Chapter 4: You Can't Blame Her Entirely!

The Dingxi Marquis had a deep impression of the Yu family’s affairs.

Ever since Lu Nian married far away, she had little contact with the capital, maintaining an attitude of estrangement from her family.

Every year, the Marquis’s manor would send New Year’s gifts and seasonal offerings, but nothing was ever sent back from the Shu region.

In the early years, the Dingxi Marquis had been angry and annoyed. A few times, he had even vented, "I’ll just pretend I never had such a daughter." But as time passed, he couldn't help but worry, hoping that one day there might still be some warmth between father and daughter.

It wasn't until two years ago that Lu Nian suddenly sent a letter home.

The Dingxi Marquis was overjoyed, but when he opened it, his heart plummeted into an ice cellar.

The Yu family was in trouble.

The relatives, both close and distant, were too numerous to list even on three sheets of paper; they were all gone.

He saw Lu Nian’s madness in the letter. The beautiful handwriting she had acquired by copying her birth mother’s calligraphy now clawed across the paper like a ferocious beast; one look was enough to know how agitated she had been when she wrote it.

How could she not be mad?

Last month an aunt, the month before a grand-aunt, a few days ago a young nephew, and who knew whose turn it would be next month? Enveloped by such an inexplicable dark cloud, terrified and helpless—who wouldn't go insane in her position?

The Dingxi Marquis felt a chill just reading the letter and was desperate to bring his daughter and granddaughter back.

In the end, the matter was not settled.

Lady Cen persuaded the Dingxi Marquis otherwise.

"If the in-laws are in trouble and we bring them back without a word, it would be too cold-blooded."

"If A-Wei and her mother could arrive in the capital safely, even if people pointed at our spines and cursed us, the manor would certainly accept it. But I am worried about the long journey."

"The letter says that the child, A-Wei, has been frail since she was young and has been kept in a villa these past few years just to hang onto life. If she can't handle the bumps on the road and her health deteriorates further, how could A-Nian accept that?"

"The Yu family has suffered such a calamity; I fear their store of medicinal herbs is exhausted. High-quality herbs are hard to come by. Why don't we quickly prepare some to send over, and add more silver? With money and medicine, let A-Wei build up her health first. Once she can handle the long journey, she can return with A-Nian."

These words made a lot of sense.

The Dingxi Marquis could only suppress the urge to bring them back immediately. He wrote a letter to comfort his daughter, prepared three large trunks of fine medicinal herbs, and five thousand taels in silver notes, sending them off to the Shu region.

After the mission was completed, the Dingxi Marquis assumed everything had gone smoothly.

Although he never received another letter from Lu Nian, he didn't think much of it.

After all, this daughter truly disliked writing letters; she wouldn't send a single word unless it was a matter of life and death. It had been like that for over a decade, and he was used to it.

Who would have thought that only one letter had ever reached the Shu region?

Observing the change in the Dingxi Marquis’s expression, A-Wei guessed that there was likely a story behind it.

She gave a light hum, raised her hand, and first pointed at the Dingxi Marquis: "Biological father."

Then she pointed at Lu Jun.

"Biological younger brother."

The golden grandson, who had only recently been released by his mother, perked up. He stiffened his neck, waiting for A-Wei to point at him just as she had done with Lu Nian, but the cousin didn't even look at him; her finger pointed directly at the great-uncle.

"The closest of maternal uncles," A-Wei clicked her tongue and shook her head, gritting her teeth. "Close blood relatives, yet you brushed us off with a single letter and never cared whether my mother lived or died! Unreliable, ultimately unreliable!"

Lu Jun couldn't help but gasp.

Exactly the same.

This niece, this bossy demeanor—she was exactly like Lu Nian!

And the great-uncle, once again labeled "unreliable," had an ugly expression on his face.

How could he have thought the Yu family’s granddaughter wanted to smooth things over?

This child, I fear, has the same stubborn temper as Lu Nian in her bones.

I misjudged her!

But no matter how unpleasant it was, the logic still had to be addressed.

"If I remember correctly, among the medicinal herbs sent to Shu that day, there were two old ginseng roots added by our Bai family, right?" the great-uncle asked.

