As Xiao Ying collapsed, the entire ancestral shrine descended into chaos. By the time Su Mianmian came to her senses, Gu Yizhou was already rushing out, carrying Xiao Ying in his arms. She cast a glance at Gu Jingyu—who was signaling to her with his eyes—and hurriedly followed in Gu Yizhou's footsteps.
With his towering stature and long strides, Gu Yizhou took massive steps; Su Mianmian had to keep up a steady jog just to avoid being left behind. The group traversed a long corridor and soon arrived at a side chamber. Shortly after Gu Yizhou carried Xiao Ying inside, a doctor—clutching his medical kit—walked in briskly.
Su Mianmian stood outside the door, craning her neck to peer inside. However, due to the intervening folding screen, she could discern nothing but a few indistinct, shadowy figures. The doctor's words, however, reached her ears with perfect clarity.
"The First Madam's constitution was already frail to begin with; coupled with the fact that she hasn't consumed a single drop of water for several days, her fainting was an inevitability." He continued, "I am administering acupuncture now; she should regain consciousness in about ten minutes or so. At that point, give her some ginseng soup. Once she has recovered her strength, you can slowly transition her from a liquid diet back to solid food."
Gu Yizhou responded with a low, deep "Very well." It was only when he stepped out to see the doctor off that he noticed Su Mianmian standing by the door. His expression shifted slightly. "Why did you follow me here?" Su Mianmian twisted her fingers nervously. "I was a little worried about you."
Gu Yizhou reached out and gently ruffled the top of Su Mianmian's head. "It's nothing serious. Things are a bit chaotic here right now; why don't you go find Gu Jingyu to play with for a while? I'll come find you later." Su Mianmian shook her head, blinking her large, limpid eyes.
"I'll just stand right here. I promise I won't get in your way." Gu Yizhou sighed. Just then, he heard a servant call out from inside, "First Madam, you've finally woken up!" Gu Yizhou's brows furrowed; no longer able to spare a thought for Su Mianmian, he simply said, "Very well, stay right here then. Be a good girl."
Having said that, he re-entered the room. Su Mianmian stood obediently by the door, listening to the conversation taking place inside. Xiao Ying gave a couple of weak, feeble coughs. "What happened to me?"
A servant's voice replied, "First Madam, you fainted just now. The doctor said you were already frail to begin with, and having gone several days without eating, your body simply couldn't take the strain." Xiao Ying insisted, "Help me up. Chen'er's memorial ceremony isn't finished yet."
Gu Yizhou's deep, low voice rang out, "The ceremony will proceed just the same, with or without you. Drink this bowl of ginseng soup first." "I won't drink it! I'm going to the ancestral shrine right now! Get out of my way—don't you dare stop me!"
The commotion inside grew louder—the rustling of clothes, the clatter of objects colliding. Frowning at the sounds, Su Mianmian instinctively edged a few steps closer to the doorway. Now that she had a clear line of sight, she saw Xiao Ying, leaning heavily on a servant's arm, climbing down from the bed.
Gu Yizhou stood holding a bowl of soup, loosely blocking Xiao Ying's path. "Mother, even if you are determined to go to the shrine, you must finish this bowl of ginseng soup first. Otherwise, I won't let you step foot outside this door."
Although Xiao Ying appeared frail and weak, her words were laced with undiminished malice. "Who do you think you are, daring to give me orders?"
No sooner had the words left her lips than she lashed out with her arm. Before anyone could react, she knocked the bowl of scalding ginseng soup right out of Gu Yizhou's hands, drenching him in the process. "Gu Yizhou!"
Su Mianmian, whose eyes had been fixed on Gu Yizhou the entire time, was the first to react. With a startled cry, she rushed forward and grabbed his hand to examine the injury. She saw that the back of his fair hand was already bright red, and in several spots, blisters were already beginning to rise.
In that instant, Su Mianmian felt a sharp, wrenching pain in her heart; the look she cast toward Xiao Ying was now brimming with fury. "What gives you the right to throw things at him? What gives you the right to scald him with hot soup?!"
There wasn't a shred of remorse in Xiao Ying's eyes for having scalded Gu Yizhou; instead, she was deeply displeased that Su Mianmian dared to speak to her in such a tone. She gave a cold snort. "I am disciplining my own son—what business is it of yours?" Gu Yizhou pulled Su Mianmian back. "Mianmian, go outside for now."
"I won't!" Su Mianmian was so furious that her voice trembled slightly. She shook off Gu Yizhou's hand and, like a mother hen protecting her chick, shielded him behind her. "He may be your son, true enough, but he is also my husband now! If you think you can bully him, you've got another thing coming!"
Gu Yizhou stood silently where he was; only he himself knew that his breathing was beginning to spiral out of control. Xiao Ying panted heavily, her bony, emaciated fingers trembling as she pointed at Su Mianmian.
"You have absolutely no sense of propriety! You've only been married into this family for a few days—what do you know about anything? What right do you have to come in here shouting and making a scene?" Su Mianmian glared back with wide, round eyes, refusing to back down in the slightest.
