A Willing Mistake, My Lady – Chapter 45
by Little PandaEscaping the Wu Manor
A Child with a Mother
Inside the dim, gloomy main hall, Nanny Wu carried a bowl of pitch-black herbal medicine. It was impossible to discern what else had been added to the mixture, as the murky liquid obscured everything beneath its surface.
“Master, this is a folk remedy I recently found,” Nanny Wu said to Wu Daoyuan without any reserve. “Once you drink this, your ailment is guaranteed to be cured.”
Wu Daoyuan stared at the black decoction, his face twisting in disgust.
But if this folk remedy could truly cure him, he would endure it.
“Tonight, tie up that little bitch and drag her to my room to test this medicine’s efficacy! I have given her too much face lately, making her forget who she is!” Li Qingmei was growing more and more outrageous, even daring to lash him with a whip. Tonight, he would show her who was the true master of this manor.
“Do not worry, Master. For a minor matter like this, this old woman will make sure it is handled without a hitch.” Nanny Wu’s wrinkled face smiled until it resembled a chrysanthemum, looking like she relished the drama, even patting her chest to guarantee her success.
Li Qingmei had no idea she was about to become meat on a chopping block, still feeling smug about her own cleverness. Late that night, Nanny Wu suddenly barged into her room, accompanied by three other nannies.
Without a second thought, the four of them worked together to bind her tightly. They threw a sack over her and carried her off to Wu Daoyuan’s quarters.
“What do you think you are doing?!” Li Qingmei screamed, bound tightly. Her eyes looked as if they wanted to devour the old women. “You are all old hags1 aiding and abetting a tyrant! None of you will die a peaceful death!”
“Bah!” Nanny Wu spat, thoroughly detesting Li Qingmei from the bottom of her heart. “You little bitch, you spend all your days acting indecently to seduce the Master, and now your wish has finally come true! Stop pretending to be some chaste and virtuous woman. Everyone knows exactly what kind of trash you are!”
“Stuff her mouth,” Nanny Wu ordered in disgust. “Don’t let her disturb the peace of the neighbors.”
The other three nannies exchanged glances, their movements hesitant.
“Have you forgotten who pays your monthly wages?” Seeing them hesitate, Nanny Wu’s face darkened instantly, putting on the airs of a head nanny. “If you lose this livelihood, your families won’t be living nearly as comfortably!”
At the mention of their monthly wages, the women moved much more quickly. Li Qingmei was thrown directly onto Wu Daoyuan’s bed.
With her hands and feet bound, no amount of struggling could free her in the slightest. Despair washed over her as she thought, Am I really unable to escape after all? Her heart went entirely cold. If Master Wu were not her stepfather, or if she had never seen that elegant gentleman next door who was as graceful as a fine orchid and a jade tree, perhaps she would not have minded yielding to an old man. But now that she had witnessed the beautiful lives of others, how could she willingly resign herself to such a wretched fate?
When she saw Wu Daoyuan walk in holding a pair of shears, she kicked her feet with all her might against the wall, desperate to make some noise.
“Save your strength,” Wu Daoyuan said, walking over to the table to gulp down the bowl of herbal medicine. “You have kept this master dangling for so long, and I have given you plenty of face. If you cooperate now, you will suffer far less.” To him, Li Qingmei was now almost acting as a medicinal guide2 to activate his medicine.
Watching him approach the bed with the shears in hand, Li Qingmei was consumed by disgust and terror. Whether his medicine worked tonight or not, she was doomed.
The old bastard pulled the bed curtains shut and began tearing at her clothes. Seeing him set the shears aside, Li Qingmei summoned her courage and fought back with everything she had. Just as the two of them were locked in a violent struggle, a wooden round stool came flying in from outside. It struck Wu Daoyuan squarely on the head. Fearing that the single blow was not enough, the assailant swung it again, striking him with two loud, thudding bangs.
