Taking advantage of Su Qingyu escorting Jiang Yi out, Su Qingxue glanced at the dazed Su Qingxue and said with a calculated look, “Elder Sister, do you think Second Cousin didn’t come to pay respects to Mother because she wasn’t feeling well?”

Su Qingxue snapped back to attention, her face darkening slightly, “What do you mean by that, Second Sister?”

Su Qingxue pursed her lips and said, “I just find Mother’s passing too sudden. She was fine just days ago. How did she pass away right after Second Cousin and the others visited Grandmother?”

“Silence!” Su Qingxue exploded in anger.

Su Qingyu pouted, “I know Elder Sister is close to our two Jiang cousins, so you’re upset hearing this. But aren’t you curious?”

Su Qingxue frowned, “I don’t want to hear such talk again. You may leave.”

“Then rest well, Elder Sister. I’ll take my leave,” Su Qingxue curtsied slightly. As she reached the door, a fleeting look of smugness crossed her face.

At Grandmother’s birthday celebration last year, she had felt utterly humiliated, as if stripped naked before everyone.

Those responsible for her predicament included her foolish birth mother, her vicious stepmother, and Jiang Si who showed no mercy.

Now that her stepmother was dead, the mountain pressing down on her was gone. It was only right that she should have some relief for a couple of years.

Heh, she might not be able to do anything to Jiang Si, who had become the Princess Consort of Yan, but she could at least plant a seed of doubt in her elder sister’s heart. If her elder sister and Jiang Si ever had a falling out in the future, it would have nothing to do with her. Her elder sister would be the one to suffer.

Su Qingxue both feared and hated You Shi. Now that You Shi was dead, she couldn’t help but look forward to the misfortune that might befall her elder sister, who had been cherished by their stepmother, all because of a few words of instigation from her.

Su Qingxue sat expressionlessly on the bed, listening to the door close. Her heart was indeed stirred by Su Qingxue’s words.

Was Mother’s death truly related to her cousins?

As night fell, the funeral hall grew quieter, with only the filial children and grandchildren keeping vigil by the fire basin.

Su Qingxun added some paper money to the fire basin, watching it turn to ash, then silently rose and walked inside.

Su Dajiu was resting but couldn’t sleep.

“Father, are you there?”

Su Dajiu turned over and got up, letting Su Qingxun enter.

Su Qingxun soon pushed open the door and came in.

Seeing his son visibly thinner after just two days, Su Dajiu sighed, “Xun’er, although you need to keep vigil, you must also take care of your health.”

“I understand, Father,” Su Qingxun replied, then fell silent.

“Is something the matter?”

Su Qingxun looked at Su Dajiu and asked, “Father, how did Mother pass away?”

Su Dajiu immediately frowned, his tone severe, “I’ve already said, your mother suffered an acute illness—”

“That’s just what we’re telling outsiders, isn’t it?” Su Qingxun calmly interrupted his father.

As the heir to the Marquis of Yining and the only male of his generation in the main branch after his second brother’s passing, there were some things he had to understand clearly.

Su Dajiu was still trying to maintain the facade, “Xun’er, what are you saying!”

Su Qingxun met Su Dajiu’s gaze without backing down, “Father, I’m almost of age. I have the right to know the truth, especially since we’re talking about my mother, one of the two closest people to me in this world.”

Su Dajiu stared into his son’s eyes.

Though the young man’s eyes were somewhat swollen and filled with fatigue, they remained clear.

After a long while, Su Dajiu asked, “Do you want to know?”

Su Qingxun’s heart sank, but he nodded, “I want to know, Father.”

He hadn’t been wrong in his guess; there was indeed more to his mother’s passing.

Seeing his son’s insistence, Su Dajiu raised his hand to rub his brow, sighing, “Your mother committed a grave mistake.”

“What mistake did Mother commit?”

“She poisoned your grandmother!”

“What?” Su Qingxun could no longer maintain his composure, utterly shocked.

Having already spoken, Su Dajiu continued without hesitation, “Your aunt was also killed by your mother’s poison!”

His son was intelligent and thoughtful. Rather than let him harbor suspicions about his mother’s death, potentially leading to conflicts with the Jiang family, especially his niece who was now the Princess Consort of Yan, it was better to tell him the truth now to avoid future regrets.

Su Qingxun felt his entire understanding of the world turn upside down. He opened his mouth, his voice like a fish struggling on a riverbank under the scorching sun, “Father, could there be some mistake?”

How could Mother possibly do such a thing?

In Su Qingxun’s mind, You Shi had always been the image of a loving mother, no different from any other mother who cherished her children.

“Your mother confessed it herself,” Su Dajiu said with a cold laugh. Fearing his son might still not believe, he added, “In front of your grandparents, your second uncle and aunt, and myself.”

Su Qingxun’s last hope died. He murmured, “No wonder…”

No wonder his father wasn’t grieving enough, no wonder his grandparents were so calm, no wonder his second aunt looked at him strangely, no wonder his mother—

Su Qingxun suddenly froze, blurting out, “Mother’s death—”

“She took her own life.”

“But—” Su Qingxun wanted to say something, but countless words turned to stone, choking in his throat.

But what? Was he going to say that his mother hadn’t committed suicide, that she had been forced to die?

Having killed his aunt and tried to harm his grandmother, what else could his mother do when such crimes were exposed but die?

If one were to say his mother had been forced to die, it was she who had forced herself into a dead end…

Thinking of this, two clear tears fell from the corners of Su Qingxun’s eyes.

“Why did Mother want to harm Aunt and Grandmother?” This was something Su Qingxun couldn’t comprehend.

Su Dajiu closed his eyes and said, “It was the ignorance and shallowness of a woman.”

Harming the Old Madam wasn’t really because her household management authority had been reduced, but because she became paranoid that the Old Madam would discover her schemes against Jiang Si.

Harming his sister was the result of confusion and lack of principles after being coerced by Princess Rongyang.

Su Qingxun was about to inquire further, but Su Dajiu opened his eyes and looked at him, sighing, “Xun’er, leave some face for your mother in your heart.”

Su Qingxun’s lips quivered, and then he deflated.

His father was right. Having learned about his mother harming his grandmother and aunt, asking further would only expose his mother’s ugliness completely, utterly shattering her image in his heart.

Remaining a bit confused would at least allow him to console himself by saying his mother must have had her reasons.

“Father, I’ll go back to keep vigil,” Su Qingxun said, leaving with heavy steps as if all his strength had been drained.

Su Dajiu breathed a slight sigh of relief.

He didn’t want to mention Princess Rongyang, lest his young and impetuous son do something rash.

Su Qingxun walked back towards the funeral hall, the white lanterns hanging in the corridor casting a ghastly light.

Not far away, under a tree, stood a slender young woman in white hemp mourning clothes.

“Younger Sister?” Su Qingxun’s steps faltered briefly before he walked over.

In the autumn night chill, Su Qingxue’s cheeks were slightly reddened from the cold.

“Elder Brother went to see Father?”

Meeting the young woman’s dark, sorrowful eyes, Su Qingxun sighed, “Younger Sister, come with me.”

The things he wanted to know, how could his sister not want to understand as well?

After hearing Su Qingxun’s account, Su Qingxue covered her face with trembling hands, weeping silently.

“No wonder… Cousin Si didn’t even want to come…”

The fact that Jiang Si hadn’t come to the Marquis of Yining’s mansion to pay respects to her aunt soon caught the attention of those with ulterior motives.