Chapter 175: Carry The Guild
"You—"
Xie An’an’s eyes widened in stunned disbelief. In truth, she was not the only one—everyone who had assumed Wang Gege was already dead stood frozen as they stared at her sitting upright on the bed.
Wang Gege winked at her.
"Peek-a-boo..." A mischievous smile appeared on her pale face. "Did this sister give An’an’s heart quite a fright?"
Xie An’an’s expression twisted as she immediately turned toward Lian’er, who was still kneeling on the floor.
"You..." she gritted out in a low voice. "You told me she was dead..."
Lian’er lowered her head, doing her best to hide the relief that threatened to show on her face.
"This servant only told Young Miss what Young Madam instructed this servant to say."
Xie An’an’s eyes widened. "What?"
Wang Gege let out a soft laugh. "Don’t look so surprised."
Her fingers lightly touched the bandage around her neck as she leaned back against the pillows. "Did you truly think I would simply lie here and wait for you to finish what you started?"
Xie An’an’s face became increasingly pale. She lowered her eyes and gulped, trying her best to calm herself.
Then, as though she had finally recovered from the shock, tears immediately gathered in her eyes.
"Thank Heaven..." Her voice trembled with relief. "Thank Heaven you are still alive, sister-in-law..."
Wang Gege raised an eyebrow.
Xie An’an pressed a hand against her chest, her eyes reddening.
"If something had truly happened to you, this sister would have carried that guilt for the rest of her life." She pressed a hand against her chest, her eyes reddening.
"No matter how everyone blamed this sister, this sister would never have been able to forgive herself for causing your death."
Wang Gege stared at her for a moment.
Then her lips slowly curved.
"Carry the guilt?"
Xie An’an’s expression stiffened.
Wang Gege tilted her head slightly.
"By taking care of my husband and staying by his side?"
The chamber fell silent.
Xie An’an’s face instantly lost what little color remained.
"I—I never meant..."
"Didn’t you?"
Wang Gege’s smile remained faint, almost playful.
"Because this sister seems to remember hearing someone say that she would always remain by my husband’s side after I was gone."
She glanced toward Xie Rong before looking back at An’an.
"So I was merely wondering..." Her smile widened. "Was staying by my husband’s side part of how you intended to carry your guilt?"
Xie An’an’s face stiffened, her lips parting without finding a reply.
Wang Gege slowly shifted her legs, intending to move closer to the edge of the bed, but Xie Rong immediately reached out and supported her.
"Don’t stand. Just remain seated..." His voice softened as he carefully helped her settle back against the pillows.
Wang Gege glanced at him. "I’m not that weak."
"You have only just recovered from losing so much blood." Xie Rong frowned slightly. "You should not be moving unnecessarily."
His hand remained at her arm for another moment before he reluctantly released it.
Wang Gege gave him a small smile. "All right, all right."
Then she turned her attention back toward Xie An’an, who was still standing stiffly in the middle of the chamber.
"But don’t mind me." Her smile became almost innocent. "Please continue."
She tilted her head slightly.
"Rong’er!" Master Xie’s loud voice suddenly roared across the bedchamber. "Did both of you lie to us?"
The entire room fell silent.
Old Madam Xie stared at Xie Rong in disbelief, while Xie An’an’s expression changed instantly.
Xie Rong remained calm, his hand still resting protectively near Wang Gege.
"We did." His straightforward answer stunned everyone.
Master Xie stared at him. "You actually admit it?"
Xie Rong nodded. "I had no choice."
His gaze briefly lowered toward Wang Gege before returning to his father. "After what happened to my Furen, I could not risk allowing anyone to know she was awake until I knew who was behind the second attempt on her life."
Old Madam Xie’s expression changed. "Second attempt?"
Xie Rong’s voice turned cold. "The first was the broken porcelain." His gaze shifted toward Xie An’an. "The second was the maid who entered this courtyard after I was deliberately lured away."
Xie An’an’s body went rigid.
Xie Rong continued calmly, "We needed everyone to believe my Furen had died. Only then would the person who ordered her death reveal what she truly wanted."
Wang Gege smiled faintly. "And apparently, it worked rather well." Her gaze landed on Xie An’an. "Someone was already planning how to stay beside my husband before my body had even become cold."
"Lian’er!"
Xie An’an suddenly turned toward her servant and shouted, "Explain yourself! This one never asked you to do anything against Young Madam, did I? Why did you act on your own?!"
Lian’er remained kneeling, her cheek still red from the slap.
She looked up at Xie An’an for a long moment, her eyes filled with something that looked almost like disappointment. "Young Miss truly wants this servant to explain?"
"Yes!" Xie An’an immediately answered. "Tell them the truth! Tell them this servant acted on her own!"
Lian’er lowered her gaze.
"This servant..." She hesitated, as though struggling with whether she should speak.
Then she slowly raised her head. "If this servant truly acted on her own, why would Young Miss know exactly where this servant went?"
Xie An’an froze. "I..."
Lian’er continued quietly. "And why would Young Miss be so certain that Young Madam was dead when this servant never returned to report anything?"
The room fell silent.
Xie An’an’s lips trembled. "I only..."
"You told this servant that Young Madam had to die before Young Master returned," Lian’er said, her voice becoming firmer. "You told this servant that if this servant failed, then this servant would be the one who would be dead by next morning."
She touched her swollen cheek.
"And this servant has spent years enduring Young Miss’s temper. Whenever Young Miss was displeased, this servant was beaten. Whenever something went wrong, this servant was blamed. Even today, when this servant failed to carry out your order..."
Her voice cracked.
"You immediately slapped this servant and called this servant a fool."
Xie An’an’s face twisted.
"Shut up!"
Lian’er flinched but continued, her tears falling freely.
"This servant has served the Young Miss for many years..."
She lowered her head, her voice filled with exhaustion rather than anger.
"And this servant has had enough."
Xie An’an’s expression changed.
"This servant knows what Young Miss has done, and this servant knows there will be punishment for the things this servant has helped you with." Lian’er swallowed hard. "This servant is willing to accept every punishment for the wrong things this servant has done, because this servant did them to help Young Miss."
She slowly raised her eyes, "But this servant will not lie and say that everything was done by this servant alone."
Her voice trembled, but she forced herself to continue. "Young Miss may blame this servant, beat this servant, or even decide this servant’s life is worth nothing..."
She clenched her hands together, "But this servant has endured enough. This servant will not carry Young Miss’s sins on her back while Young Miss stands behind this servant pretending to know nothing."
The chamber fell silent.
Xie An’an stared at her, her face gradually turning pale. "How dare you..."
Lian’er lowered her head. "This servant is sorry, Young Miss." She paused, "But this servant cannot protect you anymore."