Red Chamber 16

Jiqiu was no ordinary maid; having heard so much information over the years, her knowledge and insight had grown significantly.

She understood Jia Yuanchun's concerns and nodded firmly.

She enjoyed gossip, but she knew better than anyone where to draw the line.

Jia Yuanchun sighed, a trace of guilt rising in her heart for Second Master Shi.

Liu Zhong reached out to press the back of Jia Yuanchun's hand, saying softly, "Leave this matter to me. Rest assured, I won't let the Duke of Shan Mansion trace it back to our family."

Jia Yuanchun had absolute confidence in Liu Zhong's abilities. Hearing this, she let out a long sigh of relief and held his hand in return: "Then I shall leave it to you, my husband."

Ma Daopo had harmed many people, and it didn't take long for Liu Zhong to find three families who had been victimized by her.

Liu Zhong gave the three families guidance, instructing them to report Ma Daopo to the authorities.

The imperial court was wary of witchcraft and took such matters very seriously.

Upon receiving the reports, they immediately dispatched men to Ma Daopo's home to make an arrest.

When the officials raided Ma Daopo's home, they confiscated several clay figurines and straw dolls; some had needles stuck in their heads, some had nails driven through their chests, and others had locks tied around their necks. The cabinets were filled with countless paper dolls, and underneath them were small ledgers recording which families had seen "results" and how much silver was owed.

These were the proofs of Ma Daopo's evil practices used to harm others.

Furthermore, Ma Daopo was not one to keep her mouth shut. Once the torture began, she confessed everything, revealing the private secrets of many noble wives and young ladies.

Among these was her involvement in helping the concubine of the eldest master of the Duke of Shan Mansion use dark magic to harm Second Master Shi.

With Ma Daopo arrested, the straw dolls and paper figures she had used for her rituals were taken to a Taoist temple to be handled by righteous practitioners. Once the evil magic was broken, the curse on Second Master Shi naturally dissipated.

Back at the Duke of Shan Mansion, Second Master Shi suddenly regained his clarity. Aside from physical weakness, he had no other ailments.

This left most of the Duke of Shan Mansion both shocked and delighted, though they couldn't fathom how he had suddenly gone mad and then suddenly recovered.

It wasn't until the officials arrived at their door that the Shi family realized Second Master Shi had been targeted by a scheme.

The eldest wife of the Shi family immediately caused a scene, demanding that the eldest master of the Shi family provide an explanation.

Although the eldest master of the Shi family loved that concubine and doted even more on the eldest son she had borne him, he knew he had to dispose of her, or he would never be able to maintain his position as the head of the household.

The clan would surely blame him for this, and he could forget about any future prospects in the imperial court.

After all, his concubine had been implicated in a case of witchcraft.

That concubine was personally sent to prison by the eldest master of the Shi family, and she died not long after.

His eldest son, influenced by his biological mother, would have no future to speak of in this lifetime.

Moreover, the eldest son could no longer remain in the Duke of Shan Mansion, or the eldest wife would surely kill him.

The eldest master of the Shi family divided the family property early and sent his eldest son away, giving him only a small portion of the assets.

Privately, however, the eldest master gave his eldest son a significant amount of his own personal wealth and sent the son's family back to their ancestral home to live.

After this incident, the relationship between the eldest master of the Shi family and his wife and legitimate son became extremely strained.

The eldest wife was deeply dissatisfied with how the eldest master had handled the eldest son.

The other concubines and illegitimate children of the eldest master also whispered among themselves, feeling quite disappointed in him as the head of the family.

The eldest master of the Shi family passed away two years later; it was unknown whether he died of natural illness or if someone had acted in the shadows.

Other noble families also erupted into conflicts similar to that of the Duke of Shan Mansion.

Ma Daopo had harmed many, and even the Li Duke Mansion had been affected.

Second Uncle Liu once had a favorite concubine, a woman of good standing who was very beautiful.

Second Uncle Liu had loved her so much that she had threatened the status of the second wife.

