Yuanxi sat on the edge of the bed as An’he helped pull down her pant leg, saying cheerfully, “Madam, I think your foot will be completely healed in another two days.” Her eyes sparkled mischievously as she smiled and added, “All thanks to the Marquis personally caring for you every day.” She emphasized the word “personally” heavily, her tone full of teasing.

Yuanxi’s face reddened as she gave her a shy glare. Since the day they had reconciled, Xiao Du came to her room every day to chat with her and massage medicine into her injured area. Each time An’he eagerly tried to take over, he would say that the maids’ hands were too light and couldn’t apply the right pressure. But every time he massaged, he inevitably ended up touching places he shouldn’t.

Seeing her slightly flushed cheeks and spring-filled eyes, An’he couldn’t help but exchange a meaningful glance with Ying’er, and both covered their mouths to giggle softly. Just then, a commotion of shouting voices came from outside the courtyard, faintly mixed with crying and cursing. Yuanxi felt an inexplicable unease in her heart and said to An’he, “What’s happening outside? Help me go out and see.”

An’he quickly said, “Madam, your leg injury hasn’t healed yet. How can you walk around?”

Yuanxi shook her head, “It’s just a minor sprain. It’s not like I can’t walk at all. Besides, I’ve been cooped up for two days and want to go out for a walk.”

But An’he firmly pressed her down on the bed, saying stubbornly, “This foot is about to heal completely. If something happens today, and the Marquis blames us, this servant cannot bear the responsibility. Why don’t I go out and look for you instead?”

Without waiting for Yuanxi’s response, she turned and headed outside. As she pushed open the door, she happened to run into Nanny Li walking into the courtyard with a face full of worry, her eyes slightly red and swollen as if she had just been crying. Yuanxi’s heart sank further, and she quickly had An’he call her in.

When Nanny Li entered, she was evasive and reluctant to speak. Only after Yuanxi put on a stern face and forcibly questioned her did she reveal the reason. It turned out that the parents of the maid Zhui’er had come from the countryside to collect their daughter’s remains, but Zhui’er’s body had disappeared the day before it was to be transported to the charity cemetery. The household steward couldn’t explain the reason and only promised to compensate with more silver. Seeing that their daughter was nowhere to be found alive or dead, the two parents couldn’t let it go and stormed into the courtyard to cause trouble, saying they wanted to demand an explanation from the Marquis and his wife. Later they were driven out by several guards.

Speaking to this point, Nanny Li became increasingly indignant and couldn’t help wiping her tears, saying, “Those two honest country folk, how could they fight against the powerful Marquis Xuanyuan’s mansion? It’s just pitiful Zhui’er – a pure and innocent girl sent in, only to end up with no remains left.”

“You said Zhui’er’s body disappeared?” Yuanxi frowned and pressed further, “How could it possibly disappear? Wasn’t it said that she drowned herself? How was the body handled afterward?”

“I also heard about this – after Zhui’er’s body was retrieved that day, it was left to be sent to the charity cemetery the next day. But that night the body mysteriously vanished, and all the servants on duty pushed off responsibility, saying it had nothing to do with them.” Nanny Li took out a handkerchief to wipe her tears, then showed a sighing expression, saying, “A corpse just disappeared like that – whether it was unintentional or deliberate, who can say for certain?”

Yuanxi felt her heart growing heavy and asked, “Have Zhui’er’s parents left? I want to go see them.”

Nanny Li looked up in surprise, “Madam, you still have an injury on your foot. This might not be appropriate…”

Yuanxi said, “They came such a long way, couldn’t retrieve their daughter’s body, and were driven out. They must feel terrible. I am after all a mistress of the Marquis’s mansion – going to see them might at least provide some comfort to their hearts.”

After some hesitation, Nanny Li finally nodded and helped Yuanxi walk toward the side gate along with An’he. As soon as Yuanxi reached the door, she saw two people in coarse cloth clothes – an old man and woman sitting on the steps, constantly sighing and wiping tears. They turned to glance at Yuanxi’s group at the doorway: they recognized Nanny Li, and seeing the well-dressed person beside her and Nanny Li’s respectful demeanor, they could roughly guess this was someone of master’s status.

Seeing the deep confusion in their eyes, Nanny Li quickly said, “This is the wife of Marquis Xuanyuan, who has always cared for Zhui’er. Hearing about your situation, she felt bad and wanted to come see you.”

The two exchanged glances, then the woman suddenly rushed forward, saying, “It’s you people – you killed Zhui’er!”

An’he and Nanny Li were startled and quickly helped Yuanxi step back. But the woman had only run halfway when her legs suddenly gave out and she knelt down, crying, “It’s all my fault – I shouldn’t have been greedy for those few taels of silver and sold Zhui’er to the Marquis’s mansion. Please, Madam, return Zhui’er to us, return our daughter to us!” She cried and kowtowed continuously, the despair in her eyes moving everyone present.

Yuanxi felt like something had struck her heart hard. She bowed deeply to them and said, “Zhui’er’s matter is the Marquis’s mansion’s fault to you.” She removed a pearl flower from her hair and placed it in the woman’s hand, saying, “If you have any difficulties in the future, take this pearl flower to find Nanny Li. If I can help you, I will.”

