Mu Tan and the others began kowtowing, their shoulders heavy with guilt. Su Jing Fei’s closed her eyes, taking a few deep breaths. Many thoughts pressed heavily on her mind, but she steeled herself against the emotion simmering underneath her calm facade. To others, Su Jing Fei maintained a relaxed sitting posture, and her face was carefully neutral. However, her clasped fingers dug into the palm of her hands with restraint. There were two possibilities here. One was that they weren’t telling the truth. They could be lying about the whole thing; however, that raised many questions. Why would they go to the trouble of lying to her about a pair of siblings she never knew she had? What would be the purpose? She couldn’t see anyone with the motive for elaborating such a scheme. So if they weren’t lying, then… they could be telling the truth. However, if they had known such a thing, why had they kept quiet all these years? Why do they only speak up now?

“Da xiaojie…” whispered Yize in a quiet trembling voice wrought with concern.

Su Jing Fei opened her eyes, unable to keep the coldness out of her voice as she spoke. “What evidence do you have to prove such a thing is true?”

It was Mu Tan who spoke up amongst the sobbing figures. “This lowly one…” The middle-aged woman choked back tears. “This lowly one can only explain from the beginning. On the night the Da Furen gave birth, this lowly one was ordered by Da Furen to escape with other servants. City guards had forced entry into Mudan-yu under pretense of capturing a thief who had entered our courtyards, but they were clearly here to disturb the Da Furen’s labor! They captured all the servants on suspect and charge of attempting to hide a criminal. If it wasn’t for Da Furen’s quick thinking, this lowly one could not have escaped with her life…”

Xiao Chen rested a comforting hand on Mu Tan who couldn’t hold back tears anymore. The young woman then continued the story. “This lowly one was attending to Da Furen that night. My grandmother and Dongfan had also assisted in the birthing of da xiaojie’s younger siblings. It was supposed to be a joyous night, but… once the city guards entered, there was little time to escape. This lowly one was ordered to guard this with her life!” Xiao Chen held up a small intricate box.

This box… A memory flashed through Su Jing Fei’s mind. It was from a young Su Jing Fei’s point-of-view; this wooden box decorated with a jade handle was the same box that the original Su Jing Fei had accidentally dropped once in her mother’s room back in the Su manor! Su Jing Fei reached out, running a hand over the dented right corner of the wooden box as a wave of nostalgia washed over her. Carefully, she took the box from Xiao Chen’s hands and placed it on her own lap. Gently, the lid of the jewelry box was opened. Su Jing Fei had not expected to see papers hidden inside. However, as she took out the papers, a jade pendant fell between the sheets and landed onto her lap. She picked it up, holding it to the light observingly. Two dragons encircled each other, intertwining in a gentle embrace; these were obviously twin dragons! Su Jing Fei glanced down to look at the first piece of paper. Her eyes widened as she recognized it to be a letter. The words read:

Dear my beloved children,

Your mother

Su Jing Fei could not find the words to express the emotions bursting in her chest. Was this a mother’s love? So full of pain and sadness… but also happiness and the inexplicable feeling of being filled with warmth? Su Jing Fei did not know if it was her or some remnant of the original Su Jing Fei that remained in this body, but her eyes became filled with uncontrollable tears. Quietly, they fell from her wet lashes, blurring her vision for a moment.

“Da xiaojie!” Yize spoke in a frightened voice as the young yatou fell to her knees, placing a comforting hand on Su Jing Fei’s forearm.

“I’m fine,” Su Jing Fei spoke, but her voice trembled slightly with emotion. She gently wiped away the tears from her face, returning her attention back to the papers in her lap. Her eyes widened slightly upon reading them. The rest of these papers were clearly business contracts! Her mother’s name was on all of them, but she also noticed that the name listed as secondary owner was hers! Su Jing Fei returned her gaze back to the three kneeling women whose cries had quieted but still had wet eyes full of tears. “The box is definitely my mother’s. However, can you explain the items inside?”

“Yes,” Xiao Chen replied quickly. “The Da Furen had written a letter intended for the children she was soon to birth. Inside, there are also a few contracts for businesses that the Da Furen bought secretly. Ever since moving to Mudan-yu, the money sent from the Su Manor was small and not enough for the Da Furen to provide for two small children. She hoped to secure financial support for her children through these businesses in secret! And lastly… the Da Furen had two jade pendants made for each of her unborn children.”

Su Jing Fei furrowed her brows. “There’s only one jade pendant in the box.”

