Chapter 109 : An Unexpected Turn of Events (Part I)
Trigger Warning: Miscarriage scene, and the mention of disturbing actions with an unborn foetus.
The sixth lunar month’s weather was like the disposition of a woman: fickle and often changing on a whim. It was obviously a sunny, clear and cloudless morning, but by midday, it had begun to pour down in buckets. Whilst this rain was torrential, still it brought about a refreshing coolness from the blistering hot summer.
Xia Yan was sitting by the open window allowing the coolness brought on by the rain to blow upon her face to brush away the past few days of haze. Since she was expecting, she was afraid to catch a cold, so even on hot summer days she did not use ice in the room; thus this cooling rain was a welcome relief for the summer’s heat.
Fei Cui placed an outer coat gently on Xia Yan and advised, “Furen must be careful not to catch a cold.”
“No harm in doing so.” Xia Yan comfortably closed her eyes. She was feeling rather good, so that even her face seemed to glow and was reminiscent of what she used to look like before pregnancy. Furthermore, the sleeves on her clothes were embroidered with a white butterfly dancing in flight. It was indeed well embroidered- both sparkling and glittering. Xia Yan lowered her head to glance at it and was utterly pleased. Since becoming pregnant, she was unable to wear most of her clothes, so instead she had to wear larger loose fitting garments. Which woman would not want to look beautiful, so she had to devise other means to make these clothes look more appealing. Jiang Su Su had divided her silk threads, and then had some sent to her, so she had used them to embroider on the sleeves of her clothes. Firstly, the silk threads were indeed quite beautiful, and secondly, when Hong Ying suffered a misfortune later, naturally, some people would doubt and blame her, so using these similar threads on herself would actually help deflect any suspicion.
Merely thinking about Hong Ying, Xia Yan’s mouth lifted into a pleasant smile. She had spent a huge sum to acquire this particular herb and it was not even available in the city. Any regular doctor would not even be able to smell it. Moreover, even if they could pick up the smell, everyone would point fingers at Jiang Ruan. The servant had personally noted that Hong Ying had carried back the silk thread. Xia Yan was almost about to burst out in laughter; even the Gods were aiding her to lead Hong Ying towards death.
Today was already the second day, and by tomorrow, Hong Ying would definitely miscarry.
Fei Cui gently fanned Xia Yan, and Xia Yan swirled and sucked a sour plum in her mouth. In recent days, she had found herself wanting to eat sour things and had instructed the kitchen to pickle some fresh green plums. The plum was in her mouth, but before the tartness could fill her mouth, suddenly Xia Yan felt an intense pain in her abdomen. Her hand trembled, and she spat out the plum while clutching her stomach, “It hurts!”
Fei Cui and Lin Lang were petrified, and hurried to support Xia Yan, “What’s wrong Furen? Where does it hurt?”
Xia Yan felt an intensifying pain as if a knife was gutting her abdomen. Unexpectedly she tumbled down from the stool, rolling on the ground holding her middle in pain.
The two servants were so scared that their faces were white. Fei Cui queried, “Furen can’t be about to give birth, right? But it’s not the right time yet.”
“Ah!” Lin Lang let out a blood-curdling scream, and her body began to involuntarily shiver as she looked upon Xia Yan who was sporting a large bloodstain on the lower half of her body. They were no ignorant boudoir girls, and naturally understood what this scenario signified. Upon seeing the situation, Fei Cui was somewhat out of her wits, “What should we do? Hold on to the baby Furen, this servant will go find Master, and call for a physician to come quickly!”
“Stop....stop!” Even though her headache was so severe that large droplets of sweat littered her forehead, Xia Yan was still able to maintain her clear-headedness. She faintly understood she could be miscarrying, thus her heart felt a sense of pain and shock. Yet, she strenuously ordered, “Do so discreetly, don’t let anyone else in the fu know.” Saying this she let out another blood-curdling screech as she continued to press on her abdomen and roll on the floor.
* * *
Jiang Ruan had just finished a chapter in her book when Tian Zhu swiftly came to her side. Lowering her voice, she whispered, “Xia Yan has miscarried.”
“Indeed the strength of that herb is lethal.”
“However, she has yet to alert others to the situation.” Tian Zhu continued, “They only went out to find a physician, and it would seem the physician has just left with a decent amount of silver.”
“Do you have a companion?” Jiang Ruan looked towards Tian Zhu, “Come up with a means to preserve the life of that physician as Xia Yan will most certainly want to silence him for good. I have a use for that person.”
Tian Zhu replied, “This subordinate will go make the arrangements.”
After Tian Zhu departed, Jiang Ruan’s gaze fell upon the basket of light refreshments before her. Within the basket was a tiny sprig of plum. It really wasn’t the season for fresh plums but today, Lu Zhu had found it amusing and had picked it anyway. This plum- that had not yet ripened- was pitifully tiny and it most definitely was not its harvest time. Jiang Ruan placed the plum within the palm of her hand, and the slow trace of a smile appeared.
* * *
Within Yan Hua Yuan, Xia Yan was lying down on the bed, her complexion ashen like a corpse. The room was saturated with a strong stench of blood. Lin Lang looked at the unrecognizable and bloody ‘flesh’ that was in the wooden bucket and couldn’t control the chill that crept into her body.
The physician had said that Xia Yan had conceived a male fetus that had already formed. However, it was unsure what fragrance she had inhaled just before that had induced a pregnant person to suffer a miscarriage. This particular fragrant herb was especially lethal, not only inducing a miscarriage, but also seemed to harm the core of the womb. Therefore, she would not be able to conceive ever again.
