In Yu’anzhai, Old Madame Xie had not seen her daughter-in-law come for a long while, and her face was full of displeasure. “Why hasn’t Shen come yet?”
Mama Cen, who attended her, said in a low voice, “The wind and snow were heavy last night, and it’s not fully light outside yet. Madam may be walking slowly. Please don’t worry, Old Madame. This servant will go out and check.”
The eldest daughter of Xie Jia, Xie Yuyin, had married out years ago and had hurried back only after hearing about the trouble at Sunjia.
After Mama Cen went out, she sat in her chair and gave a cold snort. “Walking slowly, my foot. I say she’s just a cheap woman putting on airs.”
“She’s been married into this household for four years and has paid her morning respects every day. Why would she fear a dark, slippery road? Mother, it’s because you indulge her too much that that vixen grows ever more ignorant of the rules.”
The mere thought of Shen’s face made her sick.
They had both been married for four years, yet her own skin had grown rough and her figure was not what it once was, while Shen remained astonishingly beautiful. She remembered the last time she saw her—her face was as fair as snow as always, her skin as white as a peeled egg, dazzling to the eye.
Women these days prized delicacy and frailty, but Shen was graceful and full-figured, her cheeks glowing like a young girl’s, while her brows and eyes were alluring beyond measure, brimming with boundless charm.
Her waist was slender enough to encircle in one hand, yet her chest was full and rounded. No matter how plainly she dressed, she looked as seductive as a bewitching enchantress.
Cheap hussy!
Xie Yuyin still remembered how her own husband’s eyes had gone straight when he saw Shen that day, and she couldn’t help cursing: “That vixen must have done something filthy last night…”
“Nonsense,” Old Madame Xie scolded.
Xie Yuyin was indignant. “I’m not making it up. I heard it from the servants—last night she lured Eldest Brother to her room. Just look at that face of hers; she was born knowing how to seduce men. Who knows if Eldest Brother has been bewitched by her.”
“Enough!”
Old Madame Xie slammed her cup down on the table. “Your mouth is getting more and more unrestrained. You’ll say anything!”
She naturally knew what had happened in Shuangxu Courtyard the night before. Though she disliked Shen, she did not want her eldest son to become the subject of gossip over it. Moreover, with Sunjia under arrest and her youngest daughter implicated and thrown into prison as well, she had no mind to listen to her eldest daughter’s jealous ranting.
Mother and daughter were at odds in the room when Mama Cen returned from outside.
The crimson felt curtain at the door was lifted, and she hurried in, saying, “Old Madame, something has happened at Shuangxu Courtyard. Madam has been sent to the Citang by the Count.”
Xie Yuyin immediately gloated. “That cheap woman has been sent to the Citang?”
Old Madame Xie shot her a glare, then asked gravely, “What happened? Why would Huai send her there out of the blue?”
Mama Cen replied, “This servant heard it has something to do with the betrothal gifts sent by Sunjia.”
The gloating smile on Xie Yuyin’s face froze.
Mama Cen, not noticing, continued, “After Sunjia’s troubles, the Second Young Miss was implicated. The Count went to the Imperial City Department to try to rescue her, but was turned away at the door.”
“The Marquis Dingyuan intends to investigate Sunjia’s affairs thoroughly. Fearing the household would be implicated, the Count wanted to return Sunjia’s betrothal gifts and everything else they had sent over the years—but it turned out Madam had used them without permission.”
Old Madame Xie’s brow furrowed deeply. “Shen used Jiaojiao’s betrothal gifts?”
Mama Cen nodded. “With Sunjia’s betrothal gifts gone, the Count flew into a rage, struck Madam, and sent her to the Citang. But Madam insists she never took anything from Sunjia, and claims it was you, Old Madame, who took them…”
“How dare she!”
Old Madame Xie flew into a rage. “She actually dares to frame me?”
The betrothal gifts from Sunjia were meant to be kept for the younger daughter—how could she possibly have touched those things? The household’s Zhongkui had always been managed by Shen as well. Yet even amid her fury, Old Madame Xie was filled with doubt.
