The Third Old Madam still wore a faint smile, yet it did not reach her eyes. A hint of coldness lay beneath it.
Xie Shuning pressed herself against Xie Yuanmao and pleaded softly, “Father, why?”
“Mother…” Before the Third Old Madam, Xie Yuanmao hesitated. He did not pick Xie Shuning up; instead, she clung tightly to his trouser leg as he addressed the Third Old Madam in a low voice.
The Third Old Madam merely smiled and said nothing.
Madam Chen, however, was not nearly so patient. Twisting her handkerchief, her eyes reddened at once. “Sixth Master, am I truly not worthy of hearing Brother Yi call me ‘Mother’?”
She knew perfectly well that Xie Yuanmao had never accepted this marriage. They had not even consummated it yet. If she wished, she could still arrange another marriage and remarry elsewhere. But after enjoying the status of Sixth Madam for several years, how could she bear to relinquish it? Even if she were willing, would any family she married into compare to the Xie family? And would any husband be as handsome and distinguished as Xie Yuanmao? So she was determined to remain with the Xie family no matter what.
Madam Song had only recently arrived in the capital and was probably still confused about many things. Madam Chen therefore deliberately sought to sow discord.
“Sixth Master, that is not what you originally promised me.”
Xie Shuning clearly felt her mother’s body stiffen. Panic rose within her. Just how many things did she not know? Before bringing her mother to the capital, what exactly had her father said to her? Biting her lip, she secretly studied both the Third Old Madam and Madam Chen.
The Third Old Madam before her looked much younger than she remembered. Aside from her somewhat old-fashioned attire, she seemed more like Madam Chen’s elder sister than her aunt. Of course, she was only a little over thirty years old now. Her skin was fair and delicate, almost translucent, without a single blemish in sight. Who would believe this woman was already a grandmother?
As Xie Shuning looked at her, a flash of hostility flickered through her eyes. Faced with someone like this, it was no wonder they had been no match for her in her previous life.
The inner household had always been a battlefield thick with invisible smoke. Later, as her mother gradually lost her father’s affection, her position naturally grew worse and worse. Though the inner chamber was often said to be a woman’s battleground, the most important weapon in that war was still the man himself.
Whoever won Xie Yuanmao’s heart first would be the ultimate victor. Later on, even she herself had fallen out of her father’s favor because she had left a wound on the forehead of her infant younger sister, Xie Shumin, who had still been wrapped in swaddling clothes at the time.
That incident was also what eventually drove Xie Shumin to become determined to destroy her beauty in revenge. Yet now, thinking back, Xie Shuning could not remember how she had supposedly harmed the younger sister who had always been cherished like the moon among the stars. At the time, she had been only six years old. Not only was she very young, but she lacked the strength as well. How could she possibly have broken through the watchful guard of wet nurses, maids, and old servants to scratch a wound into Xie Shumin’s forehead? But regardless of the truth, that single incident made her father detest all three of them: mother and children alike. Her grandmother then seized upon the matter as an excuse to send her away to a country estate to “cultivate her character.” Naturally, her mother refused. She was still so young. If she were sent off to a rural estate, who knew what kind of person she would grow up to become, or whether she would even survive to adulthood safely?
But once Grandmother had spoken, and with Madam Chen carrying Xie Shumin in her arms and weeping day after day, even alarming the Eldest Branch of the family, how could her mother continue to resist?
Moreover, by that time, the position of principal wife had already fallen into Madam Chen’s hands.
At such a young age, she had been branded a vicious girl intent on harming her legitimate younger sister. Naturally, her mother became the poisonous woman accused of secretly encouraging her young daughter to hurt others, a woman who could scarcely protect herself.
It was said that on the day Xie Shuning was sent away in a carriage, her mother held Nanny Gui and cried until the middle of the night. At one point she even coughed up blood. Only when the morning star appeared did she finally fall into a deep sleep. The next day, however, she never woke again.
A chill crept up from the stone floor. Xie Shuning’s hand, clutching Xie Yuanmao’s trouser leg, trembled slightly. She was afraid. Terribly afraid.
The realization that she had been the final straw that broke her mother’s spirit had haunted her relentlessly through the many years following her mother’s death. No matter how desperately Nanny Gui tried to convince her otherwise, telling her it was not her fault, that she had been too young and had merely been the victim of someone else’s scheme, Xie Shuning could never stop blaming herself. If not for her, perhaps her mother would not have left this world so soon. If not for her, perhaps her brother would not have been so easily murdered by evil men.
Her neatly trimmed, rounded fingernails glimmered faintly against Xie Yuanmao’s dark green trousers.
Xie Shuning stared coldly at her own hand. It felt as though what she grasped was not her father’s clothing, but the throats of the Third Old Madam and Madam Chen. This time, she would never again allow herself to be butchered at others’ pleasure.
“Enough.” After a long silence, the Third Old Madam finally spoke with a smile. “You’ve traveled a great distance and arrived in such bitter weather. You must all be exhausted. Since we’ve met, you should return and rest.”
Yet in Xie Shuning’s eyes, even that smile seemed cold. Whenever the Third Old Madam smiled, only the corners of her lips curved slightly upward. The movement was faint, the warmth almost nonexistent. And yet that single smile made Xie Yuanmao let out a long breath of relief.
Hurriedly glancing at Madam Song, he said, “Tomorrow morning, your son will bring the children to pay their respects to Mother.”
The Third Old Madam tucked her hand warmer into her sleeve. “There’s no need. The weather is cold these days, and the children have come all the way from the south. They’ll likely find it difficult to get up early in the morning. It would be better to let them sleep a little longer.” As she spoke, she suddenly looked Madam Song over and remarked, “You appear rather delicate. People from the south aren’t accustomed to cold weather. Take good care of your health.”
“Thank you for your concern, Mother.”
Hearing her mother’s voice, so soft it was scarcely audible, Xie Shuning felt an inexplicable unease rise within her.
Her mother had always been carefully protected by her brothers. All her life, she had never known hardship, nor had she ever needed to read people’s expressions and moods. But after arriving at the Xie household, everything had been turned upside down. She must have felt completely lost.
Unfortunately, Xie Shuning was still only a child. There was only so much she could say. She could offer hints, but no more. For now, she could only suppress her feelings and wait.