The Ninth Chapter

Bai Xiuming's interruption didn't dampen A Chan's anticipation for dinner. Although the pancakes she made weren't great and had a slightly burnt smell, the smoked chicken was truly delicious.

As night fell, A Chan snuggled into her new, soft, and thick quilt. Before falling asleep, she was still savoring the taste of the smoked chicken.

Meanwhile, in the main room of the Zhao Manor.

After the handmaid finished helping Lady Xiao Lin wash up, she respectfully withdrew. Zhao Ming, the master of the house, was sitting at the table reading a letter.

"Husband, what are you reading?" Lady Xiao Lin asked, walking towards Zhao Ming, holding her waist.

Zhao Ming casually placed the letter on the table and got up to help Lady Xiao Lin. "You're far along, be careful," he said.

"I know, you nag about it all day," she complained, but the smile on her face couldn't be hidden.

It would be hard to find another man in Shangjing as considerate as her husband.

Zhao Ming helped Lady Xiao Lin to sit at the table. She glanced at the opened letter. It had "Zhao Lang" written on it, but she only recognized the character "Zhao."

She was a concubine's daughter. Her mother had been favored for a few years, and when she was young, her mother asked her father to send her to her legitimate elder sister's place to study with her.

The female teacher always praised her elder sister and said her mind wasn't on her studies at all. After only two months, having learned a few characters, she begged her mother to let her stop going. She recognized the character "Zhao" only because it was her husband's surname.

"Husband, you haven't said whose letter this is?" Lady Xiao Lin asked.

"It's a letter from my parents back home, asking how you are," Zhao Ming said, looking at the letter with a gentle smile.

"Oh," Lady Xiao Lin replied indifferently, losing interest in asking further.

She didn't have a good relationship with her in-laws. Her husband was always gentle and considerate. Although his appearance was ordinary, he was talented and knew how to care for her.

What her mother-in-law had done back then still made her resentful.

She had been soft-hearted and, following her husband's words, had brought her in-laws to Shangjing to live with them after giving birth.

It was fine at first. Later, after she had two children and her body was damaged, and she hadn't conceived for two years, her mother-in-law was secretly instigated to find a concubine for her husband.

That wasn't all; they had brought the woman home without even informing her, the main wife, once.

How could Lady Xiao Lin tolerate this? She had a huge argument with her in-laws on the spot and kicked them out, along with the so-called cousin of her husband they had chosen.

When Zhao Ming returned home, he argued with her. Lady Xiao Lin, furious, went back to her mother's home.

Just a few days later, her husband came to her home and brought her back, apologizing. He said he had been blinded by anger at the time and had argued with her without understanding the full story.

She heard that he had sent his parents back to their hometown through someone, and the woman they had found was also driven away. Only then did the matter subside.

Later, Lady Xiao Lin encountered that woman twice in the capital. The woman was already pregnant then. She recognized Lady Xiao Lin and came over to greet her, but Lady Xiao Lin ignored her and walked away.

From then on, Lady Xiao Lin no longer bothered with her husband's parents' affairs. The festival gifts sent back home during holidays were all handled by the steward, and she rarely inquired.

Zhao Ming was long accustomed to Lady Xiao Lin's indifference towards his parents. He didn't say anything, just folded the letter and carefully put it away.

Lady Xiao Lin complained to him again about their daughter: "I don't know what's so good about Xue Mingtang that he's bewitched that silly girl Wenyue. Don't you, as her father, have anything to say?"

Zhao Ming came up behind Lady Xiao Lin and massaged her shoulders. "Mingtang is very ambitious and is valued by his superiors. In time, his future will be limitless," he said gently.

Lady Xiao Lin didn't buy it at all. She snorted, "In time, when will that be? Is my daughter supposed to wait for him for over ten years before he gets promoted? Besides, he's a widower, which sounds unlucky."

Zhao Ming coughed lightly and said, "It won't take that long. Marquis Jinyang also thinks highly of Mingtang. If he can achieve merit in the Ministry of Justice, promotion won't be a problem."

Lady Xiao Lin gave him a look. "Xue Mingtang is Marquis Jinyang's brother-in-law, and you're his brother-in-law too. Have you ever seen him promote you? Yet you're still eagerly trying to get close to him."

Zhao Ming was somewhat embarrassed by her words and could only lamely explain: "I know you only want the best for Wenyue, Madam. But the marriages you showed her before, although the men's families were prominent, they themselves didn't have much ability. Some hadn't even passed the scholar exam, and most were playboys."

"Husband, didn't you just tell me that it's good to have shade under a big tree? The ones I chose were all legitimate sons favored by their families. If they truly wanted to enter officialdom, it wasn't necessarily only through the imperial examination. They were dissolute before marriage, but they'll restrain themselves after marriage."

The couple disagreed on their daughter's marriage, and neither could convince the other. It was only near the end of Hai time that Lady Xiao Lin finally yawned and went to sleep.

She was in a bad mood and refused to let Zhao Ming sleep in the bed, kicking him out to the outer room.

Zhao Ming was used to his wife's willfulness and took his quilt to sleep on the couch in the outer room.

After the candle in the room was blown out, Lady Xiao Lin fell into a drowsy sleep. In the middle of the night, she vaguely felt an uncomfortable throbbing in her belly, thinking it was the baby kicking her. Coupled with being extremely tired, she didn't pay it any mind.

