Disclaimer: I do not own love like the galaxy nor any of its characters.
Chap. 4
Later that night after applying some wax to her lips and faked being asleep, which was found out by her mother but not reviled. She listened as her mother picked apart her past actions and made it so that all the times she was punished it was justified, seeming to take her aunt and grandmother's side on their actions toward her. While at the same time reviling that they had, had an idea she was not being taken care of the way they wanted and what her mother worried about now was making her a virtuous young lady. 'Instead of dealing with the people bullying me, she has decided to discipline me. I would rather depend on myself than her, seems like I will still have to protect myself.'
After having interrogated Shoushang's great uncle and achieving little results, Ling Buyi sat in his office that morning thinking over what the next step of the investigation would be. The information he had learned seemed to be a dead end, as they had no way to connect it to the person responsible for embezzling the armaments. Asking A'Fui about what had happened at the Chang residents, he listened as it was reported that Shoushang's grandmother and aunt were constantly causing a commotion. Angry that Shoushang had "betrayed" her great uncle, and wished to punish her. He clenched his jaw at that information and filed it away for later use when A'Qi walked in and gave his brother a look to shut up. He then reported that his investigation into Shoushang's family reviled that they were dedicated upstanding citizens and that they had no knowledge of what their relative was involved in, except for Shoushang's aunt who tried to obstruct their investigation of the embezzlement case.
"Young Master, Lady Cheng's servant just dropped this bundle off to us. He said it was prepared by lady Cheng herself."
Watching as A'Qi took the bundle then placed it down on the table in front of him and opened it, all the while A'Fei looked into the bundle and wondered to himself if Shoushang was trying to now bribe them. Looking at the bundle of straw that lay on top of a pile of fabric Ling Buyi picked up the fabric and looked at it, putting together the pieces of how everything was connected. 'So she feels like playing games, seems like I annoyed her this time.' Telling his commanders they were headed to the Ge family fabric shop, he kept the fabric in his hand as he stood, looking down at the bundle of straw. 'She was always petty when it came to someone making fun of her'. Smiling he left to follow the lead he was given.
It was not even two hours later that Ling Buyi stood outside the fabric shop, waiting for any evidence to turn up. A crowd of people were gathered around behind him, murmuring about what was going on and what they may be looking for, when A'Qi exited the shop with a scroll of bamboo that held the stores accounts written within. He took the scroll, looking over the numbers as he was told the numbers did not add up. That even though the store had plenty of money coming in, it was still not turning a profit. When he was asked if Shoushang was teasing them with her round about way of giving him information and if it was her way of asking for help escaping, he calmly explained what each of the items meant and that Shoushang did not need help escaping when she had found a way to do so herself. Holding the scroll in his other hand, Ling Buyi left the shop to once again interrogate Shoushang's great uncle. But this time he had evidence that would make him talk.
With Shoushang, her opinion of her mother took on a more solid shape as she was found out to be faking her illness and then continually scolded or corrected of everything she did. From eating, to the way she sat, it was never the proper way to be a young lady. Never mind that she was never taught such things, and was left to her own devices most days. The last straw was when her mother took a ruler to her hands, saying that she would be the one to bring her to heel. As her mother walked away, her friend and maid made a comment that she should not be sad. Holding back her tears and turning her back to hide them, she took a moment to collect herself and steel her emotions.
"What's there to be sad about? I don't care about my mother's opinion about me anyway. A loving mother and grateful child, is the direct opposite of our relationship. I wont feel sad about lose her love, since I never had it to begin with."
Even though she said those words, in her heart she knew she didn't mean what she said and behind her, her friend knew as well that she didn't mean what she said.
The next morning found Shoushang and her family standing at the entrance of their home, watching as her grandmother and her grand uncle made a spectacle of themselves. Standing off to the side, Shoushang was leaning against the wall when her grand uncle in his anger loudly reviled everything she already knew. She was purposely not educated in the ways a normal young lady would have been. That her aunt and grandmother had made an effort to hinder her growth and tried to sabotage her future. That they would rather have let her starve then waste resources. Loudly he spewed these details, letting all in hearing distance know that she was illiterate and undisciplined.
Unknown to her knowledge, Ling Buyi was in a guards tower watching and listening to everything that was going on. And what he heard amused him, as well as made him furious. He could see where Shoushang inherited her playful dramatics, but the fact that her family went out of their way to make her a useless woman had his fists clenching. After receiving a report about where their new lead ended while the Chang family continued their dramatics, he sent A'Qi and A'Fei off to investigate the probable hiding locations of their newest person of interest.
Standing alone on the tower as his men went down the stairs, Ling Buyi held his breath as he waited for Shoushang to step out further into the street and turn around. He had not see the girl he had been constantly thinking about for almost the past four years, and he wondered how much she had changed in that time. However it was not meant to be, as she never ventured far enough for the top of her body to be seen from his angle. So with a disappointed sigh, he waited till she completely disappeared before leaving to investigate on things himself.
As Shoushang hunched over her desk, trying to memorize the bamboo scroll between her bent elbows. Shoushang felt her stomach starting to have familiar pains, looking up to her mother who sat beside her in the flickering candle light glancing at her from the corner of her eye. Mentioning that she was too hungry to study, she became disheartened when all her mother had to say was that she would study better on an empty stomach. She watched as her father came with a snack, but was then chased away because her mother deemed it to be so. Looking down at the scroll that was laying on the table, she said that her aunt would starve her to make her do what was wanted of her. And that she thought that now that her mother and father were home, she would not have to be afraid of that happening again. But… clearly she was wrong.
When after her words, her mother seemed to take an interest in what it was she wanted to study, Shoushang became excited to share her interest. Hopping that her mother would support her, and even join her in what could be learned. But her excitement was short lived when the response was her mother saying she was only being playful and not taking her studies seriously. That she was being immoral, petty and defiant because of the way she was raised. Her mother finished off by saying she was to stop her scheming ways, because they would not be fallen for. Her mother then started to scold her, saying that because of her vengeful actions in turning in her grate uncle, she could have brought harm to the family and that what she had done was not the proper way for a young lady to act. Shoushang watched as her mother left the room, thinking to her self why would she want to learn from her mother when she let her second aunt bully the main branch. She then straitened in a passing thought 'with mothers temperament, she wouldn't just endure being bullied. Father has just earned substantial merit from His Majesty and will most likely be promoted. Which means…!' Standing from her spot, Shoushang went to find her second aunt and if everything worked out like she hoped. She would be free of the largest factor to her lonely childhood.
In the long scheme of things, Shoushang found it amusing how easily her plan worked. As her aunt stormed into her room, cursing her up one side and down the next, she used everything in her not to crack up laughing and managed to come off as a demure coy young lady. One of the things that did confuse her though, was when her aunt complained about how her aunt and uncle would be living in separate residences, so how was she to have a son alone.
"Since ancient times hens lay an egg, while roosters crow. Why does a woman need a man to have a child?"
Oh the face her aunt made as she stoped herself from explaining why both a woman and man were needed to have a child and diverted her awkwardness back onto how she was just a child, quickly boring Shoushang. So she went back to her 'studies' as the older woman continued to complain. Glancing up at the whining wretch, Shoushang caught a small movement just at the edge of her open door and seized an opportunity to put the final nail in her aunts coffin. If she was able to completely rid her family of the woman, more then just she would have an easier life. Like her, her uncle and cousin had been tormented by this horrible selfish woman, and if she could free them of their tormentor at the same time as her. She would do it, it was the least she could do for her kind, mild temper uncle and timid cousin.