tallest building

Chapter 45 Nightmare

The next day, Liu Cuiyi rushed to see Wen Mingqian after hearing the news. At that time, Wen Mingqian was leisurely burning incense and sipping tea.

"What are you doing here? Why don't you stay home and rest?" Wen Mingqian didn't want her to come.

“My mother-in-law and the others went out today, so I ran away. Sister, I’m really worried. I heard your husband had an accident. Is there any way to get him out unharmed?” Liu Cuiyi asked.

“Cuiyi, I know you’re worried about me. You know this isn’t a simple matter.” Wen Mingqian pulled her down to sit. “So you don’t need to worry about it.”

"Sister, you are really calm." Liu Cuiyi said to Wen Mingqian with great admiration. "If it were me, I would have been completely flustered and restless long ago."

"Your complexion looks much better than it did a few days ago, and your face is more radiant. Your cheeks have also filled out, making you look younger and more energetic," Wen Mingqian praised Liu Cuiyi as he looked her over.

Her face originally looked somewhat bitter, but after some recuperation, it did look much better.

Liu Cuiyi was a little embarrassed, and couldn't help but wonder: "Sister, aren't you worried about Master Gong at all?"

Wen Mingqian just smiled and said, "Isn't it still undecided? Besides, he's not the main culprit."

Then he turned to Zhang Ma and said, "Bring over the face cream I prepared for Cuiyi, and change the dietary therapy recipe for her too!"

"Thank you so much, sister, for worrying about me like this." Liu Cuiyi was very grateful.

"How is your family doing now?" Wen Mingqian asked her.

"Just like my sister said, I don't care about anything at home. I just chant scriptures and focus on health in my own yard every day, taking care of myself and my two children."

My mother-in-law naturally had complaints, but I just pretended not to hear them. Seeing that I wasn't involved, several of the concubines started arguing, but I just let them be," Liu Cuiyi said truthfully.

"That's good. No matter how well you do, your mother-in-law will still find fault with you. You might as well think of yourself and let her say whatever she wants." Wen Mingqian smiled.

"Yes, ever since I became a vegetarian, my mother has been unable to make me eat those toad soups and snake soups anymore." Liu Cuiyi was referring to the various strange folk remedies her mother used to help her conceive.

Half of her health problems are caused by eating these kinds of things, and the other half are due to emotional distress and being upset.

“After three months of vegetarian diet, you can eat meat again. You can’t always eat vegetarian food,” Wen Mingqian said. “It’s not that I want to send you away, but now that something has happened in this family, if your mother-in-law and the others find out that you’ve come here, they will definitely blame you. It’s not worth making trouble for yourself. You should go back quickly! Remember to give the driver some benefits so that he won’t talk nonsense.”

Liu Cuiyi brought two self-made clothes and shoes and socks with her this time, both for Gong Chang'an.

After she left, Wen Mingqian said to Zhang Ma, "Go to the Feng family tomorrow and bring Chang'an back. The old lady is coming back, and he can't stay at someone else's house any longer."

“Yes, I’ll go first thing tomorrow morning,” said Zhang Ma.

Wen Mingqian then stopped talking and took out an ancient book on perfumery to study it carefully.

Birds chirping through the sunny window, incense wafting in the quiet room—truly a scene of tranquility.

The Song family, on the other hand, had a completely different view.

"Young Madam, you must eat something!" Granny Yang and the maids urged. "No matter what, you have to think about the baby in your belly."

Madam Song looked worried. She was already feeling unwell in the early stages of her pregnancy, and the incident with Gong Xu made her lose her appetite even more.

"You have no idea how I feel," Song sighed deeply, but she still couldn't shake off the depression in her heart.

"The old lady will be back in a couple of days. Let's all work together to come up with a solution," said Granny Yang.

"What can the old lady do? At most, she can only burn incense and pray to Buddha." Madam Song had no hope.

“Young Madam, why don’t we pray to Buddha?” Granny Yang said. “As the saying goes, sincerity brings results.” “Alright, let’s visit a few more efficacious temples. It’s better than staying cooped up in the room and suffering.” Madam Song also decided to try her luck with Buddhism for the time being, even though she didn’t usually believe in it.

"Yes, yes! It's good to let everyone know how much the young mistress has done for the master." Granny Yang said as she helped Madam Song prepare to leave. "Unlike that one, who acted as if it were none of her business."

"I think she'd be hoping something bad would happen to Master!" Madam Song sneered. "If you ask me, she's a jinx! If she hadn't come back, Master wouldn't have encountered such misfortune!"

Song vented her resentment on Wen Mingqian, whom she hated the most.

"Hmph, when the old lady returns, it would be best if she knew about her ulterior motives," said Granny Yang. "I'll kick her out!"

They knew that Madam Gong didn't particularly like Wen Mingqian to begin with, and after the incident with Gong Kang'an, she became even more furious.

If it weren't for the persuasion of the first wife and her husband, she would have even wanted to wait until Wen Mingqian gave birth to the child so that Gong Xu would divorce her.

"Ouch! My head is spinning." Song swayed, her face pale, and almost fainted.

Everyone quickly helped her up and gently laid her down on the bed.

"My goodness!" Granny Yang exclaimed, feigning concern. "What are we going to do? Quickly, fetch a doctor!"

"Don't go! If people find out, they'll think our house is in chaos!" Song Shi stopped her. "I think I didn't sleep well and didn't eat anything, that's why I'm upset."

"This pigeon soup is still warm! Please drink it!" Liu Yun quickly brought the soup over and fed it to Song Shi spoonful by spoonful.

"I can't move right now, I'll go burn incense tomorrow!" said Mrs. Song. "I want to sleep for a while."

"Alright, alright, you rest first." Granny Yang then sent the extra people out and had Hua Hong put some benzoin in the incense burner to help Song Shi sleep.

Song drifted off to sleep.

I vaguely heard a voice.

"Mother, Mother..." The child's tender voice rang in my ears.

Whose child is this?
Song was thinking to herself but couldn't open her eyes.

"Mother, Mother..." the child kept calling out.

Song knew that this was not Gong Baoan's voice. Gong Baoan was already six years old, while this child's voice was clearly that of a baby.

“Mother, Mother… I’m back…” In her dream, Madam Song felt a pair of small hands resting on her wrists.

It's very small and very cold.

"Ah!" She woke up with a start, screaming as she sat up.

"Young Madam, what's wrong? Did you have a nightmare?" Granny Yang and her two maids hurriedly came over.

Song's face was deathly pale, her forehead was covered in cold sweat, and her eyes were completely vacant.

"Young Madam..." Granny Yang called out again as she helped her up.

Song slowly regained her senses and calmed down a bit before saying, "It's nothing. I was just restless and couldn't even find peace in my dreams."

“You’re too worried about Master.” Hua Hong wiped Song’s cold sweat with a handkerchief. “Just turn over and go back to sleep.”

(End of this chapter)