"Consider!" Miss Du gently pondered over these two words, set down the wine jug, slowly lifted her head, and then let out a bitter laugh before sighing, "It was after I had thought things through that I decided to leave the Jie Family."
"But you used to love the second brother so much..."
"Yes!" Miss Du bitter laughed again, downed the wine in one gulp, yet spoke in an incredibly calm manner.
"I loved him so much before, loved him in the most humble way, gave my all to love him, and what I got in return was his ruthless hurt, over and over again. Five years, more than eighteen hundred days and nights of pain, time and again, until I finally excised him from my heart. Five years of marriage didn’t earn me a shred of his pity, but only growing resentment. This shows that he and I were not fated, and even if we were, it was a tragic fate. Now, that tragic fate has also come to an end. I am doing very well on my own now, and have given them space as well; why would I go back to that? I’m not that bored."
Xie Qinyun felt it wasn’t like that and hurriedly said, "But there’s been a misunderstanding between you two. I heard about it, it was that bitch, Concubine Du, who took the tiger embroidery you made and deceived my second brother. If he had known earlier that it was your work, he certainly wouldn’t have..."
Xie Qinyun wanted to say more but was interrupted by Miss Du.
"What?" Xie Qinyun looked at Miss Du in confusion.
Miss Du said, "Since you’ve brought up the matter of the little tiger, I might as well tell you about what happened back then."
Miss Du sat down, her thoughts drifting back to many years ago, to the year when Du Wanqing lost her concubine mother, and within less than a month, Jie Zhonglin’s sister Xie Qinyun was born, and at the same time, he lost his own mother.
Madam Du took him into the Du Residence to look after him, and he kept himself shut away in his room all day, unwilling to come out. It was Miss Du’s tiger sachet that gave him the courage to walk out of that room.
Likewise, having lost his mother, he saw Du Wanqing who also had a tiger sachet, and he thought that the little girl who had handed him the sachet that day was Du Wanqing.
They both had lost their mothers, so they played together in the Du Residence.
Miss Du said, "What you saw was because of the sachet, but what I saw was not so simple. They both lost their mothers in that year, and they were both grieving. His kindness to her was genuine, and the hurt he’s caused me over the years was real, too. Whether his affection was for me who gave him the sachet, or for Wanqing who had also lost her mother like him, the life that the three of us have lived together all these years was real.
That’s why they belong together, and I was the one who was superfluous. So much painful memory, how could it be untangled by simply calling it a misunderstanding? So, Ayun, it’s better you don’t ask anymore. Right now... we’re all doing quite well."
Xie Qinyun realized that what Miss Du was saying made a lot of sense, but seeing her second brother’s hopeless, painful eyes, she still couldn’t bear it.
"Really... Don’t you think about it again?"
"Miss Xie, Miss Lin, Doctor Gu, please enjoy your meal and drink well. There are many guests today, and it’s not convenient for me to stay long. Please, go ahead."
Miss Du no longer wanted to continue the topic.
Lin Qianqing pulled Xie Qinyun to sit down and whispered, "Don’t speak anymore. She finally made it out. If your second brother is suffering, it’s his own doing. People always have to pay for their mistakes."
Gu Youyou said with a light smile, "It’s rare for our Qianqing to say something so philosophical."
Lin Qianqing replied, "Having been with cousin for a long time, I’m influenced by what I hear and see, and I’ve come to think about some things more clearly than before."