The man, who had been in the heights of excitement just a moment prior, collapsed instantly. Only then did Li Qingmei clearly see the person who had saved her—it was none other than her sickly, bedridden mother.
“Mother! Mother! Uwahhh…!”
“What are you crying for?!” her mother wheezed, leaning against the edge of the bed as she gasped for breath. “You useless thing! Glory up, change your clothes, take your belongings, and go find a way to survive!” she scolded, her tone full of frustration that her daughter was so weak.
Those two swings just now had drained every ounce of her remaining strength.
“If I leave, what will happen to you?” Li Qingmei scrambled to push Wu Daoyuan’s heavy body off her and hurriedly untied the ropes binding her limbs.
“My illness came on too quickly, and my body cannot run,” Madam Lin said. “If he is dead, this old mother will go to prison. I do not have many years left to live anyway. If he is not dead, I will find a way to stall him for you. Do not worry about anything else!”
Bedridden as she was now, Madam Lin had almost forgotten that before marrying into this household, she too had been a fierce and outspoken woman.
“Mother, come with me! Let us leave this wretched place together!” Seeing the travel pack her mother had prepared for her, realizing she was meant to flee alone, Li Qingmei panicked.
“Your mother is not leaving,” Madam Lin said gently, reaching out to caress her daughter’s face. “Once your mother is no longer by your side, you must stop being so stubborn. Keep your feet firmly on the ground, and do not always aim for things beyond your reach or compare yourself to others.”
“Mother, I was wrong! I will listen to you from now on, I promise! Let us go together!” Li Qingmei clutched her mother’s sleeve, sobbing.
“Sigh, what wrongs did you commit? It is only that your mother has no ability,” Madam Lin whispered. “Hurry and go. If someone finds us, neither of us will escape. I am still waiting for you to care for me in my old age, so run! Inside that pack is a deed to a yard in the neighboring county. Go hide there first. The rest of the items are your dowry; keep them safe to support yourself.”
Suppressing her physical discomfort, Madam Lin explained everything in detail, terrified that she would never have another chance.
“But what about you? What about you?!” Li Qingmei asked frantically as she threw on her clothes.
“I am his wife on the household register,” Madam Lin replied, her voice hardening as she waved her hand to shoo her daughter away. “Could he possibly kill me? Do not worry. Even if he locks me up, it is no different from being confined to my sickbed. Stop wasting time and go!”
“Alright, alright… I will go hide first. Mother, you must wait for me to come back and get you!” Li Qingmei slung the pack over her shoulder, turning back to look at her mother with every step she took toward the door.
“Wait. You will not be able to get out like this,” Madam Lin said. “I will go draw them away first.” Seeing that her daughter was fully prepared, she stood up and walked out into the courtyard with her, though they headed in opposite directions.
“Something has happened! Something has happened! The Master is dying!” Madam Lin shrieked from the center of the courtyard. Her screams alarmed the entire household, and servants came rushing from all directions to see what was wrong.
Li Qingmei capitalized on the chaos among the gatekeepers and nannies, slipping past them and fleeing through the main gates of the Wu Manor.
Meanwhile, everyone rushed to the Master’s room. Seeing blood on his forehead, Nanny Wu and the others naturally knew what had happened.
“Why are you in this room?!” Nanny Wu demanded viciously.
“What an amusing question you ask, you old nanny,” Madam Lin retorted, sliding down to sit flat on the floor, utterly exhausted by her exertions. “If I, his wife, am not in the Master’s room, were you hoping to take my place in his bed instead?”
“Do not speak such utter nonsense, or I will tear your mouth apart!” Nanny Wu shrieked, her wrinkled face flushing a deep, angry red.
“Bah! We are both women—do you truly think I cannot see through your filthy, disgusting thoughts?” Madam Lin spat. She was sitting in a disheveled heap on the cold ground, yet her expression was as proud as a victorious fighting cock. “It is a pity, though. Even if the Master goes looking for whores or widows, he would still never lay a hand on an old bag3 like you!”
