Ling Chunxi halted her steps once she heard someone calling her name. She turned around to see it was Second Elder who was calling out to her. His eyes were still a little red from crying.
"What's the matter Second Elder?" asked Ling Chunxi uncertainly.
"Let's go, Little Chunxi. I'll buy you a good meal. There's something I want to tell you." Second Elder's face was flushed, and he seemed agitated.
Doubt clouded Ling Chunxi's mind, but she remained quiet and nodded in agreement. She followed Second Elder to the town's best restaurant where they were led to a dining room. Second Elder went ahead and ordered a good number of dishes without waiting for Ling Chunxi to say anything. Every dish ordered was a meat dish. Ling Chunxi was perplexed at this unusual display from Second Elder.
When the dishes were served, Second Elder eagerly picked up different pieces of meat and placed them in Ling Chunxi's bowl. "Eat up, Little Chunxi. I know you must be hungry."
"You should eat up too, Second Elder." To a foodie like Ling Chunxi, the heavens falling or the earth sinking wouldn't be as bad a fate as feeling the pangs of hunger. Therefore, she ate without restraint, though she did pause to set a plate of meat down for Little White.
The sight of Little White eating happily made Second Elder smile. Then, as though he had come to a firm decision, he announced in a serious tone, "Do not consume the medicinal concoction I prescribed. If you do, red bumps and sores will appear all over your face and cause it to swell."
Ling Chunxi put her chopsticks down and stared at Second Elder. Though she had her suspicions, she was still shocked beyond words. Second Elder's eyes got redder from trying to contain his tears and his face was filled with guilt.
"Second Elder?" implored Ling Chunxi, frowning and confused. What was the meaning behind these words?
"Chunxi, though others didn't know of your beauty before, I did." Second Elder met Ling Chunxi's confused gaze with a serious one. "Sadly, the state of this world we live in is such that a face like yours could not be seen without inviting more trouble than you could handle given your past capabilities. And that was why I poisoned you."
"What?" Stormy waves of turbulent emotions had arisen deep within Ling Chunxi, but she made a great effort to appear calm on the surface.
Second Elder continued, "Little Chunxi, your beauty would have been your disaster. You did not have the abilities needed to protect yourself against those who would have wanted to claim your beauty for themselves. My hope was for you to be able to live a safe, happy and content life without being taken advantage of in any way, but I didn't know how to protect you against every threat I could foresee. So, I used the most brutal way I could think of to ensure you'd be left safe and alone-I hid your beauty so that no one may covet it." He took a deep breath before going on, "Little one, if there is hate in your heart towards me for all I have done, then hate me. I will not ask your forgiveness. You have suffered much because of my actions and the only reason I can give for having done these things is that I would much rather endure your hate than to let any harm come to you."
A wave of grief and sorrow washed over Ling Chunxi as she looked at the elderly man seated across from her with teary eyes red from crying. So, this was the reason then. She had thought there had been a menacing conspiracy behind her poisoning, but it was done out of concern for her wellbeing. It was an act that was as cruel as it was kind. Indeed, if there had been any powerful men who had come to steal her away to abuse her or make her their concubine, even the Ling family would be unable to protect her against their might. This was a world where the strong preyed on the weak. It was a cruel reality no one could fight. Possessing treasure one did not have an ability to protect would lead to a bad fate. Second Elder understood this well, which is why he chose to do what he did.
"Please, believe me when I tell you that I never expected anyone to have bullied you as they did. Not from the Ling family at least, I made sure of that. But I didn't consider the Qin family." A vicious intention of vengeance infused Second Elder's voice as he vowed, "I plan on making the Qins pay for the injustices they bestowed upon you sooner or later."
As he said this, a sudden realization hit Ling Chunxi like a sledgehammer. Now that she thought about it, nobody within the Ling family had bullied her or called her names despite her not having good relations with them. Even Ling Yuanhong never targeted her until he was emboldened by Qin Yumei's instigation. Second Elder must have issued a warning to the Ling clan to leave her in peace. Ling Chunxi bet Second Elder had no idea Ling Yuanhong had violated those orders.