The dark green glazed tiles were covered by the hoarfrost produced by north wind that blew overnight, looking very beautiful. Based on the outside appearance, the Mansion was a northern building, but the pavilions, platforms, and chambers inside were built in the southern style.
“Huo Xiang, has Concubine He got up?” A well-dressed woman asked the maid standing in front of the corridor.
“She has got up for a while. But she hasn’t dressed up yet. Does Sister Xu have some pressing business?”
Xu Siniang paused for a moment and smiled, “Nothing. I just come by to say hello to her.”
Xu Siniang was a maid who accompanied Consort Zhou
Zhou Jinglan
to marry into the Lord Ning’s family. She also had been in bed with Lord Ning
Zhu Quan
for several times. Therefore, she was also regarded as a mistress. Moreover, Zhou Jinglan was in charge of the household affairs now, so Xu Siniang helped her to manage at least a half of the household affairs. Life was full of ups and downs. In the past, Zhou Jinglan had suffered a lot in Lord Ning’s Mansion.
At that time, Zhou Jinglan was diagnosed as pulmonary tuberculosis. What was worse, her natal family happened to suffer a bout of misfortune in imperial court. Even Zhu Quan was unable to help her. Zhou Jinglan tried to commit suicide by jumping into a well on several occasions, but Concubine He saved her.
Concubine He’s name was He Danggui. She was born into a family that specialized in traditional Chinese medicine, so she knew about medical knowledge. She said that Zhou Jinglan just had a common laryngeal disease and could recuperate as long as she was taken good care of. Some maids were afraid to be infected and unwilling to give the herbal medicine for Zhou Jinglan. It was He Danggui who decocted the herbal medicine for her in person. However, Princess Xie
Xie Qiaofeng
confined Zhou Jinglan and He Danggui into the Jiyuan Yard for a few months, with the excuses that it was unlucky and the disease would affect Zhu Quan.
Xie Qiaofeng had always been unpopular in the Mansion. One day, a person who disliked her informed Madam Nanny of this matter. Madam Nanny was the wet nurse of Zhu Quan and she was powerful in Lord Ning’s Mansion. Since she had a kind heart, she would like to release Zhou Jinglan and He Danggui. But Xie Qiaofeng stopped her and wanted to set fire to the Jiyuan Yard on the pretext of sickness. When Zhu Quan knew the quarrel, he immediately ordered to release them because he had always been respectful to Madam Nanny.
Just after a while, Zhou Jinglan and He Danggui were led to the main hall. However, everyone was taken aback since Zhou Jinglan was radiant with health. She didn’t look sick. Incredibly, they didn’t look emaciated, wearing clean clothes and delicate make-up, although they were put under house arrest in a desert yard where clothes and food were not enough.
After asking a few questions, Madam Nanny learned from Zhou Jinglan that it was He Danggui who took good care of her. Zhou Jinglan said tearfully that He Danggui not only left all her food brought by the maids for her every day, but also painstakingly planted herbs in the yard to cure her. Xie Qiaofeng was embarrassed at once, and then she rebuked those maids for depriving their mistresses of food and daily necessities.
Madam Nanny praised He Danggui and asked her whether it was a hard work to plant herbs in person. He Danggui replied, “In fact, Consort Zhou recuperated so quickly just because Princess Xie let us live in a quiet place. What’s more, the maids served us well. So, I have time to plant some herbs.”
Her words not only saved Xie Qiaofeng’s face, but also left a deep impression on Zhu Quan. Among the showy concubines in the Mansion, He Danggui looked like a lotus in the river, who was beautiful and silent, with a faint fragrance of herbs. Since then, He Danggui had been not only appreciated by Madam Nanny, but also deeply favored by Zhu Quan. At that time, the imperial court had clarified that the natal family of Zhou Jinglan had nothing to do with the rebellion, and the members of Zhou’s family had restored to their original positions.
Half a year ago, a maid committed suicide since Xie Qiaofeng took actions against her. Later, someone found that the maid had been pregnant with Zhu Quan’s child. Zhu Quan raged at the news and ordered Xie Qiaofeng to introspect. Naturally, the household keys were transferred to Zhou Jinglan. Zhou Jinglan was grateful to He Danggui’s help. When she mentioned what happened in the past, she would still cry and thank He Danggui for what she did for her. Since she managed the household affairs, she had usually ordered Xu Siniang to send greetings and necessaries to He Danggui.
“Is Sister Xu outside? My lady asked Sister Xu to come in.” A maid in the room said loudly. Xu Siniang opened the door and saw a person sitting in front of the argyle mirror under the window. She only saw a sylphlike silhouette because of the backlight. Then she bent her knees to bless and smiled, “My lady, are you feeling better today?”