Dongfan spoke up next, having wiped away the tears from her face with the sleeve of her dress. “This lowly one can explain. As one did not have the luck to be able to escape with Xiao Chen and Mu Tan in time, this lowly one was able to witness the cruelty of the city guards.” Mu Tan and Xiao Chen cried heavily, shuffling over to the old woman’s side and clinging onto the back of her robe like children. Dongfan closed her eyes to fight back tears, taking a deep breath before continuing. “When the city guards entered the Da Furen’s courtyard, everyone was captured and detained. The only ones remaining at Da Furen’s side was myself and Xiao Chen’s grandmother. The one who entered the Furen’s room was a man proclaiming to be the leader of the city guards. He ignored our pleas and cries for mercy and merely watched as the Furen…” Dongfan squeezed her eyes tightly as though fighting back the horrible memories playing in her mind. “The Furen laid dying in the bed. The despicable man ignored her cries for mercy and killed her son right in front of her! He then ordered the other child, a daughter, to be taken away to a brothel house despite your mother’s begging. This lowly one will never forget his face and name. The coldness in his eyes, and the cruelty in his smiling face… Feng Ruo Qian, the city lord’s eldest son!”

The son of Fuo Lan’s city lord? A family that was supposed to uphold honor and justice… How despicable! “Feng Ruo Qian.” Su Jing Fei uttered his name, burning it into her mind and heart. That was the name of the man who had killed her brother and sent her sister away to a brothel house! “My sister, where is she?”

“This lowly one has been unable to locate her even after all these years,” Mu Tan remarked with a frustrated expression. “However, this one knows that the child has a birthmark on her left shoulder in the shape of a flower.”

Dongfan spoke up next. “Da xiaojie had also inquired about the jade pendants. This lowly one will answer now. This lowly one managed to slip the pendant into the child’s blanket before she was taken away. However, because of one’s actions, this lowly one was punished.” The elderly woman held up her arms. The long sleeves slipped away to reveal two stubs of flesh, brown and scarred with old and dead tissue. “They cut away these old hands as punishment…”

Su Jing Fei stood up, making her way to Dongfan and kneeling before the old woman. She gently held the old woman’s handless arms, observing every scar and line crossing the old wounds. “You have suffered greatly,” Su Jing Fei spoke in a soft and gentle voice tinged with sadness. “I cannot repay you for the loyalty you have shown. The only thing I can promise you is that I will not let your efforts go to waste. I will find my sister and make Feng Ruo Qian pay for his crimes!”

Su Jing Fei helped the three woman to their feet, gesturing for Yize to assist as well. “Please, rest here for the night. This one will have the servants prepare the beds. The cook has already prepared a meal, and I’ll send it in shortly. We’ll speak more in the morning.”

The three women were shocked at their xiaojie’s kindness, especially Mu Tan. Mu Tan had kept an eye over Su Jing Fei over the years and knew of the young lady’s childish temper. She had watched sadly as her innocent xiaojie had been manipulated and corrupted by the horrible Su family, becoming a twisted and evil young woman. But the woman who stood before them was an entirely different xiaojie than she had ever seen. Perhaps, the banishment to Mudan-yu had opened her xiaojie’s eyes, and Mu Tan was thankful for it!

“We’re only servants and do not wish to impose on da xiaojie’s kindness!” Xiao Chen chimed, bowing in a respectful manner. “Receiving da xiaojie’s mercy is enough!”

“Please, this is the least I can do for now,” Su Jing Fei remarked in a firm tone, obstinate on the matter. With a small smile, she added, “I’d also like to hear a little bit more about my mother’s last days in Mudan-yu if that’s okay.”

Mu Tan’s eyes glistened, and all three quickly nodded in succession. “Yes, these lowly ones will definitely tell da xiaojie everything they know!”

Su Jing Fei smiled warmly, and the three women were stunned at the sight. Their xiaojie truly resembled her beautiful mother when smiling! After a few more words, Su Jing Fei excused herself for the night and left. Her attention was consumed by the many thoughts circulating in her mind, and she felt a conflict of emotions as they made their way back to her courtyard. Su Jing Fei needed to settle her thoughts, so after ordering the servants to receive the three women for the night, she immediately went to bed.

The next day would be busier than she could imagine. Early in the morning, Su Jing Fei had prepared to speak further with the women after a morning meal but Zihuan came by with a letter of invitation from Xie shi. Unable to decline it, Su Jing Fei sent word to the three woman that she had matters to attend to in the morning but shall return in the evening to continue their conversation. With Si Qiang and Yize in tow, Su Jing Fei set off for the Guo manor. Upon arriving, she was kindly received by the head attendant Zhuhao and brought to Xie shi’s courtyard.

Surprisingly, Su Jing Fei was brought to a small pavilion overlooking a pond where Xie shi was seated and sipping tea calmly. “This one thanks Xie shi for her invitation and hopes Xie shi has not been waiting too long.” Su Jing Fei settled into a seat across from the older woman. A servant set down a cup of tea in front of her.

