Chapter 8 Recognition
The candlelight flickered, and two fireflies twinkled.
Since Zhou Jin left, Li Qu has been crying constantly, and everyone in Fanghua Garden is filled with anxiety.
Granny Xu urged Li Qu to eat: "Auntie, please eat something to fill your stomach first."
Li Qu leaned against the soft pillows, not sobbing, but tears welled up from time to time, everything was understood without words.
Granny Xu: "The doctor hasn't arrived yet. Perhaps it's not as serious as you think, Aunt."
Li Qu shook her head: "This has nothing to do with the doctor, it has to do with your third master. Your third master doesn't like me, sob sob sob..."
"Don't be afraid, Aunt. Although Third Master is a bit cold-hearted, you are a good concubine whom the old lady asked the nun of Yinghua Temple for a blessing to take in him."
"Those who bring good fortune to our Third Master will not easily harm you."
"What's the point of not kicking me out? The matchmaker tied the red thread, and our marriage is a happy one. I've come to terms with it and I want to spend my life with your Third Master, but he doesn't love me at all. My stomach hurts so much, waaaah."
Upon hearing this, Granny Xu sent Hongguo again to urge the doctor.
Everyone in the room was filled with worry.
The doctor was urged three times and thought it was some terminal illness. He rushed over, even losing his shoes in the process. But after taking her pulse, he discovered it was just a woman's menstrual period, and he was immediately furious.
"It's quite common for women's menstrual cycles to be irregular occasionally, so why make such a fuss!"
Granny Xu pressed on, "Is it just menstrual blood, nothing else?"
"The young lady is still young, so she needs to be moderate in her sexual activity and keep a cheerful mood. Otherwise, there is nothing wrong with her. I will prescribe a medicine to regulate her body, and she will be back to normal next month."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.
Li Qu felt secretly relieved.
After all, health is your own responsibility.
The doctor prescribed a remedy, and Hongguo also retrieved the shoes the doctor had thrown away.
After seeing the doctor off, Granny Xu smiled and comforted Li Qu, "Don't worry, Auntie, it's nothing serious."
It turned out that Li Qu had fallen asleep on the soft pillow.
Looking at Li Qu's long, moist eyelashes, Granny Xu shook her head: If only you had known this would happen, you wouldn't have done it in the first place!
The next day, Li Rong visited Li Qu to deliver a medicinal soup for her treatment.
Li Qu leaned against the soft pillows of the chaise lounge, her lips pale.
Li Rong placed the medicine bowl beside Li Qu, glanced at the hot compress on Li Qu's lower abdomen, and sighed, "Mother said it's not good to take that medicine all the time!"
Li Qu feigned sleep and did not respond. Red fruits were served on a fruit platter, and green fruits were served with tea.
Li Rong glanced at the two maids and coughed, "I was so busy getting medicine and brewing it for my third sister this morning that I haven't had breakfast yet."
Hongguo asked with a gentle smile, "Does the Second Miss have any dietary restrictions?"
"Ahem, avoid vegetarian food."
Hongguo couldn't help but chuckle: "Second Miss, please wait a moment."
When Hongguo served her a bowl of shrimp noodles with more shrimp than noodles, Li Rong was in a great mood.
After finishing a bowl of noodles, I felt a warm and comforting feeling: "Delicious!"
Then he looked at Li Qu and said, "Third sister, the medicine is even more bitter when it gets cold. I had someone check it, and it's a top-quality prescription for conditioning the body."
Li Qu opened her eyes, glanced at Li Rong whose mouth was covered in grease, tossed her a handkerchief, and then got up to drink her medicine.
The Chinese medicine was very bitter, but since Granny Xu had been watching her all morning, she couldn't refuse to drink it.
Li Rong chuckled, took a handkerchief to wipe her mouth, and then tucked the handkerchief into her sleeve.
Li Qu put down the medicine bowl, her face contorted in pain, and said, "I need to have a private word with my second sister. You may all leave now!"
After the servants left, Li Rong quickly picked up the candied fruit on the table and stuffed it into Li Qu's mouth: "Mother asked me to bring you something good."
She took a bottle from her bosom and gave it to Li Qu: "There's not a single piece of meat on our table right now. All the money has been used to buy this medicine for you."
"This medicine has far fewer side effects than the contraceptive decoction. Take it afterward. Sigh, but Mother says you're still young and need to take care of yourself."
Li's mother was a disfigured woman; her entire face looked as if it had been scalded with boiling water, making her extremely ugly. She was taken in by Li's father, who was poor, mute, and rejected by his parents, to make do with their lives.
Who would have thought that all of Li's children would be exceptionally good-looking?
Li's mother's origins are a mystery. She has a slender figure and is very knowledgeable about matters of the bedroom. Li Qu guesses that she was probably a favored concubine of a wealthy family in the past.
As for why it has fallen to its current state...
Some insider conspiracy theories are enough to explain this.
This is also one of the reasons why she hated becoming a concubine of a high-ranking family.
Whether one becomes a concubine or a beast is entirely up to the master and noble mistress.
"Um, I've heard that women always remember their first man. Third sister, are you sure... umm?" Are you leaving?
