Mei Xianghan’s frame stiffened. She stared at the scar on Mei Gongxue’s neck in disbelief, her lips trembling slightly before tears finally began to spill down her cheeks in heavy drops.
As if she were so soft-hearted!
Mei Gongxue despised this display more than anything; she instantly lost her appetite for the feast spread across the table.
Back then, it was clearly Mei Xianghan who had offended someone she shouldn't have! It was she who had lied about her own name to escape, and she who had hidden behind her brothers, too cowardly to utter a single word!
The eunuch had been the one to force Mei Gongxue into the marriage, but could anyone truly say it had nothing to do with Mei Xianghan?
Mei Changgong felt quite uneasy himself, but seeing Mei Xianghan crying in self-reproach, a flicker of irritation stirred within him. "There’s no need for your words to be so sharp; it’s not a fatal wound! Besides, you were only briefly wed to that eunuch. Since he wasn't even a man, aren't you still pure and undefiled?"
What kind of medicine did their Marquis Manor lack? It was just a mark; a few days of ointment would heal it. Was there any need to be so unforgiving?
"Then I suppose I should thank the Third Young Master for his kindness," Mei Gongxue replied calmly.
Mei Changgong’s expression darkened further. When he had gone to fetch her yesterday, she had worn that same sullen face, and now she was calling him "Third Young Master"? She was becoming more unruly by the day!
"I know you harbor resentment toward the family, but have you considered the state the Marquis Manor was in back then? Father had been framed on the battlefield and left with a tarnished name, while conniving villains like Zhao Zhang were slandering us in court! If we hadn't agreed to send you, it would have inevitably provoked Zhao Zhang, and the entire manor could have been destroyed. You are a part of this family—shouldn't you have shouldered that responsibility?"
At the mention of their father’s death, an irrepressible sorrow flickered in Mei Gongxue’s eyes.
She pulled her scarf back up to hide the scar on her neck, her gaze cold and dark. "If not for the sake of the Marquis Manor, I would have hanged myself the very day I was sent away! Every night after I entered the Zhao Estate, I would dream of Father looking at me with heartache, and of my brothers trying every possible way to rescue me. But… did any of you ever come?"
As her voice fell, Mei Gongxue looked up. Her gaze was as flat and lifeless as stagnant water, yet Mei Changgong shifted his eyes away as if dodging a blow.
"From the moment I entered the Zhao Estate, not one of you came to see me—not even once! Did you think my status brought shame upon you? Were you afraid I would cry to you for help? Or did you know deep down that I would suffer, so you chose to look away, playing the ostrich, believing that what you couldn't see would alleviate your guilt?"
Watching Mei Changgong’s lips tremble as he was rendered completely speechless, Mei Gongxue offered only a mocking smile. "Do you think I care about this scar? I simply don’t want to remember the days I spent struggling to survive under a eunuch, nor do I want to recall myself kneeling by a bed like a dog, holding a chamber pot! No, I was worse than a dog! Would you splash boiling tea on a dog you raised just because you were in a bad mood?"
As Mei Gongxue calmly recounted these details, Mei Changgong clenched his fists in shock, a storm of complex emotions churning within him, as if a veil of decency had been ripped away in front of everyone.
"Stop it, Xiaoxue!" Mei Yanjun’s face was as pale as paper. He lowered his head, adding, "It is your brother who has failed you."
His words were full of remorse and sounded truly heartfelt.
But Mei Gongxue knew that if time could return to three years ago, and they had to choose between her and Mei Xianghan, they would still choose to protect the Mei Xianghan they had raised since childhood.
She said, "It was Father who raised me. I believe the sacrifices I have made over these years have been enough to satisfy my duty to the Marquis Manor!"
"Are you saying you consider us outsiders?" Mei Changgong spoke up again. Having caught the tone of finality in her voice, he was instantly incensed. "Do you think our lives outside were easy while you were suffering in the Zhao Estate? At the end of the day, we are a family. No one set out to harm you!"
"After Zhao Zhang fell, didn't we immediately think to bring you home? Yet you refused to return with me, insisting that Ji Yunchu be the one to fetch you. I know you’ve liked hovering around him since you were young, but as your Third Brother, I must warn you: before Father died, Ji Yunchu promised him he would take good care of A Xiang! You need to stay away from him!"
As for the rest of Mei Gongxue’s life, Mei Changgong believed that with the Marquis Manor as her backing, they would certainly make it up to her!
A mocking curve touched the corner of Mei Gongxue’s mouth. Hadn't he just emphasized that they were a family? Now that Mei Xianghan was involved, she had instantly become an outsider again!
"The Third Young Master doesn't think I still hold any fantasies about Ji Yunchu, does he? Rest assured, I am a discarded woman who once belonged to a eunuch. Who would look twice at someone with such a filthy status?"
This wasn't the first time she had heard such ugly words in prison; now, she could say them herself without even changing her expression.
But for Mei Xianghan, these piercing words were like a blunt knife, making her feel increasingly ashamed and self-reproachful. Large, bean-sized tears fell in a rush. She was already frail, and she now wept until she nearly fainted.
Mei Changgong hurried to support her, patting her back to help her breathe, before looking at Mei Gongxue with irritation. "Isn't this what you wanted? To tell us you were wronged? Fine, our whole family has failed you! I promise you, from now on, the entire manor will treat you like an ancestor—is that enough?"
Mei Xianghan nodded heavily, agreeing with Mei Changgong’s words; after all, the past was in the past.
But when she looked up at Mei Gongxue, she met a pair of indifferent, mocking eyes, and was so frightened she clamped her mouth shut.
Mei Gongxue stood up and said to Mei Yanjun, who had remained silent, "It seems I am not very welcome. I will go see my sister-in-law on my own later."
With that, she turned and left, too weary to glance at their self-righteous faces again.
However, the striking white scarf around her neck seemed to remind everyone present of the inhumane torment she had endured.
Mei Xianghan and Mei Yanjun both lost their appetite and departed as well. Only Mei Changgong remained, stubbornly insisting on finishing the meal.
Because of this, he greeted the first guest of the day.
Ji Yunchu!
"Why have you come so early? You’re the biggest favorite in front of the Emperor now; don't you need to go to the palace to offer thanks on New Year’s Day?" Mei Changgong asked, surprised.
Ji Yunchu ignored his question. His gaze lingered briefly on the spot where Mei Gongxue had been sitting before he sat down with his usual composure.
Ever since he moved out of the Marquis Manor, he had never returned to stay, with the sole exception of bringing Mei Gongxue back yesterday.
Mei Changgong stopped with his chopsticks mid-air, sensing something, and asked guardedly, "Don't tell me you heard everything Xiaoxue just said to us?"