Silent Lover (The Silent Concubine) - Chap 116
Chapter 116 – Mother
Shen Yu hurriedly entered, his sweat wetting his ink-black hair, sticking to his crimson cheeks. Suddenly, the jail became silent, with only his anxious panting breaking the stillness.
Unfortunately, he was still a step too late. What he saw was his mother’s body lying in a pool of blood, and Jun Xuanxiao, drenched in blood, wielding a blood-stained weapon.
“Yu’er…”
Jun Xuanxiao appeared somewhat flustered, instinctively hiding the spear behind him, but this action only made him seem more suspicious. Jun Xuanxiao, proud as he was, found himself inexplicably nervous, fearing Shen Yu’s reaction to the scene…
The blood drained from Shen Yu’s face in an instant, and Jun Xuanxiao could clearly see a layer of deathly pallor covering him, his lips turning gray. Shen Yu’s eyes widened in terror, almost as if they were about to bleed…
“I… just arrived…”
Jun Xuanxiao didn’t know why he felt guilty. Despite his pride, this was the first time he actively explained himself. Even when Shen Yu misunderstood and thought he had kidnapped his mother, Jun Xuanxiao couldn’t be bothered to justify himself.
Shen Yu didn’t respond to him. At that moment, he seemed to block out the outside world’s noise. He staggered step by step to his mother’s body, knelt down, and embraced her tightly…
But no matter how hard he tried, his mother couldn’t come back to life, couldn’t speak to him, or care for him.
Shen Yu pressed his face against his mother’s skin, longing to absorb any remaining warmth, imagining that his mother was still alive.
Every winter in the Shen Mansion felt so long. When Shen Yu was young, his hands would turn red and purple from the cold. His mother would tuck his hands into her sleeves to warm them, even though she herself had to do hard, laborious work, her hands already cracked and bleeding from the cold…
His mother was everything to him, like an umbrella protecting him. Whenever he caused trouble, his mother would take the punishment for him. Shen Yu always felt that his mother would protect him forever.
Shen Yu touched his mother’s hand, which was covered in calluses from doing the hardest and most tiring work in the mansion…
In his memories, his mother was young and beautiful, with bright eyes. But life in the Shen Mansion was hard, and she aged quickly. Though only forty years old, her once-long hair turned white, her skin yellowed and thinned from exposure to the elements.
“Mother, when I grow up, I’ll work hard to earn money to redeem you. We won’t be slaves anymore. People here don’t like us…”
These were words Shen Yu had signed. His mother praised him for being sensible and told him to eat the egg quickly so he would grow faster…
Shen Yu picked up the egg his mother had stolen from the kitchen, even though he was drooling with hunger, he gave it to his mother.
His mother didn’t want it, saying she didn’t like eggs…
Shen Yu, young and naive, thought his mother really didn’t like eggs. Half-awake in the afternoon, he saw his mother tasting the eggshells he had left, which still had some whites on them.
So Shen Yu wished he could grow up quickly. But the older he got, the more trouble he caused. Some servants in the Shen Mansion would always tease him, make him take off his clothes. His mother would become very tough at such times, driving those people away. She was clearly a weak woman, but she became strong to protect Shen Yu, not afraid of anything.
Until later, when the magistrate forced him to marry into the Wang Mansion, his mother cried all night…
“My child, you must obey the lord’s wishes when you go to the Wang Mansion. Whatever he wants, you must agree. Even if he beats you or scolds you, don’t be discouraged. Mother only hopes you come back alive…”
Shen Yu was very obedient, doing whatever the lord of the Wang Mansion asked him to do, even if he lost his hand or got injured, it didn’t matter. Although the lord of the Wang Mansion was fierce, he didn’t kill him.
Because his mother was waiting for him to come back…
“Mother, I’m back… Why didn’t you wait for me…”
Two lines of tears rolled down Shen Yu’s cheeks as he clung tightly to his mother’s face.
Then he took out a rough cloth bag from his arms, inside which was a heavy sum of official silver, which he had shamelessly begged from the lord of the Wang Mansion when he left…
“Mother, look, I’ve saved enough money to redeem you. We don’t have to be slaves anymore. We can live in our own house. When I grow up, I can share a lot of work and even go out and work as a handyman to earn money. We should be able to support ourselves…”
“Mother, take it… Why don’t you take it…”
Shen Yu put the official silver he had hidden for a long time into his mother’s hand, but she couldn’t close her hand anymore, nor could she touch Shen Yu’s head with joy and say, “My child, you’re so sensible.”
She would never be seen again…
Shen Yu suddenly felt very scared, his eyes blank. If he didn’t have his mother in the future, where would he go alone in this world?
Jun Xuanxiao saw the official silver in Shen Yu’s hand and remembered something. Suddenly he understood why Shen Yu had thrown away his dignity and crawled to him begging for money.
The ingot of silver seemed very dazzling…
Jun Xuanxiao thought Shen Yu was weak and could be manipulated at will, usually looking submissive, but he turned out to be more courageous than ordinary people.
“Yu’er…”
Jun Xuanxiao’s throat tightened. Shen Yu had maintained this posture for a long time. He was worried, reaching out to pat him on the shoulder…
Shen Yu suddenly turned his head, roaring at Jun Xuanxiao, baring his teeth and claws at him. He pulled his features hard, his eyes bloodshot, like a little beast protecting his mother’s body, gone mad…
He had lost his sense of security, nervous and wary of everything in the outside world…
“Woo-woo—”
This was Shen Yu’s second cry, his voice hoarse and desperate. This was the loudest sound he could make.
Even a mute could tear his heart out, but most of the time they endured silently, swallowing their pain until it burst, leaving their hearts full of holes.
