The night was deep.
Xiao Siyu had yet to sleep.
The people she had sent out to gather news had not yet returned. Unclear about what might happen between her brother and Sister Gu, she was restless.
Tu Yici comforted her from the side, saying, “Don’t worry. With Senior Brother there, your Sister Gu will be fine.” He had always had confidence in Qi Yubai. Under his watch, nothing could possibly happen to Gu Lanyin.
But his reassurance did not ease Xiao Siyu’s mind. She remained frowning. “It’s been so long already. Even if they had left the city, they should be back by now… No, I can’t wait any longer!”
She could no longer sit still. Supporting herself on the table, she stood up and pressed her lips together. “I have to go home and see for myself.”
She was the type of person who acted the moment she made a decision.
Although Tu Yici thought it was unnecessary, he did not stop her. “I’ll go with you.”
He stood up as well.
However, Xiao Siyu shook her head. “You have to attend the morning court session tomorrow. If you come and go with me, you won’t be able to get any proper sleep.”
Tomorrow was the grand court session that took place once every three days—not only were there many matters to handle, but they had to wake up early. Tu Yici remained silent for a moment and did not insist. He simply said, “Then I’ll have Yan Ming go with you.”
Xiao Siyu nodded and did not refuse.
She ordered the servants to prepare a carriage. Without even changing clothes, she hurried out the door.
Just as she reached the shadow wall and had yet to board the carriage, she ran into Xue Xing, whom she had sent out earlier to gather news. Upon seeing him, Xiao Siyu didn’t wait for him to salute before anxiously asking, “Why are you back so late? Are my brother and Sister Gu all right?”
“Miss Gu is fine, but the heir…” Xue Xing hesitated in his speech. Xiao Siyu, already impatient by nature, grew even more anxious at his demeanor. “What about my brother? Speak!”
“The heir…”
Xue Xing pursed his lips and said in a low voice, “He was seriously injured and was carried into the Earl Manor.”
“What?”
Xiao Siyu’s expression changed. She staggered two steps back, caught by Cuirong in time. After steadying herself, she didn’t even bother to hear anything else from Xue Xing and immediately stepped onto the carriage’s footstool.
“Go! To the Earl Manor!”
She issued the command in a sharp voice.
Cuirong hurriedly followed.
Yan Ming, having received his orders, dared not delay. Before leaving, he instructed Xue Xing to relay the message to Tu Yici before spurring his horse to catch up.
Although the Duke of Lu’s Manor and the Chengbo Manor were both located in Zhuque Alley, one was in the east and the other in the west—separated by half the imperial city. With the city’s strict prohibition on galloping horses, no matter how anxious Xiao Siyu was, the carriage could only move at a limited speed. By the time she arrived at the Earl Manor, half an hour had already passed.
Her heart was filled with urgency—how could she still care about the propriety of a noblewoman? As soon as she stepped out of the carriage, she hurried straight to Xiao Ye’s courtyard. She moved so quickly that Cuirong couldn’t keep up, and Yan Ming, not being able to enter, could only watch as Xiao Siyu strode away.
Just as she reached Xiao Ye’s courtyard, she saw a maid walking out carrying a basin of bloodied water.
At the sight of the basin full of blood, Xiao Siyu’s face went pale. Her knees weakened, and she nearly collapsed.
Fortunately, Jinglan saw her and quickly stepped forward to support her. Her voice was filled with concern. “Miss, are you all right?”
Xiao Siyu snapped back to her senses upon hearing her voice. She did not answer but instead gripped Jinglan’s arm tightly. Her eyes were red, whether from worry or fury. Lowering her voice, she asked, “How is my brother? Why is there so much blood? Who did this to him?”
By the end of her sentence, her teeth were clenched in anger.
Though she had been furious about her brother’s recent actions, he was still her blood-related elder brother. Growing up, the affection he had shown her had never been false. Now that she saw him injured, how could she not be concerned?
Jinglan hesitated at her question.
Xiao Siyu, with a sharp tone, pressed her again. Only then did Jinglan sigh and say, “It was Lord Qi’s guards.”
“What?”
Xiao Siyu was stunned. Her voice faltered, filled with disbelief and uncertainty. “You mean… Lord Qi Yubai from the Court of Judicial Review?”
When the person nodded, her expression turned dazed, and she murmured, “How could this be…”
Then, as if suddenly thinking of something, her face changed drastically. She gripped Jinglan’s arm tightly and asked anxiously, “Did something happen to Sister Gu?”
