Once a clean and elegant boudoir, it was now a scene of utter chaos. The Huangli wood flower stand had toppled by the window, effectively blocking it from the inside. The Qinghua porcelain vase that had once sat on the stand lay shattered into pieces, its bare branches scattered around.
The charcoal brazier, now burned out, emitted only lingering black smoke. Papers with writing covered the floor outside the open bookcase, and on the adjacent desk, lay a person. The face that had once been servile and submissive now froze in the final tranquility of death. Black stains of blood trailed from the corners of her lips, contrasting starkly against her once fair complexion, now tinged with bruises. Those eyes, harboring too many secrets, would never open again.
No one could have anticipated that while they were fully focused on dealing with Xia Mingyuan, Aunt Cai would end up dead in her room. Their hopes of extracting clues from her were now abruptly cut short.
Yet, too many mysteries remained unresolved. How exactly had she been in contact with Xia Mingyuan’s people? What had she done from beginning to end? What did she hope to gain? Yet all these questions were now buried with her.
Xiao Du stood at the doorway, coldly observing the scene before him. His frustration culminated in a fist smashing against the brick wall, and the suppressed true qi surged again, causing him to cough uncontrollably. Xiao Chun, who had rushed in upon hearing the news, trembled with fear, afraid that these successive incidents would overwhelm Lord Hou’s body. He hurriedly approached, patting Xiao Du’s back to ease his coughing, and instructed the stunned maidservants outside to prepare tea.
Xiao Du waved him off, indicating he didn’t need it, then called out to one of the maids and asked, “Were you the first to discover the body? When did you find her?”
The maid, named Guihe, Aunt Cai’s attendant, now pale with fright, tearfully replied, “Master locked Lady Aunt Cai in confinement and ordered us to stay by the door without leaving. Everything was fine until today when I went to deliver breakfast. After calling for a while without a response, I pushed the door open and found Lady Aunt Cai lying there. The room was in a mess, and I thought she was asleep, so I rushed over to shake her, but she didn’t move… That’s when I realized she was already dead.”
Xiao Du turned to the guards standing outside and asked, “Did you all see the state of the room when she entered?”
One of the guards understood his meaning and immediately replied, “When she entered, the door was still open. Her account is true.”
Xiao Du questioned the other maids, “You all stayed in the outer room without leaving.”
Everyone present nodded in agreement. Xiao Du then looked at the window blocked by the flower stand and asked, “What about this window? Was it blocked when you entered?”
Guihe nodded quickly, “Yes, that’s how I found it when I came in. I didn’t dare touch anything in the room.”
Frowning, Xiao Du fell into thought. If, as they said, someone was stationed outside the door, and the window was blocked from the inside, then no one could have entered the room before Aunt Cai’s death. Furthermore, Aunt Cai showed no external injuries or signs of struggle, suggesting death by poisoning or strangulation.
However, as he observed the surroundings, he found the situation highly suspicious. If Aunt Cai had decided to take her own life through poison or hanging, why would she have made such a mess in the room beforehand? Conversely, if she had struggled and caused the mess due to suffering before death, why did her expression show no signs of agony?
Lost in contemplation, Xiao Du paced to the bookcase, carefully picking up the stack of papers. They were filled with unrelated sentences, written crookedly and without elegance. He turned to Guihe and asked, “What’s this?”
Guihe replied, “These are the copybooks Lady Aunt Cai used to transcribe characters. She always said she was born lowly and illiterate, unworthy of Master Hou and the young mistress. So, she persisted in copying characters in the room over the years, hoping to learn more.”
Xiao Du stared at the papers, feeling that the scattered mess was highly unusual. However, after scrutinizing them several times, he found no clue.
Approaching Aunt Cai’s body, Xiao Du observed her from head to toe. Suddenly, he noticed something under her arm and immediately ordered the guards to move her aside. To his surprise, there was another paper hidden underneath her. It bore the same handwriting as the copybooks, but the message was chilling: “I have committed unforgivable sins and am ashamed before Master and the princess. Only death can redeem my guilt!”
The handwriting seemed unstable, with many blots of ink and a smear in the middle, as if it had been revised multiple times.
Xiao Du read the lines over and over again, sensing there was more to Aunt Cai’s death than a simple suicide. But what exactly had happened? What was Aunt Cai trying to convey in this scene? His mind raced, and his heart ached as he couldn’t help but remember how much insight Yuanxi could have offered in this situation.
Her soft, bright eyes suddenly appeared in his mind, her gentle voice still echoing in his ears. His chest tightened with pain, almost suffocating him.
Unable to dare to think further, not even daring to touch a single thread, yet everywhere were traces of her presence, reopening the wounds he had long ignored, causing them to bleed afresh until they burst open.
Xiao Du leaned on the table, struggling to detach himself from the bottomless pit of pain. After a long while, he finally let out a sigh and said, “Summon a coroner, and thoroughly investigate how and when she died!”
With that, he left with his hands behind his back. Despite the vibrant autumn scenery in the courtyard, Xiao Du felt as if the whole world had lost its color in the absence of one person.
Outside the high walls of the Marquis’ Mansion, the sound of horse hooves echoed. A long trail was imprinted on the ground covered with fallen flowers and dry leaves.
Inside the carriage, Yuan Xi’s heart bounced along with the bumpy ride. As she watched the vermilion eaves of the Marquis’ Mansion gradually fade away, she suddenly remembered the day she was sent to the mansion for marriage. Back then, her heart was filled with anticipation and apprehension, but now, only desolation remained.
