The servant women grabbed Qiuju’s arms, intending to drag her out directly, but suddenly they heard Xiao Jingduo’s voice. They looked at each other, unsure of what to do. Nanny Wei spat to the side and scolded, “What are you dazed for? Hurry up and drag this lowly maid away!”
The servant women snapped out of their daze and were about to exert force on their arms when they heard Xiao Jingduo say, “I’d like to see who dares!”
The young man hadn’t gone through voice change yet. His voice still carried a hint of childishness, but it contained a fierce determination. The servant women’s hands suddenly lost strength, and they loosely held Qiuju, not daring to move further.
Seeing that her words were ineffective, Nanny Wei cursed angrily. Wu Junru also felt she was losing face: “Didn’t you hear what I said? Why aren’t you moving?”
“Lady Wu of Dingyong Marquis,” Xiao Jingduo walked down the steps, slowly addressing Wu Junru, “Your Wu family and Xiao Ying conspired together, forcing a wife to become a concubine and marrying another while abandoning the first wife – that matter hasn’t been cleared up yet, and now you dare to cause trouble again? I spared you face in front of the Princess and didn’t say much, but do you think I’m really unaware of the inside story? Do I need to make public everything you’ve done, shred the so-called reputation of the Wu family, and even implicate the Cui family before you’ll learn your lesson?”
Xiao Jingduo stood in front of Lady Wu, enunciating each word: “Don’t forget, the Cui family is at a crucial moment in the selection of the Empress. Do you dare to ruin the Cui family’s affairs?”
Xiao Jingduo’s pupils were pitch-black, like a deep pond that never saw sunlight. Wu Junru, being stared at with such eyes, felt a chill in her limbs. She stumbled back a step in shock, and Wet Nurse Wei quickly reached out to support her. Wu Junru swallowed hard, suddenly not daring to look into Xiao Jingduo’s eyes anymore. She turned her head away in confusion, telling herself to endure him for now. So she dropped a “Let’s go” and quickly left.
Seeing that Lady Wu had left, the other servant women looked at each other, quickly released Qiuju, and slipped away.
After everyone in the courtyard had left, Xiao Jingduo finally withdrew his gaze and walked up to Qiuju. “Get up, they won’t trouble you anymore.”
“Young Master,” Qiuju said with a tearful voice, sitting on the ground and looking up at Xiao Jingduo. We’ve offended the Marquis’s wife. What should we do now? Oh, right. What about the Madam? How is she?”
Xiao Jingduo sighed, “Mother fainted. You get up first.”
Qiuju stood up, wiping her tears with a handkerchief. After crying for a while, she suddenly seemed to remember something and said, “Oh my, Young Master, weren’t you being punished to kneel by the Marquis? If you’ve come back now and the Marquis finds out, won’t he accuse you of knowingly committing an error and increase your punishment?”
“You’ve only just realized?” Xiao Jingduo was both helpless and had a headache. “Wu Junru chose this moment to provoke us deliberately. Forget it, I don’t want to talk about her. You quickly go boil some water, then go inside to take care of Mother. I’ll go prepare the medicine.”
“Oh, alright.” Qiuju knew she wasn’t particularly quick-witted, so she decided not to think too much and just follow Xiao Jingduo’s instructions. As Qiuju ran off to busy herself at the stove, Xiao Jingduo stood in place, not moving for a long time.
…
Being punished to kneel was insignificant to Xiao Jingduo. What truly worried him was Zhao Xiulan’s health.
Zhao Xiulan was already prone to melancholy and easily moved to tears. That day, when Wu Junru maliciously provoked her, she became so angry that it affected her health, and her body completely broke down.
Her health had never been good. When they left Zhuo County, she had thought she would be able to meet her husband, whom she hadn’t seen for ten years, and they would be together from then on. But when she happily arrived in Chang’an, what greeted Zhao Xiulan was a crushing blow. Not only had her husband married another woman, but he had even secretly poisoned her, wanting her to disappear from this world forever. Zhao Xiulan was devastated; her spirit instantly shattered. Yet Wu Junru still came to flaunt her power before Zhao Xiulan. Zhao Xiulan’s already weak will to live became even feebler. She even felt that living like this was far worse than simply dying.
