Chapter 32
Chapter 32
Old Madam Xie sighed again. He was her own grandson, after all, and a promising one at that. Besides, she genuinely adored Ji Hanyi’s gentle, composed nature.
She had liked Ji Hanyi from the moment she first saw her all those years ago. The girl was delicate without being affected, her tender eyes holding an innocence and compassion that spoke of how well she had always been protected.
One look into those eyes had told her that Ji Hanyi had been raised with great care and sheltered by her family. She bore no resentment and was thoughtful and sensible.
A child like that was rare — without schemes and utterly sincere. It was impossible not to like her.
She truly hoped the two of them could live a good life together.
Old Madam Xie took Ji Hanyi’s hand and drew her down to sit beside her. With a sigh, she said, “I know you haven’t been happy in the Xie Residence these past two years.
“My eldest daughter-in-law is shrewd and calculating. I told her long ago to loosen her hold and let you help manage the household, but she insisted you were too young. In truth, I know exactly what she was thinking.”
After saying this, Old Madam Xie looked Ji Hanyi in the eye. “You know too, don’t you, Hanyi?”
Ji Hanyi parted her lips but said nothing, merely lowering her gaze. She understood, but that was not what mattered to her.
Perhaps it was because she had grown up witnessing the harmony and deep love between her parents that she cared so much about whether the man who shared her bed had given her his heart.
After a pause, she said, “My divorce from the Eldest Master has nothing to do with that. Nor do I care about managing the household.”
Old Madam Xie patted Ji Hanyi’s hand again. “I know you mean that sincerely, but isn’t married life made up of such things? No household is free of troubles.
“Once a woman marries, her life revolves around her husband, her children, and the affairs of the household.
“You can’t give up on the marriage just because one thing doesn’t go your way.
“I understand that what troubles you isn’t managing the household, but the fact that your mother-in-law is wary of you. Don’t worry. She’s getting old too. I’ll stand up for you.”
Ji Hanyi felt as though something were lodged in her throat. Old Madam Xie might like her, but she was still the Old Madam of the Xie Family. She would inevitably see everything from the Xie Family’s perspective.
She had never truly considered matters from Ji Hanyi’s point of view.
Only her maternal grandmother had understood. She had said, “If you’re tired, come home.”
Her grandmother knew that Ji Hanyi did not care about becoming the future Matriarch of the Xie Family. She simply did not want to spend the rest of her life weighed down.
She was tired.
Ji Hanyi rose from Old Madam Xie’s side and knelt before her. Her knees touched the floor, her pear-blossom-white embroidered skirts spreading across the carpet. Alone with Old Madam Xie in the room, Ji Hanyi raised a gaze that was gentle yet resolute.
“The Eldest Master and I have long been strangers. The tree has already split into two branches. There is no way for us to continue together.
“Please grant me this, Old Madam.”
With that, Ji Hanyi bowed until her forehead touched the floor. Beneath her prostrate form was a heartrending resolve.
Old Madam Xie’s heart truly ached as she gazed at the woman kneeling before her.
Ji Hanyi was so young, beautiful, and delicate. Old Madam Xie cherished her from the bottom of her heart, yet she also felt profoundly helpless. She could not bear to forcibly keep such an obedient, sensible child here.
Over the past three years, she had heard many accounts of how Heng’er had neglected Ji Hanyi. That was why she often summoned Ji Hanyi to her side, hoping to comfort her by talking with her.
But now, it seemed she could no longer keep her.
Old Madam Xie’s eyes reddened. She bent over and tried to help Ji Hanyi to her feet.
Ji Hanyi refused to rise. Tears glistened in her eyes, and a faint sob caught in her voice. “Please grant me this, Old Madam.
“Though Hanyi may leave the Xie Family, she will never forget Old Madam’s kindness and will always remember to come and visit.”
Old Madam Xie looked at Ji Hanyi’s red-rimmed, tearful eyes. Her delicate little face and slightly parted red lips were enough to make anyone’s heart ache.
She reached out with an aged hand to wipe away Ji Hanyi’s tears. Her lowered eyes were filled with anguished reluctance and regret.
“Hanyi, give Yuheng one last chance.
“Give him one more month. If you still want a divorce after that, then even if Yuheng refuses and even if your mother-in-law makes things difficult for you, this old woman will see it done.”
Ji Hanyi parted her lips, but for a long while, no words came.
