Shi Fengju was finally able to fill his stomach comfortably. After returning from a quick shower, the magenta-colored bed curtain was already tightly enclosed around the bed which showed that Sang Wan should be sound asleep by now.
With no one else in the chamber, Shi Fengju let his courage grow and he wilfully gazed at the bed curtain that would sway once in a while. Unknowingly, his thoughts began to wander and he wondered what the person's posture would be like as she slept behind the bed curtain. His heart became a little aroused and was tempted to push away the bed curtain to have a full view. He hesitated for a while, but eventually, he was not daring enough to do so. Quietly laughing at himself foolishly, he shook his head and swiftly took out a mattress from the cupboard.
Unbeknown to him, during the time he was staring at the bed curtain, the person inside was quietly monitoring him. She gently leaned her head away from the bed curtain and the edge of her lips hooked slightly upwards.
No more than two days later, Nanny Li's body had finally recovered and she returned to
Ning Garden
.
Sang Wan greeted her wholeheartedly and welcomed her in with a smile before instructing Hong Ye personally to bring along a few other servants to reorganize the nanny's room, change the mattress and bed curtain, and arrange the pieces of furniture. She even went to the extent of adding a few decorations into the room; the edge of the window sat a healthy spider plant potted in a decorated porcelain pot to breathe some fresh green into the room. From a look, the interior was exceptionally spirited.
Seeing so, Nanny Li became happier and thanked Sang Wan with words. In return, Sang Wan would, of course, respond modestly with a smile. The relationship between the two gradually became closer.
Who would have thought that Gu Fangzi would send someone to gather information regarding the situation between the two? Deep down, her heart suddenly felt somewhat uncomfortable and annoyed at Nanny Li at the same time.
Earlier when Nanny Li was still recuperating at home, Gu Fangzi brought up the topic regarding Nanny Li to Sang Wan; either intentionally or unintentionally. In her speech revealed how Nanny Li fought over others to obtain the opportunity to take care of Shi Fengju, likes to take advantage of her own seniority, and makes harsh criticisms of others. And because of that, the servants from Ning Garden had to listen to her every word and seek her consent for everything they do which made her seemed like a noblewoman. What was worse would be how she liked to go about blabbering nonsense and complaining to Shi Fengju! All in all, an old lady that was difficult to handle!
She even said to Sang Wan, "It is considered reasonable that Nanny Li should have left long ago to take care of her aging self, but she said so herself before Big Cousin's wedding that he does not know how to take care of himself and that the servants would become unruly if she were to leave. As such, Big Cousin let her stay without a choice. But now, since Cousin-in-law Sang Wan had already married into the family, Big Cousin should be personally taken care of by you! If I may add, I think you should head to Aunt Wang early and have her request Nanny Li to return and take care of her own old body! Otherwise, she'll stick her head into every matter in Ning Garden! That old lady has many rules and is extremely naggy; won't that cause you to be in a bind? Regardless whether one complies with her or not, she'll definitely still behave very harshly; so it'd be best to send her off early! If you think about it, it'll be more of a blessing if she stays at her home. I mean, she won't even be lacking in any way; she'll still be eating her three meals with servants serving her! Have a talk with her. I'm sure she'll understand where you're coming from!"
Sang Wan did not have much interaction with Nanny Li in her past life and thus, did not have much understanding of that old lady. However, after being reborn, she was absolutely sure of one fact, and that was: Anything that comes out from Gu Fangzi's mouth, must be heard and acted from an opposite perspective for that had proved to be effective!
Therefore, when Gu Fangzi spoke of Nanny Li, all Sang Wan did was keep a faint smile and listen. Once in a while, she would also nod, but she knew deep down that she should do the opposite of what was said.
As such, the Gu Fangzi, who had originally wanted to wait out and see Sang Wan rushing over to Wang Shi requesting to have Nanny Li leave, could not sit still any longer.
Gu Fangzi's heart was extremely unhappy and she headed over to Shi Fengju to add fuel to the situation.
"Nanny Li is now old and should be enjoying herself at home. I do not know why Cousin-in-law Sang Wan would want to bring her back to Ning Garden! Big cousin, why don't you try to persuade Cousin-in-law Sang Wan! Nanny Li isn't one who can stand being idle; if she were to live in Ning Garden, she'll definitely begin worrying about many things! For an elderly to worry too much, what's more after recovering from a serious illness, it might not be good for her body!"
Shi Fengju became deep in thoughts and unwittingly nodded.
His nanny was great in every aspect and had treated him like her very own son. However, because she cared too much for him, she still sees him as a naive child and would often enter his room at night to check whether he had his quilt kicked away! Not to mention his meals, the type of clothes he wears, when he sleeps, and when he got out of bed; all these were kept known to her. All so often, she would brew some strange soup for him to drink, stating that it was a tonic for his body. She frequently made him miserable yet unable to refuse. If he were to, she would cry to a point where she needed coaxing, and if his mother were to catch wind of this, she would definitely scold him for being insensible!
However, that was not the most difficult about her. The most difficult about her would be her relationship with Gu Fangzi. The two frequently had conflicts with each other, but no matter how tolerant his cousin was, the sight of her would make his nanny displeased and she would always scold her with words like 'sham', 'dramatic', 'insincere', and much more. Her saying was just a thing, but having the need to make him agree with her words, that itself had always caused him to be in a dilemma.
Letting her go back take care of herself and enjoy her remaining years... that in fact, did not sound so bad after all.
"You're right. Nanny should be blissfully at home, but," Shi Fengju glanced at Gu Fangzi and laughed. Half jokingly and half serious, he spoke, "you and nanny are never on good terms with each other, so why the thought for her? That doesn't seem like you!"
