Huichun Pharmacy.
Xi Daniu’s agonized screams tore at Duke Anguo’s heart. Furious, he slammed his fist onto the table. “That wretched girl is utterly heartless. Even her subordinates are just as vicious—they beat him so badly! I may be a duke, but after traveling all this way, they still dared treat me like this. They’re truly insufferable.”
At that moment, he no longer wanted to acknowledge the two granddaughters. He wished they had never existed.
But when he thought of his son’s injured leg, he could only endure it. Without their blood relationship, there was no way he could force Xi Qingyue to treat Xi Daniu’s injury.
Tan Chuxia was also seething with anger. “What are we going to do? What if she refuses to treat Wen Liang indefinitely? If this drags on any longer, his leg really will be ruined!”
Duke Anguo’s expression darkened with fury. “Then force her to treat him. With such abilities, she refuses to save even her own father? What will the people in the city think of her? Isn’t she afraid of having rotten vegetables thrown at her whenever she goes out?”
Xi Daniu endured the pain and began cursing as well. “Exactly! I’m her father—the one who gave her life! And now she won’t even let me enter the county office. She even had her people beat me! What an unfilial daughter!”
Bai Ruoshu had remained silent the entire time. Her position was awkward. Her appearance before the Xi sisters would only make them dislike the people from Duke Anguo’s residence even more. Yet she had also been deceived by Xi Daniu back then, and she felt she had been wronged.
If Duke Anguo had not gone to her father, she would never have come along in the first place. In the end, Duke Anguo’s residence had neither money nor guards, so they had brought her along to make use of the Bai family’s money and escorts on the journey. Now that they had found Xi Qingyue, there was no longer any need for her to stay with them.
With that in mind, she voiced her thoughts to Duke Anguo. “Father, we’ve found the Commandery Princess now, and we won’t be able to leave anytime soon. If I remain here, the two Commandery Princesses will be even less willing to treat my husband. I want to take Qian’er to Xuanzhou to visit my cousin. Perhaps once I leave, the Commandery Princess will agree to treat his leg.”
She truly did not want to stay there and endure everyone’s pointed looks. But she could not reveal the truth from all those years ago in public. Even if she did, no one might believe her. It would be better to leave quietly.
The moment Song Qian heard that she wanted to take him away, his little face filled with reluctance. “Mother, I don’t want to leave. I want to stay with Grandfather and the others.”
Bai Ruoshu’s brows drew together slightly. She felt that staying there was far too dangerous; their lives could be at risk at any moment.
During the journey, she had heard a few things about Xi Qingyue’s actions. It was said that she had stained her hands with the blood of countless people. Although Bai Ruoshu had explained the truth of what happened back then to Xi Qingyue, judging by the attitudes of the others, she would eventually be dragged into the mess as well. Since it was impossible to persuade them to leave, New An City was definitely not somewhere they could remain.
She lifted Song Qian into her arms and coaxed him gently. “Be good, Qian’er. Your father needs treatment for his leg. If we stay here, the Commandery Princess will be unhappy. And if she’s unhappy, she won’t treat your father. Let’s go to your maternal uncle’s place first. There are lots of delicious things to eat and fun things to play with there. Once your father and the others have finished their business, we’ll come back and return to the capital together.”
Song Qian was still reluctant when he heard the first part, but the moment he heard about delicious food and fun things to play with, he immediately changed his mind.
He nodded happily. “All right, Mother. Let’s go to my maternal uncle’s place. I want to eat lots and lots of delicious food.”
Only then did Bai Ruoshu breathe a sigh of relief. She gently patted Song Qian’s head. “Don’t worry. Mother won’t lie to you.”
Duke Anguo and the others did not stop her. They agreed with Bai Ruoshu that her presence would only upset Xi Qingyue, so it was better for her to leave.
He even reminded Bai Ruoshu, “When you reach Prince Kang’s residence, tell him about Wen Liang’s condition. He’s a prince, so perhaps he may be able to help.”
“Yes, Father. I’ll tell Cousin,” Bai Ruoshu replied with a nod.
