Lady Du gazed at the beautiful young woman before her. At just sixteen, she was a vision of snow-white skin and floral beauty, tall and voluptuous. The jade ornaments in her hair quivered slightly. She wore a thin sapphire blue gauze dress embroidered with gold threads, with yellow five-colored pants peeking through. Her crimson sash accentuated a waist so slim it seemed one could encircle it with a single hand. Yet her snow-white, full bosom nearly burst from her gold-embroidered bodice. This exquisite figure was topped by a delicate, naive face still bearing traces of childlike innocence. Any normal man would find her irresistible.
“How has she not frozen to death in such thin clothes on such a cold day?” Lady Du thought bitterly. But if she hadn’t dressed so shamelessly, how else could she have seduced a man? What a disgraceful thing! Lady Du silently condemned this shameless, bewitching creature in her mind dozens of times over. Where should she put her?
The beauty stood stiffly, carefully shifting her numbed feet, eyes downcast and hardly daring to breathe.
“Take her to Yixiu Tower,” Lady Du finally ordered Jinzhu without even asking the girl’s name or speaking to her directly. Jinzhu was somewhat surprised. Yixiu Tower was not far from Jiang Zhong’s quarters – the lady was being quite bold. However, she did not object, simply bowing and responding, “Yes,” before nodding to the girl: “Follow me.” She used no form of address, as Lady Du had not indicated the girl’s status.
“Thank you for your kindness, my lady. This servant takes her leave,” the girl said softly, finally glancing at Lady Du before kowtowing deeply. She then quietly withdrew, displaying grace in her movements.
But the more well-mannered she was, the more Lady Du hated her.
After a while, Jinzhu returned. Lady Du was still sitting alone before the mirror, mechanically drawing and redrawing her eyebrows – painting small hill brows, then wiping them away to try misty brows, then changing to crescent brows, repeating this process over and over. Jinzhu silently took a comb and began gently detangling Lady Du’s long black hair that cascaded over the couch, starting from the ends and working her way up.
Lady Du finally put down the eyebrow pigment and asked in a seemingly indifferent tone, “Did you find out everything?”
Jinzhu replied softly, “Yes. Her name is Mei’er. She was sent by Duke De. She can play the pipa and dance. Apparently, at today’s banquet, the Duke had her attend to our lord after he’d had a few drinks. Afterward, the Duke offered to give her to our lord. I suppose our lord didn’t want to refuse the Duke’s gesture.”
Duke De? No wonder she was dressed so lavishly. Lady Du snorted coldly. Though Jinzhu had phrased it casually, the reality was surely that this Mei’er must be exceptionally skilled at playing the pipa and dancing, and had caught Jiang Zhong’s eye. That’s why Duke De had her attend to him. As for Jiang Zhong not wanting to refuse? Heaven only knows.
Duke De was originally supposed to inherit the title of Prince Cheng as the eldest son of the Emperor’s elder brother, but for various reasons, he had only become Duke De. He never concerned himself with court affairs and lived extravagantly, which the Emperor allowed. Though Lady Du had never considered such a person worth her attention, she had never offended him either. Why would he suddenly send a woman to Jiang Zhong? There must be something behind this. Who was working against her? Jiang Changyang? Jiang Changyi? Xiao?
Lady Du closed her eyes, her mind racing.
“I heard it was thanks to the eldest young lady’s plea that those involved today only received twenty strokes each…” Jinzhu said, her eyes lowered as she gently massaged Lady Du’s head. Her slender fingers moved from Lady Du’s temples upward, pausing, then continuing down, pausing again, before suddenly increasing pressure.
Lady Du let out a soft “Mm,” startling Jinzhu, who trembled and said, “My lady…”
Lady Du weakly murmured, “Yes, like that. Use more force. My head aches.” For the past two nights, she hadn’t been able to sleep well and kept having nightmares. She didn’t know why.
Jinzhu concentrated and continued massaging with the same force as before. Soon, Lady Du fell asleep, leaving Jinzhu’s hands cramping from exertion. But it felt good. She gazed absent-mindedly at the sleeping Lady Du, forgetting to cover her with a blanket.
After a long while, the candle sputtered, and a barely audible sound came from behind the screen. Jinzhu snapped out of her reverie and hurriedly pulled up a nearby brocade blanket to cover Lady Du. Just as she finished, another senior maid, Yinyu, crept in like a cat. She glanced at the sleeping Lady Du on the couch and whispered, “I saw the light was still on and thought the lady was still awake. Shouldn’t we move her to the bed?”
Jinzhu carefully stepped down from the couch and gently blew out the candle, whispering back, “She just fell asleep. Why disturb her? She hasn’t been sleeping well these past few days.” The two walked out shoulder to shoulder.
Just as dawn was breaking, Lady Du awoke from a nightmare, feeling sticky and uncomfortable all over. Her head felt especially awful as if someone was stirring it with a knife. She reached out to touch herself and found that despite the bitter cold, her undergarments and bedding were soaked with sweat. She had always been fastidious and hated this feeling, especially since the damp clothes would soon turn cold.
“Someone come!” she called out, surprised to find her voice hoarse and her throat dry and painful, as if swollen. Her first thought was that she was ill. She couldn’t be ill! If she fell ill at this crucial time, people might think she had been overcome with anger. She struggled to call out again, her voice now tinged with severity.
