It was Xiao Yuge who had taken the fall, yet Xiao Yufu wept more bitterly than anyone else. Her tear-streaked face, like a pear blossom kissed by rain, moved the two Xiao elders standing nearby to such tender concern that they gathered around her, words of comfort spilling from their lips.
"Silly child, what nonsense are you saying? You and Yuge are both your father and mother's daughters—whichever of you gets hurt, your father and mother will ache for her all the same." Xiao Zhan's love for this adopted daughter ran just as deep, straight to the bottom of his heart.
Lady Xiao even turned to reproach Xiao Yuge: "Ge'er, your usual wildness is one thing, but you knew perfectly well that your sister's health is poor—and you still took her up such a high mountain. Consider yourself lucky it was you who fell; had it been your sister who got hurt, what on earth would we have done?"
Xiao Yuge watched the scene with cold eyes. She remembered it had been the same in her previous life — Xiao Yufu wept and wept until she fainted, and then everyone, even the physician, was called away, leaving her alone in the room, as though they had all forgotten she existed.
Thinking on this, she secretly pinched herself hard, and the pain brought tears spilling down her cheeks at once. "Mother is right. It's all Yuge's fault. Yuge heard there was auspicious grass up on the mountain—grass that could cure Mother's illness—and Yuge just wanted Mother to get better sooner... It's all Yuge's fault. She shouldn't have brought Sister along and made Father and Mother worry. She should have gone alone..."
While speaking, [he/she] pulled out the lucky grass from their person, deliberately concealing the scrape on their arm in the process.
In her previous life, after she had gathered the Auspicious Herb and brought it back, she saw Xiao Yufu collapse in tears and so gave her the credit. The two elders of the Xiao family believed it was Xiao Yufu who had collected the medicine, and their doting on her only deepened, cherished to the very bone.
Xiao Zhan, standing to one side, had indeed caught the slip: "Yuge, how did you know that the Auspicious Herb could cure your mother's illness?"
Xiao Yuge lowered her eyes desolately. "All these years, your daughter has been reading medical texts. The medicinal properties of the Auspicious Herb — I learned of them from an ancient medical tome……"
"You mean to say that all these years, the reason you insisted on reading medical texts was to cure your mother's illness?" Xiao Zhan was utterly stunned. He had always assumed she was simply playful and willful, that she read medical texts merely to avoid doing needlework — yet he had never imagined...
Xiao Yuge gave a gentle nod. In her past life, she had never been good with words—and with her pity for the fragile Xiao Yufu, she had kept everything bottled up inside. In this life, she knew what she needed to do.
Sure enough, the moment Lady Xiao heard this, her heart ached so fiercely that she could not stop wiping her tears. "You foolish child, why didn't you tell me sooner? Mother's ailment is an old one — no medicine ever does any good. And that mountain is so high — what if you had taken a bad fall? What would we have done then? Does it still hurt?"
Xiao Yuge smiled and shook her head. "Mother, don't worry. It doesn't hurt at all. As long as it can cure your illness, even if I were to shatter to pieces from the fall, I would gladly do it."
"Nonsense! Mother has already lost you once — she cannot lose you a second time." Lady Xiao held her close, heart torn between anguish and guilt.
Doctor Wang took the Lucky Grass from Xiao Yuge's hands, examined it carefully, and said with delighted surprise: "It truly is Lucky Grass! There is hope for Madam's illness yet. Lucky Grass is rarely come by even a single stalk at a time—Second Miss has been truly thoughtful. I shall go at once to prescribe a few more moderating herbs to be decocted together with the Lucky Grass. It will surely cure Madam of her chronic ailment of many years."
"Thank you for your trouble, Uncle Wang." Xiao Yuge handed all the remaining auspicious herbs to Doctor Wang.
Madam Xiao had long suffered from a condition of coughing blood. For many years she had tried remedy after remedy, yet seen no improvement. Now, upon hearing that a cure was possible, everyone was naturally overjoyed.
