Chapter 30
Chapter 30
Everyone in the Censorate knew that the Lord Censor-in-Chief was exceptionally strict and kept his subordinates on a tight leash.
It was bad enough that he himself steered entirely clear of women, but he made the entire Censorate curb their desires along with him. Even those who wished to take a concubine had to do so cautiously and in secret, for fear of displeasing His Excellency.
Censor Liu felt terribly wronged, but he did not dare talk back in the slightest. He immediately dropped to his knees and admitted his fault.
Shen Si glanced impassively at Censor Liu, who was kneeling before him. After a long silence, he let out another breath.
What did Ji Hanyi’s affairs have to do with him?
She had long since become a wife of the Xie Family.
It was just that yielding temperament of hers…
Shen Si raised a hand and rubbed between his brows, cutting off that train of thought. He waved Censor Liu away, then summoned his trusted confidant, Vice Censor-in-Chief Wang Shu.
There was undoubtedly something wrong with the case in Shilin County.
And whatever was hidden beneath the surface might be no small matter. Six people had died, which meant the case should have been reported to the prefectural authorities in Chenzhou and even the Liangguang Commander-in-Chief’s Office. Yet the Commander-in-Chief’s Office had forwarded it to the Ministry of Punishments without conducting a thorough investigation, and even the Ministry of Punishments had classified it as an unsolved case.
It had passed through one level after another, yet not a single person had sensed that something was amiss.
He handed the case to Wang Shu and ordered him to conduct an inspection of Chenzhou and bring the matter to a final resolution.
That morning, Ji Hanyi had been taking a stroll in the garden to clear her mind when she ran into Li Mingrou again.
Ji Hanyi had intended to avoid her, but Li Mingrou came over and looked at her smugly. “I heard Brother Xie would rather stay in his study these days than live with you. You must be heartbroken.”
Cold air hung beneath the overcast sky, and the bare branches lent the garden a bleak air. Ji Hanyi held her cloak closed, the ring of silver fox fur around her hood framing her lovely features. She looked at Li Mingrou with a faint smile. “I’ve already asked Eldest Master for a divorce.
“Perhaps it was too sudden, because to my surprise, he refused. It would be helpful if you could persuade him for me.
“After all, living in the study for so long truly isn’t good for his health.”
Li Mingrou stared at Ji Hanyi with wide eyes. “What did you say?”
“You’re really willing to divorce Brother Xie?”
Ji Hanyi raised her eyes. “It doesn’t matter if you don’t believe me. I left the divorce agreement in Eldest Master’s study in the front courtyard. You may ask him yourself, and while you’re there, persuade him to sign it soon.”
Ji Hanyi had spoken only a few mild, matter-of-fact sentences, yet they left Li Mingrou as thunderstruck as if she had been struck by lightning. Looking at Ji Hanyi’s calm, unruffled expression, she could not help wondering whether Ji Hanyi had gone mad.
By the time she came back to her senses and tried to question Ji Hanyi more closely, all she could see was her retreating figure.
Li Mingrou stamped her foot. Whether it was true or not, she would know once she asked Brother Xie that evening.
If Brother Xie truly divorced Ji Hanyi, she wanted to see how Ji Hanyi would cry then.
That evening, Xie Yuheng hurried straight back to his own courtyard as soon as he returned. For some reason, an impulse gripped him, urging him to see Ji Hanyi as soon as possible.
What Censor Liu had said earlier that day still left a dull ache in his chest.
He did not know what had come over him. When he made that decision that night, everything had seemed perfectly reasonable. Yet hearing someone else put it into words made him realize what a bastard he had been.
But just as he approached the front courtyard, a servant sent by his mother intercepted him and summoned him to her quarters.
The moment he entered, his eldest sister once again began listing Ji Hanyi’s faults. His mother also reproached Ji Hanyi for growing increasingly unruly of late and talking back regardless of the occasion.
Xie Jin said she had summoned Ji Hanyi for a talk that day, only for Ji Hanyi to refuse to come. Ji Hanyi was showing her less and less respect, so she demanded that Xie Yuheng go back and teach his wife some proper manners.
Xie Yuheng had heard plenty of such complaints before. He had always known that his elder sister disliked Hanyi. She never thought Hanyi did anything well enough and was forever picking at minor, harmless faults.
Although he had known full well that his sister was deliberately nitpicking, she was still his sister. Whenever he returned to his courtyard, he would impatiently tell Hanyi to make more of an effort to grow closer to his elder sister, simply because he could not be bothered with such petty household troubles.
But now, as everyone began talking over one another to criticize Ji Hanyi yet again, Xie Yuheng felt an uncontrollable surge of anger erupt within him.
Perhaps what had happened at the Censorate today had left a blade hanging over his heart. Perhaps it was what Censor Liu had said. Or perhaps it was the resolute look in Ji Hanyi’s eyes when she spoke of divorce, making it impossible for him to keep deceiving himself.
Ji Hanyi might truly want to divorce him.
Xie Yuheng suddenly raised his voice. “Enough!”
His shout startled Xie Jin into abruptly falling silent. The room instantly went quiet.
Xie Yuheng looked at his mother and elder sister. Both were staring at him in astonishment, but the misery in his heart did not ease in the slightest. At a loss for what else to say, he swept up his robe, turned, and strode outside.
Patting her chest, Xie Jin asked in bewilderment, “What has gotten into him today?”
Li Mingrou watched Xie Yuheng leave, then hurriedly lifted her skirts and ran after him.
She had not even put on a cloak or brought a hand warmer. Catching up to Xie Yuheng in the darkness, she grabbed his sleeve and asked in a frail, pitiful voice, “Cousin, I heard Cousin-in-law say today that the two of you were going to divorce. Is that true?”
“She even told me to come and persuade you. Is Cousin-in-law upset with you again because of me?”
As she spoke, Li Mingrou looked ready to burst into tears. The cold wind reddened her cheeks, and she continued softly, “If this truly is because of me, then I will go kneel before Cousin-in-law and apologize.”
Xie Yuheng lowered his gaze to Li Mingrou. Seeing how lightly she was dressed and how her frail body trembled from the cold, he could not help taking off his own cloak and draping it around her shoulders.
“This has nothing to do with you,” he said quietly. “You need not concern yourself with it.”
He added, “Do not mention this to Mother, and do not visit your cousin-in-law for the next few days.”
“Your health has always been poor. Hurry back to your courtyard and rest.”
Xie Yuheng was about to turn away after speaking, but Li Mingrou hurriedly tightened her grip on his sleeve. Tears shimmered in her eyes as she asked hoarsely, “So Cousin-in-law truly did ask you for a divorce?”
Xie Yuheng pursed his lips and frowned at Li Mingrou. “Mingrou, I will not divorce your cousin-in-law.”
Li Mingrou froze, her fingers loosening slightly. Xie Yuheng turned and walked away.
She remained rooted to the spot, staring blankly at his retreating figure. She could not understand. Her cousin had cherished and protected her more than anyone else ever since they were children, and even after they grew up, he had always favored her. She could clearly sense that he liked her.
So why, when Ji Hanyi had taken the initiative to ask for a divorce, was he unwilling to agree?
Could he truly bear to marry her off next year?
Li Mingrou’s eyes brimmed with tears. She still refused to believe it. She refused to believe that her cousin had no feelings for her.
Meanwhile, Xie Yuheng returned to his courtyard. When he stepped into the main room, he found it cold and deserted. The person who always came out to welcome him whenever he entered was no longer there.
Even the charcoal fire in the main room had not been lit.