Chapter 8: Awakening

Xia Xiuping flew into a rage once more: He was the dignified Magistrate of a major county; who among ordinary people did not bow and scrape in respect upon seeing him? Yet his own two daughters, whether in public or private, repeatedly humiliated him, challenging his paternal authority!

Madam Huang walked to his side and sneered, "Husband, isn't our darling Ke'er the one you truly cherish? Every day she clings to you like a little bird, calling 'Daddy' on the left and 'Father' on the right, coaxing you into endless delight! The two born of Pang Shi aren't even fit to compare with the coarse maids in our courtyard! Dragons beget dragons, phoenixes beget phoenixes; a rat's son knows how to dig holes! Pang Shi's daughters are like this; if the one in her belly is a son, will you wait for him to grow up and anger you to death if you don't hand him over to me to raise? Only as my son, as our Huang family's grandson, can he be guaranteed to become a great figure in the future!"

Xia Xiuping looked at Pang Ruxue and the three women hugging their heads and weeping together. The anger on his face had not subsided. He nodded. "Madam speaks the truth. You go back to the Second Hall with Mother and the others first. I will go speak with Pang Shi and make her see reason, to act according to our plan!"

Madam Huang reached out, pinched a piece of flesh on Xia Xiuping's arm, and twisted hard. "If you dare play 'openly repairing the plank road while secretly crossing at Chencang' again, watch your skin! I'll have my father withhold his support; let's see how you climb the ranks then!"

Xia Xiuping gasped in pain. "Alright, alright! Just that one time, never again! Last time I was drunk, couldn't tell east from west, and mistakenly walked into this courtyard... Didn't expect she'd actually conceive. It's a good thing too; I can't very well have no sons, can I? You just need to stay secluded at home for a year. When Pang Shi's child is born, it will be your son! Your own flesh and blood!"

Madam Huang hmphed and let go. "That still requires her to shut her mouth and not speak nonsense! These two days, have them vacate the South Courtyard and move to the Rear Side Courtyard. Post guards at the gate; they are not to come out easily! My daughter and I want to admire flowers and enjoy the cool in this courtyard. The household will soon welcome honored guests to arrange a marriage for Ke'er. If people see them causing such an unreasonable scene, what would that look like? Oh, right, a few days ago I ran into the wife of Registrar Zhang from Qingshan County again. Registrar Zhang is your classmate. Hearing you have two concubine-born daughters, he's very eager to form a marriage alliance. I've met his son; though a bit simple and stout, and not very tall, he is the eldest son of the principal wife's line—wait, *shu* son (concubine-born). He'll still inherit some land in the future, a life free from worry over food and clothing. Perfect match for Qing'er! I'll find a good place for Le'er in a couple of years and marry her off far away! We'll take the daughters and son with us to your new post. As for Pang Shi, she'll have no more attachments, living a leisurely, carefree life—how blessed would that be!"

"Madam manages the household with wisdom; your plans are most reasonable... This matter, we'll discuss later."

"I do it all so you can pursue your official career with peace of mind, for the sake of this whole big family!"

"Yes, yes! Madam has worked hard. Madam, please!"

Xia Xiuping saw Madam Huang, Xia Jinshi, and the others out of the South Courtyard. At the gate, Madam Huang grabbed him again, biting his ear to warn him not to linger in Pang Shi's room on the sly, and to be back before dinner!

By the time Xia Xiuping returned, the figures of the mother and three daughters were gone from the courtyard. Nanny Liu was helping Xia Yiqing carry Leqing back to the main room.

Xia Xiuping went into his daughters' room to check on Leqing. Leqing and Yiqing were huddled together, ignoring him completely. Feeling stifled, Xia Xiuping could only pull Pang Ruxue aside. The two entered the inner room and shut the door to talk.

He did not actually heed Madam Huang's words to leave before dinner. Instead, he had Nanny Liu lock the courtyard gate, forbidding anyone to open it no matter who knocked. The two stayed locked in the room, God knows what they said. Yiqing crept close and vaguely heard Pang Ruxue's sobs and Xia Xiuping's low, soothing voice. Nanny Liu discovered Xia Yiqing eavesdropping on her parents' private talk. Her face changed instantly, and she dragged Yiqing away without a word.

Madam Huang's people came to the South Courtyard and knocked three times. Getting no response, Madam Huang lost patience by dusk. She brought people to the courtyard gate and had an old woman shout loudly: "Master, come out! The Madam is here!"

Nanny Liu hurried to the main room door to relay the message. Only then did Xia Xiuping slowly emerge from Pang Ruxue's room. He went to his two daughters' room and said to Xia Yiqing: "I gave your mother some silver. Tomorrow, you and your sister go to the street to buy two sets of clothes, and whatever else you like!"

With that, he turned and left. Xia Yiqing spat at his retreating back, then sadly realized: this bad habit wasn't hers before. She had imitated Tong Shi that day, and now it came out subconsciously!

Xia Xiuping left, and the courtyard gate finally fell quiet.

