Run!

The Cui family's little courtyard.

"Have you thought it through?"

The man walked to the couch and looked down at her, his voice flat and uninflected.

Yang Xiu did not answer.

He waited a moment, then suddenly reached out, seized her by the throat, and pinned her to the couch.

The back of Yang Xiu's head struck the hard pillow, and her vision went black. His hand tightened so much that she could barely breathe.

"Yang Xiu." He bent down, bringing his face close to hers, his voice squeezing out between his teeth. "Cui Wan has been locked up for three days. You still haven't thought it through?"

Yang Xiu's face flushed crimson. She desperately pried at the hand around her throat, her voice scraping out hoarse and broken. "What you want... I don't have it!"

He stared at her for a while, then abruptly let go. Yang Xiu coughed violently.

"You don't?" His voice was leisurely, faintly amused. "Then what if..."

He paused.

"I do something to Cui Wan? Would you have it then?"

Yang Xiu's coughing stopped abruptly.

She jerked her head up, her eyes filled with terror.

"You... what are you going to do?"

He smiled.

It was a gentle smile, but to Yang Xiu, it was more terrifying than any vicious demon.

"I want the Ministry of Works' activity records," he said. "Are your life and your daughter's worth less than this one sheet of paper?"

Yang Xiu's lips trembled violently.

She looked at him, at that unfamiliar, hair-raising expression on his face, and her voice shook.

"He... where is he?"

The man tilted his head, as though he had heard something very interesting.

"My dear wife," he scoffed, reaching out to stroke Yang Xiu's cheek lightly. "Has your illness muddled your mind? Your husband... is right here in front of you."

Yang Xiu shuddered all over and turned her face away, tears spilling out.

"You're shameless!"

With all her strength, she spat in his face.

His expression darkened.

He grabbed Yang Xiu by the collar, hauled her bodily off the couch, then slammed her back down. Her back struck the edge, and the pain curled her into a ball as she let out a stifled groan.

"If you're going to be this uncooperative, then your precious daughter"-he stood and brushed nonexistent dust from his robes, his voice returning to that flat, uninflected tone-"won't be eating today."

He turned toward the door.

Yang Xiu lay sprawled on the couch, gasping violently. Watching that retreating figure about to leave, she suddenly spoke, her voice so hoarse the words were almost indistinguishable.

"If you want my life... take it! Wanwan is a wife of the Chu Family! If you dare touch her... the Chu Family won't let you off!"

He looked back at Yang Xiu and suddenly smiled. There was an indescribable mockery in that smile, along with a trace of... pity.

"The Chu Family?" He slowly walked back, stopped beside the couch, and looked down at her. "They've divorced..."

Yang Xiu's pupils abruptly contracted. "You... what did you say?"

He smiled. "The divorce agreement has already been delivered to Cui Wan. That precious daughter of yours is now a cast-off wife."

Yang Xiu stared fixedly at him. Her lips began trembling violently, and her face grew even paler than before.

"You... how dare you..."

"Don't think finding your daughter a backer means you can rest easy on a high pillow." He bent down and leaned toward Yang Xiu's ear. "Chu Moqi is a cripple, after all. Oh, no-"

He straightened, the corners of his mouth curving into a meaningful smile.

"A very stupid cripple, at that."

Yang Xiu trembled all over, unable to speak.

He gave her one last look, then turned toward the door.

"Yang Xiu..."

His voice came from the doorway, still flat and uninflected.

"I've run out of patience. You'd better know what's good for you."

The door was bolted again from outside with a dull clunk.

The footsteps gradually faded.

Yang Xiu lay on the couch, unable to move.

Her body shook, from her shoulders to her fingertips, from her chest to the depths of her heart, trembling like a withered leaf.

Footsteps sounded outside, soft and somewhat cautious.

"Madam? Madam, are you all right?"

Yang Xiu jerked her head up.

It was Yue Niang!

She practically tumbled and crawled off the couch. With trembling hands, she pulled the neatly folded square of paper from beneath the insole of her embroidered shoe.

It was her life.

It was also what had kept mother and daughter alive until today.

Perhaps it could even save Minghai...

"Yue Niang..." Yang Xiu kept her voice extremely low. "Listen to me..."

Soft sobbing came from outside the door. "Madam, please go ahead."

Yang Xiu pushed the paper under the door. Yue Niang's fingers touched it and gently took it away.

Yang Xiu leaned against the door, trembling all over.

"Do everything you can," she said haltingly, "to get Wanwan... out of here. Don't worry about me."

"Madam..."

"This..." Yang Xiu's voice dropped even lower, until it was almost inaudible. "Tell Wanwan not to read it. She must... she must give it to Second Young Master Chu. Tell the second young master... to save Wanwan's father..."

She could not go on.

Outside the door, Yue Niang nodded desperately, tears pattering onto the ground. Her footsteps hurried away.

Yang Xiu leaned against the door, her eyes closed, gulping down breath after breath.