Afterward, Bai Ruoshu carried Song Qian and left for the city gate with several guards from the Bai family.
The physician, who had witnessed everything, had a fine sheen of sweat across his forehead. He silently bandaged Xi Daniu’s wounds, not daring to say a word. Every now and then, his hands trembled with fright.
What he had overheard was far too shocking. It involved the private affairs of such powerful figures, and he was terrified that they might silence him afterward. His heart was filled with unease.
Only after Duke Anguo and the others had left his pharmacy did he finally let out a deep breath of relief. He immediately closed the shop’s front doors.
When Xi Qingyue learned that Bai Ruoshu had left New An City, she paused for a moment before smiling. “She’s quite clever. What a pity.”
“Older Sister, what’s a pity?” asked Xi Weilan, who had just woken up and wandered out rubbing her eyes, her face full of confusion.
Xi Qingyue shook her head with a smile. “Nothing. It’s just a pity to see such a lovely flower stuck in a pile of cow dung.”
Lu Jinshuang, who was standing nearby, burst out laughing. “Little Sister Yue, that description is surprisingly apt. If she hadn’t unfortunately been deceived, why would she have married someone like Song Wen Liang? What a pity. Prince Kang isn’t a good man either, so who knows whether her trip there will bring her fortune or disaster.”
By the end, she was even beginning to feel sorry for Bai Ruoshu.
Xi Weilan listened to their conversation, rubbed her head thoughtfully for a moment, and then suddenly asked, “Older Sister, do you mean the heir’s wife?”
Although she was young, she knew Xi Daniu’s name. She also knew that Bai Ruoshu was the wife he had married later.
Xi Qingyue pulled her over to her side and placed a small stool in front of her for her to sit on.
As she combed Xi Weilan’s hair, she said, “Yes, her. She just took that ill-behaved child away, which is why I said she was clever. Weilan, do you hate her?”
Xi Weilan turned around in confusion. “Older Sister, why should I hate her? Did she stop Xi Daniu from coming home?”
Hearing her call Xi Daniu by his name, Xi Qingyue shook her head with a smile. “No. She was deceived too. Whether he came home or not was Xi Daniu’s own choice. At first, he was attracted by her beauty. Later, he wanted to curry favor with powerful people. And after he became the heir, he decided that Mother and we were burdens. He doesn’t deserve to be our father at all.”
Xi Weilan nodded in agreement. “Older Sister, I don’t acknowledge him either. When Mother passed away, he didn’t come back. I’ve never even seen him. Having just you is enough for me.”
With that, she turned around again and sat obediently while Xi Qingyue continued combing her hair.
Lu Jinshuang had been smiling at first as she listened to them, but her smile gradually faded into sympathy, and then into anger.
When she was eight, she had still been running around causing trouble everywhere. When she was three, she had been carefully doted on by an entire group of people. Yet the two girls before her were each more sensible than the other—so sensible that it broke her heart.
She felt nothing but disgust toward Xi Daniu. She even wanted to send someone over that very night to kill him and be done with it.
Xi Qingyue quickly finished combing Xi Weilan’s hair. She placed a beautiful red-gold hair ornament on each of the two little buns, making Xi Weilan look even more lively and adorable.
With a smile, she patted Xi Weilan on the head. “There, all done. Go wash your face. It’s time for dinner.”
Xi Weilan happily ran toward the washroom inside the carriage. Standing on a chair, she washed her face, then began grinning foolishly at her reflection in the mirror, her eyes narrowing into crescents.
Lu Jinshuang gave Xi Qingyue a strange look. “Sister Yue, you could have Nanxing and the others do it. You’re only eight years old—you don’t need to do everything yourself, do you? Styling hair is such a small task, and they all know how to do it. Besides, they have nothing else to do.”
Hearing this, Xi Qingyue smiled and shook her head. “It’s fine. I have nothing to do at the moment anyway. She’s my little sister, so of course I should take good care of her.”
It seemed that raising her little sister was the only thing Xi Qingyue did. Other than that, she killed people.
Just then, Xi Weilan came running over happily. “Elder Sister, I want braised pig’s trotters! I want boiled fish too, and…”
