“Hah, your mother is nothing but a low-class prostitute, not even worthy of tying my mother’s shoes!”
“You really think you’re a proper young master of the Du Residence? How dare you call me brother? Are you worthy?” Another child stomped on the hand of the boy lying on the ground.
“That’s right, who’s your brother!”
“I think you’re only fit to be our dog!!”
“Yes, yes, yes, let him be a little dog.”
“Come on, you dog thing, bark a few times like a dog, then crawl over and kowtow a few times, and we’ll let you go”
“Hahaha, look at how filthy he is. I think he’s even worse than a dog.”
……
Four or five older children surrounded the little boy pinned to the ground, laughing and cursing while occasionally kicking him or stomping on him. With their clear, soft, and adorable childish voices, they uttered the most malicious words in the world.
The little boy in the middle could only keep crying out “brother,” screaming in pain, and crying uncontrollably until he was gasping for breath, his face flushed red.
Gan Cai’er clenched her fists.
Originally, she had no intention of getting involved in other families’ disputes—she would avoid them whenever possible. As the saying goes, family scandals should not be aired in public. If an outsider stumbled upon such matters, it was hard to say what kind of resentment it might provoke.
Gan Cai’er had seen many people bullying others by relying on their numbers. In Qingshui Town, she had done it herself more than once, though it usually ended in nothing more than a scuffle. But such humiliation… she simply couldn’t tolerate it.
“Where did this pack of wild dogs come from, barking so noisily here?”
Gan Cai’er lifted the hem of her skirt and gracefully stepped out from the bamboo grove.
Seeing someone suddenly appear, the younger children panicked and all hid behind the oldest one.
“Who are you? How did you get into my home!” the leader of the children asked fiercely, full of malice.
“Hah, I’m a fairy who descended from the heavens,” Gan Cai’er said with a smile, then casually broke off a bamboo branch and waved it in her hand.
“You, what are you going to do?!” The leader’s expression changed, and he took a few steps back.
“I was just passing by from the heavens when I heard someone here trying to force another to act like a dog, so I descended to investigate. Young master, since you’re so fond of turning people into dogs, why don’t you demonstrate it first?”
As she spoke, Gan Cai’er swung the bamboo branch in her hand, making it whistle through the air, forcing the group of children to retreat several steps.
Xiao Hong stepped forward, quick-eyed and swift-handed, helping the child on the ground to his feet and shielding him behind her.
“How dare you! How dare you speak disrespectfully to me! I’ll definitely have my father punish you!”
“Swish!” “Crack!”
Gan Cai’er swung the bamboo branch in her hand, striking the child who was shouting fiercely.
With summer clothing being thin, she didn’t hold back her strength. The child let out a sharp cry and jumped three steps away.
“You dare hit me? I, I’ll fight you!!!” With that, the child charged forward.
“Come on then, see if I don’t beat you to death! You haven’t even grown all your feathers yet, and you dare to bully others and throw your weight around!”
Gan Cai’er rolled up her sleeves and swung the bamboo branch in her hand with fierce momentum.
The child only charged two steps before daring to go no further.
He could tell that Gan Cai’er really dared to hit him! Even after he announced his family background, she paid no attention. For a moment, he couldn’t gauge her background, his small eyes darting around nervously.
“Fifth Brother, there are guests at home today. This lady is likely an honored guest. If this matter reaches Father…” another child cautiously said.
“Hmph, am I afraid of her? You just wait, I’m going to find my mother right now!”
The leading child turned and ran away.
Seeing him run, the other children also scattered in a flurry, disappearing completely in moments.
“Miss, what should we do now?”
Xiao Hong watched the fleeing children with concern. From the children’s conversation, it was not hard to tell that these children were likely all from the Du family, and clearly, the other side had gone to tattle.
Gan Cai’er threw away the bamboo branch in her hand and remained silent.
In the heat of the moment, she had thrown caution to the wind, ready to vent her anger even if the heavens themselves came down. Now that the children had run off, as she calmed down, she was immediately filled with regret.
How dare she hit the children of Du Zhong’s family?! Du Zhong was the highest authority in all of Danzhou, a dignified fourth-rank official of the court!!
Gan Cai’er was deeply remorseful. She could have used gentler methods to drive those brats away, couldn’t she? Yet she had chosen to resort to violence.
