Unparalleled Beauty

Chapter C098

The mother-to-be smiled like a simpleton, while the father-to-be appeared somewhat embarrassed.

Yet, this was truly an unprecedented tremor!

Previously, he had heard her speak of the fetal movements, but due to his daily duties at the yamen, he always missed the opportune moments. 'He', however, had encountered them on numerous occasions, never failing to flaunt them before him.

Prince Wei was still in a daze when suddenly, another kick landed.

He subconsciously caressed her belly through the two layers of thin gauze, then tapped it like a drum, once, twice, thrice… until the little one inside, exhausted from the commotion, finally quieted down.

Wushuang was also surprised by the child's unusual playfulness today; normally, he or she did not move so actively.

"I suspect she is a girl. I've heard that girl babies are smaller, while boy babies are larger," Wushuang said, looking at her small belly.

"To give birth to a girl who resembles you," Prince Wei said, his voice slightly hoarse.

"Why should she resemble me? Wouldn't it be better if she resembled Your Highness?"

"I am a man; naturally, it is better for a girl to resemble her mother."

Preferably as delicate and gentle as her mother, able to tug at his sleeves and act spoiled. A girl did not need to be too clever, perhaps even a little foolish, somewhat fragile, with teardrops constantly welling up at the slightest grievance, running to her parents for redress…

Lord Prince Wei, are you certain you are not describing the child's mother?

After the couple exchanged some idle words, Wushuang suddenly recalled something: "By the way, someone from the Mei family came with a message, saying that Old Madam is seriously ill and wants me to return for a visit."

For the better part of the past year, Old Madam had not been well. She had previously suffered from a wind ailment, and just when she had finally recovered somewhat, the winter last year was too cold, and she caught another chill. She had been confined to her bed for many days, and had never truly recovered.

If she were seriously ill, Wushuang, due to her status, would inevitably have to return for a visit, although she did not wish to.

"Second Sister and Fifth Younger Sister will also be returning. They have arranged to travel together and will come to find me then."

"Take more guards with you when you go out."

"I know."

The next morning, bright and early, Mei Chang and Mei E arrived.

Both had married and become wives, and their current attire had naturally changed. Mei Chang remained as radiantly beautiful as ever, even surpassing her days as a maiden. Mei E, who had once been charmingly naive and gentle, now possessed a few more traces of refined grace.

"If you ask me, you should send her away as soon as possible, rather than keeping her at home and making yourself uncomfortable," Mei E said.

"But she has followed Brother Xin for many years, and she is old, without family or a place to go. How can I bring myself to say it? Besides, she hasn't really done anything…"

Mei E raised her eyebrows. "You call that doing nothing?"

"What's wrong?" Mei Wushuang, having changed her clothes, emerged from the inner room. "What are you talking about?"

"What else could we be talking about? I'm giving her ideas, but she just won't listen. And that woman..." Mei E, in a fit of pique, told Mei Wushuang the whole story.

It turned out that the matter was related to Li Xin's concubine, a woman named He Niang.

Originally, He Niang had been taken in by the Li family as a child bride. It was a local custom to take in a foster daughter. If the son took a fancy to her when she grew up, she would become his wife; if not, she would be given a dowry and married off.

Generally, those who were taken in as foster daughters were from extremely pitiful backgrounds. Kind-hearted families would not mistreat them, raising them as their own daughters. Of course, they would inevitably help with some household chores. Although the Li family consisted of an orphan and a widow, they held the hereditary title of Battalion Commander, and their family was considered relatively well-off. After He Niang came to the Li family, she mostly helped with housework.

He Niang was two years older than Li Xin. Li Xin had always regarded her as an elder sister, so naturally, he would not marry her. Later, when He Niang reached marriageable age, Li Xin's mother, seeing that her son had no intention of marrying her, chose a decent family for He Niang and married her off.

Later, Li Xin married, but his wife fell ill and passed away. On the other hand, He Niang did not fare well in her husband's family. While her husband was alive, his family treated her decently, but after his death, they inevitably became harsh towards her.

The Li family was unaware of this matter until someone told them about He Niang's situation. Li Xin's mother went to see her and found that her foster daughter was nothing but skin and bones, so she took it upon herself to bring her back home.

