Beheading

After cleaning himself up, Chu Moqi wheeled himself toward Cui Wan's room almost immediately.

The door stood ajar, and he gently pushed it open.

Cui Wan was sitting beside the bed. She looked up at the sound, and the instant she saw him, her eyes reddened.

"A-Qi!"

She all but threw herself at him, falling into his arms and wrapping hers tightly around his neck.

Chu Moqi froze for a moment, then raised his hands and gently encircled her back.

"What's wrong?" he asked very softly.

Cui Wan buried her face in the hollow of his shoulder, her voice muffled and tearful. "Why didn't you come back last night?"

Chu Moqi stiffened slightly.

"And you had Yan Huai, Qiaoju, and the others keep it from me." Cui Wan sounded even more aggrieved. "What, did you think I was that easy to fool?"

Chu Moqi gave an embarrassed cough.

So Wanwan knew everything.

"I... I just didn't want you to worry." His voice was low, carrying a rare hint of guilt.

Cui Wan lifted her head from his arms and glared at him with reddened eyes. "Then where did you go last night?"

Looking into those reddened eyes, Chu Moqi's heart melted completely. He raised a hand and gently wiped the tears from their corners. "It's all right. I was busy gathering evidence and simply couldn't get back in time. Cui Minghe and Cui Mingjiang will be beheaded the day after tomorrow. Wanwan, I did it."

Cui Wan froze.

She looked at him, at his exhausted, pale face, which nevertheless held a trace of a smile.

"But I never asked you to get yourself dragged into it too!" Cui Wan's voice was tearful, anxious and aching for him. "Do... do you know how worried I was...?"

Chu Moqi drew Cui Wan closer and rested his chin on the crown of her head.

"I know," he said quietly. "But your troubles are my troubles."

Cui Wan cried in his arms for a while. Then, as she cried, she suddenly lifted her head and looked at him.

"A-Qi..." Her voice was timid, tinged with a hesitation that kept her from daring to ask. "My father... is he really...?"

She did not finish.

Chu Moqi pressed his lips together.

He knew what she was asking.

"Wanwan," Chu Moqi said very softly and slowly, "your father... may already have... shortly after he was imprisoned four years ago."

He did not finish.

But Cui Wan understood.

Her tears welled up again, falling in large drops.

"I guessed." Her voice trembled badly. "A-Qi, I... I actually guessed..."

She cried so hard she could barely breathe, her body shaking with sobs.

"I hate him... I hate him so much..." Cui Wan clenched Chu Moqi's lapels. "Third Uncle impersonated my father and harmed my mother and me... but... but..."

She lifted her head and looked at Chu Moqi through a haze of tears.

"A-Qi, he really looks exactly like my father. Just like Yan Qin and Yan Huai-you can tell at a glance they're twin brothers... Whenever I see him, I think of my father. But he isn't my father. He killed my father... I hate him, but every time I see that face, I..."

She could not go on.

Chu Moqi held Cui Wan tightly, gently patting her back with one hand.

"I understand." His voice was low, yet carried a reassuring strength. "Wanwan, I understand."

"But A-Qi... if I hadn't kept deceiving myself, if I hadn't been so certain he was my father, perhaps so many things wouldn't have happened..." Cui Wan said haltingly.

Chu Moqi simply held her, patting her back again and again. "It's all right, Wanwan. It wasn't your fault..."

After a long time, Cui Wan suddenly spoke. Her voice was quiet, but held a trace of stubbornness. "A-Qi. When they're executed the day after tomorrow, I want to watch."

Chu Moqi's hand stilled.

"No." His voice grew stern. "Why would you go to a place like that?"

Cui Wan lifted her head from his arms and looked at him. "I want to go. I want to see them die with my own eyes."

Chu Moqi looked at Cui Wan, at those eyes filled with hatred and sorrow.

He knew she meant it. After a brief silence, Chu Moqi finally spoke. "Then have Changfeng go with you. If you feel frightened, come back."

Cui Wan nodded, then buried her head in his arms again and nuzzled against him...

Two days later.

