Chapter 6 — Rebirth Does Not Accept Death

9

Many months later, the sea was indeed calm. In the previous life, at the end of the year, Concubine Xuan immediately contracted cold and died. But in this life, Concubine Xuan eats well and sleeps peacefully. Not only is she unharmed, she also looks plump. It is said that Giang Hoai Du visits Concubine Xuan every few months or so.

"This young brother is really strange. I don't know why he's so filial to Concubine Xuan all of a sudden. More than half a year ago, he didn't even bother walking through the door of Concubine Xuan's hospital. On weekdays, he randomly bumped into her and pretended he didn't see her."

Chi Lan sat by the fireplace, untangling the thread, and lazily spoke.

"Isn't it very strange? Lang Suong said that yesterday Du Ca Nhi passed by and saw Concubine Xuan in the room throwing dice, but she frowned and said: Don't you feel any discomfort in your body?"

“This doesn't sound like he's concerned, it sounds like he's hoping Concubine Xuan will get sick.”

Dinh Lan just said casually, and after speaking, she was also surprised and stunned.

"Don't tell me you really think so, okay? If that's true, this Du brother's heart is too cruel, could it be that he wants his mother to die, so he can beg the old lady so that she can put him in her name?"

The room was momentarily silent. The maids all looked at me. My embroidery hand did not stop, just glanced at them:

"Don't talk nonsense when you go out. Be careful and know how to be careful. Right now your cousin Lang Suong is serving Concubine Xuan. You often remind her and tell her to pay attention to this Eighth Young Master."

That winter, Concubine Xuan passed through safely, even pregnant. On the contrary, Giang Hoai Du, in a fit of anxiety, fell ill. The old lady couldn't bear the pain, loudly yelled at the doctor, saying that if she couldn't cure Giang Hoai Du, she wanted to cut off the poinsettia seed of the Marquis Palace. Ten months later, Concubine Xuan safely gave birth to the seventeenth son of the palace. This child has fair skin, big round sparkling eyes, and is extremely annoying to his lover. Even the Old Lady, who was used to the birth of her grandchildren, now held this child and was reluctant to let go, and suddenly felt cold towards Giang Hoai Du.

—— The Old Lady herself of course did not have that thought, but catching Giang Hoai Du's eyes was another matter.

Of course he is not at the point of being jealous and competing for favor with a newborn child, but he is only afraid that he will lose the Old Lady's favor and turn back into a lowly little servant that no one cares about like before. He was anxious to act, wanted to open his mouth again to repeat the story of enrolling under my pillow with the Old Lady, but he still couldn't find an excuse to speak up. Just after the Qingming period, Lang Suong, who had always served in Concubine Xuan's hospital, suddenly knocked on our door in the middle of the night. In his hand he carried an exquisite box of food.

"Madam, these past few days, the Eighth Young Master has been visiting Concubine Xuan every few days, and also brought breakfast to Concubine Xuan. This servant really feels that something is unusual, but I don't know if there is any problem with this food."

I opened the lid of the box, my hand trembled like a strong needle, the lid of the wooden box rolled down to the ground. In my previous life, I was seriously ill, Giang Hoai Du also brought breakfast like that every day. Each dish carries a faint, faint sweet almond scent. Exactly like this breakfast in front of you. Later we learned that it was a poison that Giang Hoai Du intentionally ordered someone to mix. The taste is sweet, there is no unusual taste when eaten, the toxicity spreads slowly and is difficult to detect, only slowly seeping into the internal organs, invading the bones and tendons of the whole body, causing extreme pain, gradually stiffening the limbs, even the internal organs are slowly depleted, and in the end can only survive on the hospital bed, until two or three years later, then slowly dies. He did not hold back on such a poisonous poison and used it on me for many years. Now he's probably a bit impatient, and has poured more into these pieces of cake than he used to give me in the past, to the point that even the scent is much stronger.

“Madam?” Lang Suong noticed my face and asked in a low voice, "Is there really a problem with this cake? So if Master Eighth brings it again in the future, will the slave secretly exchange it, or should I directly expose Eighth Master?"

I was silent for a moment, then spoke:

"If he brings it again in the next few days, you can just put it away, there's no need for Concubine Xuan to know. Seven days later, persuade Concubine Xuan to bring this cake to the Old Lady's house, and be respectful to the Old Lady."

Lang Suong's face was slightly surprised, but he didn't ask much, nodded, and then quietly returned.

10

Seven days later, I brought doctor Truong Cam to check the Old Lady's pulse. Ever since the old lady gave birth to Marquis, she has had headaches, and for many years they keep recurring with the weather and never go away. The famous physician Truong Cam, who was traveling around the world, was a heartbroken Marquis who sent someone to find him in Loc Thanh and specially invited him to the capital. When entering the door, Giang Hoai Du was walking from the neighboring hospital. A year has passed, his body has developed more and his personality seems to have become deeper. Seeing me, she quickly walked forward and smiled warmly at me: "Mother is here. It's still cold, why don't you put on more clothes? Fifth brother, don't you remind me?" He looked at Can Nhi next to me and frowned slightly. Can Nhi lifted the arm that was holding the cloak, her expression bland: "Mother's cloak is here, the eighth brother is very kind." Giang Hoai Du's face turned slightly embarrassed, he didn't pay attention to Can Nhi anymore, just looked at me and smiled and said:

“Mom, please go inside, it's still warmer in the house.”

Doctor Truong entered the house to check the Old Lady's pulse. Giang Hoai Du personally poured tea for me: "I know that mother likes to drink Nu Nhi Tea. Last year, the child collected some and brewed it for many more days. Now it's just the right taste, mother, try it." I received that cup of tea, but never drank it. Giang Hoai Du also did not react, still smiling faintly and standing next to him. Doctor Truong finished inserting a round of needles for the Old Lady. The Old Lady immediately felt much more relieved.