“Hmph, will she dare again? A young lady not yet married, running around in public, what kind of behavior is that? Fine, daughters can’t be kept. You’ll marry soon, and let your husband deal with you,” Xu Pucran said, still huffing with anger.
Husband? Xu Caitong felt a chill; who was her husband? Was she to marry a man she had never even met?
“Master, she’s been beaten and scolded. Perhaps let Rainbow rest in her room?” the lady suggested.
“Cuilian,” Xu Pucran called out loudly, “Take the young miss back to her room to rest.”
A young maid, about thirteen or fourteen, dressed in green with a red trim, entered the hall, bowed to Xu Caitong, and said, “Miss, please follow me.”
Xu Caitong didn’t know what to do. She looked at Cuilian, then at Ruiping. At this point, Ruiping was convinced that Caitong was indeed the young miss of this household. Seeing Caitong looking at her, Ruiping waved and said, “Miss, I will explain everything to the old lady when I return. We are happy that you’re back in your own home.”
Xu Caitong sighed, her brows furrowed, feeling downcast. She didn’t bother to explain anymore and followed Cuilian back to her room. Xu Pucran ordered a few hundred taels of silver to be given to Ruiping as a thank you for taking care of Rainbow these past few months. Ruiping, unable to refuse, accepted the gift. The lady told her they were welcome to visit Rainbow anytime. Ruiping left the Xu family, returned to the town, and explained everything to Guitang and the elders. Though the Xu brothers were reluctant to let Caitong go, she was, after all, someone else’s daughter, so they had to go back and inform their mother-in-law.
Chapter Three
Xu Caitong followed Cuilian through several corridors and into the young miss’s boudoir in the back garden. Sitting on an intricately carved rattan chair, she sulked with her head bowed. Now, forced to accept being someone else’s daughter, she didn’t know if this was a blessing or a curse, or what would happen next. Cuilian checked her whip marks, applied medicine, and changed her clothes. Seeing the young miss unhappy, she assumed it was because of the pain. “Miss, does it hurt a lot?” Xu Caitong shook her head without responding. Cuilian, noticing she didn’t want to talk, pouted and stood by her side. “Miss, are you unhappy being back home? Don’t you miss me, the master, and the mistress? The master and mistress were so worried about you they fell ill; don’t you want to stay home?”
Xu Caitong sighed, lifting her head to look at Cuilian, “I don’t know how to explain to you.”
