Wedge

Once again, the autumn wind rises, and the crab itch begins.

In the dim light of early morning, a special person delivered crabs to the mansion—

Crates of crabs weighing over six taels were being carried into the large kitchen one after another. It was the crab season, and each one was strong and lively. When steamed, the shells were opened while still hot, revealing the rich and beautiful yellow roe inside.

Little Taiwei couldn't help but salivate, feeling like she could eat a whole crate by herself every time.

But crabs are cold in nature, and with her young age and delicate stomach, her mother never allowed her to eat too much.

She had no choice but to mutter that when she grew up, she would eat a hundred of them in one go!

Her mother laughed heartily at her words, then hugged her tightly, planting a kiss on her cheek and saying, "I hope you can grow up slowly..." Her voice trailed off, almost sighing.

Young Taiwei didn't understand her mother's feelings.

She was held in her mother's arms, smelling the familiar light fragrance on her clothes, and gradually felt sleepy. Suddenly, a loud rumble came from outside, and heavy rain poured down from the sky. They sat on the edge of the large heated brick bed by the window, and the window was wide open. When the wind blew, the rain and the sweet scent of osmanthus were carried in.

Her mother quickly moved her to the side and called for the maid to close the window.

Taiwei listened to the sound of the rain hitting the banana leaves in the corridor, and with sleepy eyes, she clung to her mother's clothes, murmuring, "Mother, I'm scared..."

Her mother held her tightly, teasingly saying, "Now you know what fear is, it's because you don't listen to me on ordinary days, and you've angered the heavens."

She was indignant and buried her head in her mother's arms, arguing in a muffled voice, "It's not my fault, it's Fourth Sister who doesn't listen, she must have caused this."

Her mother was amused by her shamelessness and had to laugh, saying, "Yes, yes, my clever girl is the most obedient, even in the entire capital, there's no one as well-behaved as you."

"That's right!" she said in a childish voice, proudly agreeing, then turned her head, already full of drowsiness.

Her mother hummed a tune in her ear, and soon she fell into a deep sleep. When she woke up, it was already dusk outside, the room was dimly lit, and shadows were everywhere.

Listening to the sound of the rain, she realized that the rain was still falling steadily.

Taiwei stretched and turned over, then touched her belly through her clothes—she was hungry.

She wanted to see her mother and eat something.

So she got up and started calling for someone.

Her wet nurse, Mrs. Liu, came in.

Mrs. Liu had a round face and smiling eyes, always looking kind and friendly. After turning on the light, she squatted down to help Taiwei put on her shoes, saying, "Miss, you've slept all afternoon, you might have trouble sleeping tonight."

Taiwei rested her chin on her hands and looked at her, nodding in distress, saying, "What should I do?"

Mrs. Liu smiled and said, "It's hard to say, maybe you'll feel sleepy after eating." With that, she stood up straight and called for someone to bring the meal.

Taiwei was surprised and asked, "Aren't we going to have dinner with Mother?"

They had agreed that she would go to have dinner with her mother after waking up.

Could it be that she had slept late?

She quickly asked, "What time is it?"

Mrs. Liu replied, "It's just past the hour of the Rooster."

It was dinner time, and she hadn't slept late. She looked at Mrs. Liu in surprise.

Mrs. Liu smiled and explained, "Madam is still asleep."

"Mother hasn't woken up yet?" Taiwei was very surprised.

Mrs. Liu said, "After you fell asleep in the afternoon, Madam sneezed a few times and felt unwell. She might have caught a cold..."

Hearing the words "caught a cold," little Taiwei interrupted Mrs. Liu anxiously and asked, "Is it serious? Did you call the doctor? Did she take medicine?"

Mrs. Liu brought her a thin coat and put it on her, nodding, "Don't worry, the doctor has been called, and she has taken the medicine. Madam is just drowsy from the medicine. She should wake up after a while. You should have your meal first, and after that, I'll send someone to check if Madam has woken up."

Taiwei obediently said that she would visit her mother later.

But she didn't expect her mother's sleep to be so long.

She had dinner, and her mother still hadn't woken up.

She practiced writing twenty big characters under the lamp, but her mother still didn't wake up.

