Chapter 88: Half a Life Taken
This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation.
“Mother, Mother…”
“Mother, it is time to wake and take your medicine.”
Before dawn had broken, Madam Xu’s soft and eerie voice called from outside the door, echoing like a ghostly whisper.
The Old Madam, accustomed to being a light sleeper, jolted awake at the faintest noise. Outside, the wind howled ominously, carrying with it Madam Xu’s lingering calls, chilling the Old Madam to her core.
“Old Madam, are you alright?” asked Nanny Lin from outside the curtain.
The Old Madam’s expression was a mix of anger and embarrassment.
“What are you standing there for? Quickly, bring me a pair of trousers!”
Nanny Lin hesitated briefly, furrowing her brows. In recent months, the Old Madam had experienced several incidents of incontinence. Hurrying to fetch fresh undergarments, she kept her head low, avoiding any glance at the Old Madam’s face.
“Why are you just standing there? Help me up! My body feels numb!” the Old Madam snapped, her voice groggy and filled with irritation.
Nanny Lin’s heart skipped a beat. “Old Madam?”
It was becoming increasingly frequent for the Old Madam to complain about numbness. Just as Nanny Lin opened her mouth to suggest something, the Old Madam delivered a sharp slap to her face.
“What? Do you think I’m filthy and foul? You wretched servant! How dare you look down on your mistress? You’re nothing but a lowly beast, meant to toil like a mule all your life!” she snarled, clearly mortified by the situation.
The sting of the slap painted Nanny Lin’s face red. She pressed her lips together, swallowing her words, and lowered her head further in silence. Still, the clear handprint on her cheek was evident.
“It isn’t even dawn, and you’re crying out like this!” the Old Madam growled, glaring at the sky beyond the window. “Not even the roosters have started crowing!”
Madam Xu replied softly, her voice sweet as honey. “Mother, the doctor said you must take your medicine on time. As your daughter-in-law, I am bound to follow the doctor’s orders with utmost diligence.”
The Old Madam felt a lump rise in her throat. “Come in, then.”
Madam Xu entered, carrying a bowl of herbal concoction.
“Mother, I have never cooked before. Please do not find fault with my efforts,” she said, bowing slightly.
The Old Madam cast a sidelong glance at the bowl. The dark, murky liquid smelled far worse than usual. Taking it reluctantly, she sipped only a mouthful before nearly retching.
“What is this horrid taste?” she demanded, glaring at Madam Xu.
Madam Xu blushed, her voice apologetic. “Mother, I began brewing this medicine at midnight. I stayed by the stove all night, but I nodded off briefly, and the medicine overcooked. Please rest assured, it hasn’t lost its efficacy.”
The Old Madam’s chest burned with anger, but she swallowed her frustration along with the wretched medicine. It had been her own decision to have Madam Xu attend to her care, leaving her no choice but to endure. With each sip, nausea churned in her stomach, yet she finished the bowl.
“In the morning,” the Old Madam muttered faintly, “I’d like you to prepare my breakfast with your own hands.”
Madam Xu’s lips tightened into a thin line. “Yes, Mother.”
Once the medicine was consumed, the Old Madam lay down again, but the nauseating brew churned in her belly, making rest impossible. Tossing and turning, it was only near dawn that she managed to drift into a light slumber.
“Mother…”
“Mother, it’s time to wake and have breakfast. I have prepared it personally,” Madam Xu’s voice came again, waking her abruptly.
The Old Madam’s eyelids twitched, and her fists clenched in suppressed rage. Her trembling hands betrayed the fury boiling inside her.
Nanny Lin, seeing her agitation, hesitated. Normally, she would have stepped forward to soothe the Old Madam, but remembering the harsh scolding from the previous night, she averted her gaze and remained silent.
“Old Madam, please rise and take your meal,” Nanny Lin said softly.
The Old Madam felt as though a heavy weight pressed against her chest. Her words, when they came, were faint and weary. “Bring the food.”
Madam Xu entered, her face pale and tired, though a polite smile lingered on her lips.
“Mother, I seldom cook. Please forgive me if the meal fails to meet your expectations,” she said as the servants brought in the dishes.
“Yesterday, you mentioned wanting mushroom chicken soup. The mushrooms were freshly delivered from the estate this morning. I stayed up all night to simmer the soup for an hour. It is still fresh; I have not even tasted it myself.”
