Chapter 80: Telling Stories

The scene was so eerie that Bao Ning’s heart hammered against her ribs, her fingertips turning cold. Pei Yuan pulled her into his embrace and spoke with displeasure: “Sister-in-law, it is the middle of the night. What are you doing here instead of sleeping?”

Bao Ning then realized the woman was Su Mingyou. It made sense; there wasn’t a second heavily pregnant woman in the manor.

Seeing Bao Ning, Yuanzi screamed, scrambled off the bed, and lunged into her arms.

Su Mingyou slowly turned around. When Bao Ning saw her face, it was hauntingly pale. She was very thin—her arms and legs were like spindly reeds, and only her belly protruded. Even with her beautiful features, she could not hide this skeletal strangeness. Bao Ning’s intuition told her this woman was not simple, though she couldn’t quite put her finger on why.

Bao Ning grew wary.

Pei Yuan pulled Bao Ning and Yuanzi behind him to shield them. He took a step forward and said coldly, “Sister-in-law, have you not come to your senses yet?”

“This child,” Su Mingyou’s eyes were fixed intently on Yuanzi’s shadow behind him. “This child… does he look like his father, or his mother?”

Pei Yuan frowned. “What do you mean by that?”

“Does he look more like his father, or more like his mother?” Su Mingyou slowly walked to within three paces of Yuanzi and crouched down. Looking into his eyes, she asked him, “Has anyone ever said you don’t look like your father? Has anyone ever doubted it? If you aren’t your father’s child, what will happen? Will your mother be beaten to death? Will she be drowned in a pig cage, despised by ten thousand people, because the child she bore isn’t your father’s?”

Pei Yuan watched her scrutinizingly. Su Mingyou seemed to have lost her soul, completely different from the dignified and composed woman of the daytime, uttering words he couldn’t understand.

Bao Ning pulled Yuanzi closer into her arms. Yuanzi didn’t dare cry anymore, biting his lip hard.

Su Mingyou asked slowly, “So, do you look more like your father, or more like your mother?”

“Sister-in-law!” Pei Yuan, reaching the end of his patience, barked, “If you continue like this, I will have no choice but to throw you into Lake Li to wake you up!”

Su Mingyou shuddered and stood up abruptly. Her sanity returned, a flash of helplessness crossing her eyes. She looked at the trembling Yuanzi, then at the grim-faced Pei Yuan, and said urgently, “Fourth Brother, let me explain…”

But she couldn’t find the words.

Bao Ning stepped in to smooth things over: “Sister-in-law was likely exhausted from the day and was just caught in a nightmare.”

Su Mingyou gave her a grateful look and followed up quickly: “Yes, Fourth Brother, I was just having a nightmare. I’m so sorry for waking you all in the dead of night.” Having said that, she reached out to touch Yuanzi’s face. “Don’t be afraid, Auntie won’t hurt you…”

Yuanzi dodged her, leaving Su Mingyou’s hand frozen awkwardly in the air.

She swallowed, straightened her posture, and addressed Pei Yuan solemnly: “Fourth Brother, I have been married to your eldest brother for over four years. I know a fair amount, and I understand your concerns. You worry that I have had contact with Pei Xiao, don’t you? I haven’t. Never. You can investigate; I have never done anything to harm you, nor will I ever.”

Bao Ning thought to herself that Su Mingyou was indeed as clever as the rumors suggested.

Because of this speech, Pei Yuan’s expression relaxed considerably. He said flatly, “Sister-in-law should rest early. We are going back to sleep as well.”

Su Mingyou murmured an acknowledgement. Bao Ning also bid her farewell. Worried that Yuanzi was frightened, she gestured for him to follow them so he could sleep in their room.

Watching them leave, Su Mingyou let out a long breath and leaned back against the wall, her forehead drenched in cold sweat.

She stroked her belly and murmured, “My child, will you look like your father or your mother? Please, don’t look like your father. If people recognize you… what will we do?”

The next morning, Bao Ning rose early and prepared a lavish breakfast.

Partly it was for Yuanzi, but mainly because today was the day for Pei Yuan’s detoxification. Bao Ning felt for him and wanted him to eat well.

There was a large plate of steamed river shrimp, a steamer of crab-roe buns, lean meat porridge, shredded chicken salad, and sweet and sour cucumber.

Halfway through the meal, Chen Jia arrived. He reported that news had come from the Lihu government office: no one had reported a missing child yesterday. However, they had arranged men to check house by house and expected results within five days. Lihu wasn’t large and was far from surrounding counties, so Yuanzi’s home was likely within the town and shouldn’t be hard to find.

Bao Ning instructed Chen Jia to give the officials some reward money to ensure they did their best. Chen Jia took the order and left.

Pei Yuan slowly peeled a shrimp, tossed the meat into Bao Ning’s bowl, and looked at Yuanzi. The boy wouldn’t be going home for a few days; Pei Yuan had expected him to be at least a little sad, but Yuanzi was eating heartily as if nothing had happened. He didn’t seem to want to go home at all, nor did he seem to miss his parents.

