Chapter Three

Persuading someone seems simple, but it's actually very difficult, especially a woman who appears weak but is inwardly conflicted. Xia Qiangwei and Xia Ziwei took turns trying to convince Xia Yuhe, but neither could succeed. Enraged, Xia Qiangwei stood before Xia Yuhe and yelled, "Is this your love? Is this the love you wanted? Hah, it's laughable! You don't even dare to fight for it, you don't even dare to meet her, you don't even dare to face responsibility. You rely on the Xia family's charity. Don't you know what people outside the door think of you? You make Ziwei and me bear the burden of your mistakes? Don't you think you're being incredibly selfish? Because of your flawed love, because you have someone so hateful and despicable, we have to endure the gossip and slander from outsiders!" Since you're afraid to face it, why did you bring us into this world? Is the reputation of an illegitimate child any good? Why should we bear the burden of your guilt! Have you ever thought about us standing up for ourselves? Who would want a child born out of wedlock? Even if you acknowledge a father, the stigma of being an illegitimate child is a lifelong burden. How could you possibly be given to a good family? You want your love to be innocent? Then find your father, let us see your love, let us acknowledge your love! I'm ashamed of a woman like you constantly talking about love, and you're even teaching us! Mother, do you want us to become the second, the third Xia Yuhe?

"Slap..." Xia Yuhe raised her hand and slapped Xia Qiangwei across the face. Xia Qiangwei glared coldly at Xia Yuhe, "If I had a choice, I would never want to be the daughter of someone like you." Xia Qiangwei turned and left after saying that. She was so damn angry! Even her own mother wouldn't bear to hit her, yet she let a stranger do it! It was unbelievable...

"Rose!" Xia Yuhe cried, tears streaming down her face as she watched her daughter's retreating figure. Xia Ziwei, watching Xia Yuhe's state from the corner, wrung out her handkerchief and ran towards Xia Qiangwei. Xia Yuhe slumped into a chair, dejected, watching her two daughters run away. Had she been wrong? How could she possibly be wrong! That man was the Emperor! How could she possibly seize him? Even if she went to the capital, what could she do? She had no power, no connections. How could she possibly meet that godlike figure once she entered the capital?

When Xia Ziwei caught up with Xia Qiangwei, she saw Xia Qiangwei standing under a tree, lost in thought. "Sister." Sister, were you hurt by Mother's beating? Sister's words were a bit harsh. Mother protected them very well, ignoring all the gossip. But... Mother is really selfish.

"If you've come here to plead for her, then go back! Until she decides to go to the capital, until she decides to give us our proper status, I will never forgive such a selfish, self-serving woman." Even if she goes to the capital, it will only be a superficial forgiveness; it will have nothing to do with her in reality. The protagonist is Xia Ziwei, not her, Xia Qiangwei. She'll just disappear, take all the money, open a brothel, hehe! "Pfft..."

"Sister, what's wrong! I'm not here to plead for Mother. I'm here to stand firmly with you, sister." Xia Ziwei thought Xia Qiangwei was crying, so she immediately went to Xia Qiangwei's side and handed her a handkerchief.

Xia Qiangwei was amused by her own assumptions, and there was no sadness in her heart. However, even if she tried to hold back her laughter, tears would still well up in her eyes. Xia Qiangwei took a handkerchief and wiped her eyes. "Ziwei, you must remember, those who smile at you are not necessarily good people, and those who have a stern face towards you are not necessarily bad people."

Xia Ziwei nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite. On the road to the future, because she remembered Xia Qiangwei's words, Xia Ziwei lived a smooth and successful life in that large courtyard, eventually marrying into a prestigious family. "Sister, even if you don't forgive her, you shouldn't be out in the wind here. You've just recovered; didn't the doctor say you need to take good care of yourself?"

