Chapter 1050 – Reunion with Old Friends (Part 3)
Not long ago, a concubine insulted Wan Xiuer, calling her an old shrew unable to bear children. Is the truth really so?
No, it isn’t.
Wan Xiuer has a somewhat cold constitution, making her chances of conception lower than those of ordinary women. However, after proper nourishment, she is no different from the average person.
After two years of marriage, she finally awaited the long-desired child.
But the back courtyard was rife with conflict, and her husband indulged himself without restraint, bringing all sorts of scents—both fragrant and foul—into their home, treating it like a garbage dump. For the sake of her child, Wan Xiuer endured for a time, but those women were eyeing her rightful position, continually scheming against her.
Day and night, she guarded against others’ treachery, never suspecting that the most dangerous betrayal would come from her closest companion.
In a rare moment of tenderness, her husband mixed a lethal ingredient into her food that could cause a miscarriage!
For a whole day and night, she experienced torment, and in the end, her baby—barely two months along—flowed from her body like water from a flower vase.
Upon investigation, Wan Xiuer discovered her foolish husband had actually believed the words of his favored concubine, thinking she genuinely sought to reconcile with Wan Xiuer! To make matters worse, he even had her favored dishes prepared specially for him just to trick Wan Xiuer into eating them.
Once she could finally get out of bed, she stormed into the concubine’s quarters, intent on killing her and tossing her out of the inner courtyard.
How could she have lost her child while the other woman remained unharmed?
Unfortunately, the concubine was not without allies—
She arrogantly declared, “If not for your interference, I would have been the one married to your cousin! What right do you have to flaunt your authority as the main wife in front of me? Yes! Indeed, I tricked him into giving you the medicine, so what? Your child is not recognized by either your cousin or the matriarch!”
Wan Xiuer had once been trapped in a bandit stronghold. Even with Jiang Pengji’s testimony on behalf of the noble ladies, the stigma of her past resurfaced when the Four Books for Women became popular in Hejian County and Cangzhou, making it a point of gossip and censure, which contributed greatly to her struggles.
Furthermore, her husband and mother-in-law held onto the belief from their ancestral customs—
That the firstborn son of a woman is considered the bloodline of her initial husband.
If she wanted to bear her husband’s child, she must first lose this one to “cleanse” herself.
For such absurd reasons, Wan Xiuer lost this baby.
Her husband even shamelessly told her, “Since you can conceive, we will surely have a legitimate son—I’ve not even held your past against you, why are you being so dramatic?”
Every time Wan Xiuer recalled that man’s face and those words, her stomach turned in disgust, wanting nothing more than to stab him into a sieve!
To hell with having a legitimate son!
Since then, she couldn’t even be bothered to let her husband stay over on the first and fifteenth of each month. If he insisted, she would push out the eager maidens. No matter what, she found him revolting; just seeing his face made her nauseous, let alone sharing a bed with him.
“Then—what about those women and children?”
Jiang Pengji noted Wan Xiuer’s dark expression, likely recalling some wretched memory.
Wan Xiuer’s mood lightened a bit, “Let fate decide; it’s up to Lan Ting.”
“But you mentioned earlier—”
If Jiang Pengji wasn’t mistaken, when she first met Wan Xiuer, she was protecting the women and children in the yard.
Wan Xiuer snorted lightly, responding nonchalantly, “The lips can’t survive without the teeth. If they come to harm, a frail woman like me would fare no better. The situation is different now; given our past connections, you wouldn’t humiliate me. But you have no ties to them. I do care about my reputation, so why should I sacrifice my standing with you for a group of people I despise?”
Wan Xiuer’s connections with Jiang Pengji were limited; at best, it would have secured her a place of refuge in the future.
She had no relation to those concubines, illegitimate sons, and daughters—why should she be burdened with such liabilities?
Jiang Pengji was left speechless.
Wan Xiuer saw things too clearly.
“Life has not been kind in the past, but surely, the future will bring better times.”
Growing up comes with pain; the more intense the hurt, the faster one grows.
If life had been somewhat better, it would have preserved some romanticism from childhood, but now she seemed to have let go of everything.
Wan Xiuer smiled lightly, her tone a bit cheerful.
“In this chaotic world, survival is all that matters. I only ask for your grace to provide a little shelter for my remaining days.”
Jiang Pengji hadn’t seen an old friend in ages; Wan Xiuer’s temperament resonated with her, and soon they were chatting away.
The conversation came back to old events and acquaintances.
Wan Xiuer said, “Among those who fell into the bandit stronghold back then, except for you and Jing Xian, nearly no one ended up well.”
The former was a powerful warlord who had killed Wan Xiuer’s husband and could be considered a half-savior.
The latter married into the Feng family of Shangyang. Though she wasn’t the main wife, it was said that Feng Jin never took a concubine after marriage, cherished his wife, and had a clean reputation.
For a woman, marrying Feng Huaiyu would be ideal.
Jiang Pengji remarked, “As for others, I wouldn’t know, but Wan Wan should be doing well.”
“Wan Wan?” Wan Xiuer murmured, recalling Shangguan Wan’s face. “I married early, and I vaguely heard that Wan Wan had a ghost marriage with a short-lived man, ending up as a widow, only to be taken away later. Such an ending—could it really be considered good?”
“Ah, so that’s how they explained Wan Wan’s disappearance,” Jiang Pengji replied, surprised, and then explained with a smile, “Wan Wan wasn’t abducted; she followed my troops all the way to Xiangyang searching for me. Now she’s remarried Han Mei and has a daughter.”
“Han Mei?”
“He’s the leading captain under my command, surname Li, given name Yun, courtesy name Han Mei.”
Upon hearing that, Wan Xiuer sighed deeply, a hint of envy in her voice.
“She has indeed found good fortune.”
While that sounded like envy, the one she envied the most was Jiang Pengji in front of her.
A powerful warlord—if not for Jiang Pengji who blazed the trail, Wan Xiuer would have never dreamed of a woman achieving such a feat.
Not long after, Jiang Pengji learned from Wei Ci that Feng Zhen was involved in a scandal.
“Tsk—such beauty causing a stir!”
Wei Ci chuckled, “If this beauty can calm Zi Shi down, it wouldn’t be such a bad deal.”
“Calm him down? With him?” Jiang Pengji grimaced in disdain, “He’d better not ruin others.”
Getting a wastrel to settle down?
That’d be as hard as moving a mountain!
Wei Ci forced a smile, knowing he’d share in that disdain for Feng Zhen if it weren’t for his memories from a previous life.
“By the way, has the matter of the captives been resolved?”
“We’re still discussing it,” Wei Ci replied.
Though it was a sixty-forty division, numbers do not always equate to quality; deliberation was necessary.
If they ended up with a bunch of frail and old captives, it would be worse than having nothing at all.
Jiang Pengji stated, “All of Wan Xiuer’s deceased husband’s wives and illegitimate children should be handed over to Bo Gao.”
Wei Ci frowned, “If we do that, they—”
Here, Jiang Pengji had no camp for prostitutes, nor would she allow such things, but Huang Song’s side was different.
If those concubines ended up there, the lucky ones might find some younger captain to take them as concubines, while the unlucky ones could end up as camp prostitutes.
“I checked on those women; they are not worth cultivating, lacking any talent. Keeping them would waste resources—neither can they serve a purpose nor join the female camp; what’s the point of keeping them?” Jiang Pengji smiled, saying, “I may have a kind heart, but I’m no saint.”
