Zhao Hanzhang resignedly opened her arms to embrace Zhao Erlang, patting his back to soothe him.
After a long while, Zhao Erlang slowly stopped crying and timidly opened his eyes to look at Zhao Hanzhang. "You…" he began, eyeing her suspiciously. "Are you my elder sister?"
Zhao Hanzhang was inwardly surprised but maintained a calm expression. "I don't remember, but they say I am."
She looked him up and down and said, "I’ve seen you in my memories. I vaguely recall that last year, you stood on a rockery in the garden, urinating into the wind, and ended up peeing on someone else’s head?"
Madam Wang coughed violently. "That was two years ago, Third Lady. You’ve remembered it wrong. Your brother was still young back then…"
Zhao Erlang, however, showed no embarrassment. In his limited memory, he also recalled the incident. He brightened up and nodded vigorously. "Yes, that was me! Because of that, Elder Sister chased me down two streets with a whip, caught me, and gave me a good beating."
He instinctively reached back to touch his buttocks, looking somewhat aggrieved. "It hurt so much."
Zhao Hanzhang: "…Does it still hurt now?"
Zhao Erlang nodded.
Zhao Hanzhang reached out and poked his knee. "What about here?"
Zhao Erlang hissed in pain, his face contorting as he shuddered and instinctively shrank back.
Madam Wang watched, her heart aching.
Zhao Hanzhang withdrew her finger and said to Ting He, "Go tidy up the side room and have Erlang stay here. Send someone out of the estate to fetch a physician. After kneeling for so long, his legs need proper treatment so they don’t get damaged."
Ting He acknowledged the order.
Madam Wang hesitated. "Although Erlang is childlike in mind, he’s not young anymore. Isn’t it inappropriate for him to stay in your courtyard?"
"Who would say anything? He’ll be staying in the side room, not in the same room," Zhao Hanzhang replied. "After what just happened, I wouldn’t feel at ease sending him to the front courtyard. Let him stay here with me."
Madam Wang was also afraid he might be misled into doing something wrong again, so she agreed as soon as Zhao Hanzhang persuaded her.
Zhao Erlang covered his aching knees with both hands and confirmed, "You really are my elder sister!"
Only his elder sister would poke his sore spots like that.
Zhao Hanzhang looked at him with mixed feelings, unsure whether to praise him for his cleverness or criticize him for his foolishness.
He had clearly been suspicious, so why had he believed her so easily?
Zhao Erlang settled into Qingyi Pavilion. Since Zhao Changyu, the head of the Zhao Family, said nothing about it, others could only keep their opinions to themselves, even though First Madam Zhao was still kneeling in the Ancestral Hall.
Even the elders of the Second Branch, who had remained unperturbed until now, could no longer sit still.
During the evening meal, the members of the Second Branch arrived together—except for her yet-unmet granduncle.
Just as the dishes were laid out on the table and Zhao Hanzhang had comfortably been carried to her seat, a servant entered and reported, "Second Madam, Third Lady, the First Master and First Madam have brought Second Lady and Fourth Lady to see Third Lady."
Zhao Hanzhang looked at Madam Wang.
Madam Wang set down her chopsticks, wiped her mouth with a handkerchief, and said, "Invite them in."
If only Second Lady and Fourth Lady had come, they could have used their previous excuse to avoid meeting them. But with elders arriving, it was no longer appropriate to keep the door closed.
Madam Wang sat by the table, waiting. Zhao Erlang hurriedly stuffed a bite of food into his mouth, then obediently placed his hands on his knees and sat properly, showing that his manners were well-taught.
Zhao Ji entered with his wife and daughters, and Madam Wang reluctantly rose with Zhao Erlang to greet them.
Only Zhao Hanzhang remained steadily seated on the couch due to her leg injury, not moving an inch, nor showing any sign of unease.
Zhao Ji noticed her the moment he entered. He fixed his gaze on her, meeting her curious eyes directly.
