Chapter 35 Status: The Maid Who Served You Did Not Die

CHAPTER 35: TITLE AND STATUS - THE MAIDSERVANT WHO SERVED YOU IS NOT DEAD

Feng Shi stepped back in shock, and for a moment, no one spoke. Only Xing An's gasping breaths and the howling wind and snow outside could be heard.

Qi Yuan was the first to react and asked Xing An, "Where is my brother?"

"Madam Su died in the First Master's arms. He immediately vomited blood and fainted," Xing An said. "But he's awake now."

Jiang Yueyi trembled. Su Hengniang was dead. She caused her death. Even if Su Hengniang had brought it upon herself, it had ultimately happened because of her. How was this going to end?

What would Qi Hao do to her?

Jiang Yueyi recalled how he had thrown the knife in front of her last night, saying that if Su Hengniang met with misfortune, she would have to go down to accompany her.

She clenched her jaw tightly.

On the other side, upon hearing that Qi Hao had vomited blood, Feng Shi was completely panicked. "Send someone to the Zhou family to fetch Congshen... I want to go there. I want to see Hao'er! Hurry, get the carriage ready..."

"Madam," Qi Yuan interrupted Feng Shi. Feng Shi had lost all her wits and only stared at him blankly. "Su Hengniang has just died. If you go there now, won't it remind my brother of all the times you obstructed them in the past?"

Feng Shi was stunned, and her face instantly turned ashen. If she hadn't stubbornly opposed Qi Hao marrying Su Hengniang back then, how could things have come to this? But she couldn't have foreseen today. Otherwise...

It was too late to say any of this now.

Qi Yuan's gaze swept over Jiang Yueyi. He noticed she was still the same as when he had encountered her in the corridor—seeming to lower her head and eyes, yet without any hint of submissiveness.

It was as if something heavy had struck his heart.

But Qi Yuan quickly composed himself and said to Jiang Chao, "Uncle, I must trouble you to take my sister-in-law home to rest for tonight."

Jiang Chao was momentarily confused. Just now, Qi Yuan and Feng Shi had implied that Jiang Yueyi should stay. Why was Qi Yuan now telling him to take her away?

Had the Qi family changed their minds and decided to divorce her?

Just as Jiang Chao was about to speak, Jiang Yueyi interrupted him. "I understand. I will go home with Father."

She understood Qi Yuan's meaning. Now that Su Hengniang was dead, even Feng Shi was likely to incur Qi Hao's resentment, let alone her. Qi Hao probably hated her to the bone and wished she would go down to accompany Su Hengniang.

If she stayed in the Earl's mansion, once Qi Hao returned and learned she was here, he might do her harm.

Anyway, she had been thinking of leaving all along. This was the perfect opportunity to get away.

Afraid that Jiang Chao's mind hadn't caught up, Jiang Yueyi quickly shot him a glance. Only then did Jiang Chao gradually realize that it was inappropriate for his daughter to stay. He was also afraid that Qi Hao might go mad. Once he understood, he immediately took Jiang Yueyi and left.

After Jiang Yueyi and Jiang Chao left, Feng Shi sank into her chair. She looked up at Qi Yuan and found herself at a loss for words.

She was already old and could no longer control the situation. While concerned for her son, Feng Shi clearly recognized another emotion within herself: fear.

Fear of growing old and frail, and even more fear of how to face the son she had wholeheartedly loved.

Would he hate her?

She knew she should stay in the Earl's mansion and wait for news. This was not the time for her to step forward and handle things. The only one in the mansion who could handle it was standing right before her, yet she couldn't bring herself to ask him.

Fortunately, Qi Yuan soon broke the deadlock. He ignored Feng Shi and didn't say anything to her. Instead, he hastily selected a few people from the Earl's mansion to accompany him. Only then did he walk up to Feng Shi and say briefly, "Madam, I'm going over."

This eased Feng Shi's embarrassment. Her expression softened slightly, and she nodded at Qi Yuan, saying for the first time in her life, "Take care."

Qi Yuan didn't take her words to heart. He turned and left. The wind howled as it swept into the hall, quickly swallowing her words.

Trudging through the snow, he arrived at Qi Hao's place. The small courtyard gate was dark and open, with faint candlelight flickering from within, seeming far away, with occasional sobs breaking the silence.

Qi Yuan entered with his men and found that no mourning hall had been set up, nor did it seem like it would be. Only a few servants huddled in a corner whispering. When they saw Qi Yuan, they immediately lowered their heads and fell silent.

"Where is the First Master?" Xing De stepped forward to ask.

Someone pointed toward the inner courtyard: "Inside."

Qi Yuan told the men he had brought to stay put and entered with only Xing De. As soon as he passed through the courtyard gate, he saw Xing An hurrying toward him.

After reporting the news, Xing An had immediately returned. Now he anxiously reported Qi Hao's condition to Qi Yuan: "Second Master, thank God you're here. Please go in and persuade the First Master. Ever since he woke up, he hasn't said a single word and refuses to take his medicine. When we said we needed to get things moving, he wouldn't agree either. The lady's still lying there, but at least her clothes have been changed."

Because of Xing An's involvement in helping Su Hengniang frame Jiang Yueyi, Qi Yuan felt annoyed. But when he heard Xing An say "the lady," he was displeased and frowned. "Mind your tongue."

