Chapter 50
Chapter 50
Over at Ningxiang Hall, Li Mingrou was still waiting anxiously in the courtyard for Shuangxi to return with news. Instead, an older servant sent to make inquiries at the front came back with a devastating revelation.
Shuangxi had been beaten to death.
Terror flooded Li Mingrou’s eyes. She flung herself into her wet nurse’s arms and babbled in panic, “Nanny, what am I supposed to do?”
“They beat my maid to death, and that man from the Western Regions pointed the finger at me. He took my silver, yet he still identified me! What am I supposed to do?”
“Didn’t you say no one knew about that poisonous insect? How could the physician tell?”
By the end, Li Mingrou was sobbing helplessly, too distraught to think of anything she could do.
The woman she clung to was tall and broad, with the features of someone from the Western Regions. She was Li Mingrou’s wet nurse and had accompanied her to seek refuge with the Xie Family.
Nanny Zhang held Li Mingrou tightly. Compared to Li Mingrou’s panicked tears, she was much calmer.
She raised a hand to wipe away Li Mingrou’s tears and said quietly, “Don’t cry yet, Miss. You still have your aunt, and you still have Eldest Master Xie. When the time comes, insist that Shuangxi acted on her own initiative.”
“She’s dead now, so there’s no one left to contradict you. There may still be a way out.”
Li Mingrou looked up at Nanny Zhang through tearful eyes and choked out, “Will Old Madam really let me off lightly?”
Nanny Zhang did her best to reassure her. “Old Madam is a devout Buddhist. She has a soft heart.”
Just then, a maid hurried in from outside the courtyard. She reported that all future allotments for Ningxiang Hall had been revoked. Li Mingrou was also to dress in plain clothes and kneel in the ancestral hall the next day. An older servant would come to fetch her first thing in the morning.
Li Mingrou looked at Nanny Zhang in alarm.
Nanny Zhang lowered her voice. “Don’t be afraid, Miss. When you’re in the ancestral hall, make yourself look as frail as possible. If necessary, faint. First Madam and Eldest Master will feel sorry for you.”
The helpless panic in Li Mingrou’s eyes vanished as though she had found her anchor again.
Of course. Brother Xie had always taken her side.
Whenever it came down to a choice between her and Ji Hanyi, Brother Xie chose her every time. This time would be no different.
She and Brother Xie had grown up together. How could Ji Hanyi possibly compare to her?
Even if she had made a mistake, Brother Xie would never blame her.
Meanwhile, Ji Hanyi lay on her stomach on the bed in the main room, eating the sugar-roasted chestnuts Rongchun peeled for her as she stared absently at a carved bedpost.
Ji Hanyi had known all along that Li Mingrou was behind this, and she had ways to expose her. However, she had asked Shen Si for help and made sure the Xie Residence knew the Shen Family had intervened precisely because she did not want Madam Lin to cover everything up and let the matter quietly come to nothing.
She knew that if no outsiders learned of the incident, then for the sake of the family’s reputation — and with Xie Yuheng and Madam Lin protecting her — Li Mingrou probably would not be punished too severely, even with Old Madam there.
Perhaps even Old Madam Xie would quietly suppress the entire affair.
Sitting on a low stool beside the bed, Rongchun placed another peeled chestnut in Ji Hanyi’s fair, tender palm. “Young Madam, it was clever of you to have me seek out Old Madam first. Otherwise, judging by the way First Madam acted this morning, she was probably planning to shield Li Mingrou.”
Ji Hanyi slipped the sweet chestnut between her lips and bit into it. When she turned her head slightly, the silken hair cascading down her back slid over the shoulder of her plain robe.
She looked at Rongchun and said softly, “Old Madam comes from a military family and can’t abide such underhanded filth. I trust her to stand up for me.”
Ji Hanyi rested her chin in one fair palm. Her soft, alluring almond-shaped eyes lowered, and her voice held a trace of dejection. “Besides, I know Old Madam wants Eldest Master and me to reconcile, but I also know that can never happen now. I can’t help feeling I’ve let Old Madam down.”
“I brought this matter into the open not because I was determined to obtain justice, but because I know Eldest Master will plead for Li Mingrou. He will definitely take his plea before Old Madam.”
“When that happens, Old Madam will understand where Li Mingrou stands in Eldest Master’s heart. She will also understand that some things simply cannot be forced. Between Li Mingrou and me, Eldest Master chose Li Mingrou. This can serve as the answer I owe Old Madam, so perhaps she won’t be left with quite so much regret.”
“Old Madam is reasonable and compassionate. I’m sure she’ll understand my choice.”