Jinzhu and Yinyu rushed in, their eyes darting nervously. “My lady, you’re awake?” Jinzhu stepped forward to help her up, but upon touching her, exclaimed in shock, “How are you soaked through? Are you feeling unwell anywhere?”
Yinyu hurried to find clothes to help Lady Du change, then assisted her to the bed. Lady Du held her forehead, feeling too miserable to speak, as each word sent throbbing pain through her head. Still, she managed to rasp out, “Go fetch me some of the medicine pills my aunt sent last time.”
Jinzhu brought the medicine, her eyes suddenly reddening as she choked out, “My lady, let me go settle this for you!”
“What are you doing?” Lady Du weakly shouted. What was this girl trying to stir up so early in the morning?
Jinzhu, red-eyed, said softly, “They sent someone to change the bedsheets over there early this morning. There was red on them…”
Lady Du stared at Jinzhu, suddenly laughing enigmatically. But after just two laughs, she frowned and covered her mouth, urgently pointing at the spittoon. Yinyu quickly brought it over, and Lady Du vomited violently. The acrid smell made her eyes water, and she continued retching until her stomach was empty. Only then did she lean back against the pillow. How nauseating, she thought. So Duke De had sent Jiang Zhong a beautiful, talented virgin courtesan. And after yesterday’s uproar, he still remembered to take this woman. Heh, what could one say? Wang Ayou, you’re ruthless!
“My lady, your uncle and aunt have arrived,” Yinyu, who had gone to fetch water, returned quickly to report.
Lady Du was startled. Though it was customary for relatives to visit during festivals, she was the daughter and should have been the one to pay respects at the Du residence first. This wasn’t right. If they were simply visiting relatives, how could the Du family be so impolite as to come early in the morning? Something must have happened. Her heart pounding, she sat up and said shakily, “Quickly, invite them in!”
Jinzhu hurriedly found a robe for her to wear and was about to do her hair when they heard rapid footsteps stop outside the screen. Lady Du irritably pushed Jinzhu’s hand away and said sternly, “Go wait outside.” Then she called out, “Sister-in-law, please come in.” As soon as she finished speaking, Madame Du Gu stepped in, disregarding etiquette, and called out softly, “Sister…”
Seeing the tears and undisguised sympathy in her eyes, Lady Du’s heart leaped into her throat. “Sister-in-law, what’s wrong?”
Madame Du Gu, teary-eyed, said sorrowfully, “Sister, your brother just received news this morning. Zhong’er, he…”
It was as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over her, chilling her to the bone. What happened to Zhong’er? Lady Du was stunned for only a moment before grabbing Madame Du Gu’s collar ferociously, baring her teeth as she demanded, “What happened to him? What happened?”
For a mother, the death of an only child meant the end of the world. As a fellow mother, Madame Du Gu looked at her sister-in-law pitifully and, risking suffocation, enunciated clearly, “Zhong’er is gone.”
“You’re lying! You’re lying!” Lady Du let out a piercing scream. She frantically shook Madame Du Gu by the collar.
Madame Du Gu could barely breathe but still managed to say loudly, “It’s true! Who would dare joke about such a thing?”
Jinzhu and Yinyu, hearing the screams, rushed in. They frantically separated the two women and firmly held the now nearly insane Lady Du, trying to comfort her in low voices. Lady Du didn’t even have the strength to cry. She felt as if all sound and color had vanished from the world around her, the faces of Madame Du Gu and the others blurring into indistinct shapes. Finally unable to bear it any longer, she fainted. Her dear Zhong’er, her precious child, her only hope. Just yesterday she had been arranging a good marriage for him and working to remove obstacles in his path. How could he suddenly be gone?
Madame Du Gu quickly called for Lady Du to be carried to the bed. She pressed Lady Du’s philtrum and had warm water poured into her mouth. She then instructed Jinzhu and Yinyu, “One of you, quickly go call for a doctor.” She and Du Qian had come together – Du Qian to find Jiang Zhong, while she came to the women’s quarters to seek Lady Du. They wanted to prevent the Jiang family from hearing the news first, leaving Lady Du without support. What a tragedy to have such an event occur during the holidays.
Jiang Zhong was still unaware of what had happened. When he heard that Du Qian had come to visit so early in the morning, he was puzzled but his first thought was that Lady Du must have complained again. But over a mere concubine, who could interfere? He smiled slightly and extended his foot. Meier, being observant, knelt to help him put on his boots, then stood silently to the side, as proper as could be.
However, Jiang Zhong caught sight of the hint of red peeking out from her snow-white bosom, which her clothes couldn’t quite conceal. His heart stirred slightly. Although he didn’t particularly like this concubine and had initially summoned her merely to escape the troubles in his household, with a touch of desire to spite Lady Du, last night he had rediscovered a long-lost feeling of youth with her.
Mei’er, being well-trained, immediately noticed his gaze. Her face flushed crimson with embarrassment, and she lightly tugged at her collar, trying to cover herself, but this only exposed more on the other side. As she grew increasingly flustered and shy, Jiang Zhong withdrew his gaze and silently stood up to leave.