Chunling supported Qinglan as they went to see off their guest. Upon hearing the words, Chunling released Qinglan’s arm and stepped back. Zhao Yuechan pointed at Chunling and said, “You go inside first.” Then to Bailu, she said, “You withdraw as well.” Chunling had no choice but to go inside, while Xianglan quietly crouched by the window, watching from afar through the red gauze window.

Seeing that all the maids had withdrawn, Zhao Yuechan walked back up the steps, still wearing a slight smile, and said, “Sister must be feeling quite pleased with herself right now, right? You think that by holding onto that booklet, you’ve got leverage over me. You figure that since I’m the neglected one, and you’ve caught the Master’s fancy and are carrying his child, you can hand that thing over to the Master, and in his anger, he’ll divorce me and make you the official wife, isn’t that right?”

These words struck right at Qinglan’s thoughts. She was greatly startled, the color instantly draining from her face as she stared fixedly at Zhao Yuechan. Zhao Yuechan gave a couple of mocking laughs, her expression suddenly changing as she grew stern. Her words came out like poison-tipped blades: “Pah! You shameless whore! Know your place! You’re nothing but damaged goods from a poor scholar’s family. You may have some looks and know how to please men, but you have no family background, no talents, and no wit. All you do is wander about aimlessly after eating and drinking your fill, yet you dare to dream of becoming the First Madam of the Lin family! I come from an official family – my grandfather was the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, my father became the Provincial Administrator last year, my eldest uncle is the Director of the Ministry of Revenue, my fourth uncle was just promoted to Military Defense Commander, and our clan has at least seven or eight members who have passed the imperial examinations as scholars and candidates. What are you compared to all that? How dare you compare yourself to me? Even if the Master divorces me, it won’t be your turn! Keep dreaming your foolish dreams!”

Qinglan’s lips trembled, feeling utterly humiliated as tears welled up in her eyes. Zhao Yuechan stepped forward and said, “Perhaps you don’t even know? Do you know why the Master and the Madam have been so good to you? Because I’ve been childless for so long, my family and the Lin family have already agreed to bring in a concubine to bear children, and after she bears a son or daughter…” Lightning flashed, illuminating Zhao Yuechan’s face as she looked at Qinglan, smiling with both satisfaction and pleasure: “They will… keep… the child… and… send… the mother… away!”

These words, accompanied by a tremendous thunderclap from above, sent Qinglan’s soul scattering in terror. Her heart felt as if being stabbed by daggers, tears flying as she desperately shook her head, saying, “No! That’s not true! You’re lying!”

Zhao Yuechan calmly replied, “When the child is born, you’ll know whether I’m lying or not. It wouldn’t be the first time people have been sent away from the Master’s household. I originally thought you were an honest person, and it might not be so bad to keep you around, but who knew you would turn so dark-hearted, even more detestable than the others! Hand over that booklet obediently, and I’ll ensure you keep your place in the Lin family, how about that?”

Qinglan was devastated, not hearing anything Zhao Yuechan said, only mumbling, “I must go find the Master, go ask the Madam for clarity…”

Zhao Yuechan stepped forward again, saying, “Ask what? Whether you can become the First Madam? Or who the child will belong to? If you’re not afraid of losing face, I have the original document here promising to keep the child and send away the mother. Shall I fetch it for you to see?”

Zhao Yuechan was merely bluffing to intimidate Qinglan, and even if the bluff failed, she intended to cause Qinglan distress. If Madam Qin questioned her later, she would deny everything to her death. However, Qinglan was young and inexperienced, having never weathered such storms, and believed Zhao Yuechan’s convincing performance. Overwhelmed with grief and suffering, her mind in a daze, she saw Zhao Yuechan advancing step by step and retreated blindly, not noticing when her foot missed the step. She fell from the stairs into the courtyard, her belly hitting the ground hard. She let out an agonized scream, terribly shrill. Blood instantly spurted out, mixing with the rainwater and spreading in all directions.

Everyone was stunned.