Her senior brother and her brother had no grievances against each other—unless something had happened to Sister Gu…
At this thought, Xiao Siyu’s face grew even paler.
Jinglan knew she was worried and dared not hide anything from her. She recounted everything that had happened tonight in full detail. Just as she finished speaking, Doctor Du came out. Jinglan quickly said a few words to Xiao Siyu before instructing the newly arrived Cuirong to take care of her, then immediately stepped forward to ask Doctor Du what needed to be prepared.
After receiving instructions, she arranged for Doctor Du to be escorted out while also sending someone to fetch the prescribed medicine.
The courtyard was in utter chaos, yet Xiao Siyu remained standing there, unmoving. It wasn’t until Cuirong called her name that she finally snapped out of her daze. Pressing her lips together, she said nothing. After a brief silence, she lifted her feet and walked into the house.
Inside, Madam Xiao sat at the edge of the canopy bed. The man lying on the bed, unconscious and deathly pale, was none other than her brother.
Seeing him in such a state, Xiao Siyu’s emotions were complicated—there was helplessness and disappointment, but also distress and sorrow. She did not know how long she stood there watching before finally shifting her gaze away and looking at Madam Xiao. Her voice was hoarse as she spoke.
“Mother.”
Madam Xiao had been preoccupied with Xiao Ye’s condition and hadn’t noticed Xiao Siyu’s arrival. Now, hearing her daughter’s voice, she turned toward her. Upon seeing the daughter she had always cherished, Madam Xiao’s face—tense and grim the entire night—finally softened slightly.
She asked, “Why are you here?”
After a night of anxiety, without even a drop of water, her voice was hoarse. Yet when speaking to Xiao Siyu, her tone remained gentle.
Seeing her mother’s weary expression, Xiao Siyu quickly helped her to a seat by the table and personally poured her a cup of hot tea.
Madam Xiao felt a warmth in her heart and, at last, a faint smile appeared on her face. She took Xiao Siyu’s hand and patted it lightly. “At least I still have you.”
The warmth of the tea soothed her parched throat. However, upon noticing the worry in Xiao Siyu’s expression, she pressed her lips together and spoke in a low voice, “You’ve seen your brother’s condition for yourself.”
“I know you are close to Gu Lanyin, but look at what she has done to your brother!”
At the mention of Gu Lanyin, Madam Xiao’s anger flared once more. She clenched her teacup, her teeth gnashing in frustration. “I originally thought that younger sister of hers was a troublemaker, but now I see that the saying holds true—‘One stroke cannot write two Gu characters.’ These two sisters are both no good! You must stay away from her in the future, lest she brings disaster upon you as well.”
Xiao Siyu frowned at these words. She had already learned about the events of the night from Jinglan and could not agree with her mother’s view.
“This matter was my brother’s fault to begin with,” she said. “Sister Gu and my brother have long since divorced. Yet my brother went to her door, and even injured Lord Qi—”
Before she could finish, Madam Xiao cut her off sharply.
“What nonsense are you saying?!”
Madam Xiao had never expected her to say such things. Her face darkened, and she slammed the teacup heavily onto the table. Tea splashed everywhere, but she paid no heed. Instead, she stared at Xiao Siyu and rebuked her.
“You are still defending that woman!”
Her anger made her voice rise involuntarily, turning sharp and severe.
“If not for that woman, would your brother be like this? Do you even know what she said tonight? She threatened me! She threatened your brother! She even pointed a sword at him!”
“Your brother ended up like this because of her!”
“Yet you refuse to stand by your brother and instead blame him!”
Madam Xiao had always treated her son and daughter differently. Because her son would inherit the title, she had been strict with Xiao Ye since childhood—he was not allowed to be indulgent or reckless. Even in the bitter cold of winter, she personally supervised his horse stance training and martial arts practice. But her daughter did not have to bear such burdens—she only needed to marry well. So, from a young age, Xiao Siyu had been pampered. Whatever she wanted, she got. Not once had Madam Xiao spoken harshly to her.
This was the first time Xiao Siyu had ever been reprimanded so severely by her mother.
She looked at Madam Xiao, full of shock and disbelief.
But she was no longer a child. She was already a mother herself. Though she felt aggrieved, she did not storm off as she might have when she was younger. Instead, she softened her voice as much as possible.
