XieRong laughed. She laughed and cackled like a maniac.
"Fa MeiLien, being the empress must have been hard on your brain if you think my sister has come here to save me. Why would she save me? I have betrayed her countless times!"
"Oh, little sister. You"re still so stupid. That sister of yours loves you, she thinks of you as her sister whom she failed to protect . Tell me, hasn"t she come for you time and time again even after you used and betrayed her? Today, I will show you what a fool you have been."
XieRong felt a tear slip down her cheek.
Fa MeiLien needn"t show her. She had herself realised what a blind fool she had been.
The sun was right above their heads when XieRong had been dragged out.
She was dress in a white gown that had turned a dirty brown along with her. Not a speck of her previous white and smooth skin remained, instead filth covered rough scaly skin was stretched over her bones, her lips chapped with dried blood on them and her eyes bulging from their sockets.
"Wife, don"t go. That woman has betrayed you time and time again. Why do still insist? Why are you behaving like a fool?"
XieRong looked up. Near the palace gates stood a well dressed couple. She knew they were her sister and brother in law, but she couldn"t see them. Her eyes were dry and vision blurred.
"Husband, I will behave like a fool if it means I can save the people I love. If my sister has betrayed me it was because I had failed to make her believe in me. I had promised mother to protect her, and I will keep my promise."
XieRong felt the last of tear roll down her cheek. She had not been a fool. She had been an ignorant sc.u.m that deserved to be be punished in h.e.l.l. She had eliminated and betrayed the people who had loved her with her very own hands and supported those who wanted her gone with all her blood, sweat and tears.
Fa MeiLien held a sword to her throat.
"Fa MeiLien, I demand you release my sister at once!"
"It is "empress" to you, big sister XieRong."
"Bulls.h.i.t! You are no sister of this lady and definitely no empress. My sister, the rightful empress is the one at the end of your sword. This lady will not show you mercy if you do not release my sister at once!"
XieRong felt a strong murderous intent approach slowly. She didn"t have to look up to tell it was her sister"s.
"Fa MeiLien, this lady should have gotten rid of you sooner."
"Do you think this empress is that easy to get rid of?"
"No, just like all other pests in the world, but all pests can be gotten rid of. You just need the right method."
"Hahaha! How very amusing. What method can you use to get rid of this empress?"
"Don"t you think your Fa family has been very quiet lately?"
"You dare threaten this empress?"
"This isn"t a threat," the murderous aura grew,"it"s a promise. One this lady will gladly fulfill."
Fa MeiLien screamed furiously, but then stopped thinking of her palace, her jewellery, her treasures, her cultivation tools, the power to have any thing she wanted, the looks of envy with which the people stared upon her with.
"Hm, okay. Get rid of them. How will this empress be implicated anyway?"
XieRong heard a derisive scoff.
"Do you think your husband will want a woman who has no power or support?"
"Husband!" Fa MeiLien whined, wanting her husband"s support in the matter.
The emperor, however, had already retreated, being the coward that he is. That woman and her husband were people the emperor dare not offend if he wanted to keep his throne. He had been stupid to believe that the Fa family would be able to take care of the couple. The emperor knew that he had no hope of redeeming himself, however he wouldn"t dig himself a deeper grave because of a wretched woman.
"Your husband won"t save you. Face it Fa MeiLien, you have no power. Never had, never will."
"Shut up!" She screamed as she raised her sword to bring it down on XieRong"s neck.
XieRong had already closed her eyes in acceptance, but the sword never came.
It had been knocked out of Fa MeiLien"s hands.
XieRong felt herself lose balance from where was kneeling at the top of the stair case.
"No, FeiHong!" She heard her sister scream as she rushed over to save her.
XieRong felt her sisters arms around her. She had stopped her from falling.
"Jie..."
"Shh, FeiHong, Jie is here. No one will bully you anymore."
XieRong"s eyes could not shed a tear. Not for the happiness she felt after a long time, not for the guilt, pain and grief that had been let out from it"s cage. She just stayed in her sister"s embrace, feeling her warmth. It reminded her of mother"s.
XieRong saw Fa MeiLien come for her sister with a sword.
"Wife!"
"No, Jie!" XieRong used the last of her strength to grap the sword, but she still couldn"t stop it from piercing her sister. She gripped the sword with her life.
"FeiHong, let go of the sword."
"No, Jie! You must live!"
"FeiHong, you have already fought very hard in this world. I was lucky to find my husband but I can"t watch my sister like this. Jie is guilty for not being able to protect you FeiHong, for not being there when you needed me, for not being able to protect mother"s family. So let Jie follow you to mother. Let go."
XieRong felt her heart twist in pain.
Why had she been unable to see the truth? Why was she so weak and pathetic?
She could feel her strength draining quickly as Fa MeiLien used more of her energy.
"I-I"m sorry, Jie," she said as she let go of the sword that pierced both of them.
She vowed as she heard Fa MeiLien"s laughter that in her next life she would return to have her revenge. That she would protect and love this sister who foolishly gave her life for her.
XieRong opened her eyes.
She was confused as to who she was.
She felt bile rise up her throat as she remembered everything she had been through.
"Jie? Are you okay?"
"How?" she asked, her lips quivering and body shaking,"how are you still able to remain sane?"
