Chapter 26: The Truth (Part Three)

Chapter 26: The Truth (Part III)

Third Master Xie's question stirred up Lady Xie's emotions, which had just begun to calm down.

"Not chasing, not chasing..."

Xie Daozhi seemed unable to believe what he was hearing.

"Mother, what did you say?"

"Son!"

Lady Xie wept bitterly, "This is a great favor, a great favor he has bestowed upon us, mother and son!"

That day, after he returned from the government office, he went straight to his study.

She waited until midnight but he still didn't come out. Just as she was about to retire for the night, he summoned her to the study.

In the study, a single lamp flickered like a small flame.

He stood with his hands behind his back by the window, seemingly troubled by something. His brows were knitted tightly together, and his face was devoid of any emotion.

She didn't dare to make a sound, but instead quietly poured out the cold tea and replaced it with a fresh, steaming cup.

As she approached him with the tea, he didn't take it. His gaze lingered on her for a long moment before he spoke coldly, "I have already written the divorce papers. Pack your things and leave with your son."

The teacup in her hand shattered to the ground.

Panicked, she fell to her knees and cried out, "What have I done wrong for Master to want a divorce?"

He remained silent with a stern expression, his eyes filled with a deep air of hostility.

She grew desperate, no longer caring about her dignity. She picked up a shard from the broken cup and aimed it at her wrist.

He quickly intervened, stopping her.

Seeing his momentary softness, she widened her eyes and said, "If Master wants a divorce, you might as well let me die."

Their eyes met, locking in a tense exchange.

For the first time, she didn't dodge.

After a long while.

He patted her back. "The court might be moving against me. The Yan family might not be able to protect itself."

"What?" She was stunned with fear.

"I'll arrange for those who can leave to do so. For those who can't, it's their destiny."

His voice remained calm and unruffled. "With a divorce paper in hand, no one will give you trouble when you leave."

"I'm not leaving. I won't leave even if it means death."

"Think about your son, think about his future."

He always spoke directly to the point.

"You're the most pragmatic and calculative woman. Why are you being foolish now?"

"Sir, how could I be foolish? I am..."

"It doesn't matter what you are."

He coldly interrupted.

"What matters is that you need to understand this: your son will be the only one you can rely on in the future."

"And what about you? What about the young masters?"

"A woman's place is not in meddling with men's affairs. Mind your own business."

He suddenly scolded her, his voice as stern as before, but she sensed a hint of tenderness beneath it.

She was on the verge of madness.

"How could things have turned out like this? Who has Sir offended?"

"Despicable lowlifes!"

His gaze was as venomous as a poisoned dart. "But no matter how many times I were to repeat it, I would still berate him relentlessly."

"You should think not only for yourself, but also for the entire household," she pleaded, almost losing her composure.

"Why can't you just endure for a while? Giving others some leeway is giving yourself some too!"

"Endure? Really?"

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then reopened them.

"You've been with me for two years. Do I seem like someone who can tolerate much?"

He wasn't, nor did he wish to be. There was no grain of sand that could escape his sharp gaze. Two years sharing a bed had allowed her to understand his temperament all too well.

He turned slowly, his eyes dark and somber.

"I have some money deposited in a bank in the capital, not much, just two thousand taels. You and your son should use it sparingly; it should suffice for a few years. After that, it will be up to your fate."

His tone shifted abruptly.

"But if we want that child to achieve great things, don't give him an easy life. I can see his character clearly - he needs adversity to thrive."

She felt her heart breaking, the pain unbearable. Forgetting all decorum, she threw herself at him, hugging him desperately.

"Master, oh Master!"

He didn't push her away, instead calling out her full name softly.

"Yang Hui, this is who I am, born with this temperament. I can't change it, nor do I wish to. What does one live for in this life if not for the freedom to follow one's heart?"

"Master, you have followed your heart, but you've also closed all paths. What are we to do?"

Though she complained, her arms tightened around him even more.

What was happening to this world?

Why was it that only good people seemed to end up with no way out?

What about those villains?

"I might have changed my nature, just as one only finds a way out when all seems lost," he said with a self-deprecating smile, then gently pushed her away.

"Go. Take the divorce papers and leave tomorrow."

She looked at him through teary eyes, staring for a long while without budging.

He narrowed his eyes, concealing the emotions in their depths.

"Don't feel indebted to me. When your son attains power someday, just remember to lend a helping hand to my worthless offspring—it will suffice."

She wiped away her tears, turned to the desk, picked up the divorce paper, and suddenly tore it into pieces.

"You..."

"I entered your courtyard in a humble palanquin, and a person carried in that way is merely a concubine. To dismiss a lowly concubine, there's no need for divorce papers."

She looked up at him, accurately capturing the shock in his eyes.

"My Lord, I swear I will never be with another man for the rest of my life. If you come out of this unscathed, if there is still a place for our mother and son in the Yan family, save a spot by your side for me."

He frowned, his gaze losing its clarity as if veiled by a mist.

"If something were to happen to you..."

Through her tears, she couldn't continue, "Then... then I'll have at least one memory to hold onto."

For without it, how could I go on living?

Life is too long. Without any hope or longing, how could I endure those endless days of hardship, those sleepless, lonely nights?

For the first time, a tender and compassionate smile graced his proud face as he spoke his last words to her in this life.

"You're not clever, you're simply very much in love."

And she replied with her final words to him: "I learned from the best."

Finished speaking, she prostrated herself before him in a grand gesture of respect, then, with tears streaming down her face, she stepped into the vast, snow-filled landscape.

The following day.

The heavy vermilion gates of the Yan residence slammed shut with a resounding thud, piercing her heart like a sharp blade.

How painful!

Her pent-up emotions finally crumbled, and she wept bitterly.

In this boundless world, it was once again just her and her son, alone.

With the last word spoken, the old lady surprisingly managed to stifle her tears.

For her, revisiting these events was a bittersweet recollection, each image stirring her nostalgia for him and her guilt.

"That is the entire truth, a burden I have carried in my heart for forty long years."

Her voice gasped, as if drowning, "My son, he doesn't owe us anything – it's we who owe him, an debt that could never be repaid, not in several lifetimes."

In the midst of eerie silence, Xie Daozhi realized his ears were ringing.

He could barely make out any sounds around him, only feeling a piercing pain in his chest that caused his stomach to convulse.

Someone was tapping his shoulder. Xie Daozhi looked up to see Third Brother, whose eyes were filled with concern. Mouth moving, he seemed to be saying something.

Yet, Xie Daozhi still couldn't hear a word.

Strangely, despite the deafening silence, vivid memories from his two years in the Yan family began to surface like a painting before his eyes.

He criticized his calligraphy as if it were scribbled by a dog...

He complained about his poor posture, both standing and sitting...

He threw his written compositions at him with force...

He scolded, blaming overly indulgent mothers for raising spoiled children, telling him to leave the Yan family if he didn't want to stay...

Xie Daozhi gripped the edge of the table, forcing himself to stand up. His bloodshot eyes locked onto the matriarch.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Why have you kept this from me for so long?"

"I... I could have helped him, had the chance to!"