Chapter 5: This Is Not My Ancestor

Yu Shengsheng slumped against the prayer mat, her body curled into a ball. Her eyes were half-closed, and she kept biting her lips. She was exhausted and famished; she had not had a drop of water since the previous day.

In her daze, she heard the sound of approaching footsteps, accompanied by voices. They were drawing closer.

She jolted awake, and almost by instinct, she knelt upright, folded her hands, and bowed her head.

Seeing her prostrate, Madam Su felt her eyes grow hot with tears. "Shengsheng, what are you doing..."

Nanny Wu steadied Madam Su and sighed. "Miss Sheng, you know full well that Madam dotes on you. Isn't this just making her feel worse?"

Su Yanshu snapped back to reality, jolted by the sight. He grabbed Yu Shengsheng by the shoulders. "Get up! Kneeling here and there—how many times do you intend to disgust us?"

Yu Shengsheng, her face pale, endured the pain and asked, "Second Young Master, what must I do to satisfy you?"

"You!" Su Yanshu saw her swaying, and the feel of her shoulder bones pressing against his hands shocked him. Why had she become so thin? She had clearly gained some weight during her first two years in the household. It had only been a year...

Su Zhiyi spoke up urgently, "Second Brother, let go! Younger sister is frail; she only just managed to nurse her health back. Unlike me, who has been falling down since childhood, how could she withstand such rough handling?"

It was true. When Shengsheng first arrived, she was as thin as a kitten, and he hadn't even dared to hold her wrist firmly while teaching her to write. But Zhiyi was different; Zhiyi had practiced martial arts and ridden horses since she was young, strong and brave. Yet, it was that very same strong girl who was now confined to a wheelchair.

Su Yanshu's momentary softness vanished. He gripped her harder. "I told you to kneel before your ancestors, yet you haven't reflected at all. This whole night has been a waste."

His gaze flicked to the floor and suddenly froze. Beside the prayer mat lay a small pool of liquid.

"What is that?"

Before Yu Shengsheng could answer, the anger in Su Yanshu's eyes deepened. "Su Shengsheng, can you not even show restraint in the presence of your ancestors?"

Yu Shengsheng’s face was deathly pale, cold sweat beading on her forehead, yet the stubbornness in her eyes did not waver. "Second Young Master, in the presence of the Su ancestors, you had best call me Yu Shengsheng. They have not yet acknowledged me."

Watching the defiance in her eyes and hearing her deny the surname "Su" once more, the fire in Su Yanshu’s heart became uncontrollable. When this sister first returned, she had been so sweet and obedient, saying it didn't matter if she couldn't enter the ancestral hall, as long as the family could be together. When she looked at him, her eyes had been filled with pure adoration.

She would clap her hands when he wrote the simplest characters or recited the most basic poems, saying, "Second Brother knows so much! I want to be just like you!"

How, because of one incident at the hunting grounds, had things devolved into this after only a year?

"Is it because you weren't allowed into the ancestral hall that you hold this grudge and resent us?" Su Yanshu grabbed her right wrist again. "Even if you were raised in the countryside and lack decorum and shame, did I not teach you during those two years?"

"Before the ancestral tablets, you dropped bowls and spilled soup—who gave you the audacity?"

Yu Shengsheng’s shoulder was still aching, and now her wrist was caught in Su Yanshu’s iron grip; she felt as if the bones were about to shatter. She looked at her right hand, which he was gripping so viciously—the same hand he had held so gently when teaching her to write. Back then, he had been so light, as if she were made of fragile porcelain that would break at a touch. But now, after her hand had been broken and reset, it was truly brittle, and yet Su Yanshu seemed eager to crush her again.

Her vision blurred with pain, and her pale lips bled. "Dropped bowls and spilled soup? Second Young Master, where does this claim come from? I may lack decorum, but I was born with a sense of shame."

Su Yanshu laughed in anger. "A sense of shame, indeed! Then tell me, what is this?"

He dragged her by the wrist toward the stain on the floor. "How do you explain this?"

Yu Shengsheng tilted her head to look at him as if he were a fool, a mocking smile curling her lips.

"What are you laughing at?" Su Yanshu raised his voice involuntarily; her smile made him feel inexplicably panicked. He had seen this smile once before, at the hunting grounds. When he, like everyone else, assumed she had shot the arrow, her look of plea had turned to shock, and finally, into this same mocking smile.

What was she laughing at? Was she laughing at his cowardice, his hypocrisy? No, he wasn't a coward; he was just considering the big picture! If he had admitted the truth then... the situation would have exploded, and someone might have taken the opportunity to drag the Crown Prince down with them. He did it for the Su family, for the Crown Prince, for the stability of the nation! He was not wrong!

He tightened his grip further, as if to prove he was in the right.

Sweat rolled down Yu Shengsheng’s forehead, her face white as paper. "Let... let me go..."

Madam Su, as if just waking from a trance, rushed over and patted Su Yanshu’s hand. "Let go! Can't you speak properly?"

Su Zhiyi also urged softly, "Second Brother, don't be angry. We can just have someone clean it up later. Younger sister probably didn't mean it, and the ancestors won't blame her."

Madam Su reached for Yu Shengsheng’s hand. "Let Mother see."

Yu Shengsheng was in such agony that her hand went limp, sliding away from Madam Su’s grasp.

Madam Su’s face turned white. "Shengsheng..."

Seeing this, Su Yanshu reached for her again, but Yu Shengsheng stepped back. "Second Young Master, you might want to ask those tasked with guarding me what kind of soup I supposedly spilled."

Su Yanshu sneered. "I will ask. Let's see how you try to quibble. You there, speak up! What has Miss Sheng been served in the ancestral hall?"

The elderly servant trembled. "Reporting to the Young Master, we... we did not provide Miss Sheng with any food or drink."

Su Yanshu froze.

Yu Shengsheng could no longer hold on. Without a word, she closed her eyes and collapsed.

Su Yanshu instinctively took two steps forward to catch her, but as his gaze dropped, he saw the tips of his snow-white boots stepping into that puddle of liquid, now stained red.

"This is... blood?"

Su Dingqin’s expression shifted. He stared directly at Su Yanshu. "Did you injure her?"

Su Yanshu looked stunned, his hands tightening. "No, how could I have?"

Su Zhiyi tilted her head in thought. "Eldest Brother, don't be so quick to blame Second Brother. In my opinion, this... this must be the younger sister's monthly cycle."

As soon as she said this, Su Yanshu’s face flushed, but he clearly breathed a sigh of relief. "I knew it! I wasn't using any force, how could I have hurt her?" He frowned, looking at his boots. "What a pity, these silk boots were made for me by Zhiyi!"

In Madam Su’s courtyard, Yu Shengsheng remained deep in a frown even while unconscious. When Madam Su reached out to wipe the cold sweat from her forehead, she suddenly woke with a start and pushed her away.

Madam Su stood there, at a loss with her handkerchief. Nanny Wu lowered her eyes and said, "Miss Sheng, you... Madam has been crying with worry. She hasn't even eaten breakfast, waiting for you. Why must you be so cruel to her?"

Yu Shengsheng struggled to sit up. Madam Su said, "Stop saying that. Quickly, go fetch the clothes I prepared for Shengsheng."

Nanny Wu brought the garments over. Madam Su stroked the fabric and said, "I don't know if they will fit you, but hurry and try them on!"

Yu Shengsheng got off the bed and lowered her head. "Thank you, but I will go back to my own courtyard to change."

A voice filled with irritation rang out from the doorway: "I suspect you simply can't bear to part with the finery bestowed upon you by the Empress!"