"It was you, wasn’t it?" Xiang Minghou’s voice trembled.

Old Madam Xiang buried her face in Xiang Minghou’s chest, her skin a ghastly white. It took her a long moment to find her voice. She let him go, only to raise her hand and take his. "There are no classes at the academy today. Let Mother see if your teacher has rapped your knuckles."

Xiang Minghou pulled his hand away. "I know you’re not crazy."

"Eldest, what’s wrong with you? I’m your mother. You won’t even let me take a look?" Old Madam Xiang muttered to herself.

"Did you poison Father?" Xiang Minghou asked again, his voice hoarse.

"Eldest, when you’re older, you must remember to take good care of your little brother." Old Madam Xiang again took Xiang Minghou’s hand, leading him to Xiang Mingli’s side. "Look how good your brother is. He’s fast asleep."

"Forgetting is for the best. I go to war; my fate is uncertain. We’ll rarely see each other again. Take care of yourself." Xiang Minghou coldly withdrew his hand. "As for him, the Xiang family never wronged him. This situation today is entirely your fault for spoiling him. From now on, whether he lives or dies is up to fate."

Old Madam Xiang continued to mutter to herself, ignoring him.

"Whether you admit it or not, I already have my answer." Xiang Minghou turned and walked to the door, not once looking back. "I won’t be seeing you off tomorrow. Don’t come looking for me, either. Let us say our goodbyes as mother and son right here."

After he spoke, he clutched his stomach, pausing for a moment before stepping out the door.

"How can you be so heartless?"

The moment Xiang Minghou stepped outside, an angry voice accosted him from behind. He knew her temperament; there was no way she was actually crazy.

"When it comes to being heartless, who could possibly compare to you?"

"You won’t even ask about your brother, or your nephew and niece? You’re just going to stand by and watch them die?" Old Madam Xiang’s gaze was utterly venomous.

"You know who he is better than I do. I used to think you were distant with me because I was never home. Now, I understand everything."

’After all, hadn’t she just stood by and watched him struggle in that well all those years ago? To this day, whenever he closed his eyes, her smile was a persistent nightmare he couldn’t shake.’

"Understood everything? Heh... HAHAHAHA! Truly worthy of Xiang family stock. That heartless look on your face is identical to the Old Master’s... HAHAHA..." Old Madam Xiang threw her head back and roared with laughter. As her laughter subsided, her eyes turned sinister. "It was me. I was the one who pushed you into the well. Watching you struggle filled me with glee! HAHAHA! It’s just a pity... I was so close..."

Xiang Minghou stiffened and turned back to face her. A storm of emotions churned in his eyes, but chief among them was disappointment.

"Do you want to know why?" Old Madam Xiang cackled, descending into madness. "No one in the Xiang family ever respected me! The old master and madam never treated me like a human being! I swore back then that I would one day grind them under my heel! The more the old master doted on you, the more I hated you! HAHAHAHA! What’s so great about the Xiang family? In the end, didn’t they all die at the hands of an inferior like me? HAHAHA... I hate every last one of the Xiangs! Once you’re dead, everything the Xiang family has will belong to Mingli!"

’Madwoman.’ Rage surged through Xiang Minghou, and his eyes were terrifying to behold.

"I am a madwoman! But it was the Xiang family that drove me mad! You all forced me to do this! You brought this all upon yourselves!" Old Madam Xiang shrieked, laughing hysterically.

Xiang Mingli slowly began to stir. As his mother’s words registered, his eyes shot open so wide they looked as though they might burst. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

"Eld... Eld... COUGH, COUGH..."

Hearing the noise, Old Madam Xiang’s laughter died abruptly.

"Eldest... Brother..." Xiang Mingli managed to force out the two words, his voice hoarse.

"Mingli, you’re awake! Where does it hurt?" Old Madam Xiang scrambled toward him, every last trace of her earlier madness vanished.