Chapter 26

“Afterwards, we went to see that doctor, who said that the Sixth Young Master’s leg injury could be saved—though he dared not operate too obviously and could only temporarily secure the leg bone, while his other wounds were untreatable.”

Su Jinyuan pursed her lips tightly. She knew all too well that Xie Yunyan’s injuries were incurable; if he were to be completely healed, Luo Yu and Duke Yu would surely become suspicious. In that case, Yang Hong would be exposed, and Xie Yunyan’s fate would be even worse.

“Since we can’t get into the prison, just keep an eye on that doctor.”

“Yes.”

Su Jinyuan stood for a moment before letting Xiang Lei escort her back to the General’s Mansion.

Once back at the temporary residence in Yuqing Hall, the injury on her neck drew an exclamation from the servant Xing’er.

“Young Madam, your neck…”

“I’m fine.”

Xing’er was a servant of the General’s Mansion, and Yuqing Hall was also the former residence of Xiao Yunxi. Ever since the Old Madam had acknowledged her status, she had moved here, and everyone in the household had accordingly changed their forms of address.

Su Jinyuan instructed Xing’er, “Go boil some eggs for me to compress, and also, do not mention my injury to anyone—lest Grandmother and the others become worried.”

Xing’er nodded in agreement and hurried off.

Standing before the mirror, Su Jinyuan ran her fingers over her neck, where a large purple bruise spread, complete with clearly visible fingerprints. When she reached out to touch it, she gasped sharply in pain and let out a low curse.

Qi Sheng’s strike had been truly ruthless.

But it was all ultimately worth it. Persuading Qi Sheng to intervene on behalf of the Xiao family was far better than leaving them to fight alone. Besides, although Qi Sheng was naturally cautious and self-interested, had the situation looked dire, he might very well have abandoned the Xiao family. Yet as long as he had taken these actions and met with those people, it was tantamount to handing over Prince Duan’s mansion’s leverage to her. Even if the matter had originally been unrelated to Prince Duan’s mansion, once Qi Sheng made that trip, the mansion would be irrevocably tied to the Xiao family—there would be no escape.

“You are truly despicable.” Su Jinyuan touched the marks on her neck and said to the reflection of herself—who now looked more than ten years younger—”You are truly despicable.”

After finishing her remark, the woman in the mirror grinned broadly. What did being despicable matter? After all, she wasn’t exactly a paragon of virtue; her concern lay solely with the well-being of the Xiao family. As long as she could extricate them from their predicament and rescue Xie Yunyan, she didn’t mind being even more despicable.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Xing’er was busy fiddling with a few eggs. As she carried them out, she ran straight into Eldest Madam Xiao at the doorway, who was accompanied by Third Young Madam Wei Wanyun.

Xing’er was startled and quickly bowed, saying, “Madam, Third Young Madam.”

Wei Wanyun ordered her to stand, “I have come with Mother to fetch some of our eldest brother’s belongings. And where is the eldest sister-in-law?”

“The Eldest Young Madam is inside.”

After saying that, Xing’er hurriedly added, “I’ll go in and call the Eldest Young Madam.”

Madam Xiao still seethed inwardly over Su Jinyuan’s runaway marriage and recalled how Xiao Yunxi had been so humiliated by the Su family’s words about her eloping. With a cold, stern expression, she said, “This is my son’s residence—why should I have to relay messages with an outsider every time I enter?”

“Mother…”

Supported by Wei Wanyun on her arm, Eldest Madam Xiao took a deep breath and replied, “You don’t need to look for her; I’ll just fetch a few items and then leave.”

Xing’er stood aside, visibly frightened.

Eldest Madam Xiao led Wei Wanyun directly to Xiao Yunxi’s study. After retrieving some items, as they passed by Xiao Yunxi’s quarters, they noticed Su Jinyuan leaning against the windowed couch, sleeping with her eyes closed.

The girl was still wearing the Confucian robe she had donned earlier for going out; most of the scars on her cheeks had faded, but one still marred her jaw. Her lips were pale, and the area under her eyes bruised dark, and she seemed to sleep very restlessly—when her brows furrowed, her hand clenched into a tight fist, and the knuckles turned white.