Seeing Nanny Liu hadn't followed him out, Xia Yiqing went to bolt the courtyard gate, returned to the main room wanting to check on Pang Ruxue. Nanny Liu was just coming out of her room, closing the door behind her and blocking the way. "The Master and Madam spoke for a while. Madam isn't feeling well, and she's exhausted. She wants to sleep a bit. She'll drink some congee when she wakes... I'll go make congee now. Young Ladies, eat dinner first?"

Xia Leqing refused to open her eyes, let alone eat. Xia Yiqing had no appetite to eat alone. By the time Nanny Liu finished the congee, both Pang Ruxue and Xia Leqing had fallen asleep. Xia Yiqing could only eat two half-bowls of congee with a couple of small dishes alongside Nanny Liu, wash up, and go to bed.

The next morning, Xia Yiqing woke up and turned to see her sister Leqing, sleeping on the inner side, staring wide-eyed at her. She couldn't help but cry out in fright. Pang Ruxue rushed over, took one look, her face turned deathly pale, then she clutched Leqing and wailed in utter despair, unable to be consoled.

It was Nanny Liu, experienced and knowledgeable, who comforted Pang Ruxue: "Madam, don't cry yourself ill. Second Young Lady's eyes are like this because of the Master's slap..."

Xia Yiqing corrected angrily: "Nanny, it was *two* slaps! And very, very hard ones!"

Nanny Liu nodded. "Yes, the Master was too angry... That... my dog Wangcai, last year he ran in the front courtyard and startled Second Master's bird. Second Master slapped him once too. The next day his eyes were blood-red, scared me and the old man half to death, afraid he'd go blind. But the pharmacy doctor only prescribed three doses of medicine to wash with. After ten days or half a month, it slowly healed. No big deal!"

Pang Ruxue and Xia Yiqing listened, secretly relieved: Leqing's eyes were filled with massive hemorrhage from the beating; if it could be cured, that was a relief!

Pang Ruxue heartbrokenly stroked Leqing's swollen cheek. "Le'er, does it hurt?"

Leqing nodded, voice hoarse. "Yesterday it hurt terribly. Today it still hurts a bit... Mother, Nanny says it's fine, so it's fine. Don't worry!"

Pang Ruxue's tears fell like rain. She hugged Leqing and wept another storm.

Afraid of delaying treatment and leaving aftereffects even if the eyes healed, Xia Yiqing hurriedly pulled Leqing up to change clothes, had Nanny Liu accompany them, and the sisters went to the street to see a doctor.

Pang Ruxue wiped her tears, took out a silver note and handed it to Xia Yiqing: "This is from your father. Take it. Use it for Le'er's eyes, buy the best medicine!"

Xia Yiqing took the note. Leqing's eyes were bloodshot, but it didn't seem to affect her vision. She saw the denomination was one hundred taels and instantly beamed. She and Nanny Liu exclaimed in unison: "Wow! One hundred taels! Wonderful!"

Xia Yiqing smiled bitterly: Beaten by her own father until her eyes bled, getting a hundred taels for medical fees and being this happy—only a weirdo like Xia Leqing could manage that!

Turning to see Pang Ruxue looking indifferent, her tearful eyes staring blankly out the window, Xia Yiqing found it strange but had no time to probe her mother's thoughts. She had to take Leqing to the pharmacy first!

Just as Nanny Liu said, the pharmacy doctor examined Leqing and asked about the injury. He said it was nothing serious. As long as she took the medicine properly, applied the ointment, and rested quietly, she would recover soon.

Taking the prescription, they picked up the medicine. Then they took Leqing for a stroll around the street, buying a few trinkets and snacks she liked, and returned home.

Pang Ruxue sat quietly on the corridor, seemingly deep in thought. Seeing them return, she hurried up to meet them, pulling Leqing to ask what the doctor said.

Leqing spread out the things bought on the street and the medicine packets from the pharmacy one by one, talking to Pang Ruxue on the corridor. Nanny Liu sorted the purchased ingredients. Xia Yiqing went to the kitchen and cooked a few of Xia Leqing's favorite dishes. The three of them ate lunch, cleaned up. Xia Yiqing had no heart for a nap. She washed her face and hands and started embroidery. Xia Leqing ignored her sister's dissuasion and joined in, stitching away while saying her eyesight was fine, no problem at all.

Pang Ruxue sat silently on the other side, picking out stitches with the two girls.

After two hours of work, Xia Jinshi, Madam Huang, and the others came again.

This time there was no quarrel or uproar. Pang Ruxue stood up, walked to the corridor front, and said blandly to the people in the courtyard: "I understood the Master's words. I agree to it all! But yesterday Le'er's eyes were injured. Look, they're full of blood! The flowers and plants in this courtyard are lush, the air is good, beneficial for recovery. Let us mother and daughters stay another seven or eight days. Once Le'er is well, you won't need to urge us; I will move out on my own!"

