Xie Wentao glared at Xie Qiqi with disdain.
"Look at the ghastly state you’re in. If you had admitted your fault sooner, none of this would have happened. You’ve truly brought shame upon the entire Xie Family."
"Get up at once! If you don’t pick up that fox fur and apologize to Yuer, don't you dare think of leaving!"
Xie Qiqi propped herself up from the ground, struggling to pick up the fox fur. She shook the snow off and draped it over Yue Yue’s shoulders. Keeping her face rigid and her eyes lowered, she stared at the ground.
"Does Second Master have any further instructions?"
During her eight years as a slave, Xie Qiqi had learned one lesson through countless lashes: never argue with those in power. To them, she was no more than an ant to be crushed.
Xie Wentao was a military man—skilled in combat and stubborn by nature. If she didn't pick up the fur, he might just throw her into the lake again. The desperate, suffocating feeling of being near death was something she never wanted to experience ever again.
Xie Wentao’s face remained cold. "You haven’t apologized to Yuer yet!"
A sharp pain pierced through Xie Qiqi’s heart. Submissively, she muttered, "I’m sorry..."
A sneer flickered across Yue Yue’s lips. As she pulled the fox fur off, she said, "Sister, you’re soaked to the bone. You should wear it instead... I... Atchoo! Atchoo!"
Xie Wentao panicked at the sight, quickly wrapping the fox fur back around Yue Yue. With a look of heartache, he said, "Yuer, your health is poor; you must wear it. Qiqi has thick skin and a sturdy build, she’ll be fine... I’ll take you back immediately so you don’t fall ill!"
As Xie Wentao helped Yue Yue walk away, he suddenly remembered something, turned back, and barked at Xie Qiqi, "Eldest Brother has gone to call for a carriage. You’d better catch up, and stop embarrassing the Xie Family!"
The sisters of other families spent the Plum Blossom Banquet composing poems and painting, basking in the spotlight. Xie Qiqi had no such talents; she only knew how to disgrace the Xie Family. They shouldn't have brought her along in the first place.
Xie Wentao led Yue Yue away from Jiangxue Pavilion.
Xie Qiqi had only taken one step when she felt a surge of metallic sweetness in her throat. She doubled over, coughing violently, as if she were trying to cough up her own lungs. Speckles of blood splattered onto the snow, looking like red plum blossoms blooming on a branch.
"Miss, your illness is getting worse again..."
Seeing this, Yan'er burst into tears. She had heard Imperial Physician Wang say that Xie Qiqi had tuberculosis. Her own father had suffered from it, and the doctor had said he would live for at most a year or two. He hadn't even lasted a year before passing away! How could the Eldest Master and Second Master be so heartless? The lake water was freezing, and in her fragile state, how could her mistress possibly endure it? This was no different from pushing her to her death.
"Don't cry. If your eyes are swollen when we get back, Grandmother will grow suspicious."
A deep sense of sorrow washed over Xie Qiqi. Her body, soaked in the icy water, was like a spent arrow. She swallowed the blood in her throat and braced herself to comfort Yan'er.
In this family, only her grandmother truly cared for her. When her mother had secretly sent her to the Imperial Prison to swap her out for Yue Yue, it had broken her grandmother's heart. Since then, her grandmother had lived in seclusion in the back courtyard, chanting scriptures and praying, her health failing day by day. It was only after she had been brought back home that her grandmother’s smile had returned, and her health had begun to recover. If she knew that she was dying, her grandmother would surely follow her to the grave immediately.
When Xie Qiqi and Yan'er finally trudged out of the Crown Prince's Mansion, the carriage that should have been waiting at the gates was nowhere to be seen. Shi Yu, the Eldest Master’s attendant, walked up with a cold face.
"Fourth Young Miss, Fifth Young Miss has caught a chill and fainted. The Eldest Master and Second Master have taken her back to the manor to see a physician."
"The Eldest Master says you are to walk back yourself. The Marquis Manor is only three streets away; you’ll be there in half an hour!"
With that, Shi Yu hurried away.
