As Huang Qiyao left to attend to other matters around the manor, Suyin settled onto the bed, letting her arms spread out with a contented smile.
Despite the chaotic events of the day, she decided to take advantage of the beautifully decorated room and allow herself a moment to simply enjoy the ambiance. After all, a wedding night was a once-in-a-lifetime occasion, and she intended to make the most of it.
"Ah, the bed is so comfy," she murmured to herself, gazing up at the ceiling as she relaxed into the soft bedding. It had indeed been a whirlwind of a day, and she welcomed the chance to finally take a breather and unwind.
However, her moment of peace was short-lived. The sound of fluttering clothes suddenly filled the room, causing Suyin to jolt upright on the bed. Her heart raced as she scanned the room, her eyes darting to the door—the only entrance and exit. Anxious anticipation gripped her as she quickly grabbed something nearby to defend herself with.
As the sound of footsteps approached the door, Suyin tensed, ready to confront whoever—or whatever—was on the other side.
"Hiyah!" she exclaimed, poised to hurl an expensive vase at the intruder.
"W-Woah! Miss Suyin!"
The voice belonged to the old man's daughter—the same girl who had followed him around earlier.
Startled by Suyin's reaction, the girl stumbled backward and landed on the floor with a thud. She was dressed in all black, her light brown hair gleaming under the moonlight filtering in through the window. Suyin couldn't help but wonder how the girl had managed to sneak into her room.
Suyin lowered the vase, her expression stern as she regarded the girl. "Miss Suyin, I just wanted to see how you were doing on your wedding night," the girl stammered nervously, scratching her head.
Despite her initial wariness, Suyin softened slightly at the sight of the child. However, she couldn't ignore the fact that the girl was the daughter of her enemy, and she couldn't afford to let her guard down.
"Is it just you, or is this another one of your father's tricks?" Suyin asked in a low tone, her frown deepening as she studied the girl carefully.
The child shook her head vigorously, denying any involvement in her father's schemes. "It's just me! I promise," she insisted, her hands trembling with anxiety.
Suyin narrowed her eyes, her tone stern as she issued a threat.
"If you lie to me, I'm going to call the guards to catch you," she warned, hoping to scare the child into telling the truth. She couldn't afford to be deceived, especially by someone connected to her enemies.
"M-Miss Suyin..." The child's voice quivered as she called out to Suyin.
Despite her initial skepticism, Suyin couldn't ignore the sincerity in the girl's gaze. She hesitated for a moment, considering the possibility that the child might be telling the truth.
"What is it," Suyin responded, her reluctance evident in her tone.
"I'm sorry about what happened earlier today..." the girl apologized, her eyes downcast.
Suyin felt a pang of empathy as she observed the child's remorse. She sighed heavily, her guard beginning to soften slightly. Perhaps there was more to this girl than met the eye.
Stepping outside onto the deck of her room, Suyin descended the two steps to where the child sat in the courtyard.
She knelt down, meeting the girl's gaze with a mixture of curiosity and caution. "Little child, what is your name?" she inquired softly, realizing that she had never learned the names of the old man or his daughter.
The girl hesitated for a moment before timidly responding, "My name is Wu Fei," her voice barely above a whisper as she looked up at Suyin.
Suyin glanced around the courtyard, noting the presence of guards patrolling nearby. She weighed her options carefully, deciding that it might be safer to ask the child questions in the privacy of her room.
"Come to my room," Suyin said, gesturing for Wu Fei to follow her inside. Hurriedly, she led the girl back into the safety of her chambers, her mind buzzing with questions and suspicions.
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Wu Fei sat on the ground, her legs crossed, unable to meet Suyin's gaze. Suyin, arms crossed, regarded the child with a stern expression, her demeanor reminiscent of a mother scolding her child.
"My father's name is Wu Wei Shang. We live in the countryside not too far from outside the kingdom here," Wu Fei replied softly, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Why are you wearing black clothes, and why did you suddenly appear right in front of me?" Suyin pressed on, her tone firm.
Despite her stern interrogation, she couldn't shake the feeling that Wu Fei seemed genuinely remorseful.
"I'm sorry, Miss Suyin. I thought that you and your husband were not happy at all. After secretly watching the wedding ceremony and seeing how happy both families were, I couldn't do this anymore," Wu Fei explained, her voice tinged with guilt.
Suyin felt her defenses soften as she listened to the girl's confession. Though still cautious, she began to lower her arms slightly.
"My father told me that if we were to have you as our new mother, he would have been happier. But then, after seeing my father barge in like that during the wedding parade, I didn't think it was right—"
Wu Fei looked up at Suyin, her eyes filled with sincerity as she bowed her head in apology.
"I-I'm sorry, Miss Suyin! I just admired you so much, I didn't expect my ba to do anything like that. It wasn't anything that I had expected."
