Shen Zhuxi absolutely could not let him go ask Li Que.
If anyone else found out about this, how would she ever show her face again?
She stewed in her dread of possibly being pregnant, took out her frustration by thumping the duck — then chased the big duck out of the room.
Li Wu stood in the doorway with his invisible tail between his legs for a moment, then shuffled away dejectedly.
He burrowed into the study, pulled out a few prized volumes of erotic illustrations from his collection, and pored over them with great thoroughness. Every image on every page — from the positions to the last strand of hair — he examined with the utmost scrutiny. The only comparable level of dedication in his life had been when he’d struggled through that book attributed to Li Bai, Three Days to Master Poetry.
No matter how he looked, flipping back and forth, even holding the pages up to the sunlight outside the window to search for hidden meaning — he could not figure out where babies came from.
Known fact: intercourse leads to pregnancy. Known fact: all the illustrations depict intercourse. Known fact: what happened last night resembled one of the illustrated positions. Conclusion —
He dared not draw a conclusion.
No, no, no — it was only once. How could it happen to be that precise?
There were so many childless couples in the world, and so many husbands and wives who had tried for a decade or more to conceive a single child. With so many people who desperately wanted children and couldn’t have them, it couldn’t possibly happen on the very first time, could it?
He was frowning and racking his brain when Li Que stepped into the study. Seeing the rare look of worry on his face, Li Que said in surprise, “What’s weighing on Big Brother?”
“You’ve come at just the right time — I…”
Li Wu caught himself, recalling Shen Zhuxi’s repeated warnings. The words died in his throat.
“You what?” Li Que looked puzzled.
“I… I’ve been craving the pig’s trotters from the Wine Maiden.”
Li Que said at once, “I’ll send a servant to buy some for Big Brother.”
“Never mind, I’ll go out and take a walk while I’m at it.” Li Wu stuffed the erotic illustrations into the corner of the cabinet and weighted them down with a copy of the Tao Te Ching.
Li Que seemed to want to say something, but Li Wu was in a hurry to leave and paid no attention to Li Que’s hesitation.
Li Que watched him go, wavered for a moment, and ultimately said nothing.
Never mind. If Big Brother had his own affairs to deal with, then let that fellow surnamed Tian faint one more time.
Li Wu walked out the door at the leisurely pace of a man buying pig’s trotters. The moment he stepped through the main gate of the Li residence, his pace transformed entirely, and he broke into a brisk, determined stride.
He still hadn’t gotten used to traveling by carriage, and by the time he heard the driver calling out in a panic behind him, he was already well past the street where the Li residence stood.
Li Wu walked at a swift clip and arrived directly at the entrance of Suxin Hall.
It was still early in the morning; Suxin Hall had only just opened, and only two medicine apprentices were busy inside. Li Wu didn’t bother asking anyone, and simply pushed through the curtain and walked into the back courtyard.
The courtyard was spread with bamboo mats and lined with bamboo trays, medicinal herbs sorted by type set out in neat, orderly rows to dry in the air. Dr. Tang, wearing a clean plain robe, stood with his back to him in front of one of the bamboo trays, pinching what appeared to be some herb and holding it close to his nose for a careful sniff.
“Hey — sir, sir, you can’t just —”
A young apprentice came running in after him, flustered.
“It’s all right, go back out,” Dr. Tang said without turning around.
The apprentice looked at Li Wu in surprise and retreated with some reluctance.
“You didn’t even look up — aren’t you afraid someone’s here to rob and murder you?” Li Wu said.
“A robber or murderer would have far better manners than you. At the very least, others wouldn’t choose to show up when this old man is at his busiest —” Dr. Tang raised his drooping eyelids and said with undisguised irritation.
“Old Tang, how long have we known each other? Why stand on ceremony?” Li Wu walked up beside Dr. Tang and casually picked up a slice of ginseng from the tray and tossed it in his mouth.
