The commotion at the main door soon reached the Chen household, who quickly sent for the Old Madam of Duke Deqing.
The Old Madam was immediately helped inside Chen Shi’s chamber, where a luohan couch was arranged for her to lie down.
Opposite her lay Chen Shi.
“What is the matter?” Chen Shi sat up, asking in surprise, “Why did you let the Old Madam come out?”
The Old Madam, over seventy, had barely left her rooms for more than a decade.
After drinking some tea and being kneaded and pounded by several maids, the Old Madam of Duke Deqing finally recovered her breath.
She looked at Chen Shi, equally astonished.
“Why does your complexion look so poor?” she inquired, about to rise, “You’re ill and didn’t even mention it!”
She then called for the imperial physician.
“Old Lord Zhou has already seen me and prescribed medicine,” Chen Shi said with a smile, motioning for people to hold her back.
Knowing that Zhou Maochun had attended to her provided a small measure of relief to the Old Madam of Duke Deqing.
“That woman you brought back…” she began to ask, but then faltered, forgetting how to address her, “The woman staying in your father’s room…”
The phrasing sounded so awkward that the maids nearby quickly murmured reminders.
“Madam Qi,” the Old Madam finally recalled, continuing, “Who is she?”
Chen Shi offered a faint smile.
The Old Madam was becoming increasingly confused, often forgetting things as soon as they were mentioned, necessitating more soft prompts from her attendants.
“That’s not what I mean,” the Old Madam of Duke Deqing waved a hand impatiently, still fixing her gaze on Chen Shi. “She, why does she look just like that child from… from that family?”
That family? Which family?
The surrounding maids were utterly bewildered.
Chen Shi, however, merely smiled.
“Which family?” she asked, her tone questioning, yet her expression remained placid.
“Xue Niang, you know precisely who I speak of!” the Old Madam stated in a low voice.
Chen Shi lowered her head in a small smile, then raised it again.
“Is that so? I hardly recall. If Auntie says she resembles him, then I suppose she does,” she replied.
Qi Yue, meanwhile, knew nothing of what was transpiring at Chen Shi’s residence; she had just finished kowtowing to the Emperor and was now opening the chest she had brought.
“Madam Qi is truly sharp and clever,” the Emperor remarked with a smile, observing the woman kneeling before him.
Qi Yue was no longer as restrained as she had been in their previous meetings; she raised her head and smiled at his words.
“I thank Your Majesty,” she responded.
The eunuchs nearby couldn't help but click their tongues—this woman certainly possessed a startling lack of deference.
The Emperor’s smile deepened.
The explanation he had prepared for summoning her was now unnecessary.
“This commoner knows Your Majesty must be eager to see the progress,” Qi Yue murmured, lowering her head as she began taking items out of the box.
The Emperor watched her.
“Rise,” he commanded.
Qi Yue looked up and smiled once more.
“I thank Your Majesty, but I am quite comfortable like this,” she said, shifting into a kneeling posture.
It was the first time the eunuchs had witnessed anyone refuse an imperial order with such ease and nonchalance; moreover, neither the speaker nor the listener seemed to attach any unusual significance to it, as if the exchange was perfectly suitable.
Qi Yue then produced a pair of scissors and a scalpel, startling the eunuchs.
“Oh, no, that won’t do,” they hurried forward, clustering around Qi Yue.
Qi Yue looked at them with slight confusion.
“What is wrong?” she inquired.
“You cannot bring such instruments of harm into His Majesty’s presence,” the eunuchs urged anxiously.
Instruments of harm?
“Get away from here, you’re making a spectacle and embarrassing me,” the Emperor said, displeased.
The eunuchs reluctantly retreated, watching as the Emperor not only showed no aversion but also declined to have the instruments presented by them; instead, he rose and walked over, standing directly before Qi Yue.
“These…” he bent slightly to examine the row of items Qi Yue had laid out, asking with curiosity, “are these the objects you use to demonstrate your miraculous skills?”
“Yes,” Qi Yue smiled, pointing to each one in turn. “Forceps, surgical knives, scissors—these are further divided into many types…”
The Emperor initially bent down to observe, but then simply sat down. The eunuchs were astonished yet again, quickly fetching cushions for him.
Were these items so captivating?
Or perhaps…
The eunuchs stood aside, their downward gazes inevitably falling upon the woman seated opposite the Emperor.
Qi Yue had finished arranging everything and explaining the purpose of each tool.
“This syringe is the one you mentioned last time, used to draw the gas from Old Grand Secretary Li’s abdomen?” The Emperor picked up the syringe with his long, slender fingers, hesitating slightly.
“This is not that one; this is a hypodermic syringe. Old Grand Secretary Li required a puncture needle,” Qi Yue explained with a smile, then rummaged through her box with an apologetic look, “It hasn’t been fabricated yet.”
The Emperor smiled at her and carefully placed the syringe back down.
Assuming there was nothing else of consequence—she had shown His Majesty she had not been idle—Qi Yue began to gather her things.
“Then how is this surgical knife used?” the Emperor asked, pointing again.
He wanted to know the usage as well?
Qi Yue smiled and extended her hand to pick it up, adopting a posture akin to holding a writing brush.
“It is used like this,” she stated, then changed her grip, “And it can also be used like this, and like this…”
The Emperor watched with a gentle smile as the woman’s hands shifted their grip with agile dexterity. The eunuchs’ hearts were in their throats; good heavens, handling blades with such skill was terribly dangerous….
It wasn't just the eunuchs attending the Emperor who felt tense. At this very moment, even Chen Shi, pacing restlessly through her home, kept asking if the Old Madam had returned. Fortunately, word soon arrived that she was back, and Chen Shi rushed out joyfully to meet her.