Li Qu looked at Li Rong: "Second sister, don't tell me that you look down on this one and that one, and that's why you've been dragging your feet on getting married until now, because you want someone to force you to love you?"
"Don't drag me into this. Those weirdos my mother set me up with—the butcher? The waiter? The lame old man who sells shoe soles next door? You want him or not?"
"Zhang Dachuan, the butcher, is honest and kind. Lin Er is an orphan with extremely high emotional intelligence and good looks. The 'Lame Third Brother' next door isn't really lame, and he's not ugly either, plus he's fond of you."
Li Qu believed that none of these things were the most important. The most important thing was that these women had no parents to serve, so they could take charge of their own households after marrying into the family. Wouldn't that be wonderful?
Unexpectedly, Li Rong said, "They all have no parents, which is not a sign of longevity. I do not want to be a widow."
Li Qu: "Their parents didn't die of illness."
"They were cursed to death by them."
Li Qu: ...
Li Rong knew that Li Qu didn't believe in anything about incompatibility, so she quickly changed the subject: "Okay, okay, don't talk about me. I'll ask you one last time, are you really going to... umm?" run away?
Li Qu gave a soft "hmm".
Li Rong coughed and said, "Mother said that what Zhou Sanye did was not exactly forcibly taking a woman from a commoner. At most, he couldn't control his emotions and didn't know his own strength!"
Li Qu tossed the medicine packet she was holding to her lower abdomen to Li Rong: "If someone of his status had even the slightest affection for me, he wouldn't have forced himself on me."
"It's precisely because there's absolutely no affection between them that they can do whatever they want!"
"How did you offend him? Just because of complaining to him in the street? If that's the case, his feelings for you are probably not entirely innocent."
So Li Qu told Li Rong about Chang San's matter.
Upon hearing this, Li Rong looked indignant, regretful, and annoyed: "You've always been cautious, yet you've managed to bring trouble upon yourself with your words?"
Li Qu didn't want to fall into endless regret, so she closed her eyes and leaned against the pillow: "Second sister, if Mother's health allows her to travel far, you should go first."
"Are you really not going to miss him? With Zhou Yeye's face... there will definitely be people eager to become his concubine."
To put it bluntly, Li Rong felt that if she and her third sister had switched places when they entered the city, she would have gladly become Zhou Sanye's concubine.
Rich, good-looking, and powerful—what an amazing marriage!
Li Qu frowned and looked at Li Rong with a serious expression. Just as she was about to say something, a knock sounded on the door, and then Xu Mama pushed the door open and came in with a happy look on her face.
"Madam, the master sent some things over. Please take a look."
Then, maids carrying boxes stood in front of Li Qu one by one.
Before Xu Mama could even make a move, Li Rong jumped up from the couch and eagerly opened it.
Wow, so many purple pearls!
Granny Xu smiled broadly: "One bushel, I'll make a set of jewelry for the concubine later. If there's any left over, I'll give some small items to the second young lady. I hope the second young lady won't find it offensive."
Li Rong's eyes lit up: "I don't mind at all, I'd be happy to have even one left."
"The Second Madam has already prepared gifts and sent them to Jishui Lane. There is a special gift for the Second Miss."
The implication is that the household has accepted Li Qu's status as a concubine of the third branch of the family.
Li Rong's eyes, which had been shining brightly, turned into a surprised glance at Li Qu, who was leaning against a cushion with her eyes closed, seemingly resting.
Without Li Qu's statement, the Zhou family would certainly not openly send things to Jishui Lane.
As the saying goes, having too many lice makes you less itchy.
Li Qu even went so far as to publicly accuse the Zhou family of forcibly taking a woman; who knows, the Li family might do something to throw away the Zhou family's belongings and bring shame upon them.
She awkwardly pointed to the jade hairpin on the tray: "My third sister likes gold-inlaid jade."
Having said that, he lost interest in appreciating Master Zhou's extravagance, praised him for his magnanimity, and sat down to the side.
Following the rules, Granny Xu smiled and arranged for someone to register the items Zhou Jin had given her: "What the Third Master gave her is the concubine's private property."
Before the items were even registered, they were informed that Miss Huaichun from Jinxiutang had arrived with the people who would tailor clothes for Li Qu.
Li Rong picked up the tea served by the maid.
This time, she was certain that Li Qu had done something.
Unfortunately, the two sisters hadn't talked much, and she didn't know what Li Qu's situation was at the Zhou residence.
The seamstress only took Li Qu's measurements before leaving.
Li Qu hadn't yet had a proper chat with Li Rong when Aunt Li, representing the old lady, presented Li Qu with some gifts, followed by the second madam.
There were also several concubines from the second wife's household. They conveyed a message that they knew Li Qu was unwell, so they hadn't come to bother her. They said they would arrange a small gathering when Li Qu recovered.
The eldest son of the Zhou family and his master are in the capital, not in the mansion.
Zhou Jin, the third son, had neither a wife nor a concubine.
Currently, the Zhou family is managed by the second wife.
After seeing this group off, it was almost lunchtime.
While Granny Xu was busy preparing lunch, Li Rong approached Li Qu and asked, "What's going on? Third Sister, what are you planning to do?"
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