Ah, this impulsive, reckless temper of hers was truly going to be the death of her.
Maybe she should run before anyone came looking for her?
Just then, a faint sobbing sound came from behind her, and Gan Cai’er felt someone tugging at her skirt.
“Ke’er is not a bastard. Ke’er is the child of Daddy and Mommy.”
She looked down and met a pair of large, red, and swollen eyes. The child was sniffling and crying while wiping away tears.
Gan Cai’er could roughly guess what had happened. Seeing the child’s pitiful and disheveled state, her heart clenched, and an indescribable ache welled up inside her.
She suddenly thought of her own son, also a concubine-born child in a prominent noble family. She wondered if, after she left, he was being bullied like this in the Weiguo Duke’s Mansion.
On the Lantern Festival in the twenty-fifth year of Jinghe, Meng Beihai did not wait for his mother but instead encountered his long-buried father.
“What have you been doing sitting here all day?” Meng Yu lowered his gaze, looking at his eldest son sitting in a pile of weeds by the wall.
This was a neglected little vegetable garden in the Weiguo Duke’s Mansion, long unattended.
“Father, Mother did not commit adultery,” Meng Beihai said firmly, his gaze fixed on Meng Yu, answering a question that hadn’t been asked.
“I know.”
“Then can you bring Mother back to the mansion?” Meng Beihai’s eyes suddenly lit up.
Meng Yu remained silent for a moment before saying, “Come with me.”
Meng Beihai glanced back at the wall, hesitating.
Mother had said she would bring him sugar paintings today. If he left, what would happen if Mother couldn’t find him?
Meng Yu noticed his hesitation and guessed he was waiting for someone.
“Wenjian, guard this place. If there is any unusual movement, report it immediately,” Meng Yu ordered.
Wenjian was a guard personally chosen by Meng Yu for Meng Beihai, having been by his side since he was three years old.
Meng Beihai finally followed Meng Yu to the study in the outer courtyard, looking back every few steps.
“Bring him in,” Meng Yu said sternly after taking his seat.
Shortly after, two guards escorted a tall man inside. Upon seeing Meng Yu, the man fell to his knees with a thud.
At the sight of this man, intense hatred flashed in Meng Beihai’s eyes! If looks could kill, this man would have been torn to shreds a thousand times over!
It was him—the one who had publicly accused Mother of having an affair with Father’s guard, insinuating that his sister might not be Father’s child. It was because of him that Mother and his sister were driven out of the Weiguo Duke’s Mansion!
“Zhuo San, what did I say before sending you back?” Meng Yu’s voice was calm and steady.
“You ordered me to protect the concubine’s safety,” Zhuo San replied, his voice trembling.
“And where is the concubine now?”
Zhuo San shrank back, not daring to answer.
“Zhuo San, where is Zhuo Wu then?” Meng Yu asked slowly.
“Master, spare my life! Spare me! It wasn’t that I deliberately framed the concubine and Zhuo Wu for having an affair. It was the main wife who threatened my wife and daughter. I had no choice!” Zhuo San lay prostrate on the ground, weeping and begging for mercy.
Meng Yu let out a light chuckle, stood up, and walked over. He stopped before Zhuo San, looking down at the kneeling man from above. Placing a foot on the man’s head, he said softly:
“Zhuo San, have you forgotten that you are a soldier, and the order I gave you was a military command?”
“Just because your family was threatened, you could frame your comrade and disobey orders?”
“Was it truly a threat, or did you think I was dead and no one could punish you anymore, while the main wife could offer you more?”
Zhuo San was drenched in cold sweat, trembling uncontrollably like a sieve, unable to utter a single word.
If he had known the Duke was still alive, he would never have dared to falsely accuse the concubine of having an affair with Zhuo Wu, even if beaten to death.
Meng Yu drew the sword from his waist, raised it, and swung it down toward the head beneath his foot. The motion was swift, seamless, and decisive.
With a “thud,” a spray of blood mist erupted from Zhuo San’s neck, splattering across half the study.
A head rolled “thump-thump-thump” across the floor, eyes wide open as if unable to believe it had died just like that.
“Military orders are as unyielding as mountains. Those who disobey shall be executed.”
