Chapter 46 A Chain of Deadly Traps

Because Chu Xi had walked out of the Prime Minister's estate safe and sound, Chu Yong knew there was no longer any hope of returning to the capital.

Therefore, Qian Mengyun's backup plan to become the mistress of the Marquis's estate was thoroughly shattered.

Thus, the only path left for her was to marry Mo Zixiao, and no one would be allowed to stand in her way of becoming a legitimate wife of the third rank.

Dawn was just breaking.

The eldest daughter of the Qian family, Daniu, who had toiled through the night on embroidery without sleep, rubbed her eyes.

Supporting the entire Qian family through her sole embroidery work, she was utterly exhausted from stitching day and night.

Suddenly, her bedroom door was violently pushed open by her mother, Madam Xu.

"Stop embroidering and come with me quickly." With those words, Madam Xu snatched the embroidery work out of her daughter's hands, grabbed her, and dragged her outside as if fleeing for her life.

With a heavy thud, Daniu's body—stiff and numb from maintaining the exact same posture through the night—failed to obey her commands. Pulled forcefully by Madam Xu, she collapsed and fell straight to the ground.

"What are you dawdling for? There's no time left," urged Qian Kun impatiently from outside the house.

"Mother, where are you dragging me in such a hurry? The work in my hands has to be finished by the day after tomorrow. If we delay, we won't be able to afford the compensation."

Madam Xu was in no state to care about such matters now. She dragged Daniu outward, completely disregarding her daughter's newly bruised and injured body.

Qian Kun, unable to wait any longer, entered the room, hoisted Daniu up upon seeing her condition, and threw her onto a pre-prepared handcart.

"Father, Mother, it hurts..." she wailed, tears streaming down her face from the pain.

Yet the parents before her completely ignored her cries as if deaf, single-mindedly intent on hauling her away at once.

The couple pushed the handcart carrying their eldest daughter—the very person who used to sustain the entire household—and hurried all the way to the Marquis's estate.

"Lord Marquis, I have brought the eldest miss to you." Qian Kun's hands trembled incessantly, terrified that the Marquis of Chu might go back on his word.

Eldest miss? Daniu turned her head and looked at her father in utter bewilderment.

"Father, who is the eldest miss?"

Qian Kun hastily waved his hands at her. "Eldest Miss, please do not call this humble wretch your father anymore. Lord Marquis and the Madam are your true biological parents."

"That's right. Back then, because of special circumstances, the Marquis's wife and I gave birth at the same time, and the eldest miss was mistakenly switched and raised by us. Now is the time for everyone to return to where they belong," Madam Xu explained to her.

Daniu stood frozen in shock. Before she could even react, she suddenly heard a shrill, piercing cry.

"Father, Mother, you've finally come to fetch me!" With that, Chu Mengyun anxiously clutched two bundles and hurled herself into Madam Xu's embrace, weeping uncontrollably.

The Marquis of Chu gazed at this daughter he had personally raised for sixteen years, who was now calling someone else "Father" and "Mother," feeling a deep, agonizing ache in his heart.

However, upon seeing that she looked as though she had been cast from the exact same mold as Madam Xu, he averted his gaze and waved his hand, signaling that they were free to leave.

The Marchioness of Chu, Madam Liu, wiped away her tears with a handkerchief and pointed at Daniu, saying, "My lord, quickly give her a name."

The Marquis looked at Daniu, who was still kneeling blankly on the ground, and casually uttered, "Let her be called Chu Xi."

Madam Liu nodded. "Someone come, help the Eldest Miss change her attire. Do not miss the auspicious hour."

Watching her biological parents walk away with another young girl without even turning their heads, Daniu finally felt a sense of reality, realizing this was not a dream.

Before she could even open her mouth to speak, she was already hoisted up by half a dozen maids and matrons and carried away.

Just like that, without any explanation permitted, a set of blindingly crimson bridal robes was draped over her body.

The day had fully broken.

Dressed in bridal robes of a piercing, vivid red, Chu Xi sat alone beside the dying Grand Commandant.

