It was probably the increasingly cold weather. After all, Ming town had their first snow that morning, much earlier than normal. Yet, it might also be the guilt. After all, for a little girl like Ji LanBai who had only known just the goodness of the world, and had not seen the ugly, dirty parts of life, she felt deeply responsible and remorseful for her reckless action.
The gloomy weather, the remorse, everything amounted to pent-up stress that caused Ji LanBai to fall sick the very day Mia woke up with her face wrapped like a dumpling. The next morning, which was also Ji LanBai's birthday, the normally chirpy and spoiled Young Miss was bedridden with high fever.
Yet, Ji LanBai seemed awfully energetic despite being very sick. She was throwing all things she could grab to all corners of her bedroom. Cushions, blankets, broken wares were on the floor. Two older maids had to constantly clean the sharp pieces of pottery off the floor, lest they could hurt someone.
Her little face was red and she was constantly coughing. She pushed away everyone that got close to her on the bed, including her mother.
The floor was wet with spilled herbal medicine that was supposed to help her get better. Wu JianRui obviously knew her daughter's stubbornness, thus there were more bowls of medicine lined up on the table in the center of the room. When she broke one, they would just present another. Both she and Hai FenChu had tried different methods to get her to drink the dark-colored medicine. From coaxing, promise of presents, threats... .
Ji LanBai pushed Hai FenChu away, causing the seventh bowl of medicine to fall on the floor, spilling its content. The rest of them could only watch numbly.
"Young Miss has fallen sick because of her worry and guilt for you," Meng-momo whispered to Mia, "Such a kind little girl."
Mia's eyebrows quirked up and thought, "Throwing tantrum is a form a kindness?"
"LANBAI DOESN'T WANT!!" Ji Lan Bai cried again, "IT'S BITTER!!!"
"Ah. So it's bitter," Mia's lips curled lightly in amusement, "A child is just a child after all."
"Can you think of a way to get Young Miss to drink her medicine?" Meng-momo asked nervously. The little maid was observant and smart, maybe she could think of something everyone else had not tried.
"Honey?" Mia suggested. Having served in the residence's kitchen as part of her maid training, she certainly had noticed the abundance of honey in the household. Although the golden sweet delicacy was a luxury for commoners, their residence definitely was not lacking of it.
Meng-momo shook her head, "Mixing it with honey will reduce the effectiveness substantially."
Ji LanBai was very upset. First of all, she caused her new maid to get hurt. She was already feeling bad because of it. Then her father had also reprimanded her harshly, something he definitely had not done to this extent before. Apparently, her actions had caused the Ji clan to lose face in front of the Imperial Princes. More over, one of them was her fiance.
Ji LanBai did not even know what 'fiance' mean, she felt utterly wronged.
Ultimately, on her birthday, she got very sick. She was venting up all the energy she could muster to channel her discomfort, but all her expressed vigor only made her sickness worse.
Sighing inwardly, Mia took a bowl from the table and walked towards Ji LanBai's bed. Her jaw hurt like hell and there was no painkiller like in her previous life. She could also only barely speak their accents, so she spoke slowly,
"Miss, please drink the medicine, and you will get better. Young Miss can open your birthday presents as soon as your fever goes down just a little bit."
YOU ARE READING
One Lifetime Is Never Enough
Historical FictionShe thought she was going to die. She did. But the next time she opened her eyes , she found out that she was living a whole new life, as a little girl who was going to enter a noble household as a maid. However, a true pearl can never hide its lus...
