Everything happened in the blink of an eye. No one expected Wei Qingyan to be so brutal—directly breaking Guan Yu’er’s wrist.
But that was not the end.
Wei Qingyan held the child in one arm while drawing a soft whip with the other.
Before Guan Yu’er could even utter a curse, another sharp crack echoed through the air, followed by a searing pain on her back.
“Ah… you vicious woman! How dare you… I’ll tell the Marquis… I’ll have him kill you…”
The pain twisted her voice into a sharp, piercing shriek.
A maid tried to shield Guan Yu’er, but when she met Wei Qingyan’s icy glare, she trembled in fear and rushed out of the courtyard.
She needed to find the Old Madam to save her mistress.
No, that wasn’t right—the Old Madam was still unconscious and couldn’t help. She had to find the Marquis.
A Lu also snapped out of his shock, hesitating whether to help Guan Yu’er. After all, compared to the mysterious Miss Chang, Guan Yu’er was a relative of the Old Madam.
But his hesitation lasted only a moment. The Marquis had ordered him not to slight Miss Chang.
He wouldn’t admit how satisfying it was to watch Miss Chang punish Guan Yu’er.
In recent years, Anyuan Houfu had been plagued by misfortune, with its masters passing away one after another. Now, only the Old Madam, the Marquis, and the Eldest Miss remained.
After the Marquis returned to the capital, the Old Madam, feeling lonely, brought her grandniece from her maternal family to stay with her.
Guan Yu’er had always pretended to be virtuous and well-mannered in front of the Marquis and the Old Madam, but in private, she flaunted her status and bullied others in the household.
Not only did she harbor ambitions for the Marquis, but she had also dared to lay hands on a child.
She truly deserved this beating.
Crack! Another lash.
Just as Wei Qingyan raised her hand again, she felt a tug on her collar. The child, whom she expected to be frightened, was looking up at her.
Wei Qingyan lowered her gaze and released the arm covering the child’s ears. “You’re not afraid?”
“She’s a bad person.” The child’s eyes still held a trace of timidity, but her face showed a hint of satisfaction.
Wei Qingyan glanced at the sky, then shifted the child in her arms. “Xiaoxiao is right. She is a bad person. Now, watch carefully as your aunt helps you fight back.”
She gave Guan Yu’er twenty-three lashes.
While cleaning the child’s back earlier, she had counted clearly—twenty-three scars in total, both old and new, covering the frail back.
Guan Yu’er fainted from the pain.
Wei Qingyan turned to A Lu. “Take her away. Tell Du Xueyi these lashes were for Xiaoxiao—and for him.”
Lady Fang’s Yuanqi hovered in the air, thicker than the day before. If Xiaoxiao’s grievances were not avenged, that Yuanqi would soon bring harm to Du Xueyi.
If lives unrelated to the cause and effect were tainted, Lady Fang would find it even harder to enter Lunhui.
A Lu watched as Wei Qingyan turned and walked back into the room. He opened his mouth to speak but ultimately said nothing, gesturing for the maids who had been hiding in fear to carry Guan Yu’er away.
He didn’t understand the meaning behind Miss Chang’s words, but the Marquis surely would.
When Guan Yu’er’s maid found Du Xueyi, he was interrogating the Steward of the household.
The Steward, who had always been highly regarded by the Old Madam and held a status akin to half a master, was now covered in blood from the beating.
The Marquis’s face was dark and terrifying, as if he were about to send the Steward to his death at any moment.
The maid dared not state her purpose.
A terrible premonition gripped her heart—she felt that today’s events would be very unfavorable for her mistress.
Just as she was about to turn back to find Guan Yu’er, Du Xueyi’s cold voice rang out. “Seize her.”
…
When Du Xueyi entered Fengxiao Yuan, Wei Qingyan had just lulled Xiaoxiao to sleep and was sitting with her eyes closed in meditation.
“Miss Chang, could you come out for a moment?”
Wei Qingyan opened her eyes, glanced at the sleeping child, and stepped outside.
Just as she turned and closed the door behind her, a palm strike came from behind. Wei Qingyan narrowed her eyes, sidestepped to avoid it, and used Qinggong to dart toward an empty room nearby.
