Chapter 261 - A Bloody Incident Caused By A Duck (4)
Chapter 261 : A Bloody Incident Caused By A Duck (4)
The Old Lady waited for the physician to leave before calling the old woman servant serving Wen Shi in and inquired, “The Third Lady was fine before, so why did she suddenly have another complication?” Wen Shi had been shocked by the kitchen incident before, but nothing shocking had happened this time around. Thus, what had stimulated her again?
The old woman servant wiped her tears as she avoided telling the Old Lady about the most important and recalling the minor issues. “Today, the Third Lady said she was feeling better and wanted to go out for a walk, but I couldn’t stop her. She disliked my nagging. Not only did she not listen to me, but she also forbade me to follow her. As a result, on the way, the Third Lady heard someone in residence talking about the family separation and was immediately becoming upset.”
The Old Lady asked with an expressionless face, “Did the family separation cause her to have pregnancy complications? What does the separation have to do with her?” Wen Shi would not be short of food or clothing after the family split, so how could she be upset over this? It was hard for the Old Lady to believe this explanation.
The old woman servant also felt that she had been wronged. “This old servant can’t figure it out! Old Lady, this old servant has served with all her heart since she arrived at the Third Lady’s side. However, the Third Lady has always been suspicious of this old servant’s nagging and won’t listen to this old servant.” The meaning of her words was, she was also entirely innocent in this matter.
The Old Lady ordered, “You can withdraw!” Turning her head, she asked Old Woman Luo, “Have you asked about this? What is this all about?”
Mama Luo told the Old Lady the cause and effect. “The Third Lady just heard about the separation and immediately passed out.” Wen Shi lost her child just after hearing about the family separation. Thus, this kind of thing couldn’t be spread. If other people heard this news, she would become a laughing stock.
The Old Lady looked down and thought for a moment. Then, without even saying anything, she closed her eyes and recited the Buddhist sutra while her hand kept turning the Buddhist beads.
Mama Luo sighed slightly, then walked out cautiously.
When Qiu Shi heard that Wen Shi had a miscarriage, she was pretty surprised. “What’s happened? How did she lose her child when she was well?”
Mama Li whispered, “It is said that the Third Lady heard that the family was going to separate, that she over-stimulated, and lost the child in the process.”
When Qiu Shi heard this, she laughed. “Who’s talking this kind of nonsense? How could she have lost a baby just because the family is going to split?” She didn’t know who made up such an unreliable rumour.
Mama Li emphasised with an odd expression, “My Lady, it’s true. There’s no mistaking it.” If the news hadn’t come from Biteng Courtyard, she wouldn’t have believed it herself.
When Qiu Shi saw Mama Li’s expression, she became speechless. “What does family separation have to do with Wen Shi? Even if we split, she won’t lack any food and drink. What is she so excited about?” There was no way for her to understand Wen Shi if her brain circuits were not in the same line with her.
Regarding this question, Mama Li didn’t know the answer either.
Only Yuxi did not show any difference in her expression after hearing this news. Zisu was puzzled that she had to ask, “Miss, why are you not surprised at all?”
Yuxi chuckled as she said, “What’s so strange about that. Wen Shi’s body is already weak. It’s normal that she can’t keep the child.”
Zisu was surprised. “Miss, what does that mean? The Third Lady looks very healthy. How could her body be weak?”
Yuxi put down the book in her hands, stood up and walked to the table. She then picked up the still steaming fragrant tea and said with a smile, “There is a price to pay for everything. Wen Shi’s waist, which is as slender as a willow, is not natural.”
Zisu listened in awe. “It wasn’t natural? Then how did she get it?” To be honest, she was pretty envious of the Third Lady’s graceful figure, and it should be said that all women admire such shapely appearance.