Xia Qiangwei glanced at Xia Ziwei, sighing inwardly. This Xia Ziwei was sometimes clever, sometimes foolish; she wondered if she could ever completely overcome her saintly nature. To be a saint, one had to be a fake saint—appearing kind but actually possessing the power to kill, otherwise one would be bullied. If she went to the capital like this, she might even mistake Xiao Yanzi for a sister and get involved with Fu Erkang. Sigh! She had so many things to worry about. With that idiot father, the saintly flower wouldn't suffer. If history followed, Consort Ling was even made Empress after her death! Ziwei, it all depends on your own fate. She would manage several shops; if you suffered mistreatment with Fu Erkang and couldn't stay, you'd have someone to rely on. Sigh! Living with a saint, she herself had become a damn saint.

~~~

Xia Yuhe, confined to her room all day, remained shrouded in mystery. No one knew what she was thinking, what she had come to understand, or what she had realized. In any case, she decided to go to the capital. For her daughters' sake, for her own, she wanted to see if the current emperor still remembered Xia Yuhe from the Daming Lake. She didn't remember much of Qiangwei's words, but the phrase, "Is this the love you want? It's ridiculous. You don't even dare to fight for it, you don't even dare to see her, you don't even dare to face responsibility. You rely on the Xia family's charity. Don't you know what people outside the gate think of you? You made Ziwei and me bear the blame for your mistakes. Don't you think you're being incredibly selfish?" kept echoing in her ears. Was she really that ridiculous? Yes, she was incredibly selfish. She was making it impossible for her two daughters to face their futures. She had almost forgotten how a respectable family raised their daughters. She even talked about love in front of them. She was truly...shameful.

Regardless, Xia Yuhe was temporarily back to normal. After making her decision, Xia Yuhe immediately had her servants summon Xia Qiangwei and Xia Ziwei.

Xia Qiangwei took a long time to enter Xia Yuhe's room. Xia Qiangwei looked down on Xia Yuhe; having a child out of wedlock was frowned upon in any era. Although Xia Qiangwei was a modern woman, her upbringing instilled in her some old-fashioned ideas. Upon entering the room, Xia Qiangwei didn't greet Xia Yuhe and simply sat down to one side.

Xia Ziwei looked at Xia Yuhe and then at Xia Qiangwei, before moving to sit next to Xia Qiangwei. She had said she would stand on her sister's side.

Xia Yuhe looked at her two daughters, feeling extremely sad. Her daughters had become distant from her. When did this start? Right, it was after Qiangwei recovered from her illness that Qiangwei became obsessed with finding her father. "I called everyone here today to tell you that we need to go back and prepare for our journey to the capital to find our relatives."

Hearing Xia Yuhe's words, Xia Qiangwei and Xia Ziwei raised their heads at the same time, their eyes shining. Xia Yuhe looked at her two daughters, her heart aching. Even if she couldn't see the Emperor, she was leaving this place and couldn't let that person hurt her daughters.

“Madam, we…” The old servants who had worked for the Xia family for over a decade looked at each other. They were old and, seeing their masters' appearance, knew they wouldn’t be coming back. If they followed them to the capital, how would they survive?

"Aunt Xia, you won't be coming with me. I'll leave the property to you, and you can retire here!"

The old servants knelt down, moved. "Madam, please let my son go to the capital with you! It's not right for you to be a woman traveling alone with your daughter."

"Yes, yes, let my son go with me. Once we get to the capital, the lady will give him a meal."

"Mother, we can't rush off. We need to find a suitable person to go to the capital and buy some land first, so we won't be clueless when we get there." Xia Qiangwei offered her opinion. Was Xia Yuhe an idiot?

“Mother, what my sister says is right.” Xia Ziwei had almost become a yes-man, agreeing with whatever Xia Qiangwei said.

"Alright, at least we'll have a place to stay, and then we can slowly figure out how to find our relatives." Xia Yuhe nodded, her eldest daughter being thoughtful. "Qiangwei, you handle the matter of going to the capital! I'm tired, so you should all follow Miss's arrangements!"

