The Queen of Everything

That night, Zuo Zhici returned to the Zuo family home. It was not peaceful.

She cried for the whole day and only went back at night. The redness in her eyes had not subsided.

The whole family was in the hall. As soon as she returned home, Zuo Nanfan asked when he saw her, “Sister, you’re back for dinner?”

Her parents and grandparents had asked her to eat at the dining table.

She ignored him, lowered her head, and quickly walked past the living room to her room.

Ruan Yin and everyone looked at each other. She did not know what had happened, but she immediately got up and went to Zuo Zhici’s room.

A while after she’d left earlier, Zuo Shaoxin had received a call. It said that Zuo Zhici had gone to the Zong family residence today.

His face darkened and his palm turned pale.

The two elders of the Zuo family were afraid of their son. When they saw him, they asked, “What happened?”

Zuo Shaoxin did not speak and just pushed the bowl away. “I’m full.”

As he spoke, he got up and went to her room.

The two elders looked at the dishes on the dining table. No one touched their chopsticks.

In silence, the two of them looked at Zuo Nanfan, who was puzzled, and coaxed him to eat.

***

Ruan Yin pushed the door open. In the bedroom, Zuo Zhici was lying in the middle of the bed with her head buried under the quilt.

There was no light in the room. It was dark.

Ruan Yin closed the door and turned on the light. The bright light was dazzling.

She walked over and asked gently, “What’s wrong, Zhici? Did something happen? Did you encounter something that made you unhappy outside?”

She gently pushed Zuo Zhici’s body, and Zuo Zhici’s reacted.

This action made Ruan Yin’s heart skip a beat, as if she was being pricked by needles.

“What’s wrong with you?”

Her voice was trembling, and she had a bad feeling.

Zuo Zhici turned around abruptly, her face full of tears. “You didn’t tell me why my sister was unwilling to return to the Zuo family because you were afraid that I would find out what you did back then, right?”

Ruan Yin’s heart started to beat violently, faster than usual, and she became more flustered. Her hands were trembling, and her eyes turned red. “What did you hear outside?”

“What did I hear?”

Zuo Zhici smiled with a pale face. “You entrusted my sister to Uncle Zong back then. Why were you still capable of silencing him?!”

Her last sentence sounded like a roar.

Ruan Yin felt as if she had collapsed. She looked at Zuo Zhici in disbelief. “Who did you hear that from? Who did you hear it from?”

She broke down instantly. For so many years, she had tried her best to be a good Mrs. Zuo, but when she thought about what had happened back then, it could still easily defeat her.

Zuo Zhici’s question felt like it was opening up the ugly past in front of her. She could not accept it.

Tears streamed down her face. This time, Zuo Zhici was no longer afraid of her crying. She looked at the beautiful woman in front of her. Even though she was her mother, her eyes were filled with disappointment.

Seeing her disappointment, Ruan Yin seemed to have been agitated by something. Her voice was intermittent. “All these years, the only thing I’ve been afraid of is this. That you will know what kind of people your parents are…”

Tears streamed down her face. She did not know if she had been too agitated, but she felt a pain in her head then fainted.