Everything before her felt as unreal as a dream, especially to someone who, just last night, had been toiling away without sleep at the Qian household to keep her family fed.

"Madam, we should prepare ourselves," said the sole remaining young manservant of the Grand Commandant's estate, his voice choked with tears.

Chu Xi was momentarily stunned. Looking at the servant, Wang Mu, she asked, "Madam, me?" She had never possessed a proper name; the Qian family had always refused to give her one, simply calling her Daniu.

Indeed, until last night, she was merely Daniu. Yet within the span of a single morning, she had become the eldest miss of the Marquis's estate, named Chu Xi, and wedded to the Grand Commandant.

Wang Mu naturally knew she was also a person of tragic fate, but with matters having reached this juncture, they could only tend to the immediate crisis.

"Madam, judging by his condition, the Grand Commandant is not going to last much longer. We must prepare for his funeral."

Hearing this, Chu Xi stood frozen for a moment before turning her gaze to the Grand Commandant, who was lying on the bed gasping for air in heavy, labored breaths.

Yet it felt as though she had only just married him—they had not even performed the formal wedding bows—so why were they already preparing for his funeral?

At this thought, Chu Xi could no longer hold back her tears, and they rolled down her cheeks.

Seeing her in this state, Wang Mu could only sigh. It was not just the Grand Commandant; lying outside was a gravely ill maidservant sent along as part of the dowry.

Chu Xi gradually ceased her crying.

She lamented, "Now, apart from this vast, empty mansion, the Commandant's estate has been completely stripped bare by confiscation. The Marquis's estate refuses to grant me a dowry, and besides the terminally ill dowry-maid forcefully shoved upon us by the palace, I have nothing left. What do you expect me to use to prepare for his funeral?"

Wang Mu let out a bitter sigh. "The Emperor forbade the Madam from bringing a dowry precisely to force you into burial with him. Confiscating his property while leaving his noble title intact is entirely intended to let the people of Ping State watch how the Grand Commandant is driven to death by humiliation and resentment."

The transition from Daniu to Chu Xi had taken a mere two hours, yet she forced herself to calmly accept reality.

At this thought, Chu Xi stood up and resolutely declared, "Right now, only these bridal robes can be pawned."

Wang Mu paused, clenching his fists. "But besides these bridal robes, Madam, you won't have a single change of clothes, and the weather is growing colder."

Chu Xi offered a desolate smile. "Raising silver is to prepare for the Grand Commandant's funeral; how could I possibly continue to wear this bright red attire?"

With that, she turned away, changed out of the bridal robes, and shortly returned to hand them over to Wang Mu.

"Go pawn them. If possible, set aside a little silver to hire a physician for the maid outside."

Wang Mu nodded. "Rest assured, Madam." Clasping the garments to his chest, he dashed out of the Grand Commandant's estate.

Scarcely had he left when Grand Commandant Li Dan—who had inherited his title at eighteen and held it for merely a year—took his final breath, passing away with endless grievances in his heart.

With empty, hollow eyes staring at his corpse, Chu Xi finally understood why her parents had been in such frantic haste to send her back to the Marquis's estate to acknowledge her lineage.

In his youth, Li Dan had been ignorant and once offended the Seventh Prince. Little did he know that the Seventh Prince was narrow-minded and vengeful; the very first thing he did upon ascending the throne was to exact revenge.

Li Dan was naturally frail, sickly, and exceedingly timid. Following the successive deaths of his parents, he suffered further humiliation and the confiscation of his estate by the Emperor. Being kind-hearted and magnanimous, and knowing he could not escape his doom, he had resolutely dismissed all the servants and attendants from his household so as not to implicate others.

Yet only Wang Mu, who had grown up alongside him since childhood, refused to abandon him.

Upon learning that Li Dan was critically ill, the Emperor had issued yet another imperial decree, forcing the Marquis's estate—which held a marriage alliance with him—to immediately perform the wedding rites to sweep away bad luck with joyous events for Li Dan.