Shen was of a proud, aloof temperament and had never stooped to schemes within the inner household.
The family’s foundations had been thin all these years. After she found an excuse to hand the Zhongkui over to Shen, Shen had cared devotedly for everyone in the household because of the death of her former daughter-in-law, even using her own dowry to subsidize the family. She had even prepared everything for Jiaojiao’s wedding.
Why would she ever touch the betrothal gifts sent by Sunjia?
Xie Yuyin had originally been sitting to the side watching the drama unfold, but now her expression turned uneasy. Seeing Old Madame Xie grow suspicious, she quickly clutched her handkerchief and rose. “Mother, since something has happened in the household, I should take my leave.”
“Why such a hurry?”
Old Madame Xie called her back. “You came here before dawn, and all this commotion over your sister’s affairs has gotten you blamed by your husband’s family. Won’t you wait for your eldest brother to come so we can discuss the matter…”
Xie Yuyin hurriedly said, “No need. Eldest Brother has always doted on us—he’ll surely handle Yujiao’s matter well. Besides, I just remembered there’s something at the Xujia I must attend to. I need to go back first, and I’ll come see you in a couple of days, Mother.”
Something was wrong.
Old Madame Xie narrowed her eyes slightly. She knew this daughter’s temperament all too well—always domineering and shrewish, raising hell at the slightest displeasure. Since when had she become so considerate?
“What are you panicking about?” she suddenly asked.
Xie Yuyin forced a smile. “Mother, what are you saying? What do I have to panic about…”
“Xie Yuyin!”
Old Madame Xie’s voice turned abruptly cold. “You came from my own body—do you think I don’t know you?”
Recalling Mama Cen’s words just now, and Xie Yuyin’s abrupt change in demeanor, she suddenly remembered that a month ago, Xie Yuyin had asked her for the storeroom keys, saying she wanted to retrieve a Duanyan inkstone as a birthday gift for her father-in-law.
Old Madame Xie’s heart lurched. “Was it you who touched the Sunjia betrothal gifts?”
“It wasn’t me!”
Though Xie Yuyin denied it quickly, the panic on her face was as good as a confession.
“It really was you.”
Old Madame Xie shot to her feet. “Have you gone mad? How dare you touch your own sister’s things and then pin the blame on Shen! Have you eaten the heart of a bear and the gall of a leopard?”
Xie Yuyin’s face went white with fright. “I didn’t…”
“You still dare to argue? Do you want me to have your eldest brother come interrogate you?”
“No!”
Xie Yuyin lost her composure. “Mother, don’t call Eldest Brother. I—I never meant to frame Shen. I was just a bit short on money, so I borrowed some. Those Sunjia things were just sitting there anyway.”
The Xujia’s fortunes were no match for the Sunjia’s; the household was all surface glitter. Though her husband was the legitimate son, he had two elder brothers above him.
That day, when she took the storeroom keys, she had originally only intended to take a few of the Bofu’s private treasures for her husband to use in currying favor with his superiors, hoping he could secure a post with real power and eventually inherit the family estate. Who would have thought she would spot the Sunjia betrothal gifts sitting idle there?
She had heard from the steward that the household had prepared a separate dowry for Xie Yujiao and had no plans to touch the Sunjia gifts. Only then did the idea take root in her mind.
“Mother, you know me. I only wanted to help Xu Zhi. If he can’t climb up, he’ll be an idle good-for-nothing for the rest of his life—powerless and laughed at by everyone.”
“I was just momentarily foolish. Please help me—it must not reach Eldest Brother’s ears.”
Big Brother hates evil and can’t tolerate a single grain of sand in his eye. He never thought highly of Xu Zhi to begin with—if he found out she had stolen from the family to give to the Xujia, he would never forgive her.
Old Madame Xie was so furious that the skin of her face trembled. She raised her hand and slapped her hard across the face.
“You muddled fool!!”
“Mother…”
Xie Yuyin clutched at Old Madame Xie’s hem, weeping bitterly.
