Unparalleled Beauty

Chapter C016

Wushuang didn't regain consciousness until the next day.

Her fever had subsided, but she remained drowsy. Yet, she still remembered the incident with Nanny Zhao.

Xiaohong, knowing what troubled her heart, quickly informed her that Nanny Zhao had been found. It was Meifang's stubbornness that had led to the delay. She hadn't found the body the previous night, but had gone out again at daybreak, finally discovering Nanny Zhao's remains in a nearby forest.

According to Meifang, the forest was situated at the foot of a slope. It was likely that Nanny Zhao, fleeing in the darkness, had stumbled and fallen, striking her head, leading to her demise.

Regardless, the body had been found. Steward Chen and Meifang had already buried it in a secluded spot, ensuring no one would ever discover it.

With this, Wushuang finally breathed a sigh of relief. She drank some white porridge, tended to by Xiaohong, and fell back into a deep sleep.

When she awoke again, it was to the arrival of the Marquis Mansion's people.

No one had anticipated their arrival so swiftly.

Given that the roads were all dirt paths, and having been soaked by three days of rain, they were nothing but mud. Even taking the shortcut, the journey from the capital to this place would take at least two and a half hours. Everyone had assumed the Mansion's people wouldn't arrive until tomorrow, yet they had arrived in the afternoon.

And it wasn't some housekeepers who had come, but Old Madam Mei herself.

Upon receiving the news, Wushuang hastily donned her clothes and went out to greet the visitors. The Mansion's carriage had just arrived.

The Old Madam's travels were never a simple affair. She had brought four carriages alone, and a multitude of maids, grannies, and servants.

The spectacle was grand, but perhaps in their haste to arrive, they had overlooked the state of the roads. Not only did the carriages seem to have waded through mud, but the accompanying servants, with the exception of a few, appeared as if they had rolled in mud pits.

They were all covered in dust and grime, looking utterly disheveled.

After disembarking, the group, in a flurry of activity, escorted Old Madam Mei and Mei Wuxia towards the inner chambers.

Though Old Madam ignored Wushuang, it didn't mean she could simply turn and leave. She knew Old Madam's rules well, so she waited outside the main room.

After a while, Mei Wuxia emerged from within. She was one of the few who remained clean and tidy.

"Eldest Sister."

"Why are you wearing a cloak in this heat?" Mei Wuxia asked, surprised.

Wushuang explained that she had caught a chill and developed a fever, and since she hadn't brought any thick clothes on this trip, she had to use the cloak to keep warm.

Upon hearing that she was ill, Mei Wuxia's face softened with concern. "You're still sick, why are you standing here waiting?"

Pausing, she continued, "Grandmother was deeply saddened to hear of great aunt's passing. She intended to come here immediately, but then the heavy rain began, and it continued for days. As soon as the rain stopped, Grandmother immediately set out with her entourage. But the roads were still muddy, making the journey incredibly difficult."

It was indeed arduous. The official road was passable, but once they left it, the terrain became treacherous. And after days of rain, the paths had turned into mud pits.

The worst part was that the water on the road made it impossible to see the mud pits. When the carriage wheels sank in, the horses couldn't pull, and they had to rely on human strength to push.

If they had taken their time, it wouldn't have been so bad. But the Old Madam was in a hurry, and the servants had no choice but to push forward. At one point, the carriage Old Madam was in nearly slid down a slope. Not only were they terrified, but it took a great deal of effort to get the carriage back on the road. That's why the servants were in such a state.

Hearing that Old Madam had been frightened, Wushuang's face showed concern.

"Grandmother is so kind. The roads are always treacherous after rain. Grandmother should have waited until they dried before coming."

The curve of Mei Wuxia's lips stiffened.

Wait? If she could wait, who would want to travel in such conditions?!

That day, the Mansion received news of Great Aunt's death, but Nanny Zhao hadn't retrieved the items. The Old Madam was eager to come to the estate. But as soon as they left the city, they encountered heavy rain. They pressed on, but after a while, the rain became so intense that even the carriage was flooded. They had to turn back.

