Chapter 55
Chapter 55
When Ji Hanyi walked past Xie Yuheng, he remained standing there in a daze.
Only after her warm fragrance had faded did he belatedly turn to look at her, a tangle of unbearable emotions welling in his heart.
He had thought Ji Hanyi was deliberately targeting Li Mingqing again in order to divorce him.
The matron by the courtyard gate had overheard their conversation. Unable to hold back, she approached Xie Yuheng and said quietly, “Eldest Master, you’ve wrongly accused Young Madam. Young Master Ming came and knelt here as soon as he arrived this morning. Young Madam was still speaking with Old Madam at the time.”
“Young Madam was poisoned too. It took her three days to recover, and she came to visit Old Madam as soon as she was well enough today. She never once mentioned Young Master Ming.”
Xie Yuheng’s expression stiffened.
Only then did he remember that Ji Hanyi had also been poisoned.
He had heard that the Red Poison Bug’s venom was extremely potent. Apparently, the pain had left her unable to get out of bed for the past two days.
He should have stayed by her side these past three days, but after leaving that night, he had never gone back.
He had been avoiding Ji Hanyi, and he was even more afraid to face her.
His thoughts spiraled deeper. Could Ji Hanyi be so determined to divorce him because…
Before he could finish the thought, Li Mingqing’s choked voice came from in front of him. “Cousin, please save my sister. Don’t let them drive her away.”
Li Mingqing had remained stubborn until now, but the moment he saw Xie Yuheng, his eyes reddened. He even wiped his tears with his sleeve.
Xie Yuheng looked down at him and asked, “Who told you about this?”
Li Mingqing choked out, “A matron from my sister’s courtyard sent someone to inform me.”
Xie Yuheng drew a deep breath. The situation truly was becoming more and more chaotic.
With a grave expression, he asked, “Did Old Madam see you?”
At the mention of Old Madam, a trace of hatred flashed through Li Mingqing’s eyes. He replied, “Old Madam refuses to see me. If she won’t release my sister, I’ll keep kneeling here.”
Xie Yuheng closed his eyes. Finally unable to endure any more, he snapped, “Enough of this nonsense!”
“Get up at once and go back to the academy.”
Tears filled Li Mingqing’s eyes. “Then what about my sister?”
“They want to drive her away. Doesn’t Brother Xie like my sister best? Why won’t Brother Xie help her?”
The more the matron beside them listened, the darker her expression became.
Who knew what this child was studying at the academy? How could he speak with so little restraint?
Was liking someone something he could proclaim so casually?
Besides, he sounded so self-righteous. Looking at things now, it seemed the Xie Family had taken in two enemies rather than a pair of siblings.
The young cousin had plotted against the Xie Residence’s Eldest Young Madam. This was an enormous offense. Did they think she could simply be released because they asked?
As far as the matron could see, Old Madam had done nothing wrong. Li Mingrou had committed such a grave offense, yet she showed no remorse at all.
Xie Yuheng’s expression also darkened. Though his attitude toward Li Mingrou had once been somewhat ambiguous, he had always remained within the bounds of propriety. Now that Li Mingqing had stated it so bluntly, it was as though he had slapped Xie Yuheng across the face.
Xie Yuheng had once believed he liked Li Mingrou. Looking after and cherishing her since childhood had become a habit. Yet when Ji Hanyi asked for a divorce, his heart had felt completely hollow. Only then did he realize that what he felt for Li Mingrou might never have been love at all.
Xie Yuheng reached out, grabbed Li Mingqing, and hauled him to his feet. His voice was uncharacteristically cold and stern. “Are you trying to threaten Old Madam by kneeling here?”
“Do you have no sense at all? This is Old Madam’s courtyard, not some random place outside where you can kneel whenever you please.”
“Go back to the academy at once. This matter has nothing to do with you.”
Li Mingqing stumbled to his feet beneath Xie Yuheng’s pull, but he stubbornly wiped away his tears and declared, “If I can’t save my sister, then I won’t go back to the academy.”
