“I may be old, but I’m not blind. I see right from wrong as clearly as in a mirror. Whatever schemes you and Si Qianzhi have brewing, crush them now.”
“My dowry has supported the Si Family for forty years – did you truly think you could scheme against it? Whatever I say goes: if I declare it for someone, they’ll receive it; if I deny someone, they won’t get a single coin. Do you doubt me?”
Old Madam Si’s expression remained unchanged, yet her words carried the weight of mountains.
As the daughter of the capital’s wealthiest merchant family, with generations of business acumen behind her, how could she have managed her dowry for forty years without considerable shrewdness?
Did they truly believe her wealth came easily?
“Daughter-in-law understands.” However unwilling.
Lady Si could only swallow her bitterness like broken teeth with blood, the pain and suffocation piercing through her chest.
Her venomous gaze fell upon Si He, yet she remained powerless.
“Understood? Then take your people and get out.” Old Madam Si said with a cold face.
Lady Si glared at Si He and her daughter, her face contorted with rage as she bit her lip fiercely.
Old Madam Si demanded sharply, “Must I teach you how to leave? Answer me – yes or no! Don’t make me instruct you in basic decorum!”
“Yes, your daughter-in-law takes her leave.”
Lady Si gathered all her attendants and departed.
Upon reaching the doorway, humiliated tears streamed down uncontrollably.
“Madam, there’s no need for tears,” a maid quickly offered a handkerchief, soothing softly. “The Old Madam must be under some spell – she’ll come around in time.”
“That’s not why I’m crying.” Lady Si’s sobs escaped against her will.
“I weep because the daughter I carried for ten months and nearly died birthing has become the sharpest blade piercing my heart.”
“With my fertile constitution, I bore three sons and one daughter. Had delivering Si He not damaged my health, I could have had more children.”
“When I learned she’d been taken to Su Family Village, I immediately sent people to bring her home to enjoy prosperity.”
“Yet she disrespects me for the sake of those kidnapper foster parents.”
“Now she even hates and harms me. Tell me – was giving birth to her a mistake from the start?”
If only the child born that day had been Si Yao instead.
Everyone in the family adores Si Yao.
Had her biological daughter been Si Yao, none of this would have happened to the Si Family.
Lady Si felt utterly heartbroken and regretful.
“Madam, you still have Miss Si Yao, don’t you? If she saw you like this, she would certainly defend you,” the maid continued.
Si Yao had now become a Female General, her rank only slightly below the Master’s. However circumstances unfolded, she could support her mother.
“You’re right. Yao Yao would hate to see me cry. My devotion to her was never misplaced. General Su will soon enter the palace for the Bestowal ceremony. Accompany me quickly to prepare my attire – I must meet my Yao Yao at the palace gates.”
At the mention of Si Yao, Lady Si’s eyes filled with boundless pride and affection.
The maid smiled gently. “Very well.”
It appeared Miss Si Yao would forever remain the only daughter in her mistress’s heart.
In the Charity Hall.
Si Ye, still kneeling on the floor wailing dramatically, looked bewildered at his grandmother.
“Um, Grandmother, what about me? Should I leave too?”
If Grandmother ordered him out, he’d immediately scoop up Qing Bao and run.
After all, Qing Bao was so tiny, about the size of a small stool.
“Did you just yell at Qing Bao?” Old Madam Si asked sternly.
Si Ye waved his hand dismissively. “No, no, I’m begging for her favor—she doesn’t even want to acknowledge me as her uncle anymore.”
He absolutely had to preserve his own life.
“Grandmother, please put in a good word for me with Qing Bao. Your grandson is still young—I don’t want to meet Yama yet.”
Si Ye looked ready to burst into tears.
Old Madam Si sighed in exasperation, giving him a light kick. “I can’t persuade her. Ask your own blood sister.”
She deliberately emphasized the words “blood sister.”
Si Ye turned to Si He with an expression full of awkwardness and distress.
“Si He, please stop being angry with me. I’ll find a way to repay your silver, alright?”
In the minds of him and his brothers, Si He was always poor and particularly greedy for money—willing to do anything for it.
He’d only borrowed five hundred taels from her, and now she was giving him the cold shoulder.
It wasn’t as if he wasn’t going to pay her back.
“Second Brother, you still haven’t realized where the rift between us comes from. When you finally understand, then come talk to me. Grandmother, I don’t want to see him.”
Si He shook her head helplessly and turned to support the old woman.
Old Madam Si glared at Si Ye. “Did you hear that? Get out of here now!”
Si Ye hung his large head low, lay on the ground, and rolled over.
He actually rolled away.
Qing Bao found it amusing and pattered over to give him another kick.
Second Uncle rolled away even faster.
Like kicking a ball.
Si He helped the old madam back to her bed, her nose tingling with emotion. “You’ve just recovered from your serious illness, and yet I need you to stand up for me…”
She felt deeply unfilial.
“Silly girl, you’re my only granddaughter. Who else would I help but you?” The old woman stroked Si He’s face, her expression full of tenderness.
Her own granddaughter, who had been drifting outside for over ten years, was still suffering grievances after returning home.
If she hadn’t been constantly ill and somewhat powerless, she would have rushed over long ago to bring He’er under her wing and raise her herself.
Already feeling she had failed her, the old woman was even more remorseful.
Si He knew the old madam genuinely cared for her, and her heart warmed considerably.
“Then Grandmother must truly rest well, so I won’t worry,” Si He said.
The old madam nodded, leaning halfway against the bed. “This time, it’s all thanks to Qing Bao that I could see you one last time.”
She had already had one foot through the Gates of Hell.
The underworld spirits said she had gained ten more years of life and specifically sent her back.
When she asked, she learned that Qing Bao had contacted Yama, truly granting her ten more years to live.
But.
A complex emotion flickered in the old woman’s eyes.
Those extra years came from her own son.
For a moment, she didn’t know whether to be happy or sad, feeling that the son she had raised for so long was like an ungrateful wolf.
“After this ordeal, Grandmother feels they don’t deserve anything of mine.”
With that, the old woman took out a small box from under her pillow.
Inside were a key and a jade pendant.
She picked up the jade pendant and placed it in Si He’s hand. “He’er, my dowry is currently managed by my maiden family. This jade pendant is the proof. Take it—I’m entrusting everything to you.”
Si He dared not accept such a valuable item and tried to return it. “I can’t, Grandmother. You can’t give this to me.”
The old woman pushed it back into her arms and continued, “If you don’t need it, what about Qing Bao? Can you bear to let her drift without support, just like you did?”
She had heard that there was another child in the General’s Residence, cherished and supported by the whole family.
Qing Bao had nothing, and she would inevitably be looked down upon.
This jade pendant represented the lifelong effort she had devoted to managing and operating family assets.
If not enough to rival a nation’s wealth, it was more than sufficient to purchase the entire Si Family.
Qing Bao looked at the jade pendant and openly reached out to accept it. “Since I’m taking your jade pendant, you must promise me one more thing.”
Old Madam Si was completely bewildered.
Was this how it worked?
You accept my jade pendant, yet demand I promise you something?
This was simply adorable.
The elderly woman was amused into laughter. “Alright, as long as Qing Bao asks, your great-grandmother will agree to anything.”
“Actually, it’s very simple.” Qing Bao tilted her head and asked with utmost seriousness, “Great-grandmother, could you tell Qing Bao where my mother’s adoptive parents are?”