Chapter 271
Chapter 271
“Mother, I thought I’d never see you again.”
Zhao Wan embraced Lady Yang and breathed in her familiar scent.
For a moment, she felt immeasurably comforted.
Lady Yang stroked her head, but her voice caught. “Wan’er, I’ve wronged you.”
Zhao Wan immediately looked up and protested, “Mother, I won’t let you say that. You gave birth to me and raised me!”
At those words, tears gathered in Lady Yang’s eyes, but she did not dare let them fall.
She seemed to summon great resolve before saying, “Wan’er, from now on… I can no longer stay with you.”
Zhao Wan’s heart sank. She hastily clutched her mother’s sleeve and shook her head stubbornly. “I won’t…”
Lady Yang gently stroked her daughter’s face. “Wan’er, once certain things have happened, there is no turning back.”
“I alone must bear the bitter consequences of today.”
Zhao Wan kept shaking her head. “I don’t understand what you’re saying! What exactly happened?”
Lady Yang sighed softly. “It all began when I was pregnant with you…”
Eighteen years earlier, an imperial decree arrived at the Yang Family home. Yang Hui, the eldest legitimate daughter of the family, left the capital to marry Prince Wu in distant Liangzhou City on the Northern Border, becoming his principal wife.
Though she had never met Prince Wu before, she had heard much of his deeds.
She knew he had won great military honors and enjoyed a formidable reputation, and that he was strikingly handsome and distinguished in appearance.
She also knew that he was an inveterate womanizer, frivolous and lustful…
Of course, she understood perfectly what role she played in this marriage.
The Yang Family was steadily declining. Her marriage to Prince Wu was its last remaining glory. Whatever sort of man he might be, she had no way to retreat.
At first, Prince Wu did treat her well. After all, a daughter of an eminent family like hers had been raised from childhood to embody dignity and virtue.
Whether in looks, character, speech, or manners, there was not a single fault to find.
But before long, Prince Wu grew bored.
The morning he said he wished to take a concubine was the very morning she discovered she was pregnant.
At the time, she received the news calmly.
“Your Highness, I too happen to have something to tell you.”
“What is it?”
“I am with child.”
Naturally, Prince Wu was delighted to hear it. But that gave him all the more reason to take a concubine.
As his principal wife, she could not stop him. She even had to appear obedient and respectful. “I will make the arrangements for the matter you just mentioned, Your Highness. I will be sure to please you.”
Her words made Prince Wu happier still. Taking her hand, he praised her. “To have such a virtuous wife is good fortune earned over three lifetimes.”
Yang Hui merely continued smiling respectfully. “It is my good fortune to ease Your Highness’s cares.”
That very day, she had Steward Sun select several women of respectable background, good character, and pleasing appearance in Liangzhou City and send them to her husband’s room.
From then on, the inner household had another concubine. But that was only the beginning.
She still remembered sitting in her room all night, without the slightest desire to sleep. Only at dawn did she finally persuade herself to accept it.
While Prince Wu and his new love delighted in one another, the child in Yang Hui’s womb grew little by little.
That child became the only glimmer of light in her lonely days.
She began to feel that, rather than waiting for a man to visit her, it was better to await the birth of a child who belonged to her.
But as her belly grew more pronounced each day, misfortune was quietly approaching…
Yang Hui began having nightmares.
In her dreams, she was trapped in a seemingly bottomless chamber with no way out.
It was too dark to see her own hand. Alone and helpless, she woke drenched in cold sweat.
The first time, she thought little of it.
But for several days afterward, even half a month, the dream never changed.
Yang Hui grew frightened and dared not sleep. She could only tell Prince Wu, but he treated the matter perfunctorily, merely summoning a physician to ease her worries.
The physician could find no cause and could only prescribe medicine to support the pregnancy and calm her mind.
Yet the terrifying dreams did not stop. On the contrary, they became more real and frightening.
Several times, upon waking, she found herself not in bed but leaning against a couch, her shoes and stockings still on and black ash clinging to her soles.
Though Yang Hui did not believe in ghosts, the matter tormented her and nearly drove her mad.
With no other choice, she had Steward Sun invite an occultist into the mansion to drive out evil.
The occultist had little real ability, but he deliberately staged an elaborate ritual in the inner quarters. At last, he declared that a demonic creature had entered the household.
Unfortunately, Prince Wu had taken a beautiful new concubine during those very days.
When she learned of the matter, the concubine was furious. She immediately went to Prince Wu, weeping, making a scene, and threatening to hang herself.
Such tactics worked very well on Prince Wu.
To defend his new love, he personally visited Ning’an Courtyard and scolded his wife without listening to any explanation.
He also ordered the occultist who had spread the alarming nonsense to be found, beaten, and expelled from Liangzhou City.
Yang Hui had nothing to say. She understood at last that her husband could not be relied upon.
She could only save herself.
Previously, she had slept lightly, so no attendants had remained in her bedchamber at night.
Now, to protect herself and her unborn child, she not only called for guards to keep strict watch but also kept several older serving women and maids in the room, taking turns on night duty.
Even so, the nightmare did not stop.
That night, she entered the dream again.
This time, however, instead of fear, she felt anger.
In the dream, she screamed hysterically, demanding answers.
“What demon or monster are you? What exactly do you want?”
“I’m not afraid of you. If you dare harm my child, I’ll fight you with my life!”
When she finished shouting, laughter answered her.
Then someone seemed to blow a cool breath beside her ear. A sinister voice whispered close to it, “Do you want your child to be born safely?”
She answered loudly, “My child will be born safely!”
The voice gave a derisive chuckle. “Whether she is born safely is not for you to decide. Let me tell you the truth. Someone already has designs on your life and your daughter’s.”
Yang Hui was even more terrified. “How do you know whether I’m carrying a boy or a girl?”
The voice answered, “That isn’t important. What matters is whether you want her to live. Do you want her to grow up safely, never be bullied, and become the only child in this household?”
“The only child?” Yang Hui asked in a trembling voice.
“Yes, the only one. Only then can she be Prince Wu’s most precious treasure, with no one to take a share of the love meant for her.”
Those words struck Yang Hui deeply.
She turned them over carefully in her mind. The more she considered them, the more she realized they expressed exactly what she wanted…
And so she wavered. “Is that… really possible?”
She asked into the darkness. The next moment, the beguiling voice answered softly, “If you want it, it can come true.”