Cuier's tears suddenly gushed out like a breached dike, impossible to stem.
She covered her face, her voice so choked with sobs that it was barely audible: "Regarding Madam... I know nothing..."
Shen Qing's gaze turned abruptly cold: "Nanny Cuier, my mother died an unnatural death. You were her most trusted maid, how could you bear to watch her die with such an unredressed grievance?"
Cuier's body trembled violently, as if her heart had been pierced by something sharp.
Her tears fell uncontrollably, her voice so low it was almost inaudible: "Eldest Miss, it's not that I don't want to talk... She won't let me go... She won't let me go..."
As she spoke, Cuier shrank to the ground, her body trembling.
Shen Qing squatted down and gently took Cuier's hand: "Nanny Cuier, rest assured. With me here, I will never let anyone harm you. As long as you tell me the truth, I will surely obtain justice for my mother."
Cuier raised her head, her eyes full of struggle.
Looking around, she gently pulled Shen Qing's hand, bit her lip, and whispered: "Eldest Miss, Madam... she was murdered by Madam Feng!"
Shen Qing's heart tightened abruptly, as if grabbed fiercely by an invisible hand. A flash of cold light crossed her eyes: "Tell me slowly, what on earth happened?"
Cuier wiped her tears and whispered in a low voice: "Back then, when Madam was eight months pregnant, Madam Feng was jealous of her favor and poisoned her fetal nourishment medicine. After Madam drank it, she went into premature labor and hemorrhage that very night... After giving birth to a male child, she breathed her last..."
Shen Qing clenched her fists fiercely, her nails sinking deep into her palms. Her breathing grew increasingly rapid, her chest feeling as though a massive boulder were pressing down on her, leaving her almost unable to breathe.
"Nanny Cuier, do you have any evidence?"
Cuier nodded, stood up shakily, and with calloused hands dug out a tattered wooden box from beneath the pagoda tree in front of the thatched cottage, handing it to the Miss.
"Inside here is the leftover medicine dregs that Madam drank back then; I've been hiding them secretly all these years. Madam Feng has been searching for these medicine dregs for years, and I only managed to keep my life by playing the fool. All these years, I have been tormented daily."
Shen Qing took the wooden box, her fingers trembling slightly, as if through it she could see her mother's suffering appearance back then.
Her voice was low and hoarse: "Was the child alright?"
Cuier's tears gushed out once more, her voice choked with sobs: "I heard from Nanny Wang that the child was stillborn the moment he was born..."
"At that time, the Marquis had only recently been enfeebled, and the Old Madam and the Marquis felt this was inauspicious. Fearing that letting word out would affect the Marquis Manor's reputation, they quietly suppressed the matter..."
Suffocation... choking... blood boiling...
Shen Qing dared not imagine how despairing her mother had been, nor how agonizingly her younger brother had suffered.
He had died in the cold delivery room before even getting to experience the warmth and chill of the world. Her mother had died in that bone-chilling Marquis Manor before she could even return...
What on earth had her mother experienced during those three years away? She never expected that everyone in the Marquis Manor was an accomplice to her mother's death!
She hated! She felt agonizing pain! She wanted to trample all the wicked people in the Marquis Manor underfoot, to seek justice for her mother, and to seek justice for her unborn brother.
Xiao Yu stood to the side, watching Shen Qing's painful struggle, a trace of heartache involuntarily welling up in his heart. Ziyu crawled out from Shen Qing's sleeve, coiled around her wrist, and gently pressed its head against her cheek, seeming to comfort her silently.
"Have you ever seen my younger brother?" Shen Qing's voice was low and hoarse, as if squeezed from the depths of her throat.
Cuier shook her head, her voice barely audible: "No one ever saw him, except for Nanny Xiao, who delivered the baby for Madam. After the child was born, they claimed he was stillborn, and Madam Feng took him away to be disposed of..."