Carrying a bamboo basket, Yue Niang headed toward the woodshed.

Inside the basket were several freshly cooked flower pastries, steaming hot, their fragrance drifting far.

Two servants stood outside the woodshed, one tall and one short, dozing against the wall. Hearing footsteps, the tall one opened his eyes, his gaze settling on Yue Niang.

"Stop! What are you here for?"

Yue Niang raised her head, her face wreathed in smiles.

"Thank you for your hard work, gentlemen." She lifted the bamboo basket and held it out. "This old woman has brought the young lady something to eat. Freshly cooked flower pastries. They're still hot."

The servant glanced at the basket, then toward the woodshed, and shook his head.

"The master has forbidden the young lady from eating. No food allowed."

Yue Niang's smile froze for a moment before returning. She moved closer, softening her voice. "Please have a heart, gentlemen. The young lady is a frail woman. She hasn't eaten since yesterday. If she goes without food today too, how can she hold up?"

The tall servant frowned and was about to speak, but Yue Niang had already held the basket farther forward, her voice softer still.

"What could happen from just a few pastries? The master dotes on the young lady so much. He's only angry for the moment and wants to punish her. If she really starves herself into trouble, and the master feels sorry for her and starts laying blame, can you two bear the responsibility?"

The tall servant opened his mouth, but no words came out.

The short one tugged at his sleeve and whispered, "It's only a few pastries. It should be fine..."

The tall servant hesitated, then finally nodded. "Fine. Make it quick."

The woodshed door opened a crack.

Cui Wan was crouched in a corner. Hearing the door, she raised her head.

Her eyes were red and swollen, and tear tracks still glistened on her face. The moment she saw Yue Niang, tears welled up again.

"Aunt Yue..."

Yue Niang hurried inside, crouched down, and pulled her into her arms.

"Don't cry, young lady. Don't cry." Her voice was very low, carrying a suppressed tremor. "Madam said these flower pastries are your favorite. These two are for you."

She took two pastries from the basket and pressed them into Cui Wan's hands.

Cui Wan looked down at the two pastries, tears falling onto them drop by drop.

Yue Niang's heart felt as though someone had squeezed it hard. She reached out to wipe Cui Wan's tears, her voice gentle. "Don't be afraid, young lady. Don't cry. It'll be all right."

Cui Wan nodded, biting her lip hard and swallowing her sobs.

Yue Niang stood and walked toward the door.

At the doorway, she turned back for another look at Cui Wan.

That look lasted a long, long time.

Then she turned and smiled at the two servants outside.

"Thank you both for your hard work, too. There are a few left in this basket. Let's share them so they don't go to waste."

She took several pastries out of the basket, bit into one first, chewed, and swallowed. "Mm, they taste all right."

The two servants exchanged a glance, then reached for the pastries and began taking big bites.

Half a quarter-hour later.

Outside the woodshed, the two servants slowly slid down the wall into sitting positions. Standing beside them, Yue Niang swayed, then crumpled limply to the ground as well.

Cui Wan crouched inside the woodshed, biting into the flower pastry.

Aunt Yue had given her the pastries. Her mother had sent them. She ate bite after bite, her tears falling drop by drop.

Suddenly, her teeth struck something hard.

It was not the filling.

It was a wad of paper.

Cui Wan froze for a moment, then took it out of her mouth.

It was a tightly folded little roll of paper, tucked inside the pastry.

She unfolded the paper.

It was covered in dense writing, somewhat scrawled, as though written in great haste. She recognized the handwriting-

It was her mother's.

Her mother's writing.

There was another small wad inside.

Cui Wan was about to look more closely when the sound of something heavy hitting the ground suddenly came from outside.

She raised her head and looked toward the door.

Something blocked the light coming through the gap. A dark figure lay there.

Cui Wan's heart clenched.

"Aunt Yue?"

No one answered.

She called again, her voice trembling.

Still no one answered.

Cui Wan stood and walked to the door, step by step, then peered through the gap.

Yue Niang lay motionless outside the woodshed. The two servants beside her were also on the ground, unmoving.

Cui Wan clapped a hand over her mouth, forcibly trapping her scream in her throat.

Aunt Yue...

What happened to Aunt Yue?

She pushed hard against the door.

It was not locked.

Before the two servants collapsed, they had not had time to lock it.

Cui Wan pushed open the woodshed door, stumbled outside, and knelt beside Yue Niang. Yue Niang's eyes were closed, her breathing steady, as though she were asleep.

Cui Wan froze. She looked down at the half-eaten pastry in her hand, then at the tiny piece beside Yue Niang's mouth that she had not managed to swallow.

The pastries.

There was something in the pastries.

Aunt Yue knew. Aunt Yue ate them, and so did those two servants. Aunt Yue had done it on purpose.

Large tears rolled down Cui Wan's face.

Footsteps sounded in the distance.

She balled up the roll of paper, hid it inside the front of her robe, stood, and ran in the opposite direction.

Her mother had told her to escape.

To run back to A-Qi's side!