Chapter 327: Chapter 327: The Truth
Endless skies, where clouds unroll and fold.
The carriage was not headed back to Marquis Yangling Mansion. Shen Hua detached herself from the amorous situation and quickly realized something was wrong.
"I once heard a storyteller at a teahouse tell a story, in which a noble young master, failing to get what he wanted, vented his anger by dragging a girl to Burial Mound to bury her alive."
Cui Yun’s brow furrowed, and sure enough, the girl asked with a serious face.
"What is your view on this matter?"
Cui Yun: ...
He released the girl and leaned back against the carriage wall, intermittently smoothing out the creases in Shen Hua’s garment. He spoke with a tone that was neither salty nor bland.
"How could the mother of Nezha be buried at Burial Mound? I will find you a plot of land with good Feng Shui."
He was deliberately using his words to provoke her!
Shen Hua puffed her cheeks and turned to lift the carriage curtain. But the scene before her eyes was becoming more and more familiar. The girl shivered violently.
—It was Qingtong Alley.
She saw Xie Xun who had been waiting there for a long time.
Shen Hua swiftly turned her head to look at Cui Yun.
She heard the man say indifferently: "This visit is not for reminiscing."
"There are some truths you need to be aware of. Your brother has been agonizing over this for many days, and has finally decided to be honest with you. He has been worried that it might be too cruel to you, but I think, in one’s life, one should not be deceived by appearances forever."
Cui Yun gently stroked her porcelain white face, soothing her.
"Since Heir Xie has decided, it’s your turn now, you may get out of the carriage, or avoid it."
This conversation left Shen Hua feeling anxious and uneasy.
Aunt You, brother, cruelty, appearances.
These words made her speculate from the worst possible angle.
The carriage had stopped, and no one inside or outside urged her.
The girl slightly shifted her body closer to Cui Yun, looking up at him with trust and dependence in her eyes that could not deceive. Her small hand gripped Cui Yun’s sleeve tightly: "Tell me."
She held her breath, vaguely guessing, and spoke in a somewhat bewildered voice: "Is it about my Daddy?"
Soon, she found the answer in Cui Yun’s expression.
His hand, with distinct knuckles like jade, covered the back of Shen Hua’s cold hand. Grasping it and then wrapping it tightly once more.
Shen Hua asked cautiously: "Will you accompany me then?"
"Since you’ve already said it, naturally I must oblige."
Shen Hua also noticed that today’s words from Cui Yun were pleasing to hear, making bubbles of joy rise in her. The girl suppressed the strangeness in the bottom of her heart, and tried hard to restrain the corners of her mouth which were about to curve upwards.
She stepped down from the carriage with a clatter. Layers of her skirt fluttered in the air drawing a beautiful curve.
Xie Xun watched gently as Shen Hua approached him, then turned his gaze to the tall figure behind her.
The latter had not had time to change his official clothes.
Xie Xun first admonished Shen Hua: "Ji Huo is a troublemaker, and you are the most demure girl; it’s best you have less to do with him."
Demure Shen Hua took the advice to heart.
But she would still offend again next time.
After that, Xie Xun turned to look at Cui Yun.
"Since you have brought her here, you may leave now."
"He brought me here, so naturally he should take me back. Why would brother send him away?"
"Your brother can also escort you."
Shen Hua: "Why should brother make an extra trip? Our paths do not coincide."
Cui Yun chuckled softly.
Xie Xun, with a dark face: ...
He could only lift his hand and knock on the Fang Family’s door.
The Fang Family’s courtyard was not large, but it was arranged very cozily.
Aunt You invited several people inside, still with her usual cold demeanor.
"Heir Xie, I have said all I need to say, you really don’t have to keep coming here for it."
She added tea for them: "Neither mother-in-law nor young man are at home, we have not much to offer our guests, you noble people please drink your tea and then you can leave."
To this day, Xie Xun had not clarified that he is Shen Zhi. He lifted the tea and took a few sips. The tea was not of high quality, just cheap broken leaves used by ordinary families.
He simply said, "Yangyang’s health is almost fully recovered."
You Qing was taken aback, causing her hand holding the teapot to tremble.
"Really?"
She scrutinized Shen Hua intently, afraid of missing any detail.
The girl’s complexion looked much improved, and her once pointy chin had filled out nicely, adding a charm that was hard to conceal.
After the coming-of-age ceremony, she seemed more open.
"Her illness has been with her since she was in the womb. She’s never been well over the years. We’ve tried every method, every remedy possible, but nothing has helped. Is she truly well now?"
Shen Hua absentmindedly shifted the melon seeds in the small bag towards Cui Yun.
Cui Yun, head lowered, peeled them leisurely.
Xie Xun felt exasperated watching them.
After some thought, he took something out of his sleeve and unfolded it in front of everyone. Inside were spices.
The familiar scent made Shen Hua shudder.
"This—"
"Yes, it’s the incense you used in previous years."
"This incense was purchased from outside by Old Master Shen at a high price for Mrs. Shen, and later, it came into your hands."
"We had Doctor Ni investigate early on and found anomalies. It counteracted the medicines you were taking at the time, which is why your illness kept getting worse."
’Clang’ – You Qing knocked over the teapot in her hand.
Xie Xun looked towards her calmly before speaking word by word.
"Disrupting pulse diagnosis, weakening the body, over time even a healthy person couldn’t withstand it. I truly do not know who would be so cruel as to subtly harm her like this."
"Aunt You, who do you think it could be?"
You Qing panicked. A suspicion arose in her mind, but she quickly suppressed it.
Impossible.
How could this be possible?
Her thoughts were in turmoil: "In Fengzhou, Shen Family’s Embroidery Workshop has always enjoyed a good reputation, and while we may have enemies in business, how could they target a little girl? Could it be... a mere coincidence?"
"Recently, I’ve been investigating another matter and just received some news."
Xie Xun, mindful of Shen Hua’s feelings, spoke softly, "That year, the fall of the Shen Family mother and son from the cliff was no accident. The forest was already infested with a group of desperate outlaws, not for robbery but for murder. They assassinated everyone in the carriage and then pushed both the people and the vehicle over the cliff."
A false impression of a great mist rising to conceal faces and an accidental fall from the cliff was fabricated.
This revelation was a huge shock to Shen Hua.
She clearly understood, yet it was as if she didn’t.
Shen Hua knew Shen Zhi well; he would never utter a word without sufficient evidence.
Her lips parted as if in disbelief and anger.
"Is there any clarity on who was behind it?"
Xie Xun closed his eyes, then pronounced a name, his face exhausted.
"Shen Wei."
These two words struck like a thunderbolt.
The girl turned deathly pale.
If it were anyone else who said this, she wouldn’t believe a single word.
Daddy hurt Mama and brother?
Impossible.
But the one who said this was Shen Zhi.
Shen Hua was completely at a loss, her eyes quickly reddening.
Xie Xun looked at the shocked You Qing: "Aunt You, aren’t you going to say anything?"
You Qing was more incredulous than the soul-struck Shen Hua.
"No, Brother Zhi was in the carriage at the time. Even if he had complaints against Madam, he would never harm his own flesh and blood."
Even a tiger wouldn’t eat its cubs.
Sarcasm flickered in Xie Xun’s eyes.
"What if he secretly boarded the carriage?"