Chapter 29

“Enough, you don’t need to say anymore!” Old Madam Xiao interrupted Su Jinyuan before she could finish speaking.

“Grandmother…” Su Jinyuan whispered, her fingers tightening slightly.

With a stern face, Old Madam Xiao said, “I only want to know—did Little Sixth find you, or did you come back on your own?”

Su Jinyuan pursed her lips. “I came back by myself.”

“Then, on that day, did you really intend to elope?”

“No!” Shaking her head, Su Jinyuan replied, “I have a sense of honor and appreciate the Xiao family’s kindness toward me. Even if I truly did not wish to marry the eldest son, I would never choose to disgrace the Xiao family and my father in such a way.”

She never truly intended to run away from her marriage in both her past and present lives. Even if she did not want this union, she would have spoken up well in advance rather than leaving on the wedding day and causing a scene. Had it not been for her aunt’s coaxing, or later for Lu Zhuo’s seduction—if she had not been so naïve in her youth as to underestimate the treacherous nature of people’s hearts, if she had not believed Lu Zhuo’s words, if she had not been flustered by the fear of returning to the Xiao family and her uncle’s reproach—and later, if she had not been humiliated and lost her honor and fear coming back—in her previous life, she would never have taken that step.

Old Madam Xiao stared into her eyes. Su Jinyuan’s gaze was open and unguarded.

Old Madam Xiao suddenly burst into laughter. “That will do then.”

“Grandmother…” Su Jinyuan began again.

Ignoring her anxious tone, the old lady took a handkerchief, soaked it in hot water, wrung it out, and gently applied it to Su Jinyuan. Then she asked, “Do you know what I used to do before I married into the Xiao family?”

Su Jinyuan shook her head honestly.

“Do you remember that Black Cloud Camp I told you about?”

Su Jinyuan was momentarily stunned.

“I was the head of that place.”

Silence fell momentarily as the girl’s eyes widened in astonishment, her face filled with shock. Old Madam Xiao couldn’t help but laugh. “When I was six years old, my adoptive father picked me up from a pile of corpses and brought me to Black Cloud Camp. I spent more than ten years, along with him, pillaging and living as a bandit until I met Xi’er’s grandfather, at which time the imperial court granted us amnesty.”

“When Xi’er’s grandfather married me, all the high-ranking officials in the capital mocked him, saying that he had married a lowly female bandit. Yet didn’t I, too, endure decades of hardships with him?”

Old Madam’s features were gentle, yet carried an unrestrained spirit.

“The Xiao family has never been a stuffy place; I am different from others. I care not for what you did in the past—only for the present. From the moment you choose to return and face life and death with the Xiao family, venturing to see Little Sixth, you become one of the Xiao family. If you call me ‘Grandmother,’ I will protect you.”

Su Jinyuan stared blankly at Old Madam Xiao, looking into her eyes which were full of acceptance, while the darkness and guilt she had long hidden surged up like a tide. Abruptly, her eyes filled with tears, and she clumsily covered her face with her sleeve.

Old Madam Xiao reached out and wrapped her arms around her. “The Xiao family still has its Grandmother. Don’t be afraid—Grandmother is here.”

Leaning into the old lady’s embrace, Su Jinyuan couldn’t help but shed tears. She had never before experienced such warmth—as if she were completely immersed in warm water—so much so that she instinctively buried her face in the old lady’s shoulder and sniffled.

“Grandmother…”

…

After applying medicine to Su Jinyuan and coaxing her to sleep, Old Madam Xiao left.

Su Jinyuan slept soundly; in her dreams, the painful deceptions of her previous life were absent. Instead, she dreamed of the days when her father was still alive—of him carrying her on his shoulder through the streets as she watched street performers and listened to the laughter of the crowds.

When she awoke, daylight had already broken.

Clutching her quilt, Su Jinyuan recalled the candied haws her father had bought for her in her dream—so large and sweet that she couldn’t help but smile dreamily.

