By the afternoon of the next day, everything was basically settled. Her tightly wound nerves relaxed, and she took advantage of a rare bit of free ti to sit down beside him for a short rest.
He adjusted the lamp oil and added a stick of grass.
When he sat back down, she reached over and smoothed his hair.
It had been two days, and she still hadn’t had a proper conversation with him. She originally wanted to report the happenings of the past two days to him, but seeing him like this, she gave up. Well, since everything was done, there was no need to disturb him. Quietly accompanying Grandma together this last afternoon was fine too.
They had just sat down for less than two minutes when soone else arrived.
Tu Hengsha’s gaze froze—it was Shang Qingi and Su Rongxing.
They both wore plain black attire, yet retained a touch of elegance.
She was unsure if he noticed; she had always been at odds with Su Rongxing. Normally, she would never associate with him, but she didn’t want any unpleasantness during Grandma’s ti.
The two of them acted quite familiarly, as if invited. They offered incense on their own, then stood in front of Grandma’s morial, facing Su Ronggui’s side. Shang Qingi occasionally wiped the corners of her eyes.
She didn’t believe he hadn’t noticed.
"Xiao Xu..." she wasn’t sure how he would respond. Sister Qian had ntioned that Granny had an accident after Shang Qingi took her out, though what happened during that ti was still unknown to both her and Sister Qian. Did he know? She hadn’t had the chance to ask him properly.
"Make them leave!" He didn’t even raise his head, still staring at that lamp.
That settled it in her mind.
She had hoped that if the two stood for a while, they would leave on their own out of boredom. But clearly, they had no such intention. The awkward stand-off was already causing people to talk.
She had no choice but to step forward.
She originally intended to treat them politely. After all, she held a sense of gratitude toward Shang Qingi. If it hadn’t been for her back then, a child like Su Ronggui couldn’t have saved her alone. So, on such an occasion today, if they ca to see Grandma, she’d thank them according to custom, and that would be it. Nevertheless, she hadn’t made any moves yet; she’d rely stood before them when Shang Qingi spoke up, "Planning to thank them as family? You don’t deserve to."
Indeed, the past couple of days’ family gratitude ceremonials were all handled by her because there was no one else. It seed that Shang Qingi had heard about this.
Thankfully, Shang Qingi wasn’t so uncivil as to lose dignity in such a setting. Even when her words were aggressive, her tone was soft and gentle, as if she were having a casual chat with Tu Hengsha.
Tu Hengsha appeared extrely courteous, only her words were probing, "Whether I deserve it or not doesn’t matter. What matters is I have the confidence to stand in front of Grandma’s portrait, and tonight I can sleep peacefully!" She wagered that Shang Qingi had sothing to do with Granny’s passing. Just how implicated she was depended on how guilty Shang Qingi felt!
"You..." Shang Qingi was visibly flustered, glanced at the portrait of Grandma, whose loving smile remained as always, her eyes quietly smiling at her just as in life. Shang Qingi dared not to look long and imdiately shifted her gaze, her heart pounding—did her son, Ronggui, know what happened on the mountain? She collected herself, "Tu, the biggest mistake I made in my life was saving you back then! Now you not only don’t appreciate it but go against at every turn, not knowing what’s good for you! As expected, a murderer’s daughter has no conscience!"
Even while Shang Qingi said these words, she still used a soft voice, even smiling, so bystanders couldn’t hear, wouldn’t understand the tension behind them.
Tu Hengsha didn’t understand either. What drove Shang Qingi to save her back then? She was grateful; how could she not be grateful? She wanted to be good to Su Ronggui, wanted to care for him dearly, and he just so happened to need her. Wasn’t that repaynt?
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