Chapter 305: The Dead Mistress, Don’t Call Me Lady Wei
Su Daiyue said, "But I never expected him to hold such a long-standing grudge against me."
"I’ve been frail since I was young, so getting pregnant was never easy. After I finally managed to conceive, he actually wanted to make me suffer the pain of losing a child, just like he did!"
The stagnant despair in Su Daiyue’s eyes churned into a storm. "But this was his child, too!" she said, her voice filled with hatred. "How could he be so heartless..."
Ji Qingwu clapped a hand over her mouth, muffling her shrill voice.
Then, she whispered in her ear, "Madam Song, I know you’re furious, but you must calm down. There are still many people outside."
Ji Qingwu had another theory in mind. She waited for Su Daiyue’s emotions to stabilize before letting go.
Su Daiyue gasped for air, a hoarse sound rattling in her throat.
"It wasn’t enough for him to harm my child. Now he even wants me dead."
Ji Qingwu asked a few more questions and finally learned the full story.
Half a month ago, Su Daiyue heard that a new medical hall had opened in Lin’an, one that was renowned for helping women with fertility and childbirth.
All the prominent ladies in the city frequented the establishment. Even if they weren’t ill, they would go for wellness treatments.
She had only just been confirmed pregnant, and her condition was still unstable, so she had some medicine prescribed from the hall. She took it for several days without any issue.
Until one night, when Song Wei, completely out of character, insisted on watching the medicine being prepared in the kitchen. He then brought the bowl of pregnancy-stabilizing tonic to her himself, gently coaxing her to drink it.
Su Daiyue had thought their relationship was finally beginning to thaw with the coming of their child.
But that very night, she was struck by an unbearable pain in her lower abdomen.
Su Daiyue had wanted to send for Ji Qingwu, but Nanny Ma dissuaded her, saying the tonic itself was the problem and that the young lady from the Ji Family couldn’t be trusted.
In the end, she started bleeding and miscarried. Even summoning Doctor Huang Zhitang from Qingchun Hall was useless.
While Su Daiyue was lost in a panic, only Nanny Ma bustled about, tending to her.
But the child’s father, Song Wei, was nowhere to be seen. When Su Daiyue asked Nanny Ma where he was, the nanny stammered and refused to say. Only after the stress caused Su Daiyue to suffer another hemorrhage did she finally tell her the truth...
That night was not only the day she agonizingly lost her child, but also the death anniversary of Song Wei’s long-dead mistress.
He had spent the entire night at a hillside grave in the countryside, keeping the mother and child company.
Su Daiyue’s eyes were dry; even shedding a tear felt like a luxury. She had cried herself dry days ago, and now her pupils looked as if they might crack.
Hearing all this, Ji Qingwu’s eyes flickered. The story felt even stranger now.
"Why haven’t you told Mr. Su? He’s your father. He would surely seek justice for you."
"There’s nothing to say..."
Su Daiyue placed the small, satin baby shoes on her lap, stroking them again and again.
"Song Wei and I never had any affection for one another. I didn’t want to marry him, and he didn’t want to marry me. We were forced together. Now we’ve become enemies. It’s better to just let it all end."
Ji Qingwu’s intuition told her that she wasn’t telling the whole truth.
After all, there was hate in Su Daiyue’s eyes.
Su Fengyue was the reigning Prime Minister. If he learned that his daughter had been poisoned and lost her child, he would certainly have a way to punish Song Wei.
’It’s just unclear what could have happened to make Su Daiyue endure it all, even knowing her husband poisoned her. She’s bearing the grudge for her child’s murder, and now she doesn’t even want to live.’
But beyond that, there were other oddities.
Ji Qingwu asked thoughtfully, "Madam, have you noticed anything unusual about your servants lately?"
A sarcastic smile touched Su Daiyue’s chapped lips. "Too many things are unusual. Aside from the nanny and maids who came with my dowry, I can’t get any of the other servants to listen to me at all."
Ji Qingwu glanced at the medicine bowl. "The ones you *can* command might not be truly loyal to you, either."
Su Daiyue said, "That’s impossible. Those maids came with me from the Su Mansion. They would never betray me, and they certainly wouldn’t betray my father."
As she finished speaking, she took a sharp breath, her throat working as if recalling some terrifying scene. A flicker of lingering fear crossed her eyes.
Ji Qingwu frowned. ’What secret is Su Daiyue hiding so deeply?’
’She’s not even afraid of death, so what is she afraid of? What could be so unspeakable? Perhaps she just doesn’t trust me. Otherwise, I can’t think of a better reason.’
Seeing that Su Daiyue had no one she could trust, Ji Qingwu decided to share her discovery.
"I’m not talking about the maids. I’m talking about your nanny."
Su Daiyue reacted strongly to the accusation that Nanny Ma had betrayed her. She shook her head. "That’s impossible!"
She began to recount the cherished memories she held dear.
"My birth mother was in poor health, so Nanny Ma was the one who raised me. When I was little and had a high fever, her own daughter was struck by a passing carriage. But she didn’t even go to care for her. Her daughter ended up with a permanent injury, a slight limp. My nanny gave her all for me."
’A nanny who cherished her so much, who valued her even more than her own daughter, would never betray her.’
Su Daiyue was certain of it.
Ji Qingwu had a daughter of her own. ’A mother who doesn’t cherish her own child is a rare thing indeed,’ she thought, a dark glint appearing in her eyes.
Through the window, she could see an old woman pacing back and forth by the door, wringing her hands. Even without seeing her expression clearly, her anxious state was obvious from her movements.
Su Daiyue glanced out the window as well.
"My nanny only went to the Wei Family to cause a scene because she was worried about me," she said. "Please don’t blame her. I know the poisoning had nothing to do with you. I’ll explain everything to my father in private and clear your name."
Ji Qingwu said, "Of course this has nothing to do with me. I don’t need anyone to prove my innocence." ’She simply wanted those who repeatedly slandered her to pay a fitting price.’
She turned her gaze back to the low table before them and picked up the porcelain bowl, which was decorated with a gold-rimmed floral pattern.
"On my way into the courtyard, I saw many vines climbing a wooden trellis. Mixed among them were deep red leaves—red living hemp leaves. When combined with the tonic you’ve been taking, they create a poison. That is the true cause of your miscarriage."
Su Daiyue’s health had been deteriorating. She had long suspected she was being poisoned, and today, Ji Qingwu had confirmed it on the spot with a silver needle and revealed the cause.
She lowered her head. "Lady Wei... thank you, regardless."
"It’s too early for thanks," Ji Qingwu said.
She took Su Daiyue’s wrist, placing it on the low table to check her pulse. Su Daiyue was like a walking corpse, letting Ji Qingwu move her without resistance.
"Don’t bother, Lady Wei. I know the state of my own body."
Su Daiyue’s body was already weak from the miscarriage, and this particular poison was one that destroyed a person’s constitution. The decay had started long ago from within; the toxins had already invaded her vital organs.
Ji Qingwu withdrew her hand, picked up a handkerchief to wipe her fingers, and said, "Madam Song, you just mentioned that Nanny Ma has a daughter?"
Su Daiyue had expected to hear a grim diagnosis, that she didn’t have long to live. She was surprised to be asked about this instead.
She answered, "Yes, Nanny has a daughter who is a few months older than me." She then added, "Please, don’t call me Madam Song anymore. I don’t want any connection to the Song family ever again."
Ji Qingwu nodded. "Then you needn’t call me Lady Wei, either."