First Madam Cheng’s worries did not lessen and she became increasingly stressed and overwhelmed. Cheng Si-lang’s illness worsened day by day, with doctors coming and going like flowing water. In the end, the maids already suggested that it would be wise to prepare for the worst early.
Compared to the second household that only had one son, the first household had four sons and would not consider them too many. The family business must be passed down by someone, and whether born of the wife or concubines, as long as they bear the surname Cheng, they are all the treasures of First Master Cheng.
Moreover, this son was the legitimate child, First Madam Cheng’s youngest son. Children born to parents of advanced age are especially pampered and cherished.
First Master Cheng’s sighs and First Madam Cheng’s anxious tears cast a gloomy atmosphere over the entire Cheng household. Even Cheng Liu-niang and Cheng Qi-niang, who usually loved to quarrel, had become much quieter these days. When the sisters gathered, they no longer bickered but instead worried about their brother’s illness.
With many brothers in the family, these girls could feel confident and strong, for the brothers at home were their future support.
“They say he ran into a guest at the lotus pond,” Cheng Liu-niang said in a low voice.
Cheng Qi-niang, frightened, hugged Cheng Wu-niang.
“He must be ill. Liu-niang, don’t scare us,” Cheng Si-niang said.
“How could he suddenly become so ill out of nowhere?” Cheng Liu-niang replied. “San-lang said that Si-lang saw a beautiful woman at the lotus pond, and that’s why he ended up like this.”
She lowered her voice, “How could there suddenly be a beautiful woman at the lotus pond? What else could it be but a ghost?”
“I don’t want to live near the lotus pond!” Cheng Qi-niang screamed in fear, crying and running away while calling for her nursemaid.
The sisters in the room were startled by her reaction. With Cheng Qi-niang running off in fright, the room suddenly became quiet, and the atmosphere turned somewhat eerie.
“Such a coward,” Cheng Liu-niang said, waving her hand. “I’ll go find Mother.”
With that, she got up and left.
Cheng Si-niang and Cheng Wu-niang exchanged glances.
“Let’s move in together. If we work together, we can finish the embroidered curtain for Mother’s birthday faster,” Cheng Wu-niang suggested.
Cheng Si-niang quickly nodded.
With Cheng Qi-niang moving out of the lotus pond to stay in her mother’s side room, Cheng Liu-niang also took the opportunity to stay with First Madam Cheng under the pretext of helping with household matters. Cheng Si-niang and Cheng Wu-niang decided to live together, and their courtyard remained brightly lit throughout the night.
Rumors of a ghost at the lotus pond grew increasingly rampant, making the young maids too scared to go near it. What used to be a popular spot for summer relaxation now felt chilling and eerie.
First Master Cheng and Second Master Cheng were furious and punished a group of gossiping servants, but this did not stop the rumors. They realized that there were two simple solutions: either send their daughters back to live at the lotus pond, or have Si-lang recover quickly.
They were eager to enforce the first solution but were thwarted by their daughters’ tears and their wives’ objections. As for the second solution, they felt powerless and could only continue searching for better doctors.
“Miss, they say this place is haunted…” Ban Qin cautiously supported Cheng Jiao-niang as they walked around the lotus pond, looking around nervously. It seemed more like she was hiding behind Cheng Jiao-niang than supporting her.
“Let’s not come here to fish anymore,” she said. “Aren’t you scared?”
“Scared of what?” Cheng Jiao-niang asked. “Ghosts are the ones who should be scared of people.”
“Oh? Why?” Ban Qin asked.
Cheng Jiao-niang was silent for a moment.
Ban Qin knew this meant she was preparing to speak, and she waited expectantly.
“Never mind, it’s too troublesome to explain,” Cheng Jiao-niang finally said.
Ban Qin pouted.
“You think I’m too silly and doesn’t want to explain,” she said.
However, those few words did help her relax a bit. She quickened her pace, happily pointing at the rocks.
“Miss, our fishing rods are still here!” she shouted, running ahead excitedly.
Cheng Jiao-niang walked forward slowly, watching Ban Qin’s expression change from fearful to joyful.
