This was the third time he had asked this question, and he was already showing signs of impatience.
Liu Youcheng, the Liu family’s two other uncles, as well as Liu Xiyin’s brothers and cousins, had all arrived on the scene. Liu Mingyu, who had been speaking clearly to Liu Xiyin just a moment ago, suddenly stammered, “I, I saw Third Sister coming out of Biyu Pavilion. She wasn’t holding an umbrella, so I wanted to escort her, but then I discovered she had injuries, and then I… I…”
She stammered for a long time without saying anything of substance. However, the first half of her statement was highly suggestive.
【She’s implying that I went to Biyu Pavilion to cause trouble for Liu Mingyue and ended up getting hurt as a result. Cousin, you don’t need to lead them—everyone already assumes that’s what happened!】
Sure enough, before Liu Mingyu even finished her sentence, everyone’s gaze had landed on Liu Xiyin. They were standing outside Liu Mingyue’s courtyard; the only logical conclusion was that Liu Xiyin had run over there to stir up trouble and had “reaped what she sowed.” No wonder when she saw the Young Marshal, she only dared to say she was “useless”—bullying someone and getting beaten up for it was indeed pathetic.
Liu Mingyu’s own father, Liu Yousong, coughed and asked Liu Xiyin, “Ayin, what were you doing here? Where are you hurt? Is it serious?”
【What do you think? I was getting bullied, that’s what.】
Liu Xiyin lowered her head to look at her toes, just about to speak, when her arm was suddenly grasped by a large hand.
“Hiss…” She gasped in pain.
Yan Changye felt her arm carefully, confirming that no bones were broken, but his expression grew chillingly cold. “The servants said the Madam brought you here. You came out alone—where is the Madam? She just stood there and watched you get beaten?”
As soon as these words left his lips, Liu Yousong’s expression stiffened, and he retreated behind Liu Youcheng. The expressions of the others changed as well.
That was true. Earlier, when the servants announced that the return-visit banquet was ready, Yan Changye had concluded the small meeting in the study. When he asked where the young mistress was, the servants had said in front of everyone, “The Madam has taken the young lady to Biyu Pavilion; they haven’t returned yet.”
Then, Yan Changye had gone personally to fetch her, only to see Liu Xiyin lying on the ground from afar with Liu Mingyu standing over her, her hand extended in a gesture that looked more like a push than help. If Liu Xiyin had been brought there by the Madam, it was unlikely she had come to provoke trouble on her own. Now that she had come out alone, injured, in such heavy snow without even an umbrella—surely it wasn’t the case that she had asked the Madam to bring her to provoke trouble, only for the Madam to assist Liu Mingyue in beating her and then kicking her out? That would be too…
Liu Youcheng immediately turned to the servant beside him. “Where is the Madam? Go find her.”
The servant sensed the eerie atmosphere and hurried off.
Yan Changye bent down and scooped Liu Xiyin into his arms. “Where were you staying?”
Liu Xiyin pointed in a direction. “Over there.”
Yan Changye carried her away with long strides, leaving the crowd behind to exchange awkward glances, unsure whether to follow. Liu Youcheng looked toward Biyu Pavilion, the veins in his forehead pulsing. “Why aren’t you going to call a doctor yet?”
Liu Youcheng was aware of Bai Manman’s dissatisfaction with Liu Xiyin. After all, having not raised her, and being extremely concerned with appearances, Bai Manman could not accept that her biological daughter had grown up in the countryside, nor could she accept that she was the one who had lost her daughter years ago. However, when the Marshal had ignored their past ties and pointed a gun at the Liu family, forcing them to bring this daughter back from the countryside to replace Liu Mingyue in the Marshal’s Mansion, Liu Youcheng hadn’t seen it as a problem. She was his true flesh and blood; now that he knew, he wouldn’t let her drift away, and entering the Marshal’s Mansion was simply setting things right.
But Bai Manman didn’t see it that way. The guilt she should have felt toward Liu Xiyin had turned into heartache for Liu Mingyue under the Marshal’s coercion. Bai Manman had once complained to Liu Youcheng in private: “Mingyue was raised by us with every indulgence, and it was already a grievance for her to marry a Young Marshal who is assigned to the front lines. The Marshal even spoke to her like that in front of everyone and deprived her of her wedding—how is she supposed to face people in the future?”
“Ayin grew up in the countryside and is naturally small-minded. It’s embarrassing enough that she’s marrying into the Marshal’s Mansion; I don’t even dare to go out now. You don’t know how those ladies are laughing at me.”
“…”
Liu Youcheng had assumed she was just venting in private. After all, Liu Xiyin was her own daughter, and when Liu Xiyin asked for a small kitchen, Bai Manman had set it up without a word. When there was no time to prepare a dowry and Liu Mingyue had offered hers to fill the gap, Bai Manman had accepted it. So what happened today? Why did Bai Manman bring Liu Xiyin to Biyu Pavilion? And how did she end up getting hurt there? Today was the day the Young Marshal brought her back for her return visit!
…
Liu Xiyin huddled in Yan Changye’s arms, covering her face with her sleeves and peeking at him through a gap.
【He actually didn’t believe that I was injured because I tried to be malicious and failed.】
【How should I explain this later? The Great Villain is very sharp.】
Liu Xiyin hadn’t expected the Great Villain to catch the logical loophole and realize she hadn’t come to Biyu Pavilion alone. She had thought she was destined to carry this scapegoat—a toxic, narrow-minded country girl who constantly went looking for trouble with the beautiful eldest Miss, only to be taught a lesson, a classic example of a cannon-fodder persona. She hadn’t realized anyone would question the narrative.
The morning sun had been bright, but now the snow was overwhelming; the heavens could change their mood more seamlessly than any master of traditional face-changing.
Liu Xiyin was carried into Cai-lü Courtyard and placed on the bed. This room and courtyard were much more cramped than Liu Mingyue’s. Yan Changye reached out to unbutton her clothes, and Liu Xiyin hurried to dodge him. “I’m not hurt on my body.”
Yan Changye straightened up, his back upright, his shadow nearly enveloping her completely. “If you aren’t hurt on your body, then where are you hurt?”
Liu Xiyin honestly pointed to her left arm. “Here.”
Yan Changye stretched out his long arm, pulled over a chair, and sat down in front of her. “How did you do it?”
As if he knew she was full of tricks, he added in a low voice, “Tell the truth. Otherwise, I have plenty of interrogation methods.”
Liu Xiyin remembered how he had pressed her down and groped her on their wedding night, causing her to shrink back in fright. Using her arm-guarding gesture to also protect her chest, she said, “Sister fell into the water half a month ago and has been unwell. The Madam thought I did it and ordered me to kneel and admit my guilt.”
She didn’t mention Liu Mingyue’s vomiting. In the original book, Liu Mingyue had become pregnant with the male lead’s child on that dissolute night. Who knew that child would be so resilient? Even after Liu Mingyue fell into the freezing water in the middle of winter, “it” still managed to take root in her belly.
“I hadn’t done it, so I refused and talked back to her. The Madam was angered and struck me once with a feather duster.”
【I’m telling the truth. The Great Villain had better not use the fact that she’s my biological mother to suppress me.】
【Besides, I don’t recognize her as my biological mother. Why did she deliberately make me go hungry on my wedding day?】