Chapter 59: Kneeling in the Snowstorm

When A Yuan arrived back at the estate, she first noticed two carriages parked outside.

She was taken aback. Who else would come here besides Wei Xun?

Had Wei Xun sent someone to fetch her?

Her heart raced as she hurried inside.

But when she saw the familiar faces in the main hall and the maids and servants kneeling on the floor, A Yuan's face turned pale.

"...Madam, Mrs. Shen, what brings you here?"

"What? Are we not allowed to come?"

Wei Jin, hand on her belly, glared coldly.

"If we hadn't come, we wouldn't have known you'd sneaked out of the estate."

As a concubine, A Yuan wasn't allowed to leave the estate without the master's permission. Sneaking out would result in punishment.

A Yuan's heart sank as she quickly explained, "I just lost my appetite and went to the front street to buy a bun. I didn't go far, and Nanny Liu and Nanny Zhang were with me..."

"Enough!" Wei Jin snapped, shooting her a disdainful look. "Who knows if you lost your appetite or sneaked out to meet a lover? I'm not my brother. You don't have to play the weak and delicate card with me."

Wei Jin had always despised her delicate and charming demeanor. What's more, after Li Huai took in several beautiful concubines during her pregnancy, Wei Jin loathed these seductive women even more.

"A Jin, keep your voice down. You don't want to scare the baby in your belly."

Shen Qiuyu, who had been watching the scene, spoke up leisurely.

"A Yuan is your brother's favorite. If you scold her like this, the Wei Crown Prince might be heartbroken."

"Bah! She's just a bed warmer. Even if I beat her to death, my brother wouldn't lift a finger against me!"

Wei Jin, spoiled by her mother and two brothers since childhood, had a fiery temper. Shen Qiuyu's words only stoked her anger.

"She sneaked out today, and who knows what she was doing? No, today we must give her a good thrashing to set an example!"

A Yuan's face turned ghostly pale. With only the mute maid by her side, if Wei Jin really wanted to punish her, she'd have no choice but to endure it.

If it were any other time, she could have endured the beating.

But now, she was carrying a child...

A Yuan clenched her fingers, her heart burning with anxiety, wishing for Wei Xun to come to her rescue for the first time.

"Alright, you're a mother now. Fighting and killing are not becoming."

Shen Qiuyu chuckled lightly. "If you're really that angry, just make her kneel. It won't harm her body, and it will teach her a lesson. Even if the Wei Crown Prince questions it later, he won't be able to fault you."

Though her face wore a gentle and magnanimous smile, her words chilled A Yuan's heart.

Wei Jin was still dissatisfied, but since Shen Qiuyu had spoken, she couldn't refuse her.

"Hmph! Fine, I'll listen to A Yu. Go kneel in the courtyard, and don't get up until you've knelt for three hours!"

Outside, the snow was falling harder, already piling up thickly.

A Yuan had her fox fur cloak forcibly removed by the maids, leaving her in only a thin layer of clothing.

The snow fell on her, soaking her clothes, and the wind, carrying snow, blew past, causing a bone-chilling pain.

A Yuan tried to struggle, but two maids forced her to kneel in the snow.

"Madam, please..."

A Yuan shivered uncontrollably from the cold, especially feeling a dull pain in her lower abdomen.

Her unborn child...

Wei Jin and Shen Qiuyu sat in the main hall, warmed by a charcoal brazier, making it as cozy as spring.

They sipped tea, watching A Yuan shiver and beg for mercy, smiling with satisfaction.

"You really have a knack for this; it's much more satisfying than beating her with a board."

Wei Jin was suffering from severe pregnancy symptoms, and with the concubines in the Li family stirring up trouble in front of her, she was too impatient to stay in the mansion, so she invited Shen Qiuyu out for a distraction.

The visit to the hot spring villa today was Shen Qiuyu's idea.

Originally, they just wanted to seize the chance to mock A Yuan a few times, but unexpectedly caught her trying to sneak out of the villa.

Shen Qiuyu picked up her teacup, took a sip, and the fierceness in her eyes was momentarily hidden.

"I just pity her weak body, unable to endure the board; making her kneel a bit longer is punishment enough."

"Hmph! Your kindness will only get you walked all over. Hasn't this concubine already outmaneuvered you?"

Wei Jin was exasperated with her friend's character, speaking bluntly and without restraint, not knowing that it precisely hit Shen Qiuyu's sore spot.

A Yuan had nothing going for her but her beauty, yet Wei Xun treasured her like a precious pearl, while Shen Qiuyu, who strived in everything, Wei Xun wouldn't even glance at her.

Shen Qiuyu's smile nearly faltered, her grip on the teacup tightened abruptly, and her gaze towards A Yuan became even more fierce.

......

The snow outside was falling harder, piling up past her knees, A Yuan had long since lost all feeling.

"A Yu, she won't have an accident, will she?"

At first, Wei Jin felt a sense of satisfaction seeing A Yuan kneel, but gradually seeing A Yuan not moving, she panicked.

After all, A Yuan was her third brother's woman, although she said she wanted to kill her, when it came to actually doing it, Wei Jin didn't have the guts.

Shen Qiuyu skimmed the tea foam in her cup, turned her head and smiled at her, "If you're worried, shall I have Nanny Chen help her up?"

"Who's worried!" Wei Jin's face turned red, unwilling to admit her panic, stubbornly said, "Since we agreed to punish her for three hours, then let her kneel for the full time!"

Shen Qiuyu achieved her goal, smiling as she sat back, while Wei Jin was like a flea on a chair, restless.

Finally, after enduring three hours, she sprang up, urgently instructing the maids, "Quickly help her up, don't let her die in front of me!"

"Yes."

Two maids held A Yuan's arms, at this time A Yuan was somewhat unconscious, her teeth chattering from the cold.

She dazedly looked at Wei Jin, who guiltily averted her gaze, not daring to look at her.

Shen Qiuyu put down the teacup and walked over confidently.

Her well-cared-for hand, as slippery as a venomous snake, caressed A Yuan's pale face.

"Don't hold it against A Jin for today's punishment. She was only concerned you might stir up trouble for the Wei Crown Prince. She didn't mean any harm."

"You surely won't take it to heart, right?"

The manor was aglow, and the woman stood bathed in light, her gaze fixed on her. A Yuan couldn't see her face, but the threat in her words was clear.

A Jin is Wei Xun's own sister. By both sentiment and reason, Wei Xun wouldn't stand up for her.

She didn't expect Wei Xun to stand up for her either.

But the searing pain beneath her made A Yuan feel hatred for the first time. What had she done wrong to endure such torment again and again?

Was it simply because she was a concubine, a mere servant?

A Yuan's throat was thick with the metallic taste of blood, too chilled to utter a word.

Mrs. Shen's sharp fingertips were about to scratch her face when a servant's voice rang out from the courtyard gate.

"Madam, Mrs. Shen, the Crown Prince has arrived."

The man, draped in a black crane-feather cloak, moved with the wind, his presence colder than the winter night itself.

Mrs. Shen's heart tightened, and she abruptly withdrew her hand.

Before she could offer her greetings, Wei Xun brushed past her and scooped up A Yuan.

The crane-feather cloak enveloped the concubine, and Wei Xun's rage was palpable, threatening to consume everything.

"A Jin, what did I tell you?"