Chapter 4
Chapter 4
I went to my parents-in-law first and explained that I had barred Concubine Song from my courtyard precisely because I feared that if anything happened to her there, my husband would blame me. For the same reason, I had promised not to enter her courtyard.
“My husband and I already share little affection. I was afraid any dispute would destroy what little remained.”
“I did not know Concubine Song was pregnant. Presumably she did not know either, or she would never have come to my gate and repeatedly struck her head against the ground.”
“Her maid ran to fetch me as soon as she began. By the time I came outside, she had bowed fewer than ten times. I never imagined her health was so delicate that she would miscarry from so little.”
“I have heard that men who train courtesans soak the girls in all manner of medicines to keep their bodies soft and delicate. I wonder if that had something to do with it.”
“I am not trying to evade responsibility. The whole affair simply seems too strange for me to accept the blame without question and allow my husband and parents to turn against me. I hope you will forgive my caution.”
Their expressions darkened with every word. At last, they sighed.
“It seems she was never blessed with good fortune. Take care of Yunzhou. Once you two have an heir, this household will belong to you in the future.”
They genuinely believed it.
They were traditional, rigid, old-fashioned people who prided themselves on being morally upright.
The greatest stain on the family name was Zhao Yunzhou’s decision to take a trained courtesan as his concubine.
They desperately wanted the lawful wife of respectable birth to bear the legitimate heir.
Had Zhao Yunzhou shown me even basic respect on our wedding night, perhaps I would have chosen that path. With his parents supporting me, my life would not have been too difficult.
Unfortunately, everything had gone wrong from the beginning.
There could never be anything between Zhao Yunzhou and me.
And if Concubine Song knew how to sow suspicion, so did I.
Who had counted how many times she bowed? My word was as good as anyone’s.
Who knew whether she was capable of carrying a child to term? She had staged a miscarriage, so she could hardly blame others for wondering.
As for whether she had schemed, no one in that household was a fool.
She had sacrificed a child-or pretended to. Did she truly think everyone would indulge her as Zhao Yunzhou did?
There would always be someone who found her troublesome.
When I returned to my courtyard, Zhao Yunzhou was awake. The moment he learned of Concubine Song’s miscarriage, he hurled a teacup at me.
“You vicious woman!”
I sidestepped easily. The cup shattered on the floor with a piercing crack.
Looking at the scattered porcelain, I said calmly, “If you continue behaving like this, I will send you to Concubine Song. Since she has no actual miscarriage to recover from, she can take excellent care of you.”
Zhao Yunzhou stared as if he had never seen me before.
His face was dark, his eyes filled with anger and disappointment.
“You have no heart at all!”
Wrong.
I had a heart.
They simply did not deserve it.