Yuxi drank half a cup of her tea and put it down before saying, “You may not know that Wen Shi’s biological mother’s older sister, who used to be a hired art performer in a pavilion, was later redeemed by a wealthy merchant. After that, she resumed her relationship with her maiden family.” For someone who had spent time in such a place and ended up as a wealthy merchant’s concubine, that was no ordinary skill. [EX]
Zisu’s eyes widened as she listened, and she lost her voice. “Does Miss mean that Wen Shi has also learnt this skill from her aunt?” The more she thought about it, the more she felt it was so. Otherwise, why else would she feel that this Third Lady always acted like a concubine?
Thinking of this, Zisu couldn’t help but ask, “Miss, if you can find out this kind of thing, wouldn’t the Third Lord be able to find about it too? So why would the Third Lord still marry her?”
Yuxi smiled a little. “That’s only Wen Shi’s aunt, not her mother, and her uncle’s family is also clean, so what does it matter?” Han Jingyan would marry Wen Shi because she was beautiful, and he wouldn’t mind it as long as her background wasn’t too bad. It was his fourth marriage anyway, not his first. So naturally, he wished to marry the one he liked.
Speaking of Han Jingyan, Zisu became worried again. “Miss, will Wen Shi direct her anger at you since she has lost her child?” It was a bit unfair for her Miss to have such an enemy for no reason!
Yuxi didn’t care at all. She just smiled and said, “If she wants to vent her anger at me, just let her be. It’s useless for us to be afraid of her.” She would have been worried if she was still in the Third House, but she was not afraid now. But then again, if she were still in the Third House, she would not have dared to deal with Chunlan.
When Han Jingyan came back and heard that he had lost his child, dark clouds filled his heart. And when he listened to the reason from the old woman servant working in Wen Shi’s yard, he didn’t even know who to direct his anger at.
Just at this time, a maid inside the room, Chun Tao, called out loudly, “My Lord, my Lord, my Lady is awake. She is awake.”
Wen Shi opened her eyes and was dumbfounded to hear that her baby was gone. When she saw Han Jingyan, she immediately hugged him and cried. She cried so much. “My Lord, my Lord, our child is gone. Our child is gone.”
When Wen Shi cried, she didn’t look bad at all. She was like a pear blossom bathed in the rain, looking so charmingly delicate that it hurt Han Jingyan’s heart, and the anger he had stored in his heart dissipated. “Since the child is gone, we will try again later on. Don’t cry. This child has no fate with us.”
With his assurance, Wen Shi’s mood improved a little. However, remembering that the family would soon be divided, her tears fell once more. “My Lord, I heard that the family would be divided. My Lord, this is all my fault. If I hadn’t wanted to eat the duck stew, we wouldn’t have gotten into this situation.” Wen Shi was worried that Han Jingyan would blame her for splitting the family.
As an old husband with a young wife, Han Jingyan still felt more pity for his young and beautiful wife. “The matter of splitting the family has nothing to do with you. After that boy Ming took the title, I wanted to split up the family, but I never found the right opportunity to do so.” This meant that the duck incident had given him the chance to put the matter fast forward. [+]
Wen Shi had always thought that the old woman servant’s words were just perfunctory, but she had never expected them to be true. Wen Shi opened her mouth several times and finally asked, “My Lord, what should we do after the family separated?” Her husband had three sons and a daughter, and with his small salary and the little property she had been given, how could they make ends meet? She was willing to marry into this family because she wanted to come here to enjoy the blessings, not to suffer.
Han Jingyan did not know what was in Wen Shi’s mind as he said soothingly, “Don’t worry! I’ve set up some properties. Even if we split up, we won’t have to worry about our food and clothing.”
Wen Shi’s eyes suddenly lit up. “Really?” If she knew that her husband had private properties in his hand, she wouldn’t be too agitated till she lost her child. Unfortunately, a thousand pieces of gold could not buy her any early knowledge.
Han Jingyan nodded. “Naturally, it’s true. All right, let’s not talk about that. You should rest well! The physician said, you’ve hurt your body this time. You need to take good care of it.”
Wen Shi just had a miscarriage and needed to take good care of her body. This time, Qiu Shi wasn’t stingy. She let the kitchen prepare whatever the physician said would be suitable for Wen Shi to eat. Since there were only a few days left anyway, it was okay for Qiu Shi to be this generous.
