Five years later.
The Xia residence in Anseong was brightly lit and decorated, filled with a festive atmosphere.
The groom, Xia Shimei, wore a bright red official robe, so handsome that one could not look away. Looking at the bride sitting on the wedding bed, the hand holding the wedding scale trembled slightly, and a scene of Madam Lin marrying him inexplicably appeared in his mind.
"Groom, hurry and lift the wedding veil!"
"The groom must be excited, right? His hand is trembling!"
Listening to the low teasing voices of the old women and maidservants by his ear, Madam Fang, with the wedding veil over her head, felt ripples in her heart.
"Master, something terrible has happened! The young lady is gone!"
Xia Si ran in a panic to the door of the bridal chamber, and after shouting at the top of his lungs, he realized something was wrong. Today was the master's grand wedding day, and before the veil had even been lifted, he had come running over to yell like this. If the master went to look for the young lady, how would the new wife let him off?
Xia Shi'an paused with the wedding scale in his hand, quickly lifted the wedding veil, and the anger on Madam Fang's face, which she had not yet had time to hide, was exposed for everyone to see. However, she quickly concealed it again. Fortunately, everyone's attention was on Xia Shi'an's face, so no one noticed her.
And Xia Shi'an had even less time to look. He left behind a single sentence, "Madam, wait for me! I will be back soon!" and then went out the door with Xia Si.
The shy and timid expression Madam Fang had just put on, as if changing faces, froze on her face. The handkerchief in her hand was about to be wrung to pieces. She gritted her silver teeth several times before suppressing the full fury in her heart.
"Mama Li, go take a look." The shrewd-looking old woman beside her answered and flew off as if on wings.
"What is going on?" Xia Shi'an asked as he walked.
"Mama Lin said that since morning, the young lady has neither eaten nor drunk anything and has kept herself shut in her room. Just now, a maidservant discovered that she is missing. Mama Lin had people search the front and back courtyards but could not find her. She did not dare conceal it from the master, so this small one rushed into the bridal chamber." Xia Si spoke while stealing glances at Xia Shi'an's expression.
Xia Shi'an was irritated. This little girl was throwing a fit at him. Ever since she learned that he was going to remarry, she had begun to sulk. Her temper was stubborn, just like her mother's, impervious to reason, truly a headache.
"Arrange more people and search carefully again!" Xia Si answered and ran off.
Xia Shi'an paused for a moment. He thought of turning back to the bridal chamber, but his heart was too vexed at the moment. He turned his steps and walked toward the garden. When he was almost at the small lake, low sobbing reached his ears.
"He'er?" Xia Shi'an called cautiously. Turning past the pavilion, he saw a small figure crouching on the tree roots by the lake, hugging her knees. Who else could it be but Xia Qinghe?
"Why are you so worrisome? Do you not know that the whole residence is in an uproar? Hurry back!" As soon as Xia Shi'an saw her, the irritation in his chest found an outlet, and he scolded her head-on.
"Hmph! Mother has only been dead for half a year, and Father cannot wait to marry a new wife! You are ungrateful!" As soon as she heard her father's voice, Xia Qinghe's small body shot up with a "whoosh." Her angry, puffed-up face still bore tear stains.
"You are young and small, what do you understand? Hurry back!"
"I am already five years old, I understand everything. One only sees the new person smile, not hears the old person weep. When you married my mother, it was because you took a fancy to her family background. You were not worthy of her at all! And still—"
"Smack!" A slap landed on her face, and Xia Qinghe's small body immediately fell to the ground.
"You ungrateful girl! It seems I've been too lenient with you! If you refuse to return, I'll have someone drag you back!" Xia Shimei finished, flicked his sleeves, and turned to leave, preparing to send someone to bring Xia Qinghe back by force.
The young girl lay on the ground, her face burning with pain, and her heart aching even more. She had known all along that she shouldn't have argued with him like this—it was pointless. Her mother had told her long ago to just live her own life quietly, but she just couldn't accept it!
