Chapter 52 Exposed: “Trying to run away?”

Chapter 52: Exposure: Want to Run Away from Home?

The solemn and majestic Xie Mansion felt a hundred times quieter than the hot spring villa, and a hundred times more suffocating.

Here, there were no leisurely wandering tenants, no laughing and chatting, only a rigid hierarchy, fearful bowing, and unyielding rules.

After tasting the freedom of the hot spring villa, it was hard to continue living here, trapped under a square of sky.

Especially the Painting Garden where Tian Qin lived, a natural prison of dense bamboo. Spring woke everything up, and rich soil sent up bamboo shoots that shot up a foot a day, like they were trying to stab the sky. The already cramped garden got even more suffocating, almost dark.

Her brother-in-law made her live here—his intentions were obvious.

Tian Qin couldn't just sit back and drown in that dirty arrangement forever. She took Xian Qiu’s little red envelope, but the big one from Xie Tanwei made her uneasy, so she stashed it in the storeroom.

She didn't regret it. Some money you take, but some money's poisoned—no way you could accept that.

One day, Nanny Chen secretly shoved a cloth bundle at Tian Qin. Inside were smudged pieces of silver.

Nanny Chen lowered her voice—this was the money her grandson Bo Ge earned breaking his back selling buns from dawn to dusk. “Miss, you’ve been pinching pennies. Take this.”

Tian Qin flat out refused: “Bo Ge has it hard enough. That’s his wife-savings. How can I take it?”

Nanny Chen got a little sharp: “Take it! Bo Ge’s marriage money was saved up last year. This is extra. Don’t get all muddled—worrying about everything. What matters is you getting out of this hellhole.”

Tian Qin still refused.

Nanny Chen had a sharp tongue but a soft heart. She said Bo Ge had enough, but really he didn’t—and Tian Qin knew it.

Nanny Chen shoved the pieces of silver into Tian Qin’s little box, and Nanny Chen kept the key.

Tian Qin was torn—ashamed and anxious, afraid to push back or speak up in case someone outside heard. “Nanny, why put yourself through this?”

Nanny Chen let out a long, bitter sigh that carried a lifetime of hardship. “I’ve served you for years. If you’ll forgive me saying, I think of you as my own daughter.”

Bo Ge and Tian Qin were about the same age. Nanny Chen used to dream that Tian Qin would break out and, with nowhere else to turn, end up with Bo Ge.

Bo Ge was honest and simple, Tian Qin gorgeous and charming. They’d hit it off and live a quiet life.

But now, her man was the head of the Xie family—she was his secret, unnamed bedfellow, while everyone saw her as the little darling of the house. How could Bo Ge compete?

“If I can help you, Miss, I’d walk through fire.”

Nanny Chen really cared for this poor girl.

Tian Qin had no idea Bo Ge was in love with her. She hardened her heart, thought a moment, and talked with Nanny Chen about selling off a few personal things—nothing from the Xie family, just stuff she’d brought from the Yus: a cloisonné comb, worn silk handkerchiefs, an earring missing a crystal. They wouldn’t bring in much, but every bit helped.

Nanny Chen agreed wholeheartedly, wrapped Tian Qin’s things in her apron, and planned to sell one or two each time she went home on leave, exchanging them for money to give to Tian Qin.

Tian Qin repeatedly emphasized: “Don’t let anyone in the household find out, or it will implicate you.”

Nanny Chen, steadier than Zhaolu and Wan Cui, patted her chest: “Miss can rest assured. This old servant knows what she’s doing.”

Tian Qin sighed. Just planning these things made her feel like a spy on the streets, trembling with fear and exhaustion. All because her brother-in-law was no ordinary man—sharp-eyed, perceptive, and full of schemes.

Drawing from lessons in her past life, she tried as much as possible to avoid involving Nanny Chen and the others in the vortex. When the day of exposure came, that man would be ruthless and heartless, not caring if innocent people were implicated.

“Do what you can; if not, then forget it.”

People’s lives matter most.

And so things were quiet for about ten days. The weather grew warmer, eagles cut across the clear sky now and then, grass and leaves turned fresh green, and swallowtail butterflies drifted lazily through the bamboo grove.

Through Nanny Chen, Tian Qin obtained some money, and her little box slowly filled up.

One afternoon, as she was tending flowers by the bright window, a servant came to say the Lord wanted her.

Her heart skipped a beat.

Behind her, Nanny Chen was moving flowerpots and went pale. Had their secret selling been discovered?

With no choice, Tian Qin braced herself and went.

Xie Tanwei was waiting for her by the ornamental gate, his reflection flickering in the pool, the breeze rustling his sleeves, as clear and cold as snow on a winter pine.