Dividing the family was not just a matter of talking about it. It would take days just to calculate public properties. Although Han Jingyan said he did not want them, Han Jianming disagreed. He was unwilling to spoil his reputation by being greedy for such a small gain.
As far as Lu Xiu was concerned, the separation of the family did not affect her in any way. All she had to do was rest in peace in her own courtyard to nurture her baby and bring up Lil Boy Shun.
Old Woman Jian made a trip back to the Lu family and came back with a joyful face. If Old Woman Jian was like this, it must be because something merry had happened at home. When Lu Xiu saw her, she smiled and asked, “What happy event is happening at home?”
Old Woman Jian happily retold, “Er Nainai, Second Master Ye has returned to the capital.” Seeing Lu Xiu’s lack of interest, she continued, “Er Nainai, Second Master Ye has broken his leg, and now he is crippled. Since there is no way for him to stay in the army, he has returned to the capital.” When Old Woman Jian heard the news, she couldn’t say how happy she was. When Second Master Ye came to their door to withdraw from the arranged marriage, it had caused the Second Madam Lu to have worried frowned all day long and her Miss to wash her face with tears day in and day out. Not only the people of the Lu family were mad at that time, but even Old Woman Jian also could not wait to skin Second Master Ye alive. Now that Second Master Ye was crippled, the entire Lu family felt particularly relieved to know about this.
Lu Xiu smiled a little and said, “It is inevitable that he would be injured when he marched into battle.” Her husband was now in the middle of the capital. If he were assigned to a post outside the capital city, he would also have to lead the army into battle. When that time came, she would have to live this life of fear and trepidation.
Old Woman Jian uttered, “It is inevitable to be injured in battle, but I heard from Madam that his leg became like this because of a delay in treatment.” If Old Woman Jian were to say so, Second Master Ye had gotten what was coming to him. If he hadn’t run to the Lu family back then and said he wanted to retire from the Lu family’s marriage, how would he have been sent to that shitty nook in Yunnan? And if he hadn’t gone to Yunnan, he wouldn’t have been handicapped by the delay in treatment. This was why people said that Heaven would reward evil with evil and good would be rewarded with good. It wasn’t that they didn’t want to take their revenge on him themselves. It was just that his time had not come yet at that time.
After so many years, plus the fact that her life was now going smoothly, Lu Xiu had long since put aside what happened back then. “Is Ke Shi back too?” She asked specifically after Ke Minjie because Lu Xiu was a little curious. She used to wonder what kind of great beauty this Ke Shi was that she had charmed the Second Master Ye to the point that he didn’t even want his parents or even his family.
When it came to Ke Minjie, Old Woman Jian didn’t know how much she wanted to vent her anger. “Ke Shi has also returned. But I heard from Madam that Ke Shi had not given birth to any child for Second Master Ye, and she has been sick all day long. Now, she no longer looks human. I reckon that Madam Ye might be planning a marriage for Second Master Ye!” It was definitely impossible for him to marry a girl from a wealthy, influential family with his broken leg. But with the power of the Ye family, it was still possible for him to marry a girl from a low-status family.
Hearing that Ke Shi had been ruined, Lu Xiu lost interest. “In future, don’t talk about such things in front of me. There’s no point in mentioning things that have already passed. If it weren’t for what happened that day, I wouldn’t be doing so well now.” Before she married into this family, she worried Ye Shi might secretly play dirty tricks on her. But after four years of her marriage, Ye Shi had never done anything terrible to her. [T/C]
Hearing this statement, Old Woman Jian nodded in agreement. “Madam often says that it is still the Master’s good vision that has picked such a good marriage for Miss.” Her Miss had no problems ever since she got married. It was as if she had fallen into a nest of good fortune.
Lu Xiu smiled a little. “Father’s vision has always been good.”
Ps (author): O(∩_∩)O~, I remember when I was a child, my grandfather stewed an old duck he had raised for six years for me to eat. The taste was delicious. I still can’t forget it to this day.