Chapter 178: Chapter 178: Grave Mistake (4)
"Is there any use being scared now!" Xiqiu pushed open the door and strode in, addressing Nanny Duan and the five or six maids, "Don’t make a sound, all of you go look for her, and also ask the gatekeepers in the estate. Don’t just ask about Sixth Miss, ask if anyone in the inner courtyard went out this afternoon. If someone did, ask for a detailed description, okay?!"
"I understand!" Nanny Duan also considered the possibility, but she couldn’t believe that the young lady she had raised by hand, always so composed and well-mannered, would do something so bold. Xiqiu’s words brought her back to reality, and she immediately led the maids out of the courtyard, dispersing to search.
Xiqiu’s heart was pounding; she hoped Nanny Duan could find Tong Xiyan within the residence, no matter where she might be hiding. It would be disastrous if the situation was as she feared, and Xiyan had secretly left the estate. She had never left alone before, and there was no way to predict what might happen once she walked out those doors.
But sometimes, the more you hope something doesn’t happen, the more likely it is to come true. Nanny Duan returned with the maids, all wearing mournful expressions: "A servant at the side gate of the outer yard said that at noon a maid went out of the estate. Judging by their description of her height, it must have been the young lady." Xiqiu realized things were beyond her control. She turned to Nanny Duan, saying, "Go inform the Lady!"
The matter had escalated to the point where it couldn’t be hidden anymore. She dared not think of the consequences when the Lady found out and could only hope that Tong Xiyan remained safe and unharmed.
Xinzhu collapsed to the ground. Nanny Duan, her face ashen, nodded and headed to the Lady’s quarters as if stepping on cotton. In less than the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, the Lady arrived with Nanny Fang, Nanny Qian, and seven or eight maids and servant women. Her face was icy as she toured the room, then stood in the courtyard, pointing at Nanny Fang: "Tie up these worthless servants. If anything happens to Fourth Miss, send them all to the government office!"
The courtyard was instantly filled with heart-wrenching cries. Nanny Fang and the servant women immediately gagged and tied up Xinzhu, Xinmei, and the others, tossing them to the ground. Then the Lady said, "Go to the outer courtyard and fetch Laiwang, and then bring Young Master back from the study."
Nanny Qian promptly went to the outer courtyard to find Manager Lai. The Lady then looked at Xiqiu standing in the courtyard, narrowing her eyes: "Explain, what exactly is going on here."
Xiqiu also knelt in the snow, the biting cold immediately seeping through her knees and spreading throughout her body. She bit her lip and replied, "I came looking for Fourth Sister but found she wasn’t in the courtyard. I thought she might have gone to Big Brother’s place, so I discussed with Nanny Duan about searching the outer courtyard. But they reported that they hadn’t seen Fourth Sister at all..."
The Lady’s face was full of rage as she threw the hand warmer she held at Xiqiu, the charcoal inside scattering into the snow with a hissing sound. She glared at Xiqiu, saying, "On such a cold day, and you’re known to be afraid of the cold, why are you not staying in your room? Why did you even come to visit your Fourth Sister? Speak, what’s really going on here? If you don’t tell me, and I find out myself, you know the consequences!"
Xiqiu lowered her face and began quietly sobbing: "I only know Fourth Sister wasn’t feeling well; truly, I don’t know what happened!"
The Lady sneered repeatedly, "Good, good! You all colluded and came to fool me perfectly." She pointed at Xiqiu, "Then kneel here as I told you, for every day your Fourth Sister doesn’t return, you will kneel just the same!"
Xiqiu said nothing, quietly kneeling on the ground.
Nanny Duan’s body swayed as she instinctively wanted to plead for Xiqiu, but she held back. Having served in the estate for so many years, she knew the Lady’s nature well. To plead now might not only fail to spare Sixth Miss but could result in an even harsher punishment!
A thought flashed through her mind, and she lowered her head. But the Lady’s gaze shot toward her like arrows: "I considered you wise for nursing Fourth Miss, foolishly getting comfortable with good days!"
Nanny Duan’s face hardened, and she knelt on the other side.
Amidst everyone in the courtyard, no one dared to speak up in plea.
Sixing and Chunyan knelt behind Xiqiu, tears welling up but not daring to fall. They couldn’t help but feel resentment, because of Fourth Miss, Sixth Miss was once again innocently implicated!
This time Fourth Miss truly went too far, doing something so out of control!
In a short while, Manager Lai arrived. Entering the courtyard, he immediately saw Xiqiu kneeling in the snow, snowflakes covering her and her complexion ashen. His gaze fixed, he quickly entered the room with his head bowed.
The Lady and Manager Lai spoke for a little while in the room before Manager Lai walked out of the courtyard with a grim expression.
Sixing worriedly looked at Xiqiu, "Miss... maybe you should tell the Lady about Fourth Miss, this snow is cold, I’m afraid you can’t bear it."
Xiqiu shook her head expressionlessly, replying, "It won’t change anything whether I tell her or not, so why bother." This matter shouldn’t be revealed by her to the Lady. Though they’re both daughters, Tong Xiyan is the legitimate one. Something like this, and the fewer who know, the better it is for the Lady. If she speaks now, it will be like a thorn stuck in the Lady’s throat in the days to come, an eternal reminder whenever she sees her of the grave mistake of her own daughter meeting secretly with a man and leaving the estate unpermitted!
Furthermore, whenever something wrong happens, someone must be responsible. If the Lady insists it was she who instigated Tong Xiyan, no amount of defense would clear her name!
Sixing, in tears, said no more but quietly knelt a few steps behind Xiqiu, using her body to support Xiqiu.
Xiqiu turned back, giving her a grateful smile.
The snow fell heavier and faster. In moments, Xiqiu, Sixing, and Chunyan became like snowmen, their clothing soaked through, the piercing cold making Xiqiu shiver involuntarily. She gritted her teeth, fighting to stay conscious.
Xinzhu, Xinmei, and several young maids and servant women, bound and thrown into the snow, had already passed out from the cold. Nanny Duan was also rolling her eyes, about to collapse.
The courtyard was dead silent. Even individual breaths were drowned in the heavy snow.
"Sixth Miss!" Suddenly, Madam Xia’s voice burst into the courtyard without warning. Xiqiu’s squinted eyes snapped open wide, her long lashes dusted with snowflakes, and she barely made out a slender figure staggering as it tumbled into the courtyard, collapsing onto her.
"Sixth Miss!" Madam Xia embraced Xiqiu, wiping the snow from her face with her sleeve and tucking Xiqiu’s frozen hands into her bosom, rubbing her back. "Frozen, aren’t you, frozen..." she murmured repeatedly.
Tears, held back for so long, finally fell as Madam Xia tucked her hands into her embrace. Xiqiu choked up, saying, "Why did you come, please go back."