Chapter 52

Chapter 52

The Deposed Heir’s face went blank for several seconds. Then terror flooded his features. He rushed to the well in a few long strides and cried out in despair, “Lianfang!”

Near-mad panic clouded his face as he shouted, “Why are you all standing there? Hurry and find a way to save the Commandery Princess!”

Servants swarmed forward, throwing the courtyard into chaos. Li Hui’er stood in the covered corridor and stared numbly at the scene. A strange, unreal feeling suddenly came over her, as though everyone else was caught up in the drama while she alone stood outside it.

What was happening?

Father had ordered that thief sent away, and Mother would rather die? Had she really jumped into a well right in front of Father and me?

Father, my brother, and I put together still matter less to her than that thief?

And Father… His expression is terrifying. Truly terrifying. If something happens to Mother, will he think I caused it?

Will he and my brother hate me for it?

A silent wind swept in from afar and loosened the hair at her temples. Li Hui’er instinctively wrapped her arms around herself as a chill climbed from the soles of her feet to her spine.

Newly arrived in a wholly unfamiliar place, she suddenly wanted to cry.

Qiulan was worried by the frightening pallor of her face. When she touched Li Hui’er’s hand and found it icy cold, her heart sank. She led the girl aside to sit down, then sent someone to fetch a cup of hot water and coaxed her into drinking it. At last, a little warmth returned to Li Hui’er’s body.

The servants struggled to haul Lady Tan from the well. The water was frigid, and she had always been frail. By then, she had lost consciousness and half her life along with it.

Desperate yet clinging fiercely to hope, the Deposed Heir grasped her hand and wept. “Lianfang? Lianfang, do not frighten me! Did we not promise to be a loving couple, together in life and death? Please wake up. I will agree to anything. Shall I let Baozhu stay with you? Do not be afraid. I will speak to the old man. Everything will be fine. It will be fine…”

Lady Tan’s palm-sized face had turned blue-white from the cold, and water streamed from her drenched body. The servants brought a thick cloak to shield her from the wind and keep her warm.

The Deposed Heir swept his wife into his arms and hurried anxiously toward the eldest branch’s courtyard. Even with Lady Tan unconscious, he continued murmuring reassurances to her.

He had even forgotten his biological daughter, who had only just returned home. Nor did he notice how desperately Li Hui’er was watching her own parents from a short distance away.

He disappeared from everyone’s sight with Lady Tan.

The eldest branch’s servants and his personal attendants followed him.

The covered corridor soon fell silent again. Only scattered drops of water on the wooden floor bore witness to what had just happened there.

Li Hui’er buried her face against her knees and began to sob softly. Like a wounded little animal with no one to depend on, she could only lick her wounds alone.

Qiulan’s heart ached terribly for her. She crouched down and tried to comfort her. “Please do not cry, my lady. You…”

She wanted to offer a few words of consolation, but after considering what the Deposed Heir and Lady Tan had done as parents, she truly did not know where to begin.

For the sake of an impostor who had usurped another’s place, the mother had cast everything aside and jumped into a well before her biological daughter. The father, meanwhile, had forgotten everything for his wife’s sake and flung his biological daughter to the back of his mind.

Judging by the Deposed Heir’s expression and everything he had just said, Qiulan suspected that if Lady Tan woke later, Ma Baozhu would likely emerge unscathed. As for the biological daughter, who cared about her?

The thought made Qiulan ache on Li Hui’er’s behalf. Her nose stung, and tears spilled from her eyes. “Our young lady has such a bitter fate…”

Qiuyue was a year younger than Qiulan and had a fiercer temper. She took Li Hui’er’s hand and said heatedly, “Please stop crying, my lady. If they do not cherish you, my mistress does! We are not going over there. Come, let us go back to my mistress!”

Li Hui’er raised her tear-blurred eyes, uncertain whether she ought to go with her.

Her second and third aunts were both formidable women, entirely unlike any she had met before, and both treated her well. If she had to choose someone to live with, she would prefer her second aunt. But that woman was not her mother, after all. If she truly moved in with her, would Father and Mother end up fighting with Second Uncle and Second Aunt?

