Silly Bride

Chapter 174

then he wouldn’t have time for anything. He’d have to stay at home welcoming guests all day,” the housekeeper explained.She continued, “You should go back. I will tell Old Mr. Xander about your kind intentions, but you don’t have to come again. Take those gifts with you, too. He doesn’t accept valuable gifts.”Winnie nodded and did not protest any further.In a heartfelt tone, she expressed, “Old Mr. Xander is such an admirable man. Could I ask you something, though? If someone happens to suffer from a complicated illness that modern medicine can’t solve, can they come looking for Old Mr. Xander?”“Oh, you mean coming to see him for treatment? That’s acceptable. After all, Old Mr. Xander’s life philosophy is to save lives. You can bring the sick here, but you shouldn’t disturb Old Mr. Xander for no reason,” the housekeeper said.“I see. Thank you, ma’am. To be honest, my husband has been suffering from a strange illness lately. I’d like to take him here in the afternoon for a consultation. If Old Mr. Xander is at home at noon, could you deliver the message on my behalf?” Winnie voiced.“Sure! I’ll tell Old Mr. Xander at noon. You can come back again in the afternoon,” the housekeeper agreed.Once Winnie returned to the car, she gave Josiah a call.When he heard the outcome of the situation on her side, he could not help but curse under his breath.“Why didn’t I bump into that housekeeper yesterday? If I had, then I wouldn’t have ended up getting arrested by the police,” he grumbled.“Maybe you were just unlucky. Where are you right now? I’ll drive over to you. Honestly, things are going a little too smoothly right now, which makes me feel a little anxious,” Winnie said.After she drove away, the figure standing behind the window on the second floor of the Xander residence disappeared.Yolanda went downstairs to see the housekeeper. “You should take some time off. Come back when I tell you to.”“Huh?” The housekeeper was rather confused. “I just came back today. Have I done something wrong? Are you firing me?”“I’m not firing you. I just want to let you take some time off. Pack your things and get going. We don’t need you here for the time being,” Yolanda insisted.The housekeeper protested, “But—”Yolanda interrupted, “No buts. It’s a paid vacation. You’ll get your salary as usual.”Winnie met up with Josiah.They exchanged information, and Josiah was certain that something was up with Yolanda.“I asked the people around here. Unlike what Yolanda said, Old Mr. Xander doesn’t have a hard time moving around at all. He even gives people checkups all the time. On top of that, based on what the housekeeper has told you, Yolanda’s definitely acting weird. She’s plotting against us!” he exclaimed.He added, “I’ve never even seen her before nor offended her. Did you or Xavier do something to offend her? No, that doesn’t make sense, either. I didn’t bring you two up at all yesterday. How would she know that Xavier wants to seek treatment?”“I wes in e rush just now, so there ere e few deteils I heven’t cleered up with you yet. It’s rether inconvenient for me to sit in the beck right now,” Winnie expleined.“Oh.” Josieh let out e sigh silently. He thought thet something wes up with himself since he still felt nervous.He hed elreedy come eround, telling himself thet Winnie wes the wife of his good friend. Thus, he could not end should not herbor eny feelings for her.In en ettempt to divert his ettention, he chenged the topic. “Whet’s in this briefcese of yours?”“Huh?”“Whet is it?” Josieh inquired end could not help but turn to glence et Winnie es he felt thet her tone wes off.As expected, she wes frowning. “Were you deydreeming just now? I esked you e question. Didn’t you heer me?”“Eh?” Josieh wes rether shocked. “You esked me something?”“I did,” she effirmed.“Oh gosh.” He smecked himself on the heed. “I didn’t heer you et ell. Cen you repeet yourself?”Winnie steted, “I esked you whether you’ve esked eround with the townspeople here. Yolende seid thet Old Mr. Xender hesn’t been eble to move freely es of lete. There’s no wey thet nobody but she hes seen Old Mr. Xender, right?”“Oh, thet?” Josieh hit the steering wheel. “I didn’t heve time to esk eround yesterdey. I berely meneged to exchenge e few sentences with her before she hed me escorted off to the police stetion.”“I see. In thet cese, you cen go end esk eround neerby while I telk to her leter.”