Seeing Jia Min like this made Weisheng He’s mother feel miserable too.
She thought of her own daughter.
What if one day my daughter ends up lying in bed like Jia Min, with no one beside her but her children…
She did not dare think any further.
“Madam,” Weisheng He’s mother said after a moment of hesitation, “is there something weighing on your heart that you just can’t let go of?”
Jia Min glanced at her and remained silent for a long time.
Perhaps their earlier conversation had truly been pleasant. Perhaps Weisheng He’s mother reminded her of her own mother. Or perhaps, knowing that she had little time left, Jia Min could not help feeling frightened and wanted someone to confide in.
After hesitating for a while, she actually began speaking about the worries she had kept buried in her heart.
“What I worry about most is my daughter.
“She was weak in the womb and has been frail and sickly since childhood. I can’t stop worrying about what will happen after I’m gone. Who will take care of her?
“Master has so few children. Daiyu is his only daughter.
“Once I’m gone, Master will surely remarry.
“Will the woman who becomes the new mistress of the household treat Daiyu well?
“And even if Master doesn’t remarry, someone will eventually have to inherit the Lin family estate. Who knows what the situation will be by then? What will happen to Daiyu?
“I’ve already decided. In a little while, I’ll send a letter to the Rongguo Residence and ask my mother to take Daiyu in.
“My mother is the Lady of Rongguo. She has doted on me since I was little. If Daiyu is raised by her, I’ll at least be able to feel somewhat at ease.”
Yet the worry still lingering in her eyes betrayed her true feelings.
She was not nearly as reassured as she wanted to believe.
Weisheng He’s mother was silent for a moment.
“Madam, I’m going to say a few things that may be presumptuous. Please don’t take offense.”
“Go ahead.”
“At Lord Lin’s age, he may not even intend to remarry,” Weisheng He’s mother said carefully. “And even if he does, there’s no guarantee his new wife will bear him a son. At least for the next few years, Daiyu will still be Lord Lin’s only daughter. He’ll surely treat her well.
“As for sending her to the Rongguo Residence…”
Weisheng He’s mother frowned slightly.
“The Rongguo Residence in the capital is the home where you grew up with your parents and brothers. But to your daughter, it’s an unfamiliar place full of relatives she barely knows.
“If she goes there, she’ll be living under someone else’s roof. She may not be any more comfortable there than she would be staying beside her own father.”
Jia Min froze.
She had never considered it from that perspective.
“Besides, your mother is already getting on in years. Who knows when she might…”
Weisheng He’s mother paused. Worried that Jia Min might find the words inauspicious, she did not finish the sentence.
“When that time comes, your sister-in-law will be the one managing the inner household. Whether she treats Daiyu well or poorly, your elder brother may not notice. Men don’t spend much time in the inner courtyard.
“What if everything looks perfectly proper on the surface, but the servants gossip about your daughter behind her back? Or what if they treat her differently in small ways no outsider would notice?
“I’m afraid Daiyu might suffer without even having anyone she can complain to.”
Weisheng He’s mother spoke softly, but every word seemed to pierce Jia Min like a needle.
“If you truly can’t put your mind at ease,” she continued, “then before you go, why not personally choose a suitable woman to become Lord Lin’s next wife?”
Jia Min’s eyes brightened.
“What do you mean?”
“Preferably, someone from a family of lower status. A woman like that would have to rely on Inspector Lin’s favor to live comfortably. As long as she hasn’t borne him a son, she won’t have enough standing to mistreat your daughter.”
Given the Lin family’s circumstances, however, that day would not come so easily.
“Then there’s her character. You’d want someone mild-tempered, kindhearted, and fond of children. Even if she were fortunate enough to have a child with Lord Lin one day, she still wouldn’t mistreat Daiyu.
“But most importantly, she should be unable to have children,” Weisheng He’s mother said. “That way, once she enters the family, she’ll naturally treat Daiyu well as Inspector Lin’s only child. Of course, a woman like that would be difficult to find. No one goes around announcing that she can’t have children.”
