A parent's love for their child leads them to plan for the long term.
Unexpectedly, Zhang San and the bandits hadn't run far when they encountered the carriage guards of the Wen family.
Jiang Xuesui was small but bold. Although terrified, she refused to cry. Spotting Wen Qiao on horseback not far away, she mustered all her strength and shouted, "Brother A Qiao!"
Wen Qiao reacted quickly, immediately ordering the guards to block Zhang San and the bandits' path.
The bandits were vicious, but the Duke Xiangguo's Mansion guards were no pushovers either. The two sides clashed. Seeing that he was losing, Zhang San threw Jiang Xuesui off the horse and tried to flee.
Wen Qiao was quick of eye and hand. He lunged forward in a flash, letting Jiang Xuesui land on his back.
Wen Qiao's mother, the current Duchess of Xiangguo, Lady Sang, had already alighted from her carriage and rushed over to pick up her frightened niece.
Feeling the warm embrace and the pleasant scent of Lady Sang, Jiang Xuesui finally burst into tears.
"Crying like a pig being slaughtered."
Wen Qiao uttered four light words.
Jiang Xuesui, who was crying, paused for a moment, stared at Wen Qiao for a while, and felt even more wronged. But her pride told her she couldn't cry in front of Wen Qiao, or he would despise her.
"Thank you, Brother A Qiao, for saving Yuanyuan."
Wen Qiao nodded slightly, his expression as indifferent as ever.
"Brother A Qiao said bad things about Yuanyuan, saying Yuanyuan laughs like a goose and cries like a pig. Brother A Qiao, apologize to Yuanyuan." Jiang Xuesui was clear in her grudges.
Wen Qiao didn't quite agree with his little cousin's words.
"That's not saying bad things; that's telling the truth."
Now it was Lady Sang's turn to pause. Her son was usually as silent as a mute, but he had spoken so many words to his niece.
But what Brother Qiao said was indeed the truth, and quite apt at that.
However, being so sharp-tongued with a sweet, soft, and adorable little girl like Yuanyuan was utterly heartless.
She hoped Yuanyuan wouldn't become like the other young masters and ladies in the household, keeping their distance from Brother Qiao.
"Brother Qiao—"
Lady Sang called out.
Wen Qiao understood the look his mother gave him. Seeing the stubborn, angry gaze of the little girl in his mother's arms, he raised an eyebrow. "Although you laugh like a goose and cry like a pig, Yuanyuan, you are not at all pretentious—very sincere and adorable."
Lady Sang: "..."
"Big Aunt, Brother A Qiao praised Yuanyuan!" Jiang Xuesui was overjoyed, letting out a laugh like a goose's honk. Her earlier fear and fright had vanished.
Lady Sang marveled at how quickly her niece's mood could change, and even more so that her son had actually praised someone. Even though the praise was worse than criticism, it was still an improvement for her snowman-like son.
Before Lady Sang could feel too gratified, Wen Qiao added, "Yuanyuan, the way you were angry just now made you look like an easy target, not intimidating at all. You just worked yourself up over nothing."
Jiang Xuesui's little brain nearly smoked. Had she been sarcastically taunted by this elder cousin again?
"Big Aunt, Yuanyuan wants to go home. Go home and wash her ears, let the dirty words leave her ears."
Lady Sang was amused by her niece's words.
Wen Qiao: "..."
But everything he said was the truth, the clean truth.
The guards captured Zhang San and the bandits and came to ask Lady Sang how to deal with them. After consulting her son, Lady Sang ordered the men to be taken to the authorities.
Then mother and son sent Xuesui back to the Jiang family.
Having regained his daughter, Jiang Shaohua thanked his sister-in-law and nephew profusely.
However, Wen Xincheng had been so terrified by the incident that she fell ill. She lay in bed for over ten days before passing away.
The night before she died, Wen Xincheng lay in bed, having her maids bring out the clothes she had sewn for her daughter. She looked at them repeatedly, full of regret and guilt.
"Even though I knew this day would come, before Yuanyuan was born, I hoped she would be a girl. I hurried to make so many clothes, but they only last until she's fifteen. I don't even have time to make her wedding dress, and the dragon-and-phoenix red bridal veil is only half-embroidered. Luckily, my mother prepared a dowry of one hundred and twenty-eight loads for me, and the clothes, skirts, jewelry, and headpieces are enough for Yuanyuan's lifetime. Hua Lang, I can't rest easy entrusting her to others. After I die, send Yuanyuan to the Duke Xiangguo's Mansion. My mother and brothers love me the most, and for my sake, they will surely love Yuanyuan too."
"I will resign from my post and raise our daughter alone." Jiang Shaohua knew his wife's unspoken worry—that he would remarry, have more children, and their Yuanyuan would be bullied.
"Hua Lang, do not resign. For Yuanyuan's sake, you must be a good official who protects the people." Wen Xincheng knew exactly her husband's ambitions to govern and benefit the world. It was because of his benevolent heart that she had married him. "I would rather you not be a good father than let the people down."
"Xincheng, I want to be selfish just this once."
Jiang Shaohua was about to lose his wife, and their daughter was his only remaining tie to the world.
"Then I will die with my eyes open." Wen Xincheng stroked his temple. "Hua Lang, if after I'm gone you find a virtuous wife, that would be fine too. I only worry about Yuanyuan. She's so young; without a mother, what will become of her?"
"Yuanyuan has only you as her mother, and I have only you as my wife."
Jiang Shaohua was about to swear an oath, but she touched his lips to stop him.
"Hua Lang, of course I trust you."
Those were her last words before she closed her eyes.
*
The Jiang family's servants arrived at the Duke Xiangguo's Mansion in Xuanjing City to report the death. In the main room of the Penglai Study, Old Madam Wen and the other women present wept profusely.
Old Madam Wen had three sons and one daughter.