The Valued Lady is Truly Dominant

When Nanny Gong saw Madam Song and the others had left, she instructed Nan Shan to stand guard at the door and then looked at Song Ci with hesitation.

”If you want to laugh at me, go ahead,” Song Ci shrugged her hands and said matter-of-factly, ”I truly have a bad memory. At first, I couldn’t recall which Miss Wen it was.”

Nanny Gong felt a slight heaviness in her heart, but she forced a smile and said, ”This is common among the elderly. Even I sometimes have a blank mind and forget whether I have washed up.”

”You don’t need to comfort me. Forgetfulness comes with old age, and I’m only sixty—a bit early for this,” Song Ci sighed.

Nanny Gong chuckled lightly, ”Oh, this time you’re claiming sixty as young, yet usually you say you’re nothing but old bones.”

Song Ci looked at her pitifully, just like the young lad Dan-ge often looked when wanting a toy he couldn’t get. His gaze was weak, helpless, and pitiful.

Nanny Gong’s eyes softened as she said, ”It’s okay, if you forget, you forget. There’s always us to remind you.”

Only then did Song Ci smile with squinted eyes, and asked them to bring over Dan-ge to play, Nanny Gong smiling outwardly but feeling sour inside.

Meanwhile, outside Chunhui Hall, Madam Song and Jiang Shi inevitably began discussing Song Ci’s unusual behavior.

”Elder sister-in-law, do you think mother’s forgetfulness has gotten worse?” Jiang Shi asked with a somewhat heavy tone.

Madam Song glanced at her and said, ”You saw it yourself earlier, although mother tried to hide it, for that moment she truly didn’t recognize Miss Wen. The Imperial Physician and Master Buhui have both advised that as she ages, she will become more forgetful.”

Jiang Shi listened and felt increasingly upset, her eyes showing some sadness, ”Mother is such a good person, why must she suffer from such an ailment? Heaven is being unjust.”

”It’s the hardships she endured when young,”

Jiang Shi sighed, ”Having suffered when young, shouldn’t she now enjoy sweetness after hardship? As you know, our father-in-law doesn’t manage affairs, and it’s all been up to mother to keep this big family going, struggling until today. Our elder brother has achieved great success, children and grandchildren are plentiful, she should be enjoying her peace in old age. Yet the reality is, she’s frequently ill. Although she appears sturdy now, she’s starting to forget things. Have you noticed mother’s hair is turning more white?”

Madam Song commented, ”In a person’s life, perhaps there’s no perfect picture, heaven won’t grant one person complete happiness, there will always be regrets.”

Unable to argue for a moment, Jiang Shi replied, ”Regardless, heaven is just unfair, alas. Elder sister-in-law, could you speak with our third sister-in-law about attending the banquet at Prince Zhou Mansion? I’ll return to the storeroom to see if there are superior medicinal herbs to send to mother.”

Madam Song nodded with a smile.

Turning back, Song Ci then received her daughter-in-law Jiang Shi’s tribute—a large quantity of high-grade medicinal herbs were sent over.

Song Ci looked at the pile of medicinal herbs, then at Nanny Gong, and said softly, ”She thinks I need them, doesn’t she?”

Nanny Gong said earnestly, ”You’re overthinking. The children’s respect has always been sincere. Purely, they just want to show their filial respect to you.”

Song Ci mocked with a fake laugh, believing her but knowing Jiang Shi clearly thought her mind wasn’t functioning well. Otherwise, what’s with this arm-thick Polygonum multiflorum?

”Oh dear, little ancestor, you can’t gnaw on that!” Song Ci exclaimed as she saw Dan-ge tearing open a ginseng and began to gnaw on it.

Dan-ge, drooling, shouted indistinctly, ”Gen...seng.”