Chapter 9
Chapter 9
Jiang Yunsui rested in her small courtyard for a day. The next morning, dressed in a little pink silk dress and her hair styled in two drooping servant buns, she was led to the Front Courtyard by Cook Chen.
Jiang Yunsui was still curious about her new hairstyle, reaching up to touch it every now and then as they walked.
After a period of recuperation, although she hadn’t gained much weight back, her overall spirit was entirely different. Unlike the deathly pale, fragile child who looked like she might pass away at any moment when she was first found, her face now had a healthy flush of color.
Combined with her fair skin and delicate, lovely features, she looked exceptionally endearing.
“Auntie can only take you this far. Do you remember what I told you?”
Jiang Yunsui nodded her little head. “I know. Talk less, and do whatever the Young Master tells me to do.”
She repeated Cook Chen’s instructions in her milky little voice, looking incredibly cute.
Cook Chen couldn’t resist squeezing her small hand. She had wanted to pinch the girl’s cheek, but the little one’s skin was so tender that even a light pinch would leave a mark. It wouldn’t be good to go to work with a bruise like that.
Jiang Yunsui headed into the Front Courtyard on her own, swaggering inside with confidence.
The guards kept their eyes fixed straight ahead.
After looking around for a while, Jiang Yunsui had no idea where Young Master Ji was, so she decided to just grab someone and ask.
“Hello, where is Young Master Ji?”
Standing under a tree, Jiang Yunsui tilted her head back and politely asked someone hidden among the branches.
Ji Si: !!!
Something was wrong. She couldn’t possibly be asking him!
He was a hidden guard; his concealment skills were top-notch.
Jiang Yunsui waited under the tree for a moment, but when no answer came, she simply moved to another spot-the shadow behind a decorative rock garden.
“Hello, do you know where Young Master Ji is, please?”
Ji Lu: !!!
Wait, when did this kid appear, and how did she find him?!
Ji Si, who was secretly following from a short distance away, widened his eyes. No way. It wasn’t an accident?
That meant the kid really had discovered him just now.
“Can’t any of you talk?”
Jiang Yunsui waited a bit longer. Seeing that he didn’t speak either, she immediately cast a look of pity toward him.
“You people in the black clothes are so pitiful.”
“You’re all mutes, alas.”
Ji Si & Ji Lu: “…”
“Why are you looking for the Young Master?”
Jiang Yunsui’s eyes rounded. “Oh, you’re not a mute!”
Ji Lu remained expressionless.
“I am Young Master Ji’s maid. I’m looking for him to serve him.”
“But I can’t find him now.”
Jiang Yunsui’s milky voice was clear.
Normally, a maid’s shifts would be arranged by Nanny Zhou, but Nanny Zhou had already overlooked this child-passively overlooked her, one might say.
In fact, neither Ji Yan’an nor Uncle Li had thought of Jiang Yunsui since they last saw her. Naturally, no one had assigned her a shift.
“I’ll take you to him,” Ji Lu said.
The news that a four-year-old maid had appeared by the Young Master’s side had already spread among the shadow guards. Seeing her now, Ji Lu remembered.
“Thank you!”
A baby politely saying thank you was truly, truly adorable.
Ji Lu couldn’t help but steal several glances at her. From his perspective, he could only see the top of her head, her short legs churning away, and her tiny clenched fists.
For every step he took, the child had to take two or three huffing steps.
Her legs were so short.
The corners of Ji Lu’s eyes couldn’t help but crinkle upward.
*Hehe, this is fun.*
When people approached on the path, Ji Lu simply picked the little girl up, tapped his toes against the ground, and quickly sped away.
“Wheee!”
Jiang Yunsui wasn’t afraid at all. Her beautiful, clean eyes went wide with wonder as she hugged Ji Lu’s neck and let out a soft cheer.
“It’s so high!”
Ji Lu was currently using his qinggong to carry Jiang Yunsui across the rooftops. The little girl was overjoyed, her childish voice filled with admiration.
When she was a Little Mushroom, she would just burrow into the ground to escape danger; she couldn’t fly at all. Now that she had become a human, she couldn’t even burrow anymore.
“You’re so amazing!”
Clearly, Jiang Yunsui loved the feeling of flying.
The four-year-old’s voice was milky and soft. Hearing such praise from a little girl, Ji Lu couldn’t stop the corners of his mouth from curling upward. However, since he was wearing a mask, no one could see his expression.
Jiang Yunsui only heard him give a faint, nonchalant grunt in response.
He had certainly succeeded in acting cool.
Upon reaching their destination, Ji Lu found a secluded spot to set her down.
“Go find the guards at the gate and have them take you in. You can’t go in on your own.”
He was a shadow guard; unless absolutely necessary, he would not reveal himself in public.
Once Jiang Yunsui was steady on her feet, she smoothed out her slightly messy dress and hair, nodding obediently at his words. “Okay!”
After tidying herself up, she trotted toward the entrance on her short legs.
“Hello, could you take me to see Young Master Ji? I’m his maid.”
Watching from the shadows, Ji Lu felt quite gratified to see her behaving so well.
The two guards exchanged looks before one of the younger-looking guards eventually led her inside.
“The Young Master is meeting with a guest inside. You’ll have to wait out here for a bit.”
Jiang Yunsui gave an understanding nod. Seeing Nanny Zhou standing by the door, she thanked the guard and ran over to her.
“Nanny Zhou!”
When Nanny Zhou saw her, she immediately remembered the child. She felt a pang of annoyance at herself-when had her memory become so poor that she had forgotten all about this little girl?
“Suisui, how did you find your way here?”
Jiang Yunsui obediently explained how Cook Chen had sent her to the Front Courtyard, and then someone else had brought her the rest of the way.
“But I forgot to ask him his name,” the little one added, looking quite dejected.
Nanny Zhou told her, “The Young Master is receiving a guest right now. You can play over here for a while. Just don’t make any noise. Wait until the Young Master calls for you before going in.”
Jiang Yunsui nodded. “Thank you, Nanny Zhou.”
Looking into the girl’s sincere, clear eyes, Nanny Zhou’s heart softened slightly.
Jiang Yunsui was a very quiet and obedient child. Other children might have found it impossible to stay in one place, but Jiang Yunsui was used to being a mushroom. She found a set of bluestone steps, sat down, and began to play by herself. She watched the ants on the ground and plucked a few blades of grass to weave aimlessly in her hands.
Soon, however, she discovered a new toy: a nest of swallows under the eaves. She crouched beneath the roof, tilting her head back to watch the two swallows carry moist mud to build their nest.
Nanny Zhou glanced at her occasionally, thinking that this child was truly easy to look after. She was no trouble at all.
Meanwhile, inside the room…
A young man dressed in green was feeling Ji Yan’an’s pulse.
“Dark Dream Poison… It’s honestly surprising to me that the Young Master has managed to hold on until now and even seems to be in good spirits.”
Standing to the side, Uncle Li heard the physician diagnose the poison and desperately wished for him to provide a cure immediately. This was the first doctor they had encountered in a long time who could identify the specific poison affecting the Young Master just by taking his pulse.
Although Ji Yan’an felt a flicker of emotion, it wasn’t much. Even if it was diagnosed, it still had to be curable. Having been disappointed too many times, Ji Yan’an was used to not harboring much expectation.