The woman in front of the bronze mirror smiled, “Thanks Sister Zhou for her concern. I’m feeling better now. Sit down please, Siniang.” The woman was He Danggui, the most favored concubine of Zhu Quan.
Xu Siniang sat down and noticed that Dong Cao was combing hair for He Danggui. After wearing the hair in a Fanwuan haircut, Dong Cao smiled and asked, “My lady, which hair clasp do you like to wear today?” He Danggui shook her head, “It’s too heavy. Since I don’t go out today, it’s no need to wear it.” Xu Siniang laughed and suggested, “When I passed the East Garden, I found that the begonia flowers were in blossom. Why not call someone to pick a few flowers and wear them?” He Danggui smiled, “Dong Cao, pick some flowers quickly.” Dong Cao followed her words and left.
He Danggui glanced at Xu Siniang, “Does Sister Zhou want to tell me something?”
Xu Siniang nodded and replied, “Yeah. A few days ago, Consort Zhou found a mistake when she checked the accounts. Madam Nanny had appropriated a sum of money for Mu Yuan Tang
a charity organization
when she was alive.”
He Danggui frowned and asked, “How much?”
Xu Siniang looked around and spoke in a low voice, “2,000 liang
a unit of money in ancient China
.”
He Danggui paused and sighed, “I can probably guess the reason why she did this, but Madam Nanny is so silly. Although the old accounts of 2,000 liang could be straightened out, if Lord Ning knows about it, how embarrassing it will be?”
Xu Siniang quickly comforted her, “Don’t worry. Fortunately, Consort Zhou found it early. So, we have straightened out the accounts and don’t afraid of being checked.”
He Danggui nodded, “That’s great.”
Xu Siniang said in a very low voice, “But Consort Zhou heard that Princess Xie had also noticed this complicated case. We’re afraid that she would tell Lord Ning. Thus, we request you to assume the responsibility and leave Madam Nanny a good reputation.” Being afraid that He Danggui would not agree, Xu Siniang added, “Now the accounts have been straightened out and no one would find it out. We speak with one voice that you have appropriated 300 liang for helping the disaster victims.”
He Danggui raised her hand to touch the cool jade hilt on the argyle mirror and said sadly, “I know that Madam Nanny reaped good karma as she was kind all her life. This matter was the only one she did for her own sake. I didn’t understand her before and dissuaded her several times. But since I become a mother, I have known a mother’s feelings towards her child…” When she talked about this, her voice became choking. Then she stood up and smiled at Xu Siniang, “It’s time to breastfeed Tian. Let’s go to see her.” Hearing her words, Xu Siniang felt relieved since she knew He Danggui accepted the request.
Tian was a premature. She was unable to open her eyes until she was two months old. Being weary usually, she seldom cried. Despite the postpartum weakness, He Danggui breastfed her daughter in person and didn’t employee the wet nurses. Also, she would take all the herbal medicine that the doctor prescribed for Tian before she fed her.
“She’s really an apple of your eye.” Xu Siniang sighed, “It’s rare to see a madam breastfeeding her child in person even in the normal rich family, let alone for our Mansion. All of them would ask many wet nurses to serve the child. When I was young, I heard that breast milk was the essence of our blood and vitality, which shouldn’t be lost. You don’t seem to care about this.”
Looking at her daughter who fell asleep, He Danggui smiled, “When I was young, I also heard that a bite of breast milk from the mother will make the baby smarter. So…” Speaking of this, she dropped her eyes, looking lonely.
Xu Siniang laughed and answered, “That’s why you are so intelligent.”
As they chatted with each other, there was a sudden noise outside. He Danggui put her daughter into the cradle and looked out of the room with a frown on her face. Xu Siniang was also very angry and shouted, “Who is so unruly? How dare you make noise in front of the room of Concubine He?”
Then a man came from a distance. Xu Siniang was so scared that her face turned pale and she knelt down immediately, “Lord Ning, please forgive me for saying those rampant words.”
Zhu Quan wore a crown with gold hairpin and a long clear blue gown. He walked very fast towards the main hall, passing Xu Siniang who knelt on the ground in only a few steps. Xu Siniang didn’t dare to stand up and looked at He Danggui for help. He Danggui smiled and said to rescue Xu Siniang, “Pour a cup of tea for Lord Ning!” Then Xu Siniang answered quickly.
He Danggui also walked into the main hall. Zhu Quan was staring at her with a sullen face and tawny eyes which looked unfathomable. He Danggui was shocked at his gaze. She forced a smile and asked, “What’s wrong? Who dares to make you furious?”
