Good Ending: She Swears She Will Not Let Him Die!

Chapter 209: Chapter 208: Sharp Tongue

Jin Rui grew increasingly fearful, watching Jin Ling as if she had lost her soul, pitifully. She softly said to Du Yunluo, "Miss, let Jin Ling keep watch overnight."

Tonight was originally Jin Rui’s turn to keep watch, but leaving Jin Ling alone in the West Wing might frighten her awake in the middle of the night. However, if Jin Rui went to care for Jin Ling, then no one would be here to keep watch for Du Yunluo.

Only the two of them could keep watch in the room. Bringing someone else in would undoubtedly draw attention.

In this situation, having Jin Ling keep watch in the same room as Du Yunluo would at least ensure the girl wasn’t alone when she awoke in tears, helping her feel more at ease.

Du Yunluo nodded, "Let’s do that."

Thinking of how Jin Ling hadn’t eaten tonight, Du Yunluo sent Jin Rui to the small kitchen to bring back some sweet soup and pastries.

Du Yunluo also asked Jin Rui to join in having some, and the three of them sat around the table with uneasy hearts, barely managing a few bites.

Jin Ling grasped her spoon, tears cascading down once more.

Jin Rui urged her, "Miss is worried about you. If you keep crying, you won’t be doing right by her."

Jin Ling looked up at Jin Rui, then at Du Yunluo, mumbled a response, and forced herself to gulp down the sweet soup and packed in some pastries.

Night deepened.

Jin Ling attended to Du Yunluo as she lay down, then moved past the screen to the outer room.

Jin Rui tidied up the items, whispering, "You should sleep soon. Our Miss always says that any problem is merely a bad dream, and after waking up and soaking in sunshine, it’ll all go away."

Seeing Jin Ling nod woodenly, Jin Rui didn’t press further and turned to leave.

Outside, the rain had diminished considerably, pitter-pattering softly. At month’s end, there was no moonlight to be seen, and on a rainy night, even the stars were nowhere in sight. Fortunately, the lamps on the veranda were still lit, and with that bit of light, Jin Rui headed to the West Wing.

At the gate, Nanny Shui was dozing, supporting her chin with her hand.

Nanny Hua poked her head, tapped Nanny Shui’s shoulder, "Hey, hey! She’s coming out. Shall we ask her?"

Nanny Shui shook her head sleepily, muttering, "If you’re not afraid of getting bad luck, you ask. I don’t want to provoke her."

Nanny Hua pursed her lips, "She isn’t a full mistress yet. Since you won’t go, I will."

Curiosity took over, and Nanny Hua quickly approached, smiling from afar at Jin Rui, "Has our Fifth Miss gone to bed? Isn’t it Miss’s turn to watch tonight? Why did it change to Miss Jin Ling? Speaking frankly, Miss Jin Ling is quite strange, absent-minded. Miss, is she okay?"

Her barrage of questions received nothing but a blank look from Jin Rui.

"What could be the matter?" Jin Rui cast a glance at Nanny Hua, saying, "Doesn’t mother know about Jin Ling’s family situation? It’s good, then bad; she’s just upset for her mother and feels down a bit. But in mother’s words, it sounds like the sky is falling. Those who know mother is kind will understand it’s concern; those who don’t might think mother is cursing Jin Ling’s mother and brother. Whoever keeps watch is all the same here, whether it’s me or Jin Ling. A shift change, what’s the big deal? It’s late now, mother should rest early."

Having said her piece, Jin Rui didn’t care about Nanny Hua’s reaction, pushed open the West Wing door, stepped inside, and closed the door with a thud. After a while, the lamp inside flickered to life.

Nanny Hua stood at the door, with an irritable knot in her chest, panting heavily in pain, and only after a while did she gain composure, glaring at the shadow within the room and muttering curses under her breath, before feeling slightly better and returning to the gatehouse.

Seeing Nanny Hua return with a gloomy face, Nanny Shui knew she was unsuccessful and advised, "I told you not to ask for bad luck."

"I was just mad about it!" Nanny Hua pointed at the West Wing, "Old sister, you didn’t see, that sharp tongue, that blank stare, tsk tsk! Even Aunt Mo, who raised Fourth Miss, is gentle and lovely. She’s just a maid in front of the Miss, gosh! Half a mistress is truly what they call her! You know what she said to me? Said I’m cursing Miss Jin Ling’s mother and brother, oh my, heaven’s honest truth!"

Nanny Shui waved her hand repeatedly, "I know, I know, she’s always been like this. It’s best not to provoke her."

"To me, she’s just upset that she couldn’t outshine Miss Jin Ling in front of the miss!" Nanny Hua picked up the palm fan, vigorously fanning herself, "See? Tonight was supposed to be her turn to watch, and now it’s Miss Jin Ling. Could this happen without the miss’s approval? She got sent out by the miss, and now she’s venting her anger on me."

Nanny Shui laughed it off. In her opinion, even if Jin Rui was driven out by the miss, she’d just go back to the room to sleep. If Nanny Hua hadn’t approached her, would Jin Rui vent on her?

Nanny Hua grumbled and cursed Jin Rui before finally going back to sleep.

In the commotion, Nanny Hua had focused on her anger at Jin Rui and forgotten about Jin Ling’s abnormal behavior.

In the West Wing, Jin Rui washed up, extinguished the lamp, and lay down.

Though sleep eluded her, knowing that Jin Ling wouldn’t be able to properly attend to the miss these days, she would have to be more capable than usual, forcing herself to sleep.

In the main room, Jin Ling lay on the bed and just began to feel sleepy. But upon closing her eyes, she recalled the horrifying experience from the afternoon, jolting awake, trembling all over.

This repeated until the fourth hour of the night, when she slipped back into dreams, sat up abruptly from terror, clutching her knees and sobbing.

During the deep quiet of the night, Du Yunluo, sleeping lightly, awoke at the sound and raised the curtain to call, "Jin Ling’er, Jin Ling’er?"

Jin Ling trembled, quickly wiped her tears, and without putting on a coat, slipped on her shoes and went to the inner room.

Du Yunluo held Jin Ling’s hand, saying, "Come up and sleep with me."

Jin Ling hesitated, "Miss..."

"It’s too dark, I can’t sleep well." Du Yunluo added.

Jin Ling sniffled, Du Yunluo – the master, and she, the maid, yet it was the reverse now where the miss was comforting her emotions – she felt uneasy about it.

Du Yunluo didn’t waste words, urging her up.

Jin Ling feared if she resisted any further, the miss might lose sleep, so she didn’t persist, obediently climbing onto the bed’s edge.

With companionship beside her, Jin Ling managed to sleep somewhat peacefully during the latter half of the night, only opening her eyes at daybreak, staring at the canopy in a daze, before quietly getting up.

When Jin Rui came in to help Du Yunluo dress, she sized Jin Ling up, noticing she seemed in decent spirits, she felt somewhat relieved.

All night, she had tossed and turned thinking, if Jin Ling couldn’t pull herself together and ended up making careless mistakes, causing trouble for her, she could handle it. But, she worried that someone might notice something amiss, realize what Jin Ling had encountered, then their troubles would compound.

This would not only tarnish Jin Ling’s reputation, but it would also implicate Du Yunluo.

Fortunately, Jin Ling wasn’t so out of sorts that anyone could pinpoint her faults.