Xianglan, watching through the window from inside, had seen Qinglan fall and hurriedly ran out with Chunling to cradle Qinglan’s head, shouting, “Help! Someone come quickly!” Looking down at Qinglan: “Concubine, Concubine, how are you?”

Qinglan was shaking uncontrollably from pain, completely soaked, her face indistinguishable between rain and tears. She grabbed Xianglan desperately, crying out pitifully, “It hurts… my belly hurts… my child… quickly go call the Madam!”

Chunling exclaimed in alarm, “The Concubine has fallen!” She quickly ordered two strong servant women to carry Qinglan back to her room, repeatedly commanding Xiaokuan to go fetch a doctor.

Xianglan thought to herself: “Such a major incident has occurred, we must ask the Madam to make a decision.” Her entire body was already drenched by the rain, but she didn’t even think to grab an umbrella, running straight to Zhuoshou Garden where the Third House resided. Entering the courtyard, she saw two maids playing with birds under the corridor and hurriedly rushed forward, wiping rain from her face, saying, “Sisters, Concubine Lan fell from the steps, hit her belly on the ground, and has lost a lot of blood. I’ve come to seek the Madam’s instructions.”

The two maids’ faces changed simultaneously, and they hurriedly went inside to report. Shortly after, Madam Qin came out hurriedly from the room, accompanied by two maids – one holding an umbrella behind her, one supporting her at her side. As she walked forward, she asked Xianglan, “What’s the situation now, has a doctor been called?”

Xianglan replied, “The Concubine has been carried back to her room, and Xiaokuan has gone to fetch a doctor.”

Madam Qin walked briskly, frowning as she asked, “How did she fall so suddenly for no reason?”

Xianglan answered honestly, “The First Madam came over earlier and spoke with the Concubine in the room. When she was about to leave at the doorway, she said she had more to say to the Concubine and told the maids to stay back. I watched through the window and saw the First Madam say a few words to the Concubine, then the Concubine stepped backward, missed her footing, and fell.” She thought to herself: “A few days ago, there was already discord between wife and concubine because of me, and just as that page was turned, now this happens. The Lin family truly is in an unfortunate period, worthy of being called a household plagued by misfortune…”

Madam Qin asked no more questions, but her brow furrowed even deeper.

Just as the group reached the entrance of Zhichun Hall, they heard heart-rending screams from inside. Xianglan saw Zhao Yuechan standing in the outer hall, who stammered a greeting to Madam Qin: “Madam.” Madam Qin gave her a cold glance without responding and went straight to the bedroom.

Chunling was blocking the door, saying, “The birthing room is unclean, Madam should not enter this chamber.”

Madam Qin exclaimed in shock, “Birthing room? How can she be in labor at only seven months…”

Chunling, pale-faced, said, “The doctor and the experienced servants and matrons all say the Concubine’s condition is dangerous, showing signs of miscarriage. The water has broken, and in this situation, the child can only be delivered now. However, the baby is in the wrong position, it’s a difficult birth…” She glanced at Madam Qin and lowered her voice, saying, “Madam should be prepared, the doctor said earlier that because the child is premature, it’s unlikely to survive…”

Madam Qin’s heart sank, and she closed her eyes, taking a deep breath.

Xianglan slipped back to her room, wiped her face with a handkerchief, and pulled out a set of clean clothes from the cabinet, thinking: “Being soaked in the rain for so long, I might fall ill if I’m not careful.” She hurriedly removed her wet clothes and tossed them under the bed, changing into dry ones. She thought further: “How did Concubine Lan suddenly fall like this, what could have caused such a mess, it probably won’t end well. I wonder how Concubine Lan is doing, I hope she’ll be alright.” After changing into a pair of cloth shoes, she returned to the front.

Madam Qin had taken Zhao Yuechan to the main room for questioning, while Xiaokuan, Yindie, and others were rushing back and forth with hot water, towels, and other necessities. Xianglan went to the tea room and brought a basin of hot water. Upon entering, she saw four or five people gathered around the bed, all talking at once about “breathing” and “pushing,” with bloodied clothes strewn across the floor. Qinglan was in agony, constantly screaming and moaning. Chunling shouted, “Stop bringing water, quickly go to the kitchen and cook some ginseng soup for the Concubine!”