The burial ground lay north of the capital's outskirts, filled with unclaimed remains. Dead grass rose past the ankles, rustling whenever the wind blew.

Cui Wan knelt on the ground, with Changfeng standing a few paces behind her.

Before her lay a barren slope, without a burial mound or a headstone-not even a decent handful of yellow earth. Four years ago, the real Cui Minghai had been dumped here, mingled with those nameless remains, with no way to tell one from another.

The gravel dug painfully into Cui Wan's knees, but she paid it no heed.

She bowed, pressing her forehead to the cold earth.

"Father!"

Her voice was tearful, but she struggled to keep it steady.

"Your unfilial daughter, Cui Wan, has come to see you! I'm sorry, Father. Wanwan was deceived and nearly... nearly made a terrible mistake."

Her tears fell, dripping onto the dead grass.

"Luckily, A-Qi was there. Oh, right, I haven't told you yet-A-Qi is my husband now. This time, he did so, so much. He cleared your name, brought those villains before the court, and... he did everything. I must thank him properly."

Cui Wan bowed again.

"Rest assured, Father. I'll take good care of Mother. I promise!"

Cui Wan raised her head and gazed at the barren slope, at the dead grass blown this way and that by the wind.

"Please come with Wanwan in a little while, Father-and watch your great wrong be avenged!"

At a quarter to one, at the execution ground.

At the supervising official's command, blades flashed. Two heads rolled to the ground, and blood spattered three feet.

Cui Wan stood on the outskirts of the crowd, with Changfeng guarding her side. She watched those two heads, those two fallen bodies, and that slowly spreading pool of blood.

Father has finally been avenged.

As the thought passed through her mind, her eyes stung, yet no tears would come.

But the blood was too glaring. Red, piercingly bright, it slowly seeped into the yellow earth and turned dark brown.

Cui Wan shrank back, retreating behind Changfeng, not daring to look again.

Murmurs began to rise from the crowd. At first they were whispers, but they gradually grew louder.

"The Cui family's all died in one go."

"Of course. Think of the standing of the Marquis of Ningyang's Residence. If they want those two dead, those two have to die."

"Hey, did you hear? When they faced off in court, the Cui family said it themselves-Second Young Master Chu forcibly married an underage girl!"

"Yes, yes, I heard too! And then he even caused that girl to lose her chastity!"

"Hey, I heard that too! Right on East Street, a whole bunch of men did that to her..."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk..."

"And Second Young Master Chu still took her back."

"Of course he did. You don't air your family's dirty laundry, hahaha-"

Cui Wan's face went white.

She had not.

She had not lost her chastity.

A-Qi had come to save her. A-Qi had come when she was most frightened, and he had killed those men...

Before Cui Wan could finish the thought, a gust suddenly swept past her.

Changfeng moved.

She was so fast that Cui Wan could not even see clearly. There were only a few screams, and the gossipmongers were already on the ground, clutching their legs and howling.

Changfeng stood before them, looking down at them with eyes as cold as ice.

"Watch your filthy mouths."

The gossipmongers were so frightened that they scrambled away on all fours.

Cui Wan stood frozen, staring at Changfeng.

Changfeng... knew martial arts?

Hadn't she taken Changfeng in as a maid because she was weak and had no one to rely on?

How...?

Cui Wan suddenly remembered what Chu Moqi often said-"Have Changfeng go with you."

She had always thought Changfeng was merely a maid with a little extra strength. She had never imagined Changfeng could actually...

Perhaps A-Qi had known all along? Or perhaps... Changfeng had been sent by A-Qi to protect her in the first place?

Cui Wan opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but no words came.

She lowered her head and clenched the hem of her clothes, recalling what those people had just said. Their words still cut like knives, gouging at her heart, stroke after stroke.

With her head lowered, she followed Changfeng back.

Halfway there, a figure came stumbling toward them.

"Miss! Miss!"

It was Yue Niang!

Her hair was disheveled, her face streaked with tears, and her clothes smeared with dirt, as though she had fallen several times while running all the way.

Cui Wan's heart plunged. "Aunt Yue? What happened? Why are you...?"

