Chapter 449: Obsession (Part 1)

Xu Siyu looked at Concubine Qin who was laughing so hard that he felt his heart beating so hard. When he was very young, he heard people sigh that if Concubine Tong's child didn't die, the one born would be the eldest son... But he never doubted it - Concubine Qin lit a longevity lamp for Concubine Tong, and performed a ritual for her every year. He also asked Concubine Qin who Concubine Tong was. Concubine Qin said that Concubine Tong was her best sister, and she also talked about how beautiful Concubine Tong was, how good she was at sewing, how gentle her temperament was, and how kind she was to others... To this day, he still remembers Concubine Qin's gentle and thoughtful look at that time.

But now...

He felt a chill in his heart and could not help but grab Qin Aunt's arm, calling her "Aunt". He wanted to ask something but did not know how to start.

Qin Niang, however, turned a deaf ear to Xu Siyu's actions.

She smiled to herself for a while, then suddenly her face darkened and she murmured, "I envy Sister Biyu so much. She knows everything at a glance, and her words are softer than mine. The old lady likes her, the second lady likes her, and the marquis likes her too. When I heard the lady say that her belly was pointed and she was pregnant with a son, I thought to myself, how can some people be so lucky to have the first place in everything.

"After returning to the house, she said she felt a little uncomfortable and asked the maids to fetch water for her to soak her feet. The maids were all new to the mansion and were very stupid. Every time I asked them to fetch water, it was either too hot or too cold, and I had to teach them. And I couldn't do it well no matter how many times I taught them. I was also very tired that day and didn't want to help her fetch water and serve her like a little maid to soak her feet. So I went to Madam Wen's place."

She leaned back against the bedside, then rustled up the quilt and put it on her body.

"As a result..." Aunt Qin's voice lowered, "When I returned to the room, her lower body was already covered in blood... The mother sent by the madam was not a mother who served pregnant women, but a mother who was in charge of personnel matters. She didn't know how to save people at all. She only knew to call all the maids and old women in the room to her side and discuss how to report to the madam later so as to shirk the punishment... I had no choice but to go to the main room with my belly..."

"Madam ignored me completely, and the maid pushed me to live with Madam Tao... That night, there was no moon, only a few stars in the sky, and it was pitch black. I was also pregnant, and I was afraid that something might happen... I begged the maid to at least tell Madam... She mocked me, saying that I had lived in the same courtyard with the two concubines for a long time, and thought that I was also a concubine, and it would be no different if I was asked to call someone... I was so angry that I started crying... While crying, I lived in Madam Tao's room... But in my heart, I felt very wronged... I couldn't compare to Madam Wen... I was indeed not as good as Madam Tong. But no matter what, I was pregnant with the Marquis's child. Moreover, when the three of us were together, I was always the one who did everything. Why did I imitate the concubines' style...

"I thought at the time that I must give birth to a son. If I give birth to a son, the lady will definitely make me a concubine for the sake of her grandson. Then I can let those people see that I am a proper concubine, not someone who takes advantage of pregnancy to act like a show-off. It would be best if it was the eldest son..."

At this point, her voice paused.

Xu Siyu felt that his throat was dry as if smoking, his voice was stuck in his throat, and he couldn't utter a word for a long time.

"The passage to Mama Tao's is long and dark." Aunt Qin hesitantly said, "I held my belly with one hand and held the blue bricks beside the passage with the other, and walked forward carefully. It was quiet all around, with only the sound of my footsteps." She became a little excited. "The further I walked, the more scared I became, and the more I thought about it, the angrier I became. Aunt Tong had an affair, but it wasn't my fault. I came with good intentions to report the incident, but I was scolded by the little maid for nothing. She even ordered me to go find Madam Tao even though she knew I was pregnant. If it was Aunt Wen who went to report the incident, would the Madam have ignored me? Would the little maid dare to scold me like that? In the final analysis, it was just bullying me because I'm a concubine... Besides, if Aunt Tong had an accident, it wouldn't be my fault alone. As the mistress, doesn't the Madam have any fault? As the little maids on duty, don't they have any fault? They're not in a hurry, so why should I? Since they asked me to go find Madam Tao, I'll go find Madam Tao..." Aunt Qin said, and paused again.

This time, she paused longer, her lips tightly pursed into a slit, and there was a hint of stubbornness between her brows.

Xu Siyu watched with a shudder in his heart. His intuition told him that what was coming next was definitely not a good thing, and he should stop listening. But the curiosity that could not be stopped in his heart overwhelmed his intuition like a raging wave.

He heard himself say hoarsely: "So, what happened next?"

"Later..." Aunt Qin's mouth curled up slightly, revealing a thoughtful smile, "I am a pregnant woman, and it was late at night when there were many people around, so naturally I could only hold on to the wall and walk forward slowly..."

That smile was so dazzling that Xu Siyu felt his eyes were stung. He couldn't help but yelled, "How could you do this?"

