CH 44

Just a hair tie?

Winter is already halfway over and the holiday season has arrived.

Despite it being New Year’s Eve, Murong Can is still practicing at the martial arts arena while Murong Yan chooses to drink alone in her courtyard, not wanting to deal with others’ hypocritical attitudes.

As she sips on the warm wine, she can still feel the coldness in her body.

While looking at the neatly arranged black hair ties on the table, Murong Yan feels a sourness in her throat, as if flames were tearing it apart, even though she is only drinking clear liquor.

Although dressed in a bright red coat with no black in sight, Murong Yan opts out of joining the noisy crowd outside to celebrate.

She just doesn’t want to admit it.

It appears as if wearing any color other than black is akin to mourning for the deceased.

She is simply unwilling to acknowledge it.

Being a woman with an eidetic memory since childhood, she can still recall the feeling of being embraced in warm arms by Ming Qin at the same time last year, with his steady shoulders providing her with support.

The woman also remembers the way their breaths intertwined, and how Ming Qin gazed at her with affection while gently caressing her cheek and praising her beauty in a soft voice.

The image of Ming Qin, with a flushed face drunkenly professing her love for her and promising never to leave, still lingers in her mind from time to time.

Murong Yan’s heart is heavy with pain.

At that moment, she also made a solemn vow to become the most important person in Ah Qin’s life.

But now, everything seems to be in disarray.

She finishes the drink in her cup and attempts to pour more, only to discover that the jade bottle is already empty.

There are five or six wine jars of varying appearances rolling on the ground.

Suddenly, Murong Yan erupts into laughter.

She covers her face, as if mocking the absurd and merciless nature of the world, and also ridiculing herself for making careless wishes.

A wave of immense exhaustion washes over her, threatening to shatter the woman’s once-proud demeanor and delicate spine.

I can’t bear it any longer.

Just like a camel carrying a heavy load of gold in the desert, even the slightest additional weight, as light as a feather, can cause it to collapse with a loud thud.

Exhausted and worn-out, she falls into a deep slumber.

Tears, which haven’t yet dried, still stain her face.

Midnight.

Delicate snowflakes are fluttering outside.

In the main hall, Prince Yu has concluded the reunion dinner and is celebrating New Year’s Eve with his concubine Liu, Murong Wen, and his son; three generations united in happiness.

The atmosphere is jovial and peaceful.

Murong Fu, still a child, succumbs to fatigue and falls asleep with a gentle murmur in Lady Liu’s embrace.

Approaching from a distance, a disordered sound of footsteps disturbs the group’s drinking and chatting.

Murong Yan bursts into the room, barefoot, with a flushed face, disheveled clothes, and her red cloak slipping off her shoulders. Her usual composed demeanor is far from sight as she walks towards the dazed young boy, ignoring the surprised expressions of the others.

Grabbing the boy’s collar, she asks in a low voice, “Where is it?”

Seeing the boy still in a daze, Murong Yan exerts her slender arms and pulls him off Lady Liu’s lap. She raises her voice and asks again, “Where is my thing?”

“Yue… Yue’er.” Prince Yu watches with an abnormal expression and speaks slowly, “If Fu’er did something wrong, talk to him nicely, don’t use force against the child.”

Murong Yan took a deep breath, trying to suppress her anger and restlessness. With a steady gaze, she looked down at the boy and explained, “When I woke up, I discovered that the priceless hair tie that the late Emperor gave me was missing. People said they saw you in my courtyard last night. Did you take it?”

“It’s impossible!” Murong Wen became flustered upon hearing about the lost item, “Fu’er, did you take the hair tie that was given by the Emperor from Auntie’s courtyard?”

“No, I didn’t!”

Murong Fu, who was being dragged, cried out with a flushed face, “I swear I didn’t! I didn’t take the hair tie! I only took a black hair tie!”

Hearing this, the others breathed a sigh of relief.

