Madame Xu's voice was choked and hoarse.
“Back when you were still in my womb, I acted out of kindness and jumped into the water to save someone who was drowning. I caught a chill, which left me with a lingering ailment, causing you to be born with congenital deficiencies, frail and sickly.”
“All these years, you have been tormented by illness day after day, unable to get out of bed, unable to eat or sleep in peace. Every bout of endless coughing, every time you were on the verge of death—they were all reminders of my mistake back then.”
“I watched helplessly as you grew thinner and thinner, your life force slipping away, yet I could do nothing. Do you have any idea how much pain I felt as your mother?”
“I just wanted to make amends! I just wanted my child to live a proper life for once!”
Madame Xu stared intently at Bai Ci through tear-filled eyes, her gaze pleading.
“That Bai Ci already had a miserable fate. Even if she slaved away for half her life, she would never have made anything of herself. What a bargain it is to use her healthy body to extend the life of a peerless genius like you!”
“I only wanted to keep my son. Am I wrong?”
Looking at her tear-streaked face and paranoid, frenzied state, the disappointment in Bai Ci's eyes deepened into a complex mix of emotions.
She shook her head gently, her tone weary and helpless. “Mother, life and death are destined, and one's lifespan is decreed by Heaven. Human strength cannot forcefully defy the heavens.”
“I am already someone who has died. Why must you insist on this and commit such a sin?”
“Force this?” Madame Xu's gaze suddenly hardened, filled with a desperate, do-or-die determination. “How could I not? I absolutely will not stand by and watch you die!”
“If you go, this family will completely fall apart!”
With each questioning word, she began to resort to emotional blackmail.
“Do you have the heart to abandon me, leaving this white-haired mother to bury her dark-haired son?”
“Do you have the heart to watch Jingan lose his older brother at such a young age, with no one to guide him, living a miserable life?”
“Do you have the heart to watch Zhaoyue lose her protector, forced to marry some peddler or common laborer in haste, living a mediocre life and suffering all kinds of grievances?”
Bai Ci's expression remained calm as she corrected Madame Xu's unreasonable assumptions. “Mother, Jingan and Zhaoyue have already grown into adults.”
“Jingan is upright, well-mannered, and mature. He is more than capable of supporting the Xu family household. Although Zhaoyue is pampered and willful, she is also bright and clever.”
“They are no longer young children who need to rely on an older brother or their parents. They must learn to shoulder the responsibilities of the family and accept the impermanence of the world.”
“You cannot forcefully bind everyone's lives together, and you certainly cannot wantonly strip away someone else's life for the sake of your own obsession.”
Madame Xu was left speechless, yet she still gritted her teeth and said stubbornly, “The ritual is already complete. This time, I will bring you back to life, and no one can stop me!”
Bai Ci's tone was equally resolute, refusing to yield an inch. “Mother, I will stop you.”
Each word was clear and unwavering, leaving absolutely no room for compromise.
The atmosphere froze completely. Standing mere inches apart, mother and child were in total opposition.
Looking at the familiar yet resolute gaze before her, Madame Xu felt a wave of panic and pain. A tangle of emotions gripped her, making it almost impossible to breathe.
The argument had gone far enough for today, and the conversation had reached a dead end; it could not go on any further.
With this thought, the coldness and anger in Bai Ci's eyes suddenly vanished, replaced by a vacant look of dazed dizziness.
Her brow furrowed sharply, and her body swayed as if she could no longer hold herself up. Her limbs went limp, and she fell straight backward.
“Huaining!”
Scared out of her wits, Madame Xu instantly threw all arguments out of her mind. She lunged forward to catch the falling Bai Ci, supporting her body tightly with both hands, her voice trembling with panic.
“My son! What's wrong? Don't scare Mother! Wake up, please!”
She held her helplessly, her trembling fingertips reaching to check her pulse, her heart filled with lingering fear and anxiety.
In her frantic embrace, Bai Ci opened her eyes, which were filled with nothing but confusion.
She looked up, her vision blurry as she gazed at the panicked Madame Xu. Her voice returned to its original soft, timid, and submissive tone, carrying complete bewilderment.
“Mother? Why... why am I here?”
“What happened to me just now... I don't remember anything. My head feels so heavy. Did something happen?”
Madame Xu froze, her arms holding Bai Ci stiffening slightly.
Seeing Bai Ci's submissive gaze and timid demeanor, she instantly realized that Bai Ci's own consciousness had regained control of the body.
Quickly suppressing her emotions, Madame Xu hid the panic in her eyes and put on a warm, caring expression once more. She gently stroked Bai Ci's hair, soothing her in a soft voice.
“Silly child, you just fell asleep and got a bit confused.”
