Yan Qing and Shi Ting returned to their own courtyard, where Er Dan and Jian Guo came bounding over, tails wagging.

Yan Qing bent down and gently stroked the two large animals on the head. Er Dan pressed affectionately against her trouser leg.

Er Dan had grown increasingly powerful, his build now far surpassing Jian Guo’s. Yet in front of Jian Guo, he still played the role of the little brother, which showed just how thoroughly he had mastered the art of imitation.

“Shi Ting, have you had anyone investigate this Qian Lan?” Yan Qing took a piece of beef from Murong’s hand and fed the two animals.

“I sent people to Baiyun Convent,” said Shi Ting. “The head of the convent confirmed that Qian Lan was indeed Hui Yuan’s final disciple. As for her background, the head said only Hui Yuan would have known.”

“But Hui Yuan is already dead.”

“Even if Hui Yuan were alive, she might not know Qian Lan’s origins.” Shi Ting’s eyes grew pensive. “What is strange is that we cannot make out anything at all about who Qian Lan truly is. Apart from the fact that she once lived at Baiyun Convent, there is no trace of her life before or after. I also had people inquire about Madam Qian — she encountered Qian Lan by chance at a flower-viewing gathering, and a golden locket that fell from Qian Lan’s person confirmed her identity.”

Yan Qing frowned. “If Qian Lan had been taken away by an enemy of the Qian family, why would they have allowed her to live all this time? And if they kept her alive, it makes even less sense to let her keep the very locket that would prove who she was.”

“Whether Madam Qian’s account is true or false, only she can know. Whether Qian Lan is truly her daughter, or whether the two of them have reached some kind of arrangement — none of that is easy to determine.”

“Whatever the case, Qian Lan’s conduct today was quite unexpected. It is clear she is a person of steady composure, skilled at patience, and with far-sighted judgment.” Compared to the late Madam, Yan Qing felt that someone like Qian Lan would be more difficult to contend with. And she could not yet determine what Qian Lan’s true purpose in coming to the Shi household might be.

To say she had affection for the Commander, or that she wished to become the household’s principal wife — Yan Qing did not believe that was the whole truth.

“Qing Qing.” Shi Ting took Yan Qing’s hand and rose. “Have you noticed that the Commander’s manner toward Qian Lan seems entirely different from how he treats anyone else?”

“Yes.” Yan Qing thought back on the Commander’s unusual behavior today, and found it strange as well. “When the Commander faces Qian Lan, it is as though he extends unconditional trust and partiality to her. Today, when San Yitai tried to give her a difficult reception, it was entirely ineffective in the Commander’s presence.”

Thinking on this, Yan Qing could not help a pang of feeling. She had watched the Commander’s manner toward Du Linghua for all this time, but the warmth of affection had given way to coldness. Du Linghua must now be the most heartbroken person of all.

Du Linghua had returned to Xuehua Courtyard and buried herself in her bed, while Cai Yue and Cai Xia busied themselves on either side, pouring water and rubbing her back.

“San Yitai, please do not weep. It will harm the child.”

At the mention of the child, Du Linghua only wept louder. “The child? Do you think the Commander still cares about my child? After what happened today, he took every opportunity to protect that woman, right in front of everyone — in his eyes, the feeling between us is already gone. Do you think he cares about any child?”

“San Yitai, the Commander has just taken a new bride, and of course he will dote on her for a time,” Cai Yue coaxed. “Once the novelty wears off, and after your child is born, there will still be time to win back the Commander’s heart.”

“I am afraid he has been so completely bewitched by that woman that there will be nothing left to win back.”

Du Linghua wept and struck the bed. “How could the Commander treat me this way? He promised he would be good to me for the rest of his life. How could he treat me this way for the sake of that woman?”

“Crying will accomplish nothing.” Shi Yutong’s voice arrived before she did, sharp as ever.

“Do you think crying will bring the Commander’s favor back?”

These past two days, Shi Yutong had been in a perpetual state of anger. The newly arrived Madam irritated her at every turn, and yet the Commander showered her with attention that, in Shi Yutong’s view, rightly belonged to San Yitai and herself alone.

“Eighth Miss.” Cai Yue quickly tried to intervene. “San Yitai is in an unstable state right now. Eighth Miss, please do not say more…”

Before Cai Yue could finish, a slap landed across her face.

“Who do you think you are, talking back to me?” Shi Yutong stood with her hands on her hips, glaring at her. “You are all the same — you worthless maids telling my mother day after day to endure and endure.”

Cai Yue’s cheek burned and stung. Her resentment of Shi Yutong deepened considerably.

She was the most favored maid at Du Linghua’s side. Because Du Linghua was pampered, she herself enjoyed standing among the household servants — everyone addressed her respectfully as Sister Cai Yue, and beyond that, small favors had come her way on many occasions.

San Yitai had always treated her well, never harsh or abusive toward her. Yet this Eighth Miss called her to heel, drove her away at will, and now had actually struck her across the face.

Cai Yue, even as a servant, felt shame and fury rise within her. But she had no recourse except to endure.

“Yutong, how could you strike Cai Yue?” Du Linghua was also stunned by Shi Yutong’s sudden action.