Not to mention the miserable experience of being caught in the downpour, the Old Madam's temper had been particularly volatile these past two days. Countless people in the mansion had been reprimanded, so much so that everyone was secretly praying for the rain to stop.

As soon as the rain ceased, the Old Madam ordered someone to set out. Mei Wuxia tried to dissuade her, but to no avail, so she could only let her go. In truth, Mei Wuxia knew what her grandmother was so eager for, and she was eager too, but she couldn't tell Wushuang.

"Grandmother is worried about Great Aunt, fearing that no one will be there to oversee the funeral arrangements and that she will be treated poorly." Mei Wuxia put on a sorrowful and compassionate expression.

Wushuang thought to herself, "Before she even had a chance to inquire about what happened here, my elder sister is already trying to curry favor with me?" So she pretended to be a little apprehensive.

"Actually, Great Aunt's funeral has already been taken care of. With Nanny Zhao here, and me, we couldn't just do nothing."

"The funeral is done?"

Wushuang nodded. "The weather is hot, and conditions here are limited. There's no ice, and we can't keep a body for long, for fear that it might... spoil."

Mei Wuxia knew that it was indeed unreasonable to keep the body there, waiting for someone from the mansion to handle it. After all, they weren't without a manager. It was only proper to hold the funeral while waiting for someone from the mansion to arrive.

But she also knew why her grandmother was in such a hurry to come. There were many old grudges, and while she herself didn't care much, she was afraid of what her grandmother might...

"What's wrong, eldest sister? Are you saying we can't hold a funeral for Great Aunt?" Wushuang looked panicked.

Mei Wuxia snapped out of her thoughts and quickly said, "Of course we can. I was just surprised, I didn't expect Third Sister to be so capable."

Wushuang pretended to be slightly relieved, but still looked a little apprehensive.

"Actually, I didn't do much. Great Aunt had a premonition that her time was short, so she made preparations beforehand. Besides, Nanny Zhao helped a lot."

Mei Wuxia absentmindedly nodded, wanting to get rid of Wushuang so she could go in and tell her grandmother about this. But Wushuang kept holding her hand, telling her about what had happened these past few days.

"By the way, where's Nanny Zhao?"

Mei Wuxia finally remembered that she hadn't seen Nanny Zhao. According to custom, Nanny Zhao should have been waiting outside to greet Old Madam, just like Wushuang was now.

Could it be that she messed up her duties and was afraid to show her face? She furrowed her brow.

"Nanny Zhao?" Wushuang looked bewildered. "I've been sick these past two days and haven't been aware of things. But I saw her yesterday, I haven't seen her today."

***

Nanny Zhao was gone.

They searched the entire house, but couldn't find Nanny Zhao. Finally, a clever servant noticed that Nanny Zhao's bundle was missing, along with the pair of shoes she always wore, the ones with the worn-down heels.

It was a little girl who mentioned the missing shoes.

She had come along on this trip for no other reason than to serve Nanny Zhao. When she discovered that Nanny Zhao was missing, all the servants who had come with her were called to the main room for questioning. The little girl's face turned pale with fear, and she hurriedly revealed this.

The bundle was gone, and even the worn-out shoes she always wore were missing. Did she run away?

Only someone running away could explain this.

The servants were still searching everywhere, and the search had now expanded to the entire estate. But the matter in the main room wasn't over yet.

As for Wushuang, since there were many things she "shouldn't" know, Mei Wuxia persuaded her to go back to her room to rest, and she didn't even get to see Old Madam.

***

Meanwhile, the commotion here naturally reached the small courtyard.

Dismissing the guard who had come to report, Fusheng turned and cautiously entered the main room. He moved with extreme grace, trying to make no sound, but his gaze towards the inner chamber was filled with worry.

His master usually had trouble sleeping, rarely sleeping through the night. He would usually wake up after an hour or two, but this time he had been asleep until now.

This was unusual. If Fusheng hadn't gone in and seen that his master was breathing and seemed to be sleeping soundly, he would have already woken him up.

