The family of three turned pale with alarm at the news.
Deng Yi, still a young man, was the first to move, rushing like a madman toward the courtyard of Deng Xuelian. Deng Zheng followed close behind, but given his age, he naturally could not keep pace with his son. Lady Gu, who lacked the fortitude for such shocks, nearly fainted; only by leaning on her serving woman was she able to stumble to the threshold of Deng Xuelian’s room.
By then, Deng Xuelian had already been carried down by a manservant and was lying on the bed, her face white as a sheet. The servants had immediately sent for an imperial physician, who was expected to arrive at any moment.
The news soon reached Fushou Hall. Upon hearing it, Han Qiongyue slapped her thigh in a fury. "That troublesome wretch! I knew it—she didn't come out to welcome us because she was surely brewing some mischief in her room!"
Deng Youning, however, remained calm. She had assumed that because they had been delayed so long on their journey, and because of the spectacle of the blood-recognition test at the gate, Deng Xuelian would not resort to a suicide attempt as she had in their past life. To think she was so impatient! With such limited capability, could she not at least learn to keep her head down? It was truly disgraceful. Then again, she reflected, it was to be expected; after such an elaborate performance had been prepared, how could she resist taking the stage? After all, it was a priceless Turtle Breathing Pill at stake.
As the matriarch, Han Qiongyue felt obligated to check on the situation. She stood up, glanced at Deng Youning—who appeared to be lost in thought—and made sure to settle her first. "The journey has been exhausting. Go with Mammy Dou and rest; we shall discuss other matters when I return."
Deng Youning refused. She knew her grandmother cared for her. In her previous life, she had been just as ignorant of the ways of the world, obeying whatever her grandmother said without question. It was precisely because of that blind obedience that she had made such a disastrous first impression on everyone in the Duke’s Mansion. From top to bottom, everyone called her cold-blooded and ruthless. Even her parents and brother had believed she had intentionally driven Deng Xuelian to her death. Even after Deng Xuelian was revived, she became the common enemy of the entire household.
Later, after her grandmother had passed away and her own tendons had been severed, every servant in the house had felt free to beat, curse, and humiliate her. She would never forget the first night she was locked in the shack where they stored fertilizer. That had been two days after her brother, Deng Yi, had sliced her tendons and burned her vocal cords. Everything of value she possessed had been stolen, and she had been forced to wear only the coarsest rags of a low-ranking maid. The place reeked, smelling far worse than a latrine. She could not stay there, yet when she tried to leave, her legs would no longer carry her.
Deng Yi was skilled with a blade; he had cut her tendons in such a way that they appeared normal to the eye. She had cried out twice, but only a wheezing, ghost-like wail could escape her throat. Those sounds had drawn a drunkard from outside the door.
"Oh ho, look at this little missy!" The man was a gardener for the estate, stumbling in drunk and leering at her. "So late, and in the fertilizer shack? Waiting for a lover, are we?" He began to unbuckle his trousers. "Serving one is serving another; why not add me to the mix and see who has the better technique..."
Even as an unmarried girl, Deng Youning knew what that meant. But when the man looked closely at her face, he sobered up instantly. "Damn it, why is it you, you wicked, poisonous woman? A wretch like you is too dirty to even serve as a mistress to a death-row inmate!"
She had assumed the man would only curse her to vent his anger, but soon he brought in more servants. The gardener took a pair of shears and, in front of a dozen people, shredded her already tattered clothes, exposing her. She was terrified. Even when she had been fed poison and bled by the valley master in Ten Thousand Serpents Valley as a child, she had never been so humiliated.
"She could even strike at her own biological parents, let alone the young lady who took her place for sixteen years!"
"True, the heir said she used sorcery to bewitch the Old Madam. Now that her tendons are cut, she can't use her magic anymore."
"Our household has been turned upside down because of her for two years!"
The servants grew angrier as they talked. The women stepped forward, grabbing her hair and yanking until blood flowed, only then feeling satisfied enough to stop. She endured such mockery, humiliation, and beatings for three or four months, until the Crown Prince ordered her to be beaten to death, which was her only release.
At the thought, a flash of killing intent crossed Deng Youning’s eyes.
"Grandmother, I am not tired, and I am worried about sister Lian'er," she said, suppressing her hostility and replacing it with the innocent, radiant smile of a young girl. "Why don't I go with you? Perhaps I can be of help."
Han Qiongyue was touched by Deng Youning’s magnanimity and kindness. If only the rest of the Duke’s Mansion could be half as virtuous, she would have nothing to worry about.
***
When the grandmother and granddaughter arrived, the imperial physician was already treating the patient. Deng Zheng stood to one side, wringing his hands in anxiety. Deng Yi, a man of six feet, had reddened eyes and was on the verge of sobbing. Lady Gu was rambling incessantly, as if she had lost her mind.
"Lian'er, my Lian'er, why would you give up on life like this! It’s all Mother’s fault for letting you suffer such grievances! My poor daughter, if anything happens to you, how could I go on living!"
Han Qiongyue stepped into the room and heard Lady Gu’s histrionics. She cast a look of disdain at her. What a mindless woman, weeping like this for an adopted daughter who lacked perspective and was consumed by jealousy!
The others saw Han Qiongyue and Deng Youning enter, and their eyes were filled with resentment toward the younger girl. This nameless rage even extended to Han Qiongyue. If the Old Madam had not insisted on bringing that jinx back, their Lian'er would never have tried to take her own life! The jinx was detestable, but the Old Madam was not innocent either.
The three members of the Deng family looked at them as if they were two murderers who had committed an heinous crime. However, they exercised some restraint when looking at Han Qiongyue. They reserved their venom for Deng Youning. If looks could kill, she would have died a hundred times over.
"It was you! You caused this, you drove Lian'er to this! Give me back my sister—" Deng Yi roared in impotent fury. With Mammy Dou and Yingshi holding him back, and Han Qiongyue present, he could only vent his rage at Deng Youning.
It had been the same in her past life. During the day, Deng Youning had not been at the scene, but at night, her brother Deng Yi had broken into her room and beaten her severely. Now that she was here, Deng Yi could vent his fury on the spot. After all, he was a man, and in his crazed state, Mammy Dou and Yingshi could not hold him back. He lunged toward her, raising a palm larger than her face to strike her.
But there was no way Deng Youning would let him hit her. She caught his descending wrist, whipped it around with force, and made him slap himself across the face.
"The heir certainly has a talent for accusing people without evidence—it would be a waste for you not to serve at the Grand Court of Revision! I have only just returned and haven't even seen Deng Xuelian yet, so how can you say I killed her? Falsely accusing someone is a violation of the laws of Dongji!"