Chapter 124

Chapter 124: Threatening with Death

Madam Cui had barely woken up before she nearly fainted from anger again. Her hands shook as she pointed at Sheng Zhi Wan: “You-you!”

Sheng Zhi Wan stood and stepped forward. She caught Madam Cui’s finger and slowly pressed it down, one joint at a time: “Mother should take good care of your health. Otherwise, if you anger yourself into illness, who will go save Eldest Sister?”

“Sheng Zhi Wan!” Blood rushed up Madam Cui’s throat.

Sheng Zhi Wan stepped aside at just the right moment and sighed: “I never thought Mother hated me this much. Fine, then. I won’t stay here and offend Mother’s eyes any longer.”

After speaking, Sheng Zhi Wan did not look at Madam Cui again. She walked out unhurriedly.

Madam Cui spat blood.

Sheng Zhi Wan had come only to watch a show, not to serve anyone. She had seen enough, so why stay? Sheng Zhi Wan returned to Ping Lan Residence and went straight to the study.

Wen Xi Courtyard, which had only just calmed down, became noisy again.

Madam Cui forced herself not to collapse. Once she came back to her senses, she refused to believe Qi Fei Yan’s temperament could lead her to sell private salt, so she immediately sent her most trusted Nanny to inquire.

A moment later, Nanny returned with a deathly pale face.

“Madam, it’s true…”

“All of Eldest Miss’s shops were sealed.”

“The rest of Lian Manor has been released, but… but Eldest Miss hasn’t.”

When Nanny finished, Madam Cui fell back onto the soft couch.

Nanny hesitated. She still had many things she did not dare say. When Nanny went to Lian Manor, the place was full of curses. Every word condemned Qi Fei Yan as rebellious and a disaster that ruined Lian Manor.

The other people of Lian Manor had been released, but the manor itself had been raided and confiscated. Even the plaque at the gate had been smashed down.

Assistant Minister Lian was also punished with three years of reduced salary. How was Lian Manor supposed to live through those three years?

When Nanny arrived, she even heard Madam Lian wailing and insisting on coming to Duke Qi Manor to demand an explanation…

“Madam, the Heir Apparent is back!” a maid called out.

Qi Shu Xian had just stepped into Wen Xi Courtyard when a figure staggered toward him and grabbed him.

“Shu Xian! Have you heard?”

“It’s fake, right? How could it be your Eldest Sister? How could Yan’er do something that would cost her head?”

Madam Cui still held on to a sliver of hope. But when she met Qi Shu Xian’s dark, heavy gaze, the last bit of hope in her eyes shattered.

Qi Shu Xian supported her as her body sagged and asked coldly, “Who told Mother?”

“It… it was two maids gossiping. Madam overheard them,” Nanny said.

“Sell them off!” Qi Shu Xian snapped.

His head throbbed. Just now, he had gone to the estate in the Capital Outskirts and searched everywhere, but he still did not find his father. His father always claimed he stayed at the estate for a short rest, but when Qi Shu Xian asked casually, he learned his father hardly ever went there.

Then when his father was not at the manor, where did his father stay?

“Shu Xian, quickly think of a way to save your Eldest Sister. She can’t have anything happen to her!” Madam Cui finally snapped back to reality.

Qi Shu Xian’s thoughts were dragged back. He pressed his lips together and said, “Mother, Eldest Sister committed the crime of private salt!”

“Even the Empress’s own brother and Grand Commandant Wang’s son born of a concubine are still being held in Da Li Court. They can’t even get out, so how am I supposed to save her?!”

“Go find Sheng Zhi Wan!” Madam Cui cried.

“As long as Sheng Zhi Wan is willing to beg the Empress Dowager, your Eldest Sister will be fine!” Madam Cui gripped him tightly.

Qi Shu Xian almost laughed from anger. Sheng Zhi Wan. Again, Sheng Zhi Wan.

“Mother, do you still think Sheng Zhi Wan is the Sheng Zhi Wan from before, the one who did whatever you said?” he asked.