Zhu Quan clenched his fists and gazed at her silently. At this time, in addition to Xie Qiaofeng, Zhou Jinglan, Senior Concubine Wan and Concubine Gu, some administrators, maids and several men in rough linen came in together.
He Danggui looked at the crowd and then at Zhu Quan wonderingly, “Who can tell me what happened?”
Wearing a skirt embroidered with a picture of hundreds of birds worshipping the phoenix, Xie Qiaofeng sat next to Zhu Quan complacently, “He Danggui, now that the witnesses and material evidence are present, plead guilty right now!”
He Danggui saluted Xie Qiaofeng and answered, “How could I confess what I’ve never done before?”
Xie Qiaofeng opened her almond eyes wide, “I wonder how stubborn you would be! How dare you refuse to plead guilty! Administrator Zhou, show the accounts to Lord Ning.” Immediately, a man presented the accounts with a blue cover. However, Zhu Quan threw it at the table. Xie Qiaofeng didn’t care about whether Zhu Quan looked at the accounts or not. She just continued, “He Danggui, Madam Nanny liked you most when she was alive, so you founded the Mu Yuan Tang in the name of associating Madam Nanny to help the disaster victims, didn’t you?”
He Danggui frowned, “I did participate in the source of goods and accounts of Mu Yuan Tang. It had donated herbal medicines and saved countless people. What’s wrong?”
“Of course, there is nothing wrong with saving people.” Zhou Jinglan interrupted suddenly and surprisingly, “But having an affair is a felony.”
He Danggui was frightened. She glared at Zhou Jinglan and asked, “What did you say, Sister Zhou?”
Zhou Jinglan suddenly burst into tears. Senior Concubine Wan and Concubine Gu handed handkerchiefs to her and comforted, “Don’t be sad. She is unworthy of your tears.” “That’s right. She failed to live up to your expectation since she was born into an inferior family.” “You’ll know what kind of person she is if you know her mother. Well, I’m wrong. Her mother didn’t bring up her. I heard that this bitch was raised on a farm in the countryside. She must have seen so many dirty things, so she did those dirty things naturally.”
Hearing this, He Danggui who was kneeling on the ground stood up, walked towards Concubine Gu and slapped her face hard.
Being stunned, Concubine Gu covered her face and cried, “Princess Xie, she dared to slap me in front of Lord Ning and you. What else did she dare not do furtively?”
Xie Qiaofeng was furious and yelled, “You bitch! You had an affair with a man and gave the money of our Mansion to the adulterer. How dare you hit others in public?”
He Danggui stood in the middle of the crowd and said coldly, “I have never betrayed Lord Ning and appropriated any silver. I slapped Concubine Gu for Lord Ning to teach her. As a concubine, what she said was a disgrace to Lord Ning.”
Concubine Gu cried and tried to slap He Danggui. However, Zhou Jinglan stopped her and begged, “Calm down. We’re all sisters. Sister Gu, don’t be angry with her for my sake.”
Seeing the chaos, Zhu Quan couldn’t help shouting, “Shut up!” Suddenly, people who was crying, screaming and whispering quieted down and looked at Zhu Quan. Xie Qiaofeng said, “For my lord’s sake, I hoped she could plead guilty. But she was too stubborn to admit what she did! Lord Ning, with so many people present, how to deal with the matter?”
Zhu Quan said angrily, “Do what you should do.”
The answer was exactly what Xie Qiaofeng expected. Then she ordered, “Bring Xu Siniang in.” Someone immediately ushered Xu Siniang in. Xu Siniang knelt on the ground and cried, “Lord Ning, forgive me please. Concubine He threatened me with cutting out my tongue and throwing me into the Water Dungeon if I dare to divulge her secret. But I dare not keep the secret, so I told Consort Zhou that Tian was not your daughter!”
Xie Qiaofeng sneered, “Even if you don’t tell me, I would have guessed it. He Danggui’s words that she wanted to breastfeed Tian in person because she was a premature is just an excuse! Tian was a bastard!”
Concubine Gu looked away disgustedly, “Bah! Like mother, like daughter.”
He Danggui cursed hoarsely with a pale face, “Don’t talk nonsense! Tian and I are innocent. There is something above you. Are you not afraid of being struck by the lightning?”
Being furious, Xie Qiaofeng pointed at the servants out of the hall and shouted, “Are you all dead? Come on! Slap this bitch’s face hard!” Immediately, some biddies came to hold He Danggui down. Biddy Wang of sturdy build slapped her in succession. After a while, He Danggui’s fine cheeks were swollen and blood blew from her mouth and nose. Squinting at Zhu Quan who sat there quietly and indifferently, Xie Qiaofeng showed a triumphant smile.
He Danggui’s eyes were full of tears. She looked at her husband, the handsome man, and asked, “Zhu Quan, even you don’t believe me? Do you think I’m that kind of woman?”
