Chapter 4 Disappointment
Seeing that the Prince of Huailing remained silent, Dao Yi tentatively asked, "Master, should we send someone?"
“No need.” The Prince of Huailing interrupted him directly. “With her temperament, she deserves to suffer and be properly disciplined, so that she won’t always act recklessly.”
I don't know how Yunxi fell asleep afterwards.
Anyway, she woke up several times during the night from hunger and thirst, but her dizziness made her consciousness very blurry.
When she regained some consciousness, she found herself completely weak, and the weather outside the window was dark, making it impossible to tell the time.
She licked her dry, aching lips and knew she had a fever.
The combination of catching a cold, an unhealed wound, and not having eaten or drunk anything for a long time would be too much for even the strongest body to withstand.
She felt dizzy and slept for a while longer.
Her face was flushed and covered in a thin layer of sweat, but she managed to sit up.
Something must have happened at the Marquis of Jiangyuan's residence.
She was determined to unlock the chains, and even if she couldn't, she would cut the wood in half.
Drawing her sword from her side, she gritted her teeth and swung it at the wooden pillar.
She was extremely weak, and even though the Silver Moon Blade was sharp, it only caused some wood chips to fall off. Her hand went limp, and she almost dropped the longsword.
She bit her lip, annoyed at her own weakness.
As if he were angry with himself, he gripped the knife with both hands and swung it straight down again.
The iron chains clanged, striking so hard they hurt one's eardrums.
She was worried about her family and was extremely anxious. Even though she felt nauseous, she still persevered and refused to stop.
I was afraid I would be even a minute too late.
But she thought about many things, all of which were things that might have happened, and never considered that she might be abandoned.
The wound reopened somewhat due to her movements.
But she didn't care and stubbornly continued to swing her knife.
Only when the strip of cloth tied around her chest began to bleed again did she manage to cut a small notch in the rough bed.
Just then, she suddenly heard a bird call.
Yunxi paused, her thoughts slowed by the high fever.
It wasn't until the second bird call that she realized it was her code for calling Onion.
Judging from the sound, Onion Head is not far away.
Yunxi's tightly clenched heart instantly relaxed, and she couldn't wait to purse her lips and let out a bird call.
When Congtou followed the sound and pushed the door open, he immediately saw Yunxi chained up, with wood chips and a long sword on the ground.
His hair clung messily to his cheeks, he was covered in cold sweat, his cheeks were flushed an unnatural red, and his breathing was so rapid that it seemed he was about to stop breathing at any moment.
"Boss, what's wrong with you!" Onion Head's heart skipped a beat, and he rushed in immediately.
Yunxi was too weak; she didn't even have the strength to speak.
"How could they chain you up!" Onion rushed closer, his heart instantly filled with rage.
After angrily shouting, he immediately pulled out a sharp wire from his pocket. "Boss, I'll unlock it for you right away."
He knelt down, about to unlock the door, when his movements suddenly stopped.
Because of her constant slashing, her clothes were somewhat disheveled, and the slightly slipped collar revealed the gaping, scarlet wound.
Onion Head was immediately enraged. "The boss and the others actually beat you up! You just went out, why did they have to be so ruthless?"
Yunxi was too weak to explain, so she waved her hand.
Amidst the rustling of the chains, she asked, "What happened at the manor?"
"No, I haven't heard anything about what happened." Onion really hated the iron chains binding Yunxi and wished he could take them off immediately.
After saying that, he lowered his head and went to unlock the door.
As a homeless child, unlocking locks was naturally no problem for Onion.
As the chains fell to the ground with a thud, Onion Head's eyes instantly reddened. "Boss, your hand!"
Yunxi's wrists were chafed raw by the iron chains, and blood seeped from the tender, red flesh.
"It's nothing." Yunxi, preoccupied with worrying about her loved ones, didn't care about her own injuries.
He drew his sword and rushed towards the door.
Onion Head was, after all, an ordinary person, and naturally could not keep up with what was happening in wealthy and powerful families.
She was absolutely certain that something terrible had happened in her family, and that her father, mother, and brothers were in grave danger.
After leaving the house, I realized that Congtou was following closely behind me. "Congtou, you go out first. The Marquis's mansion is in danger right now."
But Onion wasn't at ease.
"Be good." Yunxi wanted to reach out and touch his head, but found her hand covered in sticky blood.
Due to high fever and dehydration, her lips were so dry and cracked that they bled, and strands of hair clung miserably to her cheeks.
The whole world seemed to be spinning, and he staggered forward, but clung tightly to the sword hilt, refusing to loosen his grip even an inch.
She had to hold on and save her parents, and her two older brothers.
Outside the courtyard, no birds were in sight, and the silence only made Yunxi more uneasy.
Worried about her loved ones, she walked faster and faster, disregarding her dizziness.
Just as she stepped out of the covered walkway, she heard a woman's voice in the distance.
Yunxi hesitated for a moment, then instinctively hid behind a tree not far away.
She was afraid that if she went out rashly, she would alert the enemy, and then she wouldn't be able to save anyone.
"Sister Tang, if this gets out, the capital will be in an uproar for quite some time."
