TMBIABHL: Chapter 30
Glossary
·Ye Chutang (叶初棠): Female Protagonist. Heir to an ancient medical family. "Black-Hearted Lotus."
·Ye Jingyan (叶璟言): Third Brother. Calm, studious.
·Ye Yunfeng (叶云风): Fourth Brother. Impulsive, protective.
·Zhou Shi (周氏): Auntie Yang's niece. Wife of Liu Si.
·Liu Si (刘四): Servant in the Cao household. The condemned murderer.
·Wu Xu (吴旭): A yamen runner.
·Shen Yanchuan (沈延川): Male Lead. The Marquis of Dingbei.
·Little Five / Xiao Wu (小五): Youngest sister.
---
Chapter 30: Raising a Daughter
Zhou Shi gave a bitter smile. "Anywhere is better than here. Liu Si killed someone; my son and I definitely can't stay in Jiangling anymore. Rather than stay here where people will point fingers and gossip behind our backs every day, it's better we leave on our own, sooner rather than later."
Her concern was not unfounded.
But for a woman alone with a child, the dangers outside were unknown.
Ye Chutang asked, "Will you not return to your parents' home?"
Zhou Shi's eyes welled with tears. She hurriedly wiped them away. "Going back would just be trouble for them. Better to forget it. I'll just… see him off for the last time tomorrow, then I'll take my child and leave this place."
Ye Chutang nodded in understanding. In the end, she still pressed the small purse of silver into Zhou Shi's hand.
Zhou Shi hurriedly refused. "Physician Ye, you've already helped us so much! I couldn't possibly trouble you again!"
Ye Chutang patted her hand and said softly, "The world is hard. Even if not for yourself, you must think of your child."
Zhou Shi's eyes reddened, and she moved as if to kneel.
Ye Chutang lightly lifted a hand to stop her. Pointing to a box beside her, she said with a gentle smile, "These are hibiscus cakes from Apricot Blossom Tower. Children love them. They're not worth much. Please take them too."
Zhou Shi nodded, tears in her eyes, thanked her repeatedly, and then left.
The curtain was lifted and fell back into place. Only then did Ye Chutang stand up to wash her hands, using a cloth to carefully dry her slender, pale fingers.
Then, she went out.
"A-Yan, I'm going out. I'll be back in half an hour."
Ye Jingyan acknowledged her. "Alright."
Ye Yunfeng had just finished his martial exercises, but the frustration clogging his chest still hadn't dissipated.
He returned to the front courtyard just in time to see Ye Chutang leaving. He sidled up to Ye Jingyan and asked curiously, "Third Brother, it's almost dark. Why is Elder Sister going out at this hour?"
"Elder Sister has her reasons for everything she does."
Ye Yunfeng thought about it and agreed. He simply sat down, wiping the sweat from his brow.
(read @cherrybombbertranslations.blogspot)
Ye Jingyan glanced at him. "What, still upset?"
Ye Yunfeng pressed his lips together tightly. After a long moment, he said gloomily, "I just feel wronged! The evidence was clear! Anyone could see what really happened! How did it end up like this?!"
The true mastermind was free, not having to pay even the slightest price!
"Can this matter really only end this way?"
Ye Jingyan put away the book in his hand. After a pause, he said, "Who knows until the very last moment?"
…
"What? Physician Ye, you want to visit Liu Si?"
Hearing this, Wu Xu immediately felt a headache coming on.
"This… it's not that I don't want to help you. It's just that Liu Si is scheduled for public execution tomorrow at noon. According to the rules, outsiders aren't allowed to visit during this period…"
Ye Chutang offered the food box she was carrying, smiling somewhat helplessly. "I know this puts you in a difficult position, but I have no other choice. I promised to handle this for someone. These buns inside were made by Zhou Shi herself. She wanted to send them to Liu Si for one last meal. After all, they were husband and wife."
Wu Xu was surprised. "Why isn't she sending them tomorrow?"
No matter the crime, prisoners were allowed a final meal. Why did it have to be tonight?
