Volume 10: Pro and Con
Chapter 27: The Moment of Destiny
If Lu Li couldn’t be relied upon, then she could only rely on herself. Zhu Xi moved through the wooden corridors of the Yan family mansion. She hadn’t notified her grandmother of her visit this time, and she had even intercepted the messenger boy. Her grandmother was a strange old woman who didn’t trust modern technology; all her contact with the outside world was through letters. It was thanks to this that she had been able to protect Lu Li before, and to so easily slip into this “home.”
Zhu Xi’s original plan was to quietly take Zhu Qiao away from the deep mansion. After taking Zhu Qiao away, who to entrust her to was also a question worth pondering. Although she wanted to accompany her younger sister, she was constantly under her grandmother’s watch. As long as Zhu Qiao was connected to her, she would be found sooner or later. Since she couldn’t use any of the Yan family’s connections, she could only entrust Zhu Qiao to someone her grandmother would never think of, and that person had to be of upright character, someone who couldn’t be coerced or bribed. After careful consideration, Zhu Xi decided to contact Lu Li. One reason was that Lu Li was already a “dead man” in her grandmother’s eyes. The second was that she had observed Lu Li’s character. Although he was a sentimental fool, at least he wouldn’t harm Zhu Qiao. As for the future… they would deal with the future later…
Scumbag men really can’t be relied on… She thought of Lu Li’s impervious demeanor and frowned slightly.
“Miss.” Two female servants walking toward her bowed. Zhu Xi had grown up in the Yan family mansion, and these female servants were used to calling her “Miss” instead of “Princess.” She actually felt quite estranged from her own royal blood. It was only after she turned fourteen that she was allowed to return to the Zhu family home every Qingming Festival to pay respects to her deceased mother. Every time she saw her father, he always looked worried, wanting to strike up a conversation with her but also hesitating, perhaps not knowing what attitude to adopt toward this unfamiliar, blood-related kin.
To be an emperor like him is truly a disgrace, Zhu Xi always thought.
During this year’s Qingming Festival, after she had paid her respects, Zhu Youcheng asked ingratiatingly, “Xi’er, you, have you been well this year? Is there any inconvenience in your life? This is a small token from your father. You…” As he spoke, he took out a small box. One didn’t need to think to know it contained some rare objects.
Zhu Xi ignored him and walked straight out. Zhu Youcheng watched her retreating back with an apologetic smile. “Xi’er, walk slowly, watch the steps…”
It was because he was so spineless back then that her mother had died in humiliation. Zhu Xi thought, in the future, when I find a husband for Qiao’er, I must not find someone as spineless as him.
…
As she was thinking, she hurried toward Zhu Qiao’s residence. As she got closer, she realized something was amiss. The corridor outside Zhu Qiao’s residence was empty. The oil lamps on the wooden pillars had not been refilled for a long time, and the female housekeeper who always monitored Zhu Qiao was nowhere to be seen. Zhu Xi’s heart began to beat rapidly. She quickened her pace, calling out, “Little Qiao, I’ve come to see you…”
Qiao’er’s eyes were afflicted, and she lived in this gloomy Yan residence, and was even neglected by the servants. If she had taken her own life… Zhu Xi’s eyes turned cold. She hastily pushed open the door, but Zhu Qiao’s figure was not there. The room was empty, the blanket folded neatly, covered in a layer of dust.
“Little Qiao? Little Qiao! Where are you?” Zhu Xi shouted, the temperature in her palms dropping sharply.
She pushed open the door to the backyard and saw a line of a woman’s footprints in the mud, leading straight to the artificial lake. A chill ran through Zhu Xi’s heart. She looked into the lake; fortunately, she didn’t see any floating corpses. Only then, hearing her shouts, did the female housekeeper appear in a hurry. “Princess… why are you here?” Her eyes were full of astonishment and guilt.
Zhu Xi shot her a cold glance. “Where is Zhu Qiao?!”
