Chapter 83: The Death Of The Servant
"Young Madam!"
Qing’er’s frightened voice echoed throughout the chamber as she hurried inside.
The moment she saw Chuntao lying motionless in a pool of blood, her face instantly turned pale.
"Hurry!" Mo Yan’s expression darkened. "Summon the physician!"
"Yes!" One of the guards immediately turned and rushed out of the Punishment Courtyard.
Wang Gege heard none of it. She had already dropped to her knees beside Chuntao.
"No..." Her trembling hands carefully supported Chuntao’s shoulders before gently turning her over.
Blood still lingered at the corner of Chuntao’s lips. Her body was already growing cold.
"No..." Wang Gege shook her head repeatedly. "No... Chuntao..."
She reached for Chuntao’s wrist with trembling fingers, desperately searching for a pulse.
Nothing.
She pressed two fingers against the side of Chuntao’s neck.
Nothing.
"Young Madam..." Qing’er’s voice had already become choked with tears. "She..."
"No." Wang Gege interrupted her immediately. "There must still be a way."
She looked around the room frantically.
"Water!"
"Bring water!"
The guards remained frozen where they stood.
No one moved.
"Didn’t you hear me?" Wang Gege’s voice rose uncontrollably. "Bring water!"
Just then, hurried footsteps echoed from outside the chamber.
A familiar figure entered with long, steady strides.
"Young Master!"
The guards immediately cupped their fists.
Xie Rong’s gaze swept across the room before stopping on the figure kneeling beside Chuntao.
His expression instantly darkened. Without saying a word, he strode toward Wang Gege.
"Furen."
Wang Gege did not respond. She was still desperately trying to find even the faintest sign of life.
"Furen." His voice became firmer.
Only then did Wang Gege slowly shake her head.
"There has to be a way..." Her voice trembled. "She asked to see me... If I had come earlier... Maybe..."
Her words caught in her throat, "Maybe she wouldn’t have died..."
Xie Rong quietly looked at the lifeless Chuntao before lowering his gaze to Wang Gege. He slowly crouched beside her, his hand gently resting upon her shoulder.
"Furen."
Wang Gege refused to look at him. She continued holding Chuntao’s cold hand tightly, unwilling to let go.
"I was too late..." A few moments of silence passed before Wang Gege suddenly looked up at Xie Rong, "Do you think someone killed her?"
Xie Rong gently reached for her hands, intending to ease Chuntao’s hand from her grasp.
"That is unlikely..." His voice remained calm. "Unless she..." He paused, "took her own life."
"Why?" Wang Gege immediately pulled her hands back. "Why would she do that?"
Her breathing gradually became uneven.
"Husband..." She looked straight into his eyes. "Did you ever tell her that her younger sister was safe?"
Xie Rong remained silent.
Wang Gege’s heart suddenly tightened.
"She probably thought..." Her voice trembled. "She probably thought her sister had already been executed because of her..."
She lowered her head, gripping Chuntao’s hand even tighter.
"She... she might have lost the will to live..." Wang Gege’s eyes gradually reddened.
She suddenly looked up at Xie Rong, "Husband..." Her voice trembled. "Why didn’t you tell her?"
"Even if she had committed a mistake... Even if she deserved to be punished... She still had someone she wanted to protect." Her brows knitted tightly together, "If she had known her younger sister was safe... Perhaps... perhaps she wouldn’t have chosen this."
Xie Rong remained silent.
Wang Gege lowered her head once more. "You should have told her..."
"But, Young Madam—"
One of the guards had barely spoken when Xie Rong immediately raised a hand, silently signaling him to stop.
The guard instantly fell quiet.
Xie Rong looked back at Wang Gege.
"Come, Furen..." His voice was gentler than before. "Let the physician examine her first."
He paused for a moment before continuing, "This husband promises... to find out what happened."
As he spoke, he gently pried Wang Gege’s fingers away from Chuntao’s cold hand, one by one.
Wang Gege offered no resistance.
Her eyes remained fixed on Chuntao’s pale face, as though she still could not believe that the young maid who had spoken to her only two days ago... had become a lifeless body overnight.
The room fell into complete silence.
Even the guards standing outside lowered their heads, not daring to utter a single word.
Xie Rong slowly rose to his feet, carefully laying Chuntao’s body back onto the wooden bed.
He gently pulled the thin blanket over her before turning to Mo Yan, "Seal the Punishment Courtyard."
Mo Yan immediately cupped his fist. "Yes, Young Master."
"From this moment onward, no one is permitted to enter or leave without this Young Master’s order." Xie Rong’s gaze swept across every guard present.
"Every person who stood watch here since last night..." His voice remained calm, "will be questioned."
"Yes!"
The guards immediately lowered their heads.
Only then did Xie Rong turn back toward Wang Gege.
She still stood where she was, staring blankly at Chuntao’s motionless figure.
"Furen."
No response.
Her eyes remained fixed ahead as though she had not heard him at all. Only after several moments did she finally push herself up and take a small step backward.
But her legs suddenly weakened and she staggered, before she could fall, a familiar arm firmly caught her by the waist.
Wang Gege instinctively grabbed onto Xie Rong’s sleeve, her fingertips trembling ever so slightly.
"I..." Her lips parted, yet no words came out.
She had read countless deaths in novels. She had watched them unfold in dramas.
But this... This was the first time she had witnessed death with her own eyes.
The warmth that had once belonged to a living person, had vanished overnight.
Xie Rong quietly looked at her pale face. Without saying another word, he bent down and lifted her into his arms.
Wang Gege did not protest. She simply rested weakly against his chest, her eyes still absent as though her thoughts remained trapped inside that chamber.
The entire Punishment Courtyard remained silent as Xie Rong carried her away.
The journey back to their courtyard was unusually quiet. Only the sound of Xie Rong’s steady footsteps echoed along the stone pathway.
Just as they turned a corner, a cheerful voice suddenly called out.
"Gege!"
Xie An’an had just stepped into the corridor, but the smile on her face instantly disappeared the moment she saw Wang Gege being carried in Xie Rong’s arms.
Her eyes widened and she hurried forward.
"What happened, Gege?"