Chapter 2 No One to Rely On
Chen's mother was buried halfway up the mountain, next to Chen's father.
The mountain wind was cold and gloomy, the new grave looked desolate, and the paper money burned to ashes and scattered with the wind.
"Girl, go home." Fangzhou, her eyes red, urged the girl kneeling before the grave.
Qiu Heng stood up, but stumbled because she had been kneeling for too long, and was supported by a pair of hands.
"Thank you, Madam Wang," Qiu Heng said to the woman who had helped her.
Looking at the girl who was thanking her softly, Wang's mother felt a strange unease.
For three days, the child's eyes were swollen from crying, and he looked dazed and confused, but now he seemed to have regained his composure.
The villagers who had helped had long since dispersed. Besides Wang Mama and Steward Qiu, the only people left on the mountain were their servants and coachmen. The group was stopped as soon as they reached the foot of the mountain.
"Aheng, where is Yunxiang?"
Qiu Heng's eyes flickered as she recognized the woman who rushed in front of her—Yunxiang's aunt, Aunt Xiu.
That day, Yunxiang invited her to pick herbs. When she bent down to wash her hands by the pool, Yunxiang pushed her into the pool.
"Yunxiang went out with you, why did you come back alone?" Aunt Xiu questioned.
"Yunxiang...didn't go home?" Qiuheng stared at Aunt Xiu with a questioning look in her eyes, her doubts deepening.
She and Yunxiang had grown up together, and she still couldn't understand why Yunxiang would harm her. Yunxiang's disappearance was even more perplexing; it couldn't have been that she pushed her into the water and then jumped in herself, could it?
"You haven't been home at all! Tell me clearly where Yunxiang went!"
"I have no idea."
"You don't know?" Aunt Xiu's tone became agitated. "We thought it wasn't easy for you to lose your parents all of a sudden, so we held back until your mother's burial before asking. You think you can just brush it off with a 'I don't know'? Tell me, did you harm Yunxiang?"
Mother Wang couldn't stand it anymore: "Sister, you can't just say things like that. If you're slandering our girl, we'll report you to the authorities."
Aunt Xiu was stunned for a moment, then sat down on the ground, slapping her thigh and crying, "Heavens above! Yunxiang lost her parents when she was little, and her uncle and I raised her with great difficulty. Now she's gone missing and they want to send us to the authorities. Is there any justice in this world...?"
The man who came with Aunt Xiu seemed afraid to offend anyone, and his tone was much better: "My wife is so heartbroken. She has always treated Yunxiang like her own daughter."
Looking at the couple, Qiu Heng understood their true purpose—they realized that the person who picked her up was someone of high status and wanted something in return.
That's it. I'm really worried that Yunxiang won't wait until her mother's funeral to ask. In reality, everyone in the village knows how mean Aunt Xiu is to Yunxiang.
Qiu Heng was thinking about all this, but she didn't reveal that Yun Xiang had harmed her.
Without knowing anything, it's best to say more rather than make mistakes. Yunxiang harbors deep resentment towards her uncle and aunt, and they are unlikely to know what she's thinking.
"Our young lady is still grieving the passing of her adoptive parents and is in a daze. You two should search elsewhere more thoroughly," Steward Qiu said politely, but his expression carried a warning as he placed a few pieces of silver into the man's hand.
Overjoyed to receive the money, the man quickly pulled Aunt Xiu away.
Mrs. Wang sneered: "So they came here to extort money."
Steward Qiu said indifferently, "Let's go back first and talk about it later."
Once inside the Chen family residence, Steward Qiu said directly, "Sixth Miss, pack your things and we'll set off tomorrow."
Qiu Heng immediately sensed the assertiveness in his tone.
"I can only leave after my parents' 49th day memorial service has passed."
Steward Qiu raised an eyebrow in surprise: "Sixth Miss, everyone at home is looking forward to you. We can't keep our elders waiting."
The girl lowered her eyes and repeated softly, "I can only leave after my parents' forty-ninth day memorial service has passed."
