Lady Bai settled down with effort, patting the spot where the Chuzhou Marquis’s wife had just sat. “Danniang, come sit here. Was it Pan Rong who sent someone to speak with you?”
Danniang nodded. “He’s very worried about you, fearing you might become depressed.”
Lady Bai smiled. “This isn’t my first time giving birth. Everything is fine, what is there to fear?” Her face softened as she continued, “When I was giving birth to Ajing, he didn’t sleep for two days and nights. Yet he lied to me, claiming he was out gambling. I believed him and felt utterly heartbroken…” She shook her head. “But let’s not dwell on the past. Did you just return from Fang Garden?”
“Indeed,” Mudan replied. She then began to describe, with exaggerated gestures, how everyone suffered in the muddy conditions – whose ox cart got stuck in the mire, whose donkey slipped, and who complained that it was the Prime Minister’s fault for not being able to control the weather. Lady Bai listened with a gentle smile, quietly observing Mudan’s animated expressions and sharing in her joy.
Chun Zhu carefully brought in some tea but didn’t dare serve it directly to Mudan. Instead, she handed it to Nian Yu with lowered eyes, then took a lacquer tray and backed out of the room with her head bowed. Lady Bai called out to her, “Chun Zhu, go to the kitchen and have them prepare a bowl of ginger soup to bring up.”
Chun Zhu’s face showed a mix of surprise and worry. “Young Mistress, is it for you…?”
Lady Bai replied kindly, “Not for me, it’s for Lady He. She’s been traveling in this rain for half a day. Have them brew it for her to drink as a precaution.”
Chun Zhu let out a big sigh of relief and cheerfully responded, “Yes, Young Mistress,” before quickly retreating.
Seeing her leave, Nian Yu led Shu’er to carry the crescent-shaped stool outside to watch the rain, leaving Mudan and Lady Bai to talk privately.
Lady Bai smiled ruefully, “You must have noticed how different Chun Zhu is now. She came from the Old Mistress’s quarters and has been serving Pan Rong since before I married into the family. She’s never been promoted.”
Mudan asked curiously, “Wasn’t it said that most of them were sent away?”
At that time, she had scolded Pan Rong, who first sent away a batch of troublemakers, then gradually dismissed many others. Later, when Lady Bai attended banquets, there were no longer such people lingering around her. Mudan hadn’t expected one to remain. Come to think of it, among Pan Rong’s former entourage, Mudan had seen many, but never this Chun Zhu. It seemed she was indeed different.
Lady Bai shook her head, “It has nothing to do with Chun Zhu. She’s been the most dutiful. Years ago, she fell out of favor with Pan Rong for advising him too much. Now that Pan Rong has become ambitious, he still doesn’t favor her. Haven’t you noticed how she tries to please everyone? Even Nian Yu doesn’t take her seriously. She’s just a pitiful person. My current difficulties aren’t about her.”
In the past, when Lady Bai and Pan Rong’s relationship was poor and Pan Rong indulged in debauchery, the Chuzhou Marquis’s wife thought Lady Bai was incompetent, considering this daughter-in-law worse than none at all. Now that Pan Rong was devoted to her, striving for improvement and seeking to avenge his elder brother, the Marquis’s wife ironically believed Lady Bai must be inciting Pan Rong somehow. Parents’ hearts are strange like that. When a son lacks ambition, they hope for him to be ambitious. But once he becomes ambitious, especially when it involves life-threatening matters, they’d rather he wasn’t.
Or perhaps it was like this: the Chuzhou Marquis’s wife, having lost love early in life, had her hair turn white prematurely from endless torment. The bitterness of her youth lingered, but as she aged, she no longer wished for any disturbances in the family. She only wanted peace at home and a house full of grandchildren. Pan Rong’s ambition was acceptable, but seeking revenge was best avoided.
Yet Pan Rong was stubborn by nature, the kind who would smile even while crying. Once he set his mind to something, he rarely turned back. He ignored all advice from his parents, determined to do what he wanted. Thus, Lady Bai became the object of their dissatisfaction again. Why wasn’t she persuading Pan Rong? This was the Chuzhou Marquis’s wife’s first reason for being displeased with Lady Bai.
As for the second reason, it naturally concerned Pan Jing. After returning from Fang Garden, Lady Bai heard from Mudan that no matter where Pan Jing went, she followed, leading to a period of tension between them. The Chuzhou Marquis couldn’t stand it and spoke to his wife about it. The Marquis’s wife backed down momentarily but soon devised a plan to start Pan Jing’s formal education. Lady Bai was utterly defeated. No matter how closely she followed or how thick-skinned she was, she couldn’t pursue the child into the study hall in front of the tutor, could she? Once the baby was born, the Marquis’s wife would have even more reasons and excuses to take control of Pan Jing’s education and upbringing.
Lady Bai’s brows furrowed tightly, displaying her agitation, “If it were just the first reason, I could endure it no matter what. It’s not much different from before, and things can’t get much worse. But I can’t back down on the matter of Ajing. I can’t watch him be ruined.”
Mudan could empathize with Lady Bai’s pain. Even in her previous life, she had seen colleagues and mothers-in-law become bitter enemies over fighting for their little treasures, especially in households like the Chuzhou Marquis’s, where the mother-in-law held the dominant position in society. Mudan gripped Lady Bai’s hand, “Stay calm. You have another child in your belly. Wait until this period passes and you’ve recovered before addressing these issues. It’s just a matter of waiting another month or two. You’ve always been level-headed; don’t lose your composure now.”