Suyin sighed, feeling a pang of sympathy for the girl. Despite the troubling circumstances, it was evident that Wu Fei's actions stemmed from a place of genuine admiration rather than malice. She knelt down beside the child, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.
Suyin's mind whirled with uncertainty as she grappled with whether to trust Wu Fei's words. Despite the child's young age, she had managed to sneak into Suyin's room undetected—a feat that raised suspicions in Suyin's mind.
However, she couldn't ignore the sincerity in Wu Fei's demeanor as she spoke.
"There was a marriage arrangement made by your ba and mine. Did you know about it?" Suyin questioned, probing for more information.
Wu Fei nodded solemnly. "Mn, ba was so happy about it. He couldn't take his eyes away from you after he was saved."
Suyin's heart clenched at the reminder of the forced marriage arrangement.
"The love that I had for someone else, did your ba ever say anything about it?" she asked, her voice tinged with vulnerability.
"No," Wu Fei replied, her eyes widening with realization. "He said that that man threatened his family to kill them if they didn't listen to him. But..." Her voice trailed off as she cast her gaze downward, her expression troubled.
Suyin listened intently, her heart heavy with conflicting emotions.
"Wu Fei, you know that I have many things I want to do and love to do. Aren't you like that?" Suyin gently prodded, hoping to establish a connection with the child.
Wu Fei nodded, her eyes brimming with tears. "I—"
"Sigh, but I don't know whether I should believe you or not. A child's word is just a little play after all. You're just a child," Suyin interjected, adopting a strategic approach to gauge Wu Fei's reaction.
Wu Fei's expression shifted from sadness to anger as she stood up, her fists clenched tightly. Tears welled up in her eyes as she declared defiantly, "I'm not a child! My father has been kidnapping women far away from our home! I only found out after I secretly followed him a few days ago!"
Suyin was taken aback by Wu Fei's revelation, her mind reeling with the gravity of the situation.
"He mentioned something about finding the lady with the flower is the key. I was betrayed by my own father and used to find women for him to imprison! You were almost the next one!!" Wu Fei's voice trembled with emotion as she recounted the harrowing truth of her situation.
Suyin's heart sank at Wu Fei's words, her mind reeling with the realization of how close she had come to danger.
Without hesitation, Wu Fei ran off and Suyin chased after her, feet pounding against the floor in urgency.
Outside, Suyin found Weizhe, who had intercepted Wu Fei. "Miss Suyin, is there something I can do?" Weizhe inquired, his expression concerned. He had been keeping watch over Suyin and had witnessed the entire exchange between her and Wu Fei.
"Just let me talk to her," Suyin replied hastily, rushing to where Wu Fei stood, her heart heavy with guilt and concern for the young girl.
Bending down to Wu Fei's eye level, Suyin gazed at her with empathy. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say those things. You came to me because you had no one else, didn't you?" she asked gently.
Wu Fei nodded tearfully, her shoulders shaking with sobs. "I ran away after seeing that. I am a bad person, Miss Suyin," she cried, attempting to wipe away her tears.
Suyin enveloped Wu Fei in a comforting hug, her heart aching for the child's suffering.
"You're not a bad person. You didn't know what your Ba was doing behind your back. There was no reason for you to know what he planned on doing with those ladies," she reassured her, stroking her head tenderly.
It took some time to console the distraught child, but eventually, her tears subsided, and she was able to speak again.
"M-Miss Suyin, can I stay here for now?" Wu Fei asked tentatively, her eyes pleading.
Suyin hesitated, her gaze flickering to Weizhe for guidance.
Wu Fei met Suyin's gaze with a determined expression, her resolve unwavering despite her tears. "Ba once uttered about you and this saying," she began, her voice trembling slightly with the weight of her words. "'The flower that was laid rest on the heart of the door, opening to cure the sadness in the world.' He said that you would be his happiness."
Suyin's eyes widened in astonishment at Wu Fei's revelation, her mind reeling with the implications of her words. Beside her, Weizhe's expression mirrored her own surprise, his attention fully captured by the gravity of the child's statement.
"What do you mean by that, Wu Fei?" Suyin asked, her voice tinged with urgency as she gazed intently at the young girl.
Suyin's breath caught in her throat at the cryptic message, her mind racing to decipher its meaning. The imagery of a flower resting upon a door's heart, opening to dispel sadness, stirred something within her—a sense of foreboding mingled with intrigue.
Weizhe furrowed his brow, his mind whirring with thoughts as he processed Wu Fei's revelation. The significance of her words was not lost on him, and he exchanged a concerned glance with Suyin, silently contemplating the implications of Ba's cryptic message.
As Wu Fei's words hung in the air, a sense of unease settled over the room, shrouding them in a cloak of uncertainty.