Old Madame Xie, both grieved and enraged, forcefully shook off her eldest daughter’s hand, wishing she could beat her to death. But in the end, she was her own flesh and blood. After pacing back and forth a few steps, she turned her head and demanded angrily, “How much of the Sunjia’s betrothal gifts did you use?”
Xie Yuyin sobbed, “I used some of the gold and silver, and I took half of the jade, porcelain, headpieces, and jewelry back to the Xujia. Quite a lot of it was given away by Xu Zhi as gifts.”
“And the rest?”
“The rest—I was afraid someone would find it—so I put it with those books and paintings at Chengxibieyuan—”
“You have more gall than the sky itself! So you do know what fear is?!”
Old Madame Xie glared at her fiercely. Seeing her tear-streaked, pitiful face, she took a deep breath and said, “From today on, you will keep your mouth shut. You are not to mention this matter again.”
“But Big Brother…”
“If your brother believes the things were taken by Shen, then let it be settled as so.”
Old Madame Xie’s eyes were cold and dark. In the end, Shen was only an outsider.
After winter set in, the Xie Jia’s Citang grew bitterly cold and damp. After Shen Shuangyue was thrown inside, the great doors were slammed shut behind her. Her head, which had only been throbbing dully before, now ached sharply, her whole body ached with exhaustion, and the clothes on her body could not keep out even a thread of the chill.
She sat on the prayer cushion before the altar, gazing up at the memorial tablets on the high platform, and reached up to touch her forehead.
She had a fever.
No wonder she felt so miserable.
The place on her face where she had been slapped was swollen. She couldn’t help but sigh softly, feeling that being this Countess was both wretched and humiliating.
Back then, the Xie Jia had become the laughingstock of the capital because of her, and her elder sister had died because of her. For these four years, she had done her utmost to make amends, striving to do everything a Bofu’s mistress ought to do.
She cared for everyone in the household and endured whatever they did. She had believed that sincerity could be exchanged for sincerity—that even if she could never become a loving couple with Xie Huaizhi, they could at least treat each other with mutual respect.
But he had never once been willing to trust her.
Three years ago, Xie Yuyin’s miscarriage—she had pushed her.
Two years ago, Xie Yujiao’s fall—she had caused it.
Even the night Xie Huaizhi himself, drunk, had entered her room—according to them, she had used the same old trick, shameless and vile.
Sometimes Shen Shuangyue thought it would have been better if she had died four years ago. Then she wouldn’t have to live so wearily, carrying her sister’s life on her back.
In the Citang, one could not tell day from night outside. The icy floor numbed her whole body with cold. She lay slumped there, not knowing how much time had passed, when the great doors were suddenly pushed violently open.
Two servant women strode in, seized Shen Shuangyue, and dragged her out, then pressed her down so that her already injured knees slammed heavily onto the bluestone slabs before the Citang doors.
Xie Huaizhi hurled a box at her. The brocade box split open her head, and its contents clattered and scattered across the ground.
“What do you have left to explain?”
“You said you didn’t take the Sunjia’s betrothal gifts—then why were the items on the betrothal inventory found at your estate?!”
Her clothes were dusted with snow, her slender waist seeming barely able to bear the weight of her body.
Blood flowed from the wound on Shen Shuangyue’s forehead. She lowered her eyes and glanced at the things on the ground, and when she opened her mouth, her voice was terribly hoarse.
“I didn’t take these things, and I’ve never seen them before.”
“You’re still trying to deny it—”
“I didn’t!”
Shen Shuangyue didn’t know if it was the blood she’d swallowed or the pain wracking her body, but her voice came out breathless: “Though the Shenjia and I are not on good terms, my dowry when I married into this family was by no means small. The Sunjia’s betrothal gifts were certainly valuable, but I knew full well that you all despised and distrusted me—how could I possibly have touched them?”
Her throat ached terribly and her head was spinning; she braced herself against the ground just to keep from collapsing.
“I don’t know where you found these things, but I swear—if I ever took the Sunjia’s betrothal gifts, may heaven strike me down with lightning and grant me a miserable death—”
“If your oaths were worth anything, you’d have died without a burial place four years ago!”
