Chapter 22: Schemes

“Indeed.” Shen Ruojin stood three or four paces away from her and bowed slightly. “Madam, I hope you are well.”

“It is I who should greet you, Madam.”

Li Anshi was heavily pregnant, her body swollen and movements sluggish. Even walking required the support of two maids on either side.

Despite her condition, she insisted on climbing the steps, forcing a smile as she said, “Come to think of it, we are both second madams in our respective households, so perhaps fate has entwined us. My husband recently angered Prince Qin Xiao; it’s their affair when men come to blows in public, but it should have nothing to do with us women, don’t you agree?”

“If it’s unrelated, then why have you come today?”

Shen Ruojin disliked the capital city, and despised even more the noblewomen born and bred to be submissive—obeying their fathers before marriage and their husbands after.

Li Anshi had suffered greatly throughout her pregnancy, while her husband, Li Er, dallied with other women outside. After being beaten and getting into trouble, it was his pregnant wife who had to come and negotiate on his behalf.

Qin Lang was right; Li Er deserved to be punished.

Perhaps because she hadn’t heard such blunt words in a long time, Li Anshi was stunned by the question. Then suddenly, she began to weep.

Her crying triggered a sudden complication in her pregnancy.

“Madam, please hold on... I will fetch the doctor right away!” The accompanying maids panicked; one tried to help Li Anshi back onto the carriage, another hurried off to summon a doctor, shouting for help.

Shijian was dumbfounded. “Could she be trying to extort us deliberately?”

Shen Ruojin pondered briefly, then immediately ordered, “Help Madam Li inside the residence first.”

Turning to Shijian, she added, “You’re swift. Go to the nearest Huichuntang and bring a doctor immediately.”

She couldn’t be sure if Li Anshi’s labor complication was genuine or a ploy to extort money.

But since it happened right at the gates of the prince’s mansion, and as the new lady of the household, she could not simply ignore it.

Moreover, her fourth aunt had died from complications during childbirth after suddenly hearing the news that all thirteen male members of the Shen family had died in battle.

Shen Ruojin never wished to witness such a tragedy of two lives lost again.

“Understood,” Shijian replied and left promptly.

Li Anshi, wracked with pain, could neither stand nor walk properly. Even with two maids supporting her, she could not get into the carriage.

The guards of the prince’s residence, following orders, stepped forward to assist but were rebuffed by the maids citing propriety between men and women.

One of Li Anshi’s maids said, “Thank you for your kindness, but you may not know that our madam has always been frail. She only conceived after three years of marriage to the prime minister’s son and has been under the care of Doctor Zhang at the residence throughout the months. No matter how skilled other doctors may be, our madam trusts only him.”

“In that case, you should let Doctor Zhang tend to her,” Shen Ruojin said without lingering.

Seeing Li Anshi unable to get into the carriage, she helped support and half-carried her onto it.

---

As Shen Ruojin turned to leave the carriage, Li Anshi suddenly grabbed her sleeve. “The pain is unbearable; I fear I may not make it... The maids with me are quite foolish. Could you kindly do me the favor of escorting me back to my home?”

Shen Ruojin was about to refuse when Li Anshi cried out in pain again.

The young woman’s abdomen was swollen high, and her plaintive sobs made Shen Ruojin wonder if her fourth aunt had been just as helpless during her difficult labor.

Moved by compassion, she softly replied, “Very well.”

Several maids from the Li household climbed into the carriage, attending to Li Anshi—feeding her life-preserving pills, wiping her sweat, and urging the coachman, “Hurry, please hurry!”

Shen Ruojin lifted the carriage curtain and told the guards outside, “I am escorting Madam Li back. Please inform the prince and princess.”

“Understood, second madam.”

Before the guards could gather others to accompany them, the Li household coachman cracked the whip, urging the horses through the streets.

Half an hour later, they arrived at Li Garden.