Hearing this from the side, Rongchun felt a pang of sorrow. Eldest Master was clearly Young Madam’s husband, yet time and again, he had chosen someone else. Not once had he ever stood by Young Madam.
Her eyes stung with tears. Looking at Ji Hanyi, she asked hoarsely, “But what if Eldest Master chooses you?”
Ji Hanyi fell into a brief daze before replying softly, “If he truly chose me — if he refused to plead for Li Mingrou and believed she had only gotten what she deserved — then perhaps there would still be a shred of affection left between us. But even then, I would not change my mind about leaving.”
Then Ji Hanyi looked at Rongchun. “But he won’t make that choice. Rongchun, after three years, you of all people should understand that.”
“Besides, could all the grievances of these past three years simply vanish because he had a single change of heart?”
Rongchun parted her lips, but for a long while, she could find nothing to say.
Young Madam was right. Rongchun had accompanied her to the Xie Family three years ago, and throughout those three years, Eldest Master had never cared about any of the wrongs Young Madam suffered. He had eyes only for Li Mingrou.
And yet, deep down, Rongchun was still worried about Young Madam. She feared life would be difficult for her after the divorce.
A divorced woman was always vulnerable to vicious gossip. Rongchun feared Young Madam would not be able to bear it, which was why she had continued to hold on to that faint glimmer of hope in Eldest Master.
But now, hearing Young Madam state so firmly that she would not stay, Rongchun felt that her decision was right.
What was there to stay for? Was she supposed to endure this for the rest of her life?
Lowering her head, Rongchun resumed peeling chestnuts. “No matter what Young Madam decides, this servant will follow you.”
As they spoke, someone called from beyond the curtain that Old Madam had arrived. Rongchun hurriedly put away the sugar-roasted chestnuts and went out to welcome her.
Moments later, Old Madam Xie entered through the curtain and walked around the screen into the room. There, she saw Ji Hanyi reclining against the carved wooden bed.
Behind the half-drawn bed curtains, the delicate young woman leaned against the headboard. Her pointed chin accentuated her full cheeks, but her face was pale and weariness clouded her eyes. Even a slight turn of her gaze was enough to make one’s heart ache for her.
Old Madam Xie sighed and sat beside Ji Hanyi, stopping her as she attempted to rise and curtsy.
She studied Ji Hanyi’s pale face. Though there was a touch of allure to her beauty, with full cheeks and perpetually lustrous eyes, her pallor did not make her look sickly so much as delicately vulnerable, like a pear blossom drenched in rain.
Dressed only in a thin inner robe, Ji Hanyi’s shoulders looked narrow and frail. Her lips were bloodless, and her hair framed her already tiny, palm-sized face, making her appear all the more pitiful.
Old Madam Xie reached out and clasped Ji Hanyi’s hand. Her aged voice carried a heavy sigh. “My dear girl, you’ve suffered.”
Ji Hanyi’s eyes instantly grew hot. Her sweet, oriole-like voice choked as she replied softly, “Old Madam stood up for me. I am grateful, but I also feel guilty.”
“Old Madam should have been enjoying a peaceful life, yet my troubles have caused you so much worry.”
Old Madam Xie lowered her gaze to Ji Hanyi. “Silly child, there’s no need to speak as though we’re strangers. We’re one family. If I don’t take your side, am I supposed to take that outsider’s?”
“Your mother-in-law may not know the difference between family and outsiders, but I do.”
Old Madam Xie continued, “That’s enough of that. Are you feeling any better? Does it still hurt? What did the physician say?”
Only then did Rongchun hasten to answer, “Old Madam, Young Madam took a dose of medicine just now, and the pain has eased somewhat. The physician said she should recover after taking the medicine for two or three days.”
Old Madam Xie breathed a sigh of relief and rolled two prayer beads between her fingers. “As long as you’ll recover, that’s all that matters.”
Then she looked back at Ji Hanyi. “Hanyi, don’t worry. I will see that justice is done. That girl Mingrou absolutely cannot remain in the residence.”
“She’s still unmarried, yet she already has the audacity to resort to such underhanded schemes. Keeping her here would only invite future disaster. Fortunately, nothing truly grave happened to you. I will have her kneel in the ancestral hall for three days to atone for her actions and have her flogged as well. After the New Year, she will be driven out. Whether she lives or dies will have nothing to do with the Xie Residence.”
“Still, it is bitterly cold outside. It would be cruel to throw her out without warning, so I will give her these few days to decide where she intends to go. The Xie Family has already done more than enough for her.”