GBP Chapter 88 Settlement 1
Chapter 88 Settlement 1
As the cold moon disappeared and the east began to lighten, the cool morning light slipped through the wooden windowpane into the quiet room, bouncing back and forth on Wei Chaoyan's sleeping face.
Startled awake by the cool touch, Wei Chaoyan's long eyelashes fluttered slightly. Her eyes rolled around for a while under her tightly closed eyelids before she finally opened them, still sleepy and drowsy.
Wei Chaoyan sat up halfway, wrapped in a warm quilt, her mind blank and lost in thought. The maid who was sleeping fully clothed on a small couch not far from the room noticed Wei Chaoyan's movement, threw off the quilt, and jumped from the couch to the ground.
The maid walked quickly and quietly to the bedside, gently lifted a corner of the thick bed curtains to peek inside, and found Wei Chaoyan sitting half-sitting on the bed in a daze, wearing only a thin undergarment. She quickly asked nervously and in a low voice, "Is something wrong, Miss?"
Upon hearing the maid's question, Wei Chaoyan paused, her mind slowly returning to normal. She replied woodenly and somewhat hoarsely, "Nothing, I just woke up. What time is it?"
"Replying to Miss, it's almost the beginning of Mao hour, just past Yin hour," the maid replied softly.
Nodding, Wei Chaoyan indicated that she understood.
Seeing that Wei Chaoyan nodded but didn't say anything more and remained in that dazed state, the maidservant, fearing that Wei Chaoyan might catch a cold, nervously asked, "Does Miss have any other instructions?"
Wei Chaoyan turned his head blankly and stared at the pale and nervous maid until a little sweat appeared on her temples before slowly saying, "Please fetch me some hot water. I want to wash up."
Following the maid's questioning gaze, Wei Chaoyan turned to the faces of the other three children still fast asleep on the bed. Seeing that they were sleeping soundly and was about to skip her morning exercise, she put her index finger to her lips and whispered, "Keep your voice down and don't wake them. Just prepare enough for me. As for the others, don't prepare anything for them yet. Let them sleep a little longer!"
The maidservant responded softly. Seeing that Wei Chaoyan had no further instructions, she boldly advised, "Now that you're awake, why don't you put on your outer clothes first? It's chilly in the morning, so be careful not to catch a cold."
"Oh?!?!!" Wei Chaoyan only realized that she was wearing only a close-fitting undergarment when she heard the maid's words and sat up. Now the skin of her upper body exposed outside the quilt was already a little cold. She quickly grabbed a corner of the large quilt piled on her knees and pulled it up to cover her upper body.
Seeing that Wei Chaoyan was wrapped up tightly, the maidservant was satisfied and went to the kitchen to get hot water. After the maidservant left for a while, Wei Chaoyan's empty mind finally came to its senses. Thinking that she still had to explain yesterday's events to Lady Yan later, Wei Chaoyan, who had been so exhausted yesterday that she would have significant long-term effects, had no desire to talk to 001 at this time.
Looking at Wei Ying and Qi Ye's eyes, which were still red and swollen after a night, Wei Chaoyan deeply realized that her actions yesterday had indeed gone too far. Whether it was finding a new place for the Exorcising Grass, developing a new map, or searching for clues about the deaths of Zezang and his wife, these were all large-scale projects that required a lot of time and energy. She had been out of her mind yesterday and actually tried to finish these tasks in half a day. In the end, she only found a few places that seemed to have Exorcising Grass, and failed to achieve the other two objectives. Instead, she had caused Wei Ying and the others a lot of worry and anxiety, which was really wrong of her!
Worried that Wei Ying and Qi Ye might have been too anxious yesterday and that it might have affected their mental health, Wei Chaoyan pinched her throbbing temples in annoyance and quickly got up to dress. She planned to wash up early and go to Manager Li to ask if the doctor who helped with the last consultation was at the Yan residence. If he was, she hoped he could come and take a look at Wei Ying and Qi Ye. If he wasn't, she hoped he could help find another good doctor to come and see them.
After tidying herself up, Wei Chaoyan bent down and smoothed the slightly furrowed brows of her three younger brothers. She carefully left the guest room and, led by a maid, headed towards where Manager Li was (it was already the hour of Mao, and Manager Li usually arrived at the cloth shop at this time to start work).
Halfway there, she was found by the servant sent by Lady Yan to find Wei Chaoyan. Under the servant's repeated urging, Wei Chaoyan had no choice but to let her maid go to Manager Li to convey her request, while she followed the servant to another, more secluded room of Lady Yan, where Lady Yan and Yan Qing were waiting for her.
As soon as Wei Chaoyan entered the room, she was stunned by the solemn atmosphere. With her eyes downcast, she tiptoed to the spot closest to the door and found an empty stool. She slid down into the seat and, like Yan Qing and the others, looked at Yan Niangzi, who was seated at the head of the table, with a serious expression, waiting for her to speak.
Amused by Wei Chaoyan's actions, Lady Yan could no longer maintain her serious and dignified demeanor. She simply stopped pretending, and a slight smile appeared on her lips. Her tightly furrowed eyebrows relaxed, and her expression softened, easing the oppressive atmosphere in the room.
"Ahem, Ah Yan, you've come at the right time." Madam Yan cleared her throat by making a fist with one hand and putting it to her mouth before putting her hand down. "It just so happens that Yan Qing and the others are reporting to me about yesterday's events. You can listen to it and see if there's anything that needs to be added."
“Okay, I understand, Aunt Yan,” Wei Chaoyan replied dryly.
Lady Yan ignored Wei Chaoyan's dry voice, tapped the table beside her, turned her head and raised an eyebrow at Yan Qing, who was sitting in front of her, signaling him to begin his work report.
Upon receiving a signal from Madam Yan, Yan Qing stood up straight from his seat and recounted in detail everything that had happened yesterday, from the time they left the cloth shop's backyard until they returned.
Although the tone was dry and the words were concise, the content was very complete and detailed, including but not limited to Wei Chaoyan's attempt to dismount and approach the curse wall after arriving at the place, and the fact that she would not have returned so early if Yan Qing had not warned her.
As Yan Qing narrated his dry narration, Wei Chaoyan lowered her head even further, wishing she could shrink into the chair so no one could see her. She knew Yan Qing was meticulous and serious, but she didn't know he was meticulous and serious in this way. It was one thing for him to report the situation, but why did he also recount all her outrageous behavior along the way? Wasn't this blatantly setting her up?
Sure enough, as Yan Qing recounted the story, the death stare that Yan Niangzi pierced her with even greater intensity. Having barely endured Yan Qing's report, Wei Chaoyan, who was cursing incessantly in her heart, thought she had temporarily escaped a calamity when Yan Niangzi's voice, as if from hell, rang out above her head: "Oh? Then I wonder if our brave and fearless Miss Wei has any different opinions?"