Zhu Quan dropped his eyes, looked at his jade ring, and replied slowly, “I didn’t believe that you could do such things before, but now I have to believe it.”
Zhou Jinglan stepped forward to kneel in front of He Danggui, stopped the bleeding for her with damask sleeves, and cried loudly, “Sister He, since you know the results today, why did you do those things? Looking at your appearance now, I’m distressed. Why are you so silly?”
He Danggui stared at Zhou Jinglan as if she knew her at the first time. Zhou Jinglan avoided her eyes and turned to cry to Zhu Quan, “My lord, please don’t kill her. I’d like to relieve her guilt by giving up the household keys, being a vegetarian and copying the scriptures every day. I’m grateful to her for helping me before and we have a deep relationship. So, I don’t believe the matter until Administrator Zhou brought those guys here.” She pointed at those men outside the hall and continued, “Hearing what they said, I have to believe this. Rong Si, tell Lord Ning what you told me before.”
Rong Si knelt outside and said, “We are porters and live outside the north city. We make a living by carrying goods. About a year ago, a maid called Lv Ping contacted us to carry the sedan chair for her. She paid us lots of money and let us wait her at Qipi Alley every night. Every now and then, Lv Ping would bring a woman who wore a cloak and a hood to cover her face to our sedan chair. If no one comes until one o’clock in the morning, we can leave.”
The hall was crowded with people, but it was terribly quiet. Suddenly, Biddy Lv came in and whispered something in Zhou Jinglan’s ear. Then Zhou Jinglan frowned and said to Zhu Quan, “My lord, in the morning, I asked Biddy Lv to control Lv Ping. But out of my expectation, Lv Ping tried to avoid the confrontation with us, so she hit the wall with her head and died.”
Zhu Quan kept silent, and Xie Qiaofeng sneered, “Even she died, we still can question other maids! Bring those maids who served the bitch!” At this point, Huo Xiang and Dong Cao were brought to the hall. Xie Qiaofeng asked, “Tell me! What do you know about He Danggui’s scandal? Be honest!”
Huo Xiang and Dong Cao knelt on the ground and cried, “Concubine He did go out at night, but we didn’t know why she went out. My lady, please be merciful to us! Please don’t kill us!”
Zhou Jinglan winked at Rong Si. Then Rong Si said immediately, “Last month, I carried the sedan chair into an inn. Because I drunk too much alcohol before, I lost my way when finding the toilet. On my way, I heard a woman’s moan from a room. Being curious, I saw a man and a woman having sex on the flower-stand next to the window. Being so close to them, I not only saw the woman’s face, but also three small red moles on her chest and a flower decoration on her navel…”
“Stop!” Zhu Quan was furious suddenly. He grabbed the tea cup, threw it on the ground violently and roared, “Go! Get out of here!”
Seeing the situation, all servants left. Later, Zhou Jinglan, Consort Wan and others also left. Then only Zhu Quan, He Danggui, Xie Qiaofeng and her two trusted biddies remained in the hall. Staring at He Danggui who looked haggard, Zhu Quan queried seriously, “He Danggui, do you plead guilty?”
He Danggui was despairing and laughed helplessly, “What a wicked trick it is! Very good! How interesting it is! Zhu Quan, if you are afraid that I would spill the beans, give me a long silk. I would like to commit suicide for my daughter. But how could you damage your own daughter? You should humiliate us! Do you have any conscience?”
Hearing what He Danggui said, Xie Qiaofeng looked puzzled. However, Zhu Quan’s heart suddenly sank. He went forward to kick He Danggui’s chest hard.
He Danggui was kicked far away and spat blood out. She managed to get up from the ground, staring at Zhu Quan resentfully, “I don’t hate Zhou Jinglan, Xu Siniang, and Xie Qiaofeng. I know why they frame me. Zhu Quan, do you know? What I hate most are men who hit women! The man I hate most is you! I hate and I regret. I have sacrificed more than ten years for you and lost a son and a daughter. In the end, you kicked me ruthlessly.”
Zhu Quan gnashed his teeth, with his eyes red, “Burn her throat with hot charcoal and then throw her into the Water Dungeon!”
Xie Qiaofeng asked, “What about the bastard she gave birth to?”
“Throw her into the Water Dungeon too!” Zhu Quan turned away indifferently.
Xie Qiaofeng immediately winked at the biddies behind her. Then the biddies pulled He Danggui out of the hall.
However, Zhu Quan looked indifferent. He whispered, “Forget completely what you heard just now and don’t remember it until you die.”
Xie Qiaofeng bowed her head in fear, “I’ll keep your words in mind.”
