The maid said, "Last night, it seed that after hearing the news of the young master’s return, she fell ill. Madam hasn’t slept all night, laughing and crying, pacing back and forth in the room throughout the night."
"She hasn’t eaten anything all day today, either crying and laughing or talking to herself."
Lin Shuo was startled upon hearing this. He had been sitting in the pharmacy for a year and had seen many patients. From what the maid said, it sounded very much like hysteria, what Doctor Gu referred to as a ntal illness.
He hurriedly asked, "Did you call the Imperial Physician?"
The maid nodded, "Early this morning, the butler invited the Imperial Physician over, and he prescribed so dicine."
"However, Madam smashed the dicine bowl and refused to take it, saying soone wants to harm her, that it’s poison."
Lin Shuo closed his eyes, feeling imnse pain in his heart.
Even though Madam Hou had once said directly to him that her love for him was fake and that she hated him, he still couldn’t sever his feelings towards her. After all, for over a decade, he had treated her with the respect and love of a birth mother.
Hearing about her current state, how could he not feel distressed?
Her revenge not only took his birth mother’s life but also dealt a severe blow to the Marquis, leaving a deep shadow in his heart. Madam Hou herself hasn’t had it easy either.
This revenge, which spanned over a decade, although now ended, left no winner — a complete loss for all.
The maid whispered, "I heard that Madam has been ntioning the young master all day, constantly asking where Ah Shuo has gone? Has Ah Shuo started to dislike her?"
After a long while, Lin Shuo finally said, "Has she only started doing this today?"
The maid replied, "No, ever since the young master left ho a year ago, sotis she’d cry, sotis she’d laugh, sotis she would talk to herself."
"Sotis she’d act like nothing happened, managing the household affairs, and even reciting Buddhist scriptures."
"It’s been almost a year since the young master left, and Madam’s illness has flared up several tis."
Lin Shuo frowned, "Didn’t you call the Imperial Physician to check on her?"
The maid said, "We did."
"When Madam’s symptoms were severe, we would call the Imperial Physician. Madam would sleep after taking the dicine prescribed by the Imperial Physician."
"But after waking up, she would still laugh and cry similarly."
"She’d usually make a fuss for one or two months before suddenly getting better. No one knows why."
The maid had one more thing in her heart that she didn’t say. Many servants in the household whispered that it was the ghost of the concubine haunting Madam Hou, which made her like this.
After all, a few maids had heard Madam Hou’s words that day, and gradually, it spread among the servants.
Lin Shuo asked again, "How about now, has she retired for the night?"
The maid shook her head, "Probably not. Just before the young master returned, Zhenzhu from Madam’s courtyard ca over to ask if the young master had returned, hoping the young master would go and see her. All that, Zhenzhu told ."
Lin Shuo had already taken off his clothes and was about to go to bed, but then he gathered his clothes again, silently put them on, and strode out.
The maid quickly carried a lantern ahead of him.
Upon reaching the side courtyard outside, the maid called for the door to be opened.
Lin Shuo strode inside.
As soon as he reached the main room’s entrance, he heard the sound of crying inside.
A matron softly said outside the door, "The young master is here."
The maid inside quickly opened the door and welcod Lin Shuo inside.
Lin Shuo hadn’t seen Madam Hou for a long ti.
From that day onwards, he stumbled out of so room, carrying a sword and riding a horse. Initially, several guards followed him, but he shook them all off, leaving only Ah Hu with him in the end.
At that mont, seeing Madam Hou, he only felt that she had grown very thin, as if she had aged more than ten years.
Deep wrinkles marred her forehead and the corners of her mouth.
User Comments
0 comments from readers