Chapter 148
Chapter 148: Evil Ghost in a Dream
Xia Meng Yan did not know how her uncle persuaded the Eldest Master; she only heard that Wang Yu’s mother had been brought into the Lin Manor and placed in the Eldest Master’s courtyard.
After settling his mother, Wang Yu knelt before Xia Meng Yan with tears in his eyes to give thanks, because Divine Physician Luo had taken her pulse and said she could be cured.
Xia Meng Yan did not see Wang Yu herself, so Nanny Song stood at the door and signaled for him to rise: “Eldest Miss feels for your mother. She already lost your sister and does not want to lose you too.”
“I understand. Eldest Miss is kind. From now on I will work like an ox and a horse to repay her,” said Wang Yu. Overnight he had found hope again. His head knocked against the floor with loud thumps, as if he wanted the people inside to hear.
Seeing blood on his brow, Nanny Song softened despite herself and eased her tone: “Since you are good at tending flowers, the flowers in Eldest Miss’s courtyard are yours to care for. Do not let Eldest Miss down.”
“Alright, I will not let Eldest Miss down,” said Wang Yu.
Inside, Duan Yi Chen had heard every word. He set a peeled tangerine in front of Xia Meng Yan and said: “You are just letting him off like this. Since when are you so kind?”
Wang Yu did have troubles he could not speak of. His sister’s death was unjust, but what did that have to do with Xia Meng Yan? People like this made up half the Xuan Ming Empire. If you took pity every time, wouldn’t anyone be able to use you? What a joke.
Xia Meng Yan stroked her round belly and said, half musing, half serious: “I am saving up virtue for the child in my belly.”
Maybe becoming a mother had changed her. Seeing Wang Yu struggle so hard to save his mother did move her a little.
Duan Yi Chen raised his brows, unable to figure out why Xia Meng Yan had suddenly changed her ways.
Night fell, and Xia Meng Yan lay down early, but her sleep was not steady.
A chill climbed up from the soles of her feet. Cold shocked her awake.
Staring at the sky-blue bed canopy, Xia Meng Yan realized it had only been a dream.
She slowly sat up and lifted the curtains. She meant to call for Chun Yue to pour water, but seeing her maid asleep, she pushed herself up instead.
She paced to the table and poured herself a cup. The warm-cool water slid down her throat, easing the dryness. As she lifted her head, a black shadow seemed to flash past the window.
“Who is there?” said Xia Meng Yan.
She set down the cup and pushed open the window. Song Mo dropped down from the eaves and asked: “Eldest Miss, what is it?”
“I thought I saw someone stand at the window,” said Xia Meng Yan.
Song Mo shook his head: “Your subordinate has been in the dark the whole time and saw no one come near.”
Looking at the leaves swaying outside, Xia Meng Yan laughed at herself for being jumpy. It was only the wind moving the branches: “I must have been seeing things. There are guards around the manor. It is fine. Get some rest.”
Song Mo nodded and vanished into the night.
The wind stirred the leaves with a steady rustle, and now and then a withered leaf fell.
Using the wind’s cover, a dark figure slipped out of Xia Meng Yan’s courtyard, dodged the guards, and landed inside another yard.
“Mother, why are you crying?” Inside, a child in an undershirt looked about eleven or twelve, but the way he spoke was like a five-year-old: “Did someone bully you? Your son will get revenge for you.”
Concubine Su stared at the dull-witted boy with an icy face and slapped him hard: “Fool. If not for you, I would not be hated by the Eldest Master.”
The child was Lin Yu, the simple-minded one. His cheek burned and he plopped to the floor crying: “Ah, Mother hit me, Mother hit me. I am going to tell Father. Wuu, wuu…”
“Cry, cry, cry. Your father is never coming back,” said Concubine Su, cold and drained. She had endured for years, only to lose everything in a moment. All blame went to this idiot. Why had he not died when he fell as a baby?
Hearing that his father would not come, Lin Yu began rolling on the ground: “I want Father, I want Father. I do not care. I want Father. Wuu, wuu, wuu…”
Concubine Su wanted to beat him to death, but she thought of how Yu’er was still the Eldest Master’s flesh and blood, and even a fool could inherit property. Her hatred faded a little.