There is no greater sorrow than the death of the heart. With Zhao Xiulan having lost her will to live, what use was there in Xiao Jingduo poring over medical books or brewing countless tonics? To care for Zhao Xiulan, Xiao Jingduo had asked for leave from Tutor Chu, stopping his lessons in the study and dedicating himself entirely to looking after Zhao Xiulan. He didn’t even have the heart to welcome his aunt Xiao Su when she arrived in the capital.
Qiuju brought in the medicine and saw Xiao Jingduo sitting by Zhao Xiulan’s bedside, head down, reading the scroll left by Doctor Zhao. Qiuju sighed and said in a low voice, “Young Master, the medicine is ready.”
“Set it aside for now. Mother just fell asleep. She can drink it when she wakes up.”
“Young Master, your aunt arrived yesterday. The Old Madam is currently hosting a welcoming banquet at Gaoshou Hall. Are you sure you won’t go?”
“No need. I’ve rarely met my aunt, and we’re not close. There’s no need to go.”
“But…” Qiuju bit her lip, then spoke as if throwing caution to the wind, “Young Master, yesterday the Marquis’s wife was also diagnosed as pregnant. If she gives birth to a son in the future, you will no longer be the Marquis’s only legitimate son. By then, with a son to rely on, who knows how arrogant the Marquis’s wife might become. You should start planning ahead! Your aunt has just arrived in Chang’an, and the Old Madam is especially kind to your aunt and your cousin. Why don’t you socialize with your cousin’s family? Let your cousin put in a good word for you with the Old Madam. With the Old Madam backing you, you’ll be able to contend with the Marquis’s wife!”
“Qiuju, always thinking of relying on others is an endless path,” Xiao Jingduo said coolly. “The only way to break the deadlock is to become the person others rely on.”
“Huh?” Qiuju stared wide-eyed at Xiao Jingduo, clearly not understanding.
“Never mind. You watch over Mother for now. Call me immediately when she wakes up.” Xiao Jingduo stood up gently, taking the medical book as he walked out.
Xiao Jingduo didn’t have many impressions of this aunt. Old Madam Xiao had three sons and one daughter. The only daughter, Xiao Su, married into a neighboring village, which was considered a decent match. The three Xiao brothers were also very protective of Xiao Su. When Xiao Ying sent people to Zhuo County to fetch them, he specifically sent a box of valuables to Xiao Su, so she wouldn’t have to worry about her livelihood. However, even the best husband’s family couldn’t compare to a Marquis’s household. Xiao Ying’s box of treasures didn’t come in handy. Not long after, Xiao Su divorced her husband’s family and brought her only daughter, Cheng Huizhen, on a long journey to seek refuge in the Marquis’s household. Although Xiao Su said it was a mutual divorce with her husband, who couldn’t see that she was abandoning poverty for wealth? After her brother was enfeoffed as a Marquis, she was unwilling to waste away in the village, so she abandoned her husband’s family to come to the capital.
Xiao Ying abandoned his first wife, Xiao Su abandoned her husband. Xiao Jingduo thought sarcastically, these siblings were clearly born of the same parents. He wasn’t close to his aunt Xiao Su to begin with, and now it was a critical moment with Zhao Xiulan seriously ill. Since Xiao Su hadn’t come to visit her sister-in-law, Xiao Jingduo treated her as if a stranger had come to the Marquis’s household, completely ignoring her.
However, no matter how much effort Xiao Jingduo put in, he couldn’t stop Zhao Xiulan’s condition from worsening. Zhao Xiulan was intent on dying, and several doctors who came shook their heads and sighed. Xiao Jingduo was extremely anxious, but what was worse was that in the twelfth month, an imperial edict came from the palace: His Majesty had chosen the eighth daughter of the Cui family from Qinghe as the Empress.
