Su Qingwan’s eyes remained calm and unruffled as she took two steps back, creating distance between them.
“Gu Yunci, please show me some respect!”
Gu Yunci was momentarily taken aback but quickly composed himself, suppressing the emotions in his eyes as he said softly, “My apologies, I was too rash. However, your husband is no longer with us, and you must look forward. Before leaving for battle, my elder brother said that if anything happened to either of us, the survivor should take care of the other’s widow.”
“I cannot betray my brother’s trust, and you will always remain the Firstborn Grandson’s Wife of the Zhongyong Hou Estate. Nothing will change. As for Xi Yue, rest assured, I will find a way to appease her.”
Su Qingwan shook her head, “I appreciate your kindness, but since ancient times, inheriting two family lines has always brought instability to the household. Moreover, my bond with the Shizi was deep. What he meant by ‘taking care’ was providing support, certainly not inheriting two family lines.”
Gu Yunci stared at her gentle and serene features, taking a step forward as he pressed, “What if it had been me who died, and my elder brother wanted to inherit two family lines? Would you still disagree?”
Su Qingwan’s brow twitched slightly as she shook her head again, “There are no what-ifs. The one who returned alive is you.”
Just as Gu Yunci was about to say more, Su Qingwan spotted Su Xiyue storming toward them from a distance.
She smiled self-deprecatingly, “A-Ci, you should focus on appeasing Su Xiyue and live well with her from now on. If she misunderstands me again and lays hands on me, I will definitely not let her off as easily as last time.”
After saying this, Su Qingwan turned and left.
In just a few days, she had grown noticeably thinner, appearing so fragile that it evoked pity in others.
However, that flicker of emotion in Gu Yunci’s eyes vanished as quickly as it appeared.
Su Xiyue had already reached him, throwing herself into his arms. Though anxious, she pretended to be upset, “Husband, what were you talking about with Su Qingwan just now?”
Looking at her charming face, Gu Yunci’s heart softened. He pinched her cheek and said, “Nothing important, just exchanging pleasantries.”
“Pleasantries are fine, but you must never agree to inherit two family lines!” Su Xiyue snorted lightly, possessively wrapping her arms around his. Their bodies pressed close together as she lifted her head, casting a triumphant glance toward Su Qingwan.
Su Qingwan had already turned and returned to Linglong Yuan with her attendants.
Qinxing’s eyes reddened with anger, “They are truly too much! Especially Third Miss. Although she always competed with you in the past, she at least showed surface-level respect to you as her elder sister when she was in the estate.”
How could she have become like this after marrying into the Zhongyong Hou Estate?
Qiyi poked her forehead beside her, “You’re usually so clever, why are you so foolish now? Third Miss has always been like this. It’s just that back in the Su Estate, she deliberately acted humble around our lady, but now she’s no longer hiding it.”
“With the Shizi gone, the position of Shizi in the Hou Manor will eventually belong to Second Young Master. Su Xiyue will rightfully become the Heir’s Wife in the future, so naturally she no longer needs to conceal her true nature and dares to act so recklessly.”
At that moment, Su Qingwan, who had been looking down at the account books, lifted her head and asked, “Don’t you think Second Young Master Gu is acting somewhat strange?”
Both maids were stunned.
They actually weren’t very familiar with the Second Young Master Gu. Having occasionally seen him a few times before, they remembered him as taciturn with a fierce gaze.
Qinxin suddenly snapped back to reality and murmured, “Come to think of it, Second Young Master Gu’s eyes don’t seem as fierce as before.”
Su Qingwan lowered her gaze slightly.
Moreover, he had spoken much more than usual.
From the time Su Qingwan was engaged to Gu Yunrui until she married into the Hou Manor, she had never exchanged a single word with Gu Yunci.
They had only occasionally met at banquets, where a slight nod between them was considered sufficient courtesy.
Yet just now, Gu Yunci had spoken many words to her, his tone filled with familiarity…
**
As dusk fell, Su Qingwan composed herself and asked Qiyi to bring the proposed burial dates. Gu Yunrui’s funeral arrangements needed to be discussed with her mother-in-law and finalized quickly—they couldn’t keep his coffin parked in the front courtyard indefinitely.
