Warm medicine emits fragrance

Fan Liuer's return to the side courtyard caused quite a stir in the north courtyard, but due to the strict rules of the north courtyard, the servants dared not discuss topics related to their master in private, so Fan Liuer's ears were relatively quiet.

But the fact that the servants dared not discuss it did not mean that the other masters dared not discuss it.

Although Fan Liuer returned to the side courtyard, she still had to go to the main courtyard to get her medicine every noon, and it was still the room she used to live in.

The house wasn't restored to its original state; apart from some of her belongings being missing, it remained exactly as it was before she left.

When she arrived, Madam Yang was already waiting inside. Only after the servants had left did she speak to inquire.

"What's going on between you and Second Master? Why did he suddenly send you to a side courtyard?"

When she first heard the news, not only she, but even the old lady was taken aback.

Everyone has witnessed how good Li Chenbi has been to Fan Liuer these past few days, so how can he suddenly stop liking her?

The old lady was worried that Li Chenbi had lost interest in women again, so she immediately sent Yang Niangzi to inquire about it.

Fan Liuer naturally dared not say that it was because Li Chenbi wanted to marry her. If the old lady found out, she would probably kick her out immediately.

"I don't know, maybe they're just tired of it."

To make the excuse more plausible, Fan Liuer added, "Second Master hasn't contacted me for many days."

Madam Yang knew about this matter; at first, she had only heard that Fan Liuer had once again displeased Li Chenbi.

But it was nothing new for Fan Liuer to anger Li Chenbi, and every now and then Li Chenbi would kick her out of the house.

But within a day, they were back to being affectionate again.

Although this time it took longer, Fan Liuer still lived well in the main courtyard every day, and her food, clothing and daily necessities were not reduced in the slightest, so no one took it seriously.

Unexpectedly, she was sent out of the main courtyard right after the autumn appreciation banquet ended.

Could it be that he's really fed up this time?

Madam Yang brought the news back to the west courtyard. After hearing it, the old lady pondered, "If that's really the case, why didn't they send them away earlier, but only after the Autumn Appreciation Banquet?"

The old nanny beside her spoke up, "Could it be that the Second Master found a woman he liked at the autumn banquet?"

As soon as she finished speaking, the old lady sat up straight and stared at her with shining eyes.

The old nanny continued her analysis: "The Second Master must have really grown tired of her this time, but he didn't have anyone else in his heart, so he just left her to her own devices. Then, at the Autumn Appreciation Banquet, he found a girl he liked, and he lost all interest in Lady Fan. He was also afraid that if word got out about her existence, the other girl would find out and be unhappy, so he sent her back to a remote place."

Whether this guess is true or false, it certainly struck a chord with the old lady.

She immediately began to recall the girls who had visited the manor the previous night. "So, tell me, which girl did the second son take a fancy to?"

"Is it the eldest daughter of the Wang family, or the second daughter of the Zhang family?"

The group guessed most of the girls who would be attending the banquet, but still couldn't figure out which girl had won Li Chenbi's favor.

Finally, the old lady clapped her hands and said, "Forget it, stop guessing. Guessing is giving me a headache. Go and call the second son over. I want to ask him myself."

"Yes." Madam Yang accepted the order and was about to leave.

"Wait a minute." The old lady called out again, "Since the second son is really fed up with Madam Fan this time, we need to find a new wet nurse. If the second wife enters the mansion in the future, her status will be somewhat inappropriate."

"Madam Wang has been searching tirelessly; she has never given up on this matter."

"Okay, then hurry up and call the second brother over."

Li Chenbi arrived at the West Courtyard after sunset, his face filled with hostility, which frightened the servants in the West Courtyard so much that they dared not raise their heads.

Judging from his expression, the old lady was no longer so sure about her earlier guess.

"Mother, did you call me here for something?" Li Chenbi said, complaining that the maid who was fanning him was too weak, so he took the fan from her and fanned himself.

His entire being, inside and out, exuded impatience.

The maid was so frightened she almost knelt down to beg for forgiveness, but in the end, the old nanny signaled for everyone else to leave.

"I just wanted to ask you, was there a girl you liked at last night's autumn appreciation banquet?"

The mere mention of this topic reminded Li Chenbi of being rejected the previous night, which only fueled his anger.

"No!"

This answer completely dashed the old lady's hopes, making her somewhat unhappy. She said irritably, "If you didn't, then why did you send Madam Fan away!"

Li Chenbi couldn't stand the word "Fan" anymore; his face completely darkened. "Can't I just not like her?"

"Mother, if you're too free, go and find a few more concubines for my eldest brother, and have a few more grandsons for you to take care of. Don't just keep an eye on my courtyard all day."

After saying this, he got up and tried to leave.

The old lady was angered by his attitude and stood up to stop him, "You stop right there!"

Li Chenbi took a deep breath, turned his head to look at the old lady, "Mother, just say what you want to say, but don't mention the word 'Fan' in front of me again."

The old lady glared at him. "Your temper is getting worse and worse. You're even getting angry with me now."

After grumbling, she added, "Since you don't like it now..." The word "Fan" almost came out, but she swallowed it back.

"Her? Then look at the other girls. You're not young anymore. When your brother was your age, his son was already running around."

Li Chenbi had no patience to listen to these words, so he waved his hand and said, "You can handle it yourself."

After saying that, he turned and strode away.

"Hey, you brat, what kind of attitude is that!" The old lady chased after him for a few steps but couldn't catch up. She was so angry that she glared at Li Chenbi's back.

The old nanny immediately stepped forward and advised, "Second Master has finally relented; this is a good thing!"

The old lady wasn't really angry with her son after all; hearing what the old nanny said, her mood improved.

"Yeah, that kid finally gave in."

"However, this kid has a terrible temper. Although he told me to handle it myself, he won't cooperate if I really pick something he doesn't like."

"Alright, starting tomorrow, we'll invite each girl over for a visit and let him choose for himself."

The old woman clapped her hands in agreement, "That's a good idea."

The old lady took this matter very seriously, and the next day she invited the girl she favored to visit her home.

To make it seem less deliberate, they even invited the entire Li family to the dinner.

Li Chenbi was the last to arrive. On the way, he was still thinking to himself that his mother was making trouble for him, knowing that he didn't like crowded places, yet still making him eat in the front yard.

It wasn't until he saw a strange girl on the table that he remembered the promise he had casually made the day before.

Based on his usual temperament, he would definitely have turned around and left.

But whether out of spite or something else, he couldn't take the step and just sat down.

This excited everyone at the table, especially the old lady.