Chapter 33: With Child
This time when Song Hemei visited the Shao residence, the servants treated her entirely differently than before.
Most seemed to know that something had happened to the master of the house. Every face was grim; everyone was as silent as a cicada in winter. Yet toward her, they were all exceedingly respectful. The maidservant leading the way even warned her to be careful of a pebble on the path.
She was first taken to Madam Shao's quarters. Just overnight, Madam Shao's face had become haggard. She wore a headband, and the old serving woman by her side was kneading her neck. The signs of illness were clear.
Seeing her arrive, Madam Zhang said to her, "Good child, I never thought you would come over today of all days. When Wen'ang got into trouble, who truly had him in their heart? It had to be you. After all, a young married couple shares a deep, abiding love."
Song Hemei lowered her head. No matter how disdainful she felt inside, she showed nothing on her face. She merely followed her words and softly murmured an assent.
Madam Zhang waved her hand. "I know you're thinking of Wen'ang, so go see him first. There's no rush for us, mother and daughter-in-law, to have our private talk."
Song Hemei nodded again, then did not linger. She withdrew directly from the room.
Heading to Shao Wen'ang's courtyard did not require the same guarded vigilance she needed when facing Madam Zhang. She followed her memory and had just entered the yard when she noticed the servants there looked even worse than those in the outer courtyard.
Thinking about it, that made sense. Those in the outer courtyard probably only knew he had fallen from his horse; only the inner courtyard knew exactly what kind of fall it had been. Or perhaps they had been punished by Lord Shao and Madam Shao—after all, when something happens to the master, the first ones to be blamed are the servants for failing to protect him.
Cao Lingchun was keeping watch at the door of Shao Wen'ang's room. Her face was pale, not much better than Madam Shao's. Seeing Song Hemei, she tried to curl the corners of her lips, but the smile was worse than crying.
"Madam, you've finally returned. Please go see the young master at once."
Song Hemei looked at her, her emotions complicated.
If she were to say she hated her, she also found her somewhat pitiable. But if she were to say she pitied her, she could not get past the vile, nauseating feeling of being betrayed.
She had no choice but to look away first. As she lifted the door curtain and entered, she asked in a low voice, "How is he?"
"Reporting to Madam, the young master woke once last night. When he learned of his injuries, he was so overcome with grief and despair that he fainted again."
Cao Lingchun's face was filled with heartache. "How could the young master bear something like this? He truly is suffering."
Song Hemei said nothing, for as soon as she entered the room, she caught an unavoidable stench of rot.
Perhaps it was because summer was approaching and they had kept the doors and windows closed for fear he might catch a chill and develop a fever. Or perhaps it was due to the location of his injuries, making using the lavatory difficult.
She couldn't help but frown subconsciously, but she had to put on a good show. She forced herself to approach the bedside and sit on the round stool beside it, softly calling out, "Wen'ang, Mei'er has come to see you."
Her call did not wake the person on the bed. Only dead silence answered her.
Shao Wen'ang looked even more haggard than when he had been rushed to the medical clinic. His hair was loose and scattered on the pillow. He was not bad-looking to begin with—the saying that a sickly beauty gains charm could apply to a man as well—but even setting aside that he had long since rotted from the inside, the mere stench filling the room was enough to kill any desire to admire a flower.
She didn't know which word in her words had struck Cao Lingchun, but the woman immediately choked and sobbed twice. Tears welled up in her eyes, and her voice grew hoarse. "The young master had a fever last night, with sweat on his forehead. Even in his sleep, he called out your name, Madam."
Song Hemei had her back to her. She forced herself to hold back two breaths to keep from gagging at those words.
Being thought of in sleep by such a person was hardly a good thing.
But she still had to say something proper. She cleared her throat. "You are also with child. Don't grieve too much."
Cao Lingchun wiped her tears with a handkerchief and raised her hand to stroke her belly. "This child must know that the young master has suffered such humiliation. All night he has been very quiet—hasn't even kicked this slave once. He must be grieving for the young master too."
Song Hemei had never been pregnant, so she didn't know whether a child of five or six months could kick its mother's belly. But in this situation, she could only respond, "This child is truly sensible."
Cao Lingchun nodded. "Madam is right. This slave used to only think that as long as the child grew up safely, that would be enough. Never would I have imagined that one day we would fall into such a heavy burden."
She stepped forward and took Song Hemei's hand.
Song Hemei instinctively resisted. Her entire arm stiffened, unsure what Cao Lingchun was planning.
But the next moment, Cao Lingchun placed her hand on her own belly and guided her gently, stroking down along the rounded stomach again and again. Her expression truly carried a mother's love.
"This child is also Madam's child. In the future, this slave will serve Madam well, serve the little master, and together with the young master, help uphold the family's status."
The moment she finished speaking, Song Hemei felt her palm lightly pushed from within.
That subtle sensation made her heart tremble for an instant.
She felt that this was a living, breathing child, but she also understood what the woman before her was thinking at this moment.
Cao Lingchun had lowered her own status greatly, calling the child still in her womb the "little master," just to curry favor with the principal wife. As a mother, she had truly abased herself to the dust.
More than that, Song Hemei could sense that, beneath Cao Lingchun's grief over this incident, there was joy.
Yes, she was joyful. Joyful that from now on, Shao Wen'ang would only have her as his concubine besides his legal wife.
