Nanny Li shook her head. "Second Miss, you should go back first. The Old Madam has already gone to sleep."
Cui Yunfeng stubbornly refused to leave. Nanny Li sighed and could only stand beside her to keep her company.
Time trickled by. Soon it was the beginning of the Hour of Hai, but there was still no movement from the Old Madam's bedroom. Nanny Li tried to persuade her once more.
"Second Miss, the Old Madam is truly asleep."
Cui Yunfeng waited a little longer before helplessly leaving.
The candles in Songhe Courtyard were extinguished in an instant, leaving only a dim, flickering light in Old Madam Cui's bedroom. Cui Yunfeng looked back at Songhe Courtyard, her brows tightly furrowed.
"Grandmother clearly loves Eldest Sister dearly. Why is she just watching her get punished this time without doing anything?"
Inside Songhe Courtyard, Nanny Li entered the bedroom and draped an outer garment over Old Madam Cui, who was standing in front of the carved window lattice, looking out.
"Has she left?"
Nanny Li nodded. "Old Madam, are you truly going to leave the Eldest Miss alone?"
The ancestral hall was dark and cold. Cui Yunchu was such a delicate girl; how could she endure kneeling for a day and a night without food or water?
The Old Madam sighed. "Why do you think Qingyuan punished Yunfeng together with her?"
Both granddaughters were the apples of her eye. How could her heart not ache for them?
"The two of them are like chickens pecking at each other in the same cage, fighting their own kin. If they aren't taught a lesson, how will they be able to share the same heart and support each other in the future? The Cui family is not like ordinary clans. If the sisters are not united, it will ultimately be the root of disaster."
...
Cui Yunfeng asked for a lantern from a passing servant and followed a secluded path all the way to the ancestral hall.
"Second Miss, there is no one guarding outside the ancestral hall," the maidservant Yun'er reported in a low voice.
Cui Yunfeng shoved the lantern into Yun'er's hands, bounded up the steps in a few strides, quietly pushed open the doors of the ancestral hall, and walked in.
"Who is it?" Cui Yunchu, kneeling on the ground, looked toward the door with a face full of vigilance.
Cui Yunfeng did not speak, only coughing lightly.
"What are you doing here?"
The ancestral hall was dim. Cui Yunfeng only saw Cui Yunchu clearly when she drew closer. Her gaze fell on her sister's knees, and she frowned. "You are usually so clever. Why are you acting foolish this time?"
"Father forbade me from kneeling on a cushion," Cui Yunchu said evenly.
"Father's men aren't here. Who would know?"
Cui Yunchu shot Cui Yunfeng a sidelong glance. "Well, aren't you here?"
"."
Cui Yunchu knelt with her body perfectly straight, occasionally lowering her head to rub her legs. It seemed very unbearable. "Did you come running here to say these things because you think my punishment isn't heavy enough? Are you trying to make me mess up so you can go complain to Father again?"
"I—" Cui Yunfeng's face flushed red. She wanted to deny it, but the words wouldn't come out.
"I won't tell Father."
Cui Yunchu glanced at her, clearly unconvinced.
Cui Yunfeng gritted her teeth and dropped to her knees with a thud beside Cui Yunchu.
"What are you doing?"
Cui Yunfeng remained silent, her gaze falling reverently on the Cui family memorial tablets in front of them.
Cui Yunchu's legs were numb from kneeling. She shifted slightly. "Even if you apologize, I won't forgive you, and I certainly won't help you copy the Admonitions for Women."
"..." The guilt in Cui Yunfeng's heart was quickly ignited by Cui Yunchu, turning into the flames of anger. "Cui Yunchu..."
The door to the ancestral hall suddenly opened from the outside. Both of them jumped in fright and looked back at the same time.
When she clearly saw the newcomer's face, Cui Yunfeng pressed her lips tightly together, her face turning somewhat pale.
"Second Miss, this lowly one is here on the Prime Minister's orders to keep watch over the Eldest Miss. Please leave immediately, Second Miss. I will pretend I never saw you."
Didn't Yun'er say the ancestral hall was unguarded?
When did Father's man arrive? Or had he been here the whole time?
"Second Miss, please leave at once."
Cui Yunchu turned her eyes to look deeply at the servant who spoke, then said to Cui Yunfeng, "Why aren't you leaving quickly? Do you want me to be punished again because of you?"
Cui Yunfeng stood up, leaned over Cui Yunchu, and whispered, "Just wait, I won't let you go hungry."
After saying that, she walked away briskly.
As soon as Cui Yunfeng left, Cui Yunchu immediately pulled a cushion and placed it under her knees. The servant's eyelids twitched. He glanced at Cui Yunchu, but ultimately said nothing, bowed, and retreated outside.
The ancestral hall was even colder and gloomier than outside. Cui Yunchu stared at the Cui family memorial tablets for a while before she started to doze off.
She curled herself up into a ball, shivering slightly from the cold.
It wasn't her first time kneeling in the ancestral hall, so she could barely manage to hold on.
However, the dancing, dim candlelight illuminated a night full of nightmares for her.
That long sword, flashing with an icy, cold light, pierced into her heart over and over again. That suffocation and despair enveloped her entirely, and no matter how she struggled, she could not break free.
Whenever Cui Yunchu heard the surname Shen or saw that face, her whole body would start to tremble slightly, her face deathly pale.
"Don't, don't kill me. I was wrong, Shen Xiabai. I don't need you to take responsibility. Please, don't kill me."