"Judging by your words, Great-Uncle, things were sent from the capital to Shu?" A-Wei raised an eyebrow, looking as if she had only just realized there had been a misunderstanding. "In that case, it’s not far off from what Mother said."

Seeing her expression soften, the great-aunt asked, "What did your mother say?"

A-Wei replied: "Mother said that her conflict with her relatives was only regarding the passing of my maternal grandmother.

"Everyone says Grandmother passed away because her health failed and her vitality was exhausted after giving birth to Uncle, but Mother believed there were other reasons, and thus had many disagreements with the family.

"But after all, they are blood relatives. Aside from this matter, there were no other conflicts. She wrote a letter for help, believing the capital would not stand by and watch them die.

"Because only one thin letter arrived from the capital with nothing else, Mother was so angry she coughed up a handkerchief full of blood.

"I couldn't bear to see her sad and didn't want to come to the capital, but she kept saying, 'Perhaps the person handling the matter in the middle made a mistake,' and insisted that I must build up my health before returning.

"It was my own uselessness; I fell ill several times on the road. Otherwise, I wouldn't have almost failed to make it."

After these few words, everyone fell silent.

The death of Lady Bai was clear-cut; neither family had any objections.

Lu Nian had lost her mother at a young age, and the elders had indeed cared for her. But the child was stubborn and incredibly difficult, turning the household upside down. Whatever pity they had felt gradually turned into annoyance.

But to say anyone would sit by and watch Lu Nian and her daughter die in Shu? Their family certainly had no such cold-blooded people.

And the heartfelt words Lu Nian spoke to her daughter proved that a person who had been stubborn for thirty years still had a clear mind; she wasn't someone who couldn't tell right from wrong.

Of course, while thinking of a "mistake" was one thing, the fact that they hadn't received the support was also true. Putting oneself in their shoes, it was indeed difficult and painful.

No wonder Lu Nian had seized the opportunity to make a scene and go mad as soon as she returned.

It couldn't all be blamed on her!

The great-uncle, who still wanted to appear "reliable," stated: "You mother and daughter have suffered these years. If I had known, I would have entrusted someone else to send those two ginseng roots to Shu, and there wouldn't have been a mishap on the road. Those were life-saving treasures!"

A-Wei thanked him, then turned to Lady Sang: "Aunt, do you know how many medicinal herbs were sent in total that day?"

Lady Sang did not hide it: "Five thousand in silver notes, three trunks of herbs. There are lists of the specific items kept on file. I will have someone find them later. With so much money and goods lost on the road for no reason, we must investigate it carefully."

She had handled the matter personally. If this wasn't cleared up, whether it was her father-in-law, husband, the maternal family, or the guests watching the ceremony, they would likely suspect her.

She hadn't touched a single tael or herb; she wasn't afraid of an investigation. It was better to have it cleared up.

"You are right, it must be investigated carefully. We shouldn't wrong the innocent, nor let the greedy go. It is best to have solid evidence," A-Wei did not press the issue.

Using the osmanthus cakes to make a scene was never really about the silver or the herbs; that was just an unexpected gain.

Now that she had a lead, she would peel back the layers one by one. Only when the evidence was airtight could she deliver the final blow.

Acting without sufficient evidence would only lead to suffering, just like Lu Nian in her youth.

The two of them had returned to the capital, and they would never suffer such silent losses again.

Afterward, A-Wei curled her lip, looking aggrieved: "I just feel heartbroken for that handkerchief of blood my mother coughed up..."

The Dingxi Marquis felt even more heartbroken and instructed Lady Sang: "Quickly send people to tidy up the courtyard so that they can move in later. If anything is missing, replace it."

Lu Nian, who had been keeping her eyes closed "sleeping," lifted her eyelids: "I will stay in Chunhui Garden."

Lady Sang was secretly startled.

Chunhui Garden was the main courtyard where Lady Bai, the mother-in-law, had once lived. After Lady Cen married into the family, she lived elsewhere, so it had been vacant for years.

But even if it was vacant, it was still the main courtyard of the manor. She had never heard of a returning daughter-in-law living in the main courtyard.

With the parents and brothers still here, this was against the rules.

The Dingxi Marquis’s mind was still filled with the "handkerchief of blood." He couldn't care about rules or etiquette and agreed without a second thought: "Then tidy up Chunhui Garden."