“Don’t eat things at random! Are you trying to get another two-day nosebleed like when you were a child?” Dr. Tang glared at Li Wu.
“I’m not eating at random! Last night I —” Li Wu abruptly changed the subject. “Old Tang, I’m here because I have a serious matter to ask you.”
“Then say it quickly! Nothing you consider serious ever turns out to be. Everything you do all day is off the proper path…” Dr. Tang muttered.
“I — I have a brother who wants to ask you,” Li Wu said, “after being intimate with someone, is there any way to prevent pregnancy?”
Dr. Tang set down the herbs in his hand and fixed Li Wu with a suspicious stare.
“Why would you want to prevent pregnancy?”
“It’s not me — it’s my brother!” Li Wu frowned. “Are you getting on in years so much that your ears are going, too?”
Dr. Tang made a sound of dismissal through his nose.
“This old man’s ears are perfectly fine.”
He tossed the herbs back into the tray and turned to walk back into the clinic. Li Wu immediately followed.
“Bearing children is a blessing many couples pray for and cannot obtain. Why would this brother of yours want to prevent a pregnancy?” Dr. Tang said in an unhurried manner.
“Just tell me whether there’s a way to prevent pregnancy.”
“This old man will not make any hasty judgment without knowing the reason. For all I know, this brother of yours has a mistress on the side and needs a convenient prescription to keep things tidy,” Dr. Tang said, unmoved.
“You’re questioning my brother’s character,” Li Wu said without so much as a flicker across his face. “My brother is the most upstanding man I have ever met. He would never do anything so despicable.”
Dr. Tang remained unswayed and pressed on. “Then by all means, tell me why a respectable married couple would need to prevent a pregnancy.”
By now the two of them had left the back courtyard and returned to Suxin Hall’s interior. A patient was already seated at Dr. Tang’s consultation table, waiting to be seen.
“Say no more, and this old man will go see to his other patients,” Dr. Tang said.
Li Wu fell silent. Just as Dr. Tang was about to walk away, he finally spoke:
“He’s afraid of losing his wife.”
…
Childbirth was a gateway to death.
Shen Zhuxi had heard this from many sources.
Giving birth wasn’t merely a matter of pain. The consequences of giving birth were not only a cherished newborn in your arms.
The late Empress had died in difficult labor. Even though the Emperor had mobilized the entire Imperial Physicians’ Office, he could not save the life of his wife of many years.
Even the Empress had not been spared. The number of low-ranking concubines in the palace who had perished in childbirth was beyond counting.
Nearly every year, at least one bright young life was lost to childbirth in the palace.
When Noble Consort Zhang had a difficult labor, Shen Zhuxi happened to be passing by the side hall she occupied and saw with her own eyes basin after basin of bright red bloodwater being carried out of the bedchamber.
Noble Consort Zhang’s wretched screams still rang in her ears even now.
She was only seventeen years old.
She was afraid.
If she really had accidentally conceived, what was to be done? And even if she managed to deliver safely, would she be capable of being a proper mother?
Shen Zhuxi sank onto the bed in low spirits, and her right hand drifted unconsciously to rest on her flat belly.
She wasn’t ready to be a mother. She didn’t even know how one went about becoming a mother. She herself felt as though she had only just finished growing out of childhood — where would she find the capacity to be someone’s mother?
Before she realized it, her eyes had grown red. She was on the verge of sniffling when a commotion suddenly broke out beyond the room.
Hurried footsteps rapidly drew close to the door, and Tiniang’s anxious voice came through the panel:
“Madam, this is terrible, terrible!”
Shen Zhuxi quickly blinked hard and rushed to get up and open the door.
“What happened?” she asked.
