Chapter 113: The Mask
"Run, you moron! My Host already knows about your existence!"
Gemi’s frantic voice suddenly echoed through their telepathic link.
"He... is your Host?" Mini instinctively looked toward Xie Rong again.
The Young Master was still standing there, Wang Gege cradled securely in his arms. His eyes remained hidden beneath the familiar black silk blindfold.
Even so, Mini knew very well the man was not truly blind. It had seen his eyes with its own tiny bee eyes before.
"Wait..." Mini’s wings gradually slowed. "You’re saying... Young Master Xie... is your Host?"
"Finally!" Gemi sounded as though it might faint from anxiety. "You finally understand!"
"Didn’t I tell you before? My Host is also a transmigrator!"
Mini’s tiny mouth slowly fell open. "I... I should run, right?"
"Run now!" Gemi practically screamed. "Before he catches you, interrogates you, and squeezes every secret out of you about your Host!"
"Ahhh!"
Mini squeaked in panic before flapping its tiny wings with all its might. Like a streak of golden light, it darted away, vanishing beyond the rooftops almost instantly.
Xie Rong remained where he was. His head slowly turned toward the direction Mini had fled.
Although his eyes were concealed beneath the black silk blindfold, it felt as though his gaze had followed the tiny bee until it disappeared from sight.
A moment later, he lowered his eyes to the unconscious Wang Gege in his arms. Tightening his hold around her ever so slightly, he turned and strode toward their courtyard without another word.
His brows knitted almost immediately. Without another word, he adjusted his hold around her before striding toward their courtyard.
"Gui Lin." He called for Gui Lin.
Gui Lin, who was always ready rushed to his side, "This subordinate is here."
"Clear the way."
"Understood." Gui Lin immediately stepped forward, his sharp eyes sweeping across the servants gathered ahead. "Make way for the Young Master!"
The servants hastily retreated to both sides of the path, lowering their heads as Xie Rong passed.
The physician hurried after them, clutching his medicine chest tightly against his chest, afraid of delaying even a single moment.
Qing’er hurried behind as well, repeatedly wiping the tears from her face with her sleeve while praying under her breath that her mistress would awaken soon.
Before long, the group disappeared beyond the moon gate. Only then did the lotus courtyard fall into a suffocating silence. None of the remaining servants dared utter a word.
The guards continued kneeling where they were, their heads lowered. Each of them replayed the events at the pond over and over in their minds.
If they had not hesitated... If they had entered the water the moment the Young Madam fell, perhaps she would not have remained submerged for so long.
Their hands slowly clenched into fists, guilt weighing heavily upon their hearts.
"An’an."
Old Madam Xie’s solemn voice broke the silence.
"Come with this Grandmother."
Her gaze lingered briefly on her drenched granddaughter before continuing, "Tell me everything that happened at the lotus pond."
With those words, Old Madam Xie turned and walked away, supported by Nanny Zhao, while the accompanying servants and guards quietly followed behind.
Xie An’an remained where she stood. Her soaked robes clung uncomfortably to her body as strands of wet hair framed her pale face.
She slowly lifted her eyes and stared at the backs of everyone as they departed one after another.
The warmth that had always greeted her within the Xie Residence had never felt so distant.
Only after they had disappeared beyond the moon gate did the gentleness on her face vanish completely.
Her fingers curled tightly within her sleeves.
"Useless fools..." Her voice was barely above a whisper, yet every word was laced with bitterness. "Not one of you was of any use."
She lowered her eyes, her expression twisting with unwillingness. "Even Heaven chose to stand on Shen Taotao’s side..." Her nails dug deeply into her palms. "How fortunate... To survive even after falling into the pond."
She let out a cold laugh. "Very well... Since fate insists on protecting you... then I shall see how many times it can continue to do so."
The breeze swept across the lotus pond, carrying away the last ripples upon its surface.
Xie An’an lowered her eyes, her lashes concealing the darkness within them.
"So what if you are now the Elder Brother’s wife? So what if Grandmother has begun to accept you? None of it belongs to you."
Her voice remained soft as though she were merely speaking to herself.
"You stole what was never meant to be yours... And now... you dare to make the Elder Brother look at you with those eyes." Her lips slowly curved into a bitter smile. "I have waited for so many years. So many years... I refuse to lose to someone who has only been by his side for not even one month."
She turned her head toward the tranquil pond.
The lotus leaves swayed gently upon the water, as though nothing had happened.
At that moment, her personal maid hurried over with a thick cloak in her arms.
"Young Miss..." The maid carefully draped it over Xie An’an’s soaked shoulders, her movements respectful, yet her hands trembled uncontrollably.
She kept her head lowered, not daring to meet her mistress’s eyes.
She knew... She knew exactly what kind of temper her mistress hid beneath that gentle smile.
Every failed scheme... Every unexpected setback... Someone would always bear the consequences.
Xie An’an slowly tightened the cloak around herself before casting the maid a sidelong glance before adjusting the cloak around her shoulders.
"Useless fool..." she murmured. "You truly have impeccable timing."
She glanced sideways at the trembling maid. "Why didn’t you wait until tomorrow to bring it?"
The maid’s face instantly turned pale. "This servant begs Young Miss’s forgiveness for arriving late." She bent into a deep bow, her forehead nearly touching the ground. "This servant deserves to be punished."
"Raise your head." Xie An’an’s voice was quiet as her gaze swept across the nearly deserted lotus pond courtyard.
"I said... Raise your head." Though her voice was no louder than before, the icy command sent a shiver down the maid’s spine.
Trembling from head to toe, the maid slowly lifted her head.
Instantly, a sharp slap landed heavily across her face, sending her stumbling several steps before she collapsed onto the cold stone path.
The maid instinctively covered her burning cheek, too terrified to utter even a whimper.
Xie An’an slowly lowered her hand, flexing her numbed fingers as though she had merely brushed away a speck of dust.
"Do you know..." she asked softly, "what I hate the most?"
The maid’s body trembled violently. "This servant... this servant does not know."
Xie An’an took two unhurried steps toward her, her embroidered shoes stopping just before the maid’s lowered head.
"I despise incompetence." Her lips curved into a faint smile that held not a trace of warmth. "When your mistress is standing here, drenched from head to toe... you make her wait for a cloak."
She tilted her head slightly. "Tell me... what use are you to me?" She then looked down at the maid with undisguised contempt. "Worthless."
Without another word, she lifted her embroidered shoe and drove it hard into the maid’s abdomen.
"Ugh!" The maid cried out as she was knocked onto her side, instinctively curling into herself while clutching her stomach.
Xie An’an lowered her eyes, as though looking at nothing more than a piece of refuse.
"Trash." She spat at the ground beside the maid’s trembling body. "Do not appear before me until you have reflected on your incompetence."
Flicking her sleeves, Xie An’an turned without another glance. The cloak swayed gently behind her as she walked away.
Left alone in the deserted lotus pond courtyard, the maid lay curled upon the cold stone path, desperately suppressing her sobs.