Ye Chutang paused and sighed.
"Zhou Shi…won't be going to the execution grounds tomorrow. Liu Si killed someone. The incident has a terrible reputation. If she and the child go, they might get caught up in it, pointed at and judged by the crowd."
Wu Xu understood. "That's true…"
"So she came to ask for my help, and I couldn't refuse her." The corners of Ye Chutang's lips curved, her brows and eyes gentle and calm. "But if it's still not possible… then forget it."
She bowed slightly and turned to leave.
"Wait!"
Wu Xu called her back, gritting his teeth.
"I'll take you!"
…
(read @cherrybombbertranslations.blogspot)
The prison was dark and cramped. A thick, metallic smell hung in the air, accompanied by sporadic groans of pain and weeping, creating an atmosphere of dread.
Ye Chutang followed Wu Xu forward. The deeper they went, the more intense the feeling of despair and suffocation became.
Wu Xu glanced sideways at her, whispering, "He's just ahead. But you only have a quarter of an hour. You must—"
Thud!
A figure covered in bloodstains suddenly threw itself against the bars from a neighboring cell. A skeletal arm, little more than skin and bone, stretched out desperately as if trying to grab something.
A hoarse, piercing shriek cut through the prison air: "Your Honor! Your Honor, I was wronged!"
"What are you doing! Stay back, all of you!"
Wu Xu shouted harshly, using his club to push the prisoner back.
Perhaps intimidated, the prisoner shrank back again, huddling against the wall and trembling.
Wu Xu looked at Ye Chutang with concern. "Physician Ye, I'm sorry. Did that scare you? It's like this here. There are always a few who've gone mad…"
Ye Chutang shook her head, giving him a slight smile. "It's fine."
Looking at that gentle, composed face, Wu Xu's remaining words stuck in his throat.
Most people were very uncomfortable on their first visit to a place like this. Yet Ye Chutang, a young woman of only seventeen, didn't even change her expression.
It was as if nothing around her could stir the slightest ripple in her calm.
Wu Xu pushed down his thoughts and continued leading Ye Chutang inward.
Finally, Ye Chutang saw Liu Si.
He was disheveled, his face and clothes filthy and stained with what looked like layers of dried blood from the past few days, some of it dark and blackened.
Wu Xu tactfully stepped back, keeping watch for her.
Ye Chutang took a step forward.
"Liu Si."
(read @cherrybombbertranslations.blogspot)
Liu Si showed no reaction, as if he hadn't heard, his entire being radiating a deathly stillness.
Ye Chutang continued, "I've come to bring you food from Zhou Shi."
Liu Si finally moved. He looked up, his voice raspy. "Where is she?"
…
A quarter of an hour passed quickly. Ye Chutang returned to Wu Xu's side.
Wu Xu breathed a sigh of relief, glancing into the cell. Liu Si was bent over, frantically taking bite after bite of a bun.
He looked away. "Physician Ye, this way."
…
There were no stars or moon tonight. A cool evening breeze drifted through the window frame.
Shen Yanchuan, who had been sitting alone before a Go board for a long time, suddenly sensed something and glanced to the side.
Two little hair buns appeared over the edge of the windowsill.
The corner of Shen Yanchuan's mouth lifted. "The door is open."
The two little buns wobbled and disappeared. Then, the slightly ajar door was pushed open, and a round little head peeked in.
Xiao Wu's large, dark eyes like grapes blinked. She looked at Shen Yanchuan, then at the Go board, seeming curious.
Shen Yanchuan beckoned to her.
Xiao Wu shuffled over on her short legs and stood intently by the board, looking serious.
Shen Yanchuan found this quite amusing. "Want to learn?"
Xiao Wu turned her head, slowly looked at the black stone he held, and said nothing.
—This game… not as good as Elder Sister's!
At that moment, the window on the other side was blown open again by the wind, revealing a tall, slender silhouette.
"Good heavens!"
A voice full of astonishment came through.
"Shen, it's been years! You've started raising a daughter!?"
(End of Chapter)
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