Shen Qing took the wooden box, a trace of coldness flashing in her eyes. She always felt something was amiss, as if some important clue had been covered up.
Just then, a flurry of hurried footsteps suddenly sounded outside the estate. Xiao Yu's gaze sank, and he said in a low voice: "Someone is coming."
Shen Qing quickly put away the wooden box and whispered: "Let's go through the back window!"
The moment she pushed the window open, a wave of thick smoke rushed toward her, choking her into repeated retreats.
Shen Qing narrowed her eyes, dimly making out Nanny Li's figure through the smoke, while attendants in the distance held torches in their hands.
"Not good!" Shen Qing's heart sank. She quickly shut the window, turned to Xiao Yu, and whispered: "General Xiao, Madam Feng sent people to set a fire! She wants to burn us to death!"
Xiao Yu furrowed his brows, his gaze as cold and sharp as a blade: "Let's go, out through the back door!"
Shen Qing nodded and pulled Cuier's hand: "Nanny Cuier, quickly come with us!"
Yet Cuier shook her head, her eyes filled with despair: "Eldest Miss, you must go. I... I can't walk anymore. The wish of my lifetime has been fulfilled..."
Shen Qing gripped Cuier's hand tightly, her tone resolute: "No! Nanny Cuier, I promised to protect you, and I will never leave you behind!"
Cuier's tears suddenly burst forth, her voice trembling: "Eldest Miss, don't worry about me! Madam is already gone, and this life of mine is worthless. Hurry and leave, Madam instructed me before her death that you must go to the pawnshop in the south of the city..."
The flames roared, and Cuier's voice was gradually drowned out.
Shen Qing was about to urge her further, but Xiao Yu had already grabbed her wrist, his tone cold and firm: "Miss Shen, the fire is growing larger by the moment. If we don't leave now, it will be too late!"
Shen Qing bit her lip, a flash of pain crossing her eyes. She knew Xiao Yu was right; the fire had already spread to the roof, billowing with thick smoke. If they didn't leave now, they would all perish in the sea of fire.
"Nanny Cuier..." Shen Qing's voice was choked with sobs, her eyes full of remorse.
Instead, Cuier revealed a look of relief, gently pushing Shen Qing away: "Eldest Miss, hurry and go..."
Xiao Yu said no more, pulling Shen Qing as they rushed out of the thatched cottage.
The fire had already engulfed the entire estate, billowing with thick smoke and casting a fiery glow to the heavens. Shen Qing coughed repeatedly from the smoke, her eyes too irritated to stay open. Xiao Yu shielded her in his arms, covering her nose and mouth with his sleeve, and said in a low voice: "Stay close to me!"
The two ran wildly all the way, finally breaking out of the sea of fire.
Shen Qing looked back to see the entire estate swallowed by flames, Cuier's figure long since vanished into the inferno.
A flash of pain crossed her eyes, her fists clenched tightly, her nails digging deep into her palms.
"Nanny Cuier..." Shen Qing murmured softly, her voice laden with boundless sorrow, while Cuier's final whispers seemed to echo in her ears: the pawnshop in the south of the city...
Her fists clenched tightly, her nails sinking deep into her palms, blood seeping through her fingers, yet she felt no pain at all.
Xiao Yu stood beside her, his gaze stern, his tone carrying a trace of complexity: "Miss Shen, please accept my condolences."
Shen Qing took a deep breath, suppressing the grief in her heart, a trace of coldness flashing in her eyes: "General Xiao, you saw what happened today as well. To cover up the truth, Madam Feng did not hesitate to burn down the estate, sparing not even the innocent. I will definitely settle this score with her!"
Xiao Yu furrowed his brows slightly, his tone carrying a hint of warning: "Miss Shen, Madam Feng's methods are vicious; you cannot handle her alone."
Shen Qing smiled faintly, her tone carrying profound meaning: "Not necessarily. General Xiao, you saved me today, and I owe you a favor."