Volume 1, Chapter 20: She is dying

Xie Qiqi gave a bitter smile.

She knew Yue Yue would not let her off so easily!

As expected!

Yue Yue’s methods were truly becoming more and more sophisticated; she did not need to act herself, but instead had others do the dirty work!

Even if they beat her, they did so with such "legitimate" justification that she was left unable to resist.

Xie Qiqi struggled to stand back up, but before she could steady herself, Nurse Jiang’s wooden rod struck her waist heavily once more.

"Keep your back straight! You are a young lady of a noble house; what kind of appearance is this, hunched over like that..."

The rod landed on Xie Qiqi’s spine, aggravating her previous injuries. A wave of pain, overwhelming and crushing, surged through her entire body.

Xie Qiqi felt a buzzing in her ears; her vision blurred, and cold sweat poured out of her.

She watched as Nurse Jiang’s figure swayed violently before her eyes.

Subconsciously, she reached out to grab Nurse Jiang to steady herself, but before her hand could even make contact, she collapsed limply to the ground.

"Fourth Young Miss..."

Seeing Xie Qiqi fall to the ground, Nurse Jiang was startled.

Just as she was about to lean over to check on her, she heard Jiang Xing shout.

"Mother, don't be fooled! Have you forgotten what Mistress Xie said—that the Fourth Young Miss likes to feign fainting?"

"She must be unable to endure the hardship and doesn't want to practice, so she is doing it on purpose."

"And look at her hands—she wraps them up whenever she doesn't want to write. These are all her usual tricks!"

Upon hearing this, Nurse Jiang straightened her back, her gaze cold as she looked down at Xie Qiqi on the floor.

This was indeed a common trick used by young noble ladies to avoid their lessons! She had seen it many times!

"Fourth Young Miss, get up. Since you've been exposed, there's no need to pretend anymore!"

Nurse Jiang coldly poked Xie Qiqi’s body with the wooden rod.

Xie Qiqi remained motionless.

Nurse Jiang’s expression darkened. She tightened her jaw and walked back under the covered walkway.

A young lady like Xie Qiqi was pampered and difficult to tame, but who was she? She had broken in even more rebellious palace maids than this. Did Xie Qiqi really think she couldn't handle her?

At the doorway, Qiuju peeked in, and seeing the scene, she covered her mouth, giggled, and walked away.

So, this was what Miss Yue Yue meant by "being reborn"!

Jiang Xing poured a cup of tea for Nurse Jiang and said with a smile, "Mother, shall we make a bet? Let’s see how long she can keep up the act."

Yan’er watched as Xie Qiqi lay still. She wanted to go over and help her, but she dared not.

The Master had said that if she made one more mistake, he would sell her off. She did not want to leave her young mistress!

However, the ground was cold, and her mistress was so frail—how could she endure this?

Yan’er clutched her clothes in internal conflict. After standing for a while and seeing that Xie Qiqi still showed no signs of waking, she could no longer hold back. She limped over to Nurse Jiang and dropped to her knees with a thud.

"Nurse Jiang, I beg you, let this servant help the Young Miss inside. She isn't pretending; her health is truly poor."

Jiang Xing shot a sidelong glance at Yan’er and stood up. "You insolent servant, are you trying to lie for her again?"

"I am going to find Mistress Xie right now and have you sold. Let’s see how the Fourth Young Miss manages to keep up her act without you there to help her."

Seeing Jiang Xing turn to leave, Yan’er was terrified. She lunged forward and grabbed the hem of Jiang Xing’s skirt tightly.

"Miss Jiang, I beg you... don’t go to the Mistress, don’t sell me... I’ll kowtow to you!"

In her desperation, Yan’er began to kowtow on the ground with a rhythmic thudding. Before long, her forehead was streaming with blood.

Jiang Xing was stunned and hurriedly grabbed her.

"Hey... why are you like this? Hey... stop kowtowing, I won't go, alright?"

Angry and anxious, Jiang Xing crouched down and took out a handkerchief to press against Yan’er’s wound.

Jiang Xing had been abandoned by her parents as a child and had lived as a beggar on the streets, enduring countless hardships. She, too, had once kowtowed until her head bled before the bullies who tormented her. She never expected that one of her own remarks would turn her into someone just like those bullies.

"Why do you suffer for such a wilful and arrogant young lady? Look, you’ve broken your head for her, and she doesn't even react."

