Chapter 43: Conjugal Devotion
Song Hemei felt a throbbing pulse at her temples.
Everything Yu Yeqing had said today carried a strange air. As for this matter of the child, Madam Zhang had dealt with it cleanly and thoroughly. Even if he possessed heaven-defying abilities, he could never uncover anything amiss.
So then, this was her child. What more was there to ask?
But regardless, that was no reason for him to keep holding onto her like this.
Song Hemei twisted her wrist, but she couldn't break free from his grip, and Lianzhu was still clinging to her leg, refusing to let go. It was a truly indescribable scene; she had to resolve one problem first.
She took a deep breath, cast her gaze downward, and spoke to the child: "Lianzhu, let go. Don't you see there's a guest? Come now, pay your respects to Lord Yu."
Lianzhu was young and barely understood, but he knew to fear his mother. Scolded, he shrank his neck, slowly released her, and then looked towards Yu Yeqing. He cupped his hands, bowed deeply, and greeted him with still-slurred words: "Lord Yu."
Yu Yeqing looked at him, his expression dark and unfathomable, silent for a long while.
The little boy's innocent gaze shifted from his mother to the tightly clasped hands, his round eyes filled with confusion as he tilted his head for a closer look.
Song Hemei lowered her voice: "Lord Yu, whatever you have to say, we can discuss it. But release me first. The child is watching."
Hearing this, Yu Yeqing still didn't react. His gaze remained fixed on the child, that murky, unfathomable look as if trying to bore a hole straight through him.
The child was still very young, unsteady on his feet, and utterly unable to understand what he was seeing. As he thought about it, he brought his hand to his mouth.
Catching this in her peripheral vision, Song Hemei immediately put on a stern face, her voice sharpening: "Take your hand out. How many times have I told you not to bite your fingers?"
Lianzhu immediately pulled his hand away, shrinking back and clasping both hands nervously behind his back. He carefully stuttered out, "Mother, don't be angry."
Song Hemei didn't answer him. Losing all patience, she looked at Yu Yeqing. "Lord Yu, are you still not letting go? What exactly is it that you want?"
Perhaps it was the clear displeasure in her tone, but Yu Yeqing's fingers finally stirred, and he let her go.
His gaze moved away from Lianzhu. When he looked back at her, he suddenly remarked: "This young master and Subprefect Shao... they don't look alike at all."
Song Hemei found his words strange and utterly without context. Had he, after leaving for three years, also learned to read faces?
"Young Master!"
A maidservant's voice suddenly rang out. Song Hemei looked over and immediately frowned. "Chunhui, it's so late. Why have you brought him here?"
Chunhui came trotting over from the other end of the path. Reaching them, she was out of breath as she lifted Lianzhu into her arms, then nodded to her mistress. "Forgive me, my lady."
Chunhui looked up, cautiously stealing a glance at the Yu Yeqing standing to the side. She suppressed the scene she had just witnessed deep in her heart and hurriedly lowered her head to reply: "The young master grew worried when my lady didn't return. He refused to sleep, insisting on coming to find you."
Lianzhu, who had just been tattled on, felt guilty. He hugged Chunhui's neck and burrowed into her embrace. But even under Song Hemei's reproachful gaze, he still managed to mumble: "Demon eating Mother. Dangerous."
Song Hemei let out a long sigh, feeling a headache coming on.
Yu Yeqing's expression shifted slightly. "Demon?"
Song Hemei forced a smile at him. "Just stories to coax the child, my lord. No need to pay it any mind."
With Chunhui here, she didn't have to escort Yu Yeqing to the guest quarters herself or give the orders. She directly addressed Chunhui: "Alright, stop carrying him. You go and escort Lord Yu to the guest quarters. Then dispatch two meticulous servants to go burn some mugwort in the guest rooms to ward off the mosquitoes. We mustn't neglect Lord Yu."
Having said this, she turned her head, slightly raising it to look at the tall man before her. "The child is restless before sleep. I need to tend to him personally. I trust you don't mind, my lord?"
Yu Yeqing stared at her. His half-spoken words had been interrupted, and it was probably not the right time to continue now.
He lowered his long lashes, concealing the look in his eyes, and together suppressed the displeasure and anger that had leaked out just moments ago. Only a few icily cold words emerged: "I am indebted to you for your trouble, my lady."
Unwilling to entangle herself with him any further, Song Hemei said to Lianzhu, "Come along," and walked towards the inner residence.
Yu Yeqing remained where he was, not leaving immediately. He stared at her retreating back, and couldn't help but glance at the child who was hurrying his little legs to keep pace behind her.
