Chapter 21: Don’t Go

“Liu Fuying.”

Shen Xiunian gritted her name through clenched teeth, each twitch of his brow like a sharpened blade, as if he wished to slice her to pieces.

“Get out. Get out of the Shen Family!”

He pointed toward the door, his words brimming with rage, as if demanding she never return.

Yet Liu Fuying remained utterly calm. The angrier Shen Xiunian grew, the more composed and indifferent she became, making him seem like a clown putting on a show.

In the end, she only uttered a single word, softly and deliberately: “Fine.”

Then she turned away briskly, her steps never faltering.

Jin Li shot Shen Xiunian a resentful glare before hurrying after Liu Fuying.

At the courtyard gate, Old Madam Shen happened to be entering.

At the sight of her, Liu Fuying’s eyelids twitched involuntarily, especially when she noticed the memorial tablet in the old madam’s hands. She immediately understood—the treasure Shen Xiunian had insisted she had taken was actually with Old Madam Shen.

Pausing briefly to glance back, she saw Shen Xiunian approaching from the direction of the bathhouse.

When Shen Xiunian caught her gaze, his contempt deepened.

He had thought she was leaving with dignity, but it turned out to be nothing more than a ploy to play hard to get, hoping he would call her back and beg her to stay.

Everything else might be negotiable, but Susu…

Even if all that remained of his Susu was a memorial tablet, he would never allow anyone to mistreat it!

He had warned Liu Fuying before—Susu’s tablet was not to be touched without permission. That was his bottom line. Since she had knowingly crossed it, she could not blame him for being ruthless.

After taking only a few steps, he spotted his mother, and irritation surged within him again.

Liu Fuying must have brought his mother here to pressure him. His mother would surely side with her and scold him.

But when he noticed the wooden tablet in his mother’s hands, his steps faltered.

Wasn’t that…?

“A Yin, I went to that boy’s courtyard earlier to look for you, but there wasn’t a soul in the room. I only saw this thing lying on the bed. Isn’t this a memorial tablet set up after someone dies? I’ve seen many like it in the ancestral hall.”

Old Madam Shen walked up to Liu Fuying, holding the tablet with keen interest.

“I thought someone had taken it from the ancestral hall and was planning to return it, but Zheng Mama said it wasn’t from there. So I brought it to show you. Do you recognize it? Did the two of you sleep with it last night?”

Who would sleep with a memorial tablet?

Liu Fuying frowned. She was very much among the living.

“Old Madam, you should ask the General whose tablet this is.”

“Oh, alright then, I’ll ask him.”

Old Madam Shen smiled and started toward Shen Xiunian, but after two steps, she suddenly stopped. Her smile gradually faded as she realized something was wrong. When she turned back, Liu Fuying had already stepped past her and was heading out of the courtyard.

“A Yin, why aren’t you calling me ‘Mother’ anymore?”

“Where are you going?”

“A Yin, A Yin!”

She called out repeatedly, but Liu Fuying didn’t even look back.

In no time, she had vanished beyond the courtyard gate.

“A Yin, Liangyin, don’t go!”

Old Madam Shen grew frantic. As she hurried after her, she twisted her ankle, and the memorial tablet slipped from her hands and fell to the ground.

“No… no…”

The old madam suddenly went limp all over. Even Zheng Mama, standing beside her, couldn’t hold her up. Her eyes reddened with intense fear, as if she had been transported back more than a decade to the day Xu Liangyin had breathed her last in her arms.

“Old Madam, Old Madam, hold on! Doctor, quickly call for a doctor!”

Nanny Zheng was so anxious she began crying along with the others.

Shen Xiunian, who had come running from afar, first picked up the ancestral tablet from the ground before going to the Old Madam and lifting her up.

“Get away, all of you get away. I want to go find A Yin.”

The Old Madam tried to push everyone aside, but her body was weak and exhausted, leaving her with little strength.

Shen Xiunian carried her into Liu Fuying’s room, as it was the closest.

The courtyard was in chaos; two groups of people had already run out to call for a doctor. Shen Xiunian sat by the bed in the inner room, his heart aching as he watched his mother lying there with her eyes closed, muttering incoherently. Recalling how he had scolded Liu Fuying earlier due to a misunderstanding, his heart was filled with mixed emotions.

And because of this, he had caused his mother to fall ill again.

He had truly been reckless…

Liu Fuying made her way toward the main gate of the Shen Family. Along the way, the servants she encountered were even more respectful and deferential toward her than usual.

It was only after they had left the gate that Jin Li cleared up Liu Fuying’s confusion.

“Madam, last night, Cui Xi was carried out.”

“Cui Xi?”

Liu Fuying was stunned for a moment before remembering—she was the maid who had betrayed her mistress by leaking information to the neighboring household. Liu Fuying had sent her to the second branch of the family.

“I heard she was carried out unconscious, covered in bruises and ill. They said she was taken to a clinic, but no one knows how she is now. Still, this was her own choice, and she can’t blame anyone for her fate.”

A carriage was waiting at the gate; it had been prepared earlier when they left Shuxing Courtyard.

“Before, when Madam didn’t punish or beat Cui Xi, the servants below thought Madam was afraid of the second branch. But last night, when they saw what happened to Cui Xi, they finally understood Madam’s method of using others to do the dirty work. That’s why they’re all being extra cautious today. I suppose they’ll be more careful with their words and actions from now on.”

As they spoke, the two had already boarded the carriage.

Liu Fuying instructed the coachman to head to the Liu Family.

Being driven out by her husband, it was only natural to return to her maiden home.

“Do you think I’ve been too ruthless?”

Liu Fuying suddenly asked this, leaving Jin Li momentarily speechless, unsure how to respond.

“How could Madam think that? If you weren’t ruthless, the one who would end up miserable would be you. Cui Xi brought it upon herself—she couldn’t tell right from wrong. She…”

“I wasn’t talking about her. I meant the Old Madam.”

“Madam, that’s not your fault either.”

“I knew she couldn’t bear any more shocks, yet I resolutely left right in front of her. She has always treated me well. Could it be that I’ve been too heartless…”

“No!”

Jin Li sat up straight, turning to tightly grasp Liu Fuying’s hand.

“Madam, you should think more about how Shen Xiunian treated you earlier. He almost pushed you to the ground, and you weren’t even properly dressed. He showed no consideration at all. Besides, he was the one who told you to get out. So, if anything happens to the Old Madam, it’s his problem to worry about.”

“That’s true.”

“Yes, Madam. You’ve always been strong-willed—don’t soften your heart when you shouldn’t. If you had stayed today for the Old Madam’s sake, the General would have learned your weakness and known how to control you in the future.”

Liu Fuying nodded. That was indeed true.

That was Shen Xiunian’s own mother. If he didn’t care or show concern, could he really expect her to take care of everything?

She could help him care for her, but only under certain conditions.

The carriage moved slowly through the streets, eventually stopping in front of the Liu Family’s gate.

Not far from the entrance, a small stall selling rouge was set up, with a few people gathered around it, chatting.

“Is it true? That Marquis Pei is already a prisoner, yet he can still kill someone?”

Marquis Pei.

Those three sensitive words immediately caught Liu Fuying’s attention.

“How could it be false? The body was already carried down the mountain overnight. That Marquis Pei, tsk tsk…”