Chapter 117: Difficult to Mend
The twilight rain completely suppressed the summer heat.
The damp evening breeze carried waves of lotus fragrance, bringing a sense of comfort.
Wen Mingqian loved the summer night breeze the most, so she ordered the windows to be opened. She lay on the pillow, closed her eyes, and enjoyed the pleasant lotus fragrance.
Zhang Ma showed off her skills, making a bowl of black-bone chicken and lotus root soup to perfection, its aroma detectable from afar.
Gong Changan and Sang Er were almost inseparable from Wen Mingqian’s side.
When Zhang Ma brought the soup, Gong Changan immediately served half a bowl in a small bowl and cooled it with a spoon before offering it to Wen Mingqian.
Sang Er pouted and said, “Young Master, why are you taking away my work?”
“Normally, it’s you who does it, but now that Mother is ill, I must personally serve her to show filial piety,” Gong Changan said. “Don’t compete with me for this now, good elder sister.”
“This is red bean paste and yam cake sent from Old Madam. Madam, please have a taste and see if you can eat it?” Sang Er held a piece of cake on a small agate dish and brought it to Wen Mingqian’s lips.
Gong Xu was also very happy to learn that Wen Mingqian had woken up. When he returned from the yamen, he took a detour to buy a packet of water chestnut cake.
Upon arriving home, he ignored everything else and went straight to Wen Mingqian’s courtyard.
“Master is back,” Granny Zhu said, seeing Gong Xu in the courtyard, deliberately raising her voice to greet him.
“Where is Madam?” Gong Xu asked. “Has she eaten dinner yet?”
“Madam is in the room,” Granny Zhu replied curtly. In fact, she didn’t like dealing with Gong Xu from the bottom of her heart.
Gong Xu immediately walked into the room and almost bumped into Zhang Ma.
“What is Master rushing for?” Zhang Ma blocked the doorway firmly.
“I heard Madam is awake,” Gong Xu said. “I’ve come to see her.”
“Has Master not eaten dinner yet?” Zhang Ma remained still. “There’s still half a pot of soup left in the pot. I’ll serve you some.”
“Alright, go ahead!” Gong Xu said repeatedly.
“Should I put pepper in Master’s soup?” Zhang Ma said, but didn’t move. “Do you want a large bowl, a medium bowl, or a small bowl?”
“A small bowl is fine, no pepper,” Gong Xu felt he had made himself clear enough.
“Really? Master only wants a small bowl? The soup is so delicious.” Zhang Ma stared at Gong Xu with her old eyes.
“Then… then a medium bowl,” Gong Xu showed impatience on his face. “Don’t ask anymore.”
“Alright, this old servant understands,” Zhang Ma then slowly moved aside.
Gong Xu let out a long sigh of relief in his heart and sidled in.
He saw Wen Mingqian leaning against the head of the bed, drinking soup.
“Greetings to Father.”
“Greetings to Master.”
Gong Changan and Sang Er stood up when they saw him enter.
“You’re awake, do you still feel uncomfortable anywhere?” Gong Xu ignored the two children and went straight to Wen Mingqian.
Wen Mingqian had clearly lost weight. Wearing a honey-colored gauze shirt made her skin appear even fairer than snow.
Her slender neck was like a flower stem, and her thick black hair was tied into a loose bun, hanging loosely behind her head and neck, giving her an air of delicate illness and languor.
As if possessed, Gong Xu leaned over and sat by the bedside.
“I’m fine, Master, don’t worry. Go eat quickly!” Wen Mingqian leaned back further.
“I’m not hungry yet. How is your appetite?” Gong Xu asked, staring intently at Wen Mingqian’s face.
During the days Wen Mingqian was ill, Gong Xu had reflected a great deal.
He thought that Wen Mingqian’s perceived toughness was merely her decisiveness and resilience when facing difficulties, but in reality, wasn’t her heart also soft?
Otherwise, she wouldn’t have fallen so seriously ill after Gong Changan returned.
The more he thought about it, the more he felt he had wronged Wen Mingqian before, and had wronged her terribly.
He then recalled how Consort Song had killed her own son and then falsely accused Wen Mingqian. He had only seen her cold and hard attitude then and thought she was deliberately stubborn and unwilling to yield.
The Gong family had wronged her for so many years, she must have felt immense grievance, yet she never shed a tear in front of others.
She wasn’t heartless; she was just strong-willed.
“Master, don’t worry. I can eat and sleep now, and I’ll be able to get out of bed in a few days,” Wen Mingqian said politely.
“Is that so? That’s wonderful.” Gong Xu, as if presenting a treasure, held up the water chestnut cake in his hand. “I bought this for you at Zhuangyuan Bridge, and it’s still warm.”
This was the only thing he remembered Wen Mingqian liked to eat.
“Thank you for your trouble, Master, but I’m already full now,” Wen Mingqian said. “I really can’t eat anymore.”
Gong Xu was clearly disappointed, but he knew he couldn’t force her. He said, “You’ve just recovered, your spleen and stomach are still weak, you really shouldn’t eat too much.”
“Yun Ying also likes this cake. Master, please take it to her! Ask Zhang Ma to serve the soup and send it over too,” Wen Mingqian said, ushering him out. “I’m feeling tired again now and need to lie down and rest.”
Song Xiang returned home late again that day, still reeking of alcohol.
His wife, Ge Shi, said to him, “What have you been busy with lately? Why do you come back so late every day?”
“You’re just a virtuous woman, take care of the children, why do you bother with me?” Song Xiang said. “Always worrying about nothing.”
“Why do you say I’m worrying about nothing?” Ge Shi retorted. “I’ve been feeling uneasy these past few days. The news about the Gong family’s child being kidnapped by Ma Daguang is all over the place. You have dealings with him, could it be that suspicion will fall on us?”
“Don’t worry, it absolutely won’t,” Song Xiang said, kicking off his boots. “You just live your life with peace of mind.”
Even though he said so, Ge Shi still couldn’t completely put her mind at ease. She probed again, “So, there’s absolutely nothing involving you in this? And Ma Daguang, was he driven mad by poverty to do such a thing?”
Song Xiang let her speak but didn’t answer.
He was indeed the mastermind of this incident. He hated the Gong family and Wen Mingqian to the core, wanting only to seek justice for his younger sister.
The plan was originally very thorough, but despite all his calculations, he never expected the Gong family’s young master to be so clever and escape.
However, he wasn’t worried about Ma Daguang implicating him. The reason he dared to use Ma Daguang was that he held leverage over him.
If Ma Daguang didn’t betray him, he would be the only one to suffer. If he implicated him, his entire family would have no way to survive.
Therefore, even though Ma Daguang was sentenced to eight years of hard labor, he could only serve his sentence obediently and not utter a single word about him.
Shao Si, who was in the same case, was sentenced to three years of hard labor. One of the two mute men was sentenced to five years, and the other to four years.
Thus, the case of Gong Changan’s kidnapping was concluded.
However, he was still unwilling and his desire for revenge for his younger sister had not subsided.
“You’ll wait and see what I do,” Song Xiang thought hatefully. “Sooner or later, I’ll make you die by my hand!”
