sky.
In the gloomy atmosphere, someone whispered quietly,
"Luomei, I'm going to quit my job."
"Ah? Okay, but I signed a permanent contract. What should I do..."
...
After late afternoon, the scorching sun lost its strength, and the heat on the ground had mostly dissipated.
Aunt Li waved her silk fan and walked out of Yurong Courtyard. The commotion in the garden in the past two days had always piqued her curiosity. Now that she was feeling much better, it was a good time to go and take a look.
Halfway there, Aunt Li noticed that someone was missing. "Where's Nanny Wang?"
The maid Dongyue, who was following behind with her head down, replied,
"Back to you, Auntie. Nanny Wang said there was still one last dose of medicine at Doctor Liu's place, and she had to go and get it."
Aunt Li said indifferently,
"What's the hurry? Does she have to go herself? You girls are so useless! You don't have any sense at all!"
Dongyue lowered her head even more, silently shouting injustice in her heart.
Nanny Wang insisted on going herself. How dare she stop her?
Seeing that Dongyue didn't say a word, Aunt Li was about to scold her a few more times when a gust of wind blew.
"What's that smell? It's so stinky!"
Aunt Li covered her nose with a silk handkerchief, looking disgusted.
Dongyue and another maid also smelled it but just kept their heads down and said nothing.
They had heard a bit about what had been going on in the garden in the past two days, but Nanny Wang had told them that since Aunt Li was still ill, she shouldn't get angry, so they shouldn't let her know about the things in the garden.
Seeing that they didn't say anything, Aunt Li glared at them.
"You're so stupid. Am I the only one who's sick? Why don't you go and check it out first?"
Before the two maids could react, they saw Nanny Wang hurrying up from behind.
"Auntie, you've just recovered from a serious illness. Your body is still weak. Why are you walking so fast?"
Nanny Wang was out of breath, obviously having chased for some distance.
Seeing her catch up, Aunt Li turned around and continued walking, complaining as she went,
"You can smell it, right? Is there a dead wild cat or something in the garden? What's the gardener doing? He's so useless."
Behind them, Bitao pressed her lips together and turned around to run towards Tingfeng Courtyard.
After running a few steps, she suddenly stopped. She let out a sigh of relief when she saw that there was no one around.
Then, she folded her hands in front of her abdomen, held her head high, and changed from running to walking, but her little legs were moving so fast that they were almost a blur.