Lin Youning was both heartbroken and resentful at that moment, feeling a tightness in her chest as if reliving the moment in her previous life when she was driven to death by Gu Yixuan. She clutched her chest tightly with one hand, taking deep breaths. This sudden action frightened her Madam, who was holding her.
"Little sister? What's happening?" Seeing the pallor of the fragile little person in her arms, gasping for breath as if about to suffocate, Madam was also at a loss.
The maids around were also frightened and gathered around the bed.
"Step back, all of you." Seeing this, Gu Yifeng shouted loudly, and the maids around the bed retreated. Gu Yifeng bent down, took the little person from his mother's arms, and in a few strides carried her to the couch by the south window.
With a gentle tug, Gu Yifeng loosened the white cross-collared ruqun and the outer black beizi, revealing the white orchid-embroidered dudou underneath. By this time, Lin Youning was no longer gasping, but her face was as pale as paper.
"Bring a fan and water." Gu Yifeng's cold eyes shimmered like silver, and his sword-like eyebrows slightly knitted together.
As his voice fell, Suyi had already handed over the necessary items, fanning and giving her water. The little person on the bed, as pale as paper, fluttered her eyelashes and slowly regained her composure.
"This good child, what kind of misfortune is this?" Madam got off the bed with the help of a maid, and upon seeing the pale face of the little one on the couch, couldn't help but thump her chest and cry.
Remembering how her son had just forbidden anyone to approach the bed, she dared not go near and only stood aside, sobbing. The little maids in the room were already frightened and knelt on the floor, some covering their faces and weeping quietly.
At this moment, a maid outside announced, "The Imperial Physician has arrived."
Madam had already sent someone to call the physician earlier, and upon hearing this, she hastily ordered them to invite him in.
Suyi softly chastised the maids in the room, and finally, the room quieted down.
Gu Yifeng also stepped aside, letting Suyi help Lin Youning's maid arrange her clothes. By the time the physician entered, Lin Youning was half-reclining on the large cushion of the couch, weakly allowing Shanmoi to place her arm on the small table, padded with a cloth for the physician to examine her pulse.
"Doctor Xu, we don't know how this child suddenly couldn't breathe just now. It was truly frightening." Madam was still trembling as she spoke of it.
Doctor Xu stroked his beard, knit his brows, and after a moment retracted his hand, paid his respects to Gu Yifeng, and then replied to Madam, "Madam, the young lady in the house is suffering illness due to melancholy. Her body is frail, and excessive grief caused her breathing difficulty. It is essential for her to be more open-minded for the time being."
"Please prescribe some medicine to nourish her body," Madam replied, wiping the tears from her face.
After Gu Yifeng saw the physician out to prescribe medicine, Madam moved to the couch but dared not hold the person in her arms anymore, only comforting her tenderly from the side, "You child, you truly are tearing at your aunt's heart."
"Auntie, don't cry. I'm fine," Lin Youning said. Having endured the ordeal earlier, she was utterly exhausted.
Her eyelids grew heavy, and as she closed them, she quickly fell into a deep sleep.
Once the little one on the couch was asleep, Madam was finally persuaded by Wenxin to control her grief. She then ordered sternly, "Gather all the servants from Tingxue Hall in the courtyard. I need to ask them how they have been caring for the young lady. In just a few days, they have let the young lady's body become harmed."
At this moment, Madam's face bore none of its earlier kind expressions. She carried the imposing air of the Madam of the Marquis Mansion. Suyi sent a young maid to Tingxue Hall.
Upon seeing her son enter, Madam asked, "What did the physician say?"
"He only prescribed some nourishing medicine, but her heart must also be open." Gu Yixuan, sitting on the other side of the couch, looked across at his mother beside the little one and continued, "Mother should comfort little sister more often. Since Aunt has passed, if she remains in such melancholy and solitude, not even a healthy body could withstand it."
Madam choked upon hearing this, "How was I to know that such a young person could carry such heavy thoughts?"
While Madam and her son spoke, Wenxin and Suyi had already waved off the servants in the room, making it more convenient to speak freely, without considering others, "When your uncle and elder brother passed, your aunt was the same. I advised her several times, and if not for the thought of having no descendants, she would have followed them long ago."
"All of that is in the past. Mother must also think more openly. Little sister is raised by your side now, so you must guide her well. She is young and can still be nurtured back into health," Gu Yixuan, who always revered his mother, said.
"Speaking of which, considering Aunt's sudden departure and the marriage arranged with the Duke Mansion for the second day of next month, I think it should be postponed. After all, the younger son will shoulder responsibilities for two families in the future, acting as half a son for the grand house, and ought to observe mourning," Mrs. Gu reflected, having been preoccupied with the grandaunt's funeral without time to discuss this with her son.