Xia Yan already had Jiang Chao and Jiang Su Su, so even if she could never bear another child, her position within the fu was still secured. However, they were all aware of where the fragrant herb had originated from, as it was obviously what Xia Yan had used on that particular spool of chou-yu silk thread meant for Jiang Ruan with the intention of using it to deal with Hong Ying!
Xia Yan had a dead and lifeless look in her eyes that were transfixed on the extremely fine design on the canopy that hung above her head. If it weren’t for the occasional movement of her pupils, most people would have already assumed she had died.
Chou-yu silk, chou-yu silk! Xia Yan snickered bitterly, so this was the outcome. Hong Ying, that slut, had actually swapped the chou-yu silk? Was it possible that there was a spy within their courtyard, someone who conspired with others to have the two spools of silk switched? So now, Hong Ying’s belly still held yet another bas*ard while her own child was lost!
Within Xia Yan began to fester a deep seated blood hatred that forbids one’s enemies to continue to live under the same sky!
Xia Yan felt like a knife was twisting within her heart when she thought about the child that had been in her womb. This child that had stayed in her womb for so long and was almost reaching full term had just prematurely perished. Furthermore, it had been a boy! What would Jiang Quan do after receiving the news? He’d most likely be terribly disappointed, so how could she inform him? And if she told him, then wouldn’t the bas*ard in Hong Ying’s womb rise up to a prominent position like a fish back in water*. Not willing. Now that her own child was dead, she would definitely have Hong Ying’s bas*ard be buried together with him.
* 如鱼得水 (rúyúdéshuǐ) – like a fish back in water (idiom). Fig. to be in a rightful position.
Timidly, Lin Lang walked forward, “Furen, should we inform Second Miss...”
“Don’t let her know that I’ve miscarried,” Xia Yan spoke with great effort, “just let her know that there is a problem with the silk threads and she shouldn’t use them.” Xia Yan continued in a thin voice filled with suppressed anger, “Regarding this matter, if anyone else comes to know of the situation, the lives of your family won’t be spared.”
Fei Cui and Lin Lang trembled and collectively lowered their heads, responding, “Your servants understand.”
“Now leave.” Xia Yan was obviously unwilling to continue the conversation.
Just as Fei Cui and Lin Lang were about to retreat, Lin Lang suddenly asked cautiously , “Then.... Then what should we do with the young master’s corpse?”
Xia Yan stared blankly, looking out of the window. This weather meant that the corpse couldn’t be kept for too long, but as she looked at the wooden bucket, she felt a rising agitation. After a moment, she laughed coldly and said, “What’s dead is dead, naturally it needs to be taken out and thrown away.” She turned her head away somewhat disgusted, “Make sure you do it discreetly and leave no loose ends for others to use against us.”
Fei Cui and Lin Lang’s hearts were petrified, this was her own flesh and blood, yet Xia Yan was cold-hearted to the point that it made others somewhat terrified. However, with the situation at hand, there wasn’t really any better way of dealing with it. Both of them certainly didn’t know what Xia Yan was up to, so they could only accept the task and departed accordingly.
Xia Yan laid down on her bed, and from the corner of her eye a tear drop trickled down. But, when she turned on her side, the tear disappeared quietly, and a viciousness flashed in her eyes..
Her child had suffered such a tragic end. This meant that the bas*ard in Hong Ying’s womb must suffer an end a thousand times, no tens of thousand times worse!
* * *
Deep into the night, a light was lit in a small room within Yan Hua Yuan. Typical of the weather after the rain had stopped, there was still a light breeze in the night, causing that flame of the candle to waver, light and shadows, creating an eerie feel.
A small quiet voice sounded, “Was that thing dealt with properly?”
“I was afraid to arouse any suspicion but I handled it very cleanly and used a coarse sackcloth to wrap it. No one noticed.” The other person whispered in reply.
“That’s good then. Ai! The weather tonight seems rather gloomy, giving off that eerie feel. You don’t think that it could be a lingering ghost...”
“Shoo, shoo, shoo, what nonsense are you sprouting this late in the night? The lowered whisper inflected that sense of warding off the taboo topic, as it quickly interrupted the other voice by saying, “It’s already so late. Now that everything has been dealt with, I will go back first.”
“Ok,” the other voice replied, followed by the sound of footfall briskly departing.
The candle in the room illuminated the face of the person before the table, this was Xia Yan’s personal maid, Lin Lang. Earlier she had handed the dead fetus to one of the courtyard momo, saying that it had belonged to one of the filthy maids who had an affair outside the fu and had given birth to this child, and so needed the momo to take the package and sell it somewhere far away. Although it was taboo to say such things, the old woman had received sufficient silver in compensation, so she didn’t delve any deeper but went about the task of disposing of it.
Although it all seemed to have been handled discreetly and properly, Lin Lang could not shake the sense of unease that had risen in her heart, as if something was about to happen. Presently, Xia Yan continued to need someone beside her as she pretended that she had not miscarried and her fetus was stable and would reach full term. Therefore, Lin Lang could only secretly boil tonics specifically to help her body recover from her miscarriage.
After the old maidservant separated from Lin Lang, she patted the heavy purse chuckling. Lin Lang’s hefty amount of silver was more than enough to get the job done, moreover the foetus could also be sold for a decent amount of money. However it was still attached to its placenta which was a good commodity, and within the capital, there were some medical stores that sold these in private. Normally they would buy these dead infants to sell to others, but some young ladies from nobility would specifically require the placenta to maintain their beauty. But these placentas were usually bloody and most of them would not consume them in broad daylight nor out in the open, so most of the placentas were bought secretly and privately.
Fortunately, today, the old maidservant had not only received a dead infant from Lin Lang, she also managed to sell it to a medical shop and received two silver coins. How could she not be overjoyed, and at once left in high spirits to have a drink.