Even among ordinary people, a daughter of the eldest branch living with the second branch would invite ridicule. That would surely be all the more true in a household such as this.

Halfway back, the Deposed Heir finally remembered that he had left his daughter behind. Silently cursing himself for losing his head, he hurriedly ordered his personal attendant to return for her. The man obeyed and arrived just in time to hear Qiuyue urging the girl to seek refuge with the second branch.

His expression darkened for an instant before he replaced it with an anxious look. Hurrying forward, he first slapped himself across the mouth. “This subordinate failed in his duty and caused my lady distress. I deserve death!”

He rushed to explain, “The Commandery Prince had only just crossed the covered corridor with the Commandery Princess when he ordered this subordinate to come for you. He did not leave you behind intentionally. It is only that the front courtyard is in chaos, and my lady is still young. Such a sight would do you no good. This subordinate thought to have a physician examine you, so I went a little farther to send someone to summon one. That delayed me on the road.”

Li Hui’er was only half convinced. “Really?”

“My lady,” the personal attendant said with a helpless smile, “nothing could be truer!”

Li Hui’er recalled her father’s gaze when they had parted. It had been so intent and so tender, as though her mother were the only person in his eyes and there was no room for anyone else.
Had he really delayed sending someone for her because he feared the chaotic scene would frighten her?

She did not know.

But she understood that sometimes ignorance was a blessing. There were things one could only pretend not to see.

She was merely a girl raised in the countryside who had only just returned home. Even if the personal attendant had invented that excuse, what could she do about it?

She could only accept it as the truth.

Li Hui’er flushed and scrubbed her tears away with one hand. Moved, she said, “Father is so good to me. Please take me back quickly!” Then she rose to her feet.

The personal attendant assented respectfully. His gaze swept almost imperceptibly over Qiuyue and Qiulan before he walked ahead to lead the way.

…

After Lady Bai and Lady Wang saw the Deposed Heir and his family of three off, they felt the whole affair had become an utter mess. The two sisters-in-law had barely exchanged a few rueful remarks when someone hurried in from outside with a report.

Lady Bai said wearily, “Do not tell me something else has happened in the eldest branch.”

Lady Wang sighed. “I am exhausted too.”

The servant entered with eyes wide and voice trembling in horror. “The Commandery Princess jumped into a well!”

Lady Bai said, “Oh.”

Lady Wang said, “Hah.”

The messenger was speechless.

Lady Bai asked, “Is she dead?”

Lady Wang said, “If she is not dead, it is hardly a serious matter.”

The messenger remained speechless.

Lady Bai added, “If she is, that would be cause for tremendous celebration.”

The messenger had no words at all.

Of course, Lady Tan was not going to die. She might be sickly and cough up blood every few days, but as the old saying went, a scourge could linger for a thousand years. She had plenty of trouble left to cause.

Lady Tan had lost all desire to live and actually jumped into a well, badly frightening the Deposed Heir. He ordered Ma Baozhu brought back, sent for the eldest Tan brother, and summoned his son, Ma Hualiang, as well. He had the people Lady Tan cared about most wait by her side, determined that they must somehow wake her.

Ma Baozhu was brought in with her hair in disarray. One glance at Lady Tan lying on the bed, her fate uncertain, and tears poured down her face. She threw herself forward and sobbed, “Mother, what happened to you? Open your eyes and look at me!”

Ma Hualiang sat beside them, holding one of his mother’s hands and weeping silently.

Ma Baozhu turned toward the Deposed Heir. Not long ago, he had still been her loving father. Now he had sent her to prison without mercy. Her eyes reddened. Suddenly, she dropped to her knees and asked through her tears, “Father, what did I do wrong? Do you not want me anymore? Why do they say I am not your daughter? It must all be false. Someone invented those lies to slander Mother and me. How could you believe anything so absurd?!”

After such an enormous upheaval in the family, Ma Baozhu was frightened too. She could not be certain whether she truly carried the Ma Family’s blood. The Ma Family would not protect her, and neither would her father. After rapidly weighing her options, she placed every hope she had on Lady Tan.

