The prison guard stood to the side and said, "She was already foaming at the mouth when we found her. Alas..."
With trembling fingers, Xie Yuanjiu lifted the white cloth. Just as she expected, she saw Second Madam Xie's ghastly pale face.
Tears streamed down her face. She covered the body again and collapsed to the floor, sobbing.
The prison guard asked, "Miss Xie Si, what should we do now? Will you take her with you, or should we notify the family at the Xie Mansion?"
Xie Yuanjiu choked out, "My mother suffered her entire life, and now she ends up like this! I should have been a dutiful daughter and given her a grand burial, but now... it seems I can't even go home. My father won't have me, and he certainly won't care whether my mother is dead or alive."
Wiping her tears, she sobbed, "Please, just make the proper arrangements for her."
