Anyuan Houfu was not unfamiliar to Wei Qingyan.
When she was young, Mother was strict with her, and beatings, scoldings, and punishments were common occurrences. Meanwhile, her younger sister Wanyi received completely different treatment from Mother.
Resentful in her heart, she argued with Mother a few times and was punished by kneeling in the ancestral hall for three days.
No one was allowed to bring her food.
That year, she was seven years old. Father was away on a campaign, and no one in the residence dared to defy Mother’s orders. Starving and miserable, she took advantage of a moment when no one was watching, slipped out of the residence, and encountered Du Xueyi in an alley.
He was being pinned to the ground and beaten by others.
She helped him fight off those people, and he took her sneaking into Anyuan Houfu to find food.
After that, Du Xueyi followed her in practicing martial arts and training, joined the Huguojun, and became her right-hand man.
Wei Qingyan followed her memories to Fengxiao Yuan.
Pushing open the door, there were traces of recent repairs in the courtyard.
Fengxiao Yuan was the most remote courtyard in Anyuan Houfu. After staying there overnight at the age of seven, this courtyard became an occasional place of respite for her.
Such a remote and neglected courtyard would not have been repaired without reason by the head of the houfu. It could only have been Du Xueyi, who had returned to the capital half a year ago.
Wei Qingyan’s nose tingled slightly.
“Miss Chang, the Marquis ordered this subordinate to bring these.”
Du Xueyi’s guard, A Lu, arrived with two maidservants carrying bedding and the child’s change of clothes.
“Thank you for your trouble.” Wei Qingyan nodded slightly.
The room was clean and also very simple, with nothing besides the bed, table, and chairs, just as before.
The two maidservants quickly made the bed, and A Lu also brought hot water. “Miss Chang, is there anything else you require?”
Wei Qingyan tilted her head to look at him. “Find some ointment.”
She was not surprised that A Lu would come here.
Du Xueyi suspected her identity, and sending A Lu was both to serve and to keep watch.
Seeing her undress the child, A Lu understood and quickly retreated.
The Marquis had ordered him to keep an eye on Miss Chang, but he must not treat her poorly.
“Be good, Xiaoxiao. Let’s wipe you clean and change into new clothes, alright?” Wei Qingyan’s voice was gentle.
Xiaoxiao was the nickname Du Xueyi had given the child. In the past, only Lady Fang had called her that.
Hearing Wei Qingyan address her this way, the child’s dried tears welled up again. She didn’t know why this person who called herself her aunt knew her nickname, but it made her feel at ease.
The little head nodded heavily, and her body leaned closer into Wei Qingyan’s embrace.
“Miss Chang, let this servant do it.” The maidservant Lü Liu stepped forward.
She had learned from the gatekeeper that this person claimed to be the lost legitimate daughter of the houfu. Not only had the Marquis not driven her away, but he had also sent A Lu to serve her. Her identity was likely genuine.
If she could make a good impression in front of her, perhaps in the future she could become a senior maidservant by her side.
Before Wei Qingyan could speak, the little one in her arms shrank back. Wei Qingyan said coldly, “You may leave.”
Lü Liu, having been snubbed, shot a subtle glare at the child and left the room awkwardly.
Although Wei Qingyan had no experience caring for children, over the past three years, she had been cared for like a child herself. Cleaning Xiaoxiao was not difficult.
What was difficult were the whip wounds on the child’s back. In some places, the scabs had stuck to her inner clothing.
She had to moisten the inner clothing with hot water before carefully peeling it away. Even so, the small bundle in her arms trembled several times but made no sound.
Wei Qingyan’s expression turned colder. Those two kicks earlier were still too light.
“Miss Chang, the ointment has been brought.” A Lu’s voice sounded from outside the door.
“Have someone bring it in.”
Even though the young miss was only four years old, A Lu, being a man, could not enter the inner chamber. Lü Liu brought the ointment inside.
Wei Qingyan took it and gently applied it to the child’s wounds, then asked Lü Liu, who had not left, “Who is the cousin?”
“The cousin is the granddaughter of the old madam’s maternal family.”
Lü Liu, eager to curry favor, added in a low voice, “The old madam is very fond of the cousin and intends for her to become the marquis’s second wife.”
Second wife?
It had only been half a year since Lady Fang’s incident, and the marquis’s mother had already found a replacement?
Or had she harbored such intentions from the very beginning?
