Chapter Eighteen: Watching Over the Spirit

Yu Shengsheng clearly remembered—the blood on the cloak belonged to Granny Wu.

When she wore the cloak to visit Granny Wu, Shen Zhiyuan had not yet brought the dog.

But did that matter?

No, it did not.

Yu Shengsheng gazed silently at Ruzhu, who twitched and wept, overwhelmed with remorse, as if she herself were enduring endless suffering at that very moment.

The torches flickering in the courtyard cast a pale light on Yu Shengsheng’s face, fragile and cold like porcelain.

The gazes of the crowd were like sharp blades, cutting into her heart again and again, leaving it shattered.

She sighed softly. Words were useless; just like a year ago, nothing could change the outcome.

Just as she was about to speak, hurried footsteps approached, rushing into the courtyard.

A shout shattered the stillness like thunder.

“Returning to the princess, Granny Wu has confessed—she killed your dog!”

Nanny Zhao, standing by the matriarch, entered the courtyard and shouted.

Su Zhiyi was taken aback. “Why?”

Yu Shengsheng’s voice rang out simultaneously: “Impossible!”

Granny Zhao glanced at her coldly, then spoke to Su Zhiyi with pity: “Princess, my condolences. Granny Wu had previously spilled soup on you and was punished by the matriarch; later she stole some sweets and was beaten. She believed all this was because of you, which bred resentment and led her to seek revenge.”

Su Zhiyi shook her head slightly, her hands trembling as she looked at the dog’s corpse, overwhelmed with sorrow and speechless.

Su Yanshu’s voice was as cold as ice: “Where is that old wicked servant now? Last time, the punishment was too lenient.”

“She knows she is guilty and knelt in the matriarch’s chamber. Since I feared she might disturb the matriarch, I had her temporarily detained in the ice room.”

The ice room was a special chamber in wealthy households for storing ice blocks used during summer.

Though it was summer, the temperature inside was as cold as winter.

Yu Shengsheng felt as if she had fallen into an icy abyss. Granny Wu’s wounds had not healed, her legs were weak, and now she was locked in the freezing ice room—what a terrible punishment!

Su Yanshu sneered coldly, glaring at Yu Shengsheng. “It’s hot in summer. Keeping her in the ice room is actually lenient! Such an ungrateful and resentful servant must pay with her life for Ayi’s dog.”

Yu Shengsheng’s heart clenched painfully, like a knife twisting inside. “No, no. I admit it. I killed the dog. It has nothing to do with Granny Wu.”

Su Yanshu glanced at her calf. “You? Aren’t you afraid of dogs? Just now, you swore it was not your fault and acted so wronged.”

Yu Shengsheng clenched her hands tightly. “I lied.”

“Say it again.”

“It’s me who lied. Punish or kill me as you see fit, Second Young Master. I have no complaints.” She paused. “Granny Wu is old. If she is killed, it might affect your reputation.”

Su Zhiyi raised her voice. “Sister, I know you care about Granny Wu, but how can you threaten Second Brother’s reputation?”

A chill flashed in Su Yanshu’s eyes.

His little sister once overheard people saying he was “the prince’s lackey,” “not very learned, just good at scheming and flattering,” and she had gotten into a public quarrel, her face flushed with anger.

He had comforted her, telling her not to take such words to heart.

But what did she say then? She said, “My Second Brother is the most learned and virtuous man under heaven, as pure as the clouds above.”

She even said his reputation was more important than her own life.

And now, she was threatening his reputation for the sake of some rural old woman.

Su Yanshu’s voice was calm but firm, like a steel wire tightening slowly around Yu Shengsheng’s heart.

“If you admit it, then you must bear the consequences.”

“Confess with sincerity. Snowball was a noble dog; since it died unjustly, bury it with honor and keep vigil for it overnight.”

Yu Shengsheng looked at him in disbelief.

He wanted her to keep vigil for the dog?

Madam Su scolded, “Yanshu, what are you saying? How can you ask your sister to keep vigil for a dog?”

“What kind of propriety is that?”

Su Yanshu’s voice was even but unyielding. “Mother, don’t forget, Snowball was a gift from Shen Zhiyuan to Ayi. It was a noble dog that fought in battle and once bit an enemy general to death.”

“If the Shen family learns of this, it will be hard to explain.”

Madam Su was stunned. When she looked at Yu Shengsheng again, though reluctant, she no longer argued.

“Shengsheng, sorry for the trouble.”

“If you dare to do it, then you must take responsibility. There’s no grievance here.” Su Yanshu stepped forward and looked Yu Shengsheng in the eyes. “If you want Granny Wu released sooner, do as I say.”

Yu Shengsheng stood rooted, surrounded by the night breeze swirling from all directions.

Summer winds were usually warm, but she felt only bone-chilling cold, inch by inch seeping into her very being.

She forced down a trembling body and swallowed the metallic taste of blood in her mouth.

“Fine.”

The matter was settled, and preparations quickly began.

Suppressing a strong urge to vomit and the impulse to throw the dog away, her fingers trembling, Yu Shengsheng placed the dog into a small nanmu wood coffin and carefully closed the lid herself.

In the ancestral hall, incense and candles burned, filling the air with fragrant smoke.

Everyone else had left, leaving Yu Shengsheng alone before the bronze basin, repeatedly throwing paper money into it.

Her face was expressionless, not a single tear falling, her movements mechanical and repetitive.

She was forced to admit to something she had never done, over and over again.

What was even more ridiculous was that she had to keep vigil and burn paper money for a dog.

Granny Zhou dragged her legs over and took the paper money from her hands.

“Miss, please rest. I’ll take over.”

Golden Leopard snatched all the paper money. “Burning paper for a dog—does it think money grows on trees? This is too much.”

The flames leapt up, reflecting in the darkness of Yu Shengsheng’s eyes.

This humiliation would also be etched deep in her heart.

The night passed, and dawn broke.

Nanny Zhou had heard news—Granny Wu was finally released back to the courtyard. Yu Shengsheng finally allowed herself a momentary sigh of relief.

Her tense, worried heart loosened slightly, and only then did she feel the soreness all over her body.

Nanny Zhou helped her stand and stretch, when the sound of a wheelchair came.

Su Zhiyi looked at the dark bruises under her eyes and felt a pang of pity. “Sister, don’t blame me for not pleading for you last night. You know Second Brother’s temper. Though he is a scholar, he is firm and decisive. If I had pleaded, he would only have been angrier.”

So she knew after all.

Yu Shengsheng lowered her eyes, a sneer flashing in them. Whenever Su Zhiyi had once “pleaded” on her behalf with apparent kindness, it only made things worse.

At first, she bore no ill will towards Su Zhiyi. As Su Yanshu said, Su Zhiyi herself was just a child when they had been exchanged, powerless to change their fates.

Though not her biological sister, Su Zhiyi was brave, clever, and had military merits. Yu Shengsheng had thought her an excellent girl she could get along with.

But it was all wishful thinking.

No, she was no longer willing.

Seeing Yu Shengsheng silent, Su Zhiyi reached out, handing her something like a scholar’s sword into her palm.

“This hairpin—I recall it was once worn by Nanny Zhao years ago, then given as a reward to Granny Wu. Now it has become the murder weapon for Snowball.”

She raised her hand, and the hairpin traced a silver arc before falling steadily into the bronze basin.