Chapter 91: The Abandoned Baby Tower

Chapter 91: The Abandoned Baby Tower

Siniang returned home and, standing before the familiar gate, hesitated before knocking.

"Who is it?"

With the creak of an old door, a strange woman opened it.

She asked warily, "Who are you?"

"Excuse me…… did the people who used to live here move away?"

The woman, puzzled, replied, "No, who are you looking for?"

"Dear, who is it outside?"

A familiar male voice called out, and a man came closer.

Upon seeing her face, he paused, then asked uncertainly, "Sister?"

Siniang nodded.

The woman asked, confused, "Is this the elder sister you mentioned, the one who could earn five taels of silver for embroidering a handkerchief?"

"I've told you many times, it's five taels of silver, and the embroiderer only gets a small share."

The woman smiled. "That's still quite a bit."

She hurriedly pulled Siniang into the house. "Sister, have your skills improved?"

Siniang turned her hands over, examining her calloused palms.

Fine silk is delicate, and embroidery threads are finicky.

An embroiderer’s hands need to be soft to handle the work, unlike hers, which were rough and could snag the threads.

"I... can't embroider anymore."

The woman’s smile dimmed, though she didn’t openly show her disappointment.

The man asked, "Elder Sister, where have you been?"

"Do you know how worried Father and Mother were? They..."

"Father and Mother?"

The man choked. "Father was already ill, and when he heard you had disappeared, he couldn’t breathe and..."

"Mother was already worried about you, and after Father passed, she couldn’t bear the grief and soon followed him."

So, upon returning, this was the news she received.

She looked at the familiar small courtyard.

This used to be her home, but with the passing of Father and Mother, it became her brother’s home, no longer hers.

Her sister-in-law didn’t seem very welcoming, and she wouldn’t be able to stay long.

Thinking back, her biggest worry used to be deciding which colored ribbon to wear when going out.

Wondering what kind of husband her parents would choose for her, and whether their future relationship would be as good as Father and Mother's.

What would Mother cook for lunch, and would it be something she liked?

When would she be able to go to the market again to buy things? But now, all of that is over.

Those ordinary days, mundane as they were, felt like a beautiful dream.

Her life shattered the moment she was kidnapped.

Now that she’s back, she’s trying to mend it, but it’s still far from whole.

Perhaps other women, upon returning home, are greeted with a happy future.

There must be some, even if just one.

...

The Censor returned to the capital to report to the Emperor, having completed even the smallest tasks well.

In his report, he mentioned an interesting incident: "I initially thought that the women trapped on Yu Mountain would be desperate to escape and filled with hatred for their captors."

"However, there was a woman named Yan Niuer who genuinely fell in love with them."

"When the County Clerk led the men to arrest them, Yan Niuer desperately tried to stop them from capturing her 'husbands.' It was quite a spectacle."

"She was also pregnant, so the officers had a hard time avoiding harming her."

Bei Jingchu sighed, 'This is a psychological issue, Stockholm Syndrome. Her brain, to prevent her from collapsing, forced her to "love" those who harmed her. But there’s no cure for her in this world.'

"Damn it, I’ll amend the Yue Law to ensure all human traffickers are executed!"

The round trip to Yu Mountain took nearly a month.

Rejoice! Bei Jingchu could finally eat semi-solid food.

Although it was just tasteless rice porridge, at least her mouth wouldn’t always taste like milk.

The moment she tasted rice again, Bei Jingchu was almost moved to tears.

The wet nurse’s spoon was practically flying, but still couldn’t keep up with Bei Jingchu’s eating speed.

The Emperor kept frowning, and anyone who didn’t know better might think that, as her father, the Emperor couldn’t even ensure his daughter was well-fed.

As the New Year approached, the palace was preparing, with large red lanterns replacing the old ones on the eaves.

But in her heart, Bei Jingchu quietly thought, "To be honest, I find this red light a bit eerie."

Emperor: Then keep your thoughts to yourself.

The New Year is a time for family reunions, which often stirs feelings of homesickness.

However, the palace servants are an exception; they cannot go home for the New Year.

Nurse Yu was among them.

She was in the side hall feeding the princess rice porridge.

Feeding rice porridge didn’t require the same level of discretion as breastfeeding, so the Emperor allowed her to feed the princess in the Imperial Study.

Who knew that the princess was enjoying her meal so much that it made His Majesty hungry, so they had to move back to the side hall to feed her.

Bei Jingchu smacked her lips, watching gossip as her digital snack.

As she watched, the pace of her swallowing the rice porridge slowed down.

Then she stared at Nurse Yu, desperately wanting to say something.

But she could only make babbling noises.

She could only scream in her mind: “Nurse! Your daughter, your daughter is going to die!”

Nurse Yu almost dropped the bowl in her hand.

Her daughter... is going to die?

Wet nurses were selected from women who had just given birth and were still breastfeeding.

Their ancestral background had to be spotless for generations.

Once selected to enter the palace, they were cut off from the outside world, particularly from their own children, and had to dedicate themselves fully to raising the prince or princess they were assigned to.

Unless they received permission from their master, they would never see their biological children again.

The benefit was that every month they could send home a salary that, for them, was like a sudden windfall.

Nurse Yu was one of them, born into a poor family, and she was overjoyed when selected to enter the palace.

Though she could never see her daughter again, the silver she sent home ensured her daughter lived comfortably.

But now the princess says her daughter is going to die?

Bei Jingchu babbled frantically, waving her tiny hands: “Nurse, nurse, the scumbag you married is using your money to find another woman.”

“They claim that only a son born to you can continue the family lineage.”

“And the new stepmother despises your daughter, saying that since you're not coming back, keeping a young girl around is just a waste of food.”

“Now they plan to throw her into the Abandoned Baby Tower!”

“Wait, what on earth is an Abandoned Baby Tower?”

Bei Jingchu poked the system: [System, what is an Abandoned Baby Tower?]

[It’s a small, tower-like structure where unwanted babies are left.]

[However, due to feudal customs, almost all the babies in the Abandoned Baby Tower are girls.]

[Parents who did not want daughters would abandon their infants in the Abandoned Baby Tower, leaving them to starve to death.]

[Those who did not die of starvation, the Abandoned Baby Tower would be periodically burned to facilitate cleaning, so they could place new babies inside next time.]

Bei Jingchu: [I* bleep bleep bleep——]