Shangguan Ke couldn't understand why she was in such a state when she had been fine that morning. He wanted to know the truth, but everyone he looked at lowered their heads to avoid his gaze.
They felt guilty, was Shangguan Ke's first thought. Knowing they wouldn't tell him the truth without his father's consent, and to save their own skins, he ran to his father's study like a madman.
However, he was blocked at the door and told that his father was out and he should go back. No matter how others tried to persuade him, Shangguan Ke insisted on waiting outside the door until midnight.
He replayed the day's events again and again. He knew without a doubt that his mother's death was suspicious. The masters of the Shangguan family all knew, only hiding it from him. They said that a man should not shed tears easily, but at this moment, his tears were like a broken string of beads, unstoppable.
At some point, Old Master Shangguan silently appeared before him and said coldly, "Go back, your mother died of illness."
"The symptoms on her face clearly indicate poisoning," Shangguan Ke said to him with grief and indignation.
"I remember your grandmother raised you, right? You've been busy with your studies these past few days and aren't very clear about things. Your mother had been ill for a long time and could no longer get out of bed. No one wanted this to happen, but she died of illness, and with the will to die," Old Master Shangguan sighed and said faintly.
Shangguan Ke opened his mouth to say something, but ultimately swallowed his words. If he hadn't seen her the previous night, if he hadn't sent people to check on her condition, he might have believed his father's words and felt guilty for not expressing his concern for her, making her lose the courage to live in this world. Clearly, the hope that had appeared on her face last night was not fake, and her physical condition improving this morning was not fake either. What did that mean? It meant someone had taken her life.
Shangguan Ke returned to his courtyard in a daze, his mind exceptionally clear. He wanted to avenge his mother but was powerless. He angrily punched the wall, not caring that his hand was bleeding.
He thought of how his grandmother had always doted on him. The next morning, he eagerly went to pay his respects and ask her about the events of the previous day.
To his surprise, his loving grandmother's attitude changed in an instant. "I heard that you insisted on questioning your father for the truth yesterday. I assume your father has already told you the answer. What do you mean by coming to me today to ask again? Don't you believe him?"
"That's not what I meant. A healthy person suddenly gone, and she was my own mother. It's not too much for me to understand the cause of her death," Shangguan Ke said, holding back his tears, somewhat defiantly.
"Are you blaming all of us? As expected, you're an ungrateful wretch." With that, she stopped looking at him and turned her attention to her other two grandsons.
Shangguan Ke felt a chill run through him. Were all those years of grandmother-grandson affection fake? Or did she only like him because he was a male heir of the Shangguan family, and when she had other grandsons, she immediately forgot about him?
Powerless in the mansion, Shangguan Ke could only watch helplessly as they hastily buried his mother.
From then on, he became an invisible person in the mansion. Everyone treated him with cold indifference, as if he wasn't there. The servants in the mansion were good at fawning over the powerful, and his daily necessities immediately deteriorated significantly. Sometimes, they were even pocketed by others. He endured all of this silently, as it was insignificant compared to the pain of losing his mother.
Lu Yuntai noticed the young master's silence. She wanted to speak up several times but was afraid of causing trouble. Her unease had already been noticed by Shangguan Ke.
One day, Lu Yuntai was strolling with her personal maid to a secluded area when she suddenly remembered she had forgotten something and sent the maid back to get it. This brief moment of solitude was seized by the observant Shangguan Ke.
Seeing Shangguan Ke suddenly appear before her, Lu Yuntai was startled. Looking at his serious expression, she guessed what he was here for.
She quickly looked around. Seeing that there was no one nearby, she said nervously, "Young Master specifically came to see me. I assume there's something you need."
"I won't beat around the bush. When Father passed away, Auntie was in the mansion. I assume she knows something. Please tell me, Auntie. I swear to heaven that what we discuss today will never be leaked. Otherwise, I shall die a terrible death," Shangguan Ke said, looking at her intently.
"It's not that I don't want to tell you, but I still have to live in this mansion. If they find out I leaked the information, I probably wouldn't be able to leave the Shangguan family and would end up in that graveyard like your mother," Lu Yuntai said to him with some sympathy. She hadn't interacted much with Madam, but she could feel that she was a kind woman.
"No matter when or in what situation, I will not betray you. Please tell me, Auntie." After he finished speaking, he solemnly knelt down and kowtowed to her. Lu Yuntai quickly helped him up. Looking at his sincere eyes, she felt that at least Madam's son was very filial.
"I can't say too much. You just need to know that your mother blocked someone's path, so naturally, she couldn't be tolerated," Lu Yuntai said, sharing her guess. On that day, she had indeed heard some commotion and intuitively felt that something terrible had happened. Relying on her martial arts skills, she had secretly slipped into Madam's courtyard and overheard some things by the back wall, which shocked her worldview.
Afraid of letting out a gasp, she quickly covered her mouth. She hadn't expected to discover such a shocking secret. Seizing the opportunity when no one was paying attention, she slipped away. Not long after, she heard the news of Madam's death.
The two parted ways quickly. When Shangguan Ke was alone, he remained lost in thought for a long time. He never expected the truth to be so cruel. He didn't believe his grandmother and father didn't know, which meant they had conspired to kill her. Su Dan Novel Network
The thought of her, in despair and pain, being forced to drink medicine, waiting for him to save her, made his heart ache to the point of suffocation.
He endured it time and again, tossing and turning in bed for many nights. Two months after his mother's death, Old Master Shangguan announced a grand banquet to celebrate Qian Han's elevation to the position of main wife, and Shangguan Ke finally broke.
He saw the mansion decorated with festive lanterns and banners, everyone in high spirits, and people unrestrainedly praising the new madam for being less rigid. His heart felt as if it were being cut by a knife. They had forgotten how his mother had taken care of them when she managed the household. These people were so grateful for mere small favors, and with the new madam's temperament, he believed hardship was yet to come.
On that day, the mansion was exceptionally lively. Every time he recalled his mother lying alone in the cold earth, forming a stark contrast with the present moment, he felt sorrow for his mother. She had served his grandmother for more than a decade and acted with propriety in the mansion, yet instead of receiving a word of praise, she was impatiently asked to make way for someone else.
Anger consumed his reason. He secretly tucked a sharp dagger into his robes.