Chapter 5

Chapter 5

It took me a full week of convalescence before I finally recovered.

During that time, Jiang Yi came by several times, her belly not yet showing.

“I have far too many tonics. I thought I would share some with Young Madam.”

The medicinal ingredients that should have been used by the household to keep me alive and restore my qi had all been snatched away by her. Now she had come to offer me charity.

“It’s all Young Master’s fault for being so anxious about me. He insists that everything be given to me first, and ended up forgetting about Young Madam.”

She stroked her belly and lifted her eyes to look at me.

“Sister, you won’t blame me, will you?”

“Not at all.”

With a calm expression, I accepted the medicinal ingredients, and even asked her, “Is there more?”

Recovering my health was what mattered. As long as she could bring me medicine, I did not care if my husband enshrined her like an idol.

She froze, clearly not expecting such a reaction from me. After a cold laugh, she left.

I had Nanny put the medicinal ingredients away.

“Young Madam, this is the ointment you asked the physician to prescribe a few days ago.”

The maid handed me a small box of salve and hesitated before saying, “…Are you truly going to unbind your feet? But won’t Young Master be angry?”

The moment I climbed out of that well, I had made up my mind to unbind them.

“I want to know what it feels like to run.”

I lowered my head with a faint smile and loosened the foot bindings.

Years upon years of binding had left the tops of my feet swollen and sagging, my toes curled tightly in on themselves. Both feet were covered in blood blisters and corns.

Unbinding one’s feet was not as simple as taking off the cloth.

I applied the ointment, then wrapped them loosely in the opposite direction. It would take at least half a year before I could discard the bindings, endure the pain, and learn to walk all over again.

Even then, my feet would never return to a normal shape.

I did not envy Jiang Yi for having my husband’s affection, but I did indeed envy her easy, nimble feet.

That night, my husband came. He sat before the desk and took a sip of tea.

The political situation was unstable, and these past few days he had been busy searching for a respectable post. Though he had studied abroad, Liu Suiwang still outshone him at every turn.

“Did Yi’er come to make trouble for you again today?” he asked.

“It doesn’t matter,” I said without looking up. “She is young.”

I had spoken the words he meant to say before he could say them. For once, he was left at a loss. He set down his teacup.

Silence stretched for a long while.

I was thinking of an excuse to make him leave when I lifted my face and met his deep gaze.

He was staring at me, his expression complicated.

“…Why do you no longer care?”

“Care about what?”

He pressed his lips together. “In the past, although you gave way in everything, you…”

He did not continue.

So he had known all along.

From the moment he allowed Jiang Yi to enter his study as she pleased, he had understood the pain in my heart, and still chosen to ignore it.

“If you also wish to learn foreign languages, it is not as though I cannot teach you.” His brows drew together slightly. “It’s just that your aptitude is mediocre. I imagine you would not be able to learn it.”

Before I could answer, someone arrived outside.

“Young Master, Concubine Jiang asks you to go to her. She is feeling unwell.”

My husband glanced sideways at me.

I immediately said, “Husband, you should go.”

Instead, he did not move.

“Husband?” I urged him.

He tightened his grip on the sandalwood armrest. With no expression on his face, he looked down at me and said leisurely, “Beg me, and I will stay here.”

I blinked and met his gaze for a few seconds.

“That won’t be necessary-”

Before I had finished speaking, he abruptly rose and left with a darkened expression.

The door slammed shut with a bang, badly frightening Nanny by the entrance.

“…Young Master has never acted like this before,” she said, walking toward me. “Young Madam, do you truly intend to tonight-”

“Is the carriage ready?”

She hesitated, then nodded.

I put on thick clothes and wrapped myself up tightly.

“If anyone comes, say I have gone to sleep.”

After giving her those instructions, I avoided the others in the residence and walked alone toward the back gate.

The cold night deepened, and the moonlight was gray and hazy.

The night watchman made his round.

Candlelight glowed in Jiang Yi’s courtyard, and servants had been sent to prepare water.

The servants laughed in secret and teased in low voices.

“She’s pregnant and still can’t restrain herself. The young really are full of vigor.

“This kind of favor is something Young Madam could never cultivate in several lifetimes. Once the child is born, I’m afraid even the legal wife will have to move aside.”

The water was carried inside, while the people outside pricked up their ears to listen for movement within.

No doubt it would be another peaceful night.

The carriage from the back gate drove away and stopped before the main entrance of Liu Mansion.

The coachman knocked on the door.

Someone inside opened it, still bleary-eyed with sleep. “Who is it?”

“My master wishes to meet Young Master Liu.”

“Do you think my young master is someone anyone can meet just because they wish to?”

He looked ready to drive us away.

I lifted the carriage curtain and handed the coachman a thin sheet of paper for him to pass to the man.

Seeing that I was a woman, the man was somewhat surprised and took a few extra looks at me.

“I heard that the newspaper run by Young Master Liu recently became embroiled in a debate with a conservative newspaper. The battle of words has reached a stalemate. My master has a strategy to offer, and respectfully asks Young Master Liu to grant a meeting.”

He held the paper and glanced over it a few times without understanding it, but in the end, he still helped relay the message.

In less than fifteen minutes, Liu Suiwang’s hurried voice came from beyond the gate.

“Which gentleman’s strategy is it?”

“…Not a gentleman. A young lady.”

His footsteps halted. “Is she here on behalf of her family?”

The attendant stammered, unable to answer. Liu Suiwang walked straight up to my carriage.

“May I ask which family’s young lady you are?”

I lifted the curtain and saw a strange look flash through his gentle eyes. He stiffened in place.

He recognized me.

So the Young Master Liu famed throughout Shangjing, proud and untouchable as he was, could make such an expression too.