When Song Chuyi last came to Tongzhou to see An’an, the baby had still been red and wrinkled, resembling a tiny mouse. But upon seeing her again this time, An’an had already grown white and plump, nestled in her wet nurse’s arms blowing bubbles for fun.
Song Chuyi could tell at a glance that she had been extremely well cared for. Smiling, she instructed Luyi to reward the wet nurse with a substantial purse, then personally reminded her: “Be attentive. After you get through this period, there will be even greater rewards.”
The wet nurse had been selected by Nanny Xu from a household on the estate—honest and diligent. Upon seeing the silver ingots peeking out from the purse, she grinned from ear to ear, nodding repeatedly in agreement.
Song Chuyi then carefully and gently took An’an, holding her and playing with her for a while before handing her to Nanny Xu to hold, while she herself went to the adjacent room to check on Lianyi.
Lianyi had completed her month of postpartum confinement. Nanny Xu had specially found a tailor to sew new clothes for her, dressing her up to look completely renewed. At this moment, she was somewhat restless and uneasy, wanting to remove the jewelry from her head—after so many years of living in poverty and misery, she had become unaccustomed to such luxurious and magnificent adornments.
Nanny Xu held her down, not letting her move, and sighed with heartfelt emotion: “Why do you still insist on thinking of yourself as that Li Er’s wife? How could he possibly be worthy of someone like you? If Madam were still here, at the very least you would be a head housekeeper. How could you not be able to wear such clothes and jewelry?”
Tears immediately began pattering down from Lianyi’s eyes onto the floor, large teardrops like beads that had broken from their string. She clutched at her own collar, constantly shaking her head, her mouth opening but only able to make incoherent sounds without forming complete words.
Song Chuyi was somewhat stunned, watching as Lianyi’s expression suddenly changed and she went to grab paper and brush. Song Chuyi quickly walked over.
‘But Madam is no longer here.’
‘And I truly was Li Er’s wife.’
‘A mute village woman, dressed up in gaudy finery, only provides a laughingstock for others.’
Nanny Xu stood frozen in place, her mouth opening and closing but suddenly unable to speak—Lianyi still harbored resentment in her heart. During a young woman’s best years, she had been poisoned into muteness and married off to a scoundrel, had given birth to three daughters in succession yet not one had survived, her entire being tormented until she looked decades older.
She didn’t even have time to acknowledge Song Chuyi, her trembling hand patting Lianyi’s shoulder, trying to calm her agitation: “That’s not what I meant… Lianyi—”
But the more she spoke, the worse it became. Lianyi’s body trembled violently, and finally she simply collapsed onto the table, wailing in grief.
Song Chuyi pressed her lips together, feeling somewhat at a loss—she had been reborn, had changed her own miserable life, yet had been unable to save these people who originally should not have fallen to such depths.
Previously, Lianyi had forced herself not to show it, and Song Chuyi had naively thought it was because Lianyi was strong. But thinking about it now, no matter how strong a young woman might be, encountering such circumstances, it would be impossible to have no resentment at all.
She stepped forward two paces and pressed down on Lianyi’s shoulders. All the words of comfort she had been about to speak were ultimately swallowed back down, leaving her feeling at a loss for words. She could only promise over and over: “I will take good care of An’an.”
Will take good care of An’an, will make her your new beginning, will definitely not let her suffer even the slightest hardship, and will never let her fall to the same circumstances as you.
Lianyi grasped her hand, her tear-blurred eyes nodding, her makeup crying into a mess.
Nanny Xu breathed a sigh of relief. Although she knew Lianyi certainly couldn’t recover in such a short time, at least this awkward situation had eased somewhat.
She wiped the sweat from her forehead and quickly called for Luyi to come help Lianyi wash her face and redo her makeup, while she herself guiltily lowered her head to apologize to Lianyi: “It was I who spoke wrongly… I’m clumsy with words, Lianyi, don’t blame me—”
Song Chuyi left both Luyi and Qing Tao in the room to keep Lianyi company, while she herself sighed and walked outside—after all, Lianyi had become like this because of Cui Shi, and the damage caused was already irreversible. Previously, Song Chuyi had thought that as long as she took good care of Lianyi’s future life, that would be enough. But now it seemed that no matter how well she did, there was probably no way to make Lianyi feel any better.
She stood with her head lowered for a while, when Song Jue suddenly came in from outside. Seeing her like this, he thought something had happened and quickly asked: “Why do you look so listless and spiritless? You were fine just when you arrived. Did something happen?”
Song Chuyi quickly shook her head and asked why he had suddenly come in: “Second Brother, weren’t you outside? Why did you suddenly come in?”
“Hey!” Song Jue slapped his forehead, somewhat apprehensive as he told her: “I almost forgot—that difficult little ancestor from Prince Zhennan’s manor has come again, and he even brought a young Daoist priest with him.”
He had never met Zhou Weizhao, and with Zhou Weizhao dressed as a Daoist, he naturally couldn’t recognize him.
Song Chuyi smiled, somewhat surprised—although previously both Zhou Weizhao and Ye Jingchuan had said they would come to celebrate An’an’s full moon, she had always taken it as a joke, never expecting they would actually both come.
Song Jue sighed and shook his head, somewhat at a loss with Ye Jingchuan: “We can’t exactly have this young master go outside and sit at the banquet with those tenant farmers and laborers, can we? This is truly worrying…”
After all, An’an’s full moon celebration was being held under the identity of Nanny Xu’s granddaughter, so naturally those invited weren’t anyone particularly important. They were just the tenant farmers and laborers from this estate having a good time together, treating it as bringing joy and adding longevity to the child. How could they have anticipated that Ye Jingchuan would come?
But even if they had anticipated it, Song Chuyi wouldn’t dare have these two go outside and sit at the banquet with them. After thinking for a moment, she said: “In that case, we can only invite them inside. Second Brother, set up another table in the courtyard outside the granary, and we siblings will accompany them.”
At present, there truly was no other better solution. Song Jue nodded with a dark expression and hurried off to arrange for the additional table. Meanwhile, Ye Jingchuan had already slipped in with Zhou Weizhao, and upon seeing Song Chuyi, immediately clamored to see An’an.
“I heard from Mother that newborn babies are all very ugly, wrinkled like little mice. But by the time they reach their full moon, they’ve become more or less white and plump. Quickly bring her out for me to see, so I can check if what Mother said is true.” Standing before Song Chuyi, a full head taller than her, he looked down and instructed her: “Hurry up, I even brought her a gift.”
Song Chuyi ignored him, turning her head instead to look at Zhou Weizhao, who stood with his hands behind his back wearing a smile. She let out a small laugh: “Why is His Highness the Grand Heir still dressed as a young Daoist priest?”
Zhou Weizhao glanced at Ye Jingchuan and slowly drawled out two words: “Convenience.” Then from within his wide sleeves, he pulled out a purse: “Inside here is a peace talisman and a jade pendant for warding off evil spirits. They’re gifts for An’an.”
He had actually truly gone to ask Zhang Tianshi to draw a peace talisman. Song Chuyi paused for a long moment before reaching out to accept it, lowering her head and thanking him: “Then I shall thank Your Highness on An’an’s behalf.”