Chapter 8

Song Family Garden

After an autumn rain had washed over it, the colors of the garden seemed to have faded since Qi Yunmiao’s last visit. The flowers and plants swayed in the chill of late autumn and early winter winds, and even with the golden sunlight’s assistance, they appeared pale and lifeless, no longer vibrant.

Yet Qi Yunmiao had no heart to appreciate any of this scenery.

She was locked in a struggle with Song Xiao.

The two wrestled from the garden’s cobblestone path to beneath a nearby tree. Song Xiao was a boy, strong and forceful, but Qi Yunmiao had grown up accompanying her father on mountain hunts, drawing bows and arrows. When it came to a real fight, her strength rivaled Song Xiao’s without a trace of weakness.

“Wah, wah, wah... Brother! Miao Miao, stop fighting!”

Song Qingyu cried nearby, clearly frightened by the scene and at a loss.

But Qi Yunmiao gripped Song Xiao’s neck tightly, refusing to let go, while Song Xiao dug his fingers into her cheeks, unwilling to yield.

Both used hands and feet, neither willing to admit defeat first.

It wasn’t until Shen Ruozhu and Wen Tingyao arrived hurriedly that the fight was interrupted.

Wen Tingyao, upon seeing the disorder before him, nearly fainted.

“What are you standing there for? Hurry and separate them!”

Seeing the maids and servants only daring to watch from a distance without stepping forward, Wen Tingyao shouted angrily and rushed over, grabbing his son’s raised arm.

Shen Ruozhu also hurried forward, scooping up Qi Yunmiao from the grass and forcefully pulling her away from Song Xiao.

“What happened? Song Xiao! Explain yourself!”

Once the two were finally separated, Wen Tingyao ordered Song Xiao to stand in front of him and questioned him loudly.

Song Xiao’s face was a mess, eyes reddened. He glanced sideways at Qi Yunmiao but remained silent.

The young girl, who had been fine just moments ago, was now disheveled and bruised from the fight. A faint bloodstain marked her cheek, slowly seeping blood.

Song Xiao wasn’t in much better shape.

Though a year older and a boy, he hadn’t gained any advantage from Qi Yunmiao this time.

Qi Yunmiao’s face bore marks, and his cheek had taken several punches. His face was swollen and bruised, and if one looked closely, a few blades of grass had somehow lodged in his nostrils.

“What happened!” Wen Tingyao grabbed Song Xiao and demanded again.

Song Xiao stubbornly refused to speak, his already slightly swollen face defiant.

Shen Ruozhu tidied her daughter’s hair, gazing at the wounds on her cheeks with gentle patience, then asked softly, “Miao Miao, tell Mother what happened.”

Qi Yunmiao looked up at her mother, eyes wide and round.

Though she hadn’t cried when fighting Song Xiao, despite the pain, now, faced with her mother, she suddenly burst into tears and threw herself into her mother’s embrace.

“Mother!” she sobbed. “Song Xiao insulted me! He cursed me, and he cursed my father! He said I’m only able to live in the capital as the chancellor’s daughter because my father is dead. He said it’s all thanks to my father’s death!”

Shen Ruozhu’s mind felt as if struck by a heavy blow.

She asked in disbelief, “What did you say?”

Qi Yunmiao repeated her words through her cries.

Shen Ruozhu then looked back at Song Xiao.

Wen Tingyao’s face flushed red; he had obviously heard Qi Yunmiao’s words as well.

He quickly lowered his voice, asking Song Xiao, “Did you really say those things?”

Song Xiao lowered his head, unable to meet his mother’s eyes.

He had only spoken offhandedly. Who could have guessed Qi Yunmiao would fly into such a rage?

That stubborn girl usually seemed cheerful no matter what she did. Why did she get so angry just because of his teasing?

“Song Xiao! That’s utterly disgraceful!” Wen Tingyao shouted furiously.

“Mother!” Song Xiao felt wronged.

Qi Yunmiao wasn’t like an ordinary girl; no one knew where she had learned to fight like that. She had pounded him until his whole body ached!

He glanced back at Qi Yunmiao, nestled in their mother’s arms, then looked up at his own mother. Gritting his teeth and stomping his foot, he fled from Wen Tingyao’s sight.

“You—”

Wen Tingyao couldn’t call anyone to chase after him. Surveying the mess before her, without hesitation, she first took Song Qingyu to Shen Ruozhu and her daughter.