She hadn't carried him, hadn't coaxed him. Those few words just now could almost be considered a reprimand.
Chunhui, her head lowered, stood to the side. Seeing him still lingering, she finally mustered the courage to speak up: "Lord Yu, this way, please."
"Jin'er."
Yu Yeqing suddenly spoke. His deep, cold tone in the dead of night made anyone who heard it clench up in tension. "She doesn't seem very close to the young master."
Chunhui was taken aback by the sudden use of her former name. It took her a moment to recover before she answered: "To answer your lordship, my lady believes a strict mother and a kind father make a child succeed. In truth, she is indeed a bit strict with the young master."
Yu Yeqing withdrew his gaze and glanced at the nodding Jin'er.
What was her name now? Chunhui?
Hadn't she said she was unwilling to rename her maidservants? So, she had changed it after all?
Yu Yeqing's expression darkened bit by bit. He said no more, lifting his feet to walk towards the guest quarters.
Meanwhile, Song Hemei had gone straight back to the rear courtyard. Lianzhu followed closely behind. Suhui, who had been waiting in the yard, immediately came out and scooped Lianzhu up upon seeing them return. "Come now, young master. Seeing my lady is back, you can stop worrying, can't you? Hurry back to sleep with this servant."
Just as Song Hemei stepped into the room, she heard this voice and instinctively turned back, looking at Suhui with deep disapproval. "Put him down and let him walk on his own. Carrying him around all day is nothing but spoiling him."
Hearing this, Suhui dared not disobey and immediately set the boy down. Little Lianzhu, completely oblivious to the fact that he was being a nuisance, still toddled after her towards the room, calling out "Mother" repeatedly.
Song Hemei lost all patience. Frowning at him, her voice turned cold: "How many times must I say it? Don't call me 'Mother'... Call me 'Lady Mother'."
His real mother was Cao Lingchun, and only her. She didn't want to erase Cao Lingchun's traces, nor did she wish to usurp that position.
She didn't like this child. It was best to live out their lives in formality and distance. She didn't expect him to care for her in her old age; she only hoped they would not disturb each other in the future.
But little Lianzhu understood nothing. He even felt a little aggrieved. Obediently, he corrected his address, calling her "Lady Mother," yet still tried to enter the room. However, the threshold was too high. He tripped and fell heavily onto the ground.
Suhui moved to help him up immediately, but Song Hemei let out a sharp hiss, and Suhui dared not move. She could only wait as little Lianzhu picked himself up, tears already welling in his round eyes but holding them back. He continued to walk forward.
Song Hemei turned and sat down on an armchair. Under her frowning glare, Lianzhu still shuffled the short distance to her side, gently hugging her calf and burying his face in the hem of her skirt. He whimpered, "It hurts."
After a pause, he added two more words: "Missed Mother."
Song Hemei couldn't help but raise a hand to her forehead, heaving several sighs in a row.
This trip back to Changzhou had indeed been long. Including the travel time and the short stay at the Song residence, it had been almost a full month.
Had he missed her in just one month?
Before Senior Lord Shao's incident, Madam Zhang would constantly come to stay, doting on her son and her grandson. But Lianzhu was never close to Madam Zhang.
At first, she found it gratifying. Madam Zhang was, by her logic, the killer of his mother. It was only right for him to be distant from her. But later, as Lianzhu grew more and more attached to her, things took a bad turn. Madam Zhang always suspected she was pulling strings behind the scenes to drive a wedge between grandmother and grandson, and she would constantly find opportunities to warn her.
Later, Madam Zhang followed Senior Lord Shao into exile. They had been gone for so long now. Why hadn't she heard him say he missed his grandmother even once?
Song Hemei gritted her teeth and couldn't help but curse under her breath. He truly was the son of that deadbeat father—utterly indifferent to those who showed him kindness, yet pathetically drawn to those who treated him poorly.
Feeling Lianzhu gently rubbing against the hem of her skirt, she felt both anger and helplessness. In the end, she picked the little one up and settled him on her lap.
She checked his hands and legs; there were no scrapes. She put her stern face back on. "No injuries, so what's the pain for? What a delicate little thing."
Lianzhu immediately forgot her reprimand from moments ago. He squirmed closer, burying himself in the crook of her neck, and started calling her "Mother" again.
It was the same old shamelessly spoiled act. He reminded her of the little dog she had raised in her youth. That dog had once broken a porcelain vase she had dearly loved.
But later, her mother, finding it too rowdy, had it sent to the outer courtyard. Every time she wanted to visit it, she had to take a long, winding route.
