Chapter 1162 - True Feelings and Schemes

Li Siya and Li Mo gazed at each other through tear-filled eyes for a long moment. The days when the three sisters had frolicked together without a care seemed like another lifetime.

"I never thought we sisters would meet again!" Li Mo said tremulously, clutching the purple lilac tassel cord in her hand. This was something she had braided herself years ago—one for each of the three sisters. Her own had been lost long ago during years of wandering and hardship. She never imagined her younger sister still kept hers in such good condition.

The two shared stories of their years apart, and when the conversation turned to how they'd spent that time, Li Mo could no longer suppress the sorrow she'd held in for so long. She wept as she spoke, which set Li Siya to dabbing at her own eyes.

"...It was thanks to Sister Chuqing's help at Gou Family Estate. Later I met Brother Zhang, who kindly brought me to join the... the Chiefs..." Li Mo sobbed. "Elder Sister and your niece truly went through hell at Gou Family Estate—we walked through the gates of the underworld."

Li Siya of course knew about Gou Family Estate—she had once colluded with Gou Er, placing him as an idle chess piece that ultimately served little purpose. She truly hadn't expected Li Mo to have suffered so much bullying and abuse at this man's estate, which left her with mixed feelings.

Anger and guilt intermingled, yet when she thought about it, this was also Li Mo's own doing—recalling how she had secretly eloped without a word, leaving a shadow of abandonment and betrayal in the heart of the still-young Li Siya.

Watching her sister now guilt-stricken and crying bitterly, Li Siya felt an inexplicable sense of satisfaction.

"Let's not speak more of these sad things," Li Siya sighed softly. "Elder Sister, to abandon us like that—how cruel!"

Li Mo's heart was already burdened with guilt, and this reproach made her feel even more unworthy of facing her. She was after all a half-servant "milk sister," naturally of lower status than Li Siya. Before she knew it, she had fallen to her knees in front of Li Siya, holding back tears: "Elder Sister knows she was wrong. Back then I was bewitched for a moment. The hardships I've suffered all these years are punishment for my own wrongdoing..."

Seeing her sister kneeling on the floor, Li Siya felt pleased: Li Mo had once again acknowledged her status as mistress. Having wandered outside for over a decade, winning her back with sisterly affection alone wouldn't be enough—she had to make her yield and admit fault, to rebuild her authority. Her earlier remark, though it seemed like mere petulance between sisters, actually carried deeper meaning: Li Mo's parents had died one after another because of her elopement, and she had neither returned for their funerals nor visited their graves. By invoking the great moral weight of "unfilial conduct" and adding her remaining authority as mistress, how could Li Mo not kneel and submit?

Seeing that she had already knelt and admitted wrongdoing, Li Siya stopped there, showing an expression of tender reluctance as she made a show of helping her up: "Sister, don't be like this. It's all in the past. What's the point of talking about right and wrong? Sister suffered so much, and I couldn't help you..."

How could Li Mo know the twists and turns in this younger sister's mind? She simply thought her sister remembered their bond and didn't want to make things too difficult for her, which made her feel even more grateful. The two wept together a while longer, then asked about how Li Siya and Li Quan had been living all these years.

Speaking of the years past, Li Siya didn't say much about her own deeds, only that she'd been "making do" at sea. Li Mo saw her sister's weatherbeaten appearance and knew she must have been doing some kind of "work" at sea—most likely the same "black business" their former master had done. She grew worried.

Though her life and work these past years had been confined between the farm and the hospital, compared to other naturalized citizens she'd had more contact with the Elders. From fragments of overheard conversation, she knew bits of policy and news. She knew the Senate deeply despised pirates—those who didn't come voluntarily to submit would either be "reformed" or killed. She couldn't help but worry, and advised her sister to stop earning money that smelled of the sea. Whether returning to Portugal to live with their former master, or staying comfortably in Macau—either would be a good way out.

Li Siya sighed, unwilling to speak. Her mother was of humble birth and had never had a Catholic wedding with her father—in fact, her father already had a legitimate wife and children in Portugal. Though her father and the Portuguese lady there had written saying they would acknowledge her as a legitimate daughter if she was willing to return, her origins would still leave her a head shorter than others. She was a proud woman; how could she accept this slight? Besides, returning to Portugal meant she'd have to properly style her hair, wear gold-threaded gowns, and sit properly at home every day waiting for some gentleman to take interest in her or her dowry and propose...

She had already accumulated a fortune of one or two hundred thousand. Rather than living a constrained life in Portugal, she'd rather live freely here.

"My mother was Chinese," she said. "Besides, without seeing you, Sister, even if I went to Portugal I wouldn't feel at ease." She deflected from other questions and asked: "Sister, are you doing well in Lingao?"

(End of Chapter)