The Old Madam of Duke Deqing walked quickly, her face set in a grim expression, supported by two maids.
That oddity, Chen Xue Niang, had she managed to antagonize her mother as well?
“Mother, what did Xue Niang say?” Chen Shi asked.
“She said nothing,” the Old Madam of Duke Deqing replied. “I believe she knows perfectly well what she is doing.”
“She is doing it deliberately!” Rao Chen Shi nodded, a mixture of anger, anxiety, and grievance in her voice. “I have never wronged her! I have always treated her like a younger sister since childhood. How could she be so cruel as to corner me like this? I won’t be able to show my face at the Rao family home again!”
“What are you talking about?” The Old Madam of Duke Deqing seemed to snap back to reality, frowning. “How did she frame you?”
Rao Chen Shi was momentarily stunned by the question.
“Wasn’t it the decree of separation that she requested?” she asked.
“How would I know?” the Old Madam of Duke Deqing responded.
Rao Chen Shi nearly lost her breath.
“Didn’t you ask her? Didn’t you say she admitted it?” she pressed.
The Old Madam of Duke Deqing had a sudden realization.
“That? Oh, I forgot to ask,” she admitted.
Rao Chen Shi felt a surge of frustration.
“Then why did you go over there?” she demanded.
The Old Madam’s expression grew somewhat vacant.
“Yes, what did I go over there for?” she murmured.
Rao Chen Shi was beyond exasperated.
“Weren’t we going to play Ma? Has everyone arrived yet?” the Old Madam asked again.
The Old Madam’s confusion had returned; the maids quickly supported and soothed her.
“Yes, yes, we were just waiting for you, Old Madam.”
Rao Chen Shi waved her hand in resignation.
“Go and help Mother take her medicine,” she instructed.
The Old Madam heard her voice.
“Er Hua? Why are you here? When did you arrive?” she asked.
Rao Chen Shi reached up to rub her forehead and sighed.
“Mother, I’ve been here several days. I must be leaving now. I will visit again soon,” she said, and without waiting for the Old Madam to respond further, she promptly turned and walked away.
The maids guided the Old Madam further inside.
“To the Eldest Master’s place,” the Old Madam suddenly declared.
The maids paused, assuming the Old Madam was deeply confused again. They dutifully agreed but did not turn the corner.
“Oh, I’m not senile!” the Old Madam sharply admonished, shaking off the hands of the maids and proceeding unsteadily toward the quarters of Chen Xue’s elder brother.
No one could quite discern when the Old Madam was confused and when she was lucid. The maids, with a sense of helplessness, hastened to follow.
Chen Xue’s two biological elder brothers were both nearly fifty and resided in the East Court of the Duke Deqing estate, their residence divided into two separate courtyards where they lived individually. Both were frail and frequently ill, having retired from office early. They had few children, and those they did have were sent far away. As a result, the younger generation had almost forgotten that the primary branch of the Chen family still housed these two men.
The Old Madam of Duke Deqing proceeded directly to the residence of the First Master Chen.
Master Chen, who was devoted to Daoist cultivation, emerged from his study only upon hearing that the Old Madam of Duke Deqing had arrived; ordinarily, visitors were only permitted to convey messages through the servants.
“The woman Xue Niang brought back, have you seen her?” the Old Madam of Duke Deqing asked without preamble.
Master Chen shook his head.
“I’ve only heard my second brother mention her; I haven't met her,” he replied.
The Old Madam of Duke Deqing fell silent for a moment.
“I suspect this woman is connected to someone,” she stated.
Master Chen looked at her.
The Old Madam of Duke Deqing seemed to find the words difficult to articulate.
“Wanning Villa,” she finally said.
Master Chen’s expression altered drastically.
“Aunt, such things cannot be spoken lightly…” he murmured.
“Naturally, I know such words must not be uttered carelessly,” the Old Madam of Duke Deqing said, feeling somewhat lighter now that she had voiced this thought she had held close. Her eyes narrowed as if gazing into the distance. “But today, when I saw her, I was nearly scared to death. Her eyes, her features—she is exactly like that child…”
“Wasn’t it said that the person was a woman?” Master Chen questioned softly.
“But wasn’t that child so handsome he looked like a woman? He captivated Xue Niang at first sight…” The Old Madam of Duke Deqing huffed, then coughed, pausing to glance at Master Chen. She recalled something. “Oh, right, you haven’t seen him.”
She sighed and squinted.
“Since none of you have seen him, to say she resembles someone, this woman actually looks more like that child’s grandmother, Noble Consort Zheng…” she mumbled.
Before she could finish the sentence, Master Chen abruptly stood up.
“Aunt!” he interrupted sharply.
“Enough, I am old enough. Stop trying to frighten me with your sudden outbursts.” The Old Madam shot him a look. “Between your sister and you, one startling me is quite enough for one day.”
Master Chen panted, pacing back and forth.
“Impossible. Everyone from that great fire perished; they were completely incinerated,” he muttered, then nodded with certainty. “Aunt, it is just a slight resemblance. There are many people in this world who look alike.”
The Old Madam of Duke Deqing looked at him.
“Given Xue Niang’s affection for that person, it is understandable that she might exaggerate when seeing someone so similar,” Master Chen reasoned.
The Old Madam exhaled, looking toward the doorway.
“Yes, there are many people in this world who look alike, and it is normal for Xue Niang to act this way given her temperament. But tell me this, why would the Old Madam of Marquis Dingxi do this?” she asked slowly, a flash of sharp light crossing her usually clouded eyes. “A beggar’s origin, a life-saving kindness—does anyone truly believe such a mixture of truth and fabrication?”
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