Yan'er felt like crying again. Her mistress’s clothes were completely soaked; walking back like this would surely make her the laughingstock of the street. Besides, if she didn't change out of these wet clothes immediately, she would certainly fall ill.
"Miss, wait here. I’ll go hire a carriage!"
Yan'er looked around in a panic, trying to find a place to shelter the nearly fainting Xie Qiqi. But the walls of the Crown Prince's Mansion were high, and there was nowhere to hide from the wind and snow. Spotting the large stone lions at the entrance, Yan'er had no choice but to help Xie Qiqi over to them.
Xie Qiqi slumped against the wall, lightheaded and weak, listening to the sound of Yan'er’s footsteps fading away. Her head throbbed, her body alternating between chills and fever, and her vision began to blur.
Vaguely, she heard a scolding voice: "Where did these beggars come from? Begging at the gates of the Crown Prince's Mansion—chase them away at once..."
Several sets of footsteps approached. Someone grabbed Xie Qiqi roughly and dragged her away. As she was dragged, her knees scraped against the ground, the pain jolting her into a state of slight consciousness. She rasped in protest, "I... I am not a beggar..."
"She’s an escaped slave! Look, the word 'slave' is branded on her forehead... Take her to the magistrate’s office!"
A clear, familiar voice reached Xie Qiqi’s ears. The two guards immediately grabbed her arms and began marching her toward the magistrate’s office. Xie Qiqi was on the verge of tears, struggling as she cried out, "I am not an escaped slave! I am the daughter of the Marquis of Wu'an, Marquis Xie..."
When she had been forced into service as a government slave, the word had been branded onto her forehead. After she was brought home, Yue Huijuan had found it unsightly and had given her thick bangs to cover it.
Xie Qiqi looked pleadingly at the person who had spoken, but she froze. Not far away, a tall man with sharp, well-defined features was frowning at her. He was the one who had called her an escaped slave!
"Wei... Brother Ling..." Xie Qiqi whispered.
Wei Ling was the son of her mother’s closest friend and the Marquis of Wu'an, three years her senior. According to her mother, when she was born, Wei Ling had held her chubby form and refused to let go, insisting that he would marry her when they grew up. Madam Wei had found her sweet and well-behaved, and she and her mother had immediately agreed to betroth them to one another.
This was the first time Xie Qiqi had seen Wei Ling properly in eight years. Previously, she had only caught a glimpse of him by hiding in the garden. Back then, she had just been brought back to the Xie Family, covered in wounds, thin and dark. She had felt so ashamed of her appearance that she had only dared to hide and peek at her handsome, elegant fiancé. Even now, in their first official meeting, she still felt as worthless as grass.
Xie Qiqi instinctively lowered her head, praying that he hadn't heard what she had just called him. She didn't want him to recognize her or see her in such a wretched state.
Perhaps the gods passing by hadn't heard her prayer, as her mosquito-soft voice still reached Wei Ling’s ears.
Wei Ling stopped the guards. "Wait... I remember now. The Fourth Young Miss of the Xie Residence has the word 'slave' branded on her forehead..."
Wei Ling stepped forward and leaned down to examine her closely. Xie Qiqi’s hair was damp and disheveled, her bangs plastered against her scalp, leaving the brand on her forehead impossible to hide. Her small face was smeared with mud and melted snow—she was a picture of misery. Wei Ling, dressed in robes as white as snow, made her feel a sense of inferiority so deep she felt as if she were in the dirt.
Wei Ling watched her in silence until Yan'er came running back, stumbling. "Miss, it’s snowing today, and all the carriages at the livery have already been rented out..."
Xie Qiqi was dazed, and her later memories became somewhat blurry. She wasn't sure if Wei Ling had recognized Yan'er or if he simply pitied her, but he offered his own carriage. Xie Qiqi vaguely remembered him boarding the carriage as well.
The carriage was warm and clean, bringing a flicker of comfort to her freezing body, and she seemed to clear up a little.
"Fourth Young Miss, I know you have suffered much on Yuer’s behalf. It is she who owes you."
Wei Ling’s voice was clear and soft, like a warm mountain spring flowing into her frozen heart. Her nose tingled, and tears welled up in her eyes. Finally... someone understood the grievances she had endured.