Ma Baozhu steeled herself and slammed her forehead against the floor. Blood appeared at once.

Without wiping it away, she let it stream down her brow and continued knocking her head against the floor, every cry steeped in anguish. “Father, even if I was wrong, even if I deserve to die, do not blame Mother! What has Mother done wrong? Her health was poor to begin with. She can hardly eat and often wakes several times in the night. When Father used to stay beside her, she feared nothing. But now Father has someone new and rarely pays her any attention. When she wakes in the middle of the night, she simply lies there with her eyes open until dawn!”

The words pierced the Deposed Heir’s heart like an awl. He wept in silence, and Ma Baozhu continued through loud sobs, “Mother often cries alone. She frequently coughs up blood. Yet even then, she will not let me tell you. She says you must attend to your great cause and must not let her affect you. She says Grandfather dislikes it when you lose yourself in romantic devotion, and she does not want to hold you back! I did wrong and angered Father. You may beat me, curse me, or even kill me, and I will not object. But do not scold Mother. Do not break her heart!”

Lady Tan slowly awoke from unconsciousness to hear those words. With a cry, she raised her sleeve to cover her face and began to weep. “Baozhu, my Baozhu!”

The Deposed Heir was overjoyed to see her wake. “Lianfang, you are awake?”

Lady Tan did not even look at him. She forced herself upright and tried to leave the bed to help her daughter, but she was terribly weak and had no strength in her limbs. Losing her balance, she tumbled to the floor.

The servants moved to help her, but she refused with all her might and waved everyone away. Half dragging herself and half crawling, she reached Ma Baozhu, wrapped her in her arms, and wailed, “Baozhu! Baozhu!”

Ma Baozhu clung tightly to her like a drowning person clutching a final straw. “Mother!”

“No one is allowed to send Baozhu away!”

Lady Tan jerked her head up. Her eyes bloodshot, she stared coldly at her husband. “Unless I die!”

Ma Hualiang rose without a word and knelt beside Lady Tan and Ma Baozhu. He looked up at his father, his eyes full of silent pleading.

The Deposed Heir’s heart was a tangle of conflicting emotions. As he wrestled painfully with his choice, servants came hurrying in, practically dragging the eldest Tan brother along. The moment the man entered, he saw his pale-faced sister kneeling on the floor and both his nephew and niece equally bloodless. Baozhu’s head in particular had split open, and blood was pouring out.

The eldest Tan brother panicked at once. “What happened? Why are you all standing there? Go find a physician to bandage Baozhu’s wound!”

Thinking he had stumbled into the middle of a family quarrel, he helped his sister sit up, then spoke earnestly to the Deposed Heir. “Brother-in-law, what are you doing? Whatever happened, could you not discuss it calmly? You drove my sister to jump into a well, my niece to split her head open, and gave Hualiang a terrible fright. Does that make you feel particularly accomplished as a husband and father? A family ought to live together in harmony…”
The Deposed Heir snapped irritably, “Be quiet! You do not even know what happened, yet you came here to lecture me!”

The eldest Tan brother looked embarrassed. He feared his brother-in-law and did not dare say more. Turning his head, he saw the terrible state of Ma Baozhu’s forehead and was heartbroken. “You foolish girl, why are you so stubborn? You have lost so much blood. Have the physician examine it carefully later. Do not let it leave a scar!”

His interference immediately eased the atmosphere in the room. Lady Tan held Ma Baozhu on her left, while Ma Hualiang stood on her right. The mother and her two children said nothing, silently awaiting the final verdict.

The Deposed Heir’s head felt ready to split. But seeing his wife and children like this, he could not bring himself to cause another scene.

His wife had jumped into a well today. Tomorrow, she might hang herself. How could anyone stop a person determined to die?

In any case, Baozhu was a daughter rather than a male heir. If the old man took that position in the future, she would receive neither a princely title nor any other noble rank. They could simply keep her and give her food. Why insist on driving his wife and children to their deaths?