Xiao Yufu watched as her parents hovered around her younger sister, her gaze dropping in quiet desolation. So she had always been the outsider—had always been. Sorrow welled up in her heart, and her body swayed, on the verge of giving way beneath her. It was only thanks to the maidservant beside her, who caught her just in time, that she did not fall. "First Young Miss!"
Sure enough, upon hearing this, Lady Xiao immediately came over. "Fu'er, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell somewhere?"
"Mother, don't worry — Fufu is fine, it's little sister who matters most……" People are by nature drawn to sympathize with the weak, and Xiao Yufu played the role of a delicate, willowy maiden to perfection, naturally earning the tender pity of everyone present.
"What nonsense—which sister matters most? You are all your mother's daughters. You all matter equally to me." Lady Xiao's heart ached with love.
"Mother, I know medicine — let me take a look at Elder Sister." Xiao Yuge knew perfectly well this was one of Xiao Yufu's habitual tricks, so she made a show of taking her pulse. The beat was steady and strong; there was nothing wrong at all. Sure enough, it was all an act!
"Father, Mother, don't worry — Elder Sister just had a bit of a fright. She'll be fine after some rest."
Lady Xiao let out a long breath and gently patted Xiao Yufu's hand, saying softly, "Yufu, you've had a frail constitution since childhood—stop letting your mind run away with you. You and Yuge are both your mother's most precious treasures. Go back to your room and rest. Your coming-of-age ceremony is next month; you cannot afford to fall ill."
"Yes, this one takes her leave." Xiao Yufu curtseyed with elegant courtesy and withdrew.
"My Lord, His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince has arrived!" At that moment, a servant came to report.
Qian Sichen! The moment Xiao Yuge heard that name, her hand instinctively clenched. That despicable scumbag! But right now, she had no power to kill him — she could only force down every last shred of hatred and bury it deep.
Killing them would be letting them off too easy — she would make them suffer every last bit of pain she had ever endured!
"Fufu, I heard something happened when you all went up the mountain—are you alright?" Qian Sichen rushed into the courtyard and ran straight into Xiao Yufu, hurrying forward in a panic to ask.
"Brother Sichen, I'm fine — it's just that my sister, she..." Her words trailed off unfinished, her fragile voice the kind that made people feel an instinctive pang of tenderness without even meaning to.
The moment he heard her say she was fine, the tense lines on Qian Sichen's face instantly relaxed. Without waiting for her to finish, he let out a sigh of relief and cut her off: "As long as you're okay — you scared me half to death!"
Xiao Yuge watched them with cold eyes. Qian Sichen was still her fiancé at this moment, yet his gaze held only Xiao Yufu, his concern reserved for Xiao Yufu alone — utterly indifferent to whether she lived or died. What made it laughable was that in her previous life, she had actually thrown herself at him with such shameless persistence.
"Brother Sichen, go check on your little sister," Xiao Yufu reminded Qian Sichen in a soft voice.
"Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Prince!" Xiao Zhan and the others hastened forward to pay their respects.
"No need for formalities!" Qian Sichen waved a broad hand and strode up to Xiao Yuge. Catching sight of the wound on her hand, he furrowed his brow slightly. "Ge'er, are you all right?"
"Just a minor wound — it's nothing." Xiao Yuge withdrew her hand without a trace of visible intent, fixing a cold gaze on the man before her. Scenes from her past life flashed through her mind in rapid succession. What was this scratch compared to what they had done to her — the humiliation, the degradation, the crippling of her martial arts, the severing of her limbs, iron hooks driven through her shoulder blades, and the blade rising and falling to slash her veins and drain her blood? What did it amount to at all?
Qian Sichen paused, looking at her with some surprise, his thoughts turning inward: this girl, who normally screamed at the slightest prick of a needle, had actually been injured today. By all logic, she should have thrown herself into his arms and wailed for comfort, just as she always had before. He had already steeled himself to hold her even if it was nothing but an act — so why was she so different this time?