Chapter 7

Chapter 7

When we returned to Yongzhou all those years ago, my grandfather, in a fit of rage, sold off my mother’s two dowry maids and her wet nurse.

More than a decade had passed; there was no guarantee the wet nurse was even still alive.

I made inquiries through various channels and even enlisted the help of Second Miss Yao. Finally, two years after my mother’s death, I found Xiu Qing.

She had the look of a mature woman now. I heard she had been sold to another province and married off to an old widower.

Xiu Qing’s life was not easy. When I gave her a sum of money, she fell to her knees, weeping and willing to tell me everything.

As it turned out, my mother was not a biological daughter of the Li family.

When my maternal grandmother was young, her health was poor. After having my two uncles, she became pregnant again and gave birth to a baby girl. Unfortunately, the infant was stillborn.

Fearing she would be heartbroken, my grandfather brought a child in from outside to replace the lost one.

This wasn’t a secret; I had known about it for a long time.

Even though my mother wasn’t a blood member of the Li family, my grandmother had always treated her as her own, pampering her as she grew up.

What I wanted to know was whether the person she was rumored to have shared feelings with was that Cousin who had been beaten to death, or my Second Maternal Uncle.

Xiu Qing cried as she spoke. “Young Master Wu had come to the manor for shelter back then and did indeed harbor an unrequited love for the Young Mistress. But the one who was secretly pestering her was the Second Master. He was like a man possessed, saying he wanted to take the Young Mistress and elope, to leave the Li family behind.”

“The Young Mistress was terrified, so she told the Old Master. The Old Master flew into a rage and gave the Second Master a severe thrashing. He immediately arranged a marriage for him, keeping him under watch until the wedding was over. Later, the Young Mistress was married off to the capital.”

“Who could have guessed that three years later, the Second Master would go to the capital for business and even bring Young Master Wu along to stay at the Cui Family residence?”

“You know what happened after that. I don’t know how the Young Mistress ended up in the guest rooms in the rear courtyard. You were only a few months old then, and I was watching over you during your nap. I didn’t even know when she had gone out.”

“After the incident, the Young Mistress intended to hang herself. She had no choice-the Second Master had stolen you away and insisted on taking her back to Yongzhou.”

That was all Xiu Qing knew.

But it was enough.

My Second Maternal Uncle, Li Baiyuan, had been married to my Second Maternal Aunt for over a decade and had never had any children. Thinking about it now, it was obvious he never loved her at all.

After my grandfather died, he likely still hoped to elope with my mother.

My mother refused, staying in the Li family solely to protect me. Her life was already ruined; she didn’t want her daughter’s life to be ruined too.

She was a weak, easily bullied woman.

Tradition dictated that a woman obeys her father before marriage, her husband after marriage, and her son after her husband’s death… She had a son, my elder brother Cui Jinze, who was two years older than me and far away in the capital.

In the end, she obeyed her brother-likely because she was driven to desperation.

No, it was only for my sake. If it had been for herself, she would have long ago ended her life, free of any lingering attachments.

She was so cowardly, yet as a mother, she was willing to risk everything. During the Great Famine, for the sake of a few measures of grain, she even submitted to a wretch like Qian Zhang.

How hateful.

But Mother, you were not in the wrong.

It was the fault of this world, the fault of human hearts. You did nothing wrong.

Those with guilty consciences must answer to the blue heavens above. And if there is no justice in the heavens, then I shall become that justice myself.

When I was fifteen, Lan Guan took me up the mountain to find bandits. I struck a deal with them.

A month later, my Eldest Maternal Uncle and Second Maternal Uncle were intercepted by bandits while leading a merchant caravan back to Yongzhou. I was the one who leaked their itinerary and route.

My visit to the Li family had not been in vain, even if it meant enduring the foul words of my cousin from my eldest uncle’s side.

I killed both uncles with my own hands. Especially Li Baiyuan.

He was blindfolded and confined in the bandit stronghold. I stood before him, my expression cold and impassive.

When the cloth was torn away, he saw the sword in my hand. He was shocked, but he quickly calmed down and asked me, “Ah Yin, you’ve always refused to tell me-during those years when you and your mother moved to the manor, did she ever mention me?”

“Does Uncle want to know?”

“I do.”

“No. Never once.”

I looked at him quietly. “From beginning to end, my mother only ever had my father in her heart.”

His expression dazed, he let out a low chuckle. “From beginning to end, I only ever had her in mine.”

“Is that so? But what can be done, Uncle? She found you utterly repulsive.”

I raised my sword, a faint, fleeting smile playing on my lips. “Then let us use your blood to wash it away.”

When a person is on the verge of death, their eyes dilate with fear. I always remember the last look my mother gave me. In her widened pupils, there was a girl with a ruthless face and eyes full of murderous intent.

Just like the version of me reflected in my Second Maternal Uncle’s eyes right now.