Madam Huang turned her body sideways, lips pressed tight, her gaze deep and fixed on Pang Ruxue. She couldn't fathom this woman—previously bedridden year-round, never showing her face, she thought she'd die of illness eventually. How did she suddenly get better? Damn Xia Xiuping, his philandering actually got Pang Shi pregnant, angering her into internal injuries, two months of restless sleep! Yesterday, the moment this Pang Shi showed her face, she drank a whole jar of vinegar in jealousy. If Xia Xiuping hadn't beaten the two wild girls half to death himself, who knows how she would have exploded! Look at Pang Shi's skin like jade and snow, weak and pitiful, plain clothes and bare face only highlighting her delicate features, a natural bewitching, seductive aura... No wonder Xia Xiuping "walked into the wrong courtyard"!

Hmph! No matter how cunning you are, what can you do? I've let you roam free for years; I can make you vanish in a morning! My husband's smooth official career is thanks to my Huang family. I absolutely will not allow you to share my husband or share the glory!

Pang Ruxue took the initiative to state her position. Madam Huang and Xia Jinshi couldn't be bothered to wrangle further. Disliking the mother and daughters anyway, out of sight, out of mind. They returned to their new courtyard to enjoy themselves.

But Xia Yiqing and Xia Leqing weren't having it. What's wrong with Mother? She never meddles in affairs. To just give up this courtyard without discussion—since the courtyard is yielded, does that mean Mother willingly accepts being a concubine, and the two of them are henceforth *shu* daughters (concubine-born)?

Full of doubts and unwillingness, the sisters stared at Pang Ruxue, wanting to demand the truth. But she just lowered her head, tears falling, and said: "Tonight, Mother has words for you."

Then she turned back to her room and shut the door!

After washing up that night, Pang Ruxue gathered the two daughters onto her bed. Weeping, she told them exactly what Xia Xiuping had said to her, word for word.

Xia Yiqing was very calm. She knew Xia Xiuping and Madam Huang harbored no good intentions. The whole Xia family was scum!

Xia Leqing, however, cursed Madam Huang as a wicked woman who would die a terrible death.

Pang Ruxue said through tears: "Mother originally thought, if this one in my belly is a boy, I'd have a support in the future, and you sisters might find a turning point because of it. Since your father has no son, he values sons, so he'd have to favor us more. Later, when the brother grows up, your in-laws would see you have a brother and wouldn't dare slight you... But I never expected this was a trap set by the two of them, a brilliant scheme! Last night and today, I've thought it over from start to finish. Your father said Madam Huang is too fat to bear children, but they want a son, so they let me conceive. Yet they make Madam Huang stay at the ancestral home. That way, I'm pregnant, Madam Huang won't go out easily. When I give birth to a son, Madam Huang will announce to the world that *she* gave birth. Then, this son becomes hers!"

Xia Yiqing asked: "The son doesn't even exist yet, and Father tells you this plan? He's awfully confident, isn't he? Sure you won't object? Or Mother, are you truly willing to obey him forever, letting me and my sister be trampled and beaten by him and Madam Huang without complaint, just like you?"

Pang Ruxue's tears flowed unceasingly. She wept until her whole body trembled. "Qing'er, how could I? From the moment I knew your father, my heart and eyes held only him. I obeyed him in everything. He is my sky; his words to me are imperial edicts! He knows all this. He hid nothing from me. Marrying Madam Huang, he said it was for his career. He said his heart held us mothers and daughters... Now a lifetime has passed. He doesn't care for my children, only playing happy family with Madam Huang and her daughter! If there really is a boy in my belly, that's my only reliance. He's flesh of my flesh. Yet he wants me to let go and give him to Madam Huang! He wants to rely on the Huang family to become a higher official. For Madam Huang, he seizes this courtyard, bears to beat you sisters like this, and still wants to snatch the son in my belly... He's changed. He's not the father you knew! I... we can't obey him anymore..."

Xia Yiqing and Xia Leqing, one on each side, hugged Pang Ruxue tight. Xia Yiqing said: "Mother, thinking this way is right! Never agree! Father can treat us like this; Madam Huang is even worse! She's probably just waiting for you to birth the son, claim him as hers, then cover it up by getting rid of you! Then me and my sister become orphans! Grief-stricken and helpless, like two little white rabbits waiting to be slaughtered and devoured... Better to just run into a wall and die now!"

Pang Ruxue stared blankly for an instant, then tightened her arms, holding Yiqing and Leqing, choking out: "Mother understands! Mother cannot ruin you two for your father's sake! Your father has Madam Huang, has official rank, has Ai'er and Xi'er. Mother only has you! Last night I couldn't resist his coaxing and agreed. But thinking it over in the night, doing that is truly wrong—if Mother takes this step back, you'll be trampled underfoot forever! If I give the child in my belly to them, not only are we separated from our own flesh and blood, but in the end, I might not die a good death either... Mother isn't afraid of death, isn't afraid of the side courtyard's gloom and never seeing the light of day. Mother just fears you sisters being harmed by her... My children ah!"

This whole night, the mother and daughters alternated between抱头痛哭 and whispering secretly, sitting until the rooster crowed three times and the sky turned pale at the horizon, before finally lying down to sleep.