Steward Qiu's face darkened: "Sixth Miss, have you thought it through?"
The girl simply stopped talking.
Seeing the tense atmosphere, Madam Wang quickly pulled Steward Qiu aside and pleaded in a low voice, "Just as Steward Qiu said before, the Sixth Miss has just lost her adoptive parents and is feeling very sad..."
"Are we really going to wait until her adoptive parents have passed their forty-ninth day memorial service? Who will take the blame if the old master and lady find out?"
Madam Wang adopted an even more humble stance: "The old master and madam are kind and will surely understand. The steward should also be understanding. The most important thing is to bring the sixth young lady back safely, don't you think?"
"Heh." Steward Qiu sneered and returned to the city with his entourage.
Yunfeng Village is not far from the city. The people from the Qiu family who came these past two days helped with the funeral arrangements during the day and returned to the inn in the city at night, leaving only Wang's mother to stay at the Chen family's house.
Unable to sleep at night, Wang's mother sighed as she listened to the wind outside the window.
It seems unlikely that the young lady will ever be able to return to the Earl's mansion.
The next day, just as dawn was breaking, Qiu Heng got up, washed up, and instructed Fang Zhou: "When Mother Wang wakes up and asks about me, tell her that I went up the mountain to keep my parents company."
"Don't worry, young lady."
Qiu Heng went to the house closest to hers.
A boy who looked about fifteen or sixteen years old was carrying firewood into the house when he caught sight of a girl standing quietly, with firewood scattered all over the ground.
"Aheng, you, how did you get here?" The boy was a little flustered.
"Brother Xiaoshan, do you know who killed my dad?"
The boy named Xiaoshan and Qiuheng grew up together. Last year, he went to the city to work as an apprentice in a spice shop. That day, he received news that his mother was ill and rushed home. Just then, he saw Chen's father being knocked down by a galloping horse. He asked someone to help bring Chen's father back.
Faced with Qiu Heng's question, the boy unconsciously looked away: "Those people were riding too fast, I didn't see them clearly..."
Qiu Heng's eyelids trembled slightly, and tears rolled down her cheeks: "After my mother's forty-ninth day memorial, I'm going to the capital. Brother Xiaoshan, if you see anything, please tell me. I don't want to be left in the dark..."
"Aheng, are you really a girl from a wealthy family?" Xiaoshan's expression changed slightly when he heard Qiuheng say she was leaving.
"They said yes."
"If you go to the capital, will you never come back?"
"Um."
Xiaoshan was stunned for a moment, then struggled for a moment before reaching into his pocket, taking out something and stuffing it into Qiuheng's hand.
It feels cool to the touch; it's a beautifully carved jade pendant.
"That man was riding in front, and after knocking Uncle Chen down, he didn't even dismount... I recognized Uncle Chen and went to help him up, and that's when I found this jade pendant on the ground..."
Qiu Heng stared silently at the jade pendant in her hand, her eyes unblinking.
The girl's silence weighed heavily on the boy's heart like a boulder.
Xiaoshan gritted his teeth, his voice so low it was almost inaudible: "There was someone who looked like the young master of Fuhai Restaurant, he was following at the very back... Ah Heng, I've told you everything I know, please don't even think about reporting it to the authorities. For Uncle Chen and Aunt Chen, your future well-being is more important than anything else..."
In the end, the boy felt a little regretful.
"Don't worry, Brother Xiaoshan, I won't report it to the authorities." Qiu Heng clutched the jade pendant tightly, her eyes slightly red. "So many people came from the capital to pick me up, they won't let me report it to the authorities. I'll be content as long as I know more about the day my father had the accident..."
A few days later in the capital, the Yongqing Earl's residence received a letter from Steward Qiu.
Lady Yongqing examined it and frowned deeply: "It's confirmed, it's the sixth girl who went missing back then."
Uncle Yongqing took a sip of tea and said casually, "It's a good thing that they were found."
“Both of her adoptive parents died in such a short time. I think this girl is tough.” Lady Yongqing said in a deep voice, her disdain undisguised.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