“This lowly one thanks Su xiaojie for coming to keep this old woman company.” Xie shi smiled. With a wave of her hand, the servants were dismissed, leaving the two women alone. The sound of leaves rustling in the wind filled the quiet air, and Su Jing Fei took a sip of the tea as they sat in a comfortable silence. It was Xie shi who spoke up first. “This lowly one must thank Su xiaojie for her kind words of warning. If not, this lowly one would have stayed ignorant about such matters.”

“It was no trouble at all,” Su Jing Fei replied with a small smile. “This one must thank Xie shi for not minding this one’s rude words.”

“No, no, not at all.” Xie shi responded in kind. “This lowly one actually hopes to ask Su xiaojie for her opinion on similar matters.”

Su Jing Fei set down her cup of tea, folding her hands neatly into her lap. “Of course, this one wishes to help the Guo family in whichever way she can. Please do not hesitate to ask anything from me.”

Xie shi nodded, also setting down her cup of tea as they began to speak on more serious matters. “This morning, we received another ransom letter. It came from the hands of a street child who had been paid to deliver the letter to the Guo manor, and unfortunately, we were unable to find out from where it had originated from. The letter demands us to pay a price that will ruin the Guo family more than just 50 million gold taels.”

Su Jing Fei raised an eyebrow, curious as to what exactly is worth more than 50 million gold taels to wealthy merchants such as the Guo family.

“This lowly one had originally thought that it was a list of all of our clients, new and old, that the ransom letter would demand.” Xie shi continued. “But that wasn’t exactly it.”

Su Jing Fei agreed as much. A list of clients could be traced back to whoever began utilizing such a thing. The kidnappers wouldn’t be dumb enough to take that. It was the other aspect of such a list that would matter to the kidnappers. The merchandise. She recalled Xie shi’s words from the other night. What exactly was the Guo family’s newly developed secret product?

“The kidnappers had demanded the secret metal-making technique that we had developed after so many years.” Xie shi admitted, sighing. “It is a family secret that has helped the Guo name become well-known amongst traders and merchants. Just recently, we managed to refine the technique to create a light and suitable metal for weaponry.”

Su Jing Fei was surprised at Xie shi’s words. However, she could understand from a business perspective that losing such an important secret would result in the Guo family being unable to maintain their prestige. Even though Su Jing Fei had not known that they were infamous for their weaponry development, she was not surprised that the Guo family had such secrets. Any business had its secrets for success; this was true even in the modern times. A sudden realization came to Su Jing Fei, and she quickly removed her small purse from her side and set it on the table. Xie shi watched as the young woman suddenly displayed the contents of her small purse. These were…!

“This one has forgotten that upon rescuing Mingyu, she had taken a few silver darts from the carriage.” Su Jing Fei explained as she began to recall the tale of rescuing Mingyu from the wagon carriage. As Su Jing Fei was about to return the items, Xie shi shook her head and placed the items back into Su Jing Fei’s cloth purse.

“Please, take them as a sign of goodwill and trust between the two of us.” Xie shi said, giving the cloth purse back to Su Jing Fei. “At most, they shall be able to hopefully help Su xiaojie protect herself. And at the very least, it shall serve as a token of gratitude from the Guo family to Su xiaojie.”

Su Jing Fei thanked Xie shi kindly before returning the small cloth purse to her side. “This one will take care of such a precious gift.”

“This lowly one hopes Su xiaojie takes care of herself and is careful,” Xie shi spoke in a soft voice. “The Guo family has not been able to find the traitor within our residence yet, and the ransom letter had been delivered to our very doorsteps. We fear the enemy also resides in Fuo Lan.”

Su Jing Fei had guessed as much. It wasn’t like she could do anything more about it though, for her resources were limited in Mudan-yu. There were also other pressing matters to take care of too, such as finding her sister. For now, she could only proceed with caution as the Guo family continued to search for the missing Guo Li Wei and Han shi while appeasing the kidnappers. Just as Su Jing Fei was about to take her leave, a loud voice interrupted their conversation.

“The Guo family’s first master requests for Xie shi and Su xiaojie’s presence in the family gathering hall!”

The two women looked at each other curiously, unsure at what urgent matters required the both of them to appear in the gathering hall. It made sense if Xie shi had been summoned, but Guo Li Xiang had requested Su Jing Fei to come as well. It could not be a small matter, so they quickly got up and followed the servant to the gathering hall.

“The first wife Xie shi and the Su family’s da xiaojie Su Jing Fei have arrived!” announced the servant as the two women entered the gathering hall.