Her eyes turned and she raised her voice on purpose: “Yu’er, be good. It is not that I will not let you go find your father. It is that your father will not let you leave this yard.”
“Impossible. Father would not lock me up,” said Yu’er. He jumped up and ran straight for the door: “I am going out. I want to see Father.”
The maids and young servants in the yard all rushed to block him, but because of his status no one dared to use force. Yu’er ran all the way to the gate.
But the gate was shut tight. The guards outside stood stiff as posts, as if they heard none of Yu’er’s howls and pounding.
Watching Yu’er go wild, Concubine Su did not stop him. Her eyes stayed fixed on the door. After a quarter of an hour, she snapped in disgust: “Useless.”
She looked to the maid at her side. The maid understood and led a few people to carry Yu’er back and send him to the side room.
“What do we do now, my lady? The Eldest Master is not even minding Young Master Yu,” said her personal maid, Chang Xi. She poured tea and handed the cup to her, her gaze drifting over the room’s furnishings.
Without the Eldest Master’s favor, these things would have to be sold sooner or later.
Concubine Su had not expected the Eldest Master to be this ruthless, to ignore even his own son.
She gave a bitter laugh. The Eldest Master had two normal sons. Why would he care about Yu’er?
Suddenly a tapping sounded at the window. Concubine Su and Chang Xi glanced at each other, wary. Concubine Su called out: “Who is there?”
“A man who can help you,” answered a low male voice from outside.
Concubine Su’s heart skipped. She looked at Chang Xi.
Chang Xi understood, opened the door, and let the man in.
He wore night clothes and a mask. “Concubine Su, let us make a deal. I can help you become the proper wife.”
Hearing this, Concubine Su looked shocked and then glanced toward Chang Xi. Chang Xi backed toward the inner door and confirmed no one else was around.
“There is no free lunch. Say it. What do you want?”
She was not foolish. A concubine’s place in the Lin Family was the ceiling for someone like her. Without absolute certainty, she would not make a move.
The man stepped forward, sat across from her, and casually pinched out the jumping candle flame.
Concubine Su stood up in alarm, but the man laughed coldly and said: “Do not tense up. It is too bright. I do not like it. As long as you help me get the Lin Family’s nautical charts for going to sea, I will help you become the proper wife.”
“Nautical charts?” Concubine Su had been in and out of the Eldest Master’s study many times, so she knew how important those charts were. If the Lin Family lost them, the loss would be huge. “What do you want the charts for? Do you want to rob the Lin Family’s ships?”
That was the only result she could think of.
The man’s fingers brushed the tabletop with a careless tap, and his tone held a trace of scorn: “Robbing the Lin Family’s ships is only short-term profit. I want the Lin Family’s sea routes.”
Concubine Su’s face changed: “You want to cut off the Lin Family’s sea shipping.”
Who was he? A rival to the Lin Family?
As if he did not see her paling face, the man spoke in a steady voice: “It is only cutting off the Lin Family’s sea shipping, not all their businesses. For you, there is no loss at all.”
Concubine Su did not know whether to feel happy or sad.
The Lin Family was huge. Even if shipping had trouble, other industries could support them.
Those industries could support not only one of her, but a hundred of her.
“How do I trust you?” she asked.
The Jia Family was also a top family in Man Lin City. Even if the Madam truly did wrong, the Lin Family would let her off for the Jia Family’s sake.
The man rose slowly: “You do not need to trust me. This is only cooperation. We each get what we want. To show my sincerity, I can send you a big gift first.”
Concubine Su hesitated and admitted her problem: “Right now the Eldest Master despises me. I cannot even leave my own courtyard. How can I help you?”
The man flashed away and left only one sentence behind: “Wait for my message.”
Unsure what to do, Concubine Su pushed open the window. The man had already vanished.
A cold breeze swept past. In a few light steps, the man reached Madam Jia’s courtyard and slipped a letter into her room.