Madam Xia, upon leaving Xia Wanyu's courtyard, did not return to her own quarters. Instead, after confirming that Master Xia was in his study, she proceeded directly there.

Master Xia was quite surprised when Madam Xia arrived at the study. After all, Madam Xia rarely involved herself in Master Xia's external affairs, so opportunities to see her in the study were few. Could something have happened? With this thought, Master Xia quickly instructed the servants to invite Madam Xia in.

Once Madam Xia entered Master Xia's study, he immediately inquired, "My dear, has something occurred?"

Madam Xia looked at Master Xia with a slight air of distress. "It's nothing major, really, but I hate to trouble you, my lord. It's Wanyu; she is ill. However, the physician we called could not make a diagnosis. Therefore, I thought it best to invite a renowned doctor to examine her. But as a mere woman, how would I know which physicians are truly famous? So, I thought it best to ask you, my lord, to use your connections to invite a celebrated doctor to see Wanyu!"

Master Xia listened, a hint of confusion on his face. "Wanyu is ill? The doctor couldn't diagnose it? That sounds rather serious!"

Madam Xia shook her head. "I am not clear on the details, my lord. Only that the attending physician, Doctor Wang, stated he could not diagnose her and advised us to seek someone more skilled. Doctor Wang is already known for his excellent medical skills; who could be more accomplished than him? Even if such a person exists, I wouldn't know who to approach! So, I must ask you, my lord, to use your influence to search for a famous doctor."

Madam Xia deliberately emphasized that Doctor Wang was already a renowned physician. This was intended to show Master Xia that she was not negligent; rather, even a famous doctor was stumped, leaving her helpless.

Master Xia took this seriously after hearing Madam Xia’s words. If even a renowned doctor couldn't diagnose it, could it be something truly grave? Wanyu was now betrothed to the Fu family. If there were some underlying issue, what would become of everything? With this in mind, Master Xia began racking his memory for contacts who could help secure a famous physician. He recalled that their household had once invited a famous doctor before, to treat one of his concubines...

Master Xia remained lost in thought, and Madam Xia beside him did not disturb him. But even though she remained quiet, someone else shattered the peace.

A commotion of arguing voices drifted in from outside the study—it sounded like a maid and a young servant boy were quarreling.

Master Xia had been concentrating on finding a famed doctor, and being abruptly interrupted made him slightly displeased. He roared, "Who is causing such a ruckus outside?"

The young servant boy outside the door heard Master Xia’s shout and quickly entered to report, "Reporting to Your Lordship, it is the Eldest Miss's personal maid."

Chunlan, outside the door, had naturally heard Master Xia's roar and quickly called out loudly, "Please, Your Lordship, decide this matter for the Eldest Miss! The Miss is already so ill, yet Madam refuses to call a doctor to examine her! Please take pity on our Eldest Miss, my Lord, and send someone to summon a physician to treat her!"

Chunlan’s voice was loud, and Master Xia and Madam Xia inside the study heard her clearly. Master Xia became furious upon hearing this. He recalled that Madam had just come to report on their eldest daughter's illness and had explained the entire sequence of events clearly. For this maid to now claim that Madam was not being diligent—wasn't this blatantly lying?

Thus, Master Xia roared in anger, "Guards! Drag this gossiping maid out and give her ten strokes of the heavy board! Let's see if she dares to speak nonsense again!"

Madam Xia, seated nearby, smiled coldly within. It was fortunate that she had come straight to the Master after leaving that wretched girl’s quarters; otherwise, if the Master had initially believed the maid’s words, she would surely have taken the blame. Thinking this, Madam Xia felt even more resolved not to let that bastard child off lightly. As for the maid who had just spoken out of turn, Madam Xia truly didn't deign to concern herself with her. To send her to deal with a mere maid, she felt, would be beneath her status.

After Master Xia ordered the punishment to be carried out, he turned back to Madam Xia with an apologetic look. "My dear, I have burdened you with managing the household affairs."

Madam Xia smiled faintly. "My Lord speaks too kindly. A husband and wife are one body; if I bear some burden, it allows you peace of mind, does it not?"

Master Xia’s heart warmed upon hearing Madam Xia’s words. He held her hand and said no more.

Subsequently, Master Xia stated that Madam did not need to worry about inviting the famous doctor; he would personally handle the arrangements. Madam Xia nodded upon hearing this and then found a pretext to return to her own courtyard.

Upon returning, Madam Xia summoned Nanny Gu and asked, "Has Doctor Wang been handled?"

Nanny Gu nodded. "Rest assured, Madam. Doctor Wang has been dealt with. This servant first gave him a stern warning, and then gave him silver for his silence. He certainly won't speak of anything."

