Chapter 96: Madness
Seeing the blood beneath Concubine Song, one of the maids gasped and said, "I fear even if the doctor comes now, the child cannot be saved..."
Gu Lan stepped forward sharply and demanded, "Who said that! What are you feeding her? Let go of her hands!"
Mama Xu explained, "Second Miss doesn’t understand. The concubine is delirious. Letting go might make it worse."
But Gu Lan ignored her, pushing the maids' hands away. Concubine Song immediately curled into a ball, clutching her stomach and writhing in pain across the bed, muttering fearfully about "Madam" and "the child." Her hair was disheveled, her face deathly pale—nothing like the Concubine Song of the past!
Gu Lan’s heart ached at the sight, her eyes reddening as she called softly, "Concubine, concubine, what’s wrong with you..."
When Gu Jinzhao arrived at the Waterside Pavilion, she instructed the kneeling maids to boil water and sent the older women to the inner chamber to assist—they couldn’t just kneel there doing nothing. She also sent word to Concubine Guo and Concubine Du, telling them not to come, as too many people would only complicate things.
As she stepped into the inner chamber, she heard Concubine Song’s agonized cries, pitiful and wretched. She asked a nearby maid, "...How is the concubine and the child?"
Hearing Gu Jinzhao’s voice, Gu Lan suddenly clenched her teeth and glared at her coldly. "...It was you, wasn’t it? The concubine has always been healthy—how could she miscarry? You must have tampered with her medicine! Or added something to her incense burner!"
Gu Jinzhao remained composed. Gu Lan couldn’t possibly have discovered anything—she was simply grief-stricken and lashing out.
Gu Jinzhao met her gaze and said, "I know you’re distraught, so I won’t argue with you. Let’s wait for Liu Daifu to examine her first."
Gu Lan, thinking of Concubine Song’s pitiful state, wept bitterly, her clenched fingers trembling.
"Gu Jinzhao! It must have been you! The concubine hasn’t been well lately... And you had Father send Madam Song away—you planned this miscarriage!" Gu Lan glared at her hatefully, gritting her teeth. "If anything happens to the concubine’s child, I won’t let you off..."
When Gu Dezhao heard about Concubine Song’s miscarriage, he hurriedly dressed and rushed over with his maids. As he stepped inside, he caught Gu Lan’s words and frowned coldly. "Gu Lan, what are you saying?"
As a man, he couldn’t enter the inner chamber and risk contamination, so he stood in the western side room and called them over.
He first asked Gu Jinzhao, "...How is the child?"
Jinchao replied, "The doctor has been sent for. Mama Xu is inside watching over her. The maids say it’s very likely the child won’t survive."
Gu Dezhao nodded. He hadn’t expected Concubine Song’s child to be in danger—she had always been healthy. How could she miscarry? Then, recalling Gu Lan’s earlier words, he asked, "What were you saying about your elder sister just now?"
Gu Lan’s tears fell like rain, her face a picture of grievance. "Father... The concubine couldn’t have miscarried so easily. Elder sister has always managed affairs at the Waterside Pavilion—she’s resented the concubine for a long time and wanted to harm her and her child! You must believe me! The concubine’s health only declined after she became pregnant..."
Gu Dezhao said nothing.Gu Jinchao curtsied and said, "Father, please be discerning. Ever since Concubine Song became pregnant, she has complained of discomfort and strange abdominal pains. Several physicians examined her without improvement—what else could be the root cause? If I truly intended to harm her, why would I go through the trouble of inviting Mr. Xiao here? And as for Concubine Song herself, she refused to take the medicine prescribed by Mr. Xiao, pouring it all out instead. If she doesn’t cherish her own health, how can she blame me? Lan Er, you should at least be reasonable!"
Concubine Song hadn’t taken Mr. Xiao’s medicine? Hearing Jinchao’s words, Gu Dezhao asked, "...How did the concubine pour out the medicine?"
Jinchao glanced at Cao Ying, who immediately darted out and retrieved a fishbowl hidden in the Yellow Reed Thicket.
"...This was concealed outside the inner chamber. Concubine Song poured out the medicine every time. She delayed her own illness by refusing the treatment—how can anyone else be blamed?"
Gu Dezhao looked inside and saw the dried remnants of medicine.
Deep down, he also believed Chaojie wouldn’t harm Concubine Song. If she had wanted to, why would she have gone to the trouble of summoning Mr. Xiao?
Lan Er had gone too far. Even if she was anxious, she shouldn’t have falsely accused her elder sister of ill intent! He reprimanded Gu Lan, "Now that everything is clear, you must not wrongly accuse your elder sister again!"
Gu Lan was left speechless by Gu Jinchao’s rebuttal! Yet she dared not reveal that Concubine Song had been feigning illness—who would believe her? Even if they did, Concubine Song would be branded as cruel, willing to harm her own unborn child to maintain the deception...
Gu Jinchao sighed. "...Lan Er is simply too distraught. Arguing now is pointless. We should focus on the well-being of Concubine Song’s child."
Just then, Concubine Song’s agonized cries grew even more piercing. Mama Xu hurried out, sweating profusely, and bowed to Gu Dezhao. "Master, the physician’s efforts are in vain... The concubine’s child... cannot be saved!"