Older people were superstitious, especially Li Xin's mother, who was a widow. Now her son had become a widower, and her foster daughter had also become a widow. All three of them were suffering. Could it be that the Li family's feng shui was bad?

She found someone to calculate their fortunes. The person who helped her told her that widowers had tough fates, and widows were no different. If a widower and a widow were brought together to counteract each other, their fates would no longer be so tough, and the Li family would be stable, peaceful, and prosperous.

Li Xin's mother listened carefully and kept it in mind. Furthermore, after He Niang returned, she told her that she would never marry again and would stay at home to serve her until she died. In fact, Li Xin's mother knew that He Niang had been interested in her son in the past, but her son only regarded her as an elder sister.

Given He Niang's status, it was not suitable for her to be her son's wife, but it was acceptable for her to be a concubine to serve him.

Li Xin's mother was hesitating when a disease struck her, confining her to bed for more than half a year. She was worried and anxious, fearing that after her death, her son would have no one to take care of him.

Seeing that her son was getting on in years and still had no offspring, and that he refused to marry a wife, she gritted her teeth and made a ruthless decision. Disregarding Li Xin's objections, she had him take He Niang as a concubine, so that she could close her eyes in peace after her death.

And so, He Niang became Li Xin's concubine. Later, Li Xin's mother persisted on her sickbed for another half a year before finally passing away. After another half a year, Li Xin was promoted and transferred to the capital. After he came to the capital, he naturally brought He Niang with him, and so many years had passed.

According to Li Xin's explanation to Mei E, he had never touched He Niang. He had always regarded her as an elder sister, and that remained the case. At the time, he had simply been unable to go against his seriously ill mother.

Seeing Li Xin say this, Mei E decided in her heart to regard He Niang as an elder sister in the future. After she married into the family, she treated He Niang with great respect.

It is necessary to speak here of He Niang's character; she was the type of person who was exceedingly shy and timid, with few words, and whose appearance could only be described as plain, thin and frail.

It seemed that, having heard her adoptive mother's words, instructing her to care for Li Xin, she silently devoted herself solely to his care. Logically speaking, the Li household also had servants, yet Li Xin's clothing, shoes, and socks were all taken care of by her own hands. When Li Xin was occasionally at home, she would personally bring him his meals and tea.

The arrival of the new bride only managed to restrain her for a few days. Usually, when only Mei E was at home, He Niang would hide in her room, but as soon as Li Xin returned, she would draw near to him.

Mei E's maids grumbled about it quite a bit in private. In truth, Mei E also felt uncomfortable in her heart, but the woman was over thirty years old, not particularly beautiful, and her husband had said he had never touched her, treating her only as an elder sister. Mei E found it difficult to even feel jealous of her.

Later, Mei E privately mentioned it to Li Xin once, about He Niang always drawing near. The newlywed couple was in the midst of a honeyed, oily bliss, and Li Xin simply thought his little wife was jealous, so he told He Niang to no longer serve him, as the household had servants and did not need her.

Actually, Li Xin had said this before, but He Niang had not listened. Furthermore, he was usually busy and rarely at home, so he had not paid it any more attention. This time, He Niang did listen, but only for a few days, before reverting to her old habits.

This would have been fine, but Mei E also discovered He Niang peeking at her and Li Xin in their conjugal bed.

Such shame!

She couldn't say it in front of her husband. This time, when she arranged to return to her maiden home, she told Mei Chang about the matter on the way. With Mei Chang's temperament, once she made a fuss, Wushuang also found out.

After listening, Wushuang also felt somewhat ill at ease.

"Why would she peek at you and Li Xin in bed?"

Mei E's small face flushed red as she said, "How would I know? I don't know why she's like this."

"Was she truly peeking, or did she accidentally stumble upon it? There is a difference between the two," Wushuang said, seeking clarity.

"It was definitely peeking. In our bedchamber, there is a small bathing room specifically for bathing and washing. Because we usually need hot water, it is connected to the outer tea room. The first time, I thought I had seen wrong, but later, there was another time…"

Mei E spoke haltingly, both ashamed and annoyed, but Wushuang understood the gist of it.

As mentioned before, the newlywed couple was in a honeyed, oily bliss, and inevitably, the man had moments of recklessness, wanting to do that during the day. Mei E, seeing her husband entangling himself with her, took note and placed a small stool in front of the bathing room door. Sure enough, halfway through, she heard the sound of the small stool being tripped over.

