Chapter 3
Chapter 3
“Four years ago, I sent people to Peach Blossom Village to find you,” the Marquess’s Wife said. “I wanted you to be there for Ah Ruan’s final moments. But you were no longer in the village.”
“The things Ah Ruan sent back over the years had all been taken in and stored by your neighbors.”
The day after Gu Ruan was recognized by her biological family, we heard that my father had died on the battlefield. My mother and I left immediately to retrieve his body, missing the Marquess’s messengers.
To our surprise, once we reached the Borderlands, we heard that my father was still alive. We ended up settling down in a village there.
We stayed for fifteen years.
My mother wrote several letters to Gu Ruan over time, but for various reasons, none of them were ever delivered.
Listening to all of this, I couldn’t quite describe the feeling in my heart; I just felt a heavy, stifling sensation in my chest.
I clenched my fists, then slowly released them.
“Since she’s not here, I’m leaving.”
My voice sounded dry and hollow.
I wasn’t sure what I was thinking; I only knew I couldn’t stay in this place any longer.
The room was full of people, yet I felt like I couldn’t breathe.
I turned to leave.
“Miss Gu-”
The Marquess’s Wife called out to stop me.
She looked at Ah Qiao, her lips trembling as if she were making a monumental decision. “Could you… let Ah Qiao stay with you for a while?”
My footsteps faltered. I looked back and refused without a second thought.
“Impossible.”
“I’m not going to help her raise her child.”
Gu Ruan and I had fought since we were children. I never backed down when she was alive, so why should I raise her child now that she’s dead?
By what right?
The Marquess grabbed his wife’s arm and said in a low voice, “Forget it. Don’t make things difficult for her.”
The Marquess’s Wife ignored him, her eyes red as she looked at me. “But Ah Qiao finally spoke.”
“When we brought her back from the Princess’s Mansion, she was only six months old. She was completely numb-she didn’t cry or fuss, and she ate whatever she was fed, like a little wooden doll. Later, she finally regained some spark of life, but she just wouldn’t speak. The imperial physicians said she had suffered a severe shock and might never be able to speak in her lifetime.”
“Her mind was damaged as well. They feared she would be a simpleton forever.”
She paused, her voice filled with a desperate hope. “This is the first time she has ever called someone ‘Maternal Aunt’.”
The Marquess sighed and pleaded with me, “Miss Gu, if you’re unwilling to let her live with you, then… could you at least come and visit Ah Qiao more often?”
I stood rooted to the spot, my feet feeling as if they were nailed down.
Two voices were warring in my head.
One said: *What does this have to do with me? I don’t owe Gu Ruan anything.*
The other said: *She’s only four years old. She doesn’t know anything.*
I couldn’t help but ask, “What exactly happened to Ah Qiao?”
The Marquess’s Wife lowered her eyes. “Years ago, Ah Ruan married the top scholar of the imperial examinations, Shen Zheng. He came from a noble, scholarly family and was renowned for his talent. Ah Ruan… was very much in love with him.”
My brow furrowed.
“After Ah Qiao was born, Shen Zheng knelt before us and swore an oath that he would never marry again and would never mistreat Ah Qiao.”
She gave a bitter smile. “But who would have thought that only six months later-”
The Marquess took over the story. “At a palace banquet, he was caught on the spot with the Sixth Princess, both of them in a state of undress. Everyone saw it. Even the Emperor saw it.”
I scoffed. “And you actually believed that nonsense?”
“We didn’t believe it either, but the Sixth Princess cried and threatened to hang herself. The Emperor personally bestowed the marriage.”
The Marquess’s Wife’s voice turned raspy. “Shen Zheng said he had defiled the Sixth Princess’s purity. He claimed that if he didn’t comply, it might lead to Ah Qiao being executed along with him. No matter how unwilling we were, we could only agree.”
“And then?” I asked.