Red Chamber 15

Liu Zhong left his chubby son in Mother Liu's care and took Jia Yuanchun to Rongguo Mansion.

Jia Yuanchun's eyes were swollen and red as almonds. Ever since she had received the news, she had not stopped crying.

Jia Daishan had treated his grandchildren very well, and Jia Yuanchun had been deeply attached to him.

Her feelings for him ran even deeper than those she had for Jia Zheng.

The other third-generation members of the Rongguo household were also devastated. The younger ones simply hadn't had as much time to grow close to Jia Daishan as the older ones, so they weren't as grief-stricken.

Liu Zhong helped Jia Hu handle Jia Daishan's funeral arrangements and receive and see off the guests.

The emperor sent the Crown Prince to pay his respects on his behalf, and posthumously honored Jia Daishan with a noble title and a posthumous name.

When the retired emperor in the palace learned that Jia Daishan had died, he fainted. His health worsened, and he became bedridden.

As a filial son, the emperor went to the retired emperor's palace every day to attend to him.

But no one knew what the emperor really thought.

Jia Daishan's death had dealt the retired emperor a heavy blow. His health had already been poor, and once he took to his bed this time, he never rose again.

Three months later, the retired emperor passed away.

Liu Zhong had to enter the palace every day to keep vigil for the retired emperor. The Jia family, however, escaped this ordeal because they had escorted Jia Daishan's coffin back to his hometown in Jinling.

Fortunately, Liu Zhong held a low-ranking post and could blend in among the junior officials. No one would notice him making a few small moves.

He hid small pieces of pastry in his left sleeve. Whenever he got hungry, he would pull one out and quickly pop it into his mouth to tide himself over.

In his right sleeve, he kept a handkerchief soaked in ginger water.

His preparations were nothing unusual; everyone else did the same.

Honestly, how many officials in the court could truly shed tears over the retired emperor's death?

Fewer than you could count on one hand, surely.

The officials had been put through more than a month of torment, but at last they were allowed to go home and get some proper rest.

Many had irritated, swollen eyes from the ginger water and called in physicians to prescribe medicine and treat them.

Another month passed before the court returned to normal.

A year had passed, and Liu Zhong left the Hanlin Academy to join the Ministry of Revenue.

Looking through the account books piled on his desk, Liu Zhong felt his head and eyes ache.

He truly admired the ancient bookkeepers who could make sense of these chaotic accounts.

No wonder there had been so much falsification in ancient times!

Liu Zhong sighed, asked a junior clerk from the Ministry of Revenue to find him a wooden ruler, then began drawing a table on a sheet of white paper...

Back at the Liu home, Jia Yuanchun was entertaining her chubby son while listening to Jiqiu gossip.

When Jia Yuanchun had first married into the Liu family, she had been quite wary of Jiqiu. After all, Jiqiu was the only senior maid at Liu Zhong's side who was truly capable.

Later, when Liu Zhong said he would never take a concubine or keep a bedchamber maid, Jia Yuanchun asked him about Jiqiu.

Liu Zhong smiled. "Jiqiu is a capable woman. She'll be very useful."

Jia Yuanchun: "??"

Later, when Jia Yuanchun learned just how useful Jiqiu was, she was completely won over!

Every day, she would call Jiqiu over to hear the latest news from the capital.

When Liu Zhong came in, Jiqiu was telling her some gossip she had heard from a servant at the Duke of Shan's residence.

The legitimate son of the Duke of Shan's eldest master had been possessed. He had grabbed a knife and started hacking wildly, threatening to kill everyone. He seemed completely mad and could no longer recognize even his own parents.

Shi Dalaoye offered a generous reward, and one servant risked injury to subdue the young master and tie him up.

After crying and making a scene all day, the young master fell unconscious. No matter how much they called to him or shook him, he would not wake. He had now been unconscious for three days and nights.

The imperial physicians had examined him and found no sign of illness or poisoning, but they could not determine why he had fallen unconscious.

The young master was now being kept alive solely by ginseng soup.

Jiqiu lowered her voice and put on a mysterious expression. "This servant suspects that Second Master Shi has been possessed."

Liu Zhong raised an eyebrow. Why did this sound so familiar?

Why did this young master's behavior sound so much like Wang Xifeng's reaction when Ma Daopo harmed her in the original Red Chamber?

Could this Shi young master have been cursed by Ma Daopo?

When the women in the room saw Liu Zhong enter, they all stood up.

Jia Yuanchun handed her son to his wet nurse, then personally helped Liu Zhong change his clothes.

Baoqin brought over clean water and a towel for Liu Zhong to wash up.

Jiqiu served him hot tea.

After changing, Liu Zhong sat beside Jia Yuanchun and took their chubby son into his arms. Bouncing him gently, he asked, "What were you talking about?"

Jiqiu told him the story about the Shi family again.

Liu Zhong recalled the description of Ma Daopo in the original Red Chamber: She was neither a proper Buddhist nun nor a proper Daoist priest, and she knew dark magic. A scoundrel had gotten into a dispute with a pawnshop over the sale of a house. Ma Daopo took money from the scoundrel and used magic on the pawnshop owner's female relatives, making them ill and throwing the household into chaos. Then she told the pawnshop owner she could cure them and took more than ten taels of silver from them.

She had greedily taken money from both sides and used vicious methods. She was a truly despicable woman.

No wonder even Lady Wang had called her "a wretched creature, an evil heretic."

Liu Zhong asked Jiqiu, "Do you know Ma Daopo?"

Jiqiu nodded. "I do. She's quite capable and often visits noble households. The noble ladies and madams think highly of her."

Suddenly, Jiqiu remembered her earlier suspicion. Her eyes widened. "It can't be..."

Jia Yuanchun and Baoqin looked at her in surprise, unsure what she meant.

Jiqiu's eyes widened even further. "You mean Ma Daopo was behind Second Master Shi's possession?"

Liu Zhong said, "It's only a guess."

Jiqiu clapped her hands. "It's very possible!"

Jia Yuanchun and Baoqin finally understood what they meant.

Jia Yuanchun said incredulously, "Could it really be witchcraft? The Shi family wouldn't dare be that reckless, would they?"

Liu Zhong said, "Women in the inner quarters don't understand how wary the imperial household is of witchcraft. If someone provokes them, they might really do something like this for the title of Duke."

Jia Yuanchun still couldn't believe it. "But... but..."

Liu Zhong said, "Someone once said something very true: For a hundred percent profit, some people will trample every human law; for a three-hundred-percent profit, some will commit any crime. To some people, a noble title is worth far more than three hundred percent profit. They see it as the most precious thing in the world, something they must obtain."

Jia Yuanchun sighed and accepted Liu Zhong's explanation.

After hesitating for a moment, she asked, "We can keep our suspicions to ourselves, but we shouldn't tell anyone."

She looked at Jiqiu and said, "Especially you. Not a word of today's suspicions is to leave your lips."

Liu Zhong understood Jia Yuanchun's concerns. She didn't want to bring trouble to the Liu family.

This was clearly an internal struggle within the Duke of Shan's household. If they got involved, they might not earn the gratitude of the head of the household; instead, they could end up mired in scandal.

Who knew whether the head of the household favored the legitimate son and his wife, or his beloved concubine and her illegitimate son?!