Du Xueyi followed, not forgetting to instruct A Lu behind him, “Stand guard. Don’t let anyone in.”
By the time he caught up with Wei Qingyan, she was standing in the room with her hands behind her back, calmly watching him.
Without a word, Du Xueyi immediately launched an attack.
Outside, A Lu could only hear the sounds of their exchange inside the room. After a moment, the commotion ceased. Worried, he peeked in and saw his Marquis pinned under Miss Chang’s foot.
He reached for his sword, ready to step forward, but Du Xueyi barked, “Stand down!”
After a brief hesitation, he heard his Marquis add, “Leave the courtyard.”
Once A Lu’s footsteps faded into the distance, Du Xueyi lay on the ground, hot tears welling in his eyes.
After a long while, he finally choked out, “It was Grandmother who orchestrated all of this. She bribed Lady Fang’s maid, promising her the position of a concubine in the An Yuan Marquis household, and helped fabricate the false image of Lady Fang pawning her dowry and eloping with a man.
It deceived the Fang family, and it deceived me.
The Fang family were merchants, hoping that Lady Fang’s marriage into the Marquis household would elevate their status. Instead, she committed an act that disgraced the Marquis household. Fearing repercussions, the Fang family hurried to sever ties with her—how would they have verified the truth of the matter?
After I returned to the capital, my father-in-law, heartbroken, berated Lady Fang and blamed himself for failing to raise her properly, making me even more convinced of the story’s authenticity.
I was too foolish. There was no other man. All that dowry has now been converted into silver and locked away in Grandmother’s treasury. Grandmother… why would she do this?”
Why would she do this?
Wei Qingyan did not respond.
If Du Xueyi had managed to extract this information, how could he not have uncovered Old Madam Du’s motives?
Although the Marquis household held a noble title, it was not wealthy.
“I truly thought she valued Lady Fang’s character, but it turns out she was only coveting her dowry. All these years, my Du family has been living off Lady Fang’s dowry.”
Lady Fang was filial, always putting Grandmother first, showering her with riches, but it only fueled Grandmother’s greed.
Not only did she drain Lady Fang’s resources, but she also funneled money to her own family year after year, even going so far as to plan to marry her grandniece to him as a second wife.
Unexpectedly, Lady Fang, who had always been compliant, refused this time.
So Grandmother hatched a wicked scheme—to seize the wealth and take a life.
If not for hearing these words from the Steward and several of Grandmother’s trusted servants, he would never have believed that his once kind-faced Grandmother could be so… so shameless and malicious.
“I was a fool—a fool to trust her words so easily, a fool to deny my own child, nearly allowing her to fall victim to a villain’s plot.”
Du Xueyi lifted his head, tears streaming down his face. “But, General, how could I have imagined she harbored such ill intentions so early on?
How could I have imagined that the doctor I randomly found on the street could also be bribed by her, swapping my contraceptive medicine for tonics?”
If not for this, why would he have doubted that Xiaoxiao was his child?
The word “General” made Wei Qingyan ease the pressure of her foot.
Years ago, she had hidden a treasure on Yulan Shan—a treasure tempting enough to lure anyone. Among those who knew of it and were still alive, besides herself, was Du Xueyi.
Before setting out for the capital, she had sent someone to Yulan Shan to check on the treasure.
The carrier pigeon message she received at the inn informed her that the treasure remained intact.
Wudan Li was not far from Yulan Shan. After her death, Du Xueyi had spent several years there yet never touched the treasure, which convinced her to trust him.
She also needed an identity in the capital.
Seeing Fengxiao Yuan, which had long been uninhabited, kept so clean as if it were swept daily, she knew her decision was right.
He was still the same Du Xueyi as before—one who always put her first, loyal and righteous.
Seeing she did not deny it, Du Xueyi directly embraced her feet, curling up on the ground, weeping uncontrollably…
He had committed a grave, grave mistake, one so wrong he did not know how to make amends to Lady Fang and the child—or rather, some people could no longer be given the chance for amends.
Though the General was a year younger than him, he was both a mentor and a friend, always his pillar of strength, and now, his last hope.