Restless, she asked Mrs. Liu to accompany her in playing with the flower ropes. After playing for a while, she became impatient. She threw the colored ropes on the ground and said, "I don't want to play anymore, I want to sleep."

Mrs. Liu took her to the side room to wash and change, saying, "Miss, wake up early tomorrow and go to greet Madam."

Taiwei washed her hands, nodded, and obediently went to bed.

But perhaps she had slept too much in the afternoon, lying alone in bed, tossing and turning, she couldn't fall asleep. The drowsiness had turned into something rare.

She was truly at a loss.

She lay on the brocade quilt, kicking her short legs up and down.

It was like swimming, and it was like—struggling after drowning... For no reason, little Taiwei suddenly felt scared, with an empty feeling in her heart. She stopped and reached out to pull back the curtain.

The room was very quiet, but it seemed noisy outside.

It sounded like many people were talking, and it seemed like many people were running around.

The footsteps gradually became clear in the darkness.

She anxiously went to look at the chair beside the bed, but it was empty. Liu Mama, who was on night duty, was nowhere to be found.

"Liu Mama—Liu Mama—" Taiwei called out fearfully as she got out of bed and felt for her shoes.

Fortunately, she found her shoes just as Liu Mama entered the room from outside. "Miss, why are you awake?" Liu Mama hurriedly picked up Taiwei and put her back in bed.

As soon as she let go, she heard a soft and tender voice asking, "Where did you go just now?"

Liu Mama absentmindedly replied, "I drank two cups of tea before bed and had to go to the bathroom."

Taiwei asked again, "What's the commotion outside?"

Liu Mama turned to listen to the noise outside, her expression mixed with some concern. After a while, she turned back to Taiwei and said with a smile, "It's nothing, just the big dog from the old lady's courtyard running out. It's been caught now. Don't be afraid, go back to sleep, it's still early in the morning."

Taiwei felt uneasy in her heart. "I hope Mother wasn't frightened."

Liu Mama's face changed slightly, showing more concern, but she said, "Don't worry, Miss. Master is here."

Taiwei thought so too. With her father there, she didn't need to worry. So she pulled the covers over herself and finally went to sleep. But she was probably still worried. Early the next morning, while it was still dark, she got up, saying she wanted to pay her respects to her mother and have breakfast.

She wanted jade and pearl dumplings, shredded chicken and rice porridge, and red date and bean paste rolls...

She counted them off one by one. When she was about to leave, Liu Mama kept dragging her feet and trying to stop her.

Taiwei became anxious. "Is Mother still not feeling well?"

Liu Mama said yes, the old lady was worried about you catching her illness, so she specifically instructed me to have you wait a few more days before going to see her.

Taiwei pouted, her eyes starting to turn red. She shook her head. "I'm not afraid. I want to see Mother..."

"The old lady said you have to listen." Liu Mama squatted down, looking into her eyes, and said seriously, "Miss, have you forgotten? You said a few days ago that you've grown up and are no longer a greedy and playful child. You've always been very clever and obedient, haven't you?"

Taiwei, with a hint of tears in her voice, said yes.

Liu Mama said, "Then be good, don't make a fuss. When the old lady is fully recovered, I'll take you to see her immediately, okay?"

Taiwei wiped her eyes with her hand and nodded.

But she waited for a whole day, a whole night, and another day... Her mother's condition showed no signs of improvement.

The sky darkened.

And then it brightened again.

In the blink of an eye, five or six days had passed.

Taiwei lay by the window, gazing at the Moon Cave Gate in the distance, where people were coming and going in a continuous stream, constantly going in and out of the main house. Although she couldn't see their faces clearly, she felt that they all looked extremely dejected.

What on earth had happened?

What was wrong?

Why hadn't her mother's illness improved?

Why did Liu Mama also look so downcast these days?

Her mind was full of questions, and her heart was full of sorrow. She didn't even want to go and pay her respects to her grandmother. But if she didn't go, her grandmother would get angry, and then it would probably be blamed on her mother again. So she had to go.

She secretly popped a piece of candy into her mouth and then set off towards her grandmother's Minghe Hall.

Unexpectedly, she met Fourth Miss Qimao on the way.

