Bai Li’s Dream – Chapter 15

Chapter 15: A Minor Illness

“It’s not an illness. Little Cuier accidentally bumped into something.”

Mama Hu, who was in charge of the little maids, was called in and explained to Old Madam with a smile.

Hearing this, Old Madam of Ding’an’s expression softened a bit.

“How could she be so careless?” she said, shaking her head. “If she’s too young and clumsy, don’t use her.”

This meant she was to be sent away. If Old Madam dismissed someone, no one in the household would dare to use them. This little maid could only be sold.

Lu Jin, who was standing nearby, frowned slightly. She remembered this Cuier. She was often sent to serve her. Bumped into something… It was Lu Wenjie who bumped into her that night.

However, she said nothing and fed Old Madam another bite of melon.

“The mamas will take care of it,” she said. “Don’t worry about it.”

Mama Hu said with a smile, “Yes, yes. Don’t worry, Old Madam. This little girl is reluctant to leave your side. This time, it’s thanks to being here with Old Madam that she survived.”

What did she mean? Old Madam of Ding’an was a little curious.

“The little girl is young and her skin is delicate. The injury was actually quite serious. I saw it myself. I was afraid she wouldn’t make it.”

Listening to Mama Hu’s story, everyone in the room felt a bit nervous. It was too frightening.

Lu Jin was fine. She knew that Mama Hu must have a reason for being so scary.

“… There was no need to call a doctor. Even if we did, it wouldn’t have helped, and it would have scared the others. I was thinking of just having her carried out at dawn.”

“I was worried about this matter, so I went over before dawn. As soon as I entered the room…”

At this point, Mama Hu suddenly slapped her thigh. The sound startled everyone in the room, and the timid maids even let out a cry.

Mama Hu didn’t scare them anymore and hurriedly told them the outcome.

“I saw the little girl standing on the floor, drinking water.”

This…

“Mama Hu, you must have seen wrong. Her injury wasn’t that serious,” Xueliu said with a smile.

Others also complained, “Mama Hu, you just love to scare people.”

Mama Hu hurriedly waved her hands and swore that she wasn’t lying. “If you don’t believe me, call the girl in. You’ll see. The injury is on her spleen, and there’s still a bruise. That’s a fatal spot. And the girl herself said that she was dying. The maid in the same room also said that she felt her body in the middle of the night, and it was cold.”

Old Madam of Ding’an became a little impatient. “So what happened? Is she dead or alive?”

Mama Hu knelt down facing Old Madam and bowed deeply. “It’s all thanks to you, Old Madam.”

Everyone in the room was stunned again. Old Madam of Ding’an was also puzzled. “Because of me?”

Mama Hu’s dramatic voice rang out once more.

“… Cuier said that between life and death, she saw Guanyin Bodhisattva appear to heal her…”

“… Old Madam, this must be because of your years of worshipping Buddha. The gods are merciful and even protect us servants.”

“Don’t disbelieve it. I know you don’t believe it, Old Madam. That night, all the servants in the servants’ quarters smelled a fragrance…”

“If one person smelled it, it could be a lie, but how could everyone…”

“Old Madam, I’ve served you for half my life. Why would I need to lie to curry favor?”

“I know this is absurd, and I didn’t report it to Old Madam immediately. I’ve been watching her myself these past two days and had the doctor take a look. He said the injury was quite serious, but her life is no longer in danger.”

“I’ve lived for half my life and have never seen such a miracle. I saw it here with Old Madam. I’m truly…”

Mama Hu was so excited that she couldn’t continue and simply bowed to Old Madam of Ding’an.

Indeed, someone of Mama Hu’s status wouldn’t use such a clumsy method to curry favor. There was a buzz of discussion in the room, and the quick-witted senior maids had already summoned some of the rough maids who lived in the servants’ quarters.

It was the first time they had set foot in Old Madam’s room. They were trembling and timid, but they all said in unison that they had smelled the fragrance.

“Cuier’s room still has the fragrance now,” a little maid even dared to say.

Old Madam of Ding’an couldn’t sit still any longer and got out of bed. “I’ll go and see.”

✿✿✿

✿✿✿

This was the first time in her life that Old Madam had set foot in the servants’ quarters.

The servants were all apprehensive. There was no time to clean, so several mamas simply took curtains from the storeroom and spread them on the ground for Old Madam, Miss, and the senior maids to step on, so as not to dirty their shoes.

Cuier’s cramped room couldn’t accommodate too many people. However, even standing outside, one could indeed smell a faint fragrance.

Old Madam of Ding’an stood in the room and looked at the little maid lying on the bed. The little maid’s face was pale. Even if she wasn’t a doctor, Old Madam could tell that this wasn’t an act. Then, smelling the faint fragrance lingering in the room…

Servants couldn’t use incense, let alone such pure incense.