Jiang Xing looked at the motionless Xie Qiqi with disgust and tried to pull Yan’er to her feet.

Yan’er refused to get up, sobbing as she knelt: "Miss Jiang, my young mistress is truly not pretending. She was a government slave for eight years, and her body has long been hollowed out. She... she is dying!"

Thinking of the suffering Xie Qiqi had endured, Yan’er broke down in tears.

Her mistress suffered from consumption, but because she was afraid of distressing the Old Matron and the Mistress, she had kept it hidden. Her mistress was so wronged!

Yan’er sobbed, deciding to risk it all: "No one believes the Young Miss. The Master and the Mistress always say she is just putting on an act!"

"But if you look at her body, you will know I am not helping her fake this..."

Hearing this, Nurse Jiang stood up abruptly and walked quickly to Xie Qiqi’s side.

She crouched down, lifted Xie Qiqi’s hand, and quickly unwrapped the bandages.

On the back of Xie Qiqi’s hand was a large area of ulcerated, swollen skin, with some wounds still oozing blood.

Nurse Jiang’s eyes narrowed.

She then lifted Xie Qiqi’s clothes; the crisscrossing lash marks and rod scars came into view.

These were old injuries, but the scars still crawled, uneven and raised, across Xie Qiqi’s thin, frail back.

Nurse Jiang’s heart trembled.

Jiang Xing, who had followed, saw the scars as well.

She trembled and said, "Mother... the Fourth Young Miss... isn't she a noble daughter? Why does she have so many scars on her body?"

Even though Jiang Xing’s own life had been bitter, she did not have as many scars as Xie Qiqi.

Nurse Jiang said nothing. She scooped up Xie Qiqi and headed toward her room.

Xie Qiqi was a head shorter than Jiang Xing, but she felt as light as a child.

With a heavy heart, Nurse Jiang placed Xie Qiqi on the bed and checked her pulse.

When she was in the palace, Nurse Jiang had served noble concubines and even the Empress Dowager; she had learned basic medical knowledge from the imperial physicians.

Xie Qiqi’s pulse was thin, deep, and weak, and her heartbeat was slow. This was a sign of severe depletion of blood and energy, and a weakening of the life force.

Yan’er was not lying; Xie Qiqi’s body was indeed severely hollowed out!

Xie Qiqi was truly fainting, not pretending!

"Xing’er, go brew a cup of sugar water!" Nurse Jiang ordered calmly.

Jiang Xing rushed out without a word.

Yan’er wiped her tears, watching Nurse Jiang with trepidation. How would the nurse treat her young mistress?

Seeing that Yan’er’s forehead was still bleeding, Nurse Jiang walked back to her own room with a stern face to retrieve medicine to bandage Yan’er’s wound.

Jiang Xing returned with the sugar water and fed it to Xie Qiqi spoonful by spoonful.

Xie Qiqi kept her eyes closed. Looking at her deathly pale face and thinking of the scars on her body, Jiang Xing felt a pang of heartache.

Full of questions, Jiang Xing could not help but turn and ask, "Mother, what is going on with the Fourth Young Miss? Isn't she a noble daughter? Why was she a government slave for eight years?"

As a veteran palace maid who had served two emperors, Nurse Jiang knew something of the process of how Xie Qiqi had become a slave. She simply had not expected that even after the Zhongyi Marquis Mansion had brought her back, her life had seen no significant improvement.

"Yan’er, doesn't the Xie family have a house physician? Does Mistress Xie not know that the Fourth Young Miss is so frail?" Nurse Jiang asked with a frown.

Yan’er dropped to her knees again, glancing hesitantly between Xie Qiqi and Jiang Xing.

Nurse Jiang was a veteran of the palace with top-tier skills in reading people; she immediately understood what Yan’er was worried about.

"Yan’er, tell the truth. I promise that neither I nor Xing’er will speak of this to anyone else."

Jiang Xing quickly added, "Yan’er, I was only trying to scare you earlier. I will never report this."

Looking at the injury on Yan’er’s head, Jiang Xing felt deeply guilty. If she hadn't threatened to have Yan’er sold, she wouldn't have kowtowed until she bled.

Yan’er’s tears fell in torrents as she choked out, "My young mistress’s health was poor; the Mistress knew this at first, but later..."