He Danggui stuck to the window like a shadow and quietly listened to the besties chatting in the room with a lighted candle beside. However, she didn’t want to hear what they were talking about at all. She was just curious about where her mother was. Where on earth did Nie Chun hide her mother? Guan Yun and Ling Miaoyi had chatted for so long while they still didn’t mention what she cared about the most. He Danggui didn’t believe Guan Yun wouldn’t send someone to track or investigate it and keep it as evidence for the future if she found her mother was pregnant. Pregnant? That’s impossible. In all ways, her mother would never get pregnant.

He Danggui sighed silently. Her mother was indeed beautiful but she was already thirty-three years old and couldn’t give birth to another child anymore. As far as He Danggui was concerned, her mother should stop loving any man and be self-independent. Otherwise, her mother was very softhearted and always thought men were indispensable to families so she kept living like vines spreading on the ground and waited for some man to lift her up.

Moreover, her mother always thought she should obey her husband after she got married. She kept fantasizing about He Fu and hoped he could come back to her someday. She might think she must be faithful to her “second” husband unto death since she had lost her “first” one. As a daughter, she knew these thoughts of her mother very well. Although she didn’t approve of them, she tried to understand. Every woman was different. She couldn’t ask her mother who was used to relying on others to be as independent as her. Thus, if she had to choose a man for her mother, He Danggui would think Nie Chun was good.

To be honest, her mother was two years older than Nie Chun who was a hero and she didn’t deserve such a man at all. In all senses and judging from the worldly point of view, there was a big gap between them, but what supported He Danggui’s choice was that she knew “in advance” Nie Chun remained single until he was more than forty. Since he was destined to be a single chopstick in the future and her mother was another one, they could be together and form a pair.

If her mother married Nie Chun, it would be her third marriage, and she couldn’t get pregnant. Therefore, if Nie Chun was willing to accept her mother, he just needed to hold a simple ceremony as a courtesy. It was acceptable even if he announced that he just got a “concubine”. Of course, these were all He Danggui’s absurd thoughts she had when she was idle and they weren’t in line with the reality at all, because last time she saw her mother, judging from the implication of the words, she felt her mother was still waiting for He Fu to mend his ways. And Nie Chun had gone for three years without sending her any message. When he showed up again, he brought extremely shocking news to He Danggui. He told her that her mother and he had lived together without getting married and they would break up soon after they got tired of each other?

He Danggui tidied up the hair beside her ear and had mixed feelings as if her heart was cast into a dense fog. She was nervous and wanted to get it back but she was also afraid of getting lost in the fog… She happened to move the wound on her right hand. The burning pain reminded her that she was originally here to find the antidote but she had been eavesdropping on the two women.

However, where did Gao Jue hide the antidote? What did the box containing it look like? Would Gao Jue be so silly and label the box “antidote to He He Qi Ri Qing”? As for his bedroom, she had been there before but it was very empty. He didn’t even have necessary furniture or bed in it, let alone boxes or ornaments. Qing’er had said this. On the way Gao Jue “escorted” her from Changbai Mount to Yangzhou City, he only slept on beams or hemp ropes and that was amazing. Qing’er just felt something for him after seeing a man over fifty kilos like him sleeping on hemp ropes. He Danggui also remembered this. When they were in Shui Shang Temple, Gao Jue still chose to sleep on trees even though there was a warm and soft bed for him… So where on earth did he hide the antidote?

The two women that were chatting got sleepy gradually but they still kept talking casually. Instead of continuing the topic about He Danggui’s mother’s buying fish and getting pregnant, they began to talk about secrets between females.

Guan Yun asked, “Miaoyi, how are you and my cousin going? Will he marry you?”

Ling Miaoyi replied sullenly, “Huh, even if he wants to marry me, I may not agree. Any man I pick randomly on the street will be better than this bastard. Last night he even brought home a prostitute. Did he think I’m dead? I’ve made up my mind. After the Lantern Festival, I’ll go back to the capital and get married to the man my family chose for me. He must be a lot better than Liao Zhiyuan.”

He Danggui was already in a daze originally and didn’t want to listen to them anymore, but now she was slightly shocked. What happened? When did Ling Miaoyi and Liao Zhiyuan get together? Hadn’t Liao Zhiyuan gotten engaged long before? She heard from Qing’er that he had gotten married according to the dictates of his parents and words of the matchmaker and his wife seemed to be Lu Jiangbei’s cousin. Liao Zhiyuan was resistant to it at first and thought such a wife would be too rigid and dull, but after the ceremony, the whole Liao’s Family was satisfied with the woman and even Liao Zhiyuan had changed his views toward her.

He Danggui and Qing’er just heard all this from others. Qing’er also had stayed in Yangzhou City for three years. She hardly went back home or got along with her new sister-in-law, but both He Danggui and she thought a woman who could tame a wild man like Liao Zhiyuan must be very capable. It hadn’t been long since the last time Qing’er’s brother and sister-in-law came to Yangzhou City to visit her. It was said that people were all envious of the couple’s felicity. Why did Liao Zhiyuan suddenly become a satyr and monster and even have a dubious relationship with Ling Miaoyi?

Judging from Ling Miaoyi’s tone, she seemed to be complaining or feeling angry. It just sounded like she had fallen in love with Liao Zhiyuan. What was going on? She didn’t like Duan Xiaolou anymore? She had done so many stupid things because of jealousy before and still treated He Danggui as a rival in love until now. Why did she shift her love to another man? It was strange. When did she begin to like Liao Zhiyuan?