But in her daze, she seemed to hear a baby's cry. The sound was exceptionally piercing, startling her awake.

When she opened her eyes, the room was silent. Just as she was wondering if she was dreaming, the crying sound appeared again.

This time, she heard it more clearly. The sound seemed to come from outside the window. After listening for a while, it sounded shrill and piercing, not like a newborn infant's cry at all.

She felt a surge of fear and remembered her husband was in the outer room. She fumbled for her embroidered shoes, got out of bed, and walked towards the outer room, calling out, "Husband, husband?"

The outer room was so quiet it was as if no one was there.

By the time she finally fumbled her way to the door, before she could even step out, she heard the window bang open, and the infant's cry grew clearer.

Lady Xiao Lin felt her scalp tingle. Startled, her stomach began to ache. Holding her belly with one hand and the door frame with the other, her body slowly slid down, collapsing onto the ground.

Just then, candlelight flickered to life in the outer room.

Zhao Ming, with his hair disheveled and wearing inner garments, rushed over holding a candlestick.

Seeing his wife sitting on the ground, he quickly called for the maid on duty to fetch a doctor. He then went forward to help Lady Xiao Lin up.

Seeing her husband's normal expression as he helped her to the bed, as if he hadn't heard the infant's cry at all, Lady Xiao Lin couldn't help but tightly grip his wrist. "Husband, didn't you hear it?"

"Hear what?" Zhao Ming asked, confused.

"The infant's cry is right outside the window." She pointed to the open window. "It's right there. The window just suddenly opened by itself."

After Zhao Ming helped her back to bed, he walked to the window and even peeked outside, but saw nothing.

He closed the window and returned to Lady Xiao Lin's side, comforting her, "There's nothing outside. The window probably wasn't latched properly at night and was blown open by the wind."

"But I can still hear the infant's cry. What's going on?" After my husband appeared, the infant's cry seemed to have lessened considerably.

Zhao Ming looked at the uneasy Lady Xiao Lin and said, "We scholars say that if you live without a guilty conscience, you won't fear ghosts knocking at your door in the middle of the night. Madam, if you haven't done anything wrong, what is there to be afraid of?"

Lady Xiao Lin patted his hand. "How do you know that ghost has heard that saying?"

By the time she was talking to her husband, the crying had already disappeared. Looking at her husband's gentle face in the candlelight, she couldn't help but wonder if she had misheard.

That night, because Madam was startled when she got up to use the privy, and it caused her fetal movement, the servants in the manor were busy all night.

It wasn't until dawn, when Zhao Ming had to go to court, that Lady Xiao Lin finally managed to fall asleep.

A Chan didn't know what had happened at the Zhao Manor last night. Thinking of yesterday's appointment, she went to the Zhao family when the time seemed right, carrying a sachet.

The gatekeeper didn't dare to let her in without authorization and only went to announce her.

Before long, Mama Sun hurried over. Mama Sun, who was usually dressed very neatly, looked somewhat disheveled now, her hair not even properly pinned up.

Seeing A Chan, the worry on Mama Sun's face lessened slightly. "Miss Chan, it's unfortunate you had to make this trip today. Last night, Madam had fetal movement and is still recuperating. She really cannot see anyone."

"Aunt had fetal movement? What happened? Didn't the doctor say yesterday that she just needed to rest well?" A Chan asked doubtfully.

She didn't think this was an excuse for Lady Xiao Lin to refuse to see her. Given her aunt's personality, if she didn't want to see her, she wouldn't need an excuse.

Mama Sun sighed, "Who's to say? Last night, Madam said she heard an infant's cry, but Master and the maids on duty said they didn't hear anything. I don't know what's really going on. Now Master has gone to work, and Madam is still in a deep sleep. This old servant doesn't know what to do."

A Chan pondered for a moment before saying, "If it was just the sound of an infant crying, perhaps it wasn't an infant. I've read some strange tales. The books say that some insects or spirits that have gained sentience might make sounds similar to an infant's cry. If Aunt wants to investigate, she might want to look in that direction."

Mama Sun's eyes lit up, and she nodded repeatedly. "As expected, Miss is knowledgeable. This old servant will have someone investigate."

A Chan then handed the sachet in her hand to Mama Sun. "The incense in this sachet was freshly prepared by me yesterday to repel mosquitoes and insects. It doesn't use any precious ingredients, so I'll give it to Mama Sun. Mama Sun, please remember not to place the sachet near Aunt. Prolonged exposure to the incense is not good for her health."

"Miss, please rest assured, this old servant has noted it. Miss, please go home and wait with peace of mind. In a few days, when Madam has recovered, this old servant will come to fetch you."

"Alright. Please take good care of Aunt, Mama Sun."

Even though she didn't see Lady Xiao Lin, A Chan's purpose for coming today had been achieved.

After bidding farewell to Mama Sun, she walked along the wall of the Zhao Manor towards the back street.

Not far from the back door of the Zhao Manor, she unexpectedly saw Zhao family's cousin again. This cousin was holding a fish basket, which seemed to contain live fish that were still moving.

However, the fish had a strong, fishy smell, which could still be detected from a dozen meters away.