Zhao Hanzhang made no attempt to conceal her scrutiny, boldly looking Zhao Ji over before shifting her attention to his wife and then to the two young girls behind him.
Zhao Ji was startled by her gaze—this unfamiliar appraisal…
Frowning slightly, Zhao Ji wondered, could she truly have lost her memory?
As she observed the family of four, Zhao Hanzhang slowly matched them with the figures in her memories. The sudden flood of recollections made her head ache almost to the point of splitting. Her face paled slightly, and beads of sweat formed on her forehead.
Zhao Ji, who had been watching her, was the first to notice her unusual state. After a moment of surprise, he hurriedly asked, "What's wrong with Third Lady?"
Ting He also noticed and rushed forward to support Zhao Hanzhang, anxiously asking, "Is Third Lady having another headache?"
The pain was nothing to Zhao Hanzhang; she could easily endure it. But…
Meeting Zhao Ji's scrutinizing and suspicious gaze, she thought, why should she endure it?
So she opened the floodgates of her memories, allowing the recollections and emotions that surged upon seeing them to overwhelm her. Her face instantly turned as pale as snow, cold sweat pouring from her forehead, and she suddenly vomited…
Such an intense reaction hardly seemed feigned.
Zhao Ji felt uneasy. He had suspected Zhao Hanzhang was pretending to have lost her memory to make his uncle punish the Second Branch. But now, it seemed she truly had lost her memory.
Zhao Hanzhang vomited for a while longer, causing the maids and servants in the room to panic. When the memories in her mind finally calmed slightly, she looked up at the family of four. But her gaze shifted to Zhao Yi, who was just entering behind them. Immediately changing her target, she raised a trembling finger and pointed at Zhao Yi, stammering, "You… you… I remember you…"
Before she could finish her sentence, she tilted her head and fainted.
Zhao Yi, Zhao Dalang, Zhao Ji's only son for now—targeting him was far more effective than targeting his two daughters.
Having dropped her bombshell, Zhao Hanzhang fainted with peace of mind.
Madam Wang, unaware of the truth, was horrified to see her daughter faint. She rushed forward and embraced her, crying out, "Third Lady, Third Lady, what's wrong? Hurry, call a physician…"
Ting He was also terrified and dashed outside, only to be grabbed by Aunt Qing. "Go and ask the Lord to request a royal physician. The physicians outside aren't reliable."
Ting He nodded and ran out.
Zhao Erlang, seeing his sister faint so suddenly, was also frightened. Hearing Madam Wang's cries, tears welled up in his eyes. He squeezed forward and tightly grasped one of Zhao Hanzhang's hands. The more he looked at her pale face, the more it reminded him of the dead bodies he had seen a few days earlier. Unable to hold back, he wailed, "Elder Sister, Elder Sister…"
Madam Wang had been holding herself together, but her son's crying stirred her own grief. She couldn't help but hold Zhao Hanzhang and weep loudly.
Zhao Hanzhang: …
She couldn't resist scratching Madam Wang's palm with her other hand. Madam Wang, lost in her tears, didn't notice, so Zhao Hanzhang gave her a pinch instead.
Madam Wang: …
Realizing what was happening, she looked down at her daughter through her tears and saw Zhao Hanzhang slightly open her eyes. After a brief glance, Zhao Hanzhang tightly closed them again.
Understanding dawned on Madam Wang. Holding Zhao Hanzhang, she immediately cried even louder. Hearing this, the servants in the room felt their own sorrow and began weeping softly as well.
Only Aunt Qing remained capable, directing someone to fetch hot water, another to find Third Lady's medicine, and yet another to check at the gate whether the doctor had arrived…
Zhao Ji, leading his wife and children, froze on the spot. The chaos and sorrow in the room seemed to deliberately avoid them, a scene that anyone witnessing could interpret as the Second Branch coming to bully the orphaned widow and children of the main branch.
The entire Second Branch, who had spoken only a single sentence since entering the room: …