Red Chamber 16

Jiqiu was no ordinary maid. Over the years, she had heard far too many things. She knew a lot, and her horizons had broadened.

She understood Jia Yuanchun's concerns and nodded firmly.

She enjoyed gossip, but she also knew what mattered.

Jia Yuanchun sighed, feeling a little guilty toward Second Master Shi.

Liu Zhong reached over and pressed the back of Jia Yuanchun's hand. In a gentle voice, he said, "Leave this matter to me. Don't worry. The Duke of Shan's household won't suspect our family."

Jia Yuanchun had great confidence in Liu Zhong's abilities. Hearing this, she let out a long breath of relief and clasped his hand in return. "Then I'll leave it to you, my lord."

Ma Daopo had harmed many people, and Liu Zhong soon found three families who had suffered at her hands.

Liu Zhong gave the three families some advice and told them to report Ma Daopo to the authorities.

The court was wary of witchcraft and took the matter very seriously.

As soon as the report came in, the authorities sent people to arrest Ma Daopo.

When they searched Ma Daopo's home, they found several clay figurines and straw dolls. Some wore headbands, some had nails driven through their chests, and some had chains around their necks. There were countless paper figures in a cabinet, along with several pages of small accounts recording which families' wishes had come true and how much silver was owed.

These were the evidence of Ma Daopo's use of evil magic to harm people.

And Ma Daopo was no stubborn sort. As soon as she was subjected to torture, she confessed everything, revealing the secrets of many officials' wives and daughters.

Among them was the matter of her helping the Duke of Shan's eldest master's concubine use evil magic to harm Second Master Shi.

After Ma Daopo was arrested, the straw dolls and paper figures she had used in her rituals were taken to a Taoist temple and entrusted to a virtuous Taoist to deal with. Once the evil magic on them was dispelled, the spell afflicting Second Master Shi was naturally broken as well.

At the Duke of Shan's mansion, Second Master Shi suddenly regained consciousness. Aside from feeling weak, he had no other problems.

Most of the household was both astonished and delighted, yet they couldn't understand how Second Master Shi had suddenly gone mad and then recovered just as suddenly.

It wasn't until the authorities came to their door that the Shi family learned Second Master Shi had been the victim of a plot.

The First Madam Shi immediately made a scene, insisting that the First Master Shi give her an explanation.

Although the First Master Shi favored that concubine and doted even more on the eldest son she had borne him, he knew he had to deal with her. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to hold on to his position as head of the household.

The clan would certainly blame him over this matter, and he could forget about advancing in court, too.

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

The First Master Shi personally sent the concubine to prison. Before long, she died.

Influenced by his birth mother, the eldest son had no hope of a future in this lifetime.

Nor could the eldest son remain at the Duke of Shan's mansion. Otherwise, the First Madam Shi would surely have him killed.

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

In private, however, the First Master Shi gave his eldest son a considerable amount of his own assets and sent the entire family back to their hometown to live.

After this incident, the First Master Shi's relationship with his wife and legitimate son turned very sour.

The First Madam Shi was deeply dissatisfied with how the First Master Shi had dealt with his eldest son.

The First Master Shi's other concubines and illegitimate children also grumbled inwardly, quite disappointed in him as head of the household.

The First Master Shi died two years later. No one knew whether he had truly died of illness or whether someone had secretly acted against him.

Other noble households also erupted in conflicts similar to those at the Duke of Shan's mansion.

Ma Daopo had harmed many people, and even the Li Duke Mansion had suffered at her hands.

Second Uncle Liu once had a favorite concubine. She was a favored concubine, and very beautiful.

Second Uncle Liu adored her, and she had already begun to threaten Second Madam Liu's position.

Later, the concubine miscarried and died of blood loss. Everyone thought she had simply been unlucky.

But in truth, Second Madam Liu had ordered Ma Daopo to use magic to kill the concubine and the child in her womb.

When Second Uncle Liu learned the truth, he was so furious that he confined Second Madam Liu to the Buddhist hall.

Even her birth family couldn't stand up for her, since the emperor was keeping a close eye on the matter.

For a time, many household mistresses in the capital were confined to Buddhist halls, while the beloved concubines of many officials suddenly "died."

Everyone else in the capital had quite a spectacle to enjoy.

Jia Yuanchun and Baoqin munched on melon seeds as they listened to Jiqiu gossip about the various households. The melon seeds tasted even better than usual.

A young maid brought in several plates of pastries. Jia Yuanchun picked up a piece of fish cake and brought it to her lips, but the fishy smell rushed into her nose, making her feel so sick that she wanted to retch.

Baoqin hurried over to rub Jia Yuanchun's back. Seeing her reaction, Baoqin, who had been through this once before, asked, "First Madam, you haven't had your period this month, have you?"

Jia Yuanchun took a sip of the hot tea the young maid offered, forcing down the wave of nausea, and then realized it herself.

A trace of delight appeared on Jia Yuanchun's face. She said to Baoqin, "Go and fetch a physician."

The physician was soon brought to the Liu household. When Mother Liu heard the news, she thought Jia Yuanchun was ill and hurried over to visit her.

Jia Yuanchun had a very good relationship with Mother Liu. She liked having a mother-in-law who wouldn't send maids to her husband and make trouble for her.

Jia Yuanchun said shyly to Mother Liu, "Mother, don't worry. I just felt a little queasy when I was eating fish cake, so I asked the physician to take a look."

Mother Liu understood even faster than Jia Yuanchun. She immediately smiled and said eagerly to the physician, "Quickly, quickly, take my daughter-in-law's pulse."

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

He smiled and congratulated Jia Yuanchun and Mother Liu.

Mother Liu smiled from ear to ear and had a matron give the physician ten taels of silver as thanks.

The physician left happily.

Jia Yuanchun stroked 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 a little surprised.

He had planned to wait a few more years, until their eldest son had begun his studies and Jia Yuanchun had more time, before they had a second child.

He hadn't expected Jia Yuanchun to become pregnant by surprise when their eldest son was only a year old.

The child was already on the way. They couldn't very well refuse to keep it.

Liu Zhong put his surprise aside, smiled, and comforted Jia Yuanchun.

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

The people from the Rongguo Mansion had already returned to the capital. When Lady Wang heard the news, she immediately gathered several medicinal ingredients and went to the Liu Mansion to visit her daughter.

After learning that her son-in-law had moved back to the study and still had no concubines, Lady Wang said enviously to her daughter, "You're a lucky girl, marrying such a good husband. Your father isn't fit to carry your husband's shoes."

Jia Yuanchun smiled awkwardly. She didn't know how to respond.

Jia Zheng was her own father, after all.

Though, deep down, she quite agreed with her mother.

After asking about her daughter's well-being, Lady Wang began to talk about her own troubles.

She complained that Jia Zheng had chosen the daughter of a "poor scholar" for Jia Zhu.

Jia Zhu's wife in this life was still Li Wan.

Jia Zheng admired scholars above all else. It was thanks to his asking Jia Daishan for help that his son could marry the daughter of the Imperial Academy's libationer.

Jia Daishan felt that Jia Zhu's temperament wasn't suited to the officialdom, and that he was better suited to places like the Hanlin Academy or the Imperial Academy. So he brought about the marriage between the Jia and Li families.