“She is nothing but a lowly servant. Am I not permitted to strike her? If not for the likes of her feeding you all these useless ideas, would you be in this state now? I told you to go and beg the Commander, and you would not go. Now look — the Commander’s eyes no longer see you at all. All he sees is that vixen.”

San Yitai trembled with rage, her face draining to a deathly white.

Shi Yutong still was not satisfied, and continued in a shrill voice, “You are nothing now but a faded flower past its time. Even if you give birth, the Commander will not spare you a glance. What the Commander truly wants is a child by that vixen. Your child, once born, will be just like Seventh Brother — unwanted by anyone, maybe even quietly done away with. You think what you are carrying is some kind of shield? It is nothing but a useless scrap of flesh…”

Crack!

Shi Yutong felt a sharp sting on her face. Du Linghua had struck her with every last ounce of her strength.

After the blow, Du Linghua collapsed as though emptied of all energy.

Only then did she truly begin to regret it. Her indulgence of Shi Yutong all these years had not been for Shi Yutong’s sake — it had ruined the girl and brought ruin upon herself.

In Shi Yutong’s eyes, she as a mother no longer existed. Shi Yutong thought only of herself.

Du Linghua was consumed by despair. She wanted to weep but could not. It felt as though something was lodged in her chest, blocking her breath.

“You struck me?” Shi Yutong stared at Du Linghua in shock and fury. “You actually dared to strike me?”

Du Linghua closed her eyes, her breathing unsteady.

“Your eyes are only for that creature in your belly. You never truly treated me as your daughter.” Shi Yutong shrieked and flung herself forward, pummeling Du Linghua’s abdomen with her fist, heedless of everything.

The action left everyone in the room stunned. Only when Du Linghua cried out in agony did Cai Yue and Cai Xia snap out of their stupor and rush to support her.

Du Linghua’s face was drained of all color. She pointed to her belly, her voice barely above a whisper. “Quick — quickly call the midwife.”

Cai Yue rushed to summon the midwife, while Cai Xia positioned herself in front of San Yitai to keep Shi Yutong from coming any closer.

Shi Yutong had assumed San Yitai was putting on an act, but seeing her drenched in sweat and writhing in agony on the bed, she lost her nerve and took several steps backward.

“I did not mean to do it.” Shi Yutong covered her mouth and murmured to herself. “I truly did not mean to.”

Just as Shi Yutong stood there in fright, the midwife arrived, followed shortly by Qian Lan, who came hurrying over with her maids.

Though Qian Lan had barely been in the household any time at all, she already carried herself with the authority of a mistress of the house.

“What has happened?” She walked in and immediately asked Cai Xia. “Why has San Yitai’s pain come on so suddenly?”

Cai Xia shot a glance at Shi Yutong but dared not say that San Yitai had been struck in the abdomen by her. She was hesitating and evasive, and from the way she spoke, Qian Lan already half guessed what had occurred. She cast a suspicious look in Shi Yutong’s direction.

Shi Yutong’s courage had deserted her. She did not dare meet anyone’s eyes, and stood with her head down, twisting the hem of her clothing with her hands.

Qian Lan looked away from her and asked with concern, “San Yitai, how do you feel?”

San Yitai was already too overwhelmed by pain to think clearly, and could not attend to Qian Lan at all. She was well along in years for this pregnancy, and now it had come on prematurely — the situation could be imagined.

The midwife examined her as she worked, saying, “The waters have broken. The birth is imminent.”

“So soon?” Qian Lan was slightly startled.

But she composed herself at once and spoke in a low, measured voice. “Quickly go and inform the old Madam and the Commander. Tell them San Yitai is about to give birth, and ask them to come immediately.”

A maid received her order and rushed off to fetch the Commander and the old Madam.

Luo Huaimeng and Yan Qing arrived upon hearing the news. When they came in, the old Madam was already seated in the outer room, drinking tea with evident worry.

“The Commander has not yet arrived?” Qian Lan had already asked the same question of the errand maid more than once.

“The Commander is speaking with the village elder. He said he would be along shortly.” The young maid answered carefully.

Yan Qing heard this and felt a pang of cold sadness on San Yitai’s behalf.

She recalled the time San Yitai had been afflicted with a spell — the Commander had stayed at her bedside without leaving for a moment, and the memory of that scene had remained with Yan Qing ever since.

She had once thought the Commander’s feelings for San Yitai were genuine. Nothing else would have explained why he had favored her exclusively for so long. But as things now stood, that had only been a surface truth. In the Commander’s heart, the person he had always cared for most was the one who was dead — Hui Yuan.

Now that a woman who resembled Hui Yuan even more than San Yitai had appeared, San Yitai’s standing in the Commander’s heart had plummeted. Even with her in difficult labor, the Commander could put matters of business first.

This was truly San Yitai’s sorrow.

“What is the situation?” Luo Huaimeng asked.

Qian Lan shook her head with a worried look. “They are saying it is a difficult labor.”

“How did this come about?” Luo Huaimeng had no particular quarrel with Du Linghua, and her concern for her now was genuine.

—