Chapter 174: Don’t Even Dare To Kill An Ant
"Father..."
Xie An’an’s entire body trembled with fear as she looked around the chamber, only to find every pair of eyes fixed upon her.
"No!" She immediately shook her head, tears spilling down her cheeks.
"This one truly did not intend to harm sister-in-law! Sister-in-law suddenly rushed in front of this one, and that was what caused the incident!"
Master Xie’s expression became increasingly grim. "An’an."
"This one is telling the truth!" Xie An’an hurriedly defended herself, her voice trembling with desperation. "This one only wanted to stop Yun’er from spreading those lies. This one never expected sister-in-law to suddenly throw herself in front of that servant!"
She lowered her head, trying to appear as frightened and helpless as possible. "If this one had known she would be injured, this one would never have raised the porcelain in the first place..."
Xie Rong remained standing beside the bed, his expression cold. "You raised it."
Xie An’an’s voice caught. "Brother..."
"But that was not the cause of my wife’s death." Xie Rong’s voice remained unnervingly calm as he continued, "Someone was caught covering my Furen’s nose and mouth, preventing her from breathing."
Xie An’an’s expression stiffened the moment those words left his mouth. She gulped, her mind racing as she tried to understand what he was saying.
"So..." Her voice became cautious. "I am not the one who caused sister-in-law’s death, right?"
For the briefest moment, relief almost surfaced across her face as she grasped onto the possibility.
"If someone else caused her death, then this sister did not..." She stopped herself, suddenly remembering that everyone was watching her.
Xie Rong remained silent. Then, slowly, his lips curved into a faint smile. "Indeed."
Xie An’an’s eyes brightened.
But the next words made the relief disappear.
"You did not cause her death." His expression turned cold. "But your servant did."
Xie An’an’s eyes widened. "What?"
"This husband said your servant was the one who did it." Xie Rong repeated the words clearly, his voice carrying through the bedchamber.
As though she had been waiting for precisely those words, Xie An’an immediately turned toward Lian’er, who had been standing behind her since they entered the chamber.
Slap!
Her palm struck Lian’er across the face so hard that the maid’s head snapped sharply to the side, the sound echoing through every corner of the bedchamber.
"What are you doing, you foolish servant?!" Xie An’an’s eyes reddened, her hand trembling with anger. "How dare you lay your hands on the Young Madam and killed her!"
Lian’er slowly turned her face back, one hand covering her burning cheek.
"This servant never did anything of my own will." Her voice trembled, but she forced herself to remain steady. "If anything, everything this servant did was by Young Miss’s order."
"Shut up!" Xie An’an immediately shouted. "How dare you slander me?!"
"This servant is not slandering Young Miss." Lian’er lowered her hand from her cheek, tears still hanging in her eyes. "You ordered this servant to go to Young Madam’s chamber and kill her."
"Enough!" Xie An’an’s voice cracked as she pointed furiously at her. "You dare lie in front of everyone just to escape punishment for your own crime?!"
Lian’er shook her head, tears still hanging in her eyes. "This servant has had enough..."
"Enough?" Xie An’an’s expression twisted with anger. "What enough? You are a servant!"
Lian’er lowered her head, her fingers trembling as she touched the cheek Xie An’an had just slapped.
"Yes... this servant is only a servant." She gave a small, bitter laugh. "That is why this servant has endured everything Young Miss has done to this servant all these years."
Xie An’an’s expression stiffened. "What are you talking about?"
"This servant has been slapped, beaten, insulted, and blamed whenever something went wrong, even when this servant had done nothing." Lian’er’s voice trembled as she spoke, but she did not stop. "Whenever Young Miss was angry, this servant was the first person she took her anger out on. Whenever Young Miss made a mistake, this servant was the one forced to bear the blame."
She lowered her eyes, "This servant endured it because Young Miss was this servant’s master. This servant thought that as long as this servant obeyed, perhaps one day Young Miss would treat this servant better."
Xie An’an’s face turned pale. "You—"
"But this servant has finally understood." Lian’er wiped the tears from her cheek. "No matter how obedient this servant is, Young Miss will never see this servant as anything more than someone she can use and discard."
Her voice cracked, "Even today, when Young Miss ordered this servant to kill Young Madam, this servant still obeyed and came here."
She looked directly at Xie An’an.
And right at that moment, Xie An’an’s eyes trembled violently.
"No—no, that is not true!" She immediately shook her head, panic flashing across her face. "Grandmother, Father, Brother... this one never did anything like that!"
Old Madam Xie stared at her in shock. "An’an..."
"This one didn’t!" Xie An’an’s voice cracked as she hurriedly defended herself. "This servant is lying! She must have done something to Young Madam herself and now she is trying to push everything onto this one!"
Lian’er lowered her gaze, tears still clinging to her lashes. "This servant has no reason to lie."
"You—!" Xie An’an took a step toward her, but Master Xie’s stern voice immediately stopped her.
"An’an, stay where you are."
She froze.
"Father..." Her tears began falling right on cue, her expression filled with hurt and disbelief.
"Do you not believe this daughter either?" Her voice trembled. "You know this daughter does not even dare to kill an ant, let alone take someone’s life..."
She lowered her head, her shoulders shaking. "How could this daughter possibly do something like that to sister-in-law?"
Her eyes slowly lifted toward Xie Rong.
"And Brother knows this sister has always respected sister-in-law. Why would this sister ever want her dead?"
Her voice softened as she looked toward Xie Rong, her eyes filled with tears. "I know you are grieving, Brother. I know losing sister-in-law so suddenly must be difficult for you to accept, but please don’t let your grief cloud your judgment."
She took a hesitant step toward him.
"No matter what happens, this sister will always remain by your side. You have always been this sister’s elder brother, and this sister could never bear to see you suffer alone."
Her voice became even softer, "If the sister-in-law is truly gone, then you don’t have to face the days ahead alone. This sister will take care of you, just as I always have."
A faint, almost sorrowful smile appeared on her lips. "So please, Brother... don’t push away the people who still care about you."
"Pfft..."
A faint laugh suddenly came from the bed.
Everyone froze.
Xie An’an’s entire body stiffened.
Wang Gege slowly pushed herself upright against the pillows, one hand instinctively resting near the bandage around her neck.
Her pale face still looked weak, but the smile on her lips was unmistakably amused.
"What a touching speech."
Xie An’an’s face was drained of color.
Wang Gege tilted her head.
"I almost fell asleep listening to it." She gave a weak chuckle, "But I have one question."
Her gaze settled directly on Xie An’an.
"If you don’t even dare to kill an ant..." She paused deliberately, "then why did you have to make such a great effort to kill me?"
Wang Gege’s smile deepened faintly.
"Perhaps you simply have no reason to step on an ant when it never crosses your path." She paused, her gaze settling meaningfully on Xie An’an. "But if that little thing happens to stand directly in your way..."
Her smile became faintly sharper.
"Would you still be able to say you could never bring yourself to step on it?"