“Sister, I’m truly sorry. Song Xiao was so foolish today...” she said, full of shame.

“It’s alright.” Shen Ruozhu withdrew her gaze, controlled her emotions, and shook her head at Wen Tingyao. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll take Miao Miao home now.”

Her expression was cold and distant, lacking the warmth and kindness she had shown earlier.

“I’ll see you out.”

After such an incident, Wen Tingyao no longer had the face to keep Shen Ruozhu in her home.

She escorted Shen Ruozhu and Qi Yunmiao out, promising to send some ointments to the residence later to help heal the scars, then watched the mother and daughter board the carriage before turning away with a grim expression.

—

Qi Yunmiao sat in the carriage with her mother.

From the garden to the carriage, tears never ceased streaming down her cheeks.

Whether it was the thought of her father or the pain from her wounds, she did not know.

Inside the carriage, the two remained silent. Shen Ruozhu was twisting a handkerchief in her hands. Qi Yunmiao said nothing, and Shen Ruozhu refrained from speaking, quietly wiping the dirt from her daughter’s face.

Slowly, the carriage rolled on. After some time, Qi Yunmiao finally whispered, “Mother, do we really have to live in the capital forever?”

Her voice was hoarse from crying.

Shen Ruozhu paused her movements.

Qi Yunmiao tilted her head back.

By now, the wounds on her cheeks had stopped bleeding but still throbbed painfully, marked by faint red lines. Her face was flushed and wet with tears, looking utterly distressed.

Shen Ruozhu bit her lips hard, restraining herself fiercely to keep from crying aloud in front of her daughter.

With slightly moist eyes, she hugged Qi Yunmiao tightly.

“Don’t be afraid, Miao Miao, don’t be afraid...” she whispered. “Mother will make sure all the villains are punished. Trust Mother. Mother has not forgotten your father. She will make sure all the wicked are brought to justice...”

Qi Yunmiao nodded.

She believed her mother. Her father had passed away suddenly, and now it was only the two of them left to care for one another. She had always believed in her mother.

But she couldn’t help but miss her father.

In the time just after his death, she often dreamt of him—dreams of him taking her to the mountains to catch wild rabbits, to hunt pheasants. But since coming to the capital, those dreams had become fewer and fewer.

—

Qi Yunmiao did not want to forget her father.

When her mother brought him home, she covered his body with a cloth, not letting her see.

But she had secretly lifted the cloth.

She saw the many wounds on his body, the tragic manner of his death—murdered by human hands.

And the murderer had yet to be caught.

She did not want to forget him, nor dared to.

As she thought of this, tears she had barely held back fell again.

But this time she did not cry aloud, simply curled up in her mother’s embrace, silently shedding tears.

By the time Shen Ruozhu noticed, Qi Yunmiao had fallen asleep, still crying quietly.

The carriage stopped before the mansion gates.

Shen Ruozhu held her daughter, and after several reminders from the servants, she still did not get out.

She sat silently, as if waiting for something.

After a long while, the carriage curtain was lifted, and Pei Xun stepped in. Only then did Shen Ruozhu lift her eyes slightly to glance at him.

That single look was like a river of autumn water surging with emotion.

The usually decisive and ruthless chancellor, seeing such a scene inside the carriage, softened his tone and asked gently, “What happened?”

Shen Ruozhu shook her head, not telling him what had occurred at the Song residence, but with slightly reddened apricot eyes, said, “Miao Miao has fallen asleep...”

“Leave her to me. I’ll carry her back.” Pei Xun reached out his hand.

Shen Ruozhu entrusted Qi Yunmiao to him.

The girl, just about ten years old, weighed very little.

Pei Xun carried Qi Yunmiao down from the carriage, and Shen Ruozhu followed behind, also stepping down.

The family of three walked home together.

—

Today, Pei Ze needed to go home to retrieve a letter.

When the carriage arrived at the alley near the gate, he got out and happened to see three figures ahead.

Pei Xun was walking with Shen Ruozhu, and Qi Yunmiao lay asleep in Pei Xun’s arms.

His steps suddenly halted.

A servant beside him noticed and whispered, “Young master, that looks like the chancellor and madam.”

Pei Ze said nothing.

He stood still, waiting until they had fully entered the house before he lifted his foot and slowly walked toward the same steps.