Old Liu was sweeping the steps when he saw Shi Lingyi get down from the carriage. The broom in his hand paused.
“Miss, you’re back? Why so early?”
Shi Lingyi did not answer. She walked straight through the gate, across the front courtyard, and down the long corridor toward Qingzhi Courtyard.
The doors to Qingzhi Courtyard were still closed.
Two old maids stood guard outside. One was dozing while seated, and the other stood there blankly.
At the sound of footsteps, they both looked up. When they saw Shi Lingyi approaching, they exchanged a glance, their faces revealing their discomfort.
“Miss, the Marquis said that without his permission…”
“I know.”
Shi Lingyi cut her off. “I’ll only say a few words from the doorway. I won’t go in.”
The old maid opened her mouth as if to say something, but swallowed the words and moved half a step aside.
Shi Lingyi went to the door and called through it, “Mother.”
Her voice was not loud, yet in the quiet morning courtyard, it rang out with unusual clarity.
There was a long silence behind the door—so long that Shi Lingyi began to wonder whether anyone was inside.
Then a hoarse voice finally answered.
“You’re back?”
“I’m back.”
Another silence followed.
Madam Liu’s voice came from behind the door, filled with weariness.
“I’ve heard about what happened to your brother.”
Shi Lingyi opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but found her voice caught in her throat.
“Was it you?”
Madam Liu’s voice was calm, as though she were merely confirming a fact whose answer she already knew.
Shi Lingyi drew a deep breath. “Mother, do you think I did it?”
“Whether you did it or not, you know it in your heart, and I know it in mine.”
Madam Liu paused, as though carefully choosing her words. “Lingyi, stop. Don’t make any more trouble. You can’t beat him.”
Tears suddenly welled in Shi Lingyi’s eyes.
She bit her lip and refused to let them fall, but her voice was already trembling with tears.
“Mother, you’re taking his side too?”
“I’m not taking his side. I’m afraid you’ll ruin yourself.”
At last, a ripple of emotion entered Madam Liu’s voice. “Your brother may seem mild and gentle, but deep down, he’s harder than anyone.”
“If you push him too far, he won’t argue with you or make a scene. He’ll simply drive a knife straight into the place that hurts you most.”
Shi Lingyi stood outside the door, and at last her tears fell.
They slid silently down her cheeks and dripped onto her collar, spreading into a small, dark stain.
“Mother, you’ve changed. You weren’t like this before.”
There was another long silence behind the door.
“I haven’t changed. You simply never understood me.” Madam Liu’s voice was as light as a passing breeze.
“That’s enough. Go back. Don’t stand there any longer. If your father finds out, he’ll only get angry again.”
Shi Lingyi wiped the tears from her face with the back of her hand and turned to leave Qingzhi Courtyard.
When she reached the entrance, she stopped and looked back at the tightly shut door.
The paint on the door had grown mottled and faded, and a layer of dust covered the bronze knocker. The entire place looked utterly decrepit.
She remembered how, when she was little, the door had always stood open. She could run inside whenever she wished and throw herself into her mother’s arms.
Back then, her mother had still been young. When she smiled, her eyes curved like crescent moons, and she had been as radiant as a peony in full bloom.
At the time, Shi Lingyi had believed herself the happiest girl in the world. She had loving parents, an obedient younger sister, and a respectable family background.
Yet she did not know when it had happened, but everything had changed.
Shi Lingyi did not leave the Marquis’s residence at once. Instead, she took a turn and headed toward the main courtyard.
She walked slowly. She had traveled the road from the front gate to the main courtyard for more than a decade, but never had it seemed so long.
Every step felt as though she were walking on cotton—soft and yielding, with nothing solid beneath her feet.
The door to the study in the main courtyard stood half open. Shi Yuanzhi sat behind the desk, a book spread before him, one that he had clearly read countless times.
At the sound of approaching footsteps, he looked up. When he saw Shi Lingyi standing in the doorway, the book in his hand paused.
“Lingyi? Why have you come back? Didn’t you only return home a few days ago?”
“Your daughter missed you and came back to see you.” Shi Lingyi entered the study and sat down in the chair opposite him, her gaze sweeping around the room.
Apart from the book, several letters were piled on the desk. The forceful handwriting on the envelopes was unmistakably a man’s.
Her eyes lingered on one of the letters for a moment before moving away.
“What have you been busy with lately, Father? You look like you’ve lost quite a bit of weight.”
Shi Yuanzhi reached up and touched his face. He smiled, but the smile held both bitterness and helplessness.
“Losing weight is good. It keeps one sharp. How has your mother been lately? Is she behaving herself in Qingzhi Courtyard?”
Shi Lingyi’s fingers paused almost imperceptibly. She picked up the teapot on the table and poured Shi Yuanzhi a cup of tea, then filled one for herself.
“She’s obedient. Every day, she sits in the Buddhist hall for half the day, and she speaks less and less. Sometimes she answers when I visit, and sometimes she doesn’t.”
Shi Yuanzhi took a sip of tea. When he set the cup down, it made a soft click against the table.
He leaned back in his chair, his gaze settling on the old locust tree outside the window. Only after a long silence did he speak.
“The greatest mistake your mother made in this life was raising the two of you sisters too well.”
Shi Lingyi’s fingers suddenly tightened around the teacup.
Tea sloshed over the rim and spilled onto her fingers. The heat made her frown.
She set down the cup, wiped her fingers with a handkerchief, and looked up at Shi Yuanzhi.
“What do you mean by that, Father?”
Shi Yuanzhi turned his head and looked at the wariness written across his daughter’s face.
The corner of his mouth twitched as though he wanted to say something, but in the end, he only shook his head.
“Nothing. You came back for a reason, didn’t you? Say it. Don’t beat around the bush.”
Shi Lingyi fell silent for a moment. Her fingers slowly tightened over her knees, wrinkling the fabric of her skirt.
She drew a deep breath and held it in her chest for a long while before finally letting it out.
“Father, there’s something I’d like to ask of you.”
“Go on.”
“I want to ask you to help the Shen family.”
Shi Yuanzhi’s brows drew together. He leaned forward slightly, a hint of scrutiny and caution in his eyes.
He studied his daughter’s calm face, as though trying to uncover some hidden motive.
“Help the Shen family? What happened to them? Isn’t your husband doing well?”
Shi Lingyi shook her head. A bitter smile rose to her lips, filled with bitterness and self-mockery.
She lowered her head and stared at her knees, her voice muffled, as though she were forcing the words up from her throat.
“He isn’t doing well. He’s run into some trouble recently. Someone is investigating his business in Huaibei.”
“You know as well as I do that the Shen family has little influence at court. If those people truly begin an investigation, the Shen family won’t be able to withstand it.”
Shi Yuanzhi stared at his daughter for a long while. The scrutiny in his eyes gradually turned into understanding.
“So you came to ask me for help? What do you think I can do? I’m a marquis in name only. I can barely get a word in at court.”
