Chapter 15
Chapter 15: Madam’s Defeat
The maidservant was from Concubine Song’s courtyard.
“Lord Marquis, the concubine has had an accident,” the maidservant said urgently, tears in her eyes.
Concubine Song was the sister of one of the Marquis of Zhen Nan’s deputy generals.
She was beautiful, knew how to please people, gentle, and good at acting spoiled. The Marquis of Zhen Nan had taken her in as a concubine on his own initiative.
The Marquis of Zhen Nan did not care much about beauty. His heart was set on gaining power. All these years, besides his principal wife, Madam Bai, he had only two concubines.
One concubine, Madam He, had been a respectable young woman that Madam Bai brought in for him after giving birth to Luo Ning left her body weak. Madam Bai had not wanted to share a bed with him anymore, afraid of getting pregnant again.
The other concubine, Madam Miao, had been brought in after Madam He died. Madam Bai had said that it did not look right for there to be no concubines in the inner rooms, and that others would think she was too jealous, so she had especially selected Madam Miao.
These two concubines were meek and always said yes to everything, and the Marquis of Zhen Nan did not like them very much.
Only the new concubine, Madam Song, was someone he had liked at first sight.
Besides, Concubine Song was now pregnant.
The Marquis of Zhen Nan’s expression changed at once: “What happened?”
“The concubine was passing by Wenqi Courtyard. There was a big patch of ice at the gate. We do not know if someone poured water there or if it formed on purpose as thin ice. The concubine did not see it and slipped.
The eldest miss’s people helped the concubine into Wenqi Courtyard. This maidservant was taking a hand warmer to the concubine and saw it from a distance. Afraid something might go wrong, I hurried to report it to you, Lord Marquis,” the young maidservant said.
If you thought carefully about these words, there were problems everywhere.
But the Marquis of Zhen Nan was too worried and rushed straight to Wenqi Courtyard in a panic.
As he hurried along, he met the Marchioness, Madam Bai, at the gate of Wenqi Courtyard.
Behind Madam Bai, a young maidservant was carrying a food box.
“Lord Marquis, what has happened?” The Marchioness saw him coming in a rush, bent to give a curtsey first, and then asked.
“Concubine Song fell at the gate of Wenqi Courtyard,” the Marquis of Zhen Nan said.
“This…” the Marchioness said in shock and worry. “The ground is frozen so hard, and she has only just become pregnant.”
Then she sighed. “I should not have mentioned it at lunch. They all say that a pregnancy should be kept hidden and only said out loud after three months. I was too impatient.”
Before the Marquis of Zhen Nan could say anything, she added, “Our household must be unlucky. Could it be that we have attracted something unclean?”
The Marquis of Zhen Nan looked toward Wenqi Courtyard.
The Marchioness also lifted her eyes and looked at the green bamboo at the gate of Wenqi Courtyard.
Husband and wife understood each other at once. The Marquis of Zhen Nan glared at the maidservant: “Go knock on the gate.”
The courtyard gate was knocked on heavily.
Right after that, they heard a soft, gentle woman’s voice inside, low and a bit muffled: “It hurts, it hurts. I am afraid my bones are all broken.”
The Marquis of Zhen Nan felt the blood rush to his head.
The Marchioness used the excuse of bringing a bowl of bird’s nest soup to Luo Ning and stepped into the courtyard a step behind him.
“Hui Niang!” the Marquis of Zhen Nan shouted loudly, lifting his foot to rush into the side room of Wenqi Courtyard.
He had heard clearly just now that the person speaking was in that side room.
But a maidservant blocked the doorway: “Lord Marquis, the people inside have just taken off their clothes and skirts!”
“How bold, you dare to block even the Lord Marquis?” The one speaking was the Marchioness, Madam Bai, who had followed him in. “Where is the eldest miss?”
The Marchioness glanced at her own maidservant. “Go lift the curtain.”
The Marquis of Zhen Nan ignored them and moved to kick Qiu Lan aside.
Qiu Lan stepped to the side, and the Marquis of Zhen Nan rushed into the side room.
Inside the side room, everyone was in a flurry.
Luo Ning’s maidservant Qiu Hua was being tightly covered with a brocade quilt by Luo Ning and Concubine Song.
Qiu Hua’s clothes were not yet properly on, but the quilt covered her well so nothing could be seen. Only her skirt still lay on the floor.
The maidservant’s face was deathly pale.
The Marquis of Zhen Nan froze. The Marchioness, Madam Bai, looked a little surprised, but her fingers were tightly clenched together.
