“Crash!” The sky-blue porcelain vase was swept to the ground by someone’s hand, instantly shattering into pieces.
Eight-year-old little Xiao Du stood furiously to one side. A young maid hurriedly scrambled to pick up the fragments from the floor, afraid he might accidentally get cut. The other maids were already on the verge of tears, constantly pleading: “Young Master, please, you still have a fever. Doctor Zheng instructed that you must stay bedridden for the next few days and absolutely cannot move around anymore.”
Xiao Du’s mind was already dizzy from the fever, his legs felt as if they were filled with lead, and his face and neck were covered with red chicken pox of various sizes. At this moment, as his temper flared, the itching became increasingly unbearable.
He glared fiercely at the maids beside him and roared: “Get out! All of you get out! This illness of mine is contagious – it’ll make all your faces rot!”
The maids all showed terrified expressions but dared not make a sound or move a single step. Seeing them like this, Xiao Du became even more irritated. Every part of his face and body itched and hurt, and he couldn’t help wanting to scratch at his face. Just then, someone grabbed his hand and said: “You can’t scratch! If you scratch, your face will be ruined.”
When the other maids saw this person, they all immediately breathed a sigh of relief, looking at her with hopeful eyes. Xiao Du looked up in a daze at Yunniang’s caring yet slightly stern face. Her steady voice was like a clear stream that temporarily calmed him down, but then he felt very wronged. His nose turned sour and he began to cry: “Yunniang! Mother won’t hold me. She says my illness is contagious and she’s afraid her body can’t handle it. I feel so awful – I just want Mother to hold me!”
Yunniang’s expression changed, and she quickly gestured for all the frightened maids in the room to leave. Only then did she sigh and lovingly gather him into her embrace, gently comforting him: “Young Master, be good. Don’t throw a tantrum. You see how well the Princess treats you normally – it’s just that her body is weak. If she accidentally catches your illness, she’ll have to suffer greatly before she can recover. So don’t blame the Princess – she actually does care about you. When you’re better, she’ll definitely hold you properly.”
Seeing that Xiao Du was finally calming down gradually, she carried him to the bed and gently tucked the brocade quilt around him. Tilting her head, she lightly patted his body while humming a lullaby. Xiao Du was indeed quite delirious from the fever, and now under Yunniang’s comfort, he was no longer so agitated. He slowly closed his eyes, and in his half-asleep, half-awake state, murmured softly: “Yunniang, it would be wonderful if you were my mother.”
Yunniang’s raised hand froze in mid-air, then she sighed heavily. When her hands came down again, they slowly moved to his neck, and then… pressed down hard. Xiao Du felt a wave of suffocation and quickly opened his eyes, only to discover that Yunniang’s eyes had begun to turn red and her face had become grotesque and terrifying. He screamed in fright: “Yunniang… cough cough… what are you doing!”
But Yunniang didn’t listen to his cries, only pressed harder with her hands, making it completely impossible for Xiao Du to breathe. At this moment, a knife wound suddenly appeared out of nowhere on her face, with flesh and blood flying outward, yet she seemed to feel no pain at all, only revealing a sinister smile…
Xiao Du jolted awake from his dream, involuntarily reaching up to touch his neck. The suffocating sensation still felt very real, and his undergarments were already soaked with cold sweat.
Yuanxi was awakened by him and drowsily turned over to embrace him, asking: “What’s wrong?”
Xiao Du shook his head and grasped her hand, saying softly: “Nothing, continue sleeping.” But his heart could no longer calm down. Memories from childhood mixed with the present, and he could no longer distinguish which Yunniang was her true appearance.
Yuanxi sensed his distress and sat up, nestling in his embrace as she asked: “What’s really wrong? Can’t sleep because of Yunniang’s matter?”
Xiao Du sighed heavily. “I’m completely unwilling to believe that all of this was Yunniang’s doing. But after she admitted to everything yesterday, she insisted that I send her to the authorities. No matter how I asked, she wouldn’t say another word, wouldn’t even look at me again.”
Yuanxi pondered for a moment, then raised her head to ask: “A’Du, are you unwilling to believe that Yunniang is the murderer, or do you truly think it’s impossible that she did it?”
Xiao Du was silent for a long time before saying: “I don’t know. But the Yunniang I’ve known since childhood is absolutely not a malicious person, and moreover… she would never harm my relatives.”
Yuanxi nodded. “I also think she must have her difficulties. That day at the estate, if she hadn’t warned me, I might have died long ago.” She thought for a moment, then said: “How about this – I’ll go find her tomorrow to try talking to her. Perhaps she’ll be willing to speak with me.”
Xiao Du smiled bitterly. “She’s completely unwilling to see me now. There’s no other way. Help me tell her that no matter what difficulties she has, as long as she’s willing to tell the truth, I absolutely won’t make things difficult for her. I’ll go to the mortuary again tomorrow – perhaps I can find some new clues.”
Yuanxi nodded and nuzzled her head against his chest, saying softly: “Sleep well. You must remember that no matter what happens, I’ll always be with you.”