Concubine Song let out one final, heart-wrenching scream before her voice abruptly cut off. Silence fell.
Gu Dezhao closed his eyes and sighed. His heirs were few, and he had longed for this child. Yet its timing had been ill-fated—conceived after Madam Ji’s death, an inauspicious clash. Now, lost so suddenly, he couldn’t even name the emotions swirling within him.
Gu Lan staggered back several steps before collapsing against a side table, burying her face in her hands as she wept bitterly.
Gu Jinchao had no choice but to enter the inner chamber—someone had to oversee matters inside.
Song Miaohua had fainted and was being lifted by the maidservants. Nearby, several maids hastily stripped the bloodied bedding and replaced it with fresh linens.
Mama Xu approached Jinchao and said, "Eldest Miss, the maids have checked—everything has been cleaned up..."
But Jinchao’s gaze remained fixed on Concubine Song, who lay unconscious on the wormwood-stuffed pillow. Banlian wrung out a cloth to wipe her face. Concubine Song had grown much thinner; in just two months, she had aged more than in years past, wrinkles now framing her eyes.
Mama Xu continued, "...Before fainting, the concubine seemed delirious. She kept saying she saw Madam’s ghost, that Madam had returned to claim her child’s life. She begged Madam to spare her..."
Jinchao sighed softly. "I never thought she’d feel guilt in this lifetime. So even she fears retribution..."
But no amount of remorse could bring her child back now.She then instructed the maidservant tidying up, "Take these wormwood cushions and bedding outside to be burned. It's inauspicious to have them stained with blood."
The maidservant was puzzled—there was no blood on the cushions. But since it was the Eldest Miss's order, she could only comply quickly, picking up the wormwood cushion embroidered with gold-threaded patterns on sapphire blue fabric, and carried it out along with the bedding to be burned.
Gu Dezhao and Gu Lan were waiting in the western side room, and Li Guanshi finally arrived with Liu Daifu.
Liu Daifu hesitated to enter the inner chamber where blood had just been shed, so the maidservants carried Concubine Song out and placed her on the large heated platform in the western side room for his examination.
After carefully checking her pulse, Liu Daifu said to Gu Dezhao, "...Normally, a pregnant woman should have a slippery pulse, but Concubine not only lacks this, her pulse is the opposite—hollow upon pressure. When I last examined her, I didn’t notice her body was so depleted of qi... However, the abdominal pain she experienced was quite unusual. Perhaps that’s what caused her miscarriage..."
Gu Dezhao nodded in understanding. Concubine Song had suffered from a strange illness before and hadn’t been diligent in taking Mr. Xiao’s medicine. No wonder she had miscarried.
Liu Daifu then prescribed a recuperative formula and added, "Concubine’s life is not in danger, but her body is cold and weak. It will likely be difficult for her to conceive again... She must recuperate well to avoid chronic ailments."
Jinchao thanked Liu Daifu and escorted him to the corridor, where Li Guanshi then saw him out through the festooned gate.
When she reentered the western side room, Concubine Song had already woken up.
But she was huddled weakly in the corner of the bed, clutching the Gilded Silver Scent Ball tightly in the bedding, eyeing Gu Lan warily as she stood before her.
Gu Lan was frantic with worry, tearfully coaxing Concubine Song to let go: "Concubine, there’s still burning incense inside—be careful not to burn yourself! Don’t you recognize me? I’m Lan Er... your Lan Er!"
Concubine Song remained silent, shrinking further away.
Gu Dezhao frowned deeply. Concubine Song’s behavior... didn’t seem lucid at all! He quietly asked Mama Xu, who whispered, "Concubine has been acting strangely since earlier, saying she saw the ghost of the late madam... Now that she’s woken up and realized she lost the child, perhaps the shock of it all... has driven her mad!"
Gu Dezhao said nothing, watching as Gu Lan tried to coax Concubine Song to speak.
Suddenly, Concubine Song seemed to recognize Gu Lan and began weeping softly, "It’s Lan Er! Your little brother is gone... Mother’s child is lost, everything is gone."
Before Gu Lan could rejoice, she wiped her tears, crying and laughing at once, "Nonsense! Concubine still has Lan Er!"
But Concubine Song ignored her again, cradling the small silver scent ball like a child, patting it gently, "Hush now, don’t cry, kitty be good, go to sleep..."
Tears streamed down Gu Lan’s face as she looked at Concubine Song crouched there, her spine protruding sharply under her thin frame. Unable to resist, she reached out to take her hand, but Concubine Song recoiled in terror, curling around the scent ball like a frightened child. "Madam, don’t take my baby! I won’t harm you again, I know I was wrong..." She sobbed pitifully, like a child begging for forgiveness.Gu Lan stood frozen in place. After a while, Mama Xu finally said, "Second Miss, you shouldn't frighten Concubine like this." She motioned for Gu Lan to step further away, and Concubine Song gradually relaxed, hugging the silver incense ball as her sobs subsided. She began whispering to it, occasionally breaking into small smiles.
Gu Dezhao watched Concubine Song's behavior, unsure whether to hate her or pity her in his heart.
After committing so many misdeeds, she had ended up in this state. Having lost her child and now acting so deranged. He had steeled himself to send her to a nunnery after she gave birth, but in her current condition, it seemed she wouldn't be going anywhere at all.
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