This concubine later suffered a miscarriage and died from heavy bleeding; everyone assumed she simply had a poor fate.

But in reality, it was the second wife who had paid Ma Daopo to use dark magic to kill the concubine and the child in her womb.

When Second Uncle Liu learned the truth, he was so enraged that he locked the second wife in the family shrine.

Even the second wife's own family could not intervene on her behalf, as this matter had caught the attention of the Emperor.

For a time, many head wives in the capital were locked in family shrines, and many beloved concubines of officials "died suddenly" one after another.

The rest of the capital watched the spectacle with great interest.

Jia Yuanchun sat with Baoqin, cracking melon seeds while listening to Jiqiu recount the drama of various households, feeling that the seeds tasted even better than usual.

A young maid brought over a few plates of pastries. Jia Yuanchun picked up a piece of fish cake and brought it to her lips, but the smell of fish surged into her nasal cavity, making her feel so nauseous she couldn't help but want to retch.

Baoqin hurriedly stepped forward to rub Jia Yuanchun's back. Seeing her reaction, Baoqin, who had experienced this before, said, "My Lady, you haven't had your monthly cycle this month, have you?"

Jia Yuanchun took a sip of the hot tea handed to her by the maid, suppressing the nausea, and realized it herself.

A look of joy appeared on Jia Yuanchun's face as she said to Baoqin, "Go and invite a physician."

A physician was quickly brought into the Liu residence. Mother Liu, hearing the news and thinking Jia Yuanchun was ill, arrived immediately to check on her.

Jia Yuanchun had a very good relationship with Mother Liu and was fond of this mother-in-law who didn't send maids to her husband to cause trouble.

Jia Yuanchun said shyly to Mother Liu, "Mother, don't worry. I just felt nauseous while eating fish cake, so I asked for a physician to take a look."

Mother Liu reacted even faster than Jia Yuanchun. She laughed immediately and said to the physician with great anticipation, "Physician, hurry, hurry, take the pulse for my daughter-in-law."

The physician took Jia Yuanchun's pulse and reached his conclusion.

He smiled and offered his congratulations to both Jia Yuanchun and Mother Liu.

Mother Liu was beaming from ear to ear, and she had a nanny give the physician ten taels of silver as a token of gratitude.

The physician left in high spirits.

Jia Yuanchun touched her belly, a blissful smile appearing at the corners of her mouth.

When Liu Zhong returned home and learned that Jia Yuanchun was pregnant again, he was somewhat surprised.

He had originally intended to wait a few more years, until their eldest son had begun his formal education and Jia Yuanchun had more spare time, before having a second child.

He had not expected that with their eldest son only a year old, Jia Yuanchun would become pregnant unexpectedly.

Since the child was already on the way, they certainly could not turn it away.

Liu Zhong set aside his surprise, put on a smile, and comforted Jia Yuanchun.

Mother Liu sent a servant to deliver the news to the Rongguo Mansion.

The people of the Rongguo Mansion had already returned to the capital, and upon hearing the news, Lady Wang immediately packed up a large quantity of medicinal herbs and came to the Liu Mansion to visit her daughter.

Learning that her son-in-law had moved to the study again and had no concubines, Lady Wang said to her daughter with envy, "You are truly blessed to have married such a good husband. Your father isn't even fit to carry his shoes."

Jia Yuanchun offered an awkward smile, as this was not something she could easily respond to.

Jia Zheng was, after all, her own father.

Even if, in her heart, she deeply agreed with her mother's words.

After Lady Wang finished inquiring about her daughter, she began to speak of her own frustrations.

She complained that Jia Zheng had betrothed Jia Zhu to the daughter of a "poor scholar."

In this lifetime, Jia Zhu's wife was still Li Wan.

Jia Zheng admired scholars above all else, and it was only by begging Jia Daishan that he had been able to have his son marry the daughter of the Imperial Academy libationer.

Jia Daishan felt that Jia Zhu's temperament was not suited for the political arena, but rather for places like the Hanlin Academy and the Imperial Academy, and thus he facilitated the marriage between the Jia Family and the Li Family.