Xiao Du gently kissed her forehead, his eyes growing somewhat warm. Yes, no matter how difficult the long night might be, it would always pass. As long as you’re by my side, even nightmares aren’t worth fearing.
Early the next morning, Yuanxi came alone to the outside of Yunniang’s small courtyard. Xiao Du couldn’t bear to have Yunniang imprisoned, so he had only arranged for several guards to watch over the courtyard, instructing them to take shifts day and night and not let Yunniang leave the room for even a moment.
When the guard saw that it was the Madam who had come, he hesitated only briefly before letting Yuanxi into the room. The little maid who had always stayed by Yunniang’s side had already been dismissed. In the simple and cold room, Yunniang sat alone by the window, seemingly gazing outside. Only when one drew closer could one discover that her eyes held nothing but emptiness.
Yuanxi approached and sat beside her, gently calling: “Yunniang, I’ve come to see you.”
Yunniang’s eyes turned this way, but she didn’t even change her posture, only saying coldly: “Why should Madam come to such a place? I’ve admitted to everything I should have admitted. As for the rest, there’s nothing more to say.”
Yuanxi sighed. “You should know that A’Du has respected and trusted you since childhood, even considering you like family. This incident has been harder on him than anyone else, so why won’t you explain clearly to him?”
Yunniang’s body trembled, and a sorrowful expression appeared on her face, but her tone remained cold and hard: “Tell the Marquis that Yunniang has failed his trust and care all these years. I’m nothing but a servant – let him not worry about me, just take good care of himself. There are still many things waiting for him to do.”
Yuanxi seemed to be provoked to some anger by her response. “Fine! You say you did everything alone, so tell me – how did you contact Concubine Cai all these years? How did you incite her to do those things? You must explain every single detail clearly.”
A flash of panic appeared in Yunniang’s eyes, and she turned her head away. “Anyway, I did everything. At worst, it’s just death. I can’t remember any of the details you’re asking about – just send me to the authorities for interrogation.”
Yuanxi bit her lip and continued pressing: “Fine! If you can’t remember the distant past, then I’ll ask you about recent events. On the day Concubine Cai died, how did you make her take the poison? How did you manage to prevent her from resisting? As long as you can explain this clearly, I’ll believe that you acted entirely alone!”
Yunniang also became somewhat agitated, staring at Yuanxi. “That day I entered the room and held a knife to her throat, forcing her to take the poison. After she was poisoned, I took away those crucial papers and returned to destroy them. Before leaving, I used ice blocks to prop up the flower stand’s feet, then lit the charcoal brazier and left through the window. After the ice melted, the flower stand would fall to perfectly block the window. Then no one would discover that I had been there. Now you should believe me, right?”
Yuanxi suddenly showed a strange expression, staring at her. “You say you forced Concubine Cai to take poison, then took the calligraphy copybooks and left? You didn’t do anything else?”
Yunniang felt somewhat guilty under her gaze, then straightened her neck defiantly. “No, the person who deserved to die was dead, and I took what needed to be taken. What else would I need to do?”
Yuanxi said: “So you completely don’t know about the letter?”
Yunniang’s face showed some confusion. “Letter? What letter?”
Yuanxi sighed. “That day, there was also a suicide note pressed under Concubine Cai’s body. In the letter, she told us that it was Nanny Yu who harmed her. But you completely don’t know about this, which proves that you entered the room after Concubine Cai’s death and never touched her body at all. Yunniang, what exactly are you hiding? And why are you determined to take the blame for her?”
Yunniang struggled for a long time, then finally sighed deeply. “Madam, many things could clearly be settled with me. Why must you continue investigating? You only need to believe me – once some things are brought to light, it won’t benefit anyone!”
Yuanxi stood up somewhat excitedly. “So we should feel perfectly justified letting you bear all the blame alone, letting the real murderer go free, and letting A’Du live in the pain and guilt of losing a loved one?”
Yunniang looked up at her, tears already welling in her eyes. “Madam, do you know? A person cannot do wrong things. Once they’ve done something wrong, even a lifetime cannot make up for it. I’m really quite tired. Just pretend you know nothing and let me atone for my sins in peace, all right?”
Yuanxi grasped her hands. “What exactly happened? Tell us – we can help you.”
But Yunniang quickly regained her composure, withdrawing her hands coldly. “What you said just now is merely your own speculation. No matter where this goes, I will insist that I acted alone. I think whether it’s the Master or the authorities, they’ll all be quite happy to let this case end with me. So Madam needn’t waste any more words – please leave.”
Yuanxi was so angry she was about to cry, but she understood that Yunniang’s mind was made up and no amount of persuasion would change it. She could only say angrily: “I won’t give up, and I believe A’Du won’t give up either. There must be a way to prove your innocence!” With that, she turned and walked outside.
Yunniang shook her head, then suddenly lowered it, saying: “Young Master has finally married a good wife. You can rest assured now.” When she raised her head again, tears covered her weathered face. Despair spread from her eyes, gradually drowning her entire being.