After an afternoon nap, Ming Lingyi completely forgot about Li Yun.

When she woke up, Xiao Chun and Shi Mingyue were in the kitchen making spring roll wrappers.

It was simple work. After Xiao Chun showed her twice, Shi Mingyue got the hang of it and even found it a little fun.

Ming Lingyi walked over, leaned against the doorframe, and casually asked, "Hasn’t Granny Wang come back yet?"

Without looking up, Xiao Chun grunted in affirmation.

While her mistress was napping, she had gone next door again. But after knocking, there was still no answer.

Ming Lingyi frowned. She had learned from the neighborhood gossip that Granny Wang was all alone in Shangjing City. She had no relatives and spent nearly all her time in her tailor shop.

She was getting on in years, so her customers always came to her shop to pick up their clothes. There was no reason for her to be making deliveries at her age after finishing an order.

"I’m going out for a bit." With that, Ming Lingyi headed out the door.

Shi Mingyue quickly followed her.

Shi Mingyue hadn’t forgotten her "mission." As a guard, she naturally had to stay by her master’s side at all times.

Ming Lingyi couldn’t help but chuckle when she saw the flour on Shi Mingyue’s hands.

Ming Lingyi went out to ask the neighbors if any of them had seen Granny Wang leave today.

After asking around, she found that no one had seen the old woman from the Wang family.

Ming Lingyi thought it over and had Shi Mingyue climb over the wall and open the gate from the inside.

"Go in and have a look." Ming Lingyi had a bad feeling.

Granny Wang’s family had lived in the Capital City for generations. Her house was an old residence, renovated many times over the years. It was much larger than Ming Lingyi’s, a two-courtyard home.

"Miss!" Shi Mingyue’s voice called out, and Ming Lingyi hurried over.

She had just passed through the second gate when she saw a person collapsed by the courtyard well.

Shi Mingyue had already rushed forward. She knelt down, placed a hand under the fallen Granny Wang’s nose, and let out a sigh of relief. "She’s still breathing," she said, turning her head to Ming Lingyi behind her.

Ming Lingyi rushed out to call for help.

Xiao Chun was the fastest to arrive, carrying the woman out from beside the well on her back.

The commotion alerted the entire street. Neighbors rushed over, and everyone pitched in to help carry her to the nearest clinic.

"Oh my, what happened?"

"I was just wondering! Old Mrs. Wang opens her shop for business every day, but she hasn’t come out at all. Turns out she fainted at home?"

"It’s a good thing Miss Ming and her girls found her in time. Otherwise, who knows what would’ve happened..."

By the time Ming Lingyi got to her, Granny Wang was already cold to the touch. She didn’t know exactly when the woman had fallen by the well, but it looked like she’d been there for at least half a day.

Although spring had begun, those sensitive to the cold were still wearing thin, padded jackets. Only the young men and women were dressed in spring clothes, as if they didn’t feel the chill at all.

Ming Lingyi was now surrounded by people, feeling a bit helpless. She didn’t know much more than the other neighbors. It was just that she found it strange not to have seen Granny Wang all day. Thinking of the old woman’s age and how she lived alone, she had worried something might have happened, which was why she’d had Ming Yue climb the wall into the neighboring yard.

Finally, after a short while, the doctor who had been examining Granny Wang came out, rescuing Ming Lingyi from the crowd.

"Doctor, what exactly happened to Wang Pozi?"

The clinic’s doctor explained, "The patient likely went to draw water from the well early this morning. She must have stepped on some moss, slipped, and taken a fall. The back of her head hit the stone slab, causing significant bleeding and knocking her unconscious. It’s not yet the Qingming Festival, so the weather is deceptively cold. After falling, she was exposed to the elements since no one found her, and now a chill has entered her system. I have performed acupuncture, and she is awake now, but given her advanced age, I’m afraid this ordeal will leave her with lasting health issues."

At that age, even a common cold could be fatal.

"Sigh, it’s a good thing Miss Ming found her in time."

Hearing the doctor’s words, everyone looked at each other, and someone in the crowd sighed with emotion.

The doctor had also just said that if she had been brought in an hour later, even a god probably couldn’t have saved her.

Ming Lingyi didn’t dare take the credit; it was just a coincidence.

If she hadn’t been thinking of bringing a meal over to Granny Wang next door, she wouldn’t have noticed that the shop’s door had been closed all day.

"Let’s go in and see her." The person who spoke was Aunt Gui.

Old Mrs. Wang’s condition was truly not good.

A circle of white gauze was wrapped around her head now, looking rather frightening.

Not only that, but she had also broken a leg in the fall. It was now bound in a splint, and she couldn’t move.

"Aunt Wang, oh my, you’ve really been through a terrible ordeal." An auntie with her hair in a married woman’s bun sat by the bed and tucked Granny Wang in. "The way I see it, why don’t we all take turns looking after her for a while?"

They were all neighbors, after all, and had known each other for years. With Granny Wang in this state and with no family to speak of, if the neighbors didn’t lend a hand, there would truly be no one to care for her.

"Alright, I can come over after noon every day."

"I don’t get off work until the evening. How about I come watch over her for two hours at night?"

With so many neighbors in Huaided Fang, if everyone took a turn, it wouldn’t take up too much of any one person’s time.

Ming Lingyi only had two young maids at home and also had to run her restaurant. More importantly, she felt she had no experience caring for the sick and would probably just be more trouble than help.

"In that case, Ming’s Restaurant will cover everyone’s three meals," Ming Lingyi said.

The moment she finished speaking, Mrs. Wei chuckled.

"Well now, Boss Ming, with an offer like that, I bet everyone will be fighting to take care of Granny Wang."

Mrs. Wei’s words were an exaggeration, but there was some truth to them.

After all, who in Huaided Fang hadn’t tasted Ming Lingyi’s cooking? And of those who had, who didn’t sing its praises?

It’s just that the food at Ming’s Restaurant wasn’t cheap. While not so expensive that people couldn’t afford it, it wasn’t so cheap that one could eat there every day.

Now that there was a chance to taste Miss Ming’s cooking for free, who would want to miss it?

Ming Lingyi smiled, pressing her lips together, a little embarrassed.

Lying in bed, Granny Wang had caught a cold and her voice was still hoarse, making it difficult to speak.

But when she heard this, Granny Wang still managed to wave Ming Lingyi over.

When people get old, they have a clear sense of their own body’s condition.

Seeing this, Ming Lingyi walked over. "Granny Wang?" She was actually a bit surprised when Granny Wang had waved her over.

Compared to the other neighbors, she had only moved in two months ago and wasn’t particularly close with Granny Wang.

From what everyone had been saying, Mrs. Wang now understood that if Ming Lingyi hadn’t had her two maids climb the wall into her courtyard, she would have died by the well without anyone ever knowing.

Right now, she was afraid her body was giving out.

She appreciated the neighbors’ kindness. But she was just a lonely old woman, and other than the little money she had saved, she had nothing else to offer in return.

She called Ming Lingyi over now because Mrs. Wang felt that at her age, her judgment of character shouldn’t be wrong.