Wu Shi watched Fu Bing struggle to contain her tears, her heart crushed rcilessly by an invisible hand, turning to dust.
It wasn’t Fu Bing’s fault...
Fu Bing fought back tears, her gaze filled with sorrow as she looked at Elder Madam Chu.
"It is my fault, so I’ve co to atone," she said.
"Atone? I don’t have many days left, and you think after atoning to , you can live on with a clear conscience. Can you really wipe away the act of killing Xiaoya like this? Must my precious granddaughter die a grievous death in a foreign land?" Elder Madam Chu’s eyes reddened.
She sorrowfully realized that she couldn’t even shed a tear for Xiaoya.
Fu Bing’s heart was pierced by the elderly woman’s words.
Suddenly, Wu Shi knelt before Elder Madam Chu. "The matter of Fu Ya has nothing to do with her."
"Nothing to do with her? Everything in this world is like embroidery threads, intricately connected." Elder Madam Chu shifted her gaze back to Fu Bing. "I watched your live stream with the nurse. You’re quite the actor, earning people’s affection and admiration, loved by everyone. Xiaoya endured all the suffering that should have been yours; what face do you have to see with?"
Elder Madam Chu had already had a premonition that her Xiaoya was no longer among the living. Otherwise, Xiaoya would not have gone so long without visiting her or making a call.
Xiaoya had exhausted her thoughts and efforts for Fu Bing over many years, and in the end, she even beca a stepping stone for Fu Bing to garner sympathy from others.
"I..." Fu Bing was at a loss for words.
Had she co today rely to see her? No, she wanted to take care of her on behalf of her mother.
She couldn’t speak.
It was her wishful thinking. In Elder Madam Chu’s eyes, not only had she caused the death of her granddaughter, but now she was also after the Chu Family Embroidery Manual.
"Can’t answer, can you?" Elder Madam Chu’s gaze turned cold and sharp as she looked at her. "No matter what you are in the eyes of others, to , you are the culprit who killed my Xiaoya! Get out, and never let see you again!"
Fu Bing was in so much pain she could hardly speak. She was nearly drowned by the imnse guilt and remorse filling her heart.
In a hoarse voice, she said, "I understand how you feel. My mother once said that if I had the fortune to et you, I should kowtow a few tis in her stead. She... she can no longer stand before you in this life; please accept this."
Elder Madam Chu’s face remained cold, silent.
Fu Bing knelt down properly.
Wu Shi did not rise but continued to kneel. As Fu Bing kowtowed, he did likewise.
Elder Madam Chu turned her face away, refusing to look at Fu Bing and Wu Shi.
After Fu Bing had kowtowed three tis, she stood up. "I will not trouble you any longer. I will be in Jiangnan for a long ti. If you feel upset, you can have soone call to co over, even if it’s just to scold ."
"The best way to get back at is to live well. Seeing struggle with everything and face setbacks everywhere should make you feel better."
Fu Bing placed her business card on the wooden table beside Elder Madam Chu.
Elder Madam Chu picked it up, tore it without looking, and threw it on the ground.
"Take your little tricks and fool soone else."
Fu Bing watched as the pieces of her card were scattered by the wind and forced a smile. "Take care of yourself! Don’t let her worry about you from the cold, dark ground below."
Elder Madam Chu’s gray hair was disheveled by the wind, her murky eyes as hollow as a barren wilderness.
She murmured to herself, "The cold, dark ground below..."
Softly, Fu Bing said to Wu Shi, "Let’s go."
Wu Shi followed Fu Bing out of the yard. As he closed the door, he glanced back at Elder Madam Chu.
Elder Madam Chu’s palm was bloodied from her own nails digging into it. The dark red blood flowed to the ground along her fingernails.
Wu Shi asked the nurse to go in and bandage Elder Madam Chu’s hand.
Fu Bing managed only a few steps before she couldn’t go any further. She crumpled into a corner by the wall, covered her face, and wept silently. Tears dripped onto her skirt through the gaps between her fingers.
Elder Madam Chu had ignited all her guilt, regret, and unresolved feelings regarding her mother.
Since her release from prison, no one had ever blad her for her mother’s death, believing it was not her fault, as she was in jail at the ti and it was beyond her control. These casual words seed fine on the surface.
But she knew in her heart it was her fault. She had provoked those she should not have, and her very existence was a harm to her mother. She had caused her mother’s death! She made Elder Madam Chu endure the pain of outliving her own child!
Being good to others was useless. She had caused the death of the person she should have treated best!
That person was dead!
She had mastered exquisite dical skills, thinking that once she got out of prison, she could treat her mother’s illness and alleviate so of the guilt and regret in her heart. But she was dead...
Even if she saved tens of thousands of people in the future, her mother would never co back to life...
Death is truly the end!
That person was no longer in this world.
Fu Bing bit down hard on her lower lip to keep from crying out loud.
Wu Shi looked at Fu Bing, curled up and shaking with sobs, a deep sense of helplessness spreading from the bottom of his heart.
She was the only one to whom he could give all his tender feelings! He understood her! Yet, all he brought to her was pain.
He had tried to treat Fu Ya’s illness, but he could not cure it. He had watched helplessly as Fu Ya slowly deteriorated and died bit by bit.
At that ti, he had foreseen Fu Bing’s breakdown and self-bla. After preparing for so long, he still couldn’t lessen her pain even a bit.
Fu Bing was enveloped in Wu Shi’s arms, and her reason told her she couldn’t cry anymore.
Crying wouldn’t solve anything. She had to calm down to minimize future regrets.
Yet, slling the scent of herbal dicine on Wu Shi, her tears once again uncontrollably began to fall.
"I’m sorry for making you comfort . I’ll be fine after I cry a little more.
"I need to calm down quickly.
"I have to take back Yunxi Lane from Fu Chan. I also need to bring my mother’s ashes back to Jiangnan, to let her be buried next to her relatives...
"With so much to do, how can I cry?
"..."
Fu Bing rambled on.
Each sentence was like a sharp knife, piercing deeply into Wu Shi’s heart. He thought the most painful mont was hearing her say she hated him in her dreams. That pain was not even a ten-thousandth of what he felt now.
"I’ll be with you. Whatever you want to do, I’ll be with you."
"Thank you."
Fu Bing suppressed her tears, which had burst forth like floodgates opening. With bloodshot eyes, she gazed at the firmly closed courtyard door and got into the car without looking back.
Words are the shallowest of promises. If she could not retrieve Yunxi Lane, she would remain, in the eyes of Elder Madam Chu, the murderer who caused her granddaughter’s death.
Yunxi Lane!
She must get it back.
Fu Chan was pushed out of the courtyard by Wu Shi and didn’t try to linger.
He understood Elder Madam Chu’s character—she was a stubborn old woman, not soone who could be swayed by a few words.
Fu Bing would get no kindness from Elder Madam Chu.
Fu Chan returned to Yunxi Lane.
Ancient trees were lush, and the environnt was serene and elegant.
Yunxi Lane had belonged to the Chu Family for a century, and Elder Madam Chu was the Chu Family’s last descendant.
The Chu Family had no direct relatives left, only distant ones, and no one had a closer relationship with Elder Madam Chu than he did.
He had used so ans to transfer the ownership of Yunxi Lane to his na.
In the years since, Yunxi Lane had beco an immovable historical monunt in Jiangnan.
Its market value had reached tens of billions, and it was the biggest trump card in his hand.
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