Remembering that vase, Song Hemei suddenly recalled another memory. She had been afraid her mother would find out and have the dog thrown out. She also forgot how Yu Yeqing had come to know about it. In the end, it was he who helped glue the vase back together. His craftsmanship was superb; unless you looked very closely, you couldn't tell it had ever been shattered.
She had been very happy at the time, even telling Yu Yeqing that with skills like his, he could make a living working in a porcelain shop. Staying at the Song residence was a waste of his talent. It had been too many years; she couldn't remember what Yu Yeqing said in reply, only that she had rewarded him with a considerable amount of silver as thanks.
But the likes and dislikes of one's youth changed quickly. Later on, she couldn't even remember where that vase had gone.
Song Hemei snapped back to the present. Her gaze fell on Lianzhu in her arms, then immediately thought of Yu Yeqing's words. She reached out, cupped Lianzhu's face, and examined him closely. She said to Suhui, "Come and look. Does he look like Shao Wen'ang?"
She still remembered clearly that when Lianzhu was born, he was barely cleaned and stuffed into her arms. The first time she saw him, she thought he looked just like Shao Wen'ang—just as repulsive.
But now, whether it was his features maturing or something else, he was starting to look more and more like Cao Lingchun. They say a son resembles his mother, a daughter her father. Seeing him now, he no longer inspired the same loathing.
Suhui was thinking the same thing. She stammered, "Not very much like Lord Shao. More like the other one..."
Song Hemei wasn't angry. Hearing Lianzhu continue to call her "mother," she was too weary to correct him. She simply said nothing, letting him snuggle into the crook of her neck.
Before long, his breathing became steady.
Suhui, noticing the sweat on his brow, gently wiped it with a handkerchief. She couldn't help but say, "During this time, the young master would constantly ask when you were coming back. Today especially, he didn't sleep a wink, just waiting for you."
Song Hemei said nothing. Just then, Chunhui returned.
She lifted her eyes to look at her. "Did you get him settled?"
Chunhui affirmed it with a "yes."
Song Hemei pursed her lips, then cleared her throat and asked, "Did he say anything else?"
Chunhui hesitated for a moment before replying: "He did ask if my lady and the young master were not very close."
Song Hemei's eyes flickered with confusion. Why would he ask that?
She thought about it, and it finally hit her. If the Shao family were to be raided and their property confiscated, she could walk away unscathed, but Lianzhu would inevitably be implicated.
She furrowed her brow, her heart sinking. It seemed she would have to speak thoroughly with Shao Wen'ang about this tomorrow.
Song Hemei wrapped the little one in her arms. Chunhui and Suhui reached out to take him from her, but she shook her head gently. "No need. He'll sleep with me tonight."
She rose and walked towards the inner bedchamber, gently laying Lianzhu down on the bed before curling up around him to sleep.
Early the next morning, she calculated the time Shao Wen'ang usually left, rose early to wash and dress. Just as Lianzhu woke up, she got him tidied up as well.
No sooner had they left the courtyard than they ran into Shao Wen'ang coming out of the main courtyard.
Their eyes met. A trace of surprise flickered in Shao Wen'ang's eyes. "Mei'er, how are you coming from the rear courtyard?"
Song Hemei found his question utterly bizarre. Could it be that a few cups of yellow wine had gone to his head and addled his brains?
She forced a smile. "You jest, husband. If I'm not coming from the rear courtyard, where else would I be coming from?"
From his main courtyard, by any chance?
Whether Shao Wen'ang realized something or not, a flicker of evasion passed through his eyes, but he quickly followed up with two hearty laughs. "Look at me! That drinking last night made me muddled. I forgot you had already returned."
He slapped himself twice on the chest. "My fault, my fault."
Song Hemei couldn't be bothered to talk further with him. She stepped forward and lowered her voice: "Husband, there's something I need to discuss with you in detail—"
"Mei'er, we can talk when I get back," he said, straightening his lapels. "Today, I'm going to the yamen with Lord Yu. It wouldn't do to be late."
Song Hemei only just realized that Yu Yeqing, as Investigating Censor, wasn't just a figurehead. He had actual supervisory duties.
She pursed her lips and had no choice but to nod. "Alright, I'll wait here for you to return."
She raised her hand, and Chunhui handed her a sachet.
Fortunately, she had prepared one in advance.
She stepped forward to personally fasten the sachet onto Shao Wen'ang's waist, hoping it would suppress the foul miasma emanating from him and prevent him from disgracing himself and shaming her in public.
But the moment her hand touched his waist, she suddenly heard Yu Yeqing's voice drift over.
"Lord Shao and his lady wife... such deep affection between husband and wife."
Get instant access to all chapters now.
Post a Comment