Meng Yu spoke coldly and calmly to those wide-open eyes before slowly sheathing his sword.
Meng Beihai was so horrified that he collapsed onto the floor. He covered his mouth tightly with his hands to keep himself from screaming.
Meng Yu glanced at him and said calmly, “The Weiguo Duke’s Mansion has guarded Da Yong’s borders for generations. As the heir, you must grow accustomed to bloodshed and killing.”
“I am not the heir.”
“If I say you are, then you are.”
Meng Beihai lowered his head and remained silent.
“Who were you waiting for, guarding that abandoned courtyard?” Meng Yu asked.
“For Mother. She said she would come to see me on the Lantern Festival and bring me sugar paintings.”
Meng Yu fell silent for a long while before standing up and saying, “Come, Father will take you to buy sugar paintings.”
“No, I want to wait for Mother.”
“Your mother won’t be coming.”
“You’re lying! Mother will come! Every time she promises me, she always comes!”
Meng Beihai glared at Meng Yu with anger and near-hatred, his fierce expression as if demanding Meng Yu take back his words.
Before Meng Yu’s eyes flashed the image of the dilapidated house in the southern part of the city. Inside, his memorial tablet was enshrined, wiped clean, with three burnt-out incense sticks in the incense burner.
He knew something had happened to Gan Cai’er. Only a fool like Lan Tingzhou would deceive himself, saying she had simply hidden again because she didn’t want to be found. He even claimed she had moved many times to avoid him.
But Meng Yu knew that his Nannan would never abandon his memorial tablet, no matter what.
He had heard that the blizzard on New Year’s Eve had buried many people, and all of them had been thrown into the mass graves. He had searched the mass graves for many days, but the corpses were piled like mountains—too many, far too many.
He couldn’t find his Nannan.
Perhaps it was better not to find her. At least there was still some faint hope.
If only he had returned a few days earlier.
Meng Yu restrained Meng Beihai, who was on the verge of erupting.
“Let’s go, I’ll wait with you.”
Guogong Mansion, Cuihan Courtyard
“Madam, madam, something terrible has happened!” Mei Wanyin’s head maid, Qiao Que, rushed in frantically.
“What matter is worth all this shouting? Truly lacking in decorum!” Nanny Wu scolded sharply.
“Madam, the Duke has killed Zhuo San!”
With a clatter, the teacup in Mei Wanyin’s hand fell to the ground, shattering into pieces.
…
Meanwhile, at Lan Fu, the eldest daughter Lan Fu was also making a fuss, refusing to go out to see the lantern festival.
The Lantern Festival in Da Yong had always been lively. On this day, every household would hang lanterns and decorations, and a grand lantern festival would be held in the city. Once night fell, everyone would invite each other out to enjoy the festivities.
“There are lanterns tonight. Doesn’t Fu’er want to go see them?”
“Hmm, no.” Lan Fu shook her head vigorously.
Shen Yunxi found it strange. In previous years during the Lantern Festival, Lan Fu would run out the door with her little arms and legs even before it was fully dark. This year was truly odd.
“Then what does Fu’er want to do?”
“I want to play in Xiao Huayuan.”
Shen Yunxi was even more puzzled now. Xiao Huayuan was pitch dark at this hour—what could there be to play? Besides, even if it was fun, she had already played there all day today.
“Mother, I just want to play in Xiao Huayuan Please let me go”
Lan Fu cooed in a childish, spoiled tone, blinking her big, watery eyes as she looked at Shen Yunxi.
Seeing the fair, soft, and utterly spoiled little girl, Shen Yunxi’s heart melted completely. How could she refuse? So, she had a few more lanterns lit in Xiao Huayuan and assigned two reliable nannies to watch over her.
Lan Fu happily ran off to Xiao Huayuan again. She kicked shuttlecocks, played hopscotch, and swung on the swing. Later, when she got tired, she squatted down to count ants…
As she played, she occasionally glanced once or twice toward the nearby rockery.
Slowly, she grew anxious.
Why hasn’t Mother come yet? If she doesn’t come soon, the Lantern Festival will be over. On New Year’s Eve, Mother came to see her very early, but today she had waited all day, and Mother still hadn’t come.
“Drip,” “drip,” a few teardrops fell.