"Even if I'd only been married in for a single day, I am still Gu Yizhou's wife! I may not know everything, but I do know this much: you are not Gu Yizhou's stepmother!" "And since you aren't his stepmother, what gives you the right to treat him with such cruelty?
Just moments ago, when you fainted, Gu Yizhou was the first to notice—and it was *he* who carried you back to your room." "Gu Yizhou was simply trying to be kind by urging you to drink some soup, yet you heartlessly knocked it over and scalded him like this! You truly have no heart!" "You—!"
Xiao Ying gasped for breath in her rage, her strength draining away as she slumped onto the edge of the bed. "I told you already—I don't want him looking after me! Get out! All of you, just get out!"
Su Mianmian didn't hesitate for a second; she turned around and began ushering Gu Yizhou toward the door. "She clearly doesn't appreciate your efforts, so why on earth would you keep throwing yourself at her just to get beaten and scolded? Come on, let's go—you need to get a doctor to apply some burn ointment to that injury." Gu Yizhou caught the strange undertone in Su Mianmian's words and frowned. "What about you?
Aren't you leaving?" Su Mianmian let out a breath. "I'm not leaving. I'm going to stay right here and wait until your mother finishes drinking the ginseng soup!" Gu Yizhou, naturally, couldn't rest easy. "Su Mianmian, be a good girl. Don't get involved in this matter anymore. Go to the front hall for now; I'll come find you in a little while."
Su Mianmian stamped her foot in frustration, her eyes misting over with unshed tears. "Gu Yizhou, please go tend to your hand first, okay? I'm not you—I won't just let her bully me. You can rest assured about that."
Seeing this, Butler Jiang, who was standing nearby, stepped forward to intercede. "Young Master, please go attend to your wounds. As for the Young Mistress, I will personally keep an eye on her right here; I guarantee she won't suffer even the slightest harm."
Reassured by Butler Jiang's promise, Gu Yizhou finally relented—mainly out of fear that if he said another word, the young girl would burst into tears right there on the spot. He left only after repeatedly admonishing Su Mianmian not to butt heads with his mother. Su Mianmian waited until Gu Yizhou had walked out of sight before turning back and re-entering the room.
At that moment, Xiao Ying, leaning on a maid's arm, had just reached the living room. Upon seeing Su Mianmian, her willow-shaped brows furrowed in displeasure. "Why haven't you left yet?" "I'm not leaving." Su Mianmian stood her ground in the doorway, blinking her large, expressive eyes.
Earlier, upon seeing that Gu Yizhou was injured, she had been overcome with anxiety and had blurted out many shockingly defiant words to Xiao Ying. She herself hadn't realized she possessed such a fierce and spirited side.
Now that she had calmed down, her aggressive demeanor had subsided considerably; however, she still felt compelled to fulfill the promise she had made to Gu Yizhou. "I won't leave until you've drunk the ginseng soup." Xiao Ying laughed coldly in her fury. "Are *you* trying to stop me, too?"
Su Mianmian shook her head. "I'm not trying to stop you. I just want to put Gu Yizhou's mind at ease. Even though you treat him terribly, I know that he still worries about you. He won't be able to rest easy until he sees that you've drunk the soup."
Xiao Ying gave a scornful sneer. "That's all just an act. He couldn't care less whether I live or die—in fact, he doesn't care about the life or death of *anyone* in this household!" Su Mianmian simply could not fathom what kind of circumstances could drive a mother to speak of her own son in such a manner. But she wasn't blind; the concern Gu Yizhou showed toward Xiao Ying was clearly heartfelt—something that simply couldn't be faked. She also knew that arguing with Xiao Ying right now would not only be futile but would likely only serve to further inflame her anger.
"In any case, just drink the soup quickly. After that, do whatever you please; I won't stand in your way." Xiao Ying watched Su Mianmian, who wore a look of earnest sincerity. "And what if I don't drink it?"
Su Mianmian pursed her lips and thought for a moment. "If you refuse to drink it, then I simply won't leave. Your son's memorial day comes but once a year; surely you wouldn't want to miss the entire occasion, would you?" With that remark, she had successfully pinpointed Xiao Ying's weakness.
Seeing that Xiao Ying offered no rebuttal, Su Mianmian took the initiative to offer her a graceful way out. "You only said you didn't want Gu Yizhou interfering; you never said *I* couldn't. As Gu Yizhou's wife, I am—technically speaking—your daughter-in-law. Serving you a bowl of soup is a perfectly appropriate gesture; I simply ask that you grant me this opportunity."
Having said this, Su Mianmian turned to the maid standing beside Xiao Ying. "Excuse me—would you kindly fetch another bowl of ginseng soup?"
...Gu Yizhou's hand had suffered a rather severe burn. As the doctor applied burn ointment, he offered a stern caution: "For the next few days, keep both your head and your hand away from water. Otherwise, the wound could become infected, leading to even more complications."
Gu Yizhou acknowledged the instructions, though his mind was not on his injured hand. His eyes caught a glimpse of a lively figure running toward him, and his gaze shifted ever so slightly. "Why are you back here alone? Where is your sister-in-law?" Gu Jingyu bent forward slightly, resting his hands on his knees as he panted heavily for breath.
"B-Brother... guess what I just saw?"