The Wu family was a vassal of the Cui family. With a Cui daughter becoming empress, the Wu family was extremely honored. Wu Junru was triumphant, telling everyone about the Wu family’s relationship with the Cui family, making sure everyone in the mansion knew that the current empress was a long-time family friend of the Wu family.
Xiao Jingduo was puzzled as to why the Cui daughter still became empress. From Rong Ke’s attitude that day, the Crown Prince’s family should have strongly opposed the Cui daughter entering the palace. But gradually, he understood. The Cui family came on strong, determined to succeed. The Crown Prince’s faction found it difficult to prevent the Emperor’s desire to establish an empress. However, using the recent incident, they could extract many invisible benefits. Wu Junru had been caught by Rong Ke and the Crown Prince mistreating the children of the former wife and even planning to demote the legitimate wife to a concubine. Although these matters had little to do with the Cui daughter about to enter the palace, if the Crown Prince maneuvered well, he could entirely claim it was due to the Cui family’s improper restraint or even secretly directing it. It’s worth noting that the Crown Prince was also a child left by the former empress. Even if just to avoid suspicion, the Cui empress would have to make many concessions.
Outsiders naturally wouldn’t know this. Wu Junru was still blindly happy, unaware of how much trouble she had caused for Empress Cui.
Regardless of how much of Wu Junru’s words were exaggerated, it was an undisputed fact that the Wu family’s status had risen due to the Cui daughter becoming empress. Because of this, everyone in the Marquis’s mansion, both masters and servants, rushed to curry favor with Wu Junru. Simultaneously, Zhao Xiulan’s condition was growing increasingly severe.
In April of the following year, Zhao Xiulan could no longer hold on. She grasped Xiao Jingduo’s hand as he was about to give her medicine and said with a feeble breath, “Duo’er, don’t trouble yourself for me anymore. Save the money for your studies. Mother is really tired…”
“Mother!” Xiao Jingduo said urgently, “Look, haven’t you improved a lot lately? You know your father’s medical books; the recuperation prescriptions he left must be extremely effective. Put your mind at ease, don’t think too much, you’ll certainly get better!”
But Zhao Xiulan shook her head, her eyes unfocused as she stared at the canopy: “I remember when I first saw him, my father was also brewing medicine. He came to send his uncle for treatment. He didn’t need to do anything, just standing in the courtyard made it impossible to see anyone else…”
“When my father betrothed me to him, I was so happy I couldn’t sleep all night.” Tears fell from the corners of Zhao Xiulan’s eyes, tracing a winding path into her temples. Her voice was hoarse, but she still tightly grasped Xiao Jingduo’s hand: “Duo’er, I want to see him one last time.”
Xiao Jingduo was silent for a long while, finally saying softly, “Alright.”
When Xiao Jingduo appeared at the door of the outer study, the maid almost thought she was seeing things: “Young Master?”
“Is the Marquis inside?”
“Yes…” The maid nodded blankly, then quickly shouted, “Oh, Young Master, you can’t go in, in the study…”
Xiao Jingduo brushed past the maid and pushed open the door. Xiao Ying was sitting at his desk, with a maid kneeling beside him, seemingly reporting something.
Xiao Ying looked up, saw it was Xiao Jingduo, and raised his eyebrows in surprise: “Why are you here?”
“Mother is gravely ill. She wants to see you one last time.”
“Oh.” Xiao Ying merely nodded indifferently, showing no emotion, as if he would have forgotten about her existence if Xiao Jingduo hadn’t mentioned it.
The maid kneeling on the ground reminded him with displeasure: “My Lord, since the Lady became pregnant, she hasn’t been sleeping well. She’s even weaker today. She and the young master in her belly are waiting for you.”
Xiao Ying stood up, and upon hearing that Wu Junru was unwell, he quickly asked: “Why is she unwell? Has a doctor been called? Is the child in her womb alright?”
