Chapter 5
“Madam Liu and I gave birth on the same day. She bore a daughter in the morning, and I delivered you that night. Your father bribed the midwife to replace you with her baby. But someone knocked over a candle in a side room, and the rear courtyard caught fire. I had Lanxiu switch you back amid the confusion.”
Mother stroked my hair and continued, “The moment you were born, I pinched your arm hard enough to leave a mark. For some time afterward, I was always afraid they would take you again, so I kept touching your little hand with copper. Your father thought the marks were only a rash…”
Father had always prided himself on being a gentleman. I never imagined he could do something so vicious to Mother for the sake of his mistress.
I lay with my head in Mother’s lap and looked up at her through reddened eyes.
There was so much I wanted to say, yet no words would come.
Mother pinched my cheek and smiled. “Do you think my life had to end simply because your father changed his heart? I still had you and your brother. As for him, he was no more than a stepping-stone beneath our feet.”
My brother once told me that Mother wept often when she was pregnant with me.
Later, through Chancellor Meng’s recommendation, Father entered the Central Secretariat and secured his position in the capital. As the Song residence grew larger, Mother no longer had time for tears.
She learned a great deal from Madam Meng and soon managed the household with perfect order.
Around that time, a new emperor ascended the throne, and Meng Jinci became his empress.
Everyone in the capital knew Mother had once saved the empress’s life. No one dared look down on her rural origins again, and she quickly became an honored guest at every great banquet.
Even His Majesty heard how she had harvested lotus roots to support Father’s studies and remarked that Father had married a virtuous wife.
Father could no longer order Mother about as he once had.
His prospects depended on her friendship with the chancellor’s family.
He had once despised her. Now he had no choice but to show her respect.
The more he had to restrain himself over the years, the more he resented her. What sustained him was the secret that he believed he had switched Mother’s daughter with Liu Yuyao’s.
In his eyes, Mother would not remain triumphant for long.
Late that night, Father returned from a banquet and heard from the steward about the disturbance Liu Xiang’er had caused at our gates.
For once, he came to Mother’s room.
She sat at her desk reviewing the account books.
I had fallen asleep on the couch while Lanxiu stood beside me, gently moving a fan.
“What happened to Yunqian?” Father asked.
Mother lowered her gaze. “She exhausted herself crying and fell asleep here. She is almost married, yet she still behaves like a child.”
Father ventured, “Why was she crying? Did she hear the mad things that young woman said today?”
“I heard about it when I returned. The young woman seemed to claim she was your daughter. Do you truly have a daughter outside the household?” Mother set down her brush, then widened her eyes as if just remembering. “I nearly forgot. Madam Liu did bear you a daughter, didn’t she? She should be about Yunqian’s age.”
Father’s breathing quickened. He hurriedly changed the subject.
“Madam Liu is… recently with child again. The baby is mine. She has suffered alone for years, and I want to bring her into the residence.”
Mother stared at him before breaking into a smile. “That is wonderful news. Though I wonder whether becoming a concubine would be beneath her.”
There was no trace of displeasure on her face, let alone guile or calculation.
Father sat beside her and sighed.
“The rumors from those years have finally faded. She has suffered greatly.” He took Mother’s hand, his expression sincere. “But even after she enters the household, she can only be a concubine. You will always be the mistress of the Song residence.”
I could bear no more and opened my eyes, ready to defend Mother. A glance from her stopped me.
“Rest assured, Husband,” Mother said gently. “I will treat her well.”
The moment Father left, I sat up.
“Why did you agree to let Madam Liu enter the household?”
Mother came to sit beside me.
“How many officials in the capital keep no concubines? If I barred one from entering, people would call me jealous.”
“But Madam Liu and Father conspired to hurt you…”
“And they failed.” Mother’s eyes turned cold, the gentleness vanishing from her face. “Once you are married, it will be time to cleanse the Song household.”