The maidservants accompanying Fourth Miss and Taiwei's maidservant, Bixi, and Taiwei's maidservant, Bizhu, were sisters. When they met, they spoke affectionately to each other. Unlike Taiwei and Fourth Miss, who were never close and never had much to say to each other.

Fourth Miss was petite, but her words were sharp.

Taking advantage of the maidservants' conversation, she leaned in close to Taiwei, lowered her voice, and said with a sly smile, "I heard your mother is sick."

Taiwei glared at her.

But Fourth Miss acted as if she hadn't seen it, still smiling faintly, and said in a voice that only the two of them could hear, "It would be better if your mother died."

A buzzing sound filled Taiwei's ears, and her eyes turned red with anger. She pushed Fourth Miss hard.

Fourth Miss, caught off guard and unable to stand steady, fell hard and immediately burst into tears.

The two maidservants, their faces pale, hurried to help Fourth Miss up and stop Taiwei.

Fourth Miss continued to cry loudly, saying she would go and complain to their grandmother.

Taiwei was furious, her tongue tied with anger. Her nose tingled, and tears streamed down her face. She forcefully pushed away the maidservant's hand and ran in the opposite direction.

She wanted to see her mother. She wanted to tell her mother how bad Fourth Sister was and how wronged she felt—

She ran as fast as she could, not feeling any pain when she fell.

She just wanted to see her mother.

In the blink of an eye, she stumbled and ran far away. Bizhu hesitated and couldn't catch up.

Taiwei ran all the way to the main house, where she saw that everyone had dispersed, leaving it empty and desolate, with only her mother's senior maidservant, Yicui, dozing off outside the door, looking haggard and sleepy.

There were two old women sweeping the corridor in the distance, their heads bowed in concentration.

Taiwei didn't want to disturb anyone. Taking advantage of Yicui's deep sleep, she quietly slipped into her mother's room. The windows and doors were tightly closed, and the curtains were drawn, making it pitch black inside.

She cautiously approached the bed and called out softly, "Mother."

Her mother didn't respond.

She moved closer and called again.

Her mother opened her eyes and, upon seeing her, first smiled and then suddenly burst into tears.

There was no sound, only tears falling like broken beads.

Taiwei panicked and hurriedly climbed onto the bed to hug her mother, asking repeatedly, "What's wrong? What's wrong, Mother?"

The mother did not respond, just gazed at her foolishly, calling her by her childhood nickname, "Qiao Gu... Mother's Qiao Gu..."

"I'm here, I'm right here, Mother!" Taiwei reached out awkwardly to wipe the tears from her mother's face, feeling the urge to cry as well.

"Qiao Gu..." Her mother's hand also caressed her face.

The fingertips were cold, like frost and snow in the depths of winter.

Taiwei couldn't help but shiver.

Her mother's pale fingers felt like insects crawling through the grass, carrying a damp chill, and suddenly pressed onto her eyelids.

"Mother?"

As she spoke, the fingers on her eyelids suddenly exerted force. Taiwei heard her mother murmuring, "It's all because of these eyes... it's all because of these eyes causing trouble..."

She didn't know what her mother was saying, but she was extremely frightened, and her eyes were in extreme pain. She struggled and cried out, "Mother! Mother!"

Her mother was also crying, and the more she cried, the weaker her grip became.

In a panic, Taiwei felt a light touch on her eyelids, and suddenly she cried out, staring wide-eyed in pain.

A face contorted in agony came into view, and she saw her mother slump down, her hand dropping.

At the same time, there was a rush of footsteps outside the tent. Before she could turn to look, someone hurriedly came forward, lifted the curtain, and scooped her up.

It was her father!

She swallowed the scream that had already risen to her lips.

Her father said nothing, carrying her out in long strides.

The view suddenly became bright.

Taiwei sobbed as she lay on her father's shoulder, looking through tear-filled eyes at her mother. Her mother was being held down by several attendants, lying on the bed with disheveled hair, her face withered, her eyes fixed on her.

She was getting farther and farther away from her mother... farther and farther...

Yet just a few steps away felt like an insurmountable chasm.

The look in her mother's eyes was one of heartbreak and despair that she had never seen before.