……
Madam Lu was startled. For a moment she even forgot to cry, staring at Qi Yuan in shock with her eyes wide open, her mouth opening as if to speak but stopping midway.
What had Qi Yuan just said?
She said she understands?
The Wang family was still in the capital, completely at a loss, tangled in countless threads with no idea where to begin.
Qi Yuan had gone back to her hometown and only returned to the capital today, how could she possibly understand?
Madam Lu thought Qi Yuan was only comforting her. She wiped her tears, her throat dry and aching, biting her lip until it bled. “Yuan Jie’er, you don’t need to comfort me.”
No matter how capable Qi Yuan was, she was still human, not a deity. It was impossible for her to solve everything.
She coughed a few times and sat beside her unconscious daughter, her head spinning wave after wave.
Seeing Madam Lu so lost and flustered, Qi Yuan knew she likely would not be able to take in anything right now. She pushed the door open and went to the rear courtyard, to Old Madam Wang’s residence.
Old Madam Wang had already fainted several times. Now, in front of Old Madam Qi, she was crying to the point of nearly passing out again.
Seeing her like this, Old Madam Qi was both anxious and angry. “Everything was fine, how did such a huge incident suddenly happen? When Ah Chan went out, no one was following her?”
Old Madam Wang had cried until her throat was dry. She clutched Old Madam Qi’s hand tightly. “They were following her, how could they not be? The eldest couple were there too. Who could have imagined that she would just go downstairs to look at the lanterns and then something would happen?”
Her voice was hoarse. “I have never done a bad deed in my life. Why would Heaven let my Ah Chan encounter such a thing?”
Old Madam Wang was heartbroken beyond measure. Seeing her state, Old Madam Qi found it hard to press further despite the many questions in her heart. She could only suppress her sorrow and comfort her. “Try to think of it in a better light…”
How could she think of it in a better light?
Old Madam Wang felt she had no thoughts left to think.
She felt as though even her throat was on fire, leaning against Old Madam Qi as she gasped for breath.
When Qi Yuan entered, this was the scene she saw.
When Old Madam Qi saw Qi Yuan, her eyes lit up at once. She hurriedly called out, “Yuan Jie’er,” and anxiously asked, “How is Ah Chan?”
Seeing Qi Yuan arrive, Old Madam Wang hurriedly wiped her tears and sat up straight. “Yuan Jie’er is here?”
She reached out to pull Qi Yuan to her side and looked her up and down. “You’ve grown much thinner.”
Qi Yuan sat beside Old Madam Wang, her eyes fixed straight on her, and asked softly, “Grandmother, you know who abducted Ah Chan, don’t you?”
As soon as these words were spoken, the room fell completely silent.
Old Madam Qi widened her eyes in disbelief and instinctively turned to look at Old Madam Wang.
She knew that Qi Yuan was never one to speak without basis.
Since she said it, there must be a reason.
Old Madam Wang, however, stiffened all over. Her face turned deathly pale as she looked at Qi Yuan, her body shuddering uncontrollably.
Seeing her like this, how could Old Madam Qi not understand? She frowned at Old Madam Wang, feeling as though her mind had turned into a lump of paste, leaving her momentarily dazed.
Qi Yuan let out a soft laugh. “It seems I guessed correctly.”
She calmly tossed the sachet in front of Old Madam Wang. “The sachet uses hair embroidery. This technique is only known among embroiderers in Song City. And as far as I know, you are also from Song City, aren’t you?”
Old Madam Wang clutched the sachet tightly. Her face shifted from green to purple, and for a moment she could not catch her breath.
An atmosphere of awkwardness and humiliation filled the room.
Old Madam Qi stared blankly at Old Madam Wang, feeling as though she could not even understand what she was hearing.
What exactly was going on?
Everything had been fine, how had the matter ultimately circled back to Old Madam Wang?
Old Madam Wang was from Song City. Could this matter have something to do with her?!
But Wang Chan was Old Madam Wang’s own granddaughter!
Over the years, everyone had seen how much Old Madam Wang doted on Wang Chan.
If this matter were connected to anyone, it should not have been connected to Old Madam Wang.
Old Madam Qi recovered from her shock and could not help asking Qi Yuan, “Yuan Jie’er, what do you mean? Why would she know? Your meaning is…”
The sachet was still in Old Madam Wang’s hands. Under the lamplight, the two embroidered maidens on it appeared lifelike.
Old Madam Wang was shocked, angry, and anxious. Biting her lip, she shook her head. “No. Let this matter be. Just let it be…”
She gripped the sachet tightly, as though drained of all strength. “It’s nothing serious. Nothing at all. Nothing will happen.”
The more Old Madam Qi listened, the more wrong it felt. She frowned at Old Madam Wang. “What exactly is going on? Don’t be confused. This concerns Ah Chan’s entire life!”
Yes, her entire life. Old Madam Wang let out a bitter laugh, her face filled with bitterness. “Yes, her entire life. This concerns the great matter of Ah Chan’s entire life. It’s fine, it’s fine. After some days, no one will remember. After some days, no one will recall it.”
As she spoke, her trembling hands tried to hide the sachet.
But Qi Yuan was quick-eyed and swift-handed, snatching the sachet back at once.
Old Madam Wang was startled. After reacting, she shouted sternly, “Give it back! Return it to me!”
Her expression turned ferocious, her face flushing purple as she reached out, trying to seize the sachet.
Qi Yuan let out a cold laugh. “Give it back to you, and then you smooth things over and simply marry Wang Chan off to your maternal family, in exchange for ending this matter and preserving the Wang family’s reputation, is that it?”
As soon as these words were spoken, both Old Madam Wang and Old Madam Qi looked at Qi Yuan.
Under the lamplight, Qi Yuan’s face was indifferent, her eyes icy cold.
Old Madam Wang unconsciously lowered her head, not daring to meet Qi Yuan’s gaze.
Old Madam Qi, however, understood.
Qi Yuan’s meaning was that the ones who did this, the ones who abducted Wang Chan, were from Old Madam Wang’s natal family?!
What was going on?!
She stared at Old Madam Wang in shock. “You know what happened?”
With her secret pierced so suddenly by Qi Yuan, Old Madam Wang’s hands and feet turned ice-cold. Her lips trembled, and she did not know what to say.
After a long while, she gritted her teeth and said, “The matter has already happened! What meaning is there in pursuing it further? Can it make it as though it never occurred? Can it make it disappear?!”
She looked at Qi Yuan coldly. “What do you understand? For a girl, the most important thing is nothing more than the word ‘chastity.’ If that word is gone, then life afterward is worse than death!”
Old Madam Qi could not speak.
Qi Yuan, however, sneered disdainfully. “Is that so? So Grandmother, even knowing who the culprit is, still intends to shield them, and even plans to marry Ah Chan over there to settle the matter, is that it?”
A person does not go mad all at once, unless they have suffered an enormous shock.
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