Ding Yi was startled when Ding Youwei suddenly fainted. Rain Swallow sat on the ground, holding Ding Youwei half in her arms and calling repeatedly, "My lady-my lady-"
"Quick, pinch the groove beneath her nose," Ding Yi said.
Flustered, Rain Swallow was just about to pinch it when Ding Youwei caught her breath and woke. She rose to sit on her knees, clasped her hands before her chest, and said to Ding Yi, "If Uncle insists on taking me back today, death will be Youwei's only choice-" Her sobs choked off her words. Though she still did not know Agu's exact condition, she had a very bad feeling.
Ding Youwei looked refined and graceful, but her nature was tenacious and fierce. Once she set her mind on something, even the strength of nine oxen could scarcely turn her back. Ding Yi had seen this before. He yielded a step and said, "I won't stop you from visiting Mother Chen. But my condition remains the same: you must return to the Ding Clan Villa before sunset tomorrow."
"No," Ding Youwei said resolutely. "I must tend Agu until she recovers."
Ding Yi had hurried forty li through the bitter cold to catch her here and was angry himself. Suppressing his anger, he asked, "And what if Mother Chen Lady Li should fail to recover and die?"
Tears burst from Ding Youwei's eyes. Kneeling with her upper body perfectly straight, she said, "Then Youwei will observe mourning for Agu-" She could not finish, choking with sobs.
Ding Yi was furious. He was the one who had forcibly taken Ding Youwei from Chen Family Cove back to the Ding Clan Villa. If he now let her return to Chen Family Cove without any clear resolution, he would lose face. He immediately barked, "Where has