The Lucky Heiress

Chapter 25: Wei Jinyi Falls Ill i

Translator: 549690339

“But if I send you to study with people younger than you, I worry that it will hurt your feelings,” Mrs. Yun explained.

“Can I find a tutor of my own?” Wei Ruo asked.

“This…” Mrs. Yun revealed a troubled look, “Ruo, inviting a female tutor is a complicated matter. Firstly, it’s hard to invite one. An accomplished female tutor wouldn’t easily agree to teach in an ordinary household. Secondly, paying a tutor is a considerable expense…”

The Military Prefecture’s expenditure was already tight, and they now had to arrange for their eldest son to have a tutor. There was no extra money to hire a special female tutor for Wei Ruo.

“What if I can find a female tutor who won’t require pay?” Asked Wei Ruo.

“Ruo, don’t be absurd,” Mrs. Yun frowned.

“I’m not fooling around. I’m serious. If I really can find a tutor who is willing to teach me without pay, will mother allow me to study alone and not with others?”

“Ruo, before discussing whether or not a tutor would be willing to teach you without pay, finding a female tutor is in itself a very difficult task. It’s normal for you to not understand some things since you’ve just returned home. But you must trust me, I am doing my best to make the best arrangements for you,” Mrs. Yun was clearly taken aback by the idea.

Wei Ruo had to rely on her commitment to solve the food problem in Xingshan County as an excuse to stall going to study at the magistrate’s office. “At least I have that excuse,” she said.

Mrs. Yun said: “You can focus on the issues in the South City for the next few days, after which you should try to arrange for others in the Prefecture to do the work. You should prepare to study at the magistrate’s office.”

Wei Ruo replied: “Understood.”

###

Mrs. Yun assigned a maidservant named Zhang and two laborers to assist Wei Ruo.

Zhang was reluctant to go to the desolate and potentially dangerous South City. Who would want to go there without good reason?

Moreover, the young miss is eager to farm, an activity her old bones simply couldn’t bear.

But this was Mrs. Yun’s order, so she had to obey it.

Initially, Zhang assumed Wei Ruo would immediately lead the others to the South City. Surprisingly, her first instruction was for them to buy husks and straw, as well as collect leftovers from the kitchen.

“Young miss, didn’t you promise the master to plant crops in the wasteland of the South City? What’s with the straw and leftovers? Are you planning to raise pigs?” Zhang questioned.

“I do plan to farm. You just need to follow my instructions. I also need some well-sealed wooden barrels to store this stuff.”

Wei Ruo’s plan left Zhang completely mystified, she had no idea what Wei Ruo intended to do.

Seeing Zhang’s confusion, Wei Ruo also noticed her lack of movement.

“Zhang, my mother sent you to assist me, not question me. If I can’t complete this task, I will explain myself to my parents.” Wei Ruo said with a firm attitude, brooking no interruption.

“I understand,” Zhang suppressed her dissatisfaction and obediently agreed. What could she do? The master and madam had always been particularly tolerant of Wei Ruo. She didn’t dare express her opinion!

###

Inside the Wangmei Garden, Wei Qingwan learned about what Wei Ruo had been busy with and that their mother had postponed her arrangement to study at the magistrate’s office.

“Mama, will it damage my sister’s reputation if people find out she’s spending so much time in the field?” Wei Qingwan asked Li, who was standing beside her.

“Of course it’s not good for her reputation. But you shouldn’t worry too much, young miss. Wei Ruo has already adopted the habits of the countryside, it’ll take time for her to learn proper manners, to not shame herself in front of others. She definitely can’t be as well educated as you are.”

“I wouldn’t say that. She has her strengths too. Her dried sweet potatoes and potato chips got everyone’s approval last time.” Wei Qingwan muttered.

“That’s nothing to be proud of. Those ladies complimented her only because they were hungry at the moment. She can’t rely on sweet potatoes and potato chips for her reputation for the rest of her life.”

Li appeared dismissive towards Wei Ruo’s previous achievement.

After hearing Li’s evaluation of Wei Ruo, Wei Qingwan’s mood unsurprisingly improved greatly.

###

For several days, Wei Ruo was very busy making preparations to improve the wasteland in the South City. She usually was so tired by the evening, that she immediately fell asleep until the next morning.

One night, just like the others, Wei Ruo went to bed early and fell deep asleep. But a hurried knock on the door woke her from her dreams.

She sat up and peeked into the outer room. Hearing the door open, she realized that Xiumei had gone out.

After a while, Xiumei returned to the room.

“Miss, are you awake?”

“What’s all that noise about?”

“Xiaobei from Yingzhu Garden came knocking. He said his young master has fallen sick.”

“If he’s ill, he should see a doctor. What is he doing knocking on my door?” Wei Ruo was confused.

“Xiaobei says he tried to ask the people in the house to help look for a doctor, but no one paid any attention to him. He had no other choice but to come to us for help.”

Yingzhu Garden was of low status within the Colonel’s house, and the servants dared to ignore them.

Although Wei Ruo had only recently returned to the Wei Family, her status within the house was clearly much higher than Wei Jinyi. No matter what the servants thought of her privately, they always treated her respectfully in person.

Realizing this, Xiaobei thought that maybe Wei Ruo would be more successful in finding his young master help.

“Meimei, help me get dressed.”

Wei Ruo got out of bed and as soon as she had dressed, she hurriedly headed towards the door.

Xiaobei was still waiting at the entrance to Tingsong Garden. Seeing Wei Ruo come over, he immediately knelt down and pleaded, “Young miss, I beg you, please save our young master. He is burning up and if this continues, things look grim! If you talk to the people in the house, they might agree to get a doctor for him.”

Xiaobei had no other option. Asking for a doctor required the approval of a housekeeper, but he hadn’t been able to meet with one.

Considering the master has been away from home for several days due to work.

He could only think of Wei Ruo, the young miss who had helped them twice, as the only possible person in the house who could help.

“Alright, I know. You get up first. Take me to your young master.”

“Good, good. Young miss, please follow me.”

Xiaobei led Wei Ruo swiftly back to Yingzhu Garden.

Upon entering the main room in the courtyard, Wei Ruo saw Wei Jinyi lying unconscious on the bed.

Wei Jinyi, who was usually pale, now looked even paler, as if he were a sheet of paper.

Wei Ruo reached out and touched Wei Jinyi’s forehead, it was burning up.

“How long has your young master been sick?” Wei Ruo asked..