The stern tone made Aunt Qin's expression change. She answered the question irrelevantly and loudly: "I didn't, I

I didn't kill Sister Biyu! It was Madam, it was Madam who killed Biyu. I just didn't want her to give birth to a firstborn son." She said, her eyes and eyebrows revealed some stubbornness, "And Madam also said that even if a doctor was called, the child could not be saved. It was Madam who killed Biyu. Madam saw Sister Biyu's blood all over the bed, and she didn't even call a doctor. It was Madam Tai and Second Madam who rushed over and asked someone to call the doctor."

Xu Siyu looked at the panicked woman in front of him with complicated thoughts and slowly lowered his head.

For a moment, the room was silent, with only the sound of Aunt Qin's rapid breathing.

Xiao Luzi and Lian Jiao, who were hiding behind the flower-covered curtain, were trembling with fear and dared not even to breathe.

The silent atmosphere made Aunt Qin feel uneasy.

"This is fate!" She yelled fiercely, "When she felt uncomfortable, she just endured it. I saw that my wife's face was livid, so I pretended to be uncomfortable and fell to the ground. So I gave birth to my first son safely, but she died... There was no place to seek justice!"

Aunt Qin waved her hands in the air and grabbed Xu Siyu's collar.

She whispered, "This is fate!" There was a hint of pleading in her tone, as if she was begging Xu Si, who always disagreed with her words, to understand. "I hid in the second lady's room and didn't dare to step out of the door. I finally gave birth to you. But the old lady asked the second lady to pass a message to the lady, asking her to take us back. I was scared to death. I was afraid that she would settle with me later, and I was also afraid that she would harm you. I couldn't sleep all night. I burned incense to the Bodhisattva every day, praying for the Bodhisattva to bless us and not let us go back. The result was..." She laughed, "The lady said that she was not in good health and needed "I have to take care of my mother and son for a while. I have a lot of things to do at home, so I can't handle it. Please ask the second lady to help and continue to take care of us for a few days." She looked at Xu Siyu with dull eyes, "Look, this is fate!" She didn't need an answer, and continued to talk to herself, "Later, the Marquis came back and had a big fight with the lady. He also found out that Madam Wen was doing business with the Wen family without the Xu family's knowledge, and Madam Wen was also annoyed, so she simply moved to Banyuepan. At that time, I had a long fast on the first and fifteenth day of the lunar month, and prayed to the Bodhisattva to bless Madam to be safe and sound so that she and the Marquis can grow old together..."

Xu Siyu still remembered. He was his father's only son at that time. His stepmother was very cold to him. Every time he went to pay respects, his stepmother would nod and let the wet nurse take him away. Later, at the suggestion of his second aunt, the lady-in-waiting gave him a courtyard alone. His aunt still lived with the second wife in the lady-in-waiting's new residence. Sometimes when she wanted to visit him, she had to do it secretly. But even so, every time his aunt saw him, she was always happy. Unlike later, when his stepmother gave birth to Xu Siyu, his aunt moved to the courtyard in front of him, but she was more often sad than happy. It was from that time that the aunt often said things that the second aunt called "overbearing"; it was also from that time that the second aunt began to teach him "Etiquette" to let him know how far he was from the position of the crown prince...

While thinking about it, I heard Aunt Qin say unhappily: "Who knew that Qiu Luo suddenly appeared."

Xu Siyu's heart suddenly began to tighten.

Qiu Luo was similar to Aunt Tong. Not only was she gone, but her child also died!

He looked at Aunt Qin with a pale face, and saw Aunt Qin frowning slightly. She said, "I was extremely anxious. But there was nothing I could do. And this time, Madam was out of character. Not only did she take great care of Qiu Luo, but she also sent Madam Tao to serve her. Neither I nor Aunt Wen could even say a word. Not long after, Qiu Luo got pregnant."

There was a hint of disappointment in her tone.

"I counted the days of her birth with my fingers, prayed to the gods every day, hoping that she would give birth to a girl... After the widow entered the mansion, I made many friends, hoping to find an opportunity to meet Qiu Luo."

"Well, have you seen it?" Xu Siyu heard himself ask nervously.

"The old woman said that after the child is born, if it is a girl, the lady will definitely be very disappointed and leave immediately. If it is a boy, the lady will definitely take the child to show to the marquis and the dowager lady. No matter which situation, the servants around the lady will go with her. Then, I can take this opportunity to meet Qiu Luo." Aunt Qin said with a strange expression, "I rewarded the old woman with fifty taels of silver. But on the day of delivery, the second lady kept me in the room to help her grind ink. Qiu Luo started to feel pain in the morning, and I kept grinding until she gave birth to a son. For two whole days and two nights, I was helping the second lady grind ink."

Xu Siyu was stunned.

After a while, he said, "Two days and two nights?"

The scene of that day seemed to still remain in Aunt Qin's memory.

Aunt Qin shook her arms and said, "The Second Madam also sent Jiexiang to watch over me. I can take a nap or be lazy, but she won't let me leave the study. Even when I go to the clean room, Jiexiang will follow me."