The older maid beside them couldn’t help but sneer.
Li Mingqing wasn’t even one of the Xie Family’s younger generation. Who did he think he could threaten by refusing to attend the academy? He was young, all right — and far too hot-tempered.
Xie Yuheng took a deep breath. Seething with anger, he seized Li Mingqing and instructed the maid to pass on a message that he had brought Li Mingqing to apologize.
A while later, however, the messenger returned and said that Old Madam had retired to rest and could not receive them.
Xie Yuheng understood at once. Li Mingqing had angered Old Madam so thoroughly that she no longer wished to see him.
He had never expected Li Mingqing to act so impulsively. Grabbing him again, Xie Yuheng dragged him back the way they had come.
Meanwhile, Li Mingrou was still waiting anxiously in the courtyard for news. When a maid secretly returned and told her that Old Madam had never agreed to see her younger brother, her legs gave way, and she slid to the ground beside the courtyard gate.
Her back was covered in whip wounds, yet she had forced herself to remain at the gate through sheer willpower, only for it to end like this.
Nanny Zhang hurried over to support Li Mingrou and said quietly, “Young Miss, you’re injured. Let’s go inside first.”
Weeping, Li Mingrou allowed Nanny Zhang to help her into the room. The moment they were inside, she cursed Old Madam Xie under her breath.
All these years, she had gone to pay her respects to Old Madam Xie every day and spared no expense to commission an ivory Buddha statue for her. Yet now, Old Madam Xie was treating her with such heartless disregard.
Nanny Zhang hastily covered Li Mingrou’s mouth and warned in a low voice, “Young Miss, you mustn’t say such things. If word gets out, we’ll be in serious trouble. Old Madam’s people are still standing guard outside.”
A tear slid from the corner of Li Mingrou’s eye. Choking back sobs, she looked at Nanny Zhang. “Nanny, what am I supposed to do now?”
“Once I leave the Xie Residence, I won’t have anyone to rely on.”
“Where can I go after this? Am I supposed to find just anyone and marry him? My uncles are all eyeing my dowry, but even if I want to marry, I’ll still need them to act as my elders and arrange it. I can’t accept that…”
“I still love my older cousin. He’s the only one I want to marry…”
Seeing her like this, Nanny Zhang hurriedly tried to soothe her. Then she bent down and whispered something into Li Mingrou’s ear.
Li Mingrou stared blankly up at Nanny Zhang. “But…”
Meeting her gaze, Nanny Zhang said softly, “I can tell that Eldest Master has feelings for you. Sooner or later, the Xie Residence will pass into Eldest Master’s hands. Why not take a gamble?”
Wiping away her tears, Li Mingrou said, “As long as I can be with Brother Xie…”
Ever since she was little, her older cousin had been the one she loved most. He alone had looked after her, cherished her, and shielded her from every storm in the Xie Family. She asked for nothing else. All she wanted was him.
Seeing Li Mingrou cry so bitterly, Nanny Zhang sighed and gathered her into her arms.
She had never expected Ji Hanyi to emerge unscathed from the Shen Family’s home, much less be rescued by them instead.
With matters as they were now, there truly was no good way out of this predicament.
After Ji Hanyi returned, she sat before the charcoal brazier and continued painting.
She had been working on this painting for more than half a month, and it was finally almost complete.
Rongchun stood beside Ji Hanyi, grinding ink for her. After watching her paint in serene silence for a while, she finally could not hold back any longer. “I finally understand why Young Madam was so determined to divorce Eldest Master.”
“Eldest Master is always blaming Young Madam for everything without even bothering to distinguish right from wrong. I truly don’t understand why.”
Ji Hanyi gently lowered her brush and gave Rongchun an answer. “Because people always prefer to believe what they want to believe.”
“Whichever side his heart favors is the side he will trust. Even if their story is riddled with holes, he’ll still find a way to convince himself that it’s true.”
Understanding dawned on Rongchun.