XieRong rubbed her shoulders furiously as though she had become dirty.
She felt dirty.
"Jie, listen to me, that was not real," FeiHong said, steadying her sister,"That was a memory from my past life, the worst one."
"The worst one? There are more?"
FeiHong looked away in shame.
"Jie, in my past life, I was a big fool. I helped the people who betrayed me and destroyed the people who loved me. I made countless mistakes. Jie, this time, I promise you that I will never betray you, that I will always stand by you and protect you."
XieRong hugged her sister tightly, a rage simmering underneath her skin. She held her sister and cried. She cried for everything she had felt, the helplessness, the despair, the shame, the guilt.
"FeiHong, this time, Jie will promise you that once Jie has become strong, she will make all our enemies pay in this life!"
"Jie, we will both make them pay. For now, let"s go back. It"s already morning."
XieRong woke up beside her sister.
"FeiHong, every night until Jie starts learning with uncle, I will cultivate with you, and in the afternoons if I don"t have other work."
XieRong sent for the maids to bring water to wash up. She wanted to scrub herself clean. She could still feel the men atop her as they had held her wrists and groped her all over.
"What about today, will you cultivate with me in the afternoon?"
"No, Jie is going to go explore the city with RuiLing, I want you to come too."
"Is there any specific reason as to why you"re going to the city? Moreover, why with RuiLing?"
"I want to see if there is anything we can use to improve our cultivation and to start looking for shadow guards. As to why I"m taking RuiLing is because first aunt asked me to teach her."
All the servants in the Qiu courtyard were blood bonded to either her aunt, uncle, or grandfather, so XieRong need not control what she spoke.
It was at the breakfast table that she saw the entire Guo family for the first time, including her uncle"s kids.
Young master, Guo Qiang was a boy of thirteen years and very much unlike his father and grandfather.
He took after his mother in both, looks and demeanour, but you could tell from his eyes that he had more cunning hidden beneath his gentle exterior. She had heard gossips from the maids that the sickly crown prince was a close friend of the Guo family. She hadn"t heard with whom the crown prince was friends with since people hardly ever talked about the crown prince or the Guo family in the Fa Mansion; it was always mostly about the second prince, the Fa family, and the Bai family. It was by chance that the topic of the Guo family had arose when they had been talking about her mother.
Now XieRong knew exactly who the crown prince had become friends with. As the people often said: birds of a feather flock together.
RuiLing was a beautiful and smart looking eight year old who resembled second aunt more than her own mother, however her posture was prideful and haughty unlike either of them.
XieRong sighed in her heart.
It would take some time before RuiLing would learn.
MuLan resembled uncle the most. She was playful and friendly and loved to run about. XieRong and FeiHong had had a hard time keeping up with their two year old cousin as she had run about their courtyard in the evening after her nap wanting to play.
She had come up to XieRong holding her arms out as soon as XieRong arrived for breakfast.
"Rong Jie, pick!"
XieRong laughed and picked her cousin up as she went to sit at the table with little kid in her lap.
"XieRong greets grandfather, uncle, first aunt, second aunt, elder brother and sister."
FeiHong repeated the greeting and sat next to XieRong.
Aunt Biyu laughed.
"Looks like MuLan likes you more than me already!"
"Mommy is boring!" MuLan commented, eating rice from XieRong"s bowl.
"Rong Jie and Hong Jie play with me. They"re nice."
"Daddy agrees. Mommy is boring."
This earned her uncle a hard pinch on the hand.
XieRong shook her head at her uncle. This uncle of hers was always going about looking for trouble.
"Boring, huh?"
Guo ZiHao looked at XieRong with pitiful eyes.
"First aunt, I wanted to ask your permission to go to the city today. I would like to bring RuiLing and FeiHong with me if that"s alright with you."
"You can go, and take some money with you before you leave."
Her uncle thanked XieRong with his eyes and she smiled in return.
"Uncle, I would like you tell big brother what we all discussed yesterday."
"Tell me what?" Her brother, asked.
XieRong had noticed he had been observing her and FeiHong.
"Son, why don"t we have a spar after breakfast?"
"Hm, fine, but I will surely defeat you again. Is that fine?"
Aunt Biyu chuckled.
"You can beat him on my behalf as well," she said.
"Mine too," her second aunt chipped in.
"And mine," her grandfather said.
Guo ZiHao grumbled and sulked, but that was all he could do as no one would come to his aid.
XieRong glanced at the old general who looked as stern as ever. She hadn"t spoken properly to the old general yet. She didn"t know how or when to, so the atmosphere around them still remained awkward.
"I want to know too." RuiLing chimed in.
"What does the daughter of a runaway woman want my brother to know?"
The atmosphere grew tense.
"RuiLing! Behave yourself. XieRong is still your younger sister!" Aunt Biyu scolded.
"It"s okay, aunt. She doesn"t know," XieRong calmly said, eating her breakfast and feeding some to MuLan.
"I don"t know what? That you"re the daughter of the man my aunt ran away with tarnishing the Guo Family name?"
"RuiLing, enough!"
This time it was her grandfather who thundered, his face as dark as the storm clouds.
RuiLing sniffled. Her grandfather had never scolded her before and the first time he had it was because of these two girls.
"Finish your breakfast and hear what XieRong has to say. Am I clear?"
"Yes, grandfather."