Concubine Song stood up and gave a salute first. “Lord Marquis, Madam, what urgent matter is this? Is there something improper with me?”
The Marquis of Zhen Nan helped her up. “How are you?”
“Lord Marquis, I am fine,” Concubine Song said.
“Didn’t you fall?” the Marquis of Zhen Nan asked.
Concubine Song looked very surprised. “No, I did not fall.”
Then she asked, “Who told the Lord Marquis? Wasn’t the Lord Marquis in the Outer Study?”
Along with the Marquis of Zhen Nan came Li Juan, Concubine Song’s maidservant.
Li Juan had not expected this either. Her knees went weak and she knelt down. “This maidservant was bringing a hand warmer to the concubine and saw the concubine fall.”
Concubine Song was confused. “I never asked for a hand warmer.”
Li Juan could not hide her panic. “It was this maidservant… I was afraid the concubine would be cold.”
“Nonsense. I told you to find Nanny Kong of Wenqi Courtyard and ask her for a shoe pattern so I could make shoes for my child, to dress warmly before going out. Why did you follow me to bring a hand warmer?” Concubine Song said.
By now, the Marquis of Zhen Nan had calmed down a little.
He looked at one person and then another, his face dark. “What is going on?”
“Lord Marquis, on my way to Wenqi Courtyard, I met Qiu Hua on the path. This girl had had an accident and soiled her clothes.
She belongs to the eldest miss. I was afraid that if she walked around the courtyard like that, others would make fun of her and harm the eldest miss’s dignity, so I took off my cloak and let her wear it to cover herself.
She is a maidservant and is not used to wearing a big cloak, so she kept stumbling when she walked. By the time we reached the gate of Wenqi Courtyard, she fell,” Concubine Song explained.
Then she added, “She fell hard. The skin on her knees was scraped, and she said her whole body hurt. The eldest miss and I were discussing whether to call a doctor to see if she had broken a bone.”
The Marquis of Zhen Nan’s expression changed several times.
The Marchioness’s expression was so dark it seemed water could drip from it. She could not believe it, and she could not stop herself from trembling. It took her a long moment to steady her mood.
Watching this scene, Luo Ning spoke in a gentle voice: “Father, Mother, my maidservant only fell down and yet it alarmed both of you. What is going on?”
She spoke the last few words very slowly.
The Marquis of Zhen Nan looked at Li Juan, Concubine Song’s maidservant, the one who had brought the news. “Someone come. Lock Li Juan up for now and interrogate her slowly!” he ordered.
Li Juan turned pale with fright. “No, Lord Marquis, it was not me, I…”
She looked toward the Marchioness.
The Marchioness only looked back at her calmly.
Li Juan seemed to understand some unspoken signal. She lowered her eyes, pressed her forehead to the ground, and cried bitterly: “This maidservant only saw wrong, Lord Marquis!”
Concubine Song pleaded: “Lord Marquis, the New Year is almost here. Just lock her up for now. Do not make things too hard for her. Take it as adding blessings for my child.”
The Marquis of Zhen Nan had a bad feeling in his heart, but he could not say exactly why.
He said to Concubine Song: “I will take you back to your courtyard. Do not run around in the future.”
Then he looked at Madam Bai. “Madam, you were right. The servants in this house panic over the smallest thing. We really should clean them up properly. Since the New Year is coming, we might as well beat the ones who should be beaten and sell the ones who should be sold.”
That sentence was still all right.
Then the Marquis of Zhen Nan added, “You manage the household, and I have always trusted you. Who knew the inner courtyard would become such a mess? Are you acting like a fool and treating me like a blind man?”
The Marchioness immediately knelt. “Lord Marquis, I have been wronged.”
The Marquis of Zhen Nan flung his sleeve and left.
Concubine Song followed him out of Wenqi Courtyard.
Luo Ning looked at her mother and walked over herself to help her up. “Mother, please get up.”
The Marchioness very much wanted to shake off her hand, but she forced herself to endure.
“I brought you a bowl of bird’s nest soup,” the Marchioness said, following her words. “Drink it while it is hot.”
Then she looked at Qiu Hua on the bed. “This maidservant is so useless. It would be better to send her back to Shaoyang and pick a few better ones for you instead.”
“Mother, she only fell by accident. If you drive her away because of that, others will say you are too harsh,” Luo Ning said.
The Marchioness could not even pretend to smile.
She gave Luo Ning a quiet look and turned to leave.