After seeing the doctor off in the front yard, Fukang'an saw off the guests who had come that day.
When Wu Chun fainted, the shrewd guests quickly finished their meal and excused themselves, while the less shrewd ones followed suit. Having been in officialdom for so long, these officials knew that doing what the majority did was always a way to protect themselves.
Some of the Fucha family's distant relatives who had stayed behind went to the Peony Hall to pay their respects to the old lady. Before half an incense stick had burned out, the banquet was empty, leaving only the Fucha family's servants cleaning up the mess.
After hearing Yan Ning say the name of her unborn child, Wu Chun leaned against the soft pillow and stared blankly at her without saying a word.
Dieyin, accompanied by her servants, moved some rare and precious items given by the guests from the inner room to the side room of the main house in Chunying Garden. When she accidentally knocked over the mutton-fat jade tassel ring given by the Fifteenth Prince, she immediately presented the mutton-fat jade tassel ring that had fallen on the dense pattern to Wuchun for inspection, to show that she had not broken the tassel ring.
Yan Ning sat on a round wooden chair by the bed. When Die Yin handed the mutton-fat jade necklace to Wu Chun, Yan Ning only glanced at it before memorizing the luxurious and elegant mutton-fat jade tassel necklace. The silver necklace was surrounded by neatly arranged jade beads, with a fine mutton-fat jade pendant in the center, and some delicate pink tassels floating under the pendant.
Holding the mutton-fat jade pendant, Wu Chun sighed inwardly, acknowledging that it was indeed a fine piece of mutton-fat jade, its surface translucent and lustrous. Perhaps it was too translucent, for she could even clearly see the fine veins hidden within the jade.
Even if a piece of jade is as fine as mutton fat jade, or as rare as jade from an old mine, it is still just a piece of rough stone. If it is translucent, it will have veins and patterns; if it is not translucent, it is just an ordinary piece of jade that can be sold cheaply anywhere in the market.
Just like her illegitimate daughter, even if she were to possess the same ethereal beauty as Peng Ruo in the future, what difference would it make? She would just be a necklace to be worn and replaced.
Wu Chun frowned and tossed the jade tassel ring into Die Yin's hand. She rose from the bed, the soft, crimson silk quilt beneath her soaked with blood. The stark sight stung Yan Ning's eyes.
Yan Ning stepped forward to help Wu Chun as she stood up, and Wu Chun took the opportunity to grab Yan Ning's arm. Wu Chun's long, pampered fingernails pierced through the two layers of cotton clothing and dug into Yan Ning's skin.
As Wu Chun rose, the pale lotus-red gauze curtains floated, partially obscuring her face. Through the thin curtains, Yan Ning saw the despair on Wu Chun's blood-loss-laden face. Her voice was as cold as ice, "Yan Ning, I've only taken this blame for you. That bowl of bird's nest soup was meant for you, and Xi Ying also wanted to harm you! Only the child in your womb can threaten De Lin's position!"
The thought that she could not accompany her daughter through her teenage years and watch her get married made Wu Chun's voice hoarse and strained, like the screams uttered by the pain of her body being torn apart on the day of childbirth.
"The general can only protect Xi Ying to safeguard De Lin's honor! And what about you? Why do you remain silent and let her go unpunished? Aren't you afraid? Aren't you afraid that in the dark of night, those demonic claws will reach for the child in your womb? Why sacrifice me and my daughter to protect your so-called honor as the legitimate heir!"
Yan Ning's body was being shaken by Wu Chun. She didn't know why Wu Chun, who was ill, had such great strength. The words of reproach she had prepared in her heart were also shaken away by Wu Chun.
She had comforted herself, thinking that if Wu Chun hadn't been trying to suppress her at every turn, she wouldn't have mistakenly used the blood swallow's nest that day, damaging her internal organs and ending up with no time to live.
But now that Wu Chun is blaming all of this on her, she can only listen and suffer in silence.
Seeing that Yan Ning was being subjected to such force, Zhu Xiang feared it might harm the child in her womb, so she stepped forward to try and pry Wu Chun's hands off. She dared not use force, for fear of hurting her two mistresses.
Wu Chun knelt on the bed, while Yan Ning's feet wobbled unsteadily on the bed base. Zhu Xiang followed Wu Chun's movements, going up and down the bed base.
The three of them were entangled in the inner room, and Wu Chun's cries, along with wisps of white smoke from the incense burner, filled the entire room.
The servants of Chunying Garden watched anxiously, unsure whether to help their mistress. Yan Ning was the lady of the house, and she was pregnant; even ten of their lives wouldn't be enough to compensate for the life of the child in Yan Ning's womb.
As soon as Fukang'an entered the main room, he heard Wuchun's roar. He pulled up his dark crimson robe and strode into the inner room, rescuing Yan Ning, who was being held captive by Wuchun, and protecting her behind him.
Wu Chun collapsed onto the bed, watching the tension on Fukang'an's face caused by Yan Ning. She was soaked in cold sweat, and even her tears had dried. Her white nightgown clung to her body, damp and tangled, her frilly hair sticking to it.
Her gaze was unfocused, a smile bloomed on her lips, and she let out a cold snort.
Xia'er initially only heard Wu Chun's roars from the inner room while she was in the courtyard. When she went into the inner room to add charcoal, she saw Fukang'an sitting on the bed, embracing Wu Chun who was limp and lost in thought, while Zhu Xiang helped Yan Ning sit on a round wooden chair far away from the bed.
When Yan Ning saw Xia'er moving around the inner room so cautiously, she immediately understood why Fukang'an had arranged for Xia'er to be under Wu Chun's watchful eye.
If you can't anticipate when the enemy will strike, then give her all the best opportunities to strike; this will make her cautious and hesitant to act.
Xia'er knew in her heart that she could now freely come and go from Wu Chun's side. If anything happened to Wu Chun, she would be the first to be suspected. Regardless of whether it was her or not, it would be her, and she would have to be on guard against others for Wu Chun's sake.
Fukang'an had Yan Ning sent back to Jiangongzhai first, while he stayed with Wuchun in Chunyingyuan.
After leaving Chunying Garden, Yan Ning did not head towards the path to Jiangongzhai, but instead turned onto the road leading to the West Courtyard.
Zhu Xiang ordered someone to go back and fetch two more lanterns, so the six lanterns illuminated the road as if the first rays of dawn were shining on the earth.
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