At that moment, a sound came from the inner room, and Fusheng hurried inside.

Upon entering, he found that Prince Wei had awakened. His expression seemed to be free of any discomfort, which eased Fusheng's worries and filled him with a sense of joy.

"Master, did you sleep well? You've been asleep for almost a whole day, you've worried this servant to death."

Prince Wei was startled and asked, "What time is it now?"

"Four quarters past the wei* hour."

TN: 1-3pm

It was already afternoon.

Prince Wei rose from the couch, and Fusheng quickly brought him clothes to put on. Once that was done, Fusheng went out to instruct the guards to prepare some food.

While Fusheng was out, Prince Wei turned and pulled a silk skirt from the bedding on the couch.

It was the very skirt that Wushuang had left behind.

Earlier, Prince Wei had casually tossed the silk skirt onto the couch. Fusheng, seeing that Prince Wei hadn't said anything, hadn't dared to tidy it up. Later, when it was still dark, Prince Wei had fallen asleep.

Prince Wei knew that he wouldn't be able to sleep for long. His headaches came in waves. Just because it wasn't hurting now didn't mean it wouldn't start again later.

Often, to conserve his energy, he would deliberately let Ji Yang take over, while he himself slept to replenish his strength.

But now, with the effectiveness of Song You's medicine waning, his headaches were becoming increasingly severe, and he could no longer block them out. Switching places was no longer as effective. Even when he slept, Ji Yang's pain would still be felt by him, and this sensation was growing stronger each day. As a result, it was difficult for him to maintain sleep. He had never imagined that he would sleep so soundly last night.

And this time, in his sleep, he didn't experience the usual, ever-present pain. Instead, it was peaceful. He didn't even dream, and he slept until almost afternoon.

Prince Wei vaguely remembered a faint, sweet fragrance in his dream. Upon waking, he found the silk skirt beside his pillow.

When Fusheng came in, he didn't know why, but he instinctively tucked the skirt into the bedding.

Now, thinking about it, could it have been because of this?

Fusheng walked in from outside.

Just before he entered, Prince Wei tucked the silk skirt into his sleeve.

Fusheng didn't notice anything unusual, but Prince Wei, who seemed perfectly normal, felt a pang of unease. He wondered if he was being influenced by "him" to act in such a way.

***

In the main room, Granny Chen and Qian Si were weeping uncontrollably, blaming everything on Nanny Zhao.

They recounted how she had been arrogant and domineering, how she had used the Old Madam's favor to bully them, and so on. Old Madam realized that the Nanny Zhao she knew was no longer the same. When had she become so notorious for her evil deeds?

Well, Nanny Zhao's arrogance was indeed due to Old Madam's favor, but she had been given power to serve her well, not to abscond with her wealth.

Granny Chen and Qian Si continued their lamentations, describing how Nanny Zhao had been autocratic since arriving, how she had tried to take all the credit and made their lives miserable. They couldn't believe that Nanny Zhao had actually run off with things. She had put on such a good act, fooling them into believing she was truly devoted.

Not only did Granny Chen and Qian Si say this, but all the other servants who had come with them echoed the same sentiment.

Some of them knew some of the details, while others didn't, but they had all noticed something amiss over the past few days. For example, they knew that Nanny Zhao was looking for something, that this something was related to the great aunt, and that Third Miss couldn't be told about it.

But regardless of whether they knew the details, everyone knew that this matter was serious.

The unusual behavior of Nanny Zhao, Qian Si, and Granny Chen had already sparked whispers among the servants. All sorts of speculations had spread, and they knew that when the people from the mansion arrived, they would be in deep trouble.

Now that Nanny Zhao had run off, a convenient scapegoat had presented itself. Whether she had actually run off or not, she was gone, and the blame would naturally fall on her.

This kind of wisdom didn't require any teaching. Any servant who had spent time in a wealthy household understood it. Thus, the conclusion presented to Old Madam Mei was that Nanny Zhao had absconded with the belongings.