The woman stared blankly at the pearl flower in her hand and said dejectedly, “The person is already dead – what use are these things to us?” Her tears flowed endlessly as she and the old man supported each other, trembling as they walked away.

The bright red lanterns under the Marquis mansion’s eaves illuminated their lonely and desperate figures. The festive and sorrowful scenes intertwined, giving Yuanxi a deep sense of powerlessness.

Supporting herself on An’he, she stepped back over the threshold, feeling somewhat dizzy. She suddenly pitched forward and fell into a solid embrace. Looking up, she saw Xiao Du’s half-smiling face and heard his gentle, rich voice in her ear: “How are you always so careless?”

An’he and Nanny Li quickly paid their respects to him, then immediately found an excuse to leave tactfully. Xiao Du helped her sit in the pavilion in the courtyard and carefully examined her ankle, asking, “Does it still hurt?” Yuanxi shook her head in a daze, but tears finally fell uncontrollably. Xiao Du was startled and was about to inquire when he saw her staring at him seriously, saying, “Zhui’er – she didn’t commit suicide at all!”

Xiao Du’s gaze sharpened as he said, “You just saw her parents?”

Yuanxi’s eyes widened, “You know about this?”

Xiao Du nodded, “As soon as I returned, Steward Liu told me about this matter.” He helped her rest her head against his chest and said gently, “This matter has nothing to do with you at all. You don’t need to blame yourself.”

But Yuanxi shook her head and choked, “Zhui’er was murdered. After she died, she was still tightly protecting her belly, which shows that in her final moments she was still trying to protect the fetus in her womb. How could she possibly seek death with her child? She had come to beg me for help before her accident. But I couldn’t help her. Now knowing she died unjustly, I can’t tell her relatives the truth. I can’t do anything, anything at all…” She looked up with some anger, “The child she carried was also Xiao family blood. Forcing her to abort and driving her out was already cruel enough – why did they have to take her life too?”

Xiao Du sighed and took out a handkerchief to carefully wipe the tears from her face. After a long silence, he said, “The child she carried wasn’t Xiao family blood at all.” Seeing Yuanxi’s surprised expression, he sighed again and continued, “Because my second brother – he simply cannot have children.”

Yuanxi was shocked, her grip on his hand trembling slightly, finding it hard to accept for a moment. Xiao Du continued, “When Concubine Wang was pregnant with him, she inexplicably fell seriously ill, so he was very weak from birth. It was already difficult for him to survive. Later his health was always poor. Even after marrying, he consulted many famous doctors, but they all said he was congenitally deficient and definitely couldn’t father children.” He paused and said, “Very few people know about this matter. I shouldn’t have told you. But I still told you because I want you to stop blaming yourself like this. Do you understand?”

Yuanxi was dumbfounded, finally understanding why Xiao Qing was so dissolute, why Concubine Wang harbored such hatred, why Wang Shiqin concealed so much darkness beneath her dignified exterior. Thinking through the entire matter carefully, she inexplicably felt cold and leaned back into Xiao Du’s embrace, hugging him tightly, desperately seeking some warmth.

Xiao Du gently stroked the top of her head and continued, “So no one wanted to expose Zhui’er’s matter originally. Driving her from the Marquis’s mansion was already showing utmost benevolence. Since the fetus in her womb had nothing to do with my second brother, what reason would they have to harm her?”

Yuanxi finally found her voice again, “Then how exactly did Zhui’er die? Who would kill her and steal her body?”

Xiao Du reached out to smooth her tightly furrowed brows, saying, “She did come to beg you for help, but she lied to you first. You don’t owe her anything. Do you understand?”

Yuanxi’s heart still felt blocked and heavy. She sighed deeply and was about to speak when her lips were suddenly sealed. The entanglement of lips and teeth carried a comforting flavor, gentle as wind and rain, gradually calming her heart. After a long while, Xiao Du finally lifted his head and sighed softly, “So don’t think about anything else. The most important thing now is to heal your leg injury.” Remembering his plans, a smile touched the corner of his mouth, “When your leg heals, I’ll take you to the farm to relax. I can see you really like it there.” Warmth flooded Yuanxi’s heart as she took his hand, intertwining their fingers, resting her head on his shoulder and indulging herself in this rare tenderness.

That night, a gentle breeze stirred the lake water into tiny ripples. A piece of unburned paper money was blown by the wind into the center of the lake, then quickly sank to the bottom.

Not far from the lake surface, in a patch of darkness, a small cluster of flame ignited, flickering like ghostly fire in the dark night. Light yellow paper money danced in the air, consumed by the flames and turning into thick black smoke that drifted far away.

A young man in blue cloth clothes knelt facing the lake, secretly burning paper money while crying softly. His voice was extremely quiet, afraid of waking others, but his eyes were full of pain and grief.

Suddenly he felt movement behind him and turned around in fright to see a pair of delicate feet in embroidered shoes. The shoes looked somewhat familiar, so he fearfully looked up to see a familiar face looking at him sadly, saying, “Brother Xiaojin, have you come to pay respects to me?” The young man cried out in terror and fell backward, while the person standing before him suddenly began bleeding from the eye sockets, her gaze turning cold and vicious as she said harshly, “Did you think I would forget who killed me? From today on, I will never spare anyone who wronged me!”