The screams lasted from morning until dawn the next day.
During that time, because the baby was in the wrong position, the female lead of the abusive novel was helped out of bed and forced to walk back and forth in pain to correct the baby’s position.
Zhao Xian watched, both frightened and terrified.
At the break of dawn, with a loud cry, the baby was born.
The midwife carried the baby out from the inner room, lifting the curtain. “Congratulations, Madam, it’s a little girl.”
Zhao Xian had spent the entire night in Yunzhu Yuan, recalling the script and novel content all night while listening to the screams of the female lead. She had spent the night in a state of fear and anxiety.
In the book’s plot, the female lead of the abusive novel successfully gave birth to the child.
However, the book did not describe the birthing process in detail, nor did it mention such danger.
Taking the baby from the midwife, the swaddling cloth was wrapped tightly, so Zhao Xian didn’t panic.
The baby was tiny and, being premature, looked a bit ugly. Its eyes were half-open, staring unblinkingly at her.
With a sudden cry, the baby started wailing after being held for just a moment.
Zhao Xian could handle children a few years old, but with a newborn like this, she was at a loss.
“Madam, let me take her. The little miss must be hungry,” said the wet nurse, who had been waiting nearby. She took the baby and went to the side room to feed her.
Zhao Xian looked toward the inner room and asked, “Is the abu… my daughter-in-law alright?”
Seeing the concern in her eyes, the midwife replied, “She’s fine now. The young mistress had a difficult first birth, but with proper care, the next one will be easier.”
Zhao Xian frowned slightly. This birth was already so difficult, and there would be another? Seeing the midwife’s matter-of-fact expression, Zhao Xian realized this was ancient times. She pursed her lips and said, “Thank you for your hard work. Here’s a reward.”
The midwife quickly expressed her gratitude, showering her with congratulatory words.
Nanny He escorted the imperial physician and the midwife out.
Zhao Xian entered the inner room to check on the female lead of the abusive novel. The room still smelled heavily of blood after the birth, but the bedding had been changed, the curtains replaced, and new incense was burning in the censer.
Zhao Xian marveled at how efficient the servants were.
After a night of labor, the woman on the bed was exhausted and fast asleep.
Looking at the peaceful, sleeping face of the female lead, Zhao Xian suppressed the disgust she felt toward her.
This wasn’t her own emotion—she had always been lenient toward good-looking people. It must have been influenced by the original body. In the abusive novel’s plot, the mother-in-law was an evil mother-in-law who had always disliked the female lead, which was one of the reasons the abuse intensified.
Looking at Li Lianniang on the bed, Zhao Xian also felt a sense of relief. She was glad she hadn’t transmigrated into the female lead of the abusive novel and didn’t have to suffer the pain of childbirth.
But she was also deeply troubled. She had inexplicably transmigrated and ended up as the mother-in-law of the female lead in an abusive novel—and worse, an evil mother-in-law at that.
She had aged ten years for no reason, her seniority had skyrocketed, and she already had a granddaughter.
She wanted to die.
And Zhao Xian did just that.
When Jiang Wei was called back by his attendant, Nanny He entered the room to report. Instead of finding anyone on the couch or bed, she saw a pair of feet in embroidered shoes propped up on the round table. She immediately screamed, “Madam—!”
With a loud thud, Nanny He fainted and collapsed to the floor.
“…”
Zhao Xian, who was holding onto a rope made of long silk, hadn’t even managed to put her neck through it yet.
Hearing the noise, Jiang Wei hurried into the room. His eyes immediately landed on his mother, who was attempting to hang herself. His expressionless face slowly cracked. “Mother… Mother, what are you doing? Someone, help!”
Forcibly pulled down from the table by someone holding her feet, Zhao Xian pressed her lips together in silence, feeling utterly mortified.
Jiang Wei waved for the servants to withdraw.
As the servants left, they carried away Nanny He, who was still lying on the floor.
With no outsiders around, Jiang Wei said sternly, “Mother, even though Lady Li didn’t bear a son, there’s no need for you to be so furious, is there? She and I are still young—there will be more children in the future, and we will have a son.”
Zhao Xian, who had been pondering whether hanging oneself would lead to loss of bodily control and an undignified death, was suddenly accused by her eldest son of such a grave offense.
Slap—
Zhao Xian stood up and struck the man across the face.
After hitting him, her hand trembled, her palm numb and aching from the impact.
Even though this was the male lead, he was the arrogant, foolish male lead of a tragic romance.
