Volume One, Chapter Four: This Is a Trap Set by Yue Yue

For eight years, Xie Qiqi bore the character "slave" branded upon her forehead, serving as a bondservant in place of Yue Yue.

During those eight years, she was perpetually hungry and cold. She faced illnesses alone, not to mention the lashings that haunted her like a shadow. Even after being brought back to the Xie household, no one ever uttered a single word to acknowledge the debt Yue Yue owed her.

For the past year, whenever she and Yue Yue had a disagreement, they would always say, "You are the older sister and Yue'er is the younger; as the elder, you should yield to her!"

Yet, she was only one month older than Yue Yue!

Fortunately, there was finally one person who understood the grievances she suffered. Xie Qiqi gazed at Wei Ling with tear-filled eyes.

However, Wei Ling said slowly, "I returned this time to ask you: can we call off our engagement?"

"I was young and naive then. We have both grown up over these eight years, and I know what I want... The only person I wish to marry in this life is Yue'er!"

"As long as you agree, I am willing to acknowledge you as a sister. Whatever Yue'er owes you, I shall repay it on her behalf..."

Xie Qiqi’s mind buzzed, and she stared blankly at the movement of Wei Ling’s lips. In her daze, she did not know if she had responded, nor did she know how she had returned to the Xie residence.

***

Xie Qiqi felt as if she had fallen into a world of darkness, alternating between bone-chilling cold and scorching heat. She did not know how long she had been unconscious; in her delirium, she faintly heard sobbing.

"My Lady, please wake up. This servant knows you are aggrieved and have lost the will to live, but think of the Old Matriarch. If you die, wouldn't she be heartbroken to death?"

"My Lady, didn't you say you wanted to eat roasted duck from Yangzhou and mandarin fish from Suzhou? Can you be content dying like this? Wuu, wuu..."

Yan'er was sobbing so hard she could no longer speak clearly. Xie Qiqi recalled those days of endless darkness, the very hopes she had clung to just to survive another day! She had not yet fulfilled those wishes—how could she be content to die now?

She opened her eyes, exhausted. Seeing this, Yan'er smiled through her tears, though the next moment they began to fall again.

"My Lady, you scared me. Do you know you've been unconscious for five days?"

"Doctor Wang said... said if you didn't wake up, you would die... I was just about to go tell the Old Matriarch!"

Xie Qiqi stared at the canopy of her bed. Five days?

And Grandmother...

Xie Qiqi tried to sit up, but the moment she moved, the room spun, and she collapsed back down.

"My Lady, don't worry. I didn't tell the Old Matriarch. The Madam forbade anyone from sending news to the back courtyard, saying only that you had gone to the Great Buddha Temple to pray for the Old Matriarch!" Yan'er said, helping Xie Qiqi sit up with a pained expression.

"You haven't eaten a thing in five days; you must be starving. I made red date porridge; let me feed you."

Yan'er brought the porridge. Every swallow felt like a searing burn in Xie Qiqi’s lungs. The porridge was sweet, but she could taste nothing. Only after struggling through half a bowl did she feel as though she had returned to the living.

"My Lady, the Eldest Master..."

Yan'er seemed to want to say something, but before she could, Xie Wenyuan walked in, supporting Yue Yue, followed by the household physician, Doctor Gao.

"Sister, you're awake!" Seeing Xie Qiqi sitting on the bed, Yue Yue looked pleasantly surprised and pressed her palms together in excitement. "The gods must have heard my prayers and allowed you to wake up, Sister!"

Xie Wenyuan, however, shot a cold glance at the half-empty bowl of porridge in the air and waved his hand. "Doctor Gao, take the Fourth Miss's pulse!"

Xie Qiqi’s heart skipped a beat. She had been unconscious for five days; surely her eldest brother regretted not pleading for her earlier? She extended her hand in cooperation.

Doctor Gao placed his fingers on her pulse and then stood up to report, "Eldest Master, the Fourth Miss’s pulse is stable and regular!"

Xie Wenyuan’s expression darkened instantly. He pointed at Xie Qiqi and scolded angrily, "Xie Qiqi, what else do you have to say? You were never sick; you deliberately faked this coma! It is a shame that Mother truly believed you were gravely ill and worried for you day and night."

"Yue'er was also deceived by you. To help you recover sooner, she prayed for you by transcribing Buddhist scriptures despite her own illness. Is this how you repay them?"

Xie Qiqi’s head was still spinning. Xie Wenyuan’s words left her bewildered—how had she faked a coma? Her confusion, in Xie Wenyuan’s eyes, was merely her usual act of playing the fool now that her crimes were exposed.

Ever since she returned from Jiangxue Pavilion that day, Qiqi had been unconscious. Xie Wenyuan had felt guilty for days, regretting that he hadn't interceded for her, never imagining that she was merely pretending!

Yan'er grew anxious and defended her, "Eldest Master, my Lady was truly unconscious! She just woke up!"

Xie Wenyuan, usually a composed man, could no longer control his rage. He snapped at Yan'er, "You insolent slave, how dare you argue for her? It is because of servants like you who collude with her to deceive those above that she has become so arrogant, even daring to hoodwink her own parents!"

"Someone, drag this insolent slave out and give her twenty lashes. If she commits such an offense again, sell her off!"

Two burly matrons entered and dragged Yan'er away. Xie Qiqi was frantic; Yan'er was only twelve years old—how could she survive twenty lashes? She struggled to get off the bed to