With a sidelong glance, Xia Mingyuan coldly said, “Since you’re leaving, there’s no need to dwell on it. There’s nothing worth reminiscing about here.”
Yuan Xi turned to look directly at him, her eyes filled with confusion and questioning, which made Xia Mingyuan feel somewhat uneasy. It seemed that she had made up her mind before finally speaking, “Father, can you tell me if marrying me into the Marquis’ Mansion was part of your plan? What exactly do you want me to do?”
Xia Mingyuan’s expression changed slightly, and for a moment, he felt tongue-tied. He turned away from her gaze and said softly, “Don’t worry, I won’t ask anything of you.”
Yuan Xi became even more perplexed. Her father didn’t seem to be lying, but there must be something important he hadn’t told her, which made him feel guilty now.
Her hands subconsciously clenched the corners of her clothes. After a while, she asked again, “Was the incident at Pingdu Pass done at your command? Do you want Xiao Du dead?”
Xia Mingyuan seemed to grow angry, staring at her with a hardened tone, “That’s none of your concern! Just remember, you were raised in my mansion, regardless of anything else, you are a daughter of the Xia family. Whatever happens, just remember that!”
Disappointed, Yuan Xi withdrew her gaze, feeling even more lost in her heart. She left because she didn’t want to choose between him and her father, and she didn’t want her father to have any chance to use her against him. But as the carriage approached its destination, she wondered if it was still her home.
The coachman urged the horse forward swiftly, while silence filled the carriage. Finally, the carriage stopped steadily outside the Left Marquis’ Mansion. Aunt Seven, having heard the servant’s report, was already waiting in the courtyard. Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably as she rushed forward and embraced Yuan Xi, repeatedly saying, “My Xi’er, my Xi’er…”
Yuan Xi rested her head on Aunt Seven’s shoulder, feeling as if she had once again become the lonely and helpless child she used to be. Without further consideration, she began to cry out loud, as if trying to release all the grievances and repression.
Xia Mingyuan stood by silently, watching Yuan Xi cry freely for a while before wiping away her tears and gently comforting Aunt Seven.
He couldn’t help but scrutinize her from head to toe, suddenly feeling that she was very different from before she got married: less timid and self-deprecating, but more strong and resilient. Was all this because of that person?
He slowly withdrew his gaze and sighed inwardly, instructing the steward who was standing nearby, “Go and tidy up a room for Miss. She will be staying here for a few days.”
The steward hurriedly complied, instructing a few servants to help Yuan Xi move her belongings into the room. Yuan Xi asked Li Mama and An He to go back first and tidy up and then accompanied Aunt Seven back to the room to have a meal together. They hadn’t seen each other for a long time, so naturally, they had a lot to talk about. Aunt Seven knew that Yuan Xi’s sudden return to the mansion must be unusual, but she didn’t dare to ask too much, so she chatted with her about some gossip and trivial matters in the mansion, trying to cheer her up.
The two of them stayed until the sun was about to set. Yuan Xi originally wanted to stay in Aunt Seven’s room, but she thought that she had just returned to the mansion and needed to tidy up the room first, so she made an appointment with Aunt Seven to come and see her again early the next morning.
When she returned to her room, Li Mama and An He had already arranged most of her belongings. Yuan Xi looked at the familiar layout before her, feeling a surge of sourness in her nose. Everything in the Marquis’ Mansion seemed like a dream, but after all the twists and turns, she ended up back here, as if as long as she hid in this room, the storms outside would have nothing to do with her.
At this moment, An He took out a silk cloth bag from the trunk curiously and asked, “Madam, this has been by your pillow all along. Do you need it now?”
Yuan Xi’s face immediately flushed when she looked at the cloth bag, and she hurriedly snatched it back, trying to cover up her embarrassment, “It’s nothing, I can handle it myself. I’m a little tired, so you can go out first.”
Li Mama and An He were a little puzzled, but they didn’t dare to ask too much, afraid of making her sad again. They just reminded her to take care of herself a few times before leaving.
Yuan Xi lay down on the bed, took a deep breath, and opened the cloth bag. As she looked at the little figure carved by him in front of her, she couldn’t help but start to miss him: his smiling eyes, strong arms, warm hands, and hot lips. She closed her eyes, pressed the figurine tightly to her chest, and desperately muttered to herself, “Just sleep quickly, if you fall asleep, your heart won’t ache anymore.”
But her mind didn’t obey her control. It was filled with scenes of the two of them together, some sweet, some bitter, and in the end, only an unbearable bitterness remained. In a daze, she seemed to hear the noisy voices outside, mixed with the barking of dogs.
For some reason, her heart suddenly started pounding, and she quickly sat up and shouted towards the outer room, “What’s going on?”
Li Mama replied from outside the door, “It seems that thieves have entered the mansion, and Manager Du is leading people to investigate. We’re all outside guarding, so madam, please rest assured.”
Yuan Xi turned back, only to suddenly realize that the window had been opened at some point. She was about to walk over to close it when a dark figure swiftly flashed in.
Yuan Xi was about to scream in fright, but the person suddenly hugged her tightly, enveloping her in the familiar scent that surrounded her. She was startled and stood frozen, feeling as if she were still in a dream.
Before she could fully regain her senses, Xiao Du couldn’t wait any longer and pressed his lips gently against her ear, whispering, “Shh, I missed you!”