Tiniang’s face was stricken with anxiety. “I heard people in the street saying that the laborers building the Shang River Weir couldn’t endure the forced labor any longer and have risen up in revolt together! A soldier who came from Shang Province to seek reinforcements was rescued from outside the city — a few others who had been chasing to kill him were driven off by our troops. That soldier was brought to the prefectural office but died before he could even see Master Li. On his person was a handwritten appeal for reinforcements, personally written by Prefect Xu!”
Shen Zhuxi’s face changed dramatically. “Where is Li Wu?”
“Master has already gone to the military camp to muster troops and is personally leading men to provide reinforcements!”
…
“Is there anyone here?! Is there any justice left in this world?!”
Bai Rongling pounded furiously on the prison bars.
“How dare you lock me up — I am your prefect’s maternal uncle by marriage! If you don’t release me this instant, I swear I will make you all pay!”
His miserable cries echoed back and forth through the Xiangzhou prison.
Bai Rongling had screamed his throat raw, and still no one paid him any heed.
The beggar in the neighboring cell who had been locked up for stealing spat out the straw in his mouth and said with contempt, “If you’re the prefect’s uncle, then I’m the Emperor’s uncle.”
“Ptoo — do you know who I am?” Bai Rongling shouted furiously.
“Could be the Emperor himself, and you’d still be locked in here just like me.” The beggar’s eyes were fixed on the stale steamed bun in front of Bai Rongling. “If you’re not eating that, give it to me.”
“Eat your way into an early grave!”
Bai Rongling gave it a furious kick.
The stone-hard stale bun rolled to a stop against the wooden bars between the two cells. The beggar reached out a filthy hand to fish it through, and without even brushing off the dried grass stuck to it, began gnawing away.
“Going without food is what’ll kill you,” the beggar said. “Youngster, I say this out of genuine goodwill — in this place, trying to bully these people into compliance won’t do you any good. Why make life harder for yourself?”
Bai Rongling looked on with undisguised disgust, turned away, and began rattling the bars again.
“Guard! Guard! You lot have a death wish — how dare you lock up the prefect’s uncle by marriage —”
“Would you quiet down!”
A prison warden with a wooden baton came walking over, rapping it against Bai Rongling’s cell door a few times. Bai Rongling immediately sprang back and pressed himself against the uneven prison wall.
“Quiet down! Rattle those bars again and see if I don’t come in there and deal with you!” the warden said ill-temperedly. “The prefect is busy right now and has no time to see you!”
“What about the others? The one who knocked me out twice — the one with the scar on his face!” Bai Rongling shouted.
“Master Que is also busy and has no time for you. These are exceptional times, and everyone is occupied. Sit tight and stay put. When the superiors are ready to see you, they’ll come and collect you.”
“Sit tight and stay put? How am I supposed to sit tight?!” Bai Rongling raged. “Every day I’m out of contact, do you have any idea how much money I lose?!”
The warden furrowed his brow deeply.
The beggar in the adjacent cell swallowed a mouthful of dry, chalky bread crumbs with a spit and remarked offhandedly:
“Officer, he’s lost his mind — don’t waste your time on him. When can I get out of here?”
“…Both of you keep it down.” The warden struck the bars impatiently with his baton. “There’s trouble in Shang Province. Our superior has already set out for Shang Province. Before he left, he made it clear that anyone causing disorder in the city will be severely punished. The likes of you two, who are already guilty, could be beaten to death right here and no one would say a word against me.”
“What crime am I guilty of?!”
Bai Rongling wailed:
“Is being rich a crime now?”
The beggar gnawed on his bun and gazed at him with sympathy. “If you’re so rich, why are you dressed worse than me?”
“It’s all because of that Li family! Those three brothers — they’re nothing but bandits! Utterly shameless! Utterly shameless!”
Bai Rongling, who had arrived in Xiangzhou decked in gold and jewels only to be stripped bare and tossed into prison wearing nothing but a ragged robe that left his backside exposed to the draft, was so furious he was nearly rolling his eyes back in his head.
The beggar looked at him with pity.
So young — how had he gone so completely mad?