The candles in the main residence were already lit. Just as Su Qingwan reached the corridor and was about to knock, she overheard hushed arguing from inside. She intended to leave, but then her mother-in-law Feng Shi’s suppressed questioning leaked through the door crack: “It was clearly A-Ci who died back then. Why did you insist it was you?”
A man’s deep voice replied, “Mother, I’ve always been in love with Xi Yue. On the wedding day, A-Ci and I switched places for the ceremony. We planned to reveal the truth the next day, but then I was immediately sent off to war.”
Feng Shi’s voice trembled with urgency, “Then what about Qingwan? She was devastated when she heard of your death, and now she’s barely holding herself together while managing the entire Hou Manor!”
“Qingwan has always been sensible and strong. I might as well inherit two family lines and give her a child—that should fulfill the bond between us.”
“Since A-Ci is already dead, let’s just leave things as they are. No one should ever tell Qingwan the truth…” The man’s voice grew steadier, yet carried a tone of self-persuasion.
Outside the door, Su Qingwan stood frozen in shock, her blood running cold. She dug her fingernails sharply into her palm to keep from making a sound.
Regaining her composure, she retreated with nearly silent footsteps, making no noise as she slipped away.
So the person she had married wasn’t Gu Yunrui, but that cold, reticent Gu Yunci, whom even his own mother disliked.
Recalling Su Xiyue’s various willful provocations after the wedding, some truths became self-evident.
Hurrying out of the courtyard, she saw Qinxin waiting in the corridor. Her tense body suddenly gave way, and she clutched Qinxin’s hand tightly, her lips trembling uncontrollably.
Seeing her in such a state, Qinxin urgently whispered, “Miss, what’s wrong?”
Su Qingwan closed her eyes briefly and shook her head, signaling for silence.
Only when they had hurried back to Linglong Yuan and dismissed everyone except her trusted confidantes Qinxin and Qiyi did she hoarsely recount what she had overheard.
Upon hearing this, Qinxin’s eyes instantly reddened. She grabbed Su Qingwan’s arm, her voice shaking, “Miss… How could they treat you like this! This whole family fabricated such lies to deceive you—have they no conscience at all?”
Qiyi added with a sob, “Miss, if you’re hurting, just cry it out!”
Su Qingwan gazed calmly at her reflection in the bronze mirror—dressed entirely in white, her eyes filled with hatred and cold resolve.
Qinxin asked worriedly, “Miss, what should we do now?”
Su Qingwan turned around and made a decision. “Qiyi, immediately begin organizing my dowry. Qinxin, tomorrow morning return to the Su family and deliver a letter to my parents.”
“I want a Heli (Divorce).”
The two maids’ eyes instantly lit up, and they nodded in unison.
Su Qingwan added another instruction, “What you just heard must not be spoken of to anyone. We haven’t left Hou Manor yet and must act with caution.”
Gu Yunrui actually came up with such a deceitful scheme to substitute one thing for another. To put it gravely, this was deceiving the emperor!
If discovered, the entire Hou Manor would be implicated.
However, while packing, Qinxin whispered, “Miss, can you bear to part with the Shizi?”
Su Qingwan shook her head and smiled self-deprecatingly, “He has schemed against me to this extent. If I still held feelings for him, how would I be any different from that Wang who dug for wild vegetables in the storybooks?”
The night was filled with restless dreams.
At dawn the next day, the faint sound of monks chanting sutras for the deceased came from the front courtyard. Su Qingwan had just woken up feeling utterly exhausted and weak. Even her usual favorite soups and porridges held no appeal.
Qiyi worriedly said beside her, “Miss, are you unwell? Allow this servant to check your pulse?”
Qiyi was knowledgeable in medicine, and common ailments rarely stumped her.
Su Qingwan also felt unwell these past few days, but there had been too many matters piling up one after another.
Just then, a young maid rushed in anxiously, “Heir’s Wife, it’s terrible! Sister Qinxin has made a mistake and was caught by the Hou Madame’s people and taken to the main courtyard!”
Su Qingwan’s heart sank.
Although Qinxin was usually lively and carefree, she wasn’t impulsive and always understood propriety best. How could she suddenly make a mistake?
Fearing Qinxin would suffer, Su Qingwan hurried over quickly, but already feeling unwell, she experienced waves of dizziness.
