The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 401: The Foundling

Chapter 401: Chapter 401: The Foundling

"Even a stepmother, with such a son, would have her heart of iron melt. But you, you’re simply tormenting this fine boy, squeezing your son’s flesh and blood dry to feed your bloodsucking maternal family. Song Chunhua, you are simply inhuman! Could it be that your own son has died, and you’ve stolen someone else’s child? Go report to the authorities and see if there’s a family whose son has gone missing..."

Old Granny Zhang, thinking ahead, immediately jumped in.

"I haven’t... I haven’t stolen anyone’s child!" Song Chunhua became anxious, hearing that there was talk of reporting to the authorities made her unnerved, and she quickly shook her head and waved her hands.

"Then what’s the matter? When did your son die? How did Chongjin come to be taken back by you? I’m telling you, Chongjin is now engaged to our Wang Family, if you don’t make it clear, the Old Wang Family is not to be trifled with!" Old Granny Zhang was claiming Chongjin as one of her own now, and naturally wanted to protect her family’s interest.

Song Chunhua looked left and right, her eyes pleading for help, and met Song Chongjin’s gaze.

Song Chongjin’s expression was indescribably ugly, and when he saw Song Chunhua looking over, he looked away.

The Lizheng at the head table could not save face, Song Chunhua was from Qilidun, and if such a scandal about stealing another’s child broke out, it would be one thing if it were just in the village, but today, with so many people present, all of them respectable.

It would completely disgrace Qilidun, if things weren’t made clear today, Qilidun’s reputation would be ruined.

So, after discussing quietly for a moment with a few venerable elders, he said sternly, "Song Chunhua, tell us honestly, how did Chongjin end up being brought back by you? How did your son die?"

Song Chunhua, faced with the Lizheng’s wrath, was almost scared out of her wits, and in no place to hide anything, she quickly confessed.

It turned out that when Song Chunhua had come back home, pregnant with the Noble Patron’s child, and stayed at her maternal home to give birth, it was unclear whether she had eaten too well or exercised too little during her pregnancy.

The birth was not easy, not only did it nearly cost Song Chunhua half her life, but her son was probably inside her belly for too long.

After birth, he was not very healthy and was always ailing.

Song Chunhua knew that this son was her amulet. That Noble Patron had taken a fancy to her only because she was pregnant. He gave her a large sum of silver to nourish the pregnancy and even promised that after the child was born, he would take her to his side and make her his concubine.

The Noble Patron was extremely generous. During those days she served him, Song Chunhua saw that even the servants attending him were more luxurious than her own master’s family. Being the Noble Patron’s concubine must be a very good life indeed.

In those days, because she served the Noble Patron, she wore gold and silver and didn’t have to do anything every day but eat delicacies like fat chicken and big ducks, as well as bird’s nests and the like. It was truly a fairy-like life.

Therefore, this son was her lifeblood, the assurance of her future prosperity and wealth.

If anything happened to this son, she knew that her dream of becoming a concubine would shatter.

So, in those days, she inquired everywhere about whether there was a doctor anywhere.

She didn’t know how much silver she’d spent, but the child’s health hadn’t seemed to improve. One doctor even said that the child was too frail and that he might live a few more years if taken care of carefully, but if not, he could die at any time.

Song Chunhua felt as if struck by lightning; this was her hope for the rest of her life. If he truly died, what would she do?

When the doctors were of no help, she started to pray to the gods and worship the Buddha, hoping they would bless her son and improve his health.

Latter, somehow she heard that on a mountain outside the county town, there was a small temple. Although it was not big, it had a thriving incense trade. If the devotees had wishes, they would stay in the temple for a few days, asking for Talisman Water and such, and upon returning, everyone spoke of its effectiveness.

Song Chunhua’s heart began to stir with concern. If her son remained sickly every day, and a Noble Patron came to take him, what would happen if they saw the child in such a state and blamed her for his condition?

With this thought, Song Chunhua hired a carriage, took her child, and went to the county town.

She had initially gone to cure her son’s illness. In a moment of urgency, as the child had also been feeling unwell those days, she wanted to rush to the temple, believing that once they got there, he would recover.

However, the child cried the entire way, and when they reached the foot of the mountain, he had stopped crying. Just as she breathed a sigh of relief, thinking the temple was truly effective, that they hadn’t even started up the mountain yet and her child was already quiet.

She bent her head and rushed to climb up, eager to see her son get well quickly.

But halfway up the mountainside, she heard crying. Thinking it was her son, she opened the bundle she was carrying to discover her boy’s face was cyanotic and his body cold.

In that moment, Song Chunhua was stunned, holding her son in her arms, sitting halfway up the mountain crying until her eyes were swollen. She was heartbroken both for her son and for herself, having suffered so much without even waiting for a Noble Patron, now to be deprived of her support for the rest of her life.

She didn’t know how long she cried until a kindhearted person, unable to watch any longer, patted her, urging her to bear the loss with fortitude. Although one child was gone, she still had another one, didn’t she?

It was then that Song Chunhua noticed a basket at her feet. Inside the basket lay a sturdy child, about the same age as her son, his little face flushed with sleep.

In that instant, Song Chunhua thought how wonderful it would be if her son had been as healthy as this child.

That thought, coupled with the Pilgrims on their way up the mountain who mistook the child for hers, advising her to come to terms with her grief, suggesting that though she lost one, she still had another one to raise, who could support her in her old age.

Song Chunhua had an epiphany, and a thought took root in her mind.

She wiped away her tears and asked for help to bring the healthy child into the small temple. Then she falsely claimed she had given birth to twins, that the younger one was ill and she had come to pray for his well-being, only to lose him unexpectedly.

A very young child’s passing normally wouldn’t have allowed for burial in the ancestral graveyard; they were often buried in a random place.

Song Chunhua implored the Monk at the temple to bury her son and then lit an Ever-Bright Lantern and chanted several rolls of the Reincarnation Scripture.

So that her son could be reborn well.

Then turning her attention to the foundling, she noticed the swaddling clothes were of mediocre quality, nothing that stood out as a clear marker, and there was no note or identification left with him.

It was hard to say whether the child had been abandoned or something else had happened.

Song Chunhua stayed with the child in the temple for some time, and when no one came looking, she returned to Qilidun with the child she had picked up.

Given that a young child’s appearance can change rapidly, when she returned, everyone noticed that the child had grown whiter and plumper. Song Chunhua claimed it was due to the efficacious temple incense, that the child’s health had improved, and thus she managed to deceive them all.

This child was Song Chongjin. Initially, Song Chunhua was quite good to him, even thinking of using Song Chongjin to fulfill her own dreams of becoming a Concubine, treating him as if he were her own flesh and blood.

Moreover, since Song Chongjin was healthy and easier to care for than her ailing son, Song Chunhua indeed found him to be quite the relief and grew quite fond of him.