Unfortunate Event II

The splash of water, on the back of her hand, snapped Housekeeper Su out of her daze. She looked down, wondering what had wet her hand? Horrified, she noticed it was a tear drop, her tear drop. She shouldn't be openly showing her emotions like this to the Little Miss, she simply didn't need that right now, or at all. Housekeeper Su reprimanded herself, in her head, as she hastily turned around, before wiping her face off with the sleeve of her uniform shirt.

Composing herself before she spoke again, Housekeeper Su asked Li Qinyang in an overly curious tone, one that an adult would use to show over enthusiasm to a child as they hoped to appease them, "What amazing news do you have for your mother?"

Li Qinyang seemed not to have noticed that something was amiss, despite how perceptive she usually was for her age, "I can't tell you that yet, Aunty Su. I have to tell Mother first."

Li Qinyang wanted to hold firm with her decision, however, she felt like she had to share the news with someone. She could barley hold it in.

"Where's Mother, Aunty Su?" the little girl began with her questions, "Is she upstairs in her room? Or is she in in the music room?"

Unaware, Li Qinyang didn't notice how Housekeeper Su's eyes began to mist over once again, she didn't notice how Housekeeper Su's hands began to tremble at her sides which were at eye level with herself, and she definitely failed to notice the sombre look in the grown up's eyes.

Her questions going unanswered and her finally realising the sudden silence in the hallway, Li Qinyang called out, "Aunty Su?" before looking up at the older woman.

Hearing her name being called out by Li Qinyang, Housekeeper Su glanced down at her, but not before making sure that she cleared all of the tellings of her emotions from her eyes.

"Yes?" she then questioned the girl, obviously not having heard Li Qinyang's series of questions earlier, unable to focus.

"I asked where Mother is?"

All of a sudden, it looked as if Housekeeper Su was tongue-tied, not having a response, "She..." Housekeeper Su continued to hesitate. She knew that she had to tell the Little Miss, but she just wasn't sure how.

"She went on a trip for a few days to relax, she's been tired lately," Housekeeper Su began with a short story that was clearly being made up on the spot and seeing the dejected look on Li Qinyang's face as she started, Housekeeper Su quickly carried on, "don't worry though, she'll be back before you know it. Then, you will be able to tell her your great news!"

"You just might not be able to see her for a few days or speak to her," she added on, clarifying this to the little girl.

"Okay, then. I'll wait until she comes back," Li Qinyang said dejectedly, evidently not happy with the sudden news.

Why didn't her mother tell her before she left, and why didn't she notice her mother's tiredness? Li Qinyang continued to gather more questions in her head as she sulked all the way to her bedroom, leaving Housekeeper Su standing in the hallway alone.

Alone in the hallway, Housekeeper Su sighed to herself, Master Li had strictly instructed her not to tell the Little Miss. What could she do? Hoping to cheer the Little Miss up, Housekeeper Su went to the massive kitchen in the mansion, and she got some snacks to take up to Li Qinyang's room.

Outside of Li Qinyang's bedroom door, Housekeeper Su noticed that the door was closed. Normally, the door would always be open. Sighing again to herself, Housekeeper Su quitely knocked on the door. A quiet, "Come in," came from inside of the room, so Housekeeper Su entered with the tray of snacks.

"Here, eat something," Housekeeper Su tried to encourage Li Qinyang.

However, it clearly wasn't working, "I'm not hungry."

Li Qinyang could be stubborn when she wanted to be. Besides that, she genuinely wasn't in the mood to eat, even though rare for the glutinous little girl.

"Come on, you have to eat something," Housekeeper Su tried again.

Not wanting to make the older woman worry or concerned, Li Qinyang slightly gave in, "Okay, i'll eat some a bit later."

"Okay," Housekeeper Su chose to let it go.

Housekeeper Su knew that Li Qinyang was still sulking at the news, thinking that her mother had left on a trip without telling her goodbye. Housekeeper Su knew how close the mother and daughter pair were, so she knew that there wasn't much that she could say right now to cheer the little girl up. However, she had hoped that the snacks might have cheered the glutinous little girl up. That clearly wasn't the case.

"Don't think too much. Your mother will be back before you know it. Okay?"

"Okay," she replied obediently.

Sighing, Housekeeper Su left the room quietly. Housekeeper Su knew that Li Qinyang had agreed with her just know because the little girl didn't want to make anyone worry about her.

And so, for the next week, Li Qinyang kept to herself more than usual. She went to school and her piano and violin lessons. Then, she would come straight home before going to the mansion's music room to practice some more. She didn't talk much, she was too quiet. She only practiced her instruments at home and did her homework. Her father had also been absent for the whole week.

One day, later on in the week, Li Qinyang was taking a break from playing the piano, inside of the music room, when she heard some of the house maids saying that Master Li had returned. The three or so maids, from what Li Qinyang could see, were gathered outside of the rooms door talking rather loudly.

Her father was home, Li Qinyang thought to herself with a new found, slight spark. She rushed up from her spot to the entrance of the music room where she asked the maids where her father was. The maids told her that they had heard that he went straight to his study.

Unfortunately, what Li Qinyang had failed to hear the maids discussing, was about a new older woman that her father had bought into his study. No one knew who the woman was.

Master Li He's study had always been off limits to everyone in the house but because of Li Qinyang's excitement, she failed to remember this as she rushed up the grand staircase heading to her father's study.

As she gained closer to the door, she sped up before bursting through the door without knocking, shouting, "Father, you're back!"

However, Li Qinyang shouldn't have done that... she should have knocked.

As soon as Li Qinyang managed to fully push the door open, the view that confronted her confused her. Although smart for her age, Li Qinyang didn't understand the representation of her father's promiscuity that this image, in front of her, showed.

Her father had a woman that clearly wasn't her mother, wrapped in his embrace, his arm circling her waist. The woman in his arms was giggling. Li Qinyang's innocence and naivety didn't fully allow her to understand what was happening. All she cared about was what she had come to ask her father, so she skipped over this important factor that revealed the type of man that her father actually was.

On the other hand, her father was angered by the sudden intrusion. He released the woman in his arms and turned to glare at Li Qinyang, "Who allowed you to come in here?"

"Sorry Father," Li Qinyang naively apologised.

Letting some of his anger go, Li He sighed before asking, "What did you come in here for?"

"Father, where's mother? Why isn't she back yet, she's been gone for a long time?"

"Your mother..." Li He mumbled to himself, he seemed to be under the influence, drunk, his eyes were hazy.

"Yes, mother. When will she be coming back?"

"Oh her!" he suddenly exclaimed, suprising Li Qinyang, "she's on her death bed." He then nonchalantly told her as if it didn't matter. However, Li Qinyang also missed this detail, her only concern being her mother's wellbeing.

"Death bed?" The little girl questioned, not wanting to believe her ears.

"Yes," Li He began, forgetting himself that he wasn't supposed to be telling Li Qinyang this information, "she's still at the hospital."

Everything that happened next was all a blur. Li Qinyang ended up going to find Housekeeper Su, leaving her father's study meaning also unawarely leaving her father with that other woman, to go and ask her if what her father said was true. Sadly, her father was telling the truth. She found out from Housekeeper Su that her mother was at City B's Third hospital were mostly commoners got treated. She was told that her father had said that there was no more spaces at City B's First Royal Hospital, and that it was too expensive.

How ironic considering how rich the Li family was at the time.

So in a blur and flurry of movements, Housekeeper Su took Li Qinyang to City B's third hospital at the little girl's insistence.