Xiao Zhixuan blinked, seeming somewhat puzzled. “Last night? I… I didn’t go anywhere.”
Xiao Du tightened his grip on her hand slightly and said coldly, “Xuan’er, do you know that you’ve never been good at lying since you were a child? Do you think you can deceive me? When I passed by your room last night, I happened to see you returning to your room. It was late at night. Where did you go?”
Xiao Zhixuan bit her lip, tears welling up in her eyes. She lowered her head and said, “I… I dare not say. Would Big Brother believe me if I told him?”
Xiao Du’s expression softened slightly. He released her hand and said gently, “As long as you tell the truth, Big Brother will believe you.”
Xiao Zhixuan seemed to muster her courage before saying, “I couldn’t sleep last night. I kept thinking about you and Sister-in-law. Suddenly, I had an idea to sneak a peek at where you were going. When I was about to reach Sister-in-law’s door, I suddenly saw a figure standing in front of her door, not knowing what they were doing. I felt that the figure was very familiar, so I wanted to get closer to see clearly, but then the person suddenly turned around…” She spoke as if recalling the scene from last night, her face turning pale, and unconsciously grabbing the hem of her shirt.
“Who was that person?” Xiao Du quickly asked, furrowing his brow.
“It was… it was Aunt Yun!” Xiao Zhixuan hesitated for a moment before finally saying.
“Impossible! How could it be Aunt Yun!” Xiao Du couldn’t help but grab her arm again, looking incredulous.
Xiao Zhixuan nodded, her expression somewhat bewildered. “At first, I couldn’t believe it was her either. But when I saw her suddenly turn around and walk back, I secretly followed behind her for a while before confirming it was Aunt Yun. Later, I accidentally sprained my foot, and when I looked up again, she was gone. At that time, my foot hurt, so I went back to my room first. Who knew later I found out about my Sister-in-law being poisoned? I wanted to tell you, but I was afraid you wouldn’t believe me and afraid of implicating Aunt Yun, so I didn’t dare to say anything.” She seemed deeply remorseful as tears welled up in her eyes.
Xiao Du also felt unsettled at this moment, and could only comfort her, “Alright, don’t overthink it. Big Brother will figure out this matter. You go back to your room first.”
Xiao Zhixuan nodded tearfully, unable to help but ask again, “Big Brother, why did Aunt Yun…”
Xiao Du waved his hand, saying, “Don’t worry about it. Remember not to tell anyone about this matter.”
Xiao Zhixuan nodded in response, and with the two maidservants looking around anxiously not far away, she walked back. As they passed by the Lotus Flower Courtyard where Yuan Xi lived, she couldn’t help but stop, gazing at the picturesque scenery inside, sighing softly.
Beyond the gallery windows, Yuan Xi sat alone in the room, flipping through a book called “Records of Exonerating Wrongs”. The pale yellow pages were slightly curled from being turned so many times. She casually opened a page, where it read: “A man from Guangnan had a minor dispute and wronged someone. He consumed Hu Man Grass, which resembles Awei, with long pointed leaves. Consuming more than three leaves would result in death.” The words “Hu-Man Grass” were circled lightly, with a line of small characters added beside it: also known as wild kudzu, commonly found in sparse forests and thickets, highly toxic, also recorded in the “Medical Treatise”.
As she flipped through the pages, almost every page had these neatly written small characters, sometimes explaining unusual objects, sometimes supplementing case information, and sometimes adding a few witty comments. Yuan Xi was engrossed in reading, as if she could see the young scholar standing in front of her, talking eloquently. She couldn’t help but smile lightly.
Closing the book, she thought of Xiao Du’s suspicion towards her earlier. She couldn’t understand why she felt so guilty at that moment, unable to tell him the truth. Since she came across this “Records of Exonerating Wrongs” from a young scholar, she found it particularly interesting. So, every once in a while, he would bring her a few books of this kind, even after he left the mansion. Each book was filled with his handwritten annotations. From childhood to adulthood, she had neither sisters to socialize with nor close friends in the women’s quarters. It was because of these books that her days were not too lonely, feeling like she had someone to accompany her.
She rubbed her forehead, thinking of the hopeful look from Nanny Li when she returned to the room, feeling even more despondent. Scenes from last night flashed back into her mind, and she could almost be certain that the pair of eyes glued to her window belonged to Aunt Yun. But why would Aunt Yun do this? Was she insane?
She suddenly remembered Xiao Zhixuan mentioning on the carriage that she had been poisoned last night, but the poison was colorless and odorless, hidden in the burning lamp, so she didn’t notice it, only feeling drowsy. If Aunt Yun wanted to harm her, why go through the trouble of sneaking to the window to peek and making those noises to wake her up?
