Chapter 229 - The Mysterious Past and the Uncertain Facts (1/2)

Chapter 229 The Mysterious Past and the Uncertain Facts

“Elder Sister He Xia, are you feeling better?” Mo Xuetong held her hand and took her pulse.

“I am fine, Miss. I need to see Madam immediately. I have something to tell her.” He Xia said firmly. Then, she sighed heavily and slowly calmed down.

“Elder Sister He Xia, Mother has already passed away.” Mo Xuetong said slowly, rubbing He Xia’s icy cold hands as she looked at her. Her mother had already been dead for two years. He Xia had never returned to the manor but had drifted about outside. Why was this so?

“Madam is gone?” He Xia was stunned. It was as if she could not understand what Mo Xuetong had said. She held Mo Xuetong’s hand and asked her the same question repeatedly.

“My mother passed away two years ago. She passed away shortly after you left.” Mo Xuetong’s eyes filled with sadness. She could almost see her mother’s smile when she looked at her mother’s ex-maid. She bit her lips softly as tears filled her eyes.

It had been two years. She had been left behind in Cloud City after her mother’s death. The people in the Qin Manor had never allowed anyone to mention her mother. They only said that it was bad luck. So whenever she thought of her mother and wanted to pray to her mother, she could only do it secretly. There had never been anyone who cared about her mother. How could she not feel sad upon hearing how emotional He Xia was when she spoke of her mother?

“Madam is gone. No. No, that can’t be. Even though Madam was ill, she can’t just pass away like that. The physician said that she would be fine with some rest.” He Xia held Mo Xuetong’s hand anxiously. It was as if she was searching for a different answer from her. How could her Madam be gone?

Madam was so gentle, so kind. She was always smiling. How could she be dead?

“This can’t be true. It can’t be true!”

“He Xia, Madam is truly gone. Not only is Madam gone, Ying Chun died in front of her memorial table and Xiang Qiu died of illness not long after. In the end, even Xue Dong went mad. You are the only one left of Madam’s four maids.” Mother Xu said. She was an elder in the manor and had been promoted to this job by the Madam. She used to be close with the Madam’s four personal maids and could not help but sigh when she saw how they had ended up.

“He Xia, why did you leave then? How was Mother’s health when you left?” Night had fallen and candles were lit in the room. Mo Xuetong’s face was equally pale under the light. Now that she had been allowed to live again, she had to find out what happened to her mother. She would make sure her mother received justice.

Her mother was beautiful and gentle in her memories. She had never offended anyone. Why would she die such mysterious circumstances!

He Xia seemed unable to accept what happened. She held Mo Xuetong’s hands and refused to let go. She muttered, “Ying Chun, Xiang Qiu, Xue Dong… How could they…”

“He Xia, don’t ask about this. Tell me first, what did Mother ask you to do. Why did we not know when you left? The people in the Manor all thought that you disappeared only after my mother’s death.” Mo Xuetong’s face was pale and her lips trembled slightly.

Her mother had passed away, and then, various things had happened to her four personal maids. No one brought the matter up again afterward. Then, it was as if everything were hidden in the mist. In her past life, she had not thought about the suspicious circumstances behind her mother’s death even until her own death. She had also never met He Xia. Mo Xuetong had struggled bitterly in the back courtyard and had never once suspected anything.

Yet now, there were some things that she could not help but feel suspicious about.

He Xia looked up and slowly let go of Mo Xuetong’s hand. She sat up, her eyes calmed down gradually. She took a cup of tea from Mo Lan and drank it before looking up at Mo Xuetong. She said, “Miss, Madam told me to come to the capital to check the accounts of Xiuning Workshop. That was why I left secretly.”

Xiuning Workshop? Mo Xuetong recalled the shop that was a dowry her mother had left her. She had gone to check it last time but it was just an ordinary shop. She did not find anything odd about it other than the fact that the shopkeeper seemed slightly soberer and steadier.

“Why did Mother want to check Xiuning Workshop’s accounts? Didn’t Mother ask you guys to check it only a few days ago?” Mo Xuetong could hear her own cold voice asking the question.

They only checked the accounts once a year but He Xia went to check it twice. It was just a little shop, was there a need to put in that much effort to travel such long distances to check the accounts again and again?!

He Xia did not expect Mo Xuetong to know about Xiuning Workshop and that she would know that He Xia had gone to check the accounts not too long ago. Since Miss already knew some things, there was no reason for her to hide any longer. While Madam was around, Madam was in charge, but now that Madam was no longer around, Miss was in charge. This was what Madam had told her over and over again back then.

“Miss, the accounts are fake. I came here to meet somebody. I will meet with that person every time I come to the capital using the accounts as an excuse. I will then bring things back for Madam.” He Xia told the truth.

“Who is it?” Mo Xuetong could not stay calm any longer. Her voice shook.

“I do not know who the person is either. That person would come alone every time we met in the backyard of Xiuning Workshop. It was a man. The maids stay in the room, and the man would leave some letters at the front. We just had to take the letter and bring it back to Madam. However, the man did not come on a schedule. That is why we had to wait in Xiuning Workshop for about a month sometimes.” He Xia recalled.

She knew that meeting the man was a matter of chance. She stayed in the room with Ying Chun that day. When they realized that someone was there, they did not dare to make a sound. They could not see anything in the dark and Madam had told them not to speak. They only had to wait inside. The two of them stayed in the room and saw the tall slender figure put down something before turning to leave. He Xia saw a pair of long black boots when he turned away.