Extremely angered, she directed Li Xin to go see what was happening, and they caught her red-handed.

However, He Niang also had her say. She said that upon seeing Li Xin return, she knew they would need hot water in their room, and those maids were thin-skinned and not thorough, so she came to prepare the hot water for them in advance.

What is a concubine? A concubine is a woman who stands to serve.

It was not uncommon for concubines to serve the mistress during meals and dressing, and even to attend to the mistress and master when they were in bed together.

But Mei E's skin was thin; how could she bear this? What did it mean, that upon seeing Li Xin return, they knew hot water would be needed in their room? It meant she was always watching the main wife's movements, and even knew what she and Li Xin did in the room.

At the time, she was nearly mortified, and she always felt that this He Niang… how to put it? She couldn't find a particularly fitting adjective. In the end, Mei Chang concluded it with the phrase, "sick in the heart."

"Yes, I just think she's sick, and seriously so." Mei E covered her face in shame, saying, "But this kind of sickness has no visible cause. If you really nitpick, what she does isn't actually excessive. I'd be ashamed to even speak of it."

"That's why I told her to solve it once and for all, sending her away is best. Otherwise, you can't be too light or too heavy. If you're stern, it makes you seem intolerant. If you ignore her, it's clear this person has no self-awareness at all," Mei Chang said.

Wushuang agreed, "I also think what Second Sister said makes a lot of sense. If Fifth Sister can't handle it, just do it this way."

Mei E hesitated, saying, "Let me think about it. I don't even know how to bring it up." After speaking, she added, "Let's go. Don't let my little matter delay our return."

The group went to the Marquis Changyang's mansion.

Wushuang didn't know if it was because she rarely returned, or what, but she felt that the Marquis Changyang's mansion was currently permeated with an atmosphere of decline. It was clearly May, the time when flowers and branches were lush, but along the way, she saw that the flowers, plants, and trees were neglected, to the point of appearing messy and unkempt.

By the time they reached Changqing Hall, Cao shi and Sun shi were already there.

The Old Madam was withered and gaunt, sunken into the bedding. Her hair, which used to be more black than white, was now a field of withered white, and she had become terribly thin.

After Wushuang entered, she looked around and discovered that many of the familiar faces from the past were gone. It seemed the Old Madam's personal maids had been replaced.

Seeing Wushuang arrive, Sun shi quickly instructed someone to bring her a chair to sit on.

"It's hard on you, carrying that belly, to make a special trip here. Is the child well? Has it been troubling you much lately?"

Wushuang didn't stand on ceremony, and with Meifang's support, sat down: "It's usually fine. He rarely troubles me, and I don't have much morning sickness."

"That's good. When I was pregnant with An ge'er back then, I didn't have much trouble either. It's because the child knows how to be considerate of his mother…"

Originally, they had come to visit the seriously ill Old Madam, but Sun shi insisted on talking about childcare. Cao shi couldn't help but cough twice, and only then did the two realize. However, Sun shi had never been one with thin skin, and she laughed, "Look at me, seeing Wushuang rushing over with such a big belly, I couldn't help but ramble on for a bit, and forgot the main purpose. You child, you don't even find me annoying, and just patiently listen to my rambling."

The way she said it, she took all the responsibility onto herself, and wouldn't make anyone think that Wushuang was neglecting her grandmother on her sickbed.

Old Madam Mei had been glaring at Wushuang for a while. Seeing her rosy complexion, carrying her belly with a pampered and indolent air, everyone looking at her and fawning over her after she entered, and then thinking about her own current state, she couldn't help but have an even more ruthless look in her eyes.

But now, she could only express some emotion with her eyes.

"Let... her... get out..." the Old Madam said unclearly.

Mei Wushuang only knew that the Old Madam had been confined to her bed since catching a cold last winter. In truth, the Old Madam had suffered another bout of wind illness in between, and this time it was far more severe than the last. Not only was she completely unable to move, but speaking had also become difficult. This was the primary reason for her grave condition.

Others did not know what the Old Madam was saying, but Cao shi understood. She hastily moved forward and said, "Mother, you are already in such a state, why bother with all this? Third Miss and the others have returned specifically to visit you."