But again, if Ling Miaoyi married Liao Zhiyuan as his concubine, wouldn’t she become Qing’er’s sister-in-law? No, Ling’s Family had higher social status than Liao’s Family did, and Ling Miaoyi was a legitimate daughter. She would be wronged even if she became his wife. But Liao Zhiyuan already had a wife. Thus, the position as a co-wife would be the best Ling Miaoyi could get. Did they argue about this? Was it why Liao Zhiyuan was provoked so that he brought trouble wherever he went?

“Stay calm and don’t do anything stupid.” Guan Yun persuaded Ling Miaoyi earnestly, but her caring tone sounded hypocritical to He Danggui. What she said later, however, was very shocking, “Even though you don’t consider for yourself, you should think about your son. If you obeyed your parents and got married to another man, what about your son you had with Mr. Liao?

Her son? They even got a son? Feeling shocked, He Danggui couldn’t help poking through the window paper and snooping inside, but she only saw the two women sleeping on the same bed with one pillow and one quilt and chatting with their eyes closed as if they were talking in their dreams.

“He’s so cold-blooded. He still doesn’t believe it’s his son. What can I do?” Ling Miaoyi said with her face blushed, “At that time, he was drunk and kept saying honeyed words. He even called me ‘Yiyi’. I wouldn’t be cheated and allow that to happen if it weren’t for his badgering me. However, he didn’t admit anything at all when he woke up and had never come to see me when I was pregnant, gave birth, or sat the month. I’ve been completely disappointed at this man while he suddenly came back to me. I wouldn’t even see him if it weren’t for our son. Later, I ran away from Ling’s Mansion and decided to live with him wholeheartedly, but he even played with several prostitutes the first day I arrived here!”

After hearing it over quietly, He Danggui found something new. The nickname of “Yiyi” stimulated her memories and reminded her that people including the First and Second Lords of Luo’s Family always called her “Yiyi”. She felt awkward now because of knowing another woman with the same name as hers. It was like someone had stolen her name. And she had another wild guess. Maybe Liao Zhiyuan was actually calling another “Yiyi” at that time?

“Yiyi” was one word of the courtesy name, “Baoyi”, which belonged to Guan Yun. He Danggui had ever heard Duan Xiaolou calling Guan Yun “Baoyi”. Besides, Qing’er also had complained that Liao Zhiyuan treated Guan Yun better than her and he cared much about Guan Yun all the time, which made her very jealous. With these memories, He Danggui began to guess boldly. Maybe the person Liao Zhiyuan actually liked was Guan Yun? And he became very hostile to her and even wanted to kill her just because of Guan Yun?

While thinking about it, He Danggui looked at Guan Yun’s face through the small hole on the window paper. Nothing special could be seen on that face and Guan Yun even yawned indifferently. Thus, He Danggui concluded that although Liao Zhiyuan liked Guan Yun, Guan Yun only loved Duan Xiao and cared nothing about him. When it came to men having unrequited loves for them, women always held a cruel superiority complex. He Danggui drew this conclusion from her own experience.

It was already late night. The damp breeze made her clothes wet. He Danggui stopped snooping and began to search secretly every empty room of the house, but she found no box that might contain the antidote. Gao Jue’s house was too clean as if it had just been robbed.

She pushed the last door open and the room was entirely a mess. There were pieces of women’s clothes all over the ground such as gauzy skirts, stomachers, underwear, and brocade socks… All of them were scattered everywhere. Frowning, He Danggui stepped back and remembered that when she was here yesterday, it seemed the voices of Liao Zhiyuan and that woman were heard in this room. It might be a guest room for Liao Zhiyuan. Since it was very messy, she should not go in. Anyway, a precious thing like the antidote wouldn’t be stored in such a place.

Thus, she turned around and left the house without seeing the row of small porcelain bottles on the corner of that room or hearing what Ling Miaoyi and Guan Yun said before they fell asleep.

“Is your son still living with your Sister Xiao?” Guan Yun asked.

“Yes, he is,” Ling Miaoyi replied, “but Xiao Suxin isn’t my senior sister. She became a disciple much earlier than I did. I should’ve called her Younger Master Xiao… By the way, He Danggui’s mother got pregnant, and how shameful it is. Why didn’t you make an issue of it?”

“How did you know I didn’t do that?” Guan Yun yawned and shed some tears. She continued with a smile, “Before long, I’ll give you a magnificent show. You must witness all of it before leaving Yangzhou City. Haha… When I think about the shocked look He Danggui will have, I’m so happy that I even want to celebrate it by setting off fireworks for three days and nights.”

It was past three in the rainy morning in He Danggui’s room, Tao Yao Yard, East Yard of Luo’s Mansion.

After taking the antidote, Meng Xuan felt better and regained much spirit. Leaning against a pile of pillows, he smiled lazily and asked, “Meng Ying, where did you get the antidote? How did you know I was here? Have you ever seen Xiaoyi? She has been gone for two days. I miss her and want to go out to find her but I’m also worried that she may get anxious if she comes back and finds I’m not here.”

“He Danggui? No.” Meng Ying shook his head and replied, “I didn’t even need to guess where you’re hiding. I just knew it. But I never thought that He Danggui would allow you to stay here and even sleep on her bed.”

Meng Xuan smiled happily and was in a daze for a while. After coming to his senses, he kept asking, “Where on earth did you get the antidote? Did you find it yourself?”

“It wasn’t me.” Meng Ying answered him in a calm tone, “A lady risked her life to gain it from those men. You should be grateful and thank her sincerely.”

“Um? Who is she?” Meng Xuan tilted his head.

“It’s Su Niang who got it for you.” Meng Ying said this while staring at Meng Xuan, “She is indeed an affectionate woman. Uh, have you long since planned to marry her? Then, I’ll go talk to our mother for you. Just marry her as your concubine.”