The sun was already high in the sky, and Tao Niang still hadn’t had her breakfast.
By now, she was so hungry that her stomach was cramping up…
No sound came from the adjacent room either.
Last night, the Feng family members in the room next door had been bickering nonstop.
Either they were cursing Old Man Feng for ruining the whole family, or someone was hungry or thirsty, or someone had peed or pooped and needed Jiaojiao to come clean it up…
They’d carried on for nearly half the night, and this morning, an occasional curse could still be heard.
But now, at this moment, there was nothing.
Too quiet—
It was frightening…
Suddenly, a wave of intense fear washed over Tao Niang’s heart.
Where was Jiaojiao?
Had Jiaojiao been here last night? Had she already abandoned her?
If Jiaojiao had run off too, what would she do?
There’d be no one to cook for her, no one to clean her up.
She’d starve to death right here…
The thought was too horrifying, and tears came flooding out instantly…
“Wuu wuu…”
Tao Niang sobbed.
She felt such hatred—
Why?
Why did she have to go through all this?
Why didn’t Mingzhu care about her?
Why didn’t Xia Zhi care about her either?
She was their own mother—
Tao Niang wanted to call out, wanted to hurl curses, but after trying for ages, all she could produce was a string of “Ahhh ahhh” sounds.
What had she done wrong?
Heaven had seen fit to birth her into an extremely poor family that favored sons over daughters.
When she was little, she didn’t want to go hungry, and she didn’t want to work like a beast of burden the way her two older sisters did—
So she sucked up to her younger brother and fawned over her parents. What was wrong with that?
She just wanted to live a slightly better life, that was all…
Her two sisters were just too stupid!
They were stupid, and that’s why they lived miserably. What did that have to do with her?
Then later, fate delivered that woman—the one who looked just like the Lady of the Sheng household—right to her doorstep.
That was when she got the chance to swap Mingzhu with the Sheng family’s child…
She wasn’t wrong!
What was wrong was fate itself, was this whole world!
Tao Niang was seething with resentment, feeling the world was unfair…
Maybe she got too worked up and lost control of her bladder, because she ended up wetting herself right then and there…
By the time Jiaojiao returned, Tao Niang had already cried herself unconscious.
Jiaojiao had received word from Sheng Minmin telling her not to fuss over Tao Niang or the Feng family—just make sure they didn’t die.
Sheng Minmin had also sent a very generous banknote through the messenger, so Jiaojiao had treated herself to a nice lunch out before coming back.
She went to the kitchen first to light the fire and cook some porridge. Once it was ready, she deliberately mussed up her hair and made herself look all haggard before carrying the bowl of plain congee into Tao Niang’s room.
The moment she stepped inside, she was hit by the stench of urine.
Jiaojiao sneered inwardly. Tao Niang and the Feng family had done every evil deed imaginable, and they deserved exactly this fate.
By then, Tao Niang had woken up and wolfed down the bowl of porridge. After finishing, she made “Ahhh ahhh” sounds.
It seemed like she wanted three more bowls, or maybe she was complaining that there was only porridge and no meat or vegetables.
Jiaojiao just played dumb and said,
“Madam, with so many mouths to feed in this household now, and only me to do it all…
“I’ve found a job washing dishes outside. From now on, I’ll be working during the day, so I won’t be home.”
Seeing Tao Niang growing frantic, her eyes nearly popping out of her head, Jiaojiao continued,
“But don’t worry. I’ll feed you before I leave in the morning, and I’ll be back for dinner too. It’s just the midday meal…
“You’ll have to bear with it, I’m afraid. I’m just one person trying to keep your whole family fed, and I really can’t manage it all…”
“Ahhh ahhh…”
Tao Niang’s expression twisted grotesquely, as if she were voicing her objections.
Jiaojiao let out a long sigh. “Madam, please don’t get so worked up. If you fall ill, I don’t have the money to buy you medicine—”
With that, she wiped the corner of Tao Niang’s mouth and walked off, completely ignoring Tao Niang’s furious, desperate gaze.