Shen Ruojin helped Li Anshi down from the carriage and glanced up at the plaque that read “Li Garden.” She could not help but ask, “Does Madam not reside at the prime minister’s mansion?”

Li Anshi was still wailing, but forced out an answer, “I used to live there, but a few days ago...”

One of Li Anshi’s maids explained hurriedly, “A few days ago, Second Master was beaten by Prince Qin Xiao and was expelled by the prime minister. He is recuperating here. Madam Li, being heavily pregnant, cannot run back and forth, so she stays here.”

The maid rushed inside, calling, “Madam is experiencing complications! Quickly fetch Doctor Zhang!”

Shen Ruojin intended only to deliver her and leave, uninterested in the affairs of Li Er and his wife.

Once at the doorstep, she was about to take her leave when Li Anshi suddenly twisted her ankle while getting down from the carriage and collapsed against her, crying, “My body is failing me; I cannot even manage these few steps.”

Unwilling to see a woman in such distress, Shen Ruojin supported her into Li Garden.

Inside, maids took over, helping Li Anshi into the house. Doctor Zhang arrived swiftly, carrying his medicine box, and everyone busied themselves inside.

Shen Ruojin waited outside a while until Li Anshi’s cries subsided.

She then told the steward of Li Garden, “She has been delivered safely. I shall take my leave.”

“Today we are truly indebted to you, Young Madam. Your kindness is beyond repayment. I shall kowtow in gratitude,” the stewardess of the Li household said, kneeling with her maids.

Then she added, “You’ve been so kind to escort Madam Li back. Surely you won’t leave without a cup of tea? If others heard we sent you away without hospitality, it would be a disgrace. Please rest a while in the flower hall. Once Madam Li recovers, she will thank you personally before you depart.”

Though polite, it was unclear whether the waiting was for genuine thanks or some scheme.

Shen Ruojin was not afraid of trouble but disliked being falsely accused.

Waiting for Li Anshi to clarify before leaving was best, lest people at the prime minister’s residence use this as a pretext to stir trouble.

The flower hall was nearby, bathed in dancing floral shadows by the window with a splendid view.

Shen Ruojin sat by the window, watching the sun dip behind the clouds.

The stewardess, surnamed Lü, immediately ordered tea served, twelve trays of pastries laid out.

The lives of the capital’s noble families were extravagant and wasteful; when it came to spending, the prime minister’s son was no less lavish than Prince Qin Xiao.

Shen Ruojin merely glanced at the offerings, lacking the heart to taste them.

Lü smiled apologetically, “Young Madam, please try this Liu’an tea. Only eight tins were granted to the palace this year. Most went to the favored Consort Shu, who generously shared with our Second Master.”

Consort Shu, the emperor’s most beloved concubine, was from the prime minister’s household, and Li Er was her youngest full brother.

Though Shen Ruojin grew up in the borderlands and had not stayed long in the capital, she was aware of such connections.

But their favors were their own business. What did it matter to her?

Her smile was faint. “I do not care for tea.”

The smile on Lü’s face stiffened. “Then may I offer you some fruit drinks? Sour plum, preserved pear, or perhaps—”

“No trouble,” Shen Ruojin said gently. “Please attend to your duties. There’s no need to keep me here.”

Her mind had already drifted away—thinking of Shijian’s wasted trip to Huichuntang, certain the young maid was quite vexed.

She wondered if Qin Lang, invited by the Sixth Prince to taste wine and listen to the pipa, had yet returned and whether he still remembered he had gone out to exchange silver at the gambling den.

Seeing her resolute, Lü had no choice but to withdraw with the maids.

Shen Ruojin sat by the window, admiring the view. She caught a fallen flower petal and twirled it between her fingers.

Suddenly, a loud bang echoed.

Someone entered the flower hall and shut the door behind them.

The footsteps were unsteady, breath labored. Shen Ruojin turned to see a bruised, swollen face, bloated like a pig’s head.

She remained leisurely seated, the pale fingers still clutching the petal. “Li Er?”