Her heart suddenly skipped a beat, and a thought emerged: Could it be that Yunniang didn’t intend to harm her, but rather wanted to remind her to escape quickly? But the door had already been locked by someone, so she kept pushing it, while the real culprit who harmed her was the one hiding behind, poisoning her and locking her inside!
With this realization, Yuenix couldn’t hold back anymore and wanted to go find Yunniang for answers. She instructed Anhe and Rongqiao not to follow, and went alone, relying on her memory to walk towards the side courtyard where Yunniang resided.
Passing through the corridor and courtyard, it was still the secluded little courtyard overgrown with weeds. There stood a figure in front of the courtyard gate, the emerald green brocade robe draping down, blending into the varying shades of green behind him. Naturally, it was Xiaodu. He stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the small blue brick house not far away, unable to summon the courage to step over the shallow doorstep.
Since he could remember, he had rarely seen his mother. In his impression, his mother had always been the frail and proud woman, while his father was deep and stern, only pushing him to practice martial arts and study. Whenever he felt afraid or sad, it was Yunniang who held him in her arms, comforting him with gentle words. At that time, he would tell himself that when he grew up, he would take good care of Yunniang like family. Eight years ago, for some reason, Yunniang suddenly went mad. He felt guilty and blamed himself for not taking care of her well, so he firmly decided to keep her in the mansion, vowing not to let anything happen to her again. But if all of this was just a facade if she wasn’t mad… After the Pingdu Pass battle, he thought he could remain calm in the face of anything. But if even his closest family couldn’t be trusted anymore, how should he face it?
His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps, and he turned around to find Yuenix standing beside him, her face showing the same confusion and unease as his. Xiaodu slowly turned around, his expression growing even more somber. “Have you remembered?”
Yuenix nodded, guessing that he had come for the same reason. She hurriedly said, “But things aren’t as you think. The real culprit behind last night’s incident must be someone else.”
Xiaodu raised an eyebrow, looking at her, but felt a slight relief in his heart. “Let’s go inside and talk.”
The two walked into the courtyard, and upon entering the room, they saw Yunniang sitting blankly on a stool, with a little maid beside her, feeding her porridge. Xiaodu took the porridge from the maid’s hand, saying to her, “I’ll do it, you can leave.”
The maid quickly stood up and walked out, gently closing the door behind her. Xiaodu scooped a spoonful of porridge and blew on it lightly before bringing it to Yunniang’s lips, speaking softly, “There’s no one else here now. Tell me, what happened?”
Yunniang still had the same blank expression, mechanically swallowing the porridge. Just as Xiaodu was about to speak, Yuenix squatted down beside Yunniang and whispered, “Yunniang, did you want to save me last night? What did you want to tell me?”
Yunniang turned her head mechanically to look at her, suddenly revealing a strange smile, causing the scar on her face to twist, giving her a terrifying appearance. Yuenix’s heart tightened, unable to help but ask anxiously, “Do you know? Who wanted to harm me?”
“That’s enough,” Xiaodu suddenly said, “She won’t answer you. If she wanted to speak, she would have done so eight years ago.” He scooped another spoonful of porridge, feeding it to Yunniang while saying, “I know you must have your reasons. Whoever wants to harm you or my family, I won’t let them off easily. Yunniang, rest assured, Du’er has grown up and will protect you.”
Yunniang seemed to understand nothing, just mechanically eating the porridge. The room fell into silence until the porridge was finished, and Xiaodu led Yuenix out of the room.
The two walked in silence until they reached a peach tree next to the drooping flower gate. Xiaodu suddenly smiled and said, “Do you still want me to come over tonight?” Yuenix was suddenly stunned. He had said the same thing by the stream yesterday, but now both of them had an inexplicable heaviness in their hearts. She lowered her head, feeling complicated, not knowing how to respond.
Just as she felt uneasy, she suddenly felt dizzy. When she came to her senses, she realized that Xiaodu had already pulled her against the door, lowering his head and slowly approaching her lips.
A wave of fear surged in Yuenix’s heart. After a moment of internal struggle, she couldn’t help but jerk her head to the side. Xiaodu abruptly stopped, still smiling but with a hint of coldness in his voice. “Such things are only interesting when both parties are willing. Since my lady is unwilling, I won’t force it.” With that, he released her hand, turned around, and walked away without looking back.
Yuenix felt a sudden emptiness in front of her, the warm breath gone, leaving only a faint chill that gradually seeped into her heart, forming an indescribable melancholy.