“I will fight you to the death, you miserable widow!” Enraged, Nanny Wu threw herself forward and began striking Madam Lin repeatedly. Already frail and short of breath, Madam Lin was pinned beneath the heavy woman, nearly suffocated by the violent assault.
Yet, even as she gasped for air, she croaked out, “You beasts worse than pigs and dogs! This old mother was only sick, not dead! Did you truly think my daughter was some motherless, defenseless little cabbage4 to be trampled upon?!” Even under the rain of blows, she shouted the truth burning in her chest.
At first, she had indeed been completely blinded by Wu Daoyuan’s sweet talk. But later, she had mysteriously fallen ill, and after catching Wu Daoyuan behaving inappropriately around Li Qingmei, she had sensed that something was deeply wrong. She had simply been too terrified to follow that train of thought to its logical conclusion.
After that, she had been confined to her sickbed, unable to look after her daughter, which had allowed Li Qingmei to make several irreversible mistakes on her own. When Madam Lin realized her illness was unlikely to improve, she had begun planning an escape route for her child. Her only regret was that time had been so short, and with her daughter’s reputation already ruined, she had been unable to secure a reliable man to protect her.
“Wu-jiejie, stop hitting her! Go check on the Master first, his head is still bleeding!” one of the nearby nannies urged, tugging at Nanny Wu’s sleeve.
Aside from the Master, Nanny Wu held the highest authority in the courtyard. Because she had not yet given any orders, no one had even dared to call for a doctor. The rest of the servants simply stood by like wooden stakes, watching the spectacle.
It was clear that Wu Daoyuan had never enjoyed much goodwill among his household staff.
Hearing Nanny Fang’s words, Nanny Wu finally regained her senses. Wailing and wiping her tears, she frantically ordered the servants to fetch a physician and had Madam Lin dragged away and locked in a room.
By the time Madam Lin was dragged off, she had absolutely no strength left. Yet, despite the raw scratches and red handprints covering her face, a triumphant smile remained etched on her lips.
After escaping the Wu Manor, Li Qingmei found herself in the pitch-black night. As a young woman traveling alone, she did not dare to walk the roads after dark. Clutching her travel pack tightly to her chest, she searched for an empty corner and crawled into someone’s stack of firewood to pass the night.
Sitting in the woodpile surrounded by sharp twigs, she ignored the scratches and pricking pains. What should she do? Was she really going to flee to the neighboring county all by herself?
But even if she returned to the Wu Manor, she would never be able to rescue her mother. Besides, she had no idea if Wu Daoyuan was dead or alive. She was terrified of being seized and dragged to the yamen… The yamen… As she lost herself in these circular, anxious thoughts, sleep finally claimed her.
The next morning, the crow of a rooster woke her. As the sky began to lighten, she slipped out of Qingyuan County.
Following the address on the deed, she eventually found her destination—a small courtyard nestled within a lively market district. Her mother had undoubtedly chosen such a bustling area to keep her from feeling frightened all alone. Although she had always bickered and clashed with her mother, now she was entirely on her own, and she had no idea whether her mother was dead or alive.
What was she to do? Would her mother be tormented to death by the Wu family? She did not want to become a motherless child. What could she possibly do?
In her desperation, a certain figure flashed through her mind. Perhaps she could beg him for help.
Their blissful rest days were drawing to a close. After spending days soaking in the natural hot springs, their bodies felt loose and rejuvenated, their skin smoother and more radiant than ever. Lying on the daybed in the loft, they could listen to the sweet, melodic warbling of the birds in the surrounding woods every day. It was a truly heavenly existence.
“If you cannot stand still, you can take a few steps,” Shen Hetang said, looking up to remind the person opposite her.
“I won’t,” Jiang Chenyu replied, very cooperatively.
A sheet of off-white treated silk5 lay spread flat across the stone table, held down at the top and bottom by heavy paperweights to keep the mountain breeze from carrying it away. Holding a fine-tipped lining brush, Shen Hetang meticulously traced the contours of a woman’s figure onto the fabric.