Madam Xu ladled a bowl for the Old Madam, serving her personally.
The Old Madam took a sip. It was unexpectedly delicious. Sitting comfortably, she watched Madam Xu remain standing, a silent testament to filial piety, though it was more akin to a scene of a harsh mother-in-law testing her daughter-in-law.
With her appetite appeased, the Old Madam finished the soup and sampled a few snacks. Her mood lifted slightly, and a rare smile crept onto her face.
Back then, people had whispered that her son had married above his station by taking Madam Xu as his wife. So what? Madam Xu adored her son to the point that she treated the Old Madam’s every word as gospel.
Watching the once-proud Xu family’s legitimate daughter, now the dignified Marchioness, humbly serve her, the Old Madam couldn’t help but feel triumphant.
Then suddenly…
She raised her hand to clutch her stomach, her face contorted in pain.
“What’s wrong, Mother?” Madam Xu suddenly asked.
The Old Madam’s face turned as pale as paper, wracked with pain. “What… what is happening? My stomach… it hurts…”
No sooner had she spoken than she let out a loud fart.
An odd smell immediately filled the room.
“Bleh…” Lu Chao Chao leaned over the threshold and promptly vomited the milk she had just drunk.
“Grandma… Grandma pooed her pants!” Lu Chao Chao’s innocent declaration tore away the Old Madam’s last shred of dignity.
Humiliated and enraged, the Old Madam felt her whole body crawling as if ants were biting her. But when she tried to sense it more closely, the feeling disappeared.
Pffft…
She let out another fart.
The pain in her stomach escalated violently, as though an enormous hand was twisting her insides.
“Ah!” The Old Madam collapsed onto the ground.
“Quick! Fetch a doctor!” Madam Xu panicked, shouting for help.
“The house physician is off duty today! Take her to the clinic immediately!” Unable to wait for the imperial physician, everyone rushed to carry the Old Madam out.
The Marquis Zhongyong’s Manor was in complete chaos, leaving onlookers outside puzzled.
Standing at the main gate, Lu Chao Chao shouted, “Grandma pooed her pants!”
“Grandma shame-shame…” Her childish voice carried beyond the gates, sparking whispers among passersby.
Inside the carriage, the Old Madam fainted from sheer mortification.
When the doctor finally administered acupuncture, the Old Madam slowly regained consciousness.
“Old Madam, you’ve suffered food poisoning. I heard you had mountain delicacies this morning. It must have been tainted,” the doctor explained. “A course of medicinal decoction to induce vomiting and diarrhea will expel the toxins.”
He paused briefly before adding, “However, Old Madam, your fiery temperament is also a concern. You must temper your anger to…”
Before he could finish, the Old Madam shot up in bed.
“Madam Xu, you heartless wretch! Heaven strike you down!” she shrieked. “You dared to poison your mother-in-law!”
Her words exploded like a thunderclap.
If a daughter-in-law were to poison her mother-in-law, it was a grievous crime.
Madam Xu’s eyes reddened instantly. “Mother, how could you accuse Shi Yun so unfairly?” She raised her hand to wipe away her tears, revealing a patch of red, swollen skin.
“Mother said she was unwell and asked this daughter-in-law to personally care for her. You insisted the medicine needed to be simmered for a long time to enhance its efficacy. I rose at midnight to prepare it, staying up all night.”
“After drinking the medicine, you wished to have breakfast made by my own hands. Though I hail from a prominent family and have never cooked before, I still learned to make the meal.”
“The mushrooms were a gift from your maternal relatives. I merely added them to the pot. From last night till now, I have not closed my eyes even once.”
“Mother, how could you accuse Shi Yun like this?” Madam Xu softly dabbed at her tears.
Deng Zhi, her maid, chimed in, her eyes also red, “Madam’s hands are burned from cooking.”
The crowd’s reaction was immediate. In affluent households, such personal service from the main wife was unheard of unless intended as deliberate torment.
The memory of Madam Xu severing ties with her family for love and marrying into the Marquis’s household resurfaced. Such a devoted romantic would hardly harm her mother-in-law.
The spectators shook their heads, whispering among themselves while casting disapproving glances at the Old Madam.
Feeling the weight of their disdain, the Old Madam’s face flushed with anger and humiliation.