“Young Madam, you’re awake?” Xing’er entered carrying a bronze basin and immediately saw her holding her quilt with a silly smile. “Young Madam, did you dream of something wonderful? You look so happy!”

Su Jinyuan chuckled softly but felt too embarrassed to admit that she had dreamt of eating candied haws. She simply shook her head with a vague, casual reply before getting up to freshen up. “Have the madams gotten up yet?”

“They got up early.”

Xing’er reached out and fixed her hair. “Old Madam practices martial arts every morning without fail; for years now, the Eldest Madam and the Second Madam also rose early. They’re already downstairs, tallying the storeroom with Steward Deng.”

“By the way, the Second Madam said that when you wake up, she’ll come over for breakfast and, along with that, update you on the mansion’s affairs.”

Upon hearing this, Su Jinyuan quickly asked, “Then why didn’t you wake me up?”

Xing’er replied, “Old Madam instructed me last night not to wake you, and the Second Madam also said to wait until you wake up naturally.”

Hearing that, Su Jinyuan felt a warm glow in her heart.

Xing’er then styled Su Jinyuan’s hair into a simple spiral bun and even selected a jade hairpin to insert into her hair. When it came time to dress, however, Su Jinyuan did not wear the bright yellow gown that Xing’er had picked for her; instead, she chose a plain-colored long skirt and went without any accessories.

Jintang Courtyard was some distance away from Yuqing Hall. When Su Jinyuan was leading Xing’er over, they passed by a covered corridor and overheard a quarrel.

“Mother… I won’t go…”

“Why won’t you go? Qi Lanzhi has already returned to the Qi family. What are you still doing in the Xiao family? Don’t you know what the Xiao family’s situation is now?”

“Mother…”

“Shut up!”

“I know you and Yunxin were close, but he’s already dead. Are you really going to stay in the Xiao family to keep your chastity for him, even if it means walking into death with the Xiao family? Qiu Wen already told me that the old madam gave you a release letter. Since she’s willing to let you go, then come back with me!”

While Su Jinyuan was listening, the two arguing began walking toward where she stood. She tried to avoid them, but it was too late—she bumped straight into Huo Rou, who was being pulled by a middle-aged woman.

Huo Rou hadn’t expected to run into Su Jinyuan. Her face flushed with embarrassment for a brief moment before she agitatedly told Madam Huo: “Mother, I’ve already said I won’t go, and I burned that release letter long ago.”

“If I marry Fourth Brother, then I’m a member of the Xiao family. Even though Fourth Brother is dead, I must keep the Xiao family in his honor…”

Smack!

Madam Huo turned and slapped her, shouting angrily, “If you keep honoring the Xiao family, have you ever thought about your father and me?”

Madam Huo shouted, “You’re so wrapped up in your own feelings that you never consider the Huo family. Do you really want your father and me to lose our daughter in our middle years—like white-haired elders bidding farewell to a black-haired child?!”

Huo Rou’s eyes reddened as she stubbornly declared, “But Fourth Brother is gone—and Big Brother and Third Brother too. If I leave, then what about mother-in-law? What about grandmother?!”

“The Xiao family is down to only a few of us now; but you, your father, and your older siblings will be dutiful.”

Madam Huo’s voice, laced with anger, rose, “You wretched child—if you stay in the Xiao family, you’ll bring ruin upon your father and me…”

“Don’t worry— I won’t burden the family, nor will I drag you and father into it. A married daughter is like spilled water; you can just consider that you never had me as your daughter…”

“You!!”

Madam Huo trembled with fury as she raised her hand, intending to strike Huo Rou. But Huo Rou, eyes red yet unwavering, did not retreat at all.

Seeing her daughter’s stubborn expression, Madam Huo’s tears began streaming uncontrollably, and though her hand paused, she continued bitterly, “Fine, you’re certainly stubborn. I really have raised a good daughter.”

“Since you insist on keeping the Xiao family, then from now on, don’t you dare say you’re a member of my Huo family!”