The details of the painting were exquisite: a bamboo blind hung half-drawn, its lower edge adorned with a beaded Chinese knot. Beside it, willow branches swayed gently in the spring breeze, their elegant forms gracefully obscuring half of the bamboo blind.
The woman in the painting wore an emerald-green printed sheer open-front robe6, paired with a pale orange bodice7 embroidered with peonies and a fully pleated skirt of the same color. The fabric billowed gracefully in the gentle breeze, unfolding like a peacock spreading its tail in a vibrant, dazzling display.
The woman possessed a finely shaped forehead and delicate, arching eyebrows. Her hair was styled in a high, cloud-like coiffure adorned with fresh blossoms and a dangling buyao8. Even with her face partially concealed behind a round silk fan, her profile alone was enough to take one’s breath away.
The swaying willow branches seemed reluctant to brush against her roughly, choosing instead to gently brush the round fan, drawing close to her.
Shen Hetang’s skill in gongbi painting9 was passable at least. She had ridden down the mountain a few days ago to purchase her coloring goat-hair brushes and pigments. The idea of painting a portrait had come from her longing for a camera in this world; wanting to capture these beautiful moments, she could only rely on this slow, meticulous craft.
The two of them had labored over this piece for two or three mornings. While the portrait might not have captured the exact details of Jiang Chenyu’s delicate facial features, it absolutely captured a sense of atmosphere that was radiant as spring flowers, as lovely as the autumn moon10.
After applying a layer of alum-sizing water to lock in the colors and stretching the fabric over a wooden frame, the masterpiece was finally complete. Jiang Chenyu held the silk painting, which was half her height, looking at it with absolute delight. She had been unable to wipe the smile from her face all morning.
“Are you truly that happy?” Shen Hetang asked, stretching her hands as she saw her smile more beautifully than any flower.
“Of course!” Jiang Chenyu turned around, her eyes shining brightly.
“Come here. You have been tired for several days; let me give you a massage,” Shen Hetang said, reclining lazily on a woven swing frame and beckoning with her finger. The warm afternoon sun cast long shadows from her eyelashes.
“Alright, wait for me.” After she took out some white cloth and wrapped the silk painting, she gathered up her skirts and walked toward the swing.
The rattan-woven swing chair rocked gently back and forth, cradling them like the calm waters of a lake supporting a pair of mandarin ducks.
Footnotes
- lǎoqiánpó: meaning 'old hag' or 'old crone', a highly derogatory Chinese insult targeting conniving or malicious older women.
- yàoyǐnzi: a medicinal guide, an ingredient added to a traditional Chinese prescription to enhance its efficacy or direct it to a specific part of the body.
- lǎocàibāngzi: meaning 'withered old cabbage' or 'old bag', a vulgar Chinese insult targeting an aging woman's physical appearance.
- xiǎobáicài: 'little cabbage', a Chinese term originating from a traditional folk song, used to describe an orphaned or vulnerable child with no one to protect them.
- shújuàn: a type of treated, alum-sized silk fabric traditionally used for fine-line Chinese brush painting to prevent ink from bleeding.
- chǎngshān: an open-front, loose-fitting outer robe or light coat that was popular in traditional Chinese fashion.
- zhǔyāo: a traditional Chinese bodice or undergarment popular in the Ming and Qing dynasties, featuring a high waistline and embroidery.
- bùyáo: an exquisite traditional Chinese hairpin with dangling ornaments that sway elegantly with the wearer's steps.
- gōngbǐ: a traditional Chinese painting technique characterized by highly detailed, meticulous brushwork and vibrant colors, contrasting with the freer, more expressive 'xiěyì' style.
- càn rú chūnhuá, jiǎo rú qiūyuè: 'radiant as spring flowers, beautiful as the autumn moon', a classical idiom used to describe a woman's stunning and elegant beauty.
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