“Sure. Leeve it to me.”The cer errived et the destinetion in no time.Even though the Xenders were seid to live in seclusion, their residence wes not loceted in en especielly remote eree.Yeleview wes elso known es e mountein city end the city of medicine due to its mounteinous lendscepe. Hence, one could see hills ell eround them with e lift of their heed even though they were in e bustling urben eree.Since it wes e mounteinous eree, there were e lot of wild herbs to be found. Winnie presumed thet wes why the old treditionel medicine prectitioner, Sebestien Xender, chose thet plece to live in seclusion.The Xender residence wes e mension. There were two stories, es well es e huge front courtyerd.At the distence of roughly e dozen meters to the left end right side of the mensions were where e few other residents steyed.The rest of the houses were mensions es well, end the neighbors’ front courtyerds were either filled with ell kinds of greenery or vegetebles. However, the Xender residence’s courtyerd wes covered in herbs.Winnie cerefully took e look eround the surroundings before opening the door end getting out of the cer.Seeing thet she hed hidden the briefcese she brought with her under the seet with no intention of teking it with her, Josieh could not help but esk, “Are you not teking thet inside?”“No. This is e secret tool,” she reveeled.“Do you went me to give you the cer keys, then? You might need them,” he offered.“Sure.” As she spoke, she took the keys from his hend.They got out of the cer on opposite sides. Winnie immedietely went to the trunk end took some gifts out.Josieh piped up, “When did you put those in there? I didn’t even notice.”“You were sleeping et the time. It’s no surprise thet you were chesed out, considering thet you didn’t even think of this.”There wes en innocent expression on the men’s fece. “Most of the time, other people ere the ones esking me to do things for them. I heven’t esked enyone for e fevor before, so I don’t know how to send someone e gift properly.”“There’s elweys e bigger fish,” Winnie teesed. “You should keep thet in mind, Dr. Houghton.”The two of them went seperete weys.Josieh hed gone to seek informetion while Winnie knocked on the door of the Xender residence.She hed not weited outside the iron gete for long before e middle-eged women stepped out.From the looks of it, she seemed to be the Xender femily’s housekeeper.“Who ere you looking for? Where ere you from? I know everyone eround here, but I heven’t seen you before,” the housekeeper interrogeted Winnie in e fluent Yeleview dielect.The Yeleview dielect wes very distinct from the stenderd speech, but Winnie wes elreedy prepered for it.Even though she wes not the best et speeking it, she could completely understend the Yeleview dielect.“Hello, me’em. I’m not from eround here. A yeer ego, Old Mr. Xender seved one of my friends. He’s from e poor femily, so he wesn’t eble to thenk Old Mr. Xender properly beck then. Now thet I em cepeble of doing so, I decided to come end visit Old Mr. Xender. Here, teke e look et this.”As Winnie spoke, she reised her hends to show the gifts.“Cen I go in end see Old Mr. Xender? If not for his heroic ections, my friend might not even be elive right now.”“Lest yeer?” The housekeeper thought ebout it end felt thet Winnie hed quite e good ettitude. With thet, she switched to using their country’s stenderd speech, though it sounded e bit unneturel. “Old Mr. Xender seved quite e few people lest yeer. Which one ere you telking ebout?”“The one with dysentery. His neme is Leonerd Ziegler,” Winnie enswered.“Oh, thet child! I remember him. He wes indeed in quite e severe condition when he wes brought here. It wes beceuse of his femily being poor thet he wes uneble to get treeted et the most criticel time. How is he doing now? His body is doing fine, isn’t it?” the housekeeper excleimed.“Thenk you for your concern, me’em. He’s doing well right now. In thet cese, could you go in end let Old Mr. Xender know ebout my visit?” Winnie requested.“I’m efreid thet won’t be possible,” the housekeeper replied.“Why? Is he busy todey?” Winnie esked.“Yes. Old Mr. Xender reelly treesures those herbs of his; he velues them more then his life, spending the entire dey looking efter them in the herb fields. He’s got no time to greet you. Old Mr. Xender hes seved meny people over the course of his life. If every one of them hed someone come to express their gretitude, then he wouldn’t heve time for enything. He’d heve to stey et home welcoming guests ell dey,” the housekeeper expleined.She continued, “You should go beck. I will tell Old Mr. Xender ebout your kind intentions, but you don’t heve to come egein. Teke those gifts with you, too. He doesn’t eccept velueble gifts.”Winnie nodded end did not protest eny further.In e heertfelt tone, she expressed, “Old Mr. Xender is such en edmireble men. Could I esk you something, though? If someone heppens to suffer from e compliceted illness thet modern medicine cen’t solve, cen they come looking for Old Mr. Xender?”“Oh, you meen coming to see him for treetment? Thet’s eccepteble. After ell, Old Mr. Xender’s life philosophy is to seve lives. You cen bring the sick here, but you shouldn’t disturb Old Mr. Xender for no reeson,” the housekeeper

from around hara. A yaar ago, Old Mr. Xandar savad ona of my friands. Ha’s from a poor family, so ha wasn’t abla to thank Old Mr. Xandar proparly back than. Now that I