“Yuanzi.” Pei Yuan called his name. Yuanzi looked up and called him “Dada” in a milky voice.

Pei Yuan smiled. He didn’t force the boy to correct himself, instead gently placing a piece of food in his bowl. He asked, “Does your family treat you poorly?”

Yuanzi thought for a moment and shook his head.

“Then they treat you well?”

Yuanzi shook his head again.

Pei Yuan reached for some garlic and peeled it with his head down, asking casually, “Then is it good or bad?”

“I want,” Yuanzi stammered, his eyes very bright, “I want to stay here!”

His articulation was poor, and it took effort for Pei Yuan to understand him. He exchanged a surprised look with Bao Ning.

Bao Ning asked, “Why?”

Yuanzi fell silent.

Pei Yuan blew the garlic skins off his fingertips and suddenly had a thought. He asked Bao Ning, “Do you think this child was abused at home and ran away?”

“Surely not…” Bao Ning pursed her lips. “Let’s wait a few days for news from the officials. If the parents are truly like that, we might as well just keep Yuanzi. We can’t push him back into a wolf’s den.”

“Don’t.” Pei Yuan stopped her, taking a bite of a garlic clove and lowering his head to drink porridge. “I’m capable of siring my own son; I don’t need to pick up someone else’s leftovers.”

Bao Ning gasped and gave his arm a light shove. “Don’t say such things in front of the child.”

“Fine, fine, fine.” Pei Yuan relented helplessly. “I’ll stop, okay?”

As they spoke, a sudden burst of fierce barking erupted outside, accompanied by a woman’s cry of alarm. The mastiff’s bark was earth-shaking. Pei Yuan’s hand shook, and his remaining half-clove of garlic fell to the floor.

Bao Ning hurried out to look.

Su Mingyou stood frozen at the door. Jixiang was five paces away, barking wildly with saliva flying. Nanny Liu was hitting the ground with a stick to stop him: “Jixiang! Jixiang, stop barking! What if you scare the Madam?”

Jixiang wouldn’t listen at all. He wasn’t leashed; he lunged forward and tore a piece out of Su Mingyou’s skirt with one bite.

Nanny Liu was terrified. She dropped the stick and lunged forward as well, using her body to pin Jixiang down.

Su Mingyou fell to the ground in shock, clutching the remaining half of her skirt. Fortunately, she was wearing inner leggings, so her leg wasn’t bitten.

Nanny Liu, being plump, held Jixiang down firmly and shouted to the stunned servants nearby: “Hurry, get a rope!”

“Sister-in-law, are you alright?” Bao Ning recovered and ran over to help Su Mingyou up, supporting her as they went inside. “Does your stomach hurt? Should I call a doctor?”

“I’m fine.” Su Mingyou gave her a pale smile. “I just need to rest for a bit.”

Bao Ning apologized: “Sister-in-law, I didn’t know you were coming back now. Jixiang is wild and hard to tame. Had I known, I would have tied him up.”

Pei Yuan stood to the side, silent. Yuanzi was still eating with half a bun in his mouth. He stared at Su Mingyou and suddenly said, “Doggies only bite bad people.”

Everyone present froze. Su Mingyou’s expression was hard to describe. Clutching her stomach, she asked, “This child… what does he mean?”

“Children speak without thinking.” Bao Ning gestured for Pei Yuan to take Yuanzi into the inner room to finish eating. She turned back to soothe Su Mingyou: “The child is just repeating things he’s heard elsewhere. Don’t take it to heart. Yuanzi got lost on the street yesterday, and the officials are still looking for his parents. He’s just staying with us temporarily.”

Su Mingyou pulled at the corner of her mouth for a smile. “It’s better to find them sooner. Having a child of unknown origin in the house might cause gossip.”

Bao Ning agreed and asked again, “Sister-in-law, are you truly alright? It’s better to let a doctor check.”

Su Mingyou waved her off. Bao Ning stopped talking. The atmosphere became extremely awkward.

Qiu Lingyan had been a lesson for Bao Ning; after that incident, she was always cautious with people. Toward this “picked up” sister-in-law, she hadn’t planned on close contact, so naturally, she didn’t show excessive concern. Bao Ning thought to herself that seeing Su Mingyou through her pregnancy with good food and no illness was the extent of her duty. She didn’t want any other credit.

“I just wanted to see you. After what happened last night, I couldn’t sit still and came to apologize.” Su Mingyou spoke awkwardly, breaking the silence. “I didn’t expect you to keep a dog, and it was bad timing to run into your meal.”

Bao Ning asked, “Have you eaten, Sister-in-law?”

“…I have.”

The conversation died again.

Pei Yuan came out from the inner room. Hearing the lull, he stood behind Bao Ning and asked, “Does Sister-in-law want a bit more to eat?”

Su Mingyou said, “I can’t eat another bite.”

She was truly embarrassed. Sensing the couple really had nothing to say to her, she stopped looking for trouble and hurriedly bid farewell.