"Who can argue with that? A daughter who was just found a year ago has suddenly become a fake again. Even a storyteller wouldn't dare to make up such a story."
Yunxi tilted her head, not understanding.
"Sister Tang, what do you think will happen if the one locked in the woodshed finds out that she's not actually the biological daughter of the emperor?"
The woman called Sister Tang sighed, "You still don't understand. We're just afraid she'll cause trouble, so we haven't ordered any food to be brought in these past two days, and we haven't even given her a drop of water. We want to starve her so she won't have the energy to make a fuss. Oh well, let's just keep cleaning the yard carefully, so that Granny Ding won't find out and scold us again."
"Miss has just returned to the manor, why would she come to this secluded courtyard?" another maid couldn't help but complain.
"Let alone this secluded courtyard, even the Wutong Garden has been cleared out. The eldest young master personally supervised the renovation, and it was completely redecorated in just one day. The entire household dotes on this newly found young lady."
Yunxi understood.
But she found it too unbelievable to believe.
So she braced herself with her sword, gritted her teeth, stepped on the artificial hill, and flew to the rooftop.
If you clearly don't believe it, why are you hiding?
Yunxi's chaotic mind was incapable of thinking.
This wasn't her first time scaling the wall, nor was it her first time walking on the rooftops, so finding the main courtyard while out of sight was a piece of cake for her.
She even took a break to go to the kitchen, where she drank some water and ate something.
She looked too undignified now, and her parents would definitely scold her if they saw her, so she obediently grabbed an outer shirt from the clothesline in the backyard and put it on.
The main courtyard was unexpectedly lively.
While still on the eaves of the neighboring house, Yunxi heard faint crying sounds.
Then came the familiar sobbing of a mother: "My son, you have suffered all these years."
Yunxi slipped and almost fell.
She gripped the sword tightly in her hand, blood rolling down her raw, calloused wrist.
One drop.
Two drops.
As if she felt no pain, she took a deep breath and then ran straight towards the main courtyard, stepping on the rooftop.
Despite being shattered, it charged head-on towards the sharpest blade.
Resolute, courageous, and without the slightest hesitation.
Just then, a soft female voice drifted over, "Mother, it's all my fault for being unfilial and causing you worry."
Just from that voice, you can tell how knowledgeable, gentle, and dignified she is.
Yunxi sat down on the roof of the main house and lifted a glazed tile.
Sure enough, I saw a slender woman with tears streaming down her face.
That sight, truly like a pear blossom in the rain, was heartbreaking.
Her graceful bow was impeccable.
Well-educated, reasonable, gentle, and elegant—this is exactly the kind of eldest daughter the entire Jiangyuan Marquis's family wanted.
Instead of someone like her, born in the countryside, uneducated, like a rough and uncouth warrior wielding swords and spears, whose every word and action was something they disliked.
Lady Hou and Lord Hou were visibly agitated and quickly helped Ye Qile up, saying, "This is not your fault at all; it's all that damned Granny Zhou's fault!"
Fan Ji, who was Yunxi's former second brother, quickly said, "Mother, on such a joyous day, we shouldn't talk about unlucky people."
After saying that, she looked at Ye Qile with heartache and said, "Sister, you have indeed suffered all these years."
Seeing that Fan Zishi didn't move, he called out, "Brother, what are you standing there for? Come and see, this is our sister."
Yunxi tilted her head and slowly shifted her gaze to Fan Zishi.
Like her, all the close relatives of the Jiangyuan Marquis's family in the room were looking at him.
Fan Zishi seemed to have just woken up, and stepped forward to the group, saying to Ye Qile, "You've suffered all these years."
"Big brother, are you too excited? Quickly call her sister, this is our real sister," the second brother joked.
Under everyone's gaze, Fan Zishi finally spoke and called out, "Sister."
Yunxi was stunned for a moment.
The familiar call was no longer from her.
Yes, she is not the eldest daughter of the Jiangyuan Marquis's family, and has no further connection with them. So who are her biological parents?
Inside the house, the family's joyful and intimate conversation had nothing to do with her anymore.
To prevent her from causing trouble as an outsider, they even had to chain her hands and starve her for two days without food or water.
In the midst of this joyous reunion, no one remembered her, and no one cared whether she would starve or die of thirst. Yet, she never doubted them and always thought about how to save them.
She even thought that she would kill anyone who dared to harm them.
She would kill any Buddha who stood in her way, and any god who stood in her way. Even if it meant being the emperor of the dynasty, and even if it meant being an enemy of the entire world, she would spare no effort to save them.
They were her family. Even though they looked down on her and were extremely disappointed in her, she never resented them in the slightest. Although she couldn't change herself and disappointed them time and time again, she always remembered their kindness in her heart.
To spare them further distress, to make them happy, she had already made up her mind: to join the army, even if it meant facing death on the battlefield.
Why not just tell her directly that you want to trick her into chaining her up and starving her?
In their eyes, was she so crude and unreasonable that she didn't understand a thing?
Although she came from humble beginnings, her adoptive parents raised her very well, even though she wasn't the kind of person they liked.
How could they treat her like this?
Unconsciously, Yunxi braced her injured hand against the glazed tiles, completely unaware that a few drops of blood were hanging precariously from her wrist.
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