Chapter 314: Who on Earth Was It That Summoned Her?
Ji Qingwu lowered her gaze, her eyes falling on the guqin in a corner by the tea table.
She mulled over what Old Mrs. Wei had just said. ’Wei Ting is like his father? In what way?’
’What happened back then? What did Old Mrs. Wei regret?’
Silence lingered in the tea room for a long moment.
"This was Ting’er’s mother’s zither."
Old Mrs. Wei had already composed herself, and her voice was now devoid of emotion.
Ji Qingwu had already examined the instrument closely.
The strings were a little loose, but the body of the zither was in excellent condition. The lacquer was bright and glossy, without a speck of dust. It had clearly been wiped often, yet there were no water stains. Anyone could see it had been lovingly cared for.
’When Wei Ting’s mother was alive,’ Ji Qingwu mused, ’she must have been cherished, just like this zither.’
Old Mrs. Wei said, "In the past, even when Ting’er was away on military campaigns, he insisted on keeping it by his side."
Ji Qingwu remembered then. Wei Ting did indeed have a fondness for music. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have tried so hard to cater to his tastes, practicing that blasted konghou until her fingers were raw.
Ji Qingwu looked down at her hands, even checking the spaces between her fingers. Not a single callous remained.
Her mind drifted. ’I have no ear for music. I much prefer the freedom of drawing a bow and shooting arrows in an open field.’
When she first joined the army camp, she had pestered Wei Ting several times to teach her archery, but he had always found polite excuses to turn her down.
After that, she began catering to his interests. Only then did she gradually get some response from him and was allowed to enter his command tent.
But she had never seen this guqin.
She had never truly seen into Wei Ting’s heart, nor had she ever seen the things he truly cherished.
Ji Qingwu’s gaze shifted to the web of her right hand, between her thumb and index finger. A faint callous remained there—a mark left from practicing mounted archery after her time in Lin’an.
’Practicing medicine is a means to make a living. Once something becomes your livelihood, you lose the pure joy of it.’
But archery was different.
Perhaps her heart had begun to stray back in Jiyin Hall, from the moment Emperor Wu Su himself had guided her in archery. That was when the comparisons and biases began, and her feelings gradually slipped from her control...
Troubled by her grandson, Old Mrs. Wei suddenly looked much older. As her thoughts drifted to her late son and daughter-in-law, even her posture seemed to stoop.
The old matriarch sighed. "But this time, Ting’er left it behind."
Ji Qingwu pulled her gaze away from the guqin. "It’s inconvenient to carry something like that on a military campaign. It’s better left at home."
"Inconvenient?"
Old Mrs. Wei said, her voice laced with pain, "He packed a thousand-year-old orchid—soil, mud, and all—into a leather sack and took that with him instead."
Wei Ting had yanked a plant out of the ground to take with him. It would have been better if he’d taken the zither; at least that would have been more refined.
Ji Qingwu was speechless. That was something she had certainly not expected.
Old Mrs. Wei said wistfully, "If the military summons hadn’t been so urgent, Ting’er would have surely found a way to take you with him."
’For the first time, I’m actually grateful the summons was so urgent...’ Ji Qingwu thought.
She suddenly asked, "Old Mrs. Wei, Wei Ting had someone he loved before, didn’t he?"
’If Wei Ting could reunite with this person,’ Ji Qingwu guessed, ’wouldn’t that be a happy ending for everyone?’
The corner of Old Mrs. Wei’s mouth twitched. She didn’t answer, instead saying, "I’ve been talking to you all this time, and it seems it was all for nothing."
Ji Qingwu said, "Old Mrs. Wei, I find you to be far more reasonable than my own grandmother, so I will be honest with you as well."
Hearing this, Old Mrs. Wei’s mood brightened a little.
She picked up the Buddha Beads from the table and began to roll them between her fingers. ’That Mrs. Ji is certainly unreasonable. Even when we were young, she went out of her way to oppose me.’
"Speak your mind."
