The Ruined Brocades

The madams and young ladies from every branch left with their beautiful brocades, thoroughly pleased. Li Weiyang stayed behind. Every afternoon, she would brew a pot of tea for the Old Madam.

The Old Madam was very interested in Li Weiyang’s life before, and would often casually ask how she had lived.

Li Weiyang merely spoke lightly of the amusing things that had happened while she lived with the Li family, but the Old Madam shook her head. “Third Miss, you haven’t told me the truth.”

Li Weiyang fixed her clear, bright eyes on the Old Madam. After a moment, she asked, “Old Madam, do you really want to hear the truth?”

The Old Madam nodded. “The truth is exactly what I want to hear.”

Li Weiyang took a deep breath. If the other party wanted to investigate, they could always uncover what had happened; there was no need to hide it. “I stayed with the Li family until I was seven. When no one from the Chancellor’s residence came to take me back, they sent me to the Zhou family in the countryside. The Zhou family’s matriarch, Madam Liu, was cruel and often refused to feed me. When I was little, I didn’t know any better, so I’d sneak into the kitchen to steal food. Madam Liu caught me and beat me badly.” Li Weiyang rolled up her sleeve, revealing the scars on her elbow. “I have them here, on my back, and on my thighs, too.”

The Old Madam stared at her in shock, unable to imagine it. “Didn’t you tell her your biological father was the Chancellor?”

Li Weiyang smiled. She knew the Old Madam wouldn’t believe her, but it was all true. “I told Madam Liu through tears that my father was an important official in the capital, but she spat in my face. I lived with the Zhou family for six years. In summer, mosquitoes bit me so badly I couldn’t sleep; in winter, my room was like an ice cellar. The Zhou family’s younger daughter rode me like a horse until both my hands and knees were scraped raw. I did rough work, mending and sewing, until my fingers were full of needle pricks and my feet were covered in chilblains.” Li Weiyang’s voice was not loud, and her expression was not sorrowful. She didn’t mention the times she had nearly been beaten to death, but her understated words still carried a clear sadness, grief, and helplessness. The Old Madam and Nanny Luo listened, stunned.

The Old Madam instinctively looked at Weiyang’s small hands. She drew them over and gently rubbed them, only then noticing the faint scars on her pale skin—so inconspicuous that she had never noticed them before.

Nanny Luo shook her head. The young ladies of the Chancellor’s residence all lived in luxury and were cherished in every way, yet Third Miss had endured such a life. The Chancellor’s blood ran in her veins, and still she had been abused by...