The two Xia sisters, along with their servants, left Xia Yuhe's room. "Ziwei, go and get out all the embroidery we've done over the years, as well as any poems and lyrics we've written."

"What does my sister need these things for?" Xia Ziwei looked at her sister with a puzzled expression.

"Of course we'll sell it, Aunt Xia. Who's in charge of purchasing? Ask around at a few shops. These things are just going to waste sitting here; we might as well exchange them for some silver." Xia Qiangwei surveyed the large courtyard. Xia Yuhe was really extravagant, giving such a big house to a servant. Did she really think she could meet the Emperor as soon as she entered the capital? She didn't leave herself any way out at all. It was truly... damn it... I don't know how to describe her. How much could such a big house sell for? Xia Qiangwei's eyes darted around, a cunning glint in her eyes. "Aunt Xia, you know how much this house is worth on the market."

Upon hearing Xia Qiangwei's words, Xia's mother immediately realized that Xia Qiangwei was trying to use the house as leverage. Although the matriarch had said she would leave the house to them, the eldest young lady was now arranging a trip to the capital to find her relatives, and she was very likely to take the house back, sell it, and divide the money among them. Looking at the eldest young lady's stern face, Xia's mother considered whether she should come and make a scene.

"Don't even think about crying or making a scene with me. Since Mother said she would leave it for you, I certainly won't take it back, but..."

"Thank you, Miss." Xia Ma wiped the cold sweat from her forehead. The young lady had actually seen through her thoughts.

"I haven't finished speaking yet," Xia Qiangwei said, looking at her mother's expression. She knew she had guessed right. Tch, crying, making a scene, threatening suicide—such are the tricks of a woman. Did she think the women of the Xia family were easy to bully? "Mother Xia, write down all the able-bodied men who are coming to the capital. This house will be used to buy their death contracts."

When Xia Ma heard this, she was startled, but after doing some quick mental calculations, she didn't feel it was a loss. Having served in the Xia household for many years, she naturally knew that the relatives Madam Xia was seeking were either rich or noble, and her son wouldn't suffer if he went along. Seeing the way the eldest young lady handled matters, Xia Ma's hesitation gradually disappeared. "This old servant will go and do it immediately."

"Wait, go and bring me the account books for all the estates we own. These estates also need to be dealt with."

"yes!"

Xia Ziwei stood beside Xia Qiangwei the whole time, listening to her handle the situation without daring to interrupt. Only after Xia's mother left did Xia Ziwei open her mouth, wanting to say something, but she felt that Xia Qiangwei must have her reasons for doing so, yet she still felt quite awkward.

"Are you trying to ask why I have those people's death contracts?" Xia Qiangwei walked towards the main living room, with Baozhu following behind. Jin Suo helped Xia Ziwei along.

"I know my sister must have her reasons for doing this, but I still want to ask."

“Ziwei, we may not be able to see Father on our trip to the capital, and Mother is probably aware of this. But Mother doesn’t think about leaving herself a way out, but I can’t; I have to make sure I have a way out.”

"What does this have to do with the death pact?"

"You silly girl, if we don't sign a death contract, do you think those people will be loyal enough to protect us on our way to the capital?"

Xia Ziwei opened her mouth but no sound came out, and lowered her head.

“Over the years, those servants have looked at us as weak women and have been trying to embezzle our money. You should learn from them, because you will eventually marry into a family and manage the household.”

Xia Ziwei nodded vigorously. "Sister, did you notice anything when you looked at the accounts?"

"Let bygones be bygones. Just organize everything I've mentioned. Don't be stingy; carrying those things will only add to our burden. What we need now for the capital is travel expenses, not useless things. Jin Suo, keep a close eye on things. Don't let Miss leave behind anything useless, and don't let the servants take advantage of her."

Jin Suo nodded vigorously, "Miss, Jin Suo remembers."

"Baozhu, I've packed everything in my room. Ziwei, go and talk to Mother." Xia Qiangwei's lips curled up. They wanted to take advantage of her, so they lost their son and their money.