After admiring the autumn chrysanthemums, Concubine Zhao decided to visit the ailing matriarch, Lady Wu. Before heading to Lady Wu's residence, she deliberately changed into plain, understated clothing and removed the gold and jade ornaments from her hair.
She put on a worried expression and went to Lady Wu's quarters with her maidservant in tow.
Lady Wu's bedchamber was thick with the scent of medicine. Her face was deathly pale, her cheeks so hollow that they seemed nothing but skin stretched over bone. She lay weakly on the bed as an elderly nurse prepared to prop her up and administer her medicine.
"Let me take care of Sister," Concubine Zhao offered, stepping forward to take the medicine bowl from the nurse.
With a cushion supporting her lower back, Lady Wu leaned weakly against the bedframe, her eyes filled with gratitude. "Little Sister, my health worsens by the day… It's so kind of you to care for me daily… cough…"
