Reign of the Phoenix

Chapter 95 – First Young Miss Shen’s Bitter Silent Suffering
Chiyun Yuexuan led Murong Zhining and Cai Sang to the Zhuang Estate and saw a line of people already waiting at the entrance.

A man of 60 years of age bowed to Chiyun Yuexuan. “Peasant Shen Tianshun greets General Chiyun. May I ask why you’ve invited us here?”

Shen Tianshun looked ruddy and good-natured, he wore a refined twilled silk dark-blue gown with leopard prints. Behind him was a woman in her fifties. She was dignified and elegant wearing luxurious jewelry, one could tell from a glance she was a woman from a rich family.

Chiyun Yuexuan nodded. “You need not be courteous, Old Mister Shen. Your good moral standing and reputation have my admiration. A few days ago, I discovered the remains of a woman during my investigation in the basement of the Zhuang Estate and was reminded of the former servants’ word about your lost daughter. Therefore, I invited you and Madam to have a look. I only hope that the remains of the woman in the dungeon doesn’t belong to your daughter.”

When Madam Shen heard this, her legs went soft. The maid next to her supported her.

Chiyun Yuexuan took off the seal strip on the gate and led Murong Zhining by the hand into the Zhuang Estate. Shen Tianshun and his wife followed them. Du Youtian also led a dozen soldiers and entered the estate after leaving two soldiers to guard the door.

Chiyun Yuexuan stood outside the study. “Please wait here, Old Mister Shen and Madam. I’ll send someone in to carry out the remains.”

Madam Shen was already sobbing, Shen Tianshun soothed her in a low voice.

Feeling sorry for Madam Shen, Murong Zhining comforted her, “Madam Shen, please don’t be too sad. We don’t know if it’s Miss Shen yet. May I ask, does Miss Shen have two small moles on the back of her right hand? Also, was her left foot once injured and caused her walking to be a little unsteady?”

Shen Tianshun nodded. “My little girl was naughty when she was a child. She once fell from a high place and broke her leg.”

Murong Zhining concluded in her heart that the remains were without a doubt Miss Shen.

Four soldiers carried the bones of the woman out of the dungeon with a door plank and placed it the two arranged benches in the yard. After three years, there were nothing but white bones that made it impossible to identify the owner. The clothes on the body were in a better condition and neat, but they weren’t the silk and satin which Miss Shen had worn when she had gone missing, but the coarse linen clothes worn by the servants of the Zhuang Estate.

Shen Tianshun and Madam Shen gave the corpse an unwilling glance. Madam Shen shook her head and said, “This is not my daughter. My daughter has been wearing gold and silver since she was young. This is a girl from a poor family. No… this is not my daughter, just a skeleton. Why would you say it’s my daughter?” The woman trembled.

Chiyun Yuexuan whispered, “Madam, please calm down. We also hope that she’s not Miss Shen. I’ll call a post-mortem examiner over to examine the body. Men, bring two chairs for Old Mister Shen and Madam.”

Sitting down, Madam Shen sobbed. “I need not wait. This isn’t my Yun’er.”

Shen Tianshun held her hand and soothed, “Madam, calm down. After the examination, if it’s not Yun’er, we can return home at ease.”

Madam Shen was restless. Her eyes drifted about, and when she looked at the bones again, she burst into tears.

The post-mortem examiner was soon brought to the courtyard. After covering his mouth and nose with a cloth, he began to remove the clothes from the corpse. Madam Shen wept and pointed to a purse that the examiner had untied. “It belongs to our girl, used to ward off evil spirits. It contains a tooth she lost.”

The examiner opened the half-decayed purse and an incisor tooth fell to the ground. Madam Shen gave a cry and passed out. Shen Tianshun covered his face and wept, but still held on to a stroke of luck. “That alone can’t prove that she is my daughter.”

Chiyun Yuexuan said, “We all hope that she isn’t. Please, Old Mister Shen, wait for the autopsy to finish.”

After a slight pinch and a cold cup of water from the maid, Madam Shen opened her eyes.

When the examiner completed the autopsy, he reported to Chiyun Yuexuan, “Reporting to General, the woman was about 18 years old when she died. She was relatively short, only 5’3 tall. Her left lower leg had been injured and there’s a healing callus on the bone, from which you can tell that it’s an old injury. The woman is missing a front tooth, and the missing place fits with the tooth in her purse. The cartilage of her tongue was neatly broken, they cut her tongue out with a sharp weapon during her lifetime.”

Hearing this, Shen Tianshun and his wife burst into tears. Shen Tianshun said in a choked voice. “My little girl was born prematurely, so she was extremely weak and always suffered from various diseases and was much shorter than the other girls. The injury to her leg is also consistent with the one caused in that fall when she was a child. That tooth had been knocked out she tripped a few years ago. Her life had been so difficult. A Taoist priest said that putting her tooth in a purse and hanging it on her could solve her hardship… My poor child! She still had to suffer the pain of tongue cutting before she died. I’ve been doing charitable works all my life to accumulate good fortune for her, but it was still for naught after all!”

Listening to Shen Tianshun’s words, Murong Zhining wept in Chiyun Yuexuan’s chest. She felt sorry for Miss Shen and blamed herself for not being able to save the girl. Chiyun Yuexuan encircled her with one arm and stroked her hair.

