Chapter 63 Darkness

Chapter 63 Darkness

Zhou Ningyue saw her mother sitting on the ground and exclaimed, "Mother, what happened to you?"

She rushed over, her face turning pale. "Mother, are you hurt? What's going on?"

Her father scolded her coldly, "Don't shout in the middle of the night; what will the neighbors think?"

"But Mother is hurt," Zhou Ningyue lowered her voice, her tone tinged with tears.

With Zhou Ningyue's help, her mother stood up and comforted her gently, "I'm fine, just a bit burned. Some cooling ointment will do."

Her father glanced at the servants who had been startled awake and said sternly, "Chunya, clean this up. The rest of you, go back to sleep. There's nothing to worry about."

The Zhou family had few servants: a gatekeeper, a cook, a maid, and a laborer.

Chunya was the only young maid. She began cleaning up as instructed, while the other three silently returned to their rooms without asking any questions.

"Yue'er, you should go back to your room too," her father looked at Zhou Ningyue, who was on the verge of tears.

Zhou Ningyue did not move. "I'll help Mother apply the medicine before I sleep."

"No need. Go to bed," her mother stroked her daughter's hair with her uninjured hand, speaking softly, "Be good."

Zhou Ningyue looked at her mother enduring the pain and then at her frowning father, finally nodding and heading towards the western wing.

"Go inside," came her father's cool voice in the ink-black night.

The courtyard gradually fell silent.

Beside the woodpile, Xin You remained motionless, her heart churning with shock.

What did Zhou Father and Zhou Mother mean by their conversation?

Zhou Mother said she had killed Empress Xin, and the paper money was being burned for her.

Empress Xin—Xin You.

No matter how astonishing the guess, when all the information was pieced together, it naturally revealed itself.

Her mother seemed to be the Empress Xin mentioned by Zhou Mother.

Xin You, unable to process the storm of emotions, moved quietly to the window of the eastern room, using the banana plant as cover to listen.

The light was still on in the eastern room, and occasionally there were sounds of a woman inhaling, likely Zhou Mother treating her burn. Otherwise, it was silent.

It wasn't until long after the light went out that the couple's conversation resumed.

"I know you're upset, but think about our family, think about Yue'er. No matter how hard it is, keep it to yourself and don't do anything like this again."

"Zhou Tong, don't you feel guilty at all?"

Zhou Mother's emotions hadn't subsided despite her injury. "You said the Emperor never gave up searching for Empress Xin, keeping the imperial consort position vacant, waiting for her return. But look what happened! If I had known, I wouldn't have told you about the woman we met on the way to the capital who looked like Empress Xin."

"What good does it do to say that now? I'm just a minor official. How could I not report such a major discovery? It was the Emperor who ordered the killing, and it was Minister He who carried it out. If you cause trouble, what fate awaits us?"

After saying so much, Zhou Tong's tone softened. "Susu, even if you won't think of me, think of Yue'er. We've raised her as a precious gem, would you want her to suffer, or worse—"

Zhou Mother seemed convinced and fell silent.

Zhou Tong sighed deeply. "Sleep. Forget about this tomorrow. We have a bright future ahead in the capital."

Zhou Mother remained silent.

Zhou Tong didn't speak again, and soon his light snoring could be heard.

The wind rustled the banana leaves, and amidst the snoring, there were faint sobs.

Clouds passed overhead, obscuring the moon, plunging the courtyard into pitch darkness.

Xin You slowly rose, her legs numb from standing still. She stumbled towards the wall, falling once but making no noise.

She took deep breaths, gathering her strength, and tried again, finally climbing over the wall and jumping down.

The empty street stretched endlessly into the darkness. Dressed in black, Xin You trudged forward, as if wading through mud.

After some time, her eyes adjusted to the darkness, and she finally saw the silhouette of Qingsong Bookstore.

The sleeping bookstore looked no different from the other houses, yet it made the frozen-faced girl blink lightly.

In the eastern courtyard, a lamp was still lit for her. Xiaolian quickly opened the door upon hearing a knock.

"Miss—" Her words stopped short when she saw Xin You's pale face, her expression filled with panic. "Miss, what happened?"

She had never seen her mistress so distraught!

"Xiaolian," Xin You called out.

"Yes, Miss," Xiaolian's eyes welled with tears, her palms sweating.

At that moment, she realized how much Xin You had become her anchor, her source of strength in every situation.

"Xiaolian, get me some hot water. I'm cold and want to soak."

"Of course, Miss, please wait."

Xiaolian swiftly prepared the hot water. Xin You submerged herself in the large wooden tub, leaving only her shoulders above the water.

Xiaolian's gaze uncontrollably fell on her shoulder.

The skin on her shoulder was as white as snow, and the teardrop-shaped red birthmark stood out distinctly.

This was Xiaolian’s certainty that the person before her wasn't her young miss. Yet at this moment, looking at the trembling girl in the bathtub, she felt an overlap with her young miss.

It turned out that when her young miss was sad and helpless, she was just like any other ordinary girl.

"Xiaolian, you should leave. I want to be alone for a while."

Xiaolian hesitated, wanting to say something but ultimately only responded with a soft "Yes," then silently retreated.

Alone in the small room, Xin You gently blinked, letting the tears fall into the hot water.

Warmth spread through her limbs, and her numbed mind began to slowly function again.

She had known from a young age that she had no father.

Her mother said that her father was a poor boy, and they started from nothing, building a substantial family business together. But after he became a wealthy landowner, he changed his heart. Promising a lifetime of devotion, he secretly took several mistresses, even having children with them by the time her mother found out.

Disappointed, her mother left with her personal maid and gave birth to her far away.

When she came of age, her mother once asked if she wanted to find her father. If she did, her mother wouldn’t stop her, but she firmly refused.

A father like that, she didn't want.

Now she knew that her mother, who wore simple clothes and a plain hairpin, was actually the Empress. And her wealthy landowner father was the current Emperor.

Her father betrayed her mother over a decade ago and killed her mother over a decade later.

And the Lord He who had helped her multiple times, the one who liked to quietly read books, was the one who wielded the knife against her mother.

What a preposterous truth this was.

Xin You submerged herself fully underwater, crying silently.