Volume 9: The Acidity of the Setting Sun
Chapter 13: The Origin of the Abnormality
“Did you hear? The new young lady poked her own eyes out.”
“Ew, no, that’s not it. I heard she has a genetic disease.”
“She seems to be… of that stock. It’s normal for her to have a genetic disease…”
“Shh, don’t talk. The Fourteenth Princess is here.”
The servants walking side by side in the long corridor of the Yan residence lowered their heads as they passed. Zhu Xi glanced at their strange walking posture. After Shenzhou became a constitutional monarchy, the eunuchs who had once served the royal family were suddenly left without a place to go. A large number of them flocked to the similarly fallen Yan family and became their household attendants. To this day, the Yan family still maintained the habit of using eunuchs as servants.
Of course, these matters could not be spoken of openly. In news reports, eunuchs had long since disappeared from Shenzhou.
After entering the Yan residence, Zhu Xi went straight to Zhu Qiao’s quarters. Ever since Zhu Qiao moved into her grandmother’s house, she had no way of contacting her. Although she believed her grandmother would not harm Zhu Qiao without reason, she didn’t trust the other servants in this oppressive and gloomy Yan residence. Zhu Qiao was naive and worldly-unwise; she might not even realize it if she were being bullied by these servants.
But just as she walked into the small courtyard where Zhu Qiao lived, the female housekeeper with a face as thin and sharp as a snake’s blocked her way. “Miss, Miss Zhu is not feeling well. Please come back another day.”
Zhu Xi knew very well that although Zhu Qiao had lacked worldly knowledge at Grandma Zhu’s ancestral hall, she had never wanted for food or clothing, and her body was perfectly healthy. How could she suddenly be unwell? It had been several months since Zhu Qiao moved in. How had she been faring?
Zhu Xi said coldly, “Move. I’ll only say this once. If you dare to block me again, I’ll kill you on the spot.” The moment her words fell, the two female bodyguards, built like iron bulls, who had been silently following her, wordlessly undid the buttons of their suits, as if ready to make a move at any moment.
Kill you. This sentence might just be an angry outburst from a child, but coming from Zhu Xi’s mouth, it was not so simple.
The female housekeeper hesitated for a moment, but still moved to the side.
Zhu Xi glanced at her. “You are just a dog raised by my grandmother. A dog should not block its master.”
“…Yes.” The other party lowered her head and answered with difficulty.
Zhu Xi adjusted her expression, trying her best to make her smile look warm, and then pushed the door open. “Little Qiao, I’ve come to see you.”
But Zhu Qiao’s small room was pitch black. Not even a lamp was on. It was broad daylight, yet the windows were tightly shut, not letting a single ray of sunlight in. Zhu Xi frowned slightly, but the smile on her face did not disappear. “Little Qiao, are you there?”
“…Sister Xi?” Zhu Qiao’s voice sounded smaller than usual.
“Little Qiao, why didn’t you turn on the light? The windows are closed too. Can you see?” Zhu Xi asked gently, reaching out to turn on the wall lamp as she spoke.
After the light came on, Zhu Xi’s expression froze for a moment. She saw Zhu Qiao sitting forlornly on the bed, “looking” at her blankly. Zhu Qiao was noticeably much thinner, her jawline sharper, and for some reason, she bore a slightly greater resemblance to Zhu Xi herself. Zhu Xi sensed something was wrong. Her voice trembled slightly. “Little Qiao, you… how did you get so thin?”
“I…” Zhu Qiao couldn’t make up a lie.
“Little Qiao, look at me.”
“…”
“Little Qiao?” Zhu Xi’s voice trembled even more. “Can’t you see me?”
Zhu Qiao didn’t speak, but her lowered, dark eyebrows were enough to explain everything.
“Sister Xi… I… You should go see Grandmother first, or she’ll be angry… I’ll wait for you here,” Zhu Qiao said weakly.
Zhu Xi took a step forward, wanting to grasp Zhu Qiao’s thin shoulders, but the female housekeeper who had been waiting at the door said in a sinister tone, “The Matriarch has been waiting for you for at least five minutes.” This sentence was more like a threat, and also her revenge for Zhu Xi’s insult.
In the Yan family, no one dared to disobey the Yan Matriarch. She was old, and she was mad. No one dared to provoke a madwoman.
Zhu Xi gritted her teeth. Little Qiao was right; she should see her grandmother first. She whispered a few gentle instructions, then turned and strode toward her grandmother’s room.
She took a deep breath in front of her grandmother’s door, letting the musty smell of medicine swirl in her lungs, then forcefully pushed open the wooden door. “Grandmother, I’m late.” The Yan Matriarch was currently sitting on her bed, reading a book. Ever since her lower body became paralyzed, reading had become one of her few pastimes. The old woman, her face a network of deep ravines, closed the book. “Mm. Don’t be so late next time.”
“How are things with the Chu family arranged?” she asked.
Zhu Xi, while closing the door, said, “Chu Xiaodong reacted too quickly. He’s already pulled out the nail. The plan has completely failed.”
The Yan Matriarch snorted. “His Chu family has produced outstanding men for generations. Back then, it was also his Chu family… hmph… If the Chu family doesn’t work, we can find the Zhang family, or the Zhao family. Xi’er, you make other arrangements. Put the Chu family aside for now. We’ll have a chance to deal with them later.”
“Yes.” Zhu Xi knelt on the cattail hassock in front of the bed. “Grandmother, what happened to Little Qiao’s eyes?”
“She’s blind,” the Yan Matriarch said casually. “It’s nothing serious.”
Blind? Zhu Xi’s pupils contracted and then dilated.
“How could she be blind?!” Her tone was a little high. Her grandmother shot her a cold glance, and Zhu Xi quickly lowered her head.
“A sparrow pecked her eyes out,” the Yan Matriarch said. “So I sealed off the courtyard behind her house. Otherwise, who knows how this girl will torment herself next?”
A sparrow? Pecked her eyes out? From the sound of it, it seemed like this was all Zhu Qiao’s own doing. But she, Zhu Xi, knew Zhu Qiao better than anyone. How could such an obedient and well-behaved child…
A fire began to smolder in Zhu Xi’s heart. “Grandmother, why don’t you let me take Little Qiao back to rest and recuperate? Perhaps the hospital can cure her…”
“No.” The refusal was sharp and decisive. “Little Qiao must stay here until she is married. Don’t worry, it won’t be long. I’ve already arranged the marriage with Gao Lijun. When Little Qiao comes of age, she will marry Gao Lijun’s youngest son.”
Gao Lijun’s youngest son? That pervert with a fetish for the disabled?
The fire in Zhu Xi’s heart raged even more fiercely. This was the first time she felt the malevolent energy in her heart was about to burst out and tear the old woman in front of her to shreds. Her hands clenched into fists, so tight that her knuckles turned white.
Her grandmother glanced up at her. “If there’s nothing else, you can leave.”
Zhu Xi didn’t move for a long time. Just as her grandmother was growing suspicious, she stood up stiffly, bowed, and said, “Then I will go and accompany Xi’er.” After speaking, she walked out of her grandmother’s room with her head down. The Yan Matriarch glanced at her retreating back, not paying any mind to her granddaughter’s abnormality.
The fire in Zhu Xi’s heart was not extinguished. Her face was deathly pale. No one she passed dared to even look at her face.
Little Qiao is blind, and she’s being forced to marry a pervert with a fetish for the disabled. This is all because she, Zhu Xi, pushed her into another fiery pit! How happy she was when she first brought Little Qiao out, how carefree she was when she was living at her place!
I must… I must do something… Zhu Xi swore.