"Miss!" Yue Niang rushed over and seized her hand, her voice shaking badly. "Madam, Madam... Madam said... said her great wrong had been avenged, and she had no regrets left... She... she took her own life!"

A buzzing filled Cui Wan's head, and her mind went blank.

Her legs gave way. Had Changfeng not caught her, she would have collapsed to the ground.

"What did you say?" Cui Wan's voice shook uncontrollably. "My mother... she..."

Yue Niang nodded through her tears, unable to speak.

Cui Wan pushed Changfeng away and stumbled toward the Cui residence.

Yue Niang chased after her, while Changfeng guarded her side.

The Cui residence's gates stood open, and everything inside was in chaos. Cui Wan rushed in, but before she reached the small courtyard, someone blocked her path.

Cui Hong, her cousin.

Eldest Cui had been beheaded, and Third Cui was dead too. As Eldest Cui's son, Cui Hong was busy putting this household, struck by sudden upheaval, in order. The moment he saw Cui Wan, his face twisted.

"Cui Wan! You shameless little hussy! You still have the nerve to come back!"

Cui Wan froze, then tried to go around him.

Cui Hong seized her arm and dragged her back. "You conspired with your husband's family against the Cui family and killed my father! You ungrateful creature! And you aren't even chaste! Shameless! You were forced by men! Do you think you can still stay at the marquis's residence? They won't want you in the future either!"

Tears welled up in Cui Wan's eyes.

She tried to break free, to rush inside and see her mother, but she could not escape his grip. Fortunately, Changfeng chopped down on Cui Hong's arm, making him release her with a cry of pain.

Just as Cui Wan was about to run inside, Lady Li rushed out too, pointing at her face and cursing.

"You ungrateful wolf! We gave you a way to survive by marrying you into the marquis's residence! It's bad enough that you aren't grateful, but you even killed your eldest uncle! You've forgotten your roots!"

Cui Wan did not want to listen.

She did not want to hear any of it.

She only wanted to see her mother.

She shoved Lady Li aside and staggered into the small courtyard.

The door was open. Yang Xiu lay motionless on the bed.

Her face was ashen, her lips purple, and a deep ligature mark ringed her neck. Her eyes were closed, as though she were asleep. But her body had already gone stiff and rigid. No matter how anyone called, she would never answer again.

Cui Wan threw herself forward, kneeling beside the bed and grasping Yang Xiu's hand. It was ice-cold and hard as stone.

"Mother..."

Cui Wan's voice shook terribly, and large tears rolled down her face. "Mother... wake up... look at me... it's Wanwan..."

Yue Niang followed her in, knelt beside the bed, and tearfully handed her a sheet of paper.

"Miss, these are Madam's last words."

Cui Wan took the paper and read it through tear-blurred eyes. Yang Xiu's handwriting was crooked and uneven, as though finishing it had taken tremendous effort.

Wanwan:

The great wrong has been avenged, and I have no regrets left. Burdened by this ailing body, I fear becoming a burden to you, so I have gone to join your father. May you and Second Young Master Chu live in harmony and happiness, growing old together until your hair turns white. Do not grieve for me.

Cui Wan clenched the paper in her hand, crushing it into a wrinkled ball.

"Mother..." Her voice was hoarse beyond recognition. "How could you be so foolish... I... I was going to bring you over to enjoy a good life... how could you...?"

Lady Li and Cui Hong came chasing in again.

"Servants!" Cui Hong pointed at Yang Xiu's body. "Throw this old thing out! Dying in my Cui residence-what rotten luck!"

The servants exchanged glances, not daring to move.

"What are you standing there for? Throw her out!" Cui Hong shouted in fury.

The servants had barely taken a step forward when Changfeng blocked their way.

She said nothing, merely standing there and sweeping a cold gaze over them.

The servants recoiled a step in fright.

Cui Hong's face turned livid with rage. "You... you lot..."

Just then, a commotion came from outside, and a servant stumbled in, his face deathly pale.

"E-Eldest Young Master! Outside... Second Young Master Chu is here!"

Cui Hong's expression changed instantly, and Lady Li's face went white too.

Chu Moqi.