With that one sentence from Xie Huaizhi, Shen Shuangyue’s face went deathly pale. She jerked her head up to look at him, her furious black eyes bloodshot.
Xie Huaizhi was startled by the shock, rage, and resentment in her gaze, but before he could dwell on it, Old Madame Xie was already being helped over to them.
“You’re still trying to deny it?”
Old Madame Xie said angrily: “I thought Huaizhi had wronged you, and I persuaded him to have people search. But after all that searching, these things were found on the farmstead you brought as part of your dowry.”
“At first I thought it was mere greed on your part—that if the Sunjia’s things were missing, you’d find a way to make up for them. But you lie as easily as you breathe and refuse to repent even facing death. It’s utterly despicable.”
Old Madame Xie looked at Xie Huaizhi, full of disappointment:
“Shen has made mistake after mistake these past years. Out of regard for Wanyi, you only ever gave her light punishments as warnings. Who knew that such indulgence would only make her push further and further.”
“When she killed Wanyi back then, I thought she would reform. Who knew she would now stir up trouble with the Sunjia as well. If we let her continue in her wickedness, sooner or later she will bring ruin upon our entire Xie clan.”
Xie Huaizhi thought of his late wife, of the betrothal gifts found on Shen’s farmstead, and his eyes darkened.
“Shen Shuangyue, do you admit your guilt?”
“I’ve done nothing wrong!”
Shen Shuangyue, pinned to the ground, refused to bow her head: “I never took the Sunjia’s things—why should I confess? Those betrothal gifts were planted by someone to frame me—”
“Fine, fine, fine!”
Old Madame Xie said furiously: “Look at her! Even now she’s still trying to argue. She knows you hesitate because of the Shenjia and Wanyi, knows that as the Bofu’s principal wife you wouldn’t dare truly harm her. But the moment the Sunjia trouble arose, she sent her maid sneaking out of the residence—if that isn’t a guilty conscience, what is?”
Xie Huaizhi thought of the maid from Shuangxu Courtyard who had just been caught and brought back, and the valuables found on her person. Dark clouds gathered in his eyes.
“Someone, bring Jinque here.”
The servants below dragged forward a maid in a green dress. When Shen Shuangyue saw that her mouth had been gagged and she was crying out toward her, her expression changed. “What are you trying to do?”
Xie Huaizhi said coldly: “Punish a maid who betrayed her mistress, naturally.”
“You conduct yourself frivolously and err again and again, yet the maids at your side never fulfilled their duty to counsel you. Back then, when you drugged and killed Wanyi, it was at the instigation of the maid beside you. Now you’ve committed theft—she must surely have had a hand in it as well.”
“Since you refuse to admit your guilt, then she shall suffer the punishment in your place.”
Xie Huaizhi recalled the events of six years ago, and a layer of frost seemed to settle over his face.
“Drag Jinque over and beat her!”
“No!”
Shen Shuangyue didn’t care what happened to herself, but she had never imagined Xie Huaizhi would blame Jinque. Unable to hold back, she moved to block them: “Jinque never betrayed me—she left the residence on my orders to smooth things over for Yujiao. She never incited—”
“What are you standing there for!”
Xie Huaizhi seized Shen Shuangyue forcefully, paying no heed to her cries. “Drag her over.”
The two servant women before the Citang dragged Jinque into the courtyard and pressed her down onto the flogging bench.
Shen Shuangyue’s eyes were rimmed red as she clutched at Xie Huaizhi’s robes. “Count, Count, you cannot do this! Jinque has nothing to do with this matter—you cannot hurt her without even asking why—”
“Beat her!”
At Xie Huaizhi’s command, the thick, heavy rod came crashing down on Jinque.
Jinque’s face twisted in agony, and even with her mouth gagged, the anguished moans escaping her throat could not be suppressed.
Eyes red, Shen Shuangyue lunged forward, but Xie Huaizhi held her down firmly.
His fingers clamped hard around her jaw, forcing her head up to look at the man looming over her.
