Chapter Ten: The Ninth Miss—Delicate, Frail, and Short-Lived

The Marquis’s estate.

Lang Zhengping inquired with a servant and hurried to the side chamber where Lang Jiuchuan had been taken. He paused slightly upon seeing Lady Cui standing at the door with a gloomy expression, unwilling to enter.

Hearing his footsteps, Lady Cui turned and curtsied. "Brother-in-law."

Seeing her, Lang Zhengping could not help but think of his own younger brother. Back when the Lang family’s influence had waned, his brother had emerged as the General of Pacifying the North—a man of both courage and strategy. He was the pride of the Lang family, someone capable of securing the nation and protecting the people. Yet, such a source of pride had perished prematurely on the battlefield.

On the night before his brother died, Lady Cui had gone into sudden, premature labor. The seven-month-old fetus caused her a difficult labor that lasted a full day and night. By the time the child was born, news of the brother’s death had already reached the estate.

With her husband dead, Lady Cui had lost her senses; she became obsessed, insisting that the child was not her own, but a cursed omen. Not only did she nearly lose her own life in her turmoil, but she almost destroyed the child as well.

Because of this, Lang Jiuchuan was raised in her grandmother’s quarters after birth. They had hoped that would keep the peace, but when the child was three—on the third anniversary of her father’s death—Lady Cui had nearly drowned her in a pond. It was said that the look in her eyes then was that of a mortal enemy.

Master Xuanjing of the Protectorate Temple had declared that for the child to survive, mother and daughter could not remain together. Consequently, the grandmother took the child to live on a farmstead for two years, and she had been raised there ever since.

As for Lady Cui, she never remarried, living out her days in widowhood within her own courtyard. Yet, even after all these years, she remained unable to let go of her resentment.

As the eldest uncle, and considering how many years she had spent as a widow for his brother, he found it difficult to reprimand her. After a moment of thought, he said, "Sister-in-law, the child has just returned. We can teach her slowly."

A mother slapping her daughter, especially in front of outsiders, was a heavy blow to the child’s dignity—and she was, after all, the only flesh and blood his brother had left behind.

Lady Cui lowered her gaze, remaining silent.

"Marquis, Second Madam."

An elderly matron hurried forward and bowed. "Ninth Miss has returned. The Old Madam heard the news and is very pleased; she wishes to see her."

Lang Zhengping’s face brightened. "Is Mother clear-headed again?"

Matron Wang offered a bitter smile and shook her head. "You know how the Old Madam’s memory has been; it worsens with each passing year. Even for Ninth Miss..." She glanced at Lady Cui and continued, "She only remembers her occasionally. Is the young lady inside? This servant will go in to pay her respects."

Lang Jiuchuan had already heard the commotion outside and was deep in thought. Suddenly, she heard a sharp intake of breath. She looked over to see the estate physician, whom Lady Wu had insisted on bringing to check her hand injury. He was staring at her in shock, his face drained of color.

"Dr. Chen, what is wrong?" Seeing the physician's expression, Lady Wu’s heart leaped into her throat. Could her sister-in-law’s hand have been truly injured by her husband’s rough grasp?

"This pulse..."

Lang Jiuchuan followed his gaze to her wrist and her heart sank.

*Oh no.*

In her anger, she had forgotten to maintain the pretense of this frail body. Her pulse had vanished.

"I have been frail since childhood. Could you check again carefully?" As she extended her left hand, she covertly channeled a bit of internal energy into her veins.

Dr. Chen steadied himself, thinking that the exhaustion of managing the funeral rites over the past two days must have dulled his senses, or he would surely have been able to feel the pulse.

He took a deep breath, pressed two fingers to her left wrist, and knit his brows in concentration. After a long while, he withdrew his hand and let out a sigh of relief. He had been mistaken, it seemed.

But soon, his brow furrowed again. The girl’s body was incredibly weak—severely depleted, as if she were a creature not meant to live long.

"Ninth Miss’s pulse is extremely faint and shallow. It is a deficiency brought from the womb, compounded by a severe lack of both energy and blood. She must be meticulously cared for, otherwise..." Dr. Chen hesitated. "If she is not properly nourished, it will not only be difficult for her to marry or bear children, but her very lifespan may be at risk."

He left his most dire thoughts unspoken: her body was no different from that of an elderly person on the brink of death.

Frail, sickly, and short-lived.

Hearing the implications of the physician’s words, Lady Wu stood stunned. She instinctively looked at Lady Cui, who had appeared in the doorway, and then back at Lang Jiuchuan, who stood with a slap mark on her face and an air of absolute indifference. A heavy, stifling feeling settled in her chest.