At that moment, Zhao Xian couldn’t tell whether it was personal resentment or her anti-manipulation radar sounding the alarm. Pointing at Jiang Wei, she scolded:
“You truly are my ‘good’ eldest son. Your wife was so angered by you that she went into difficult labor, giving birth for a full day and night. I waited outside, but you were nowhere to be seen. After you’ve had your fun, instead of caring for your wife and daughter, you come here to blame me for disliking my granddaughter? What a heavy accusation—I won’t bear it.”
Meeting Jiang Wei’s stunned and suspicious gaze, Zhao Xian’s heart sank. She realized she might have spoken too bluntly.
Stiffening her neck, she lowered her voice slightly but maintained her firm tone. “I don’t dislike my granddaughter. What I dislike is that I gave birth to an unfilial son. While your wife was in difficult labor, you were outside accompanying another woman to offer incense and pray. If word gets out, I, as your mother, would have no face left.”
Faced with this sudden outburst of accusations, Jiang Wei’s lips parted and closed, then closed and parted again, as if he had something to say, but not a single word came out for a long while.
Yet the suspicion in his eyes grew deeper.
“Aren’t you going to see your daughter? Lianniang worked hard to carry and give birth to your child, only to be angered by you into premature labor. Instead of going to apologize yourself, do you expect me, your mother, to do it for you?”
Zhao Xian waved her hand dismissively, turning her back with an air of defiance as she strode into the inner chamber.
Though she appeared bold and arrogant, the moment she turned around, her expression changed drastically. Her outburst just now seemed to have aroused the tragic male lead’s suspicions.
Stay calm, stay calm. She was his mother now, an elder.
Not a random character in the book whose life and death were at the mercy of the tragic male lead. Stay calm!
Once inside the inner chamber, she listened intently through the gauze curtain and beaded strands until the footsteps faded away, finally letting out a sigh of relief.
Jiang Wei looked toward the inner chamber, ultimately closing his lips tightly, his brows furrowed.
His expression held a confusion he couldn’t quite articulate—he had never seen his mother lose her temper like this before.
After a moment of silence, he placed one hand behind his back and walked out.
Outside the room, Nanny He had already awakened and was making her way back. Seeing him, she hurriedly bowed and asked, “Young Master, where is the madam?”
Upon closer look, her eyes still held traces of fear.
“Mother is fine, Nanny. There’s no need to worry,” Jiang Wei said, but instead of stepping aside, he raised a hand in a gesture of invitation.
Hearing that all was well, Nanny He breathed a sigh of relief.
She was shrewd enough to understand that the young master had something to ask her.
“Wei-gege.” A woman’s gentle voice called out to Jiang Wei.
From behind a tender green plum blossom branch, a woman peeked out slightly, her fingers holding a handkerchief, her eyelids half-lifted as she looked at Jiang Wei. “Tingyue will first pay respects to Auntie, then accompany Wei-gege to visit Sister-in-law and the newborn niece.”
Jiang Wei thought of his mother’s unusual behavior today, along with those harsh words, and worried that Cui Tingyue might face difficulties if she went in. He said, “Mother is busy at the moment. Let’s pay respects another day.”
“Come with me to Yunzhu Yuan first,” Jiang Wei said, then turned to Nanny He. “Nanny, Tingyue is frail. Please have someone bring Mother’s sedan chair.”
When people are speechless, they laugh—Zhao Xian deeply understood this at that moment.
His wife had been angered into premature labor, yet he still insisted on bringing another woman to upset her further, all while fretting over the other woman’s frailty and arranging a sedan chair for her.
Truly worthy of a male lead in a tragic novel, paving a grand road straight to the crematorium.
Before Nanny He could give the order, the head maid, Shaoyao, stepped forward with her hands clasped in front of her chest, moving gracefully. “Miss Cui, please wait. Madam requests your presence.”
Cui Tingyue tightened her grip on her embroidered handkerchief and looked up at Jiang Wei.
Before Jiang Wei could speak, the maid Shaoyao added, “Madam instructed the eldest young master to return to Yunzhu Yuan as soon as possible. The eldest young mistress’s premature labor was like a brush with death—she suffered greatly. Last night, she called out for the eldest young master half the night. She is at her weakest now and cannot bear any further distress.”
Nanny He immediately understood her mistress’s intentions and chimed in, “Madam is considerate. The eldest young mistress has just given birth and should not have too many visitors. Miss Cui can visit in a couple of days instead.”
Urged by them and hearing the severity of the situation, Jiang Wei nodded and headed toward Yunzhu Yuan.
Shaoyao said, “Miss Cui, please.”
Cui Tingyue glanced at Jiang Wei’s retreating figure and twisted her handkerchief in her fingers.
