Yu Qiutao thanked the servant again and again before awkwardly stepping into the house, clutching her enormous belly.
On the eve of the Lunar New Year, unlike the brightly decorated mansion, the room where Yu Shicheng was imprisoned had its doors and windows tightly closed, and the room was extremely dark. On a not-too-cold day, there were two burning braziers in the room.
Under the scorching heat of the charcoal fire, the warmth emanating from the room was overwhelming, along with a nauseating stench.
Yu Qiutao held her stomach with one hand and covered her nose with a handkerchief with the other, her eyes taking in everything in the room.
The room was simply furnished, with almost nothing besides tables, chairs, a low couch, and a bed.
"Young Master!" she called softly, her eyes scanning the bed, but no one was there.
"Da da da..."
Suddenly, a knocking sound of teeth came from behind, startling Yu Qiutao.
She clutched her chest and turned to look at the low couch from which the sound had come.
In the dim light of the fire, Yu Qiutao could vaguely see a figure curled up on the low couch.
"Young Master, is that you?" Her voice trembled with fear as she slowly moved toward the low couch.
At this moment, the person curled up on the low couch raised his head, revealing a gaunt face, with a withered appearance, sunken cheeks, and bulging eyes like a ghost. He was wearing thick cotton clothes and was trembling uncontrollably.
Yu Qiutao was startled at first glance; this was completely different from the dashing young master she knew.
Seeing that he seemed to be curled up in a ball, as if he was enduring unbearable pain, Yu Qiutao took two steps forward and asked with concern, "Young Master, how are you?"
Yu Shicheng's limbs trembled and he was covered in cold sweat. He felt as if there were thousands of ants inside his body, gnawing at his flesh.
In the blink of an eye, he was in so much pain that tears streamed down his face. The ant army bit him, making his bones numb, painful, and itchy. He reached out and scratched desperately, leaving bloody scratches on his neck.
Yu Qiutao was horrified and stumbled back a few steps, bumping into the table. She managed to steady herself by bracing herself against the table.
My hand accidentally knocked over the teacup on the table, and it rolled to the ground with a crisp cracking sound.
The sound startled Yu Shicheng, who was frantically scratching himself. He looked up at Yu Qiutao and tumbled off the low couch.
"Give me medicine! Give me medicine now!"
He roared and crawled toward Yu Qiutao, trying to grab her skirt. Yu Qiutao screamed in fright and quickly went around to the other side of the table.
"Young Master, it's me, Tao'er! Don't you recognize me?" she tried to wake him up.
Yu Shicheng was stunned for a moment, then painfully slammed his head against the table, and blood gushed out instantly.
At this moment, two servants outside the door rushed in upon hearing the noise and pinned Yu Shicheng down on either side.
One of the servants took out a paper packet, tore it open twice, and poured the powder inside into Yu Shicheng's mouth.
"Stop! What are you feeding the young master?" Yu Qiutao tried to stop them.
The servant snorted coldly, "I was just following the master and madam's orders. This medicine can relieve the young master's pain. Aunt Tao, don't meddle in other people's business."
Yu Qiutao awkwardly remained silent.
After a short while, Yu Shicheng, who had been in a frenzy, calmed down, and a trace of clarity returned to his eyes.
"Young Master, what do you think?" Yu Qiutao asked with delight.
Upon hearing this, Yu Shicheng looked at her, his gaze lingering on her protruding belly, a flicker of unreadable emotion in his eyes.
What brings you here?
The servants helped him slowly sit down in a chair.
"Please, young master, save my brother." Yu Qiutao's eyes were filled with helplessness and pleading.
What happened to your brother?
So, Yu Qiutao told him the whole story about the Lin family.
Lin Zhaohui was instigated to become addicted to gambling, accumulating huge gambling debts that he was unable to repay. Before the Lunar New Year, his leg was broken by people from the gambling den, and now he lies at home without money for medical treatment.
Since marrying into the Yu family, Yu Suqin has been lazy and unwilling to do any work. Currently, the family is barely making ends meet by relying on her younger sister, Lin Dongmei, to do laundry for others.
After listening to Yu Qiutao's story, Yu Shicheng remained silent for a long time before staggering to the bedside and taking out a purse.
She herself was not going to survive, but for the sake of the child she carried.
Yu Shicheng said patiently, "This is all I have. Don't come again in the future. Now that the young lady is in charge of the household, ask your mother for help if you have any questions. After you give birth to a child, your mother will definitely treat you and your child well."
"Young Master, you'll get better!" Yu Qiutao was unwilling to accept it; how could the young master, who was perfectly fine, have turned out like this?
Yu Shicheng smiled wryly. His body had been completely corroded and hollowed out by the poison. Now that he was locked up here, he was just waiting to die.
"Go back!" He raised his hand and waved weakly at Yu Qiutao.
Yu Qiutao was about to say something more when she suddenly felt a hard kick in the stomach.
"Young Master, the child kicked me." She looked at him with hopeful eyes.
Yu Shicheng clenched his fist in his sleeve and said expressionlessly to the servants, "Send Aunt Tao out."
The servant gestured for Yu Qiutao to leave, saying, "Aunt Tao, please go back!"
She gritted her teeth, stomped her foot, turned around, and left the house.
Lin Dongmei stood awkwardly in the flower hall, not daring to sit down. She lowered her head and shrank back, trying her best to make her presence as inconspicuous as possible.
The maidservant kept glancing at her with disdain. Looking at her short clothes, Lin Dongmei felt even more ashamed.
The shoes, whose color was indistinguishable, had several holes. Her pants were too short to cover her ankles, let alone the holes in the shoes. No matter how she tried to tuck her feet in, her toes still peeked out from the holes.
Lin Dongmei felt inferior; even the maids were dressed better than her.
Yu Qiutao, supporting her pregnant belly, returned to her small courtyard. As soon as she stepped into the house, her maidservant, with a knowing smile, stepped forward to help her.
"Aunt Tao, please slow down!"
Yu Qiutao sat down on the low couch, glanced at her, and said in a light tone, "You can go out first. I want to have a heart-to-heart talk with my sister."
"Yes," the maid replied meekly.
As soon as the maid left, Yu Qiutao took out a purse from her sleeve.
"This is the last time I'll help my family. I'll tell my mother to be careful with the money. I'm about to give birth, and I won't be able to take care of myself after that, so I'm afraid I won't be able to look after my family," she said wearily.
They thought their family was about to rise again, but unexpectedly, their good days didn't last long before the older brother became addicted to gambling, squandering all the family's hard-earned wealth. Now, not only has his leg been broken, but he has also been kicked out of the Yu family.
Her mother didn't care about her at all, and took all of her personal money time and time again.
Lin Dongmei clutched her purse, lowered her head, and murmured, "Sister, why don't you keep the money?"
Seeing her undignified appearance, Yu Qiutao felt inexplicably irritated. She stroked her belly and waved to her, "Go back now, and take good care of Mother and Brother in the future."
She paused, then said resolutely, "Don't ever come here again."
"Sister, take care of yourself!"
Lin Dongmei put the purse into her bosom and hid it before turning and leaving.
Yu Qiutao stared blankly, pondering Yu Shicheng's words.
The eldest son won't live much longer, and the wife has no children. If she gives birth to a son, he must be registered under the name of the first wife. What will become of me then?
As she pondered this, she clasped her hands together, praying that the baby in her belly was a girl.
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