Pei Yuan had someone see her out.

After all that commotion, the food had grown cold. Fortunately, they were full. Bao Ning instructed Nanny Liu to clear the table and then pulled Pei Yuan along to watch the child.

Pei Yuan lay sideways on the bed, twirling the silk cord of the jade pendant at his waist, watching them through half-closed eyelids.

Bao Ning brought out her catapult again. She grabbed a handful of small beans and used lime to draw several circles five paces away. She and Yuanzi competed to see whose beans could land inside the circles.

Yuanzi had a great time, and so did Bao Ning. Pei Yuan watched with a wooden face, thinking these two were incredibly boring.

Throwing beans, picking up beans—before long, they both worked up a sweat. Pei Yuan moved further into the bed and patted the mattress. “Come over and rest. I’ll tell you a story.”

Bao Ning scurried over and nestled in his arms. Pei Yuan put his arm around her shoulder. Yuanzi sat cross-legged nearby, looking at Pei Yuan expectantly.

“I’ll tell you a ghost story.” Pei Yuan smiled, his fingers dancing on Bao Ning’s shoulder. “Have you seen a spider?”

Bao Ning said, “Of course I have.” Yuanzi nodded too.

“Some spiders are venomous. If a person accidentally eats a venomous spider, they will die. But there is a kind of spider that, while venomous, won’t kill you if eaten; it turns you into a human spider.” Pei Yuan spoke slowly. “Once, there was a scholar traveling to the capital for exams. One rainy night, he was walking through the desolate mountains when he saw a dilapidated temple and hurried inside. He had no money and had finished his rations, so he had to eat the offerings in the temple. But he didn’t know those fruits weren’t for the Buddha—they were offerings for a spider. Rumor had it the village at the foot of the mountain was cursed by spiders, and one day, those spiders would kill them all.”

Bao Ning nervously gripped Pei Yuan’s sleeve. “And then?”

“Inside the fruit the scholar ate was a spider about to lay eggs. He ate that mother spider right into his belly. At the time, he thought, ‘Hmm, a bit sweet.'”

Bao Ning asked, “And then?”

“He finished eating and went to sleep. But unexpectedly, in the middle of the night, his throat suddenly grew tighter and tighter. He couldn’t speak. After waking in a shock, he hurriedly used his fingers to scrape his throat, and he pulled out a clump of red spider silk. The scholar was terrified; he kept digging and digging, but more and more silk came out of his throat, and he slowly couldn’t breathe.”

Bao Ning asked, “Did he die?”

“Later, the scholar’s left arm snapped with a crack, and his leg snapped too. In place of the broken limbs, two very thin, segmented spider legs grew out, covered in short, thick fuzz. The left side of his belly slowly grew larger, becoming bloated and blood-red, like a spider’s abdomen. And on the left side of his face, his eye became like a large, round bell. He became a human spider, learning to walk like a spider—extremely fast, and able to climb walls.”

Bao Ning asked, “And then?”

Pei Yuan said lazily, “Then he went down the mountain and ate everyone in the village. The end.”

Bao Ning nearly lost her breath. Thinking of the strange appearance of that human spider, her back broke out in a sweat. It was too terrifying.

Bao Ning hurried to look at Yuanzi, fearing he’d been scared by Pei Yuan’s nonsensical spider story. Just as she was about to pull him into her arms to comfort him, she met his eyes, which were full of disbelief.

Yuanzi shook his head and said firmly, “No. Eating spiders won’t kill you, and you won’t turn into a Spider-Man.”

This sentence was remarkably clear and articulate, just as a five-year-old’s speech should be.

Pei Yuan asked with interest, “Why not?”

Yuanzi said, “I… I have eaten many.”

“Are you sleepy and talking in your sleep?” Bao Ning laughed. She looked at the sky outside; the sun had reached its peak. “It is time for a nap.”

She straightened Yuanzi’s clothes and led him toward the side room by his small hand. “Come, Auntie will take you to sleep.”

Yuanzi obediently followed.

While Yuanzi was sleeping, Bao Ning took out a fat leech to perform Pei Yuan’s second detoxification of the month. They were well-accustomed to the process by now; except for the initial pain, everything was fine, and Pei Yuan even had the energy to chat with Bao Ning. However, the poisoned blood sucked out by the leech was still deep black, showing no change at all compared to the last time.

Whenever this happened, Bao Ning would worry whether Concubine Ming’s method was actually working and how much longer Pei Yuan’s body could hold out. Would he suddenly collapse one day? No one could say for sure.

But there was no other way. She could only accompany him day by day; perhaps a way would open up eventually.

The leech, gorged with blood, fell onto the quilt. Because of the blood loss, Pei Yuan felt weary and closed his eyes for a nap. Bao Ning went to arrange the medicine jars.

When Yuanzi woke up and wandered in groggily, no one saw him.

He went to Pei Yuan’s side, saw the fat, black leech, picked it up to look at it, and without a second thought, popped it into his mouth.

Sansukini: Oh no! I hope he won’t eat all the leeches.

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