Gu Fangzi had always been one who favors efficiency and puts a clear line between kindness and resentment, so why would she spare a thought for his nanny?
Although Gu Fagnzi might not be daring enough to go against Nanny Li, every now and then, she would always release her anger around Shi Fengju. Only after Shi Fengju spoke gently to please her could he then move on to coax her. Afterward, when Nanny Li came to find out from others about how Shi Fengju attempted to please his cousin and coax her, she would nearly faint with rage but feel extremely helpless at the same time!
Played in the hands of that woman, sadness coursed through her for Shi Fengju did not live up to her expectations and had to submit beneath someone.
Once Gu Fangzi heard Shi Fengju asking her such a question, she immediately flared up and glared angrily at him. "Not like me? Then tell me what kind of behavior would seem more like me? In any case, she's your nanny. For someone so important to you, do you think I can't read the situation? In your eyes, am I, am I——"
Gu Fangzi's eyes reddened. As if she was wronged, tears almost fell from her eyes.
"I didn't mean it that way!" Shi Fengju quickly went to comfort her. "Can't you hear that I was only joking about casually only? Just like what you said, she's my nanny and I know deep down, you still give her the respect she deserves. I mean, you've never gone against her words!"
Only after hearing so did Gu Fangzi felt a little better. She glanced at Shi Fengju with sparkling eyes and sighed softly. "What, what other personalities do I have? Weren't they all killed just for your sake? For you, I'm willing to change; for you, nothing cannot be changed!"
Shi Fengju's heart was touched by a feeling of warmth and he let out a sigh gently before patting her back.
After returning to Ning Garden, Shi Fengju brought the matter regarding Nanny Li to Sang Wan. Even though he was beating about the bush, his words revealed the meaning of not wanting Nanny Li back, saying that she was no longer young anymore and should not exhaust herself anymore; instead, she should be at home enjoying a blissful life.
Sang Wan could not help but become slightly furious. In this household, the ones who make the decisions are the lot of you, when has it ever been me deciding? Whether Nanny Li returns or not will never be influenced by my words alone!
Sang Wan's anger only lasted for a moment. Immediately, she calmed down for she knew she could not blame Shi Fengju. If no one was behind this, Shi Fengju would never have been able to come up with this thought. And even if he truly did not wish for Nanny Li to return, he wouldn't have put all the blame on Sang Wan herself. Still, he was already considered good. Even though his words did blame her, he was not direct and did not vent his temper at her but instead had her make the decision. On the whole, all he did was express his dissatisfaction.
But does it not seem different from a certain someone's assumptions?
Before Sang Wan could open her mouth to speak, she spotted Nanny Li coming in with the help of a young servant girl. Holding her tears back, she looked towards Shi Fengju and spoke, "Does Sir wish for this old servant to leave? Does Sir see this old servant as useless because I'm old?"
"Nanny!" Shi Fengju did not expect Nanny Li to have heard his conversation with Sang Wan. He hurriedly stood and tried to explain, "That isn't what I meant! I am just worrying for your body ah! Isn't it better for you to take good care of your body at home? I——"
"Doesn't that still mean the same thing?" Nanny Li lifted her handkerchief and wiped her tears before continuing, "The way you phrase it only makes it seemed more soothing to the ears, but what you see of me is just a frail old lady in the end! All this because I'm no longer useful and likes to nag! How I'm disliked by others! Forget it, forget it, I'll leave! For an old lady like me who had poured her heart out for this place, what's there left of me? What should I have expected?"
After saying her piece of mind, she cried as she left with the small servant girl without caring for Shi Fengju who was calling to her.
That was bad!
Sang Wan and Shi Fengju looked blanking at each other.
Shi Fengju stomped his foot and let out a yell filled with remorse. Lifting his feet, he wanted to chase after his nanny.
If he were to just let his nanny go, not only would he feel apologetic towards her, his mother would never let him off easily!
"Sir!" Sang Wan quickly stood up and stopped him. She hurried over and grabbed his arm, "It'll be best if I go. I'll go ahead and persuade her. Then when her anger vanishes, you can go and see her."
Facing Sang Wan's gentle gaze, Shi Fengju nodded. "Alright then. You have to make her stay no matter what; she can't just leave!"
"Don't worry!" Sang Wan smiled. That old lady was not entirely undefeatable; having her stay was not a difficult task.
Shi Fengju walked up and down frantically. But who would have thought that after a short moment, he heard Liu Ya, who went with Sang Wan, running back and calling for him.
"How's Nanny Li?" Shi Fengju's heart was tightly clenched.
"Everything's alright, everything's alright!" Liu Ya grinned broadly. "Sir can be at eased now. Ma'am was able to persuade Nanny Li successfully. Nanny Li has already stopped insisting to leave. Ma'am sent this servant to inform Sir!"
"What? Really?" Shi Fengju was taken aback. With the temper that his nanny had, persuading her was never a simple task and Shi Fengju was extremely clear about it. "Did Ma'am really persuade Nanny Li not to leave?"
Shi Fengju did a swift calculation in his mind. Removing the time taken to walk, Sang Wan should have only spoken no more than five sentences. That quickly? He would rather believe that he had a problem with his hearing.
"Of course it's true! Sir will know when Sir sees for himself!" Liu Ya quickly spoke, her heart a little unsympathetic.
Shi Fengju spoke no more and immediately headed off.
Sure enough, after arriving at Nanny Li's room, the mood there had calmed down although the old nanny's eyes were still swollen red and her expression a little down. Sitting there was Sang Wan who was talking to her. Sang Wan had a smile on her face and nod her head once in a while.