Chapter 103 – Anxiety: Concubine Huang’S Worry
“You….” The Madam Dowager did not expect Wei Yuewu to lead their conversation astray rather than refuse directly. Her chest swelled with anger and she glared at Wei Yuewu. Adopting a gloomy face, she made her words clearer, “I’m talking about your father and Concubine Dong.”
She didn’t believe that Wei Yuewu dared to oppose her.
“I know you are talking about father and Concubine Dong, grandmother. Concubine Dong has taken care of father for so many years. That’s a lot of hard work. However, a servant is a servant. It’ll be unfair to father. With father’s status, he can absolutely marry a first daughter from a noble family, whose identity is much more respectable. The mansion of Marquis Hua Yang is a veritable aristocratic family. We can’t let people say that father is only worthy of a servant, right?” Wei Yuewu’s beautiful eyes were as clear as water. She looked like she was sincerely considering for her father as she uttered those words candidly.
A servant was a servant. Even though Concubine Dong could be taken as half a mistress, she was still not a real one. Wei Yuewu’s words in fact sharply pointed out the status of Concubine Dong and the difference between master and servant. The Madam Dowager was unable to refute her for a while.
No matter how well Concubine Dong played her role, her background had determined her future. She was merely a servant. She was originally a maid serving the Madam Dowager. Strictly speaking, she was nothing but a servant. If a woman with such a background became Marquise Hua Yang, people would definitely gossip.
As a large aristocratic family, the mansion had its own etiquette that all aristocratic families recognized.
Therefore, Wei Yuewu’s words didn’t cross the line. The pride of an aristocratic family meant that they were destined to look down on a concubine who was once a maid.
If the Madam Dowager insisted that Concubine Dong was good enough for Marquis Hua Yang Wei Luowen, she would be against her own conscience, a thing she would never do.
The Madam Dowager’s expression darkened. She dropped Wei Yuewu’s hand. A glint flashed in her eyes. She eyed Wei Yuewu a few times again. Her expression became a little unhappy and her attitude grew cold. “Your third elder sister and Concubine Dong will be back in a few days. Don’t go out if you have no particular business to do. Make things ready for them.”
“Yes.” Wei Yuewu knew that the Madam Dowager was displeased with her and filled with anger because she didn’t agree readily with the matter about Concubine Dong. Yet she nodded respectfully with pretended ignorance.
“You can go!” The Madam Dowager was filled with displeasure now, so she no longer talked to Wei Yuewu. She leaned back and closed her eyes slightly, as if she was tired and wanted to rest. She did not even have the intention for ceremonial words.
Wei Yuewu knew that the Madam Dowager was deliberately making things difficult for her as a punishment for what she had said. With pretended ignorance, she curtsied to the Madam Dowager gracefully and walked out of the room with Shufei.
Nanny Hong smilingly followed them out and accompanied Wei Yuewu to the entrance of the courtyard. She whispered, “Sixth Young Lady, the series of things these days have made Madam Dowager uncomfortable. Only when she thinks that Lord Marquis is coming to the capital will she brighten up. Lord Marquis has been guarding the border for many years, but there is not even a proper partner around him. The Madam Dowager is really sad about this.”
“Lord Marquis indeed has gone through a difficult time. Ever since Lady Marquise died, he has never thought about marrying someone else. The Madam Dowager persuaded him many times both openly and privately, but Lord Marquis only said that he didn’t want to marry again, and that if there must be a Marquise, Concubine Dong would be a good candidate. Sixth Young Lady, the Madam Dowager has no other choice either. She can’t find anyone else.”
When Nanny Hong said the last words, the smile on her face faded away. She sighed and took out a handkerchief to wipe the corner of her eyes, as if she felt sorry for the Madam Dowager.
Sure enough, what a trusted servant she was for the Madam Dowager! One played the role of devil, and the other volunteered as a peacemaker.
Concubine Dong was so capable as to make the Madam Dowager and her trusted servant care so much about her. Wei Yuewu became more concerned about this Concubine Dong whom she hadn’t seen yet. This Concubine Dong was so artful and her actions back then were so vicious and yet flawless. Wei Yuewu felt she really underestimated this concubine, who was once a maid.
“Thank you, Nanny Hong.” Wei Yuewu said with an indifferent expression. She ignored Nanny Hong’s words and walked out with Shufei.
No matter how good Concubine Dong’s tricks were, since she hadn’t ascended to the position of wife after so many years, there must be some hidden information that Wei Yuewu didn’t know about. Though the Madam Dowager was so eager to make her agree, Wei Yuewu wouldn’t rashly interfere until she figured out everything.
In her opinion, the most important thing now was to deal with Lady Li. Lady Li must have colluded with Concubine Dong back then, so it was more important to deal with Lady Li before Concubine Dong was back in the capital…
Didn’t Lady Li and Wei Yan want to kill her? Well, she would like to see how they would react next!
Yesterday marked the mid of the month…
Concubine Huang anxiously sat in her room with an uneasy mind. She secretly asked her maid to send for a doctor. However, the maid hadn’t come back yet. How could she sit still?
Ever since she became suspicious of Doctor Ming, Concubine Huang felt things more and more questionable. If there was anyone in this mansion who didn’t want her to be pregnant, it was no one else but the Second Lady. Moreover, the Second Lady had much power in the mansion. It was very possible for the Second Lady to ask Doctor Ming to keep her in the darkness concerning her own health conditions.