“You were already looking listless during breakfast today. Perhaps you've been resting too peacefully lately, causing your qi and blood to stagnate, leaving you low on energy.”
Bai Ci blinked and nodded obediently, pretending to believe her completely. “Is that so? But I've been sleeping very well lately. Why would I still be so tired? How strange.”
“It's fine, nothing serious,” Madame Xu said gently as she helped her up, her tone full of concern.
“Perhaps a dormant old ailment is acting up. Now that your body has cleared up from proper nourishment, the hidden issues are finally showing.”
“Go back to your courtyard and rest well first. I will have a doctor come over later to examine your pulse and prescribe some medicine to nurse you back to health.”
“Thank you, Mother.”
Bai Ci slowly walked out of the main hall. The moment she stepped out of the doors, her peripheral vision sharply caught a figure hastily dodging out of sight.
At the corner of the corridor, a pretty pink hem was quickly pulled back, and the figure hurried away.
It was Xu Zhaoyue.
She had heard them.
How much did she hear?
And what would she do next?
Showing no emotion on her face, Bai Ci walked slowly toward Jinghong, who was waiting outside the courtyard.
Come to think of it, even though they had argued so fiercely, Madame Xu had never once doubted whether the Xu Qinghe before her was real or fake.
Her dead husband was indeed a true gentleman.
“Young Madam,” Jinghong said, quickly stepping forward to support her. Though doubt still lingered in her eyes, she dared not ask a single question due to Madame Xu's formidable authority.
The two walked side by side down the corridor toward the backyard.
Halfway there, a gust of wind blew past, and an old roof tile suddenly loosened and detached, falling straight toward Bai Ci's head.
Jinghong's face turned pale with fright, and she shrieked, “Young Madam, watch out!”
At the critical moment, thanks to her allocated agility points, Bai Ci managed to dodge it.
The heavy tile slammed onto the ground and shattered into several pieces, sending shards flying. If she had been even half a second slower, it would have struck her head, with unthinkable consequences.
Patting her chest with lingering fear, Jinghong said with relief, “That was too close! Young Madam, are you alright?”
“The tiles on these eaves are so dangerous. I will definitely have someone inspect and repair them later.”
Bai Ci shook her head gently, looking at the shattered tile on the ground. “I'm fine.”
Was [What is Love] taking effect?
Wait, don't mess with me. At least take a good look before targeting someone!
Fortunately, no more accidents occurred, and the two returned safely to the courtyard to rest for the half of the day.
In the afternoon, Madame Xu indeed arrived with a doctor as promised.
The one who came this time was not Dr. Zhou, who had previously examined Bai Ci's pulse, but an unfamiliar middle-aged physician.
Dressed in simple cotton clothes, this man had cloudy eyes and a wandering gaze. His posture while checking her pulse was bizarre, and his touch was light and unsteady, making him look very unlike an experienced physician.
After a brief pulse reading, the middle-aged physician withdrew his hand. Stroking his sparse beard with an air of profound wisdom, he delivered his diagnosis.
“Madame, the Young Madam's condition is due to a lingering old ailment.”
“The Young Madam has worked hard since childhood, severely damaging her constitution. The old ailment lay dormant in her body. Previously, because her body was frail and her qi and blood were deficient, the illness had no fuel to manifest, so it naturally went unnoticed.”
“Recently, however, with daily nourishment and rest, her qi and blood have become abundant, and her meridians have cleared. Now that her physical foundation has improved, the dormant old ailment has flared up again, which is what caused her dizziness and drowsiness.”
Hearing this, Madame Xu knit her brows in feigned worry. “Then I must trouble you, Doctor, to treat her. Please ensure the root of the illness is completely removed.”
The physician nodded repeatedly, his tone confident. “Rest assured, Madame. I will immediately prescribe a decoction to strengthen her foundation and dispel the illness, along with a herbal steam bath.”
“With consistent treatment for a few days, the old ailment will be rooted out, her qi and blood will stabilize, and we will ensure the Young Madam's health is perfectly sound.”
With that, he took up a brush and paper, quickly wrote down a prescription, handed it to the nearby head maid, and then bowed and took his leave.
Not long after the doctor left, Xu Zhaoyue arrived uninvited. Entering the courtyard alone, she dismissed all the serving maids and walked straight into the room.
She stood before Bai Ci, her bright eyes staring intently at her, scanning her from head to toe, refusing to miss a single detail.
The Bai Ci before her still wore her usual submissive and timid look, her eyes downcast and her expression constrained.
Xu Zhaoyue stared for a long time before finally clicking her tongue in annoyance.
She then adopted a fierce and overbearing expression, raising her chin slightly, her tone dripping with threat.
“Listen to me.”
“From today onward, you are not allowed to drink a single drop of the decoctions sent by the estate. Pour all of them out secretly.”
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