A soft sound of footsteps reached her ears. She thought it was Xia Shimei returning, and a flicker of hope rose in her heart. But when she looked up, it was an unfamiliar old woman—none other than Li Mama, who had secretly followed Xia Shimei.
Li Mama looked at her with a cold sneer. "Young miss, you're quite the schemer for such a tender age. The new madam has barely crossed the threshold, and you've already stirred up trouble. What good days lie ahead for you now?!"
"Where did you crawl out from, you filthy thing, daring to speak to me like that?! What new madam? She's nothing but a lowly concubine's daughter!" Xia Qinghe scrambled to her feet, venting all her disappointment and grief onto the woman.
"How dare you speak of the madam that way! I'll tear your mouth apart!" Li Mama, tall and sturdy, lunged at Xia Qinghe to grab her. Xia Qinghe was already standing by the lake, and her small frame couldn't withstand Li Mama's shove—she was pushed straight into the small lake.
"Ah! Help…!"
Li Mama's heart raced with panic, then she glanced around—no one in sight! She fled like the wind.
By the time the servants brought people from Qinghe Courtyard to the lakeside and fished her out, Xia Qinghe was already unconscious. Everyone assumed she had accidentally fallen into the water. They quickly sent for a physician and notified Xia Shimei.
In the bridal chamber, Li Mama whispered a few words into Fang Shi's ear. Fang Shi's expression shifted briefly, then returned to normal.
"Send someone to keep an eye on it." Li Mama nodded in acknowledgment, then beckoned a clever young maid over and gave her a few instructions.
Xia Shimei composed himself and returned to the doorway, but Xia Si came running up again.
"Master, it's bad, it's bad! The young miss has fallen into the water!"
"What happened? Wasn't she fine just now?" Xia Shimei stood with one foot inside the door and one out, the calm he had just regained replaced by rising anger.
"She may have slipped in by accident. By the time we got there, we couldn't find her, but we heard a splash in the lake. When we pulled her out, she was already unconscious!"
"Have you called for a physician?!"
"We've already sent someone!"
At that moment, Fang Shi rose and walked to Xia Shimei's side. "Master, why don't we go see her together? The young miss's health comes first."
Xia Shimei looked at her, confirming he saw no displeasure on her face, and felt a pang of guilt at her thoughtfulness. After all, today was supposed to be her happy day, yet it had been fraught with troubles. "Madam, I've put you through hardship."
"Master, what are you saying! We are one as husband and wife. The young miss has lost her mother, so as her stepmother, it is my duty to care for her."
Xia Shimei took her hand. "With you here, madam, my burden is much lighter. But He'er has been spoiled. I'll have to trouble you to be patient with her from now on!"
Fang Shi smiled innocently. "Rest assured, husband. I will treat her as my own flesh and blood."
In Qinghe Courtyard, the physician was using needles to stimulate Xia Qinghe's acupoints, making her expel the water from her chest and abdomen. She slowly came to, only to see Xia Shimei entering hand in hand with Fang Shi.
Her eyes instantly reddened, and she pointed at Madam Fang with her finger, coughing uncontrollably in agitation. "Cough, cough… it must be… you, you vixen! Cough, cough… you pushed me! You're so vicious, you'll go to hell!"
Madam Fang's face immediately turned pale and then flushed, and a mist quickly welled up in her eyes.
"How can you be so vicious, speaking of your mother like that! At such a young age and already so ill-mannered!" Xia Shimei, seeing her accuse Madam Fang without a second thought, felt anger rise in his heart again.
"Father, you… cough, cough… have a new love and forget the old, and now your daughter is about to be framed, and you still shield that woman! Cough, cough…" Xia Qinghe, having fallen into the water, was frightened, angry, and panicked. Seeing her own father bring this woman to provoke her and refuse to believe her words, her fury overwhelmed her, and she spat out a mouthful of blood with a "wow."