Madam Cui ground her teeth. “As long as you say you’ll divorce her, I don’t believe she won’t be afraid.”

Qi Shu Xian froze, disbelief written all over his face.

“Do you even know what you’re saying?” he asked.

Divorce Sheng Zhi Wan? He had never even thought about it. Sheng Zhi Wan was his wife. For this lifetime, she was his person. How could he divorce her?

Qi Shu Xian felt his mother was completely unreasonable today. He pried Madam Cui’s hand off his arm and turned to leave.

“Shu Xian!” Madam Cui suddenly shouted.

When Qi Shu Xian’s steps paused, Madam Cui slammed her head toward the wall beside him.

“Madam!”

“Mother!”

Qi Shu Xian’s pupils shrank. He barely managed to reach out in time and stop her at the instant her forehead would have hit the wall.

Even as he held her, his hands trembled. “You… what are you doing?”

“Is it only by making me carry the crime of being unfilial and unjust that you’ll be satisfied, just for Eldest Sister?” Qi Shu Xian was both terrified and furious.

Madam Cui cried as she spoke, “Shu Xian, think about how good your Eldest Sister used to be to you. When you were little and your kite flew into the pond, it was Eldest Sister who climbed down through the ice to fetch it. She almost drowned…”

“When you said you wanted candied hawthorns, I worried your teeth weren’t good and didn’t let you eat them. She secretly went out to buy them for you, and she took the punishment for it.”

“She had a thousand flaws, ten thousand flaws.”

“But Shu Xian, when was she ever bad to you? You can’t just watch her go die!”

Each word struck Qi Shu Xian’s heart.

He remembered his childhood. Madam Cui always focused her mind on Duke Qi, while Qi Fei Yan brought Qi Shu Xian to play and study, running wild inside and outside the manor.

He also remembered that time Eldest Sister fell into the ice hole while retrieving his kite. After she was rescued, her first words were not to blame him. She told their father and mother not to scold him…

Eldest Sister had been like a mother.

And now his own mother was using her life to force him.

Qi Shu Xian’s eyes reddened. After a long time, he closed his eyes.

“…Fine.”

“I’ll go find Zhi Wan, but this is the last time.”

“Good, good!” Madam Cui cried, overjoyed.

“As long as Zhi Wan can save Yan’er, Mother will treat her like my own daughter from now on.” Madam Cui wept with relief.

In the past two years, the Empress Dowager and the Emperor had never summoned Sheng Zhi Wan on their own. Even when Sheng Zhi Wan had been kidnapped, there had not been a single word of concern.

But Sheng Zhi Wan was still a Princess, raised by the Empress Dowager for more than ten years. How could the Empress Dowager truly stop caring just because she said so?

As long as Sheng Zhi Wan was willing to plead for Yan’er, Yan’er would definitely be fine…

“Princess, the Heir Apparent is here!” Ting Lan reported.

The moment Ting Lan saw Qi Shu Xian, her face darkened. Princess had been right. The Heir Apparent really came to find her Princess.

Was he trying to make Princess plead for Qi Fei Yan again?

While Ting Lan was still thinking, she heard Qi Shu Xian’s voice.

“Zhi Wan, I know you don’t like Eldest Sister. You hate that she coveted your dowry, but she was only greedy. She never meant you harm.”

“Besides, she is my Eldest Sister. When we were young, she once fell into the Ice Pool for me and was punished for me. Now… she caused a huge disaster. I’m not asking you to get her released without punishment.”

“I only hope you can, for my sake, go beg the Empress Dowager to spare her life.”

“Even if she is exiled to Mo Bei or sent to the family shrine, that’s fine.”

Qi Shu Xian stood before her with eyes red from strain.

The young general was strikingly handsome. Even when he was worn down and begging, he carried a fragile, pitiful air that made people want to protect him.

That complicated look reminded Sheng Zhi Wan of the past.

But the past was already gone. What had started well had ended in ruins. Sheng Zhi Wan was no longer the Sheng Zhi Wan who loved only him.