Deng Youning showed no mercy. She longed to kill him on the spot to avenge the severed limbs she had suffered in her past life.
Her calm response and unfathomable martial arts skills left the three members of the Deng family utterly dumbfounded. How could this small, sickly-looking girl possess more strength than Deng Yi, who was eight feet tall and trained in the martial arts?
And her words just now—so composed, so level-headed, and so unyielding—was she truly just a country bumpkin raised in a mountain valley?
"Enough! Yier, have you made enough of a scene?"
Han Qiongyue had never imagined that her own grandson would become so unhinged. With the Old Madam asserting her authority, Deng Yi dared not act out further, at least on the surface.
"How is Lian'er?" Han Qiongyue asked as she walked to the bedside.
The imperial physician looked ashamed and guilty. He bowed and apologized, "Duke, Old Madam, I am incompetent. I cannot save the young mistress..."
Before he could finish, a distraught Deng Yi grabbed him by the collar. "Speak plainly! What does that mean? She can't be saved?"
His predatory glare terrified the physician, who winced in fear. Han Qiongyue sighed helplessly. "Yier, do not be rude."
Deng Yi released the physician with a look of resentment.
"Alas, I have practiced medicine for over thirty years. Based on my experience, the young mistress has already passed. Even if an immortal were to descend, it would be difficult to save her. You should prepare for the funeral proceedings."
With that, the physician grabbed his medicine chest and fled as if escaping for his life, terrified that if he remained at the Deng residence any longer, the unstable heir would tear him to pieces.
Upon hearing the news of Deng Xuelian’s death, the three members of the Deng family swarmed to her bedside, weeping uncontrollably. The spectacle was even more wretched than if they were mourning their own mother.
"Can any of you tell me what really happened with Lian'er's hanging?" Han Qiongyue sensed something amiss. Although she didn't know Deng Xuelian well, she knew that someone so ambitious would treasure their life above all else and would not easily surrender it, let alone commit suicide.
Yet, as if they hadn't heard the Old Madam speak, the family of three continued their wailing. Seeing this, Yulian, Deng Xuelian’s personal maid, had no choice but to step forward.
"Replying to the Old Madam, my mistress was preparing for the blood test as usual," Yulian said, sobbing. "But when you said the test was unnecessary, her expression changed. Later, we all went out to attend to our duties, and when we returned, we found the young mistress had hanged herself."
Yulian’s voice was choked with emotion, but Deng Youning saw clearly that there were no tears in her eyes.
"Are you implying that because I said the blood test was unnecessary, I forced her to her death?" Han Qiongyue was so angry she felt lightheaded. She now suspected that if she had agreed to the test earlier, the one forced to commit suicide might have been her own Ningning!
"This servant would never dare," Yulian stammered, hurriedly kowtowing.
Deng Zheng, who had been mourning nearby, turned his head slightly. A sudden sense of melancholy washed over him as he looked at his elderly mother, who was being so aggressive toward a mere maid.
"Mother, if you hadn't brought this girl—whose bloodline is still unproven—back here, Lian'er would not have died. Yulian is just a servant; please, for the sake of her years of service to Lian'er, do not hold her accountable. I shall bear all the blame myself."
With these few words, Deng Zheng shifted all the fault onto Han Qiongyue, while positioning himself as a filial son and a devoted father.
Han Qiongyue clutched her chest, her face turning deathly pale as she struggled to breathe. Seeing this, Deng Youning felt her heart ache for her grandmother.
"Grandmother, please sit down. If not for my sake, do it for your own health—don't get so worked up!" She supported Han Qiongyue, helped her sit, and patted her back to soothe her.
Then, Deng Youning turned to Deng Yi with a slight bow. "Duke, if you’ll excuse my bluntness: Grandmother did nothing wrong by bringing me back. If you insist on blaming her for Deng Xuelian's death, that is not only unfilial but malicious fabrication."
"The maid has already made it quite clear: Deng Xuelian committed suicide. And the reason for this suicide can only be her own distorted mindset, her inability to accept her status as an adopted daughter, and her own jealousy."
Deng Youning stood tall, her head held high, looking at the family of three with grace and composure as she delivered her statement. Until her status was officially recognized, she had no intention of calling Deng Zheng "Father." He was not worthy of the title!
"You... how can you say such things about your sister?" Lady Gu stared at Deng Youning in disbelief.
"I am merely analyzing the facts. Of course, you are free to ignore them." Deng Youning’s tone was indifferent, devoid of any emotional fluctuation. It was precisely this that made the Deng family feel uneasy; they could not see through her.
Deng Yi, hot-headed and young, finally snapped. "Deng Youning, shut your mouth! Say another word, and I'll tear your lips off."
Deng Youning scoffed. She didn't even glance at him, saying with disdain, "Even in twenty years, you won't be a match for me. Besides, your precious sister isn't dead!"
Deng Yi, who had been on the verge of attacking, froze in place. Deng Zheng and Lady Gu also stared at Deng Youning with bewildered expressions.
"Didn't you want her dead?" Deng Yi asked, suppressing the urge to strike her. "Why say she’s still alive now?"
Deng Youning sighed in frustration. Look at that—she hadn't even been home for an hour, and she had already been branded as vicious and cold-blooded.
"Ningning, what exactly do you mean?" Han Qiongyue asked, approaching with the support of Mammy Dou. From the moment she heard about the hanging, Deng Youning had remained incredibly calm. Could it be she knew something? But how could that be possible? She had never been to the Capital and didn't know these people.
"Grandmother, look at her neck," Deng Youning said, pointing.
The neck was smooth, fair, and unmarked. That was the problem.
"A person who truly hangs themselves will have deep red marks where the chin meets the neck. Even if they don't die, if they've been suspended for any amount of time, there will be traces, however faint. But look at Lian'er's neck—there is nothing. Don't you find that strange?"
Hearing this, a realization dawned on Deng Zheng, who was not entirely a fool. He glared at Yulian. "Speak! How did the young mistress really die?"
Yulian was so terrified she collapsed to her knees. She had been playing along with the young mistress's act, never expecting to run into an expert!
"Duke, she is just a maid; don't give her a hard time. You said yourself, you would bear all the blame." Deng Youning threw his own words back at him.
Deng Zheng was rendered speechless. Finally realizing his mistake, he immediately knelt before Han Qiongyue. "Mother, I was only distraught over my daughter's death. As a parent, surely you can understand my pain?"
Deng Youning rolled her eyes at him.
Han Qiongyue said, "Once Lian'er’s affairs are settled, go kneel in the ancestral hall." Recalling how Deng Zheng had just pointed his finger at her, she felt she had failed as a mother. But then again, he hadn't been raised by her. When he was young, she and his father had been away at war, leaving him to be raised by his grandmother—a woman from a brothel. It seemed it had all been ruined.