When An Ran returned to the Marquis's residence, Lu Mingxiu had not yet returned.
One by one, the glass lanterns on the covered walkway were lit. In the already darkening sky, their soft orange glow seemed especially warm in the slightly chilly air, a truly beautiful sight. An Ran had just slowed her pace, preparing to walk back slowly, when she suddenly saw Bi Luo hurrying towards her with a flustered expression.
Although Biluo was younger than she was, she was clever and quick-witted, and quite calm in the face of trouble. It was rare to see her looking anxious.
"Madam, the boy was playing in the small garden when he accidentally fell off the stone bench and his arm is all bruised!" she hurriedly reported before she could catch her breath.
An Ran panicked upon hearing this and hurried towards the main courtyard. As she walked, she asked, "Wasn't anyone watching over the young master at the time?"
She didn't want to blame anyone, but she still needed to find out the truth.
“Replying to Madam, it was originally me, Taozhi, Taoye, and I who were playing with the young master. Later, Lanyue came to find me, so I left for a while.” Biluo said in a low voice, “When I came back, only the young master was left in the small garden, lying on the ground crying. Then Qingping said that she heard the young master crying from outside and rushed over.”
"Young Master has already been taken to Yilan Garden, and my brother has gone to fetch a doctor!" Biluo reported clearly.
An Ran paused for a moment, then quickly walked towards Yilan Garden.
As expected, the usually quiet Yilan Garden was now brightly lit, with most of the maids from the main courtyard having come over. Apart from Jinping and Qingxing, who had gone out with Anran, Cuiping and Qingmei were all here, while Lanxin and Lanyue were busy inside and out.
Upon seeing An Ran enter, the maids all bowed silently.
Cuiping came out to greet him and whispered a few words to reassure Anran. "Young man, your arm is swollen, but luckily it's cold now and you're wearing thick clothes, so it doesn't seem like you've injured any bones or muscles. Don't worry!"
An Ran nodded haphazardly and quickly went to Nian Ge'er's former bedroom.
Nian Ge'er's little face was still streaked with tears, and his eyes were red, clearly indicating that he had been crying not long ago. His little arm was rolled up and placed pitifully on the large pillow. Under the bright light, An Ran could immediately see a large purplish-blue mark on his once fair little arm.
Qingping was also standing by Nian-ge'er's side, her face full of anxiety and worry.
"Nian-ge'er, are you hurt anywhere else?" An Ran hurried forward to Nian-ge'er's side, looking at him with concern, and said worriedly, "Tell your mother if you feel unwell!"
Before she could finish speaking, Nian Ge'er's eyes welled up with tears again, and he was about to shed a tear, thinking of the sad things that had happened.
"Madam, I have already examined the boy." Qingping hurriedly stepped forward and patted the boy's back, subtly blocking Anran's way. She lowered her head and said in a gentle voice, "The boy's arm is the most seriously injured part, but it's not a problem elsewhere."
An Ran's gaze fell on Qing Ping, and after looking at her for a moment, she nodded slightly.
"Nian-ge'er, let your mother take a look." An Ran walked past Qing Ping and sat down by Nian-ge'er's bedside. She gently held Nian-ge'er's arm and examined it closely. On his once tender, white arm, there were now bluish-purple marks, which seemed to have been cleaned. Faint traces of blood could be seen through the bluish-purple marks.
An Ran felt a pang of heartache upon seeing this, and her eyes welled up with tears.
"Madam, the doctor has arrived," Songyang's voice came from outside the curtain.
An Ran quickly took out a handkerchief and dabbed at the tears welling up in her eyes. She called out, "Please invite the doctor in."
The doctor they invited was a resident physician at Huichuntang, an expert in treating sprains and bruises. Anran quickly had Jinping and Cuiping set out the necessary tools for the doctor and asked him to examine Nian-ge'er.
"Don't worry, Madam. The young master only has a minor bruise on his arm, it's not serious." Doctor Wu carefully examined Nian Ge'er and said to An Ran, "There's no broken bone. I'll leave some ointment for the young master, he'll be fine after a few days of application."
An Ran was relieved and thanked him repeatedly.
"Doctor, it seems the boy's leg was also injured. Could you take another look?" Qingping suddenly spoke up from the side.
Jinping and Cuiping, who were waiting nearby, couldn't help but feel displeased upon hearing this. With the Madam here, how could she have the right to speak? Besides, the doctor had already examined Nian-ge'er carefully, yet she still had to ask another question. Did she think the doctor's diagnosis was inadequate, or that the Madam hadn't taken it seriously?
An Ran frowned slightly, but still agreed with Qing Ping's words.
Dr. Wu lifted Nian Ge'er's trouser leg again, examined him once more, asked him a few more questions, and then reassured him that Nian Ge'er was fine.
"Thank you for coming all this way." An Ran asked a few questions about the precautions for the medication, thanked him, and told Song Yang to treat the doctor well, prepare the money, and send a carriage to take the doctor over.
While Doctor Wu was writing the prescription, Qingping chased after him, asking many questions about how to care for Nian-ge'er, precautions to take when administering the medicine, and so on, leaving Doctor Wu completely bewildered. What was originally a minor injury was made to sound like a serious illness by her.
Even if the injured person is a son of a noble family, they wouldn't be subjected to such turmoil.
Anran stayed by Niange'er's side, looking at him with heartache and self-reproach. She patted Niange'er's head without saying anything.
“Mother, I’m not in pain.” Nian Ge’er opened his big, round eyes, clear and innocent, and obediently tilted his head up, saying, “Don’t worry, I’m fine.”
"Nian-ge'er is such a good boy." An Ran's eyes welled up with tears again.
Nian-ge'er quickly reached out to his uninjured arm, his little hand gently wiping away the tears welling up in An Ran's eyes. "Mother, I—"
Before he could finish speaking, Qingping's voice rang out as she greeted Lu Mingxiu, and Nian-ge'er hurriedly withdrew his hand.
"Greetings, Lord Marquis."
As soon as Lu Mingxiu entered the mansion, he ran into Songyang seeing Doctor Wu off. Upon inquiring, he learned that Nian Ge'er had been injured. Fortunately, Doctor Wu had already explained to him that the injury on Nian Ge'er's arm was just a simple bump and bruise, and nothing serious.
Therefore, he did not go back to change his clothes, but went directly to Yilan Academy.
He was still a little puzzled as to why Nian-ge'er was injured at Yilan Garden instead of the main courtyard. When he met Qingmei at the gate, she explained it to him in a few words.
Lu Mingxiu strode to Nian Ge'er's bedroom.
Qingping was standing at the door, looking utterly dejected, which displeased Lu Mingxiu. Nian-ge'er was injured and recuperating in Yilan Courtyard; she should have been taking good care of him. What was she doing at the door?
"Greetings, Your Excellency!" Qingping hurriedly stepped forward and bowed.
Lu Mingxiu responded indifferently, and said in a bad mood, "Why are you here? Why aren't you taking care of the boy?"
Qingping seemed surprised that Lu Mingxiu's first words were a reprimand, and she couldn't help but feel wronged. She twisted her handkerchief in her hands and said in a low voice, "This servant wanted to come out and ask Doctor Wu what we should pay attention to when the young master is recuperating."
She had thought her answer would catch Lu Mingxiu's attention, but to her surprise, Lu Mingxiu only glanced at her, left a single sentence, and then lifted the curtain to go into the inner room.
"If you can't take care of Nian-ge'er, tell Madam and we'll find someone else."
Qingping wanted to say something more, but Lu Mingxiu's words choked her back, so she could only grit her teeth in resentment and quickly follow Lu Mingxiu inside.