"Twelve years ago?" Li Qingchen calculated that she was only a four or five-year-old girl at that time. What experiences could she have that she still couldn't let go of? Besides, the Wei family had already accumulated wealth for three generations in Jiangzuo. She shouldn't have suffered.
Wei Shuwan nodded gently. Although she knew that even if she talked about those sad past events, they would not be washed away as Li Qingchen said, she inexplicably wanted to confide in someone at this moment.
“I was five years old that year, and Ah Xiu was three years old. It was also a stormy day.”
"I rushed into the house because I heard thunder, but I found that Ah Xiu hadn't followed me in. When I opened the window, I found that Ah Xiu was still standing in the yard. By then, it was dark and stormy, with thunder rumbling everywhere."
"Why doesn't he go back inside?" Li Qingchen couldn't help but interrupt.
Wei Shuwan's eyelids drooped, and a tear rolled down her cheek: "Because he was still holding a kite, and he was desperately trying to reel it in. Mother had warned us not to fly kites on cloudy days, so I kept telling him not to fly that kite anymore, but he wouldn't listen. When the nanny ran out to carry him back to the house, a bolt of lightning struck, hitting Ah Xiu along the kite string..."
"His life was saved, but from that moment on, he could no longer see." At this point, tears streamed down Wei Shuwan's face.
"So that's how your brother went blind... That kite must have had special meaning for him, which is why he stubbornly refused to let go."
"Yes, that was the first time I painted. Ah Xiu was incredibly impressed and wouldn't let go of the painting. So my father made it into a kite and gave it to him. Ah Xiu always treasured that kite, but one day it suddenly disappeared."
"Everyone in the family helped Ah Xiu search, but they couldn't find it. But just as it was raining, the kite suddenly appeared in the sky above the Wei family's house. The kite was flying very high, but the string was tangled in the branches of a low tree. Ah Xiu climbed onto the stone bench and stretched out her arm just enough to reach it."
Upon hearing this, a dark glint flashed in Li Qingchen's eyes, "Didn't you ever suspect that someone did this on purpose?"
"Of course we had our suspicions. Afterwards, my father and mother investigated everyone, from the masters to the servants. My eldest uncle happened to be having tea with my father at the time, my aunt and Wei Shuyao were in my grandmother's room, and my eldest brother Wei Chengxu was not in the mansion. So all the family members were ruled out, and the suspicion fell on all the servants who had the opportunity to get close to the backyard."
"My grandmother and father interrogated the dozen or so guards and maids for two days but couldn't get anything out of them, so they had to send them to the government office. The government interrogated them for several days but couldn't find anything suspicious either, so they had no choice but to release them."
"We couldn't find out who did it, but we didn't dare keep any of them in our mansion. We had to dismiss them and replace them with a new batch of people."
"In the end, the matter became an unsolved mystery, left unresolved. Only Ah Xiu forever bore the bitter consequences of that incident..."
Outside, a light drizzle continued, and inside, Wei Shuwan's peach blossom eyes, as if washed by water, were glistening with dew, making her look indescribably pitiful.
Li Qingchen was momentarily moved with compassion and asked in a calm voice, "Do you know the specific whereabouts of those servants?"
Wei Shuwan sniffed, then suddenly looked up at him with her watery eyes in surprise. After a moment of stunned silence, she answered with utmost seriousness, "Yes! Mother made them all stay."
Her eyes were full of expectation. She knew the abilities of the man before her. She understood that no one in this world could be omnipotent, but if there was one, that person would be the Prince of Xiaoqiaochuan.
After all, in the future, the entire Da Ye will submit to him.
His meaning couldn't be clearer: he was willing to help her. If he was willing, things would definitely fall into place.
Sure enough, Li Qingchen then said, "Go ask your mother for that list tomorrow."
At this moment, Wei Shuwan's excitement was beyond words. She nodded vigorously, shaking off a few tiny tears that clung to her eyelashes, like the fragrance of orchids.
Before her emotions had subsided and before she could utter a single word, Li Qingchen put a long finger to his lips in a "shh" gesture, then leaned slightly closer to her: "Someone's coming."
After saying this, he suddenly leaped up, using the bench for leverage, and sprang to the top. The candlelight inside was dim, barely illuminating the top, and his figure was perfectly concealed in the darkness.
Wei Shuwan was stunned, but quickly regained her composure. Yes, if the people in the manor saw her having a secret rendezvous with a man in the middle of the night, she would never be able to face anyone again.
As the person walked further away, Wei Shuwan finally heard the sound of footsteps coming through the rain. It was heavy and deep, and it wasn't the old woman from Songheju, nor was it Ziqiao or Miaoxiang. It must have been a man.
If she were alone, she would probably be nervous by now, but knowing that Li Qingchen was right above her, she felt inexplicably calm and sat peacefully on the bench, waiting for him to appear.
Soon a figure emerged from the rain curtain, lifting the oil-paper umbrella that was covering her head, startling Wei Shuwan.
"Ah Xiu, what are you doing here so late?" She wasn't familiar with this courtyard, and neither was Ah Xiu, especially since he was blind...
Wei Shuwan got up anxiously, helped her younger brother over, and pressed him onto a stool. She looked him up and down: "Did you fall on the way? Why didn't you bring a servant with you?"
Wei Chengxiu just smiled and said, "Sister, don't worry. Don't really think of me as a cripple. This is still the Wei family's territory after all."
Seeing his calm expression, Wei Shuwan's tense heart gradually relaxed: "Then what are you doing here in the middle of the night?"
"When I heard the thunder just now, I guessed that my sister must not be able to sleep. If she were in Fuqu Pavilion, at least she would have Ziqiao and Miaoxiang with her, but in the Repentance Room, my sister can only face the wall alone."
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