Xiaokuan didn’t know how to cook, and Yindie pretended not to hear. Seeing this, Xianglan returned to the small kitchen and found half a pot of chicken and bamboo shoot soup left from the morning. She sliced the ginseng into thin pieces, added them to the soup, and put it on the fire to simmer. After simmering for about half an hour, she extinguished the fire, poured the soup into a white porcelain bowl with green crane patterns, placed it on a dark red lacquered tray, and carefully carried it over.

Qinglan, having suffered such a shock, was emotionally unstable, and after falling and disturbing the fetus, her spirit was quite weak. The pain of childbirth had drained half her life force, and now she had no strength left, only making faint, pitiful cries. The child had not yet been born, but there was more bleeding below, and the experienced matrons knew this was a bad sign. Their faces turned white with fear, and they hurriedly sent Chunling to inform the Madam.

At this moment, Xianglan entered with the ginseng soup, and an elderly matron quickly lifted Qinglan’s head. Xianglan brought the bowl to Qinglan’s lips and managed to get her to drink a few sips. Seeing Qinglan’s complexion waxy yellow and haggard, her hair disheveled, her body stained with blood, all traces of her former plump beauty gone, Xianglan felt heartbroken. She vaguely heard the matrons saying things like “she probably won’t last long,” and knowing Qinglan was unlikely to survive, remembering how kind and warm Concubine Lan had been to her daily, tears welled up in her eyes.

The elderly matron gently laid Qinglan’s head back on the pillow. Qinglan made a soft whimpering sound and slightly opened her eyes to see Xianglan looking at her with tear-filled eyes.

At this moment, a voice cried out from the doorway: “Sister Qinglan, what’s happened to you?” It was Huamei, crying with a handkerchief in hand.

Qinglan’s eyes brightened, and she grabbed Xianglan, struggling to say: “Quick, quick, let Huamei come in…”

Xianglan was startled, but someone had already let Huamei in. Huamei threw herself beside the bed, crying as if her heart would break, holding Qinglan’s hand and saying, “My dear sister! What’s happened to you? Just the other day we sisters were talking normally, how could you today… you… Oh my lord, please come back to see my poor suffering sister!”

This crying caused Qinglan to weep like rain, clutching Huamei tightly, and speaking in a voice only the two of them could hear: “Under the floorboards of this bed, there’s something… something that cost me my life… Avenge me and my child… hand it over personally to… the Master… and… the Madam… let… let… let…” Before she could finish her words, she breathed her last.

Huamei had her ear closed to listen, but after a while realized there was no more sound. Looking closely, she saw Qinglan’s eyes were unfocused and wide open, unwilling to close even in death.

Xianglan, watching from the side, was shocked and reached out to shake her, calling, “Concubine, Concubine!”

The elderly matron nearby came to check her breathing, and with a wail, cried out, “The Concubine is gone, she has passed away!”

Everyone in the room instantly fell to their knees, and sounds of bitter weeping filled the air.

Xianglan knelt on the ground, tears streaming down her face, thinking to herself: “Though Qinglan was simple-minded and somewhat selfish, she wasn’t a bad person. She treated her subordinates generously and let me spend some comfortable days in the east wing. To die like this, she truly had a beautiful face but an unfortunate fate.” Then thinking of Chunyan who had been expelled from Zhichun Hall, Yingge who had lost her child, Huamei who kept an empty chamber, and now Qinglan who had died, she reflected on how Zhao Yuechan wielded her power ruthlessly, how Lin Jinlou used his position to oppress others, and how she was trapped in these deep chambers of the mansion. She couldn’t help but be overcome with grief, collapsing to the ground in tears.

At this moment, Madam Qin was questioning Zhao Yuechan in the main room, her face stern as she asked, “What exactly did you say to Qinglan on the steps that made her lose her footing and fall?”