As she wiped the tea stains off Madam Xiao’s sleeve, she tried to reason with her.
“Mother, I am not taking Sister Gu’s side. I just think that this matter was our family’s fault from the start. Sister Gu did nothing to wrong us. My brother is injured, and I am heartbroken over it, but ultimately, he was the one who made the first move.”
She still wanted to speak.
But Madam Xiao no longer wished to listen. At this moment, she had lost all her previous rationality. With a cold face, she shook off Xiao Siyu’s arm, disregarding her stumbling steps, and continued to reprimand, “Do you bear the surname Xiao or Gu?”
Thinking of her son being the same, she became even more exasperated. Slapping the table in anger, she shouted, “What kind of bewitching potion has Gu Lanyin fed you siblings, making you both speak up for her one after another!”
When Jinglan entered, she happened to witness this scene. Seeing Xiao Siyu’s dazed and pale face, she sighed softly and was about to step forward to offer some comfort when a faint moan came from the canopy bed.
Xiao Ye had awakened.
Hearing this sound, Madam Xiao’s expression changed slightly. She immediately stood up and walked towards the canopy bed. Seeing Xiao Ye finally open his eyes, her heart, which had been hanging until now, finally settled. She had always been proud and unwilling to show weakness in front of others, but now her eyes reddened.
Sitting by the bed, she held Xiao Ye’s hand and choked out, “You scared me to death!”
Although Xiao Ye had awakened, he was in no mood to speak, nor did he feel like it. Seeing Madam Xiao sitting by the bed, he simply closed his eyes again.
Seeing him like this, Madam Xiao knew he was heartbroken by Gu Lanyin, and her anger towards Gu Lanyin reached its peak. Suppressing the fury in her heart, she placed Xiao Ye’s hand back under the quilt and tucked him in, softly coaxing, “You rest first. Mother will come to see you tomorrow.”
There was no response.
Suppressing the discomfort in her heart, Madam Xiao pursed her lips, stood up, and walked out.
Xiao Siyu did not immediately follow her upon seeing her leave. Instead, she walked to Xiao Ye’s bedside to speak with him. But no matter what she said, Xiao Ye never opened his eyes. Seeing her brother like this, Xiao Siyu also felt sad. Looking at his pale and thin face, she dared not disturb his rest and could only gently say, “It’s too late tonight. Tomorrow I’ll bring Lin’er to see you.”
After speaking, she lowered the bed curtains for him and walked out. Just as she reached the outside, she heard Madam Xiao speaking to Jinglan, “Tomorrow, invite the most famous matchmaker in the city. I must find a woman for Ye’er who is a thousand times better than Gu Lanyin, to make her regret it!”
Hearing this, Jinglan frowned slightly.
She was about to speak when Xiao Siyu’s incredulous voice came from behind, “Mother, what are you saying!”
Madam Xiao, still angry from the earlier incident, naturally had no good expression for her. She ignored Xiao Siyu, glanced at her sideways, and then continued to look at Jinglan, saying, “Did you hear me?”
Although Jinglan did not agree.
As a servant, she dared not provoke her at this moment and could only nod in agreement.
But Xiao Siyu’s eyes reddened with anger. She rushed in front of Madam Xiao and, for the first time, questioned her in a demanding tone, “What do you take us for?”
Her questioning made Madam Xiao’s face completely darken.
“What do I take you for? What do you think I take you for?” She had already been exhausted today. In just a few hours, she had been lectured by her son, threatened by Gu Lanyin with old grievances, and now accused by her beloved daughter. Her expression was grim, and her voice turned cold.
Madam Xiao’s phoenix eyes stared coldly at Xiao Siyu, her red lips slightly curling as a stern and indifferent voice spilled out, “If it weren’t for you being my children, if it weren’t for me managing this and that for you, how could you be living so comfortably now?!”
“But have you ever thought that what you’ve been managing for us is not what we want at all!” Thinking of her brother’s current state, her eyes also reddened. “Brother doesn’t want to remarry at all. Why must you force him? Do you really want to push him to his death before you’re satisfied?”
A loud slap echoed—
“Madam!”
The sound of the slap and Jinglan’s exclamation rang out simultaneously in the courtyard. Cuirong, seeing her mistress being struck, also rushed over with a changed expression. But faced with the confrontation between mother and daughter, she could not interject and could only hover nearby, supporting Xiao Siyu, whispering, “Mistress, are you alright?”