✿✿✿

This was truly a miracle. Old Madam of Ding’an clasped her hands together and closed her eyes, silently praying for the Bodhisattva’s blessing.

Everyone else also fell silent, and some even knelt down and kowtowed in excitement.

“Good child, you’ve seen the Bodhisattva. You’re blessed. Rest well, and good days await you,” Old Madam of Ding’an said softly.

Cuier lay on the bed, looked at the noble Old Madam, and nodded with tears in her eyes.

“What does the Bodhisattva look like?” Xueliu couldn’t help but ask.

Everyone else also looked at Cuier, their eyes filled with excitement and envy.

“The Bodhisattva…” Cuier moved her lips. In fact, what she dreamed of wasn’t a Bodhisattva.

She was in so much pain at the time, she cried out for her mother. Then, she really saw her mother, who had been dead for many years, come to her.

Her mother was holding a lotus bud. Then, the lotus bloomed, and she and her mother sat on the lotus. Her mother held her, patted her, sang her a lullaby, rubbed her belly, and said, “There, there, it doesn’t hurt anymore…”

Then, the pain really did go away. When she woke up again, she was just very thirsty and couldn’t make a sound. There was no one in the room. She propped herself up and crawled to get water, and then Mama Hu screamed as if she had seen a ghost…

Only then did she realize that she had almost died. She told Mama Hu about her dream, and Mama Hu excitedly ran out, even inviting the doctor to see her and personally watching over her for two days.

Of course, she didn’t dare say that she dreamed of her mother. The mamas hated it when the little maids missed their families, saying that it meant they were complaining about being treated poorly in the residence. So, she only said that she dreamed of a woman who healed her.

She didn’t expect to alarm Old Madam.

She couldn’t tell Old Madam that she dreamed of her mother, could she? Otherwise, wouldn’t that mean her mother was a Bodhisattva?

“The Bodhisattva… holding a lotus…” Cuier murmured, her gaze involuntarily looking to the side.

Old Madam of Ding’an’s expression became even more joyful. Lotus, that’s right. Guanyin Bodhisattva sits on a lotus seat. Following Cuier’s gaze, she saw a broken porcelain vase on a small wooden stool by the bed, with a lotus… bud in it.

“Is it this lotus?” a maid exclaimed tremblingly. “Did the Bodhisattva give it to you?”

Old Madam of Ding’an’s eyes were also filled with shock.

“My Miss gave it to her,” a maid’s voice rang out.

Everyone was stunned and looked towards the speaker. It was Yaoqin, Lu Jin’s maid.

“That day, Cuier welcomed us back, and Miss thanked her for her hard work carrying the lantern and gave her this lotus bud to play with,” Yaoqin said.

Everyone’s eyes turned to Lu Jin.

Lu Jin smiled and said, “Don’t look at me. I’m not a Bodhisattva.”

Everyone was amused, and Old Madam of Ding’an also laughed. She reached out and poked her. “Don’t be cheeky.” Then, with a hint of gratification, she said, “Good child, it must be your lotus that attracted the Bodhisattva.”

Mama Hu winked at Cuier from the side. Cuier reacted and struggled to sit up to kowtow to Lu Jin. “Thank you, Miss.”

Lu Jin hurriedly waved her hand to stop her. “Don’t do that. Rest well.”

Mama Hu asked, “Since the Bodhisattva appeared in this room, should we enshrine it and not let anyone use it?”

Old Madam of Ding’an hurriedly shook her head. “That would be disrespectful to the Bodhisattva.” Looking at Cuier on the bed again, her expression was compassionate. “Let her rest well here.”

With that, she looked around the room again, clasped her hands together, and prayed to the Bodhisattva.

Everyone followed suit.

The servants’ quarters were not a place for Old Madam to stay for long. Lord Marquis, Madam, Third Madam, and the others had all heard the news and wanted to come and ask what was going on. So, Old Madam of Ding’an took everyone and left.

Xueliu, who had been watching from the side, walked at the back and couldn’t help but look back again.

“What’s wrong? Want to bask in the blessings of the Bodhisattva?” Yaoqin said with a smile.

Xueliu pursed her lips and smiled, not saying anything disrespectful to the Bodhisattva. She pointed at the lotus bud and asked softly, “That one is…”

Yaoqin nodded and hurriedly explained, “Don’t blame Miss for not making it clear. Old Madam is in a good mood.”

It would be inauspicious to suddenly say that the lotus bud that attracted the Bodhisattva was given by the new Young Madam of the Marquis of Dongyang’s Residence.

Xueliu nodded. “I know.” With that, she took Yaoqin’s hand and walked out, but she still looked back again.

She was thinking, that lotus bud has been around for more than ten days, right? Why hasn’t it wilted yet?

Could it really be some kind of everlasting flower?