The cripple who had taken their Cui family to court and caused Eldest Cui and Third Cui to be beheaded.

He was here.

The sound of wheels rolling over the road drew closer.

Chu Moqi appeared in the doorway, his back ramrod straight. His gaze passed over everyone and settled on Cui Wan.

Wanwan knelt there, her face streaked with tears, her body trembling violently.

He looked toward the bed. Yang Xiu lay there quietly, utterly motionless.

Chu Moqi understood everything.

Cui Hong and Lady Li huddled in a corner, not daring even to breathe loudly.

Chu Moqi swept his gaze over their faces, then looked away. He merely turned his wheelchair toward Changfeng. "Changfeng! Take my mother-in-law back to the marquis's residence."

Then he wheeled himself to Cui Wan's side. Bending down, he reached out and gently clasped her icy hand.

"Wanwan. Let's go home."

Cui Wan raised her head, looked at him through tear-blurred eyes, and nodded.

Changfeng stepped forward and carefully lifted Yang Xiu's body into her arms. Yue Niang followed behind, weeping all the way back to the marquis's residence.

Yang Xiu was given a very dignified funeral.

The marquis's residence paid for everything, observing all the standards due to the family of an in-law: coffin and outer casket, mourning hall, religious rites-not one thing was left out. Tang Xiang personally oversaw the arrangements, seeing to every detail inside and out.

Only Cui Wan knelt before the spirit tablet from beginning to end, weeping until she was a wreck.

Her eyes were swollen like two peaches, and her voice was so hoarse she could barely speak. No matter who tried to console her, it was no use. She simply knelt there, simply wept. Yue Niang stayed beside her, shedding tears with her. Several times, she tried to help her up to rest, but Cui Wan gently pulled free each time.

Chu Moqi did not try to persuade her.

He merely stayed beside her every day, sitting in his wheelchair and watching her quietly. When she cried, he handed her a handkerchief. When she grew tired from kneeling, he reached out to support her. When she did not want to talk, he remained silent.

Chu Moqi knew she was hurting.

Her father was gone, and now her mother was gone too. All within a few short days-anyone would have found it unbearable. Just as back then... when Chu Rong and Chu Molei had died in battle, and he had been crippled...

It was impossible to accept all at once...

Tang Xiang came several times, holding Cui Wan's hand and speaking to her at length. Cui Wan listened and nodded, but her tears kept falling. Tang Xiang sighed and said no more, merely instructing the kitchen to stew nourishing soups and send them over every day.

Outside, however, the rumors spread ever more fiercely.

At first, they circulated only in the streets and markets. Later, even the women of some official households began whispering about them at their gatherings. What they said grew uglier and uglier-

"I heard that Cui Wan was... by several thugs on East Street."

"Exactly. When Second Young Master Chu went to rescue her, her clothes were torn to shreds."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. How could she ever show her face again?"

"Well, Second Young Master Chu didn't mind. He took her home."

"Didn't mind? Who knows? Maybe he was pretending."

"True enough. A cripple should count himself lucky to have a wife at all. What right does he have to be picky?"

These rumors were like a tide in the shadows, rising little by little, washing over the threshold of the marquis's residence, washing over the servants' ears, washing over Qiaoju's and Changfeng's expressions.

Qiaoju heard them several times and stamped her feet in fury, rushing out to berate people. Yet when she returned afterward, she did not dare tell Cui Wan. She only dared speak secretly to Changfeng.

Changfeng listened coldly and said nothing.

That day, Chu Moqi spent the entire morning in his study, unable to shake a sense of unease.

Wanwan had cried so terribly these past few days. She had barely eaten anything yesterday, and he had heard that the breakfast Qiaoju brought her that morning had been carried back untouched again.

He wheeled himself toward Cui Wan's room.

The door stood ajar.

He knocked.

"Wanwan?"

There was no response.

He knocked again, raising his voice a little.

"Wanwan?"

Still, there was no response.

Chu Moqi's heart suddenly clenched.

He reached out and pushed open the door. When he clearly saw the scene inside...

Chu Moqi's pupils abruptly contracted...