Murong Yan’s lips curled into a sneer, and her face darkened even further. “I never imagined that there was a thief in Prince Yu’s Mansion,” she said with an undertone of anger.

Beneath her hoarse voice was a brewing rage as she gripped the boy’s collar and took a few steps back. “So, where is my hair tie?”

But as the boy remained dazed, Murong Yan’s emotions boiled over as she demanded, “The hair tie that you stole from me, where is it?”

“I…I don’t know,” Murong Fu stammered, shrinking back in fear at the woman’s intense gaze.

“You don’t know?” the woman repeated, lowering her head and releasing the boy.

As everyone breathed a sigh of relief, Murong Yan’s sudden action shocked them all. She grabbed Murong Fu by the neck and forcefully slammed him against the door frame, gritting her teeth. “Are you telling me you don’t know where the hair tie you stole is?”

As her knuckles tightened, the boy struggled to catch his breath. The others were quick to react:

“Fu’er!”

“Release him!”

“Yue’er, what are you doing? It’s just a hair tie.”

There was a commotion among the group, and even Prince Yu shouted in anger.

“Just a hair tie?” Murong Yan repeated with a light tone, but she still firmly gripped the boy’s neck, glancing at the panicked group, “All I have in my hands is a life.”

Despite her calm voice, her tone carried an undercurrent of tension.

“Think carefully.” She looked down at the boy, whose face had turned pale, and warned in a low voice with a blank expression, “Think carefully about where you took my hair tie.”

There was a flicker of madness in her eyes.

“I… I….” Murong Fu’s head spun almost suffocatingly fast.

At first, he only wanted to get revenge on this unfamiliar aunt. Despite his father’s repeated warnings not to provoke her, why did he, who was always so favored, have to be respectful to this arrogant and disabled woman?

And why did she have to take over the big courtyard where he usually played as soon as she arrived? It had always been his since birth!

Peeking through the crack in the door, he saw that the woman was obsessed with that shabby rope, which made him sneak in to teach her a lesson. That rope was nothing special, and he didn’t even know where he had casually thrown it into some pond.

“The pond…” the boy struggled to squeeze out the words.

Murong Yan’s grip on the boy’s neck loosened slightly. “A pond? Which pond?” she asked.

Gasping for air, Murong Fu hesitated before replying, “It’s probably…the fish pond in the main courtyard…”

As soon as she heard his answer, Murong Yan abruptly released him without looking back. The boy lay on the ground, still struggling to catch his breath, while she headed towards the fish pond.

Walking barefoot on the snow, she took each step with difficulty, determined to reach the pond.

When she finally arrived, she saw that the pond was shallow, but a thin layer of ice had formed on the surface due to the cold of the night.

Without hesitation, Murong Yan stepped onto the ice and broke it. Her bright red clothes were soaked with cold water, making her feel heavy. However, she continued moving forward until half of her body was submerged in the water.

She stretched out her hand, which had never before touched spring water, and anxiously stirred up the mud in the pond on this snowy and icy day.

Her delicate fingers were scratched by stones, and tiny drops of blood seeped out. However, she didn’t know whether it was because her hands were numb from the cold or because she was lost in thought and completely unaware of the wound.

Ah Qin.

It’s my fault.

I lost your item.

I’m sorry.

I also lost you.

Ah Qin.

I’m sorry.

Murong Yan struggled to keep her balance as the muddy water pool caused her prosthetic leg to sink deep. Despite falling several times, she persisted in her search for the lost hair tie.

The cold wind blew on her wet body, causing her lips to turn pale and her skin to lose its color.

She continued to dig through the mud, overturning the rotten lotus roots and unearthing the stench of fish bones buried underneath.

As time passed, Murong Yan’s body began to give out, and her consciousness started to fade away. But she refused to give up until she found what she was looking for.

Ming Qin’s name echoed in her mind as she fought to stay conscious.

Ah Qin.

I really miss you.