A group of men were seated at tables, speaking casually. Upon seeing his wife enter, Guo Li Xiang stood up. The other two men followed suit. Guo Li Xiang stepped forward, gesturing to Xie shi as he introduced her to an unknown man. “This is my wife, Xie shi.” Then he turned to give Su Jing Fei a respectful greeting. “This is the da xiaojie from the family of the Right Prime Minister Su Xuan Mo, Su Jing Fei. She was the one who had saved my nephew, Mingyu.”

Su Jing Fei stepped to the side, keeping a respectful distance away from the men as she gave a respectful bow. However, when she finally looked up and got a good view of the unknown man before her, Su Jing Fei’s heart fell with a thud into her chest. It couldn’t be…! Luckily, Su Jing Fei’s carefully neutral expression hid the fear in her heart as it began to beat wildly. In the eyes of others, Su Jing Fei had a calm and refined appearance. With elegant movements, the young woman suddenly kneeled, falling into a respectful kowtow position. “This lowly one greets the imperial prince, Li Wei Sheng!” How could she not recognize the face of this important wangye? In the movie Blossoms in the Wind, Li Wei Sheng was the Emperor’s Left Prime Minister! His family had been important supporters to the current Emperor’s rise to the throne, and Li Wei Sheng’s father had been granted the title of wangye in respect to his importance as a brother and friend to the current Emperor. Once Li Wei Sheng’s father had passed, the young man had inherited his father’s title, but even without the title, his many military accomplishments at such a young age had earned him respect from many noblemen and their families. However, in this current generation’s fight for the throne, Li Wei Sheng was best friends with Chen Hui Zhe’s biggest rival and enemy, the sixth prince, Chen Hui Zhong! To have such an incredibly important character in the movie to suddenly appear was truly a terrifying experience!

“Please, rise,” A strong and low voice spoke. “This imperial prince hopes that Su xiaojie will not trouble herself further.”

Su Jing Fei kept a neutral expression as she carefully positioned herself back into a respectful stance. She noticed that Xie shi had also prostrated herself once hearing Su Jing Fei’s words, and once the two women were both standing again, the air became a little more relaxed once more.

“You must’ve suffered such a fright! This one did not think that Su xiaojie would recognize me since I’ve been away from the imperial city for so long.” Li Wei Sheng spoke with an apologetic tone, but Su Jing Fei recognized the dangerous words. How do you know what I look like when we haven’t ever met?

“A few years ago, the Emperor had thrown a parade to celebrate the imperial prince’s return from the warring southlands. This lowly one caught a glimpse of the imperial prince’s appearance during the celebrations. Many young noblewomen were speaking about the imperial prince's handsome appearance for days." Su Jing Fei answered calmly, even managing a demure expression as a young unmarried lady should have when in the presence of a handsome unmarried imperial prince. From the original Su Jing Fei’s memories, she had recalled such an event. Although she hadn’t truly been able to see the prince, she knew the prince could not refute her words because so many people had seen him that day.

“Su xiaojie has sharp eyes and such an impressive memory.” Li Wei Sheng remarked with a smile. His gaze bore into Su Jing Fei but was unable to see past the calm facade. The young man was unable to discern the true nature of this young woman. Her clear ink-colored eyes were as deep and mysterious as the ocean; the coldness in them was just as such.

“This lowly one thanks the imperial prince for his kind words.” Su Jing Fei spoke, raising a sleeve to feign the motion of shyly covering her face. However, she was truly observing something that had caught her interest. The hairs prickled on the back of her neck, and a familiar gut feeling told her that there was someone watching her. Her eyes flickered to nearby trees. This familiar feeling couldn’t be coincidental… She watched the trees’ leaves rustle in the wind. Suddenly, Su Jing Fei gave a respectful bow as she took a step back. “Please forgive this lowly one for I must take my leave.”

“No trouble at all,” replied Guo Li Xiang hurriedly. He had sensed the strange air between the two, and while they were his superiors in ranking, he was still the eldest amongst them and could not allow any inappropriate conduct to happen between the two unmarried individuals. “This lowly one knows that Su xiaojie has just recently recovered from an illness and must rest often!”

“This lowly one will see Su xiaojie to the front entrance,” spoke Xie shi respectfully before the two women excused themselves and left the gathering hall. While exchanging small talk, Xie shi accompanied Su Jing Fei to the front entrance where she promised to invite the young lady over for company soon. With a light laugh, Xie shi confessed of Mingyu’s demand to play and eat snacks with Su Jing Fei. Su Jing Fei smiled, promising to come by often before heading out the door where Si Qiang had the carriage already prepared for their return to Mudan-yu.