“Why is the eldest sister-in-law sleeping here?”

Wei Wanyun looked at Xing’er and said, “Although it’s already April, the weather is still rather cool. Sleeping like this, she might catch a chill. Why don’t you cover your young madam with a garment?”

Xing’er hastily replied, “I went to the kitchen to boil eggs; I didn’t expect the young madam to fall asleep…”

“Boiling eggs?”

Only then did Wei Wanyun notice that Xing’er was holding a cloth bag containing a dozen or so round, plump eggs. “What are you boiling so many eggs for?”

“N-no, nothing…” Xing’er murmured, quickly hanging her head.

Seeing her guilty look, Eldest Madam Xiao immediately grew suspicious and asked, “Why are you hesitating like that? Have you done something unseemly that you can’t even explain clearly?”

“I haven’t!”

With the General’s Mansion in turmoil recently and servants leaving one after another, timid Xing’er was so frightened by the questioning that she immediately knelt down. Forgetting Su Jinyuan’s earlier instructions, she said quickly,

“Yes, yes, the Eldest Young Madam was injured. She left the mansion a while ago, and when she returned, she had acquired some additional wounds.”

“Because the Eldest Young Madam was afraid that the Old Madam and Eldest Madam would worry, she forbade me to mention it to anyone—she only told me to go boil some eggs for compressing.”

At these words, Eldest Madam Xiao’s face instantly darkened. Before Wei Wanyun could speak further, she quickly strode over in that direction. When she got closer, she indeed saw several deep marks on Su Jinyuan’s neck—marks that resembled man’s fingerprints, with even one trace along the edge of her collarbone and faint red smudges on her shoulder.

“Su Jinyuan!!”

Su Jinyuan was jolted awake from her sleep. As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw Eldest Madam Xiao standing outside the window. She quickly regained her senses and sprang up, calling, “Mother…”

“What’s going on?” Eldest Madam Xiao demanded, pointing at the bruises on her neck.

For a moment stunned, Su Jinyuan replied, “Nothing, I just accidentally brushed against something…”

“For a mere graze to leave marks like these—do you take me for a fool?” Eldest Madam Xiao snapped.

Eldest Madam Xiao still vividly remembered Su Jinyuan’s elopement and, deep in her heart, had long regarded her as unworthy. Now, with all these bruises on her that she had gone to such lengths to hide, Eldest Madam Xiao’s thoughts immediately took a lewd turn.

“It’s fortunate that the Old Madam claimed you came back to help the Xiao family—but this is how you help us? Mingling with others and coming back flaunting these marks. Do you even have any shame?!”

At that, something on Su Jinyuan’s shoulder had been tugged down, exposing the marks there. Only then did she notice that earlier, while being pressed against the rockery, her injuries had been cut and resembled scratch marks. In alarm, she cried out, “Mother, I didn’t…”

Smack!!

Eldest Madam Xiao hurled a slap at her, her eyes red with fury.

“Don’t call me ‘Mother’!”

“You might fool the Old Madam, but you can’t fool me. Your elopement made Yunxi a laughingstock, and now that you’ve returned, you still dare to fraternize with riffraff—do you really think everyone in the Xiao family is dead?”

“If you really can’t stand your loneliness, then get out of the Xiao family and go find a man. Don’t stay here to disgrace our name!”

The blow made Su Jinyuan turn her head sharply, and the corner of her mouth split open, letting blood trickle out.

“Mother!” Wei Wanyun gasped in shock, quickly stepping forward to intervene. “Sister-in-law is not like that—you must have misunderstood…”

“Don’t call her ‘Sister-in-law.’ A woman like her doesn’t deserve my Xi’er!”

Su Jinyuan pressed her lips tightly as she watched Eldest Madam Xiao’s furious tirade. Then, without a word, she turned and left, standing silently by the window with the bitter taste of blood at the corner of her mouth.

Worriedly, Wei Wanyun tried again, “Sister-in-law, Mother didn’t mean it; she just misunderstood…”

“I’m fine,” Su Jinyuan replied. She licked the corner of her mouth to wipe away the blood and said, “It was my fault to begin with—I won’t hold her responsible.”