22 The New Young Misses of Guo Estate |Part 1| (1/2)

”You-you both are my granddaughters?”

The Old General looked overcome with emotions, shock and disbelief being the most predominant ones.

XieRong noticed that everyone had been stunned into silence. She went to her aunt, whom she had come to know over the month.

”Aunt there are too many ears in this room. Me and my sister would like to discuss this privately.”

HuiLiang understood immediately. She ordered all the servants to leave the area and closed the doors.

XieRong felt for presences. She had to concentrate a lot to see if there were any hidden ones. She still hadn't mastered the art of finding hidden presences.

”What about the people hiding in the trees and the one on the rooftop?” She asked, locating a few people who had hidden their presences very well.

She stopped searching when she felt her head start to hurt.

HuiLiang was surprised. How did this little girl know? Even she couldn't figure out where the shadow guards were hidden.

”You don't need to worry,” the old general Guo replied, when he'd let the realisation settle in,”they are all blood bound to me.”

”Now, tell me, where is Fa Hua?”

XieRong sighed. She would be reliving the pain of recalling how her mother died all over again. It was because of the pain during the treatment and nightmares about her mother's death that XieRong had learned to meditate.

She had long come to terms with the fact that her mother was no more but imagining the pain her mother had gone through that night was terrifying.

Walking over to the old general, XieRong handed him the letters her mother had written for them.

”These are the letters our mother wrote for us. I think with this you will be able to get the gist of what I'm about to tell you.”

After the General was done reading both the letters, the first thing he felt was loss and extreme grief. He had parted with his daughter on bad terms and now he couldn't mend what he'd broken. His wife had been right, hisstubbornness had cost him greatly; his relationship with his daughter.

The second thing the old general felt bubbling inside him was rage, mad, seething, unrestrained rage. He wanted to tear Fa Boqin apart with his bare hands.

The third thing the old general felt was disbelief. Hadn't his investigation said that his daughter had run away with another man? Then how could she have died! She must be alive somewhere, happy with the man she loves.

The Old General let out an immense pressure in the room.

”You dare come here and lie!” he shouted, slamming the wooden table next to him.

XieRong felt her bones grow heavy as though they were made up of iron.

She found it hard to breath.

”Father! Stop it, you're hurting them,” her uncle said, rushing up to her. She saw that her aunt hadn't moved from her place.

”Fei...Hong,” she grit out to her uncle,”pro...tect FeiHong.”

XieRong kept standing up with all her might and all the will she possessed. She refused to bow down to the man who had let his daughter down because of his stubbornness. Who refused to believe his daughter had passed away just so he had a chance at repentance.

”You're a stubborn old fool!” XieRong shouted. Her vision had started to grow blurry. And blood dripped down her nose.

”You are in denial of your daughter's death just so you can hope to gain repentance from her? Your daughter- no, our mother is gone! Don't make the same mistake with us that you made with her! Don't make me hate you more than I already do for helping Fa LiHua murder my mother!”

The pressure lifted. XieRong spat out blood and stumbled.

XieRong could see FeiHong and her aunt rush towards her from a distance. The last thing she heard was her sister shouting her name.

”XieRong Jie!”

Then everything faded to black.

XieRong didn't know where she was or what she was doing wherever she was. It was a small garden of sorts with flowers and herbs and and a small pond.

”XieRong, what made you come here?”

XieRong turned around. She couldn't believe her eyes.

”Mother, mother is that really you?”

The woman who looked like her mother smiled. It was a warm smile full of love. XieRong knew at once that this woman was her mother.

XieRong ran to the swing her mother sat on and threw her arms around her.

”Mother! Mother,” she cried as she buried her face in her mother's neck like she did when she was a child.

”Shh, XieRong, mother is here.”

”Mother, I thought you were gone. I thought you had left me!”

”My little dragon,” her mother said, pinching XieRong's nose,”how could I ever leave you alone. Don't you know you've always carried mother in your heart? Didn't mother tell you that she will be watching you from above?”