When she arrived at the main hall, Hou Madame Feng Shi sat coldly in the official’s chair.
Qinxin was being restrained by four burly matrons. Cuiyu, the chief maid beside Hou Madame, raised her hand and slapped Qinxin across the face.
Cuiyu: “Audacious slave! You dare steal from Hou Manor and still refuse to admit it?”
Qinxin’s face was swollen, blood trickling from her lips. She stubbornly insisted, “I didn’t steal anything!”
“Still denying it? I think you’re just being stubborn!” Cuiyu made to strike again, but the next moment, her hand was caught by someone.
Cuiyu turned around, “Who dares to stop… Heir’s Wife?”
Slap! Without another word, Su Qingwan backhanded Cuiyu with a solid blow. “Qinxin is my person. Whether she has erred or not, it’s for me to decide. What gives you the right!”
Cuiyu covered her face, meekly looking toward Feng Shi.
But Su Qingwan was already glaring coldly at the matrons. “Release her!”
Having managed the household for over a month, the matrons instinctively loosened their grip upon her command.
Su Qingwan helped Qinxin to her feet.
Despite her disheveled state, Qinxin ignored her pain and immediately said, “Miss, this servant didn’t steal anything. This morning, when they learned I was returning to the Su family, they blocked my way and falsely accused me of theft!”
Su Qingwan’s gaze sharpened. She looked up, meeting Feng Shi’s eyes directly.
Feng Shi cleared her throat lightly. “Qingwan, you stay. Mother has important matters to discuss with you. Everyone else, withdraw.”
Qinxin and Qiyi looked on with eyes full of concern, but Su Qingwan shook her head at them. The main hall finally quieted down, leaving only Feng Shi and Su Qingwan alone.
Su Qingwan felt dizzy again. She closed her eyes for a moment, and when she reopened them, Feng Shi had produced a letter.
With profound distress, she said, “Qingwan, I’ve always treated you as my own daughter, yet you recklessly insist on Heli. Have you completely disregarded what I said the other day?”
Seeing Su Qingwan dressed in plain white with tightly pressed lips, Feng Shi softened her tone slightly. “I know you disagree with inheriting two family lines, but this matter can still be discussed further. How can you act on impulse, insisting on Heli and even involving your parents?”
“Qingwan, you’re the most intelligent and sensible. A’Rui’s body is not yet cold. If you cause a scene about Heli now, it will damage both your reputation and the Su family’s. Grand Tutor Su values his reputation as an upright official above all else.”
Sensible? Sensible again.
Was it because she was sensible that she deserved to be used and deceived by them?
Su Qingwan only felt her dizziness intensify, her internal organs churning. She lightly bit the tip of her tongue to regain some clarity.
“So Mother deliberately framed Qinxin to prevent me from seeking Heli with Gu Yunrui?”
Feng Shi didn’t deny it. “Qingwan, I’ve said that whether A’Rui is here or not, you will always be the legitimate eldest daughter-in-law of our Hou Manor. In the future, I will certainly entrust all household authority to you.”
“As for inheriting two family lines, if you truly cannot accept it, we can discuss it later.”
Su Qingwan realized she had underestimated her mother-in-law before.
Employing both soft and hard tactics, the other party left her with no room to retreat. If she continued to insist on Heli, it was likely that the Su family and Zhongyong Hou Estate would end up in a mutually destructive conflict.
Yet precisely because of this, she became more determined to pursue Heli.
Because the other party might have greater ambitions and would likely use the Su family for more schemes in the future.
“Today you can stop Qinxin from returning to the Su family, but in a couple of days when we hold Gu Yunrui’s funeral, with guests coming and going, you won’t be able to stop me.”
Su Qingwan turned to leave, just as Gu Yunci lifted the curtain and entered.
He came in frowning and immediately confronted her: “I heard you want Heli?”
Seeing his face again, a wave of nausea surged up violently. Su Qingwan’s vision went white, her body swayed, and she collapsed.
When she opened her eyes again, she saw the familiar canopy of her bedroom in Linglong Yuan.
Qiyi was sitting by the bed with red-rimmed eyes. Seeing her awake, she hurried over, her voice hushed and trembling: “Miss, you’re awake? When you fainted earlier, I took your pulse… You… you’re with child!”