With this thought, Concubine Huang felt that she couldn’t afford to waste a moment.
The Sixth Young Lady was the true mistress of this mansion. However, she was fooled by Doctor Ming concerning her health conditions. So how could Concubine Huang be spared? Although Concubine Huang was favored by the Second Master now, when she grew old, she would not be able to live well under Second Lady’s control if she had no children of her own.
“Madam, the doctor is here.” A maid ran in and whispered to Concubine Huang.
“Hurry… invite him in!” Concubine Huang’s voice trembled with excitement as she said.
She hid behind a gauze curtain. After all, the doctor was an outsider. She had to avoid a face-to-face meeting. Concubine Huang knew this rule.
The maid nodded and led in a doctor in sixties into the room. There was also a little boy carrying a medical kit beside him.
“Please check our concubine’s pulse.” The maid said politely. She walked to the gauze tent, took out one of Concubine Huang’s hands and placed it on a cushion.
The old doctor looked like a man of good virtue. He nodded and walked over to sit on a chair beside the bed. His stretched out three fingers and placed them on Concubine Huang’s vein. He felt her pulse carefully and frowned. Then, he asked Concubine Huang to stretch out the other hand and checked the pulse for a while. In the end, he opened his slightly closed eyes.
“This concubine is not ill. She is in good health.” The old doctor said.
“Doctor, check more carefully.” Concubine Huang, who was sitting on the bed, got anxious when she heard that she wasn’t sick. She had been thinking about it and was sure she was sick. Therefore, she became worried when she heard she wasn’t sick. If this kind of illness wasn’t treated in time, her entire life could be considered over. How could she not be anxious?
“If you don’t believe me, you can find another doctor. In my opinion, you are in good health and are perfectly alright.”
The old doctor felt very embarrassed at being questioned by a concubine who knew nothing about medicine. He had a medical clinic not far from here, so he could be considered a real clinic-based professional. He was also famous in this area and his ancestor was an imperial doctor. He wasn’t an ordinary doctor accessible to any patient.
“Am I really not sick?” Concubine Huang quickly pulled open the gauze curtain and asked anxiously.
“You’re really not sick.” The old doctor said with certainty.
Concubine Huang was really anxious at this moment. Seeing the old doctor tidying up the medical kit and preparing to leave, she dropped every misgiving and asked straightforwardly. “Then why didn’t I get pregnant after many years in the mansion?”
The old doctor was really unhappy at being questioned by Concubine Huang again and again. He paused for a moment and turned to look at Concubine Huang. “There isn’t anything wrong with your health. Maybe it’s not because of you but the man.”
When the old doctor was invited in, all he knew was that a concubine was sick but he didn’t know who. When the masters or mistresses of the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang got sick, it was usually Doctor Ming who was invited. Therefore, he didn’t know the situation in the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang. Now that Concubine Huang asked him again and again, he thought that she was questioning his medical skills. How could he feel pleased now? Therefore, it was natural for him to blurt out whatever comes into his head.
The speaker had no particular intention, but the listener read her own meaning into it. Concubine Huang was eager to find out the reason. The Second Master had spent a lot of time with her, but there was no sign of pregnancy at all. This really made her suspicious. If she was fine, could it be that something was wrong with the Second Master?
There were some things that couldn’t be dug into. She remembered that no more children were born to the second branch ever since the Second Young Lady was born. Not only did the Second Lady, but also the other concubines had no babies thereafter. Could it be that the problem lied with the Second Master?
“Doctor, can you stay to check the pulse of our master?” Concubine Huang had the suspicion in her heart, so she naturally spoke it out.
“This….” The old doctor hesitated for a moment.
“It won’t take you long. Our master has been back. He is in the study outside. I’ll have someone call him over. It won’t take you much time.” Concubine Huang smiled as she spoke. She had already inquired and knew that the Second Master had left the court and returned to the mansion. He was currently dealing with issues in the study outside.
Originally, she had thought that if she was really diagnosed to be infertile, she would immediately go and complain about it to the Second Master. Now that she was fine and the Second Master might not, Concubine Huang must try her best to get the old doctor diagnose the Second Master.
At this moment, she suddenly remembered that only the mistresses in the mansion would have their pulses checked. Masters normally wouldn’t. If something was really wrong with the Second Master’s health, it was possible that the problem hadn’t been discovered over the years.
The maid standing at the side received Concubine Huang’s signal and handed over a red envelope. The old doctor took it and took on a relaxed expression. He narrowed his eyes and nodded. He was temporarily led to the wing to rest. Concubine Huang then sent a maid to invite the Second Master over.
In order to be on guard against Lady Li, Concubine Huang instructed the maid to say that she was not feeling well and that she wanted the Second Master to see her.
In the study, the Second Master Wei Luowu, the Minister of Rites, was indeed handling official businesses but making no progress. As long as he thought about the troubled situation of his daughter, he was unhappy.
He thought of the dire situation of his daughter, whom he loved as a precious pearl in his hand. Besides, he also recalled some things that kept lingering on his mind. As a result, traces of anger appeared on his face.
He dropped the official document in hand to the table. His expression became gloomy. Then, he held his head with his hand and stared blankly at the official documentation in front of him. His brows furrowed tightly as he thought about what was on his mind.
A maid walked in and curtsied respectfully to him. “My lord, Concubine Huang is not feeling well. She asked Your Lordship to go to see her.”
The source of this c𝐨ntent is fre𝒆w(e)bn(o)vel