Xie Pan’Er’s words were reckless, causing both of the little maids, Yun Duo and Yunxiang, to frown.
Xie Wulang was indeed the Third Young Mistress’s biological father; at home, a woman follows her father, and after marriage, her husband. This was the virtue every woman of this era was expected to possess.
"How is your mother?"
Despite his daughter’s confrontational behavior, Xie Wulang did not become enraged. Instead, he asked about the Luo Family’s condition.
"You still know to care for Mother now? Haven’t you been keeping company with the bottle all these years? Don’t you care about anything else at all?" Xie Pan’Er, looking at her father, roared loudly at Xie Wulang.
Xie Wulang wheeled himself to the edge of the Luo Family’s bed, attempting to hold the Luo Family’s hand, but Xie Pan’Er shoved him away.
"Don’t touch her! Stop pretending. If you had cared more for Mother these years, paid more attention, and not been so self-destructive, Mother wouldn’t have had to suffer like this." Xie Pan’Er was filled with anger, and she unleashed it all on Xie Wulang.
Seeing her beautiful older sister in this state, Xiaosuisui was rather at a loss.
Quietly, Yun Duo led Xiaosuisui a little further away from Xie Pan’Er. Her brow furrowed almost imperceptibly. She couldn’t help but question the Ji Family’s decision. Was it appropriate to leave someone who dared to shout at and openly criticize her own father by the Elder Princess’s side? What if she inadvertently influenced the Elder Princess negatively in the future?
"It’s my fault. I’ve wronged your mother." Xie Wulang lowered his head, and no one in the room could see his face clearly.
Only Xiaosuisui, still just a child, saw two silent tears slide from the corners of Xie Wulang’s eyes.
"So now you know you’ve wronged her?" Xie Pan’Er roared in anger, her eyes fixed on the top of Xie Wulang’s head. She was incredibly agitated, her emotions in turmoil, filled with the bitter frustration of unmet expectations—like being angry at iron for not becoming steel. "Tell me, Mother knelt on the heated smooth stones all night, so why were you at home drinking all night?"
Xie Wulang remained silent, but the veins on his hands bulged.
Yun Duo quietly led Xiaosuisui back a little more, and they slipped out of the room unnoticed, retreating until they could no longer hear the commotion inside.
Yun Duo and Yunxiang assumed that if they couldn’t hear the sounds from the room, then Xiaosuisui naturally wouldn’t be able to either. Little did they know just how sharp Xiaosuisui’s hearing was; if she wanted to listen, there was nothing she couldn’t hear.
Inside the room, Xie Pan’Er’s interrogation of Xie Wulang continued to reach Xiaosuisui’s ears.
"When I was younger, you spent your days drinking and wallowing in self-pity. I didn’t understand; I always thought all fathers were like that—that a true man, at home, is his wife’s sky and his children’s support. Therefore, the head of the household should have absolute authority, his word unquestioned, free to do as he pleased. But that’s not true. These past few years in the countryside, the farming families, the landlord households in small towns, the small merchants and peddlers—none of their families are like ours. I also know that for years the main branch of the family has been making things difficult for us, bullying you and Mother. But I just don’t understand. Mother couldn’t fight back, but couldn’t you, her husband, have spoken up for her, pleaded for her?"
Listening to Xie Pan’Er’s words as she questioned Xie Wulang, Xiaosuisui couldn’t help but fall into deep thought. The head of the family, the world to his wife and children—is that truly how a man should act?
On the roof of the Xie Family’s house, Ji Youzhi and his brother sat with the young Emperor positioned between them. Listening to the words spilling from the young girl’s mouth inside the room, admiration couldn’t help but appear in their eyes.
"This young lady is quite insightful. It’s a pity she was born the wrong gender. Otherwise, if she were to study diligently and pass the provincial examinations, she would undoubtedly become a pillar of the imperial court!"