The smoke in the outer room was so heavy that it almost made it hard to keep one's eyes open. Lian Manman hurriedly stood on the threshold and took down the cotton door curtain. The north wind blew in the winter, and the thick smoke rushed eagerly into the courtyard; with less smoke in the outer room, Lian Manman could finally see the situation inside.
It was Lady Gu and Lady Chiang.
Lady Chiang occupied a small stove with a medicine pot on it; she was brewing medicine for Old Master Lian.
Lady Gu was squatting under the large stove, tending a fire; that was where the thick smoke was coming from. It wasn't time to cook yet; Lady Gu was simply boiling water.
The faces of both mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were blackened by smoke, their eyes red and teary from the irritation.
Lady Gu's domestic skills had regressed, after all, she had spent the last few months in the county town, staying in the Song Family's idle house with servants attending to her every need.
