Chapter 23: The Divorce Certificate

Chapter 23: The Divorce Letter

By the time Madam Xie from the Xie residence arrived, the inn had been thoroughly cleared of any outsiders.

Despite this, Xie Daozhi still ordered everyone to retreat to the alley entrance, leaving Manager Xie to guard the main gate personally.

"Madam's legs aren't in good shape. Third Son, you go fetch her."

"Yes, sir!"

Xie Zhifei hurried upstairs and was about to knock on the door when it creaked open.

He clicked his tongue and glanced casually at Yan Sanhe's celadon-colored robe. "Oh, what a coincidence!"

Yan Sanhe didn't respond and simply brushed past him.

"Wait!"

Yan Sanhe turned his head, looking at Xie Zhifei with a cold gaze.

"Well then..."

Xie Zhifei touched his nose with a wry smile, "Who would have thought that powdered white ginseng could be used in such a way? Quite a clever tactic!"

Yan Sanhe retracted her gaze steadily and turned to descend the stairs.

Xie Zhifei: "..."

So in her eyes, was Third Master just mere air?

In the main hall, aside from the Xie father and son, there was also an elegant and dignified elderly lady. Yan Sanhe took in her presence and stood at an appropriate distance.

If she guessed correctly, this should be her grandfather's former wife - Lady Yang.

Madam Xie's expression was highly agitated.

She leaned on the table to stand up and took two steps forward, scrutinizing Yan Sanhe from head to toe as if her eyes were glued to her body.

"Ancestor!"

Xie Zhifei descended the stairs and supported the person, smiling as he said, "How can you just stare at a young lady like that? You'll scare her away."

"I..."

"Come, come, let's sit down and talk."

Xie Zhifei lifted his chin, his words laced with sarcasm.

"Miss Yan, please take a seat as well. It must have been exhausting for you, riding a horse and jumping through windows all night. Sit, both of you, sit!"

Yan Sanhe did not take a seat.

She retrieved an old, yellowed marriage proposal from her sleeve and held it close to the candle flame, gently touching it.

With a sudden whoosh, the flame shot up, swiftly reducing the proposal to ashes in just a few moments.

The expressions of the Xie family members changed in unison, as if they couldn't believe that the object that had once filled them with fear and trepidation could so effortlessly turn to dust.

What was she planning to do?

In that instant, Yan Sanhe pulled out another piece of paper from her sleeve and placed it on the table.

"I've signed the guarantee you requested with my seal," she said.

Xie Erli was astonished. "Miss Yan..."

"Oh, I almost forgot."

Yan Sanhe glanced at half of Xie Erli's face before reaching into her sleeve once more. This time, she withdrew a silver note worth five hundred taels.

"This is for your medical expenses."

She put the silver note on the table and stepped back a few paces. Her voice was calm yet firm. "Now, we should be even, right?"

Everyone: "..."

Yan Sanhe raised her head. "May I leave now?"

The candles in the inn cast a bright light, revealing every subtle expression on the young maiden's face. Every detail was clear to all who witnessed.

If she hadn't mistaken, there was a hint of disdain in the corners of her lips when she lifted her head just now.

How dare she show disdain?

Xie Daozhi's barely suppressed anger flared up again.

"Yan Sanhe, this capital city isn't a place you can come and go as you please. You have to consider if I consent to it or not."

Yan Sanhe: "Are you trying to stop me?"

Xie Daozhi slammed the table and abruptly stood up. "You won't be leaving this room until you clarify everything."

Yan Sanhe: "Is there anything else you don't understand?"

Xie Daozhi: "What about that incense? Why did it break all of a sudden when it was burning perfectly fine?"

Yan Sanhe answered frankly, "You weren't his heart demon. I made a mistake, thus the incense broke."

"Yan Sanhe."

Xie Daozhi gritted his teeth. "It's not as simple as brushing it off with an apology. You've repeatedly toyed with me and even harmed my son. This matter..."

"Grandmama, what's wrong with you?"

Xie Zhifei's startled cry interrupted Xie Daozhi.

Xie Daozhi turned to see the old lady staring blankly at a half-burned red candle, her eyes unblinking.

"Mother?"

Mrs. Xie showed no response, as if her soul had left her body.

Xie Daozhi was startled and was about to pinch her philtrum for resuscitation when he noticed the old lady's eyes shift slowly towards Yan Sanhe.

"Lady, what did you just burn?"

Yan Sanhe replied, "Your marriage contract."

"He... he... he..."

The words abruptly ceased.

Yan Sanhe, who was closest, noticed Madam Xie's face turn from ashen white to flushed red. Alarmed, he hurriedly reached out to rub her back.

Madam Xie caught her breath and spoke urgently, "Why did he keep them?"

"I want to know too!"

Yes, Grandfather, I want to know as well.

What purpose did keeping the marriage certificates and that letter serve? Was it out of guilt? Or was there another reason?

Yan Sanhe had no desire to look at the Xie family any longer. "Believe me or not, that's the truth. May I leave now, everyone?"

Trying to leave again?

Xie Daozhi said coldly, "You can't!"

Yan Sanhe saw through Xie Daozhi's thoughts and pointed a finger.

"Ask your mother if my grandfather gave her a divorce letter. If he did, the Xie family will remain unharmed; if not..."

Her lips curled into a mocking smile.

"I advise you to let me go sooner rather than later and uncover what truly haunts my grandfather. Otherwise..."

Xie Daozhi's pupils constricted abruptly.

The meaning behind her words was crystal clear – the coffin lid couldn't be closed, the illusion was real, the inner demon was genuine, and the Xie family could indeed be implicated.

"Mother."

Xie Daozhi's gaze shifted. "Did Yan Xing give you a divorce letter?"

"He..."

Madam Xie's face turned deathly pale, and her hand gripping the cane tightened, revealing bulging veins.

"Mother, speak up!" Xie Daozhi suddenly burst with anger.

He had crossed swords with Yan Sanhe several times, each time pushed to the brink, and now he was humbly visiting this godforsaken place in the dead of night. For a high-ranking courtier, this was an utter disgrace.

Not to mention that the matter involved the entire Xie family.

Grandma Xie clamped her jaws tightly and refused to speak, tears rolling down her cheeks in large drops. Her gaze fixated on Yan Sanhe, she ignored everyone else.

After a long while.

She choked out a question, "Child, tell this old woman the truth. Did you hold our eldest grandson captive and harm him...?"

"Mother!"

Xie Daozhi bellowed, "What's the point in talking about these useless things? The crucial issue is whether Yan Xing ever gave you a divorce letter."

As soon as he finished speaking, Grandma Xie suddenly raised her hand, the cane lashing out fiercely, striking Xie Daozhi's body.

Xie Erli: "Grandmother!"

Xie Zhifei: "Ancestor!"

Amidst two gasps of astonishment, Elder Madam Xie slowly rose to her feet, glaring at her son with gritted teeth.

"You dare to address Yan Xing by his name?"

"..."

"Kneel down for me!"

Stunned, Xie Daozhi stared at the elderly woman before him, unable to believe that this blow had come from her.

Not once in his life had she laid a finger on him since he was a child.

"KNEEL DOWN FOR ME!!!"

The elder madam rapped her cane against the floor with a resounding thud.