Xing An didn't know which word he had said wrong. At this critical juncture, he couldn't dwell on it. At least finally someone in charge was here. He nodded repeatedly in agreement and ushered Qi Yuan inside.

On a large daybed in the outer room sat two women. One, around thirty years old, was crying so hard she could hardly sit up. The other, very young, about fifteen or sixteen, was sobbing uncontrollably while softly trying to comfort the older woman.

These must be Su Hengniang's mother and younger sister.

Qi Yuan paid them no attention and quickly walked into the inner chamber.

As soon as the partition door opened, light from the outer room spilled in. He saw one person sitting on the edge of the bed with his back to the light, as if he hadn't heard anyone come in.

Qi Yuan thought for a moment, then closed the door. When he was close enough, he called out, "Elder Brother."

Qi Hao turned around then. His voice was surprisingly calm. "You're here."

Qi Yuan approached Qi Hao and noticed he was holding Su Hengniang's hand, resting on the bed board, as if she were still alive.

Before Qi Yuan could say anything, Qi Hao said, "I want to take Hengniang back to the Earl's mansion. Now that you're here, I can discuss it with you."

Qi Yuan then understood why he hadn't seen any mourning preparations when he entered. He had assumed that, given Qi Hao's attachment to Su Hengniang, he must have lost his mind by now—perhaps forgetting to arrange the funeral or simply refusing to accept that she was dead. But to his surprise, Qi Hao was clear-headed and was thinking about bringing her back to the mansion.

Qi Yuan said, "Alright. I've brought people from the Earl's mansion. I'll make the arrangements."

Since she was already dead, letting her enter the Earl's mansion was merely a gesture for Qi Hao's sake, and it wouldn't harm the living. Besides, now was not the time to provoke Qi Hao further. It was better to agree and give him some comfort.

"No hurry," Qi Hao stopped him. "Let me stay with her a little longer. Once she's in the Earl's mansion, it won't be this quiet anymore."

Qi Yuan stood silently by.

After a long while, when the candle had burned down by half, Qi Hao spoke again. "Once she's in the Earl's mansion, she will truly be a member of the Qi family. Too bad she never got that while alive."

Qi Yuan hadn't wanted to intervene too much, but he couldn't help saying, "Since she was willing to elope with you, she probably didn't care about things like status or titles."

Qi Hao let out a soft laugh.

Perhaps because of that laugh, a chill ran down Qi Yuan's spine for no reason.

Qi Yuan stepped forward again. "Elder Brother, I'm sorry for your loss."

Qi Hao gently stroked Su Hengniang's cold hand. "I still have something to discuss with you. When I bring Hengniang into the mansion, I want her buried as the Lady of Chengping. So what about Jiang Yueyi? I know divorcing her won't be easy."

Su Hengniang's funeral was not difficult to arrange; the Earl of Chengping's mansion had money, and they could make it as grand as they wanted. The real problem was defining Hengniang's status. Qi Yuan had initially thought he would coax Qi Hao back to the mansion first, let Su Hengniang's body enter the Earl's mansion, and ease his mind a bit. As for other matters, like Hengniang's status, that wasn't his business—Feng Shi could deal with it. He didn't expect Qi Hao to ask him.

After pondering for a long time, Qi Yuan said, "Madam Su doesn't have a noble title. If we go beyond the rules, I'm afraid..."

"I'll handle that. If anyone blames us, I'll take full responsibility," Qi Hao turned to look at Qi Yuan. "I just don't know what to do with her."

Qi Yuan naturally knew that "she" referred to Jiang Yueyi.

He turned it over in his mind for a moment. Qi Yuan said, "She is your legally wedded wife, brother. You should not drive her away."

Hearing this, Qi Hao slowly turned his head again and continued to look at Su Hengniang on the bed, his eyes as dark as undiluted ink.

But Qi Yuan did not see it.

"Is that so?" he asked softly. "Why?"

Qi Yuan said, "You just said that divorcing her is not easy. If you divorce her and bury Madam Su with a Countess's funeral honors, I'm afraid the manor will face even more outside criticism."

"Hengniang is dead, so keeping her is no big deal? Is that right?" Qi Hao asked.

Qi Yuan did not answer Qi Hao. After considering for a moment, he continued, "Brother, you have been married to sister-in-law for two or three years. You should know what kind of person she is. If you hadn't deceived her and she hadn't been driven to desperation, she wouldn't have done such a thing. And she never harmed Madam Su's mother or younger sister. Sister-in-law is not a bad person. You know her true nature."

"Am I supposed to know that?"

"Sister-in-law was pregnant at the time. I ask you to be understanding."

Qi Hao finally stood up from the bedside and turned to face Qi Yuan, saying, "Fine, since you say so, I will listen to you."

Somehow, Qi Yuan suddenly felt a sense of relief, but at the same time, something in his heart felt constricted. He also didn't know why.

Seeing that Qi Hao had been convinced, Qi Yuan said, "I'll wait outside. When you're ready, tell me and I'll make the arrangements."

"No need," Qi Hao stopped him. "I have one more thing to tell you, and then I'll take Hengniang with me."

Qi Yuan didn't think anything of it and simply said okay.

Qi Hao suddenly said, "Actually, the maidservant who used to attend you back then didn't die."