Her earlier words were meant to avoid facing Madam Jiang alone. After all, with the commotion that had just occurred in the room, wouldn’t she be walking right into the line of fire?
She was merely an orphan girl. Even with the title of the eldest young master’s benefactor’s daughter, she knew Madam Jiang disliked her.
Just as Madam Jiang disliked the eldest young mistress, her status was even lower, with no father or brothers to support her.
Cui Tingyue lowered her head and entered the room, curtsying respectfully. “Tingyue pays her respects to Madam. May Madam enjoy blessings, longevity, and good health.”
From the moment the other woman stepped around the screen and came into view, Zhao Xian had been observing her.
Dressed entirely in plain white, her cloak devoid of much color, she appeared frail and delicate even with the cloak on—a sight that evoked pity.
Her hair was adorned with only a few simple silver hairpins and a plain white silk flower.
Yes, this benefactor’s daughter was still in mourning.
From the original body’s memories, Zhao Xian discovered that the original had actually intended for her eldest son to take this girl as a concubine.
Otherwise, why keep her in the manor? After all, she was a young woman who would eventually have to marry.
However, when the original brought this up, she was rebuffed.
They claimed the girl was still in mourning.
The original’s eldest son also refused, even reprimanding her, saying that since the girl’s father and brother had died saving him, taking the benefactor’s daughter as a concubine would be no different from repaying kindness with malice.
Zhao Xian inwardly scoffed.
If they were so afraid of repaying kindness with malice, why were they always clinging to each other, calling each other “brother” and “sister,” and blaming the wife for everything?
Zhao Xian pursed her lips, feeling as though they were exploiting some strange loophole.
“Tsk, pure tragedy.”
Cui Tingyue glanced up slightly. “What did Madam say?”
Zhao Xian waved her hand. “Nothing, nothing.”
When Cui Tingyue raised her eyes, Zhao Xian got a clear look at her face. For a moment, her breath caught.
What a face—delicate, fragile, cool, and filled with a sense of brokenness.
This face, this figure—she was perfectly suited to play the role of a white moonlight. Wherever she stood, she would naturally create a stunning flashback scene.
Just thinking about it feels wonderful.
Excited, she could hardly wait to sign the person and become a manager herself.
Suppressing this unrealistic and strange thought, Zhao Xian cleared her throat lightly: “Please sit, standing must be tiring.”
She had always had little resistance to beautiful people, especially natural, delicate beauties. Her voice softened slightly as she spoke, even taking on a gentle tone: “Are you settling in well at the residence?”
Cui Tingyue was slightly taken aback, discreetly observing Madam Jiang before her. Since she arrived at Jiang Jia, Madam Jiang had been fairly amiable in public. Though she had never been harsh in private, her attitude had always been cold and indifferent. Why today…
A thought crossed her mind—perhaps she was about to be driven out. She immediately felt as if sitting on pins and needles, “Th-thank you for your concern, Madam. Jiang Jia is very good.”
“Wei’er mentioned that your health is poor. What medicine have you been taking?”
The original host’s memory held no impression of this matter. It seemed that after she entered the residence, such affairs were handled by Jiang Wei.
In the book, the benefactor’s daughter had always been sickly.
But in the later part of the drama, after the male and female leads divorced, the male lead of the tragic romance finally realized he had been deceived all along by the benefactor’s daughter, repeatedly misunderstanding and mistreating the female lead. He then sent the benefactor’s daughter away to suffer, turning around to win back his wife.
Moreover, after driving her out of the residence, he exposed that Cui Tingyue was not ill at all—she had been pretending all along.
Zhao Xian carefully examined Cui Tingyue’s face. This sickly appearance didn’t seem like an act.
“Madam, when I was at home, my father had a physician prescribe Muxiang Fenqi Pills. After arriving at Jiang Jia, the female physician Liu also prescribed the same medicine for me, which I have been taking.”
Zhao Xian nodded, having no idea what the pills were for.
After a careful inquiry, Zhao Xian felt that the young lady was quite lovely—soft-spoken, gentle, and obedient.
How did she become the scheming, malicious female antagonist in the book, meddling in the tragic romance between the male and female leads?
After some casual conversation.
Zhao Xian found herself quite fond of Cui Tingyue.
She had also finished half a bowl of tea.
Cui Tingyue stood up and performed a farewell bow, saying, “Madam, I shall take my leave now.”
“Go ahead. After the long journey, you should rest more in your courtyard.”
Watching her leave with a smile, Zhao Xian sighed inwardly—so well-behaved.
Cui Tingyue, however, left Haitang Ju with a heart full of unease. Madam Jiang today was very unusual; her smile felt eerie and made her fearful.