As Jia Min listened, someone suddenly came to mind.
Weisheng He.
Her family background?
Compared with the Lin and Jia families, neither the Li family nor the Weisheng family could be considered prominent.
Gentle and compliant?
Not exactly.
But she had already been pushed to the brink that day. If she hadn’t frightened off those malicious Li clansmen, who knows how things would have ended?
Under ordinary circumstances, she should be gentle enough, shouldn’t she?
From the way her parents and children speak of her, she seems gentle, good-humored, easygoing, and reasonable.
Kindhearted and fond of children?
The medicine she went out of her way to send me through her mother, along with the way she raises her children, is enough to show that she must be.
Unable to have children?
Well…
That certainly doesn’t apply.
Weisheng He clearly has no trouble having children. She already has four.
But after thinking about it again, Jia Min realized that being able to have children might not necessarily be a disadvantage.
She thought of herself.
She had been married into the Lin family for many years without becoming pregnant. It was only seven years ago that she had finally conceived, and even then, she had only given birth to a daughter.
She had still failed to provide the Lin family with a son to continue the family line.
She had always felt guilty about it.
The gossip outside had not been pleasant either.
Otherwise, she would never have taken the initiative to arrange bedchamber maids and concubines for her husband.
There were several concubines in the residence. Aside from the two bedchamber maids her mother-in-law had given Lin Ruhai years ago, almost all the others had been arranged by Jia Min herself.
If Weisheng He can give the Lin family a son, then even in the Yellow Springs, I’ll finally be able to rest in peace.
Daiyu would have someone to rely on in the future too.
More importantly, I am Weisheng He’s benefactor.
I was the one who spoke for her at Li Yanming’s funeral and forced those malicious Li clansmen to back down.
And Weisheng He is clearly not an ungrateful person.
If she becomes Lin Ruhai’s next wife, surely she wouldn’t go against her conscience and mistreat Daiyu, the daughter left behind by someone who once helped her?
Jia Min’s heart suddenly began beating faster.
She looked at Weisheng He’s mother.
The words had already reached the tip of her tongue, but she swallowed them again.
This was too important.
She needed to discuss it with Lin Ruhai first.
That evening, Lin Ruhai returned from duty and went to Jia Min’s room.
Jia Min was leaning against the bed, looking a little more energetic than she had that morning.
Lin Ruhai sat beside her and took her hand.
“You look much better than before. Did the pill from the Weisheng family work?
“That elderly madam said the pill came from a wandering Daoist and that it was the last one she had, but that might not be true. Even if it is, we could ask her what the Daoist looked like and how he was dressed. Then we could…”
“Master!” Jia Min sighed. “How could there really be medicine that miraculous?
“If there were, the Lin family would have obtained it long ago.”
How many people were eager for a chance to curry favor with Lin Ruhai?
“Even if the Lin family couldn’t obtain it, the Jia family would have sent some.”
Jia Min laughed softly.
“I think I look better today because that elderly madam and the two children lifted my spirits. She’s very talkative, and the children are lively and amusing. I only spent a little time with them, but I already felt much better.”
Lin Ruhai looked disappointed.
“Maybe…”
“If that medicine really works, then considering how many people there are in the Weisheng family, the fact that Madam Weisheng still had one pill left after all this time and was willing to give it to me after hearing how ill I am must already be because she remembered what happened at the funeral.”
Deep sorrow appeared in Jia Min’s eyes.
“A medicine that precious could never exist in large quantities. It would only be natural for it to be difficult to find.
“Even if you knew what the wandering Daoist looked like and what he wore, what good would that do? Even if you mobilized everyone the Lin and Jia families could spare to search for him, there’s no chance you would find him within a month or two.
“And in my condition, how could I possibly wait that long?
“Master, please don’t make things difficult for them.”