“Shen Shuangyue, I promised your elder sister I would not touch you—but that does not mean I cannot touch others. If you refuse to admit your wrong, then someone else will suffer in your place.”
“Watch carefully. This is what awaits her for your stubborn refusal to repent!”
Shen Shuangyue, gripped by the shoulders, was forced to look into the courtyard—at Jinque convulsing and struggling in pain, at the blood that stained the ground red after only a few blows. The blood was blindingly vivid, and it made her suddenly remember Lianzhi, who had been beaten to death four years ago for taking the blame in her stead.
Tears poured out uncontrollably. She cursed with all her strength, struggling desperately to break free, but she was pinned in place, unable to move, forced to watch blow after blow fall upon Jinque.
Zhangze was a brutal punishment to begin with—and Xie Huaizhi was striking with deliberate cruelty.
After only a few strokes, Jinque’s back was torn open, flesh split and bleeding. She sobbed and screamed in agony, blood dripping to the ground, her head hanging limp over the edge of the bench. Shen Shuangyue twisted around and bit down hard on Xie Huaizhi’s hand, and while he flinched in pain, she sprang toward the courtyard and threw herself over Jinque’s body.
The old woman administering the punishment had no time to stop her stroke—the rod came down on Shen Shuangyue with a resounding crack.
“Shen Shuangyue, have you lost your mind!”
Xie Huaizhi’s face was livid as he strode forward and pulled her away.
Kneeling on the ground, Shen Shuangyue clutched his sleeve and screamed, “Xie Huaizhi, I truly did not do it! I never took anything from the Sunjia—I didn’t! Why won’t you believe me…”
Her tears fell in streams, landing on Xie Huaizhi’s hand, scalding him so that his fingertips flinched back.
“Xie Huaizhi, believe me—just this once.”
Xie Huaizhi had rarely seen Shen Shuangyue shed tears. Aside from her hoarse, desperate weeping four years ago, she had never once cried since marrying into the household.
She played the perfect Countess, managing the estate in impeccable order. Even when her schemes had been exposed on those few occasions, she had scarcely shown a trace of grievance.
Now, with tears rolling down her face and her hand trembling as she clutched his sleeve, she reminded him of that bright, radiant young girl who had once followed behind him and Wanyi when they were newlyweds. His gaze wavered slightly.
But before he could speak, Old Madame Xie’s cold, stern voice cut through.
“You ask Huaizhi to believe you—but have you not put on enough false acts all these years?”
The emotion on Xie Huaizhi’s face vanished. The heart that had just begun to soften hardened abruptly, and he flung off Shen Shuangyue’s hand.
“Continue beating her. If you will not admit your wrong, then let her bear it!”
Shen Shuangyue looked up at the man so close to her, the blood trickling down her forehead casting a crimson haze over him.
Back then, he had treated her with such tenderness—held her horse’s reins, called her A-Yue alongside her sister. So why would he not believe her?
She had worked so hard to make amends, so hard to atone for the wrongs of that year.
She wanted to tear out her very flesh and blood for them, but why—why was it that even though she had done nothing, everyone was forcing her to confess?
The sound of the rod striking flesh grew sticky and dull, Jinque’s piteous cries fading weaker and weaker, and Shen Shuangyue trembled all over as tears streamed down her face.
It was only an apology, only an apology…
She struggled up from the ground, her once-lovely face now filled with despair and dead emptiness.
In the courtyard, the bare magnolia tree was weighed down heavily by snow, unable to straighten itself no matter how it strained. She shattered the very spine of her body and threw herself down toward the ground, her forehead slamming hard against it.
“I was wrong.”
“It was my fault.”
“I shouldn’t have taken what belonged to Sunjia, I shouldn’t have remained unrepentant to the very end…”
Shen Shuangyue lay prostrate on the ground, her forehead striking the earth again and again, each blow accompanied by an “I was wrong.”
Her forehead was covered in bruises, crimson blood spreading across the snow. Like a bird with broken wings, bones shattered and feathers plucked, dripping with blood, she bowed her head before them all.
“I was wrong.”
“I beg the Count to spare Jinque.”