It seemed she truly loved Shao Wen'ang—not for the wealth of rising half a step to become a mistress, but genuinely loved him. She grieved over his injuries and rejoiced that in the future she could always be by his side, and that his gaze would fall on no one else.
Song Hemei found this realization chilling.
From her perspective now, this thought of Cao Lingchun's was somewhat foolish and pathetic. This earth-shattering stupidity seemed to have become Cao Lingchun's proof of devotion and loyalty to Shao Wen'ang. But if she herself were still in love with Shao Wen'ang, would she not be the same?
Her heart beat a little faster. She felt as if she had stepped to the edge of an abyss but, somehow, stopped just in time without falling completely in.
Using a little force, she withdrew her hand and softly answered, "Good."
A faint smile curled at the corner of Cao Lingchun's lips—bitter solace, or perhaps an attempt to show goodwill.
Then, the next moment, she suddenly spoke. "Madam, do you know where the young master's horse was startled yesterday? This slave has seen his wounds—he is clearly missing a certain part. This slave thinks we must find it, or else when he is buried a hundred years from now, what will he take into the next life? He might not be able to become a man again when he reincarnates."
Song Hemei almost didn't grasp the meaning of her words. It took her a long moment to realize: she meant to retrieve the missing piece, just like a eunuch entering the palace!
Crazy. They were utterly crazy!
She involuntarily recalled the filthy, mangled wound she had seen the day before, along with the stench of rot that still lingered at the tip of her nose in this room. Whether it was purely psychological or the genuine nausea from the smell, she could not hold it back. She felt a wave of dry heaves.
She simply could not stay in this room a moment longer. She hurriedly stood up and rushed outside. Only after taking several deep breaths after leaving the door did she manage to suppress it.
Cao Lingchun did not understand why. Despite her pregnant belly, she followed Song Hemei. Song Hemei stepped back to keep her distance and said in a low voice, "It's nothing."
She paused, then turned her head away. "If you truly want to look for it, go along that street near Jufu Vegetarian Restaurant."
Cao Lingchun immediately looked relieved. She clasped her hands together and prayed to heaven, chanting "Amitabha Buddha, protect us" several times.
Song Hemei was just looking for an excuse to get as far away as possible when, just then, someone from Madam Zhang's side came to deliver a message, saying that Madam Zhang had already arrived at the side hall in this courtyard and wished to speak with her directly.
She did not delay for an instant and went straight to the side hall.
When Madam Zhang saw her enter, she sighed softly. "How is Wen'ang? Still not awake? I am both worried and afraid to even look at him. Seeing him like that, my heart feels like it is being twisted in pain."
Song Hemei tried her best to keep her expression calm. She stepped forward and sat on the round stool across from Madam Zhang. "He seems not to have a fever now. Didn't the doctor say that as long as he doesn't develop a fever, his life can be saved? Actually, as long as he can keep his life, that's what matters most. Everything else is unimportant."
Madam Zhang stared at her. The fine wrinkles at the corners of her eyes began to show calculation.
"As the saying goes, true character is revealed in times of crisis. That is so true. You are a good child. If it hadn't been for you yesterday—those servants were all clumsy and stupid beyond belief—how could this matter have been handled so promptly and cleanly? I always said that Wen'ang marrying you was his blessing."
Song Hemei accepted the praise with a word of shame. She was not foolish enough to take such flattery to heart.
Then, the next moment, Madam Zhang spoke again. "They say you plant willows unintentionally, and they grow into shade. Who could have expected that Wen'ang would face this calamity? That child in Lingchun's womb—how can it not be considered his blessing?"
Song Hemei felt the direction of the conversation was off.
So now the child in Cao Lingchun's womb was no longer a shameful, base-born son, no longer the stain of having a child during the mourning period, but rather a wise, preemptive decision?
She didn't respond to that, waiting quietly for what Madam Zhang would say next.
"Wen'ang has become like this now. It's really unfair to you. As the long days and months pass, how can there not be gossip outside? You have no child at your knee, which will inevitably invite idle talk. If the household has only one child, then a legitimate-born child is always better than a concubine-born one. Don't you agree?"
Song Hemei leaned back slightly. She finally understood her intention.
So she still intended to have the child registered under her name and raised by her.
Although she had no younger sisters awaiting marriage, her elder brother and younger brother might still have daughters in the future. A married aunt who had been without a son for many years—if she were to speak for them later, it might lead to gossip. And looking at the Shao family like this, they certainly couldn't openly admit that the problem lay with Shao Wen'ang.
In that case, raising a concubine-born child wouldn't be a losing deal for her.
But she thought she still needed to get some benefits out of it. Hadn't they promised before that once she entered the household, she would be given control of the Shao family's affairs? Now she wanted not only the power to manage the household but also some additional assets.
But before she could speak, Madam Zhang went on, "The child in Lingchun's womb is already quite large. If we delay too long, it will be hard to make arrangements. You and Wen'ang have been married for almost a month now. In a couple of days, I will have a physician specializing in obstetrics examine you. If you conceive soon and then deliver early, it will be plausible when the time comes."
Song Hemei was stunned on the spot. What did that mean?
Adopting the child wasn't enough—now she had to make it proper and legitimate, as if it had "come" from her own belly?
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