Shen Tianshun and Madam Shen took Miss Shen’s remains with them, saying they would invite monks and Taoist priests to chant the Sutra for seven by seven, forty-nine days so that her soul could find peace, and then give her a burial. Murong Zhining felt sad for Miss Shen’s suffering but was relieved that the girl could be laid to rest. She couldn’t help but sigh with emotion at the inconstancy of the world and the fate of the people.

Chiyun Yuexuan escorted the grieved Shen Tianshun outside the Zhuang Estate. “Old Mister Shen, please restrain your grief. It’s a good thing that you’ve found Miss Shen and gave her soul a returning place. After you’re finished arranging for your daughter and have calmed down, I’ll pay you a visit to learn more about the events of that year.”

As the two men said goodbye, a figure lurked at the turn outside the estate wall, watching all this to happen.

Chiyun Yuexuan once again took the soldiers into the basement. They packed and sealed the treasures before transporting them to the palace. As promised, he kept a box of gold ingots to build an orphanage to fulfill Murong Zhining’s wish.

——

On the way to Lotus Pond Hollow, Murong Zhining and Cai Sang sat in the carriage in high spirits, while Chiyun Yuexuan rode Flash and Du Youtian also rode a horse beside him.

Chiyun Yuexuan said in a loud voice, “This is the first time I’m visiting my mother-in-law. How very nerve wracking. I’m scared she’ll find fault with me if can’t do a good job.”

Du Youtian laughed. “You can set your heart at ease, General, my mother is a gentle and honest country woman who has never seen the world. I’m afraid she’d be rendered incoherent upon seeing you, let alone find fault with you. Besides, my mother never knew the girl she took in was the princess of Shangxia. Our family is poor and had slighted Princess, how dare we claim ourselves to be her family?”

Cai Sang stuck her head out. “No matter how noble, Princess still regards us as family. Even if auntie finds fault with you, General, you must accept it all. As the saying goes, bow your head if you want to marry a girl, hold your head high to marry off your daughter.”

Chiyun Yuexuan said, “Yes, yes, yes, aren’t you picking on me all the time? And I’ve said nothing about that. Goodness! Cai Sang is unforgiving. Lucky for me that Ning’er is a reasonable person.”

Cai Sang twitched her lips. “That’s because she remembers nothing. If she does, she may not be so reasonable. She forgot, but I didn’t. On this road, she was tied and dragged like cattle. She fell down countless times along the way and it scraped her knees all up.”

Chiyun Yuexuan wasn’t angry. For the first time, he faced his own sin. “I know it’s inexcusable, and I won’t evade my responsibility. If Princess remembers the past and refuses to forgive me, I’ll comply with her choice without complaint.”

Cai Sang pouted. “I hope General can do as you said.”

Murong Zhining leaned out of the carriage. “Was Ning’er that miserable? How can I forget something like that?”

Chiyun Yuexuan lifted her onto Flash. “This is more comfortable than the jumpy carriage. I once confessed my crimes to you, but you fell asleep without listening to the end. I might as well confess to you again today.”

Murong Zhining covered Chiyun Yuexuan’s mouth. “No, Ning’er doesn’t want to hear and won’t believe it. I don’t believe you’d treat me like that.”

From his eyes, a hot tear dropped onto the back of her hand. “Ning’er, you have the right to know what happened. And as for whether or not you believe, it’s up to you. I just can’t keep hiding this from you.”

Murong Zhining covered her ears. “I don’t want to hear it, I don’t want to hear it.”

Chiyun Yuexuan spurred his horse forward and pulled a distance from the cavalcade. “Ning’er, I don’t want to deceive you. What Cai Sang said is true. What I once did to you is inexcusable. However, I repented and wanted to treat you right. I’ll wait for you to regain your memory and make an accurate judgment on me, and then I can talk about our marriage. Even if you don’t approve of me at all, I’ll accept it.”

Murong Zhining buried her face in her hands, tears spilled from her fingers. As memories flooded back one by one, her body quivered.

Like a child who had done something wrong, Chiyun Yuexuan was at a loss. “Ning’er, I’m so sorry, that’s all I can say to you now. If you will give me a chance, I’ll spend my whole life atoning to you.”

Chiyun Yuexuan stopped his horse on a small path outside Lotus Pond Hollow. He held Murong Zhining, lifting her chin to wipe away her tears. “I wanted to bring you home and make you happy, but I’ve failed, I’ve made you sad again. I always tried to conceal this matter, but that’s unfair to you. Spend a few days at your foster mother’s and relax. I’ll stay away during this time. When you have thought it over, let Du Youtian tell me the result.”

He dropped a kiss on her forehead and walked away.

Du Youtian and Cai Sang caught up soon after. Du Youtian rolled his eyes at Cai Sang. “You ruined a happy trip home. Is the past that important to you? General has made such a change for our sister, why can’t you see it?”

Cai Sang rushed forth to support Murong Zhining. “Ning’er will remember the past one day. Instead of letting it upset her, it’s better that she knows the truth sooner, rather than later.”

Murong Zhining smiled. “Cai Sang is right, brother. I’ll be fine. Let’s meet our mother in a good mood. You report of our arrival first, Cai Sang and I will be right behind.”