Ji Qingwu said with a serious expression, "My agreement to marry your grandson was a measure of convenience. Once the war stabilizes, I fully intend to seek a divorce."
Old Mrs. Wei stared at her for a long moment, the hand holding the beads trembling slightly. Just as Ji Qingwu thought the string would snap and the beads would fly into her face...
"So be it. So be it."
"Everything in this world is governed by fate. I don’t blame you. If anyone is to blame, it is I, for the sins of my past life that caused me to raise such a brood of troublemakers..."
Old Mrs. Wei closed her eyes, muttering "retribution" several times under her breath.
Just as Ji Qingwu thought the old matriarch had managed to calm herself with Buddhist principles...
She decided not to linger and said softly, "I will take my leave now."
Those wrinkled eyelids snapped open again. "What right do you have to look down on my grandson!" Old Mrs. Wei demanded furiously.
"Who do you think you are, Ji Wu? Some sort of goddess? Do you think my grandson can’t find a suitable woman without you?"
In a fit of rage, Old Mrs. Wei hurled the Buddha Beads into the waste-tea basin. SPLASH! A good deal of water flew out, drenching the guqin.
"Let whoever wants to chant to Buddha do it!"
Ji Qingwu, who had been about to rise, sat back down.
’So the old matriarch’s usual dignity and composure is all an act?’
In her youth, Old Mrs. Wei had a fiery temper and couldn’t tolerate the slightest imperfection. It was only after Mr. Wei and Mrs. Wei both passed away that she had a meditation room built to quiet her mind and spirit.
The tea room and meditation room were separated only by a folding screen, and Nanny Cao’s silhouette appeared behind it.
"Old Mrs. Wei."
Her expression unchanged, Old Mrs. Wei skillfully placed the lid back on the waste-tea basin, as if this wasn’t the first time she had done such a thing.
"What is it?"
Nanny Cao hesitated. "The Song family is here again... They’re looking for the madam."
"They’re looking for her, so why are you telling me?" Old Mrs. Wei snapped.
Nanny Cao rarely saw the old matriarch throw a tantrum like a small child. The last time she had been this angry, it had been because of Wei Ting.
"It’s Madam Song. Her condition has worsened. They say she wishes to see our madam."
Upon hearing this, Ji Qingwu’s brow furrowed.
The poison in Su Daiyue’s body had already reached her organs. Although she was beyond medical help, the poison shouldn’t have flared up this quickly.
Ji Qingwu stood up. "I’ll go take a look."
Old Mrs. Wei looked up, her face grim. "Have you forgotten what I just told you?"
Ji Qingwu raised an eyebrow. "Why should I fear him? If he insists on coming here to nauseate me, then I should be the one to make *him* sick."
Old Mrs. Wei wanted to argue, but found the sentiment was rather to her liking.
"Wait."
Ji Qingwu had just reached the screen when the old matriarch called out to her again.
"Take Tong You with you."
Wei Tongyou was skilled with a sword and quite brave.
A glint appeared in Ji Qingwu’s eyes. She nodded. "Alright."
*
By the time the two of them arrived at the Song Mansion in their carriage, the servants had already placed a heavy coffin in the main hall. Even the funeral banners were ready.
On their way to Madam Song’s courtyard, Wei Tongyou grabbed a passing maid and asked, "Has Madam Song passed away already?"
"N-not yet," the maid stammered.
Wei Tongyou was speechless with indignation. "She’s not even dead yet and you’ve already brought all this out? Are you trying to hurry her along?!"
"These were the master’s orders," the maid said, then scurried away, clutching a bolt of white cloth.
Ji Qingwu pushed open the door. The cloying scent of medicine inside was overwhelming.
Su Daiyue lay on the bed, looking even worse than the day before. Her complexion was a sickly, sallow yellow.
Hearing footsteps, she struggled to open her eyes.
When she saw it was Ji Qingwu, she asked in surprise, "Why are you here...? Have you come to see me off...?"