Kan hexagram, the lowest of the lowest
Chapter 29 Kan Hexagram - The Lower-Lower Hexagram - A Greeting
The letter contained a list of names for the selection of Daoist officials.
And her name was prominently listed.
Rong Yan: ...
—This is a gift to mark our meeting.
A gift to mark our meeting?
To become a Daoist official, one needed to be recommended by previous Daoist officials, or one could be directly recommended and appointed through imperial relatives. It is clear that Consort Rong recommended her name.
What is she trying to do?
Did she feel that he had helped her out of the blue, or that her passing the imperial examination for the Daoist official position was beneficial to her?
Just then, there was a knock on the door. It was Huali's voice; she had been in the main courtyard for quite some time before returning.
"Young Madam, Madam requests your presence at the West Courtyard."
West Compound?
Isn't that the courtyard of Zhou Xiaoniang, the newly taken concubine?
Rong Yan carefully tucked Xie Chengzhi's blanket in, got up to leave, but Xie Chengzhi suddenly spoke up, "If anything happens, send someone to call me over."
He seemed to underestimate her. He was worried that she had been harassed in the past and that she wouldn't be able to handle it.
What could it be about that Wang asked her to go to Zhou's concubine's courtyard this time?
Hua Li saw Rong Yan leave the courtyard and couldn't help but say, "Madam, you just went into the palace, and the two maids that Madam Duan sent took the opportunity to enter the courtyard. It seems they wanted to find the eldest young master, but they didn't know that the eldest young master had also gone into the palace with you."
Rong Yan was not surprised by this. "Let them go."
"But……"
Rong Yan smiled faintly as he looked at Hua Li, who seemed to be facing a formidable enemy. "Now is not the time."
Huali didn't understand, but she didn't dare to ask any more questions.
When Rong Yan arrived at the west courtyard of the mansion, she immediately noticed something was amiss upon entering.
There used to be a living pond at the west gate, with water drawn from the east and flowing to the west. But somehow, the flow stopped, and the once vibrant water turned into a lifeless pool.
Water can store energy and generate wealth. Yang energy is essential for a dwelling, but now even the surrounding plants have been depleted of their life force.
This is not a place for living people to live.
This place has clearly been designated as a burial site.
Clearly, the layout of this house has been altered by a master.
Once she stepped inside, she finally understood why Madam Wang had called her over.
Apart from her, the room was packed with women.
Lying on the bed was Aunt Zhou, and sitting beside her was Mama Qian from the household.
Mrs. Qian was feeling her belly and taking her pulse, looking somewhat flustered.
Rong Yan's expression tightened. Qian Mama was the female doctor in the mansion, specializing in treating leukorrhea, which is commonly known as obstetrics and gynecology.
She glanced around at the women in the room. Her second aunt had also arrived, and her expression was tense, while Wang Shi looked surprisingly calm.
Granny Li was helping Granny Qian with Granny Fang's work, while Madam Wang looked on with amusement, clearly indicating that tonight was going to be an eventful night.
Mrs. Qian glanced at Mrs. Wang and said with some fear, "It's no use. The cervix is already dilated. At such a young age, if she is born prematurely, then... then she won't be able to survive."
My aunt muttered under her breath, "If she's being so careful, how come she's going to have a premature birth?"
Aunt Zhou looked very distressed. Despite the cold night, her face was covered in sweat. She was in excruciating pain in her abdomen and pleaded with Madam Qian and Madam Wang on the bed, "Madam, Madam Qian, please save my child! Last night I could feel him moving vigorously in my belly, but why isn't he moving today? I beg you, I beg you! You are all divine beings, you must have a way to help me and the Marquis!!"
Her voice was hoarse, and her shouts, though forceful, sounded like breaths. Her mother quickly told her, "Speak less, don't strain, don't strain!"
Aunt Zhou shook her head, crying, "I can't control it, it hurts, it hurts so much, I can't hold it in anymore, I'm going to lose control, it hurts so much..."
The women inside were mostly women who had given birth, and they all understood the pain of losing a child. Seeing that Aunt Zhou, though young, shared the same love for her son, they all had tears in their eyes.
My second aunt's son also died before he was a month old, and this time she was the first to shed tears.
In this atmosphere, Madam Qian sighed and shook her head, "I'm at my wit's end. Maybe I should go to the palace and ask the imperial physician to come and take a look..."
Aunt Zhou seemed to see a glimmer of hope and immediately tried to get up to perform a grand ceremony for Wang. Now, in this room, only Wang could decide the life or death of her child.
"Madam, I beg you, as long as the child can be born safely and adopted into your name, I will have no complaints! Yes, I don't need the child, as long as he is safe and sound, and I can see him!"
Wang Shi had a cold face, neither agreeing nor refusing, and simply said in a very calm tone, "The imperial physicians in the palace are all men. You are just a concubine. How could I possibly have the face to invite an imperial physician? Not to mention that even if you were willing, where are the imperial physicians in the palace? Even Qian Mama couldn't save the fetus. Even if an imperial physician came, it would probably still not survive. You are still young, and you will have more in the future."
Aunt Zhou was extremely grief-stricken and suffered from unbearable stomach pain. She was so confused that she could barely speak and could only keep pleading.
Wang said again, "You're already in labor, and your cervix is dilated. How can we save you? The only one who can save you now is yourself. Give birth to your child with all your might, and you'll still have a chance to live. If you delay any longer, it might result in the death of both you and your baby!"
How can so many babies be born prematurely when they are not yet full-term?
Living in the Marquis's mansion, where people are accustomed to a life of luxury, the idea of being depleted of vital energy is simply out of the question.
Seeing Rong Yan standing alone behind the table for a long time, her second aunt came over and wiped away her tears, saying, "She must have eaten something wrong, that's why she went into premature labor."
Although Rong Yan didn't understand these things about women, she knew that it was definitely not as simple as eating the wrong thing.
If you eat the wrong thing, it will be something that induces labor.
Who most wanted her to miscarry? Wang was a suspect, as was Xiao Wang.
Since the Wang family already has a son, the most likely candidate is naturally the younger Wang. However, the one with the most relaxed expression in the whole room is actually the younger Wang, who looks like she's just watching the show from the sidelines.
Only then did Madam Wang look at Rong Yan and say, "I called you here so you could see the suffering we women endure. It's common for the fetus to have complications. Now that you're a wife, you need to learn from your experience."
Although Wang's words made sense, saying such things in front of a mother who was about to lose her child seemed somewhat inhumane and cold.
Rong Yan had no idea that a fierce rainstorm was about to arrive.
She had only been back home for a short while when Huali knocked on the door urgently again. When she got up, she found that Xie Chengzhi was still asleep. She reached out and touched his forehead and found that it was burning hot.
When she returned, he seemed to be in good spirits, and his wounds didn't appear to be bleeding. She was surprised that he still developed a fever.
She hurriedly put on her coat and opened the door. Huali was holding a lantern, and the warm light from the lantern shone very weakly on her face. Even so, it was clear that she looked very unwell.
"Young Madam, something terrible has happened! Concubine Zhou has just passed away, and the Marquis is currently interrogating the Marquis's wife in the main hall."
Rong Yan: !
When the others were in the West Compound, Aunt Zhou's condition was dangerous, but it shouldn't have resulted in the death of both mother and child. How could she have died after only half a night back at home?
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