She wanted to leave.
She wanted to leave this stifling, oppressive place right this instant, turn around, and never look back.
But Old Madam Xie’s words made one thing clear: she would not agree so easily.
And if Xie Yuheng kept dragging his feet, Ji Hanyi would be even more helpless.
She did not want to make a scene like some shrew, only for everything to end in ruins, with nothing left between them but resentment.
Tears shimmered in Old Madam Xie’s eyes as she looked down at Ji Hanyi, her gaze full of affection and sorrow. “Hanyi, of everyone in this residence, you are the one I cherish most. At the very least, stay and spend the New Year with this old woman.”
“At least let me have a happy birthday. Can you do that?”
As she spoke, Old Madam Xie held tightly to Ji Hanyi and pulled her down to sit beside her. Looking at her, she continued, “Heng’er has been like this since he was a boy. He has never been good with words, but he cares about you. You have always had a place in his heart.”
“Hanyi, even if you intend to leave, you should still give him one chance. You cannot simply walk away without leaving the two of you any room at all.”
“A life together is built slowly, one day at a time. It is not something to decide on a moment’s impulse or treat like a game.”
“Don’t worry. What I promised you, I will honor.”
Ji Hanyi had never believed there could be another chance for her and Xie Yuheng.
She did not love him, and that was that.
A person’s instinctive reactions never lied.
When she was little, she had once gone to a temple with her mother to offer incense. Someone had bumped into her mother on the steps, causing her to twist her ankle. Her father, who had still been speaking with the abbot, spotted her mother from afar. He came over and carried her down the mountain on his back, one step at a time.
That day, amid the heavy snow, Xie Yuheng had instinctively been unable to bear the thought of leaving Li Mingrou outside to suffer. That alone had made it clear where his heart lay.
Ji Hanyi understood that Old Madam Xie had said all those things merely to persuade her to stay. But now that matters had reached this point, she would also need Old Madam Xie’s help if she wanted a peaceful divorce from Xie Yuheng.
Old Madam Xie came from exalted stock. She had been a legitimate daughter of the Duke of Anguo’s Residence, and when she married into the Xie Family, the wedding had been a grand affair, accompanied by an enormous dowry. Her connections throughout the capital were extensive. Though she rarely involved herself in the affairs of the Xie Residence, whenever she stepped forward on an important matter, no one beneath her dared to defy her.
It was said that when Old Master Xie was alive, he had deferred to Old Madam Xie in everything as well.
Ji Hanyi lowered her eyes. Whatever else happened, now that Old Madam Xie had given her word, she had nothing left to fear. Whether Xie Yuheng agreed or not, as long as she held firm and Old Madam Xie made the decision, she would ultimately get what she wanted.
There was nothing more she could say.
Outside the Empress’s bedchamber in the imperial palace, Shen Si stood before the doors. Even after he had been summoned twice from within, he still made no move to enter.
The eunuch waiting at the entrance did not dare hurry him. Whenever Marquis Shen left His Majesty the Emperor’s presence, he would inevitably be summoned by Her Majesty the Empress.
It had happened so often that everyone serving in the palace knew Her Majesty the Empress was once again pressing Marquis Shen to take a wife.
No one could blame Marquis Shen for being reluctant to enter. Anyone would grow weary after being nagged so many times.
Only when the third summons came from within did Shen Si finally step into the inner chamber.
The Empress sat in the heated hall, watching Shen Si enter from outside. Noticing the white snow dusting his shoulders, she dismissed the palace attendants beside her and said, “I was beginning to think you couldn’t feel the cold, standing outside like that.”
Shen Si said nothing. He merely paid his respects to the Empress with perfect formality.
The Empress did not move from her chair. She was utterly helpless when it came to this younger brother of hers, whose face never betrayed either joy or anger.
If their mother had not written so often asking her to find Shen Si a suitable young woman, she would never have pestered him so much that even she had grown sick of it.
The Empress pointed to the scroll on the small table beside her, then looked at Shen Si. “Ah Si, do you recognize this painting?”
Shen Si walked over to the small table and looked down at the unfurled scroll. It depicted a wintry forest blanketed in snow.
He pressed his lips together, his eyes darkening as he turned to the Empress.
The Empress met Shen Si’s gaze and studied him closely. “I hear you have quite a collection of Master Shilan’s paintings in your study. You should be able to tell whose hand this came from, shouldn’t you?”