The truth was, under normal circumstances, Madam Xia would never have allowed Nanny Gu to escort Doctor Wang away. Sending Nanny Gu today also carried the intent of having her give the doctor a warning, lest he dared to blurt out anything later. Nanny Gu, having served Madam Xia for so many years, naturally understood her mistress's intentions and had thus given Doctor Wang a severe talking-to when sending him off.

Meanwhile, Xia Wanyu, upon learning that her attempt to have Chunlan report the issue had resulted in her maid being punished by Master Xia, felt deeply dissatisfied. Had she said something wrong? She was sick, yet Madam refused to call a doctor for her diagnosis. Wasn't it just because she wanted Wanyu to remain ill so that no one would compete with Xia Wanting for Fu Lan? Hmph, she would deliberately thwart her wishes.

Xia Wanyu took out some silver money and gave it to a small maidservant nearby, instructing her to buy medicine for Chunlan and ensure her fiercely loyal head maid recovered as quickly as possible.

A few days later, Master Xia managed to invite a renowned physician through his connections. After taking Xia Wanyu's pulse, this famous doctor concluded that she was suffering from extreme exhaustion leading to physical weakness and advised that she needed thorough nourishment to strengthen her body.

While this diagnosis would be quite credible for an ordinary person, Xia Wanyu was, after all, the legitimate daughter of the Xia Estate. How could she possibly become ill from overexertion?

Thus, after the renowned physician finished speaking, Madam Xia voiced her doubts. "My Lord, I do not believe I have ever treated Wanyu harshly in daily life. How then could she be weak from overexertion? Daughters are always cherished; who would bear to make them perform strenuous labor?"

Master Xia had initially been very satisfied that this renowned physician had quickly identified the cause of the illness. Now, reminded by Madam Xia, he finally realized: how could a young lady of the Xia Estate fall ill from being overworked? Furthermore, Madam was known for her virtuous nature and would never mistreat her daughter. Therefore, there could only be one conclusion: this so-called renowned physician was likely all reputation and no substance, completely failing to diagnose his daughter's ailment.

Thinking this, Master Xia grew displeased with the friend who had recommended this physician. If you didn't know any truly famous doctors, that was fine; I wouldn't blame you. But was it necessary to find a quack to deceive me?

Consequently, Master Xia very politely showed the physician out and then redoubled his efforts, asking another friend to help invite a truly renowned doctor.

Master Xia thought to himself that surely there wouldn't be an issue this time. To his surprise, the diagnosis given by this second physician was identical to the first one. At this point, Master Xia was truly dumbfounded.

With two reputable doctors offering the same diagnosis, Master Xia began to suspect Madam Xia. Could it be that Madam Xia had actually been mistreating the Eldest Miss?

With this thought, Master Xia summoned several of his trusted confidants within the household and instructed them to investigate whether Madam Xia had previously been harsh to the Eldest Miss.

Soon, the confidants reported their findings to Master Xia, which only deepened his confusion. The results they found showed that Madam Xia had never mistreated the Eldest Miss; on the contrary, Madam Xia often looked after the Eldest Miss. Furthermore, there was truly no evidence of any taxing labor in the Eldest Miss's daily routine.

After hearing the confidants' replies, Master Xia was even more perplexed. What was going on? Unable to fathom it, Master Xia voiced his confusion to Madam Xia.

Madam Xia naturally expressed her own bewilderment. "My Lord, when would Wanyu ever overexert herself? It seems these esteemed doctors have not managed to diagnose what illness Wanyu truly suffers from. Could it be that Wanyu has contracted some incurable disease?"

Master Xia found himself leaning toward believing Madam Xia’s words upon hearing this. However, aside from appearing physically weak, nothing else seemed obviously wrong with his daughter. Master Xia could only sigh, "This is just speculation on our part. Alright, let us follow the doctor's advice for now and nourish Wanyu properly to see if we can improve her condition."

Madam Xia nodded upon hearing this. "I think so too."

When Madam Xia returned to her courtyard, she summoned Nanny Gu and gave her several instructions.

Consequently, the next day, gossip began to spread among the maids that the Eldest Miss was suffering from an incurable disease, and that the Master and Madam were already discussing whether to cancel the Eldest Miss's engagement to the Fu family and arrange for the Second Miss to marry into the Fu family instead.

The maids attending Xia Wanyu quickly heard this widespread rumor circulating among the servants and rushed back to inform her.

Xia Wanyu was utterly enraged upon hearing the news. She thought that Madam Xia and Xia Wanting were truly despicable; taking advantage of her illness to try and steal the engagement she had worked so hard to secure. This absolutely could not happen; she would never allow Xia Wanting to take this marriage away from her again.

Xia Wanyu pondered all night but could not devise any foolproof plan, especially since she was genuinely ill. Finally, having no other choice, Xia Wanyu decided to pretend she was no longer sick. If she appeared well, the rumors circulating in the manor would naturally dissolve on their own.