After applying the ointment, Wei Qingyan dressed Xiaoxiao and settled her on the bed, then casually asked, “When did this cousin arrive at the marquis’s residence?”
Just as Lü Liu was about to reply, A Lu’s voice sounded from outside the door, “Cousin, there are guests of the marquis inside. You cannot enter without permission.”
“Aunt is unwell, and since there are guests in the residence, my cousin is too busy. Naturally, I must take it upon myself to entertain them properly on his behalf.” A soft, charming voice followed.
Then came the sound of the door being pushed open.
Wei Qingyan pulled the child, who had suddenly burrowed under the covers, into her arms and gently patted her back to soothe her.
Her gaze remained fixed on Lü Liu, waiting for her reply.
Lü Liu wanted to please Wei Qingyan but also did not wish to offend the cousin. How could she speak of the cousin’s affairs in her presence? She hesitated and remained silent.
“How should I address you, miss? Which side of my cousin’s family are you from?” Guan Yu’er, accompanied by her maid, gracefully approached Wei Qingyan, her eyes appraising.
She had heard that the marquis had taken a woman to the inner courtyard, and that woman had taken the little wild child away.
Her people could not find out the specifics, and the courtyard was guarded, preventing entry.
Feeling uneasy, she had come to see for herself.
Wei Qingyan glanced at her indifferently, then turned her gaze to A Lu behind her.
“Earlier, that old woman confessed that she abused Xiaoxiao under the cousin’s orders. Is the cousin she referred to the one standing before us?”
A Lu was already angered by Guan Yu’er taking advantage of being a woman, knowing he dared not touch her, and had simply pushed the door open. He had not expected Wei Qingyan to ask so directly.
Instinctively, he replied, “It’s her.”
“What abuse? What orders?” Guan Yu’er’s eyes quickly welled with tears, as if she had been greatly wronged, and she glared indignantly at Wei Qingyan. “This is our first meeting, and we have no grievances. How could you accuse me like this?”
Yet inwardly, she was panicking.
She had rushed here out of concern that the child’s injuries might be discovered, hoping to find an excuse to take the child away. After all, due to Lady Fang’s incident, the marquis paid little attention to this child.
If she could take the child away, she would find a way to cover it up.
But it seemed she had arrived too late.
Wei Qingyan acted as if she had not heard her words and looked down at the child in her arms, asking softly, “Tell Auntie, was it her who ordered others to bully you? If so, Auntie will avenge you.”
Hearing this, Xiaoxiao looked up at her, her eyelashes trembling as if trying to confirm whether these words could be trusted, or perhaps weighing whether this aunt, who treated her as kindly as her mother, could stand up to the person who had harmed her.
To Guan Yu’er, this woman of unknown origin dared to speak such words, making her seem utterly arrogant. Yet, sensing the formidable aura around her, Guan Yu’er inexplicably felt that she truly meant what she said.
“Aunt is unwell and entrusted this child to me. I cherish her dearly—how could I possibly order anyone to abuse her?”
She forced herself to remain calm. “There must be some misunderstanding here. I don’t know who you are, but you will leave eventually, while this child and I will spend our lives together.
By sowing discord between us like this, how are we supposed to get along in the future?”
Her words were less for Wei Qingyan and more for the child.
Her grandaunt was currently ill, using filial piety to pressure the Marquis into agreeing to marry her as his second wife. She absolutely could not let anyone ruin this.
It was also her own fault for being too impatient—she should have waited until after the marriage to deal with this troublesome little thing.
She lowered her gaze, hiding the murderous intent in her eyes.
Fortunately, the little thing was timid. After hearing her words, she surely wouldn’t dare speak recklessly.
Thinking this, she felt less anxious.
Just as she was about to let out a sigh of relief and reach out to hold the child, she heard the child’s weak voice say, “She said I’m a bastard, that I’m only alive because I occupy the title of eldest daughter. She had the servants beat me and starve me…”
“Auntie knows.”
Wei Qingyan patted her head, her expression darkening as she seized Guan Yu’er’s outstretched wrist. With a forceful twist, a sharp crack echoed—she had broken it cleanly.
How could she not understand Guan Yu’er’s threat?
The half-sigh Guan Yu’er had been about to release was choked in her throat by the child’s words, and the excruciating pain from her wrist trapped the other half there as well.
Her face flushed crimson, whether from suffocation or agony.
As Wei Qingyan covered the child’s ears, Guan Yu’er let out a piercing, agonized scream…