The Deposed Heir let out a heavy sigh and nodded. “Enough with the long faces. I agree.”

Lady Tan relaxed. Tears filled her eyes as she lowered her head and kissed Ma Baozhu’s bloodstained cheek with boundless affection. “Mother’s good child.”

Then she pulled Ma Hualiang into her arms and smiled. “Hualiang too.”

Ma Baozhu sniffled and broke into a smile through her tears. Ma Hualiang’s lips curved upward as well.

Seeing the storm had passed, the Deposed Heir relaxed and could not help wanting to smile with them. Then he suddenly sensed an unusual gaze. Following it, he saw Li Hui’er standing in the doorway, pale-faced and numb.

His heart gave a violent thump. No one needed to remind him how painful and inappropriate this harmonious scene of a family of four must appear to his daughter.

The Deposed Heir erased his smile and rose. Even his tone gained a trace of caution. “Hui’er, you are here?”

Li Hui’er tried to smile, but the muscles in her face would not obey. After the corners of her mouth twitched several times, she looked instead as though she were crying. “Did I… did I come at the wrong time?”

“How could you? Whenever you come, Father will always welcome you.”

The Deposed Heir repeated a few empty reassurances. He could almost feel the anxious, urging gazes of his wife and children against his back. After a pause, he finally crouched until he was level with his biological daughter and said gently, “Hui’er, what your mother said is reasonable. The fault for what happened back then lies with Lady Tang and Li Dalang. Baozhu was innocent, after all…”

Li Hui’er asked woodenly, “So?”

The Deposed Heir knew these words would hurt his daughter deeply, but he had no choice.

If he did not let Baozhu stay, Lianfang would seek death. If he did let Baozhu stay, Hui’er would be upset.

But this child was so considerate, gentle, and sensible. Even if she was unwilling now, she ought to understand eventually. When the time came, he could have people find her more clothes and jewelry that girls liked. That should be enough to coax her around.

The Deposed Heir hardened his heart. “Would you let Baozhu stay and keep you company? If you do not want to call her Elder Sister, you need not…”

Lady Tan still had a head on her shoulders and knew this was terribly painful for her biological daughter. She forced herself to stand, had a maid support her over, and spoke with tender coaxing in her voice. “Hui’er, let Baozhu stay, all right? Mother was at fault before and acted too rashly. Lady Tang and the Li Family were responsible for what happened back then, and I have no objection to punishing them. But Baozhu knew nothing at the time. She was innocent.”

Li Hui’er wanted to say no.

But she could not.

They had never given her the right to refuse.

They had plainly made their decision already. They had already decided to keep that thief. Why put on an act and ask her now?

Had she not already said she would not accept it?

If she said no now, would Father remain so amiable? Would Mother remain so gentle?

Li Hui’er desperately wanted to cry, but a voice in the depths of her mind told her that tears were useless. They would only wear away the fleeting closeness her blood ties had brought, without helping anything.

She forced a single word from her throat. “All right.”

The Deposed Heir and Lady Tan breathed sighs of relief at the same time.

The Deposed Heir awkwardly beckoned to Ma Baozhu. “Come greet Hui’er and pay your respects. You must get along from now on. Hui’er has only just arrived. If there is anything she does not understand, you should help her.”

Lady Tan became enthusiastic too. “Hui’er, you and Baozhu are about the same size, so her clothes should fit you. You can use her jewelry as well…”

The Deposed Heir yanked her back. “What nonsense are you talking? It is not as though we cannot afford new things. We can summon a tailor tomorrow to measure her for clothes.”

Only then did Lady Tan realize how her words sounded. She smiled awkwardly, then continued gently, “If you lack or need anything, come and tell Mother. Tell Mother if you wish to go out and have fun as well. Huaizhou is a lively city, and its temple fairs are delightful.”

Ma Baozhu came forward and bowed to Li Hui’er. She asked meekly, “Younger Sister Hui’er, may I call you that?”

Li Hui’er bit her lip hard and turned away. In a voice barely audible, she murmured, “Mm.”