“The young master is very spirited, he’s been kicking these past few days.”
“Good.” Xiao Ying nodded. He looked at the maid, then at Xiao Jingduo, seeming to hesitate about where to go. Before he could decide, another maid rushed over: “My Lord, something’s wrong with Lady Wen. She ate something strange today and has now fainted!”
“Fainted?” Xiao Ying felt a pang of anxiety. “What happened?”
After Wu Junru became pregnant, Xiao Ying naturally had to take another concubine. Wen Zhu was the concubine Xiao Ying had just bought. Although Wen Zhu was a commoner’s daughter, she was exceptionally beautiful and currently in favor. Even her maid was aggressive: “This servant doesn’t know. My Lord, please go and see her quickly.”
“My Lord, the Lady is still waiting for you!” Wu Junru’s maid, seeing she had been cut off, also hurriedly stood up and shouted.
Xiao Ying looked back and forth, but still felt that the beautiful concubine’s condition was more worrying. He took a few steps following Wen Zhu’s maid, when suddenly he heard Xiao Jingduo’s voice, cold and unlike his usual tone: “Mother is extremely ill. If you don’t go see her now, I’m afraid you won’t have another chance. Father, this is her last wish.”
Hearing Xiao Jingduo call him father, Xiao Ying was momentarily stunned. It seemed he hadn’t heard Xiao Jingduo address him this way for a long time. Xiao Ying hesitated for a moment. Wen Zhu’s maid glared at Xiao Jingduo in dissatisfaction and said coquettishly, “My Lord!”
“Forget it, I’ll go check on Wen Zhu first. She’s weak and can’t handle much stress.”
Seeing Xiao Ying follow Wen Zhu’s people, Wu Junru’s maid cursed “vixen” and hurriedly followed. “My Lord, the Lady is still with child…”
Xiao Jingduo closed his eyes in despair. This was his father – cold-hearted and unfaithful, to such an extreme. Xiao Ying was so handsome and extraordinary that even Princess Pingwei, known for her beauty, had given him her heart. Yet he was so cold and indifferent.
At that moment, Xiao Jingduo desperately wished he had never left Zhuo County and, even more, that he had not had this father.
When Xiao Jingduo returned to Qingze courtyard, Zhao Xiulan’s eyes suddenly brightened, but realizing there was no one behind him, the light in her eyes gradually faded. She smiled bitterly: “He indeed didn’t want to come…”
“Mother…” Xiao Jingduo wanted to comfort her but didn’t know where to begin.
“It’s alright, I understand. I’ve lived my life in confusion, doing many things I regret. Having you is the only thing I’m most grateful for. Duo’er, remember, you will always be Mother’s pride.”
Holding Xiao Jingduo’s hand, Zhao Xiulan seemed to fall into past illusions: “When you were just born, your cry was especially loud. I thought then that I must give you a resounding name. After much consideration, I chose the character ‘Duo’. Duo means to measure, the limit of commands, and the sound of troops. With such a name, you should live a smooth and content life…”
“Duo’er,” Zhao Xiulan suddenly began to cry, yet her lips curved into a hopeful smile, “My Duo’er has grown so handsome and valiant. I wonder who will be lucky enough to be my daughter-in-law in the future. When that time comes, I will certainly…”
What will she certainly do?
Xiao Jingduo wanted to ask his mother, but he dared not speak.
He knelt there, motionless for a long time.
Qiuju rushed in with hot water: “Madam, I’ve boiled hot water for you to warm yourself. Oh, Young Master, when did you return? Why aren’t you moving… Ah, Madam!”
Qiuju cried out in shock, the water in her hands crashing to the ground.
[Author’s note: Every time I review this chapter, I tear up. I swear, if I torment the male lead again, I’ll livestream myself eating my keyboard!
This is the darkest moment of his life. His mother has died, his last attachment has been severed. Next, we’ll mercilessly torment the scum…]
If you enjoy my translations, you can consider supporting me on ko-fi! Thank you!