“Not exactly,” she said slowly. “I think that sometimes, not speaking…can be quite nice too.”
She realized that whether she explained or not, the understanding would come eventually. So, whether to speak or not didn’t really matter.
Cheng Jiao-niang held the fishing rod and sat down on the rocks, watching the rippling water gradually return to calm. In her fleeting memories, it seemed she used to love talking and was quite talkative, but it didn’t seem to bring her happiness. When she tried to recall this part of her memory, a sour feeling arose in her heart.
“Miss, the sunlight is coming through,” said Ban Qin, who was playing with the flowers and branches. She shielded her eyes from the blinding sunlight with her hand.
Only then did Cheng Jiao-niang notice her skin was uncomfortably hot and stinging. She instinctively raised her hand to block and evade the sunlight.
People say ghosts are afraid of sunlight. So, was she a ghost?
The sunlight suddenly blocked out.
“Miss, put on the hat,” Ban Qin said, taking a veiled hat from nearby and putting it on her. “Let’s stay a little longer, then we’ll go back.”
Although she still feared the sunlight, she had been spending more and more time outside.
This was a positive sign, indicating her health was gradually improving day by day.
Cheng Jiao-niang nodded and continued fishing.
The lotus pond was indeed much quieter than usual, but it wasn’t entirely devoid of people passing by. There was a maid around fourteen or fifteen years old. As she approached a bend in the path, she seemed unable to continue and set down a bundle she was carrying, kneeling down.
“Please… spare… Young Master…” she pleaded, trembling. She tried to ignite a piece of red paper, but her fear was so intense that the more she tried to light it quickly, the harder it became. Unable to light it, the maid felt increasingly unnerved by the eerie and cold atmosphere around her, trapped in a cycle of fear that nearly brought her to tears.
“What are you doing?”
A voice came from above.
The young maid instinctively looked up, first seeing a dark figure holding a pole.
“A ghost!” The young maid screamed in fright, wanting to run but unable to move, ending up sitting on the ground trembling.
Ban Qin also screamed in terror, holding onto Cheng Jiao-niang.
“A ghost!” She exclaimed too, not even looking around.
Cheng Jiao-niang reached out and patted her, pointing at herself.
Ban Qin suddenly realized.
It turned out that the young maid was scared by Miss, who was wearing a veiled hat.
“You scared us to death!” she jumped up and shouted, “Why are you so timid!”
Completely forgetting that she herself had just clung to Cheng Jiao-niang in fear.
Only then did the young maid muster the courage to lift her head and see another maid of her own age, alive.
She immediately breathed a sigh of relief and stared intently, realizing that the dark figure was wearing a veiled hat.
“Who are you! Are you deliberately trying to scare others?” she shouted, her voice filled with a mix of anger, fear, frustration, and sadness.
“I was just fishing here with Miss. You were the one who scared us,” Ban Qin explained.
Miss?
None of the mistresses dared to come and play here, so this Miss is…
“Oh, it’s that fool!” the maid exclaimed, suddenly realizing.
“You’re the fool here!” Ban Qin quickly retorted.
As a maid who served Fourth Young Master, she would normally have firmly disciplined this disrespectful maid. However, now she couldn’t help but think of Fourth Young Master’s imminent death—almost gone, he couldn’t even be compared with a fool now.
Especially when considering her own situation. She had been with Fourth Young Master for so many years, and now that he was gone, she and the other maids didn’t even know where they would be sent next. They were accustomed to being personal maids, never getting involved in menial tasks. None of them could bear the thought of serving as common maids.
Looking at the maid in front of her, she realized that even though she was serving a fool, at least that person was alive and well, without the fear of being dismissed.
The maid began to cry softly.
Ban Qin was somewhat taken aback. Did she really upset her to the point of tears?
“Why are you crying? Please, stop crying,” Ban Qin hurriedly said, but the maid, once she started crying, let go of her restraint and burst into loud sobs.
Ban Qin felt a bit at a loss, turning to look at Cheng Jiao-niang. Cheng Jiao-niang lifted her veil and observed the maid who was crying profusely.
“There is a way to resolve the issue of food shortages,” she suddenly whispered to Ban Qin.