Lady Bai sighed dejectedly, “I know all this reasoning, but when I think about it, when I see Ajing’s pitiful face, I can’t help but feel anxious. Perhaps it’s because I’m near my due date that my mind is a bit chaotic.” She anxiously took a large gulp of water and said self-mockingly in a low voice, “You know, I can’t sleep at night now. I just lie there thinking about how to deal with her.”
“You’re a mother; it’s normal to feel this way. Just remember not to resent Pan Rong. Discuss everything with him; husband and wife are meant to rely on each other,” Mudan suppressed her sympathy and deliberately smiled as she reached out to touch Lady Bai’s round belly. “Let me share in some of this joy. Baby, you must be good and not let your mother suffer, or I’ll spank you.” From what she had seen and heard in her previous life, marital resentment often stemmed from such situations. Husbands felt wronged, believing they had done their best, but wives failed to understand or forgive, leading to many potentially solvable issues ending in miserable, chaotic outcomes. The Chuzhou Marquis’s wife wasn’t inherently bad; she too was a pitiful person who, having been hurt, refused to approach others with a forgiving and understanding heart.
Lady Bai smiled, “If it brings you joy, I couldn’t ask for more. Feel free to touch more.” Suddenly, she saw Mudan’s eyes widen as she pointed excitedly at a bump that had appeared on her belly, “Ah, ah, he heard my words!” She carefully, albeit somewhat fearfully, reached out to touch it, but whatever part of the baby it was – hand or foot – quickly slid away like a swimming fish and suddenly disappeared.
Mudan’s face flushed with excitement as she rubbed her hands together, “Baby, move again, let me feel you, or I’ll spank you…”
“Spank? You’re getting too comfortable with that word,” Pan Rong’s voice suddenly came from outside the curtain as he stomped his feet. “If you scare my child, you’ll be in trouble!”
“You’re back?” Lady Bai’s voice carried a mix of joy and reproach. “Sneaking in without a sound. If these were other women’s quarters, you…”
Pan Rong chuckled, entering with a package in hand, “I knew it was her, that’s why I came in. Jiang Dalang came along too. I’ve had them set up a meal in the front hall and invited the two of them to stay for dinner. I came specially to fetch you. Though the weather isn’t good, you should still move around a bit. It’s not good to sit all the time.”
Seeing water dripping from the package in his hand, soaking a patch of the floor covering, Lady Bai hurriedly asked, “What’s that? You’re getting the floor all wet.”
Nian Yu quickly took the package and opened it to reveal four or five tangerines, their skins still greenish but starting to dry and wrinkle. Pan Rong, with a hint of pride and eagerness to please, said, “Didn’t you say you wanted to eat tangerines? At this time, there are only Shu tangerines, and even those are hard to come by. They’ve been brought over mountains and valleys. Though they don’t look great, they’re still tangerines. Shall I peel one for you?”
Lady Bai felt a bit embarrassed, glaring at him before smiling, “I just couldn’t resist my craving. Danniang, would you like to try some too?”
The sight of the tangerines made Mudan’s mouth water, but she quickly shook her head, “Never mind the sour tangerines, I wouldn’t dare compete with your child even for sweet ones.”
“That’s right, it seems this child will be a glutton,” Pan Rong, thick-skinned as ever, ignored Mudan’s presence and began peeling a tangerine for Lady Bai. Seeing his wife’s fatigued face, he felt a pang of heartache. When Mudan wasn’t looking, he gently stroked Lady Bai’s hand, worried. If only he were as capable as Jiang Changyang, or as competent as his elder brother, perhaps Lady Bai wouldn’t have to endure such hardships.
Seeing Chun Zhu bring in the ginger soup, Mudan took it and went to stand by the curtain to watch the rain. Observing the loving couple inside, she found herself missing Jiang Changyang. It had been several days since she’d seen him.
The ginger soup was a bit hot, and in the contrast between hot and cold, Mudan couldn’t help but turn away and cover her nose and mouth as she let out a small sneeze. Shu’er quickly advised her to drink the ginger soup while it was hot: “You must be overworked these days, and getting up early to rush here in the cold couldn’t have helped.”
Mudan quickly drank the ginger soup, planning to keep her distance from Lady Bai afterward. If she hadn’t caught a cold, that would be for the best, but if she had, she needed to be careful not to infect the expectant mother.
Inside, Lady Bai, satisfied after eating the tangerine, allowed Pan Rong to help her walk out. She instructed Nian Yu to prepare umbrellas, oilcloth coats, and hats, intending to go to the front hall to entertain Jiang Changyang and Mudan. Although Nian Yu and the other maids in the room felt it was somewhat inappropriate, they said nothing and just carefully prepared the necessary items. Seeing them about to put wooden clogs on Lady Bai, Pan Rong quickly intervened, “Put my boots on her instead. Those clogs are clumsy and heavy, how could they be suitable for her?”
Chun Zhu, standing nearby, bit her lip and timidly said, “Young Master, Young Mistress, the Old Mistress instructed that in such weather, one should be extra careful…”
“Silence!” Pan Rong’s face flashed with severity as he coldly glanced at Chun Zhu. His tone instantly changed to a playful one, “Go tell the Old Mistress that with me here, nothing will happen. Tell her not to worry.”
Chun Zhu’s face turned pale instantly, and she dared not say anything more, lowering her head and retreating. Pan Rong held Lady Bai firmly, ordering Nian Yu to open the umbrella, and called out to Mudan, “Let’s go!”