She also ignored the way Tao Niang kept glancing down at her lower body, clearly wanting Jiaojiao to change her pants and clean her up…
Jiaojiao went back to the kitchen, scooped out the remaining porridge, and headed over to check on the Feng family. They were all lying there in a neat row.
With so many people in that one room, there was a lot of urine, and someone had even had a bowel movement.
All those bodily wastes mixed together and fermented—the stench was absolutely indescribable, nauseatingly foul.
The moment Jiaojiao stepped in, she felt dizzy from the smell, and the food she’d just eaten started churning in her stomach…
When the Feng family heard someone coming, some of them weakly hurled curses at her, some tried to ingratiate themselves, and others put on pitiful acts…
Jiaojiao had no time to listen to their nonsense. She quickly shoved a bowl of watery porridge into each person’s mouth and fled the room as fast as she could.
Once outside, she could still smell that awful odor clinging to her clothes.
She figured that the miserable state of Tao Niang and the Feng family should be enough to satisfy her true mistress.
——-
At the Sheng residence, Mudan Court was eerily quiet.
Even the servants were barely breathing, terrified of provoking the lady’s wrath.
Among the household staff, those well-informed already knew what had happened.
It all started when the Fourth Young Master left the estate today with Soft Concubine, who looked deathly pale. When they returned, both of them had ashen faces and were carrying bags full of medicine…
After that, the Fourth Young Master punished Wenyan, Soft Concubine’s personal maid.
He ordered two old matrons to give Wenyan twenty heavy lashes, until her flesh was torn and bloody.
When the Lady heard the news, she was so furious she didn’t touch a single bite of her meal and had all the food cleared away—
Some servants speculated that Wenyan must have done something to betray Soft Concubine…
Others suspected the matter might have something to do with the Lady herself, otherwise why had the Fourth Young Master and Soft Concubine been at odds before?
In any case, there was plenty of gossip floating around.
Concubine Shui and Concubine Fu, who rarely showed her face, both went to visit Soft Concubine.
As soon as they entered the courtyard, they caught a faint, lingering scent of blood…
When they made their way to the inner room, they saw an old matron standing beside Soft Concubine, but no sign of Wenyan.
They exchanged a glance and instantly knew that Wenyan’s beating wasn’t just a rumor.
Worry crept into both of their eyes.
Living in the same inner household, if Soft Concubine and her son had truly fallen out with the Lady, they feared that Soft Concubine and her son’s days in the manor would become very difficult…
“Sister Fu, Sister Shui, thank you both for coming to see me. I appreciate your concern…”
Soft Concubine forced a somewhat strained smile.
Concubine Shui and Concubine Fu exchanged some pleasantries, but then seemed to hesitate, as if holding something back.
Soft Concubine knew what they wanted to ask and what they were worried about.
But the act she and her son were putting on for the Lady—
The fewer people who knew the truth, the better.
So she could only pretend not to understand their unspoken questions.
To her surprise, Concubine Fu suddenly asked,
“Sister, what’s going on between you and the Lady…?”
For a moment, Soft Concubine was taken aback. She hadn’t expected Concubine Fu, who usually minded her own business, to be so direct.
But since the question was already out there, given the role she was playing, it would actually seem strange if she didn’t say something a little “disrespectful.”
So Soft Concubine deliberately cooled her expression and said,
“The Lady is the matriarch. I’m just a concubine—my very life and death are in her hands.”
As soon as those words left her mouth, the expressions of everyone in the room shifted.
That was practically an admission that she’d fallen out with the Lady!
“I think you’re delirious from illness, talking nonsense like that. You really shouldn’t make such jokes…”
Concubine Shui quickly forced a laugh and changed the subject.
After a few more idle exchanges, they each went their separate ways.
Soon enough, the entire household knew that the matriarch and Soft Concubine—along with her son—had reached a freezing point in their relationship.