“…” The female housekeeper stammered, unable to answer.
“I’m going to find Grandmother!” Zhu Xi turned to leave. The female housekeeper fell to her knees with a thud. “Princess! Miss! Please save me! Please don’t go to the Matriarch! If she finds out, I will surely die!”
Zhu Xi grabbed her by the collar. “Tell me what happened?!”
“Miss Zhu ran away!” the female housekeeper cried. “It’s like she was possessed by a ghost! It’s so strange! A total of eleven of us female servants took turns watching her, but it’s as if she has the All-Seeing Eye. She slipped out of the residence like a ghost during our shift change. And, and… she’s clearly blind, but… but…”
This old woman was incoherent, clearly terrified. Zhu Xi pressed, “What about the footprints in the courtyard?”
“Those were deliberately left by Miss Zhu. I was also tricked by these footprints at the time and ran to the lakeside to look. Just then, I heard Miss Zhu say ‘I’m sorry.’ Then she pushed me into the lake. By the time I climbed out of the lake, I couldn’t see her anymore.” The female housekeeper said quickly, “Miss! You can’t blame me! You can’t blame me!”
Zhu Xi’s lips were trembling. “Little Qiao’s eyes are blind. How did she get out of the Yan residence?”
“I-I don’t know. But Miss Zhu didn’t act like a blind person at all. She-she might have been pretending all along…”
Slap. Zhu Xi slapped the old servant. “If you slander Little Qiao again, you won’t have to wait for Grandmother. I’ll drown you myself right now!”
Zhu Qiao had a pure and kind nature; she couldn’t possibly be so calculating as to feign blindness. There was only one explanation: her eye affliction had suddenly healed. If her eyes had recovered, where would she go?
“Did she say where she was going?”
“N-no… I don’t know…” the female housekeeper said, trembling. The slap Zhu Xi had given her was very forceful, and her lips were beginning to turn purple.
Zhu Xi threw her aside and walked out hurriedly. The female housekeeper prostrated herself on the ground and wailed, “Miss, please don’t tell the Matriarch! I beg you!”
Of course, Zhu Xi wouldn’t tell her grandmother about Zhu Qiao’s disappearance. The top priority was to find Zhu Qiao. Zhu Qiao’s eyes had suddenly gone blind, and then suddenly recovered. There was definitely something mysterious behind this. Where would she go? To her mother’s ashes? To the ancestral hall? Or where? Would she run into trouble on the road? Could a little girl with no social experience take care of herself? Did she have any money?
These questions ignited a fire in Zhu Xi’s heart, making her extremely anxious.
…
An hour later, Zhu Xi arrived at the ancestral hall and visited Grandma Zhu again. She was, as usual, sweeping the ancestral hall. No matter what changes occurred in the outside world, she seemed to be forever doing this one thing.
“Grandma Zhu, Little Qiao is missing!” Zhu Xi said hastily.
The movement of the old woman’s hands paused. Then she let out a long sigh. The sigh was overly long, filled with too much helplessness and heartache.
“Little Qiao will be fine. She can take care of herself now…” Grandma Zhu didn’t turn around.
“But she…”
“She can already see.” Grandma Zhu interrupted Zhu Xi. “Sickness is born from hatred and jealousy, and clear eyes are born from greedy love. Zhu Xi, in the end, you still couldn’t protect Little Qiao… Let her have her way in this final period of time…”
Final period of time… Zhu Xi’s legs felt weak. Where had she gone wrong?
“Grandma Zhu, is there still time to fix it? The Colored Stones, can the Colored Stones find Little Qiao?” Zhu Xi said without thinking. “By the way, there’s another man who has used the Colored Stones. Can he help?”
Grandma Zhu finally turned around and looked at her with those cloudy eyes. “Silly child, do you not want your own life?”
“As long as I can find Little Qiao, I will have no regrets even if I die!” Zhu Xi answered quickly.
Grandma Zhu shook her head. “It’s too late… It’s too late…”