Tian Qin performed a curtsey and said calmly, “Brother-in-law.”

Xie Tanwei, warm and composed, said slowly, “I have some free time today. Do you want to go see Yan Geer?”

Tian Qin was stunned.

She never thought she would see Yan Geer again in this life.

“What, too happy to speak?” He put on a generous, magnanimous air. “If you don’t want to go, you don’t have to.”

Tian Qin pressed her lips: “I’ll go.”

When the Yu family fell, she had begged Xie Tanwei with all her might to spare Yu Yan’s life.

He had arranged for Yu Yan to study at a private school in the capital, with a dedicated old matron and a book boy to take care of his daily needs.

Now, Xie Tanwei wrapped a light purple thin cloak around her spring dress, tying a full butterfly bow to protect her from the cold, before ordering the carriage to set off.

The tips of their noses were inches apart, their breaths intermingling, seeming a little too intimate. Tian Qin tilted her head away.

They arrived in the afternoon. The private school echoed with the sound of recitation. Yan Geer, being short, was seated in the front row, and a white-bearded old Confucian scholar was wagging his head as he lectured on the classics.

Tian Qin stood silently behind the door for a moment, then turned and left. It was enough that Yan Geer was safe; brother and sister didn’t need to meet.

Yan Geer was not only the continuation of her bloodline but also a sharp tool used to control her, a constant reminder that her younger brother was in someone else’s hands.

“Not satisfied?” Xie Tanwei, a master at reading people, pointed out at the right moment, “This is a Great Confucian, well-versed in ancient texts, who has been a teacher all his life.”

Tian Qin didn’t care about that. She said softly, “Thank you, Brother-in-law, for being so thorough. It is Yan Geer’s blessing to study here.”

Xie Tanwei’s gaze slid over her slender waist, like the morning breeze that sweeps in, seemingly intentional or not: “Yan Geer has such blessings all because he has an obedient older sister.”

Tian Qin sensed the implication. “Brother-in-law is joking.”

Xie Tanwei chuckled lightly, like smoke. He took her hand. The glass bracelet she usually wore was gone, leaving her slender, smooth wrist bare.

Feeling guilty, she withdrew her hand without a trace. The bracelet had been given to Nanny Chen to pawn for money.

“Where is the bracelet?” he asked.

Tian Qin tried to cover it up: “I left in a hurry and forgot to bring it.”

Xie Tanwei didn’t bother to expose her lie. “Little sister is so filial. Your mother’s keepsake—you never used to go without it.”

Tian Qin said, “I’ll put it on when I return.”

Xie Tanwei ignored her. He had the carriage return to the manor, and the journey was eerily silent, the air was icy cold. When they arrived, Tian Qin stooped to say goodbye for the Painting Garden, but he followed her inside.

Nanny Chen, Zhaolu, and Wan Cui, who were working in the Painting Garden, turned pale with fright and fell to their knees at the Lord's arrival.

Xie Tanwei’s seemingly kind yet sharp gaze landed on Nanny Chen with the weight of a thousand pounds.

Tian Qin felt as if she were treading on a tightrope, trembling and standing stiff as a corpse. She couldn’t help but ask, “Brother-in-law, is there something else?”

Xie Tanwei casually strolled around her private quarters, examining every beam and joint he had designed and built. “The bracelet.”

Only then did Tian Qin realize he intended to get to the bottom of it.

There was no hiding it anymore; he had likely already learned of her secret sales. Since he had come to confront her, he must have solid evidence.

At a loss, Tian Qin pretended to search her makeup box, her long lashes fluttering. “I can’t find it.”

“Oh?” Xie Tanwei drew out the syllable, his tone cold and laced with menace. “Where did it go?”

Tian Qin remained silent in fear.

He didn’t press her but waved his hand, and all the valuables that Nanny Chen had secretly sold over the past few days were laid out before them: the enamel comb, the filigree pearl hairpin, the faded silk handkerchief, and the glass bracelet. Each item was tagged with a narrow slip of paper noting when, where, and for how much it had been sold.

“I spent a total of forty-eight taels and three wen, to buy back all your old belongings. Check if anything’s missing.”

Xie Tanwei crossed his arms, wearing a deadpan expression.

Tian Qin felt her spirit nearly leave her body, overwhelmed by a numb, hollow desperation, as if she were drowning, her throat constricted.

“There’s nothing missing. Thank you, Brother-in-law, for your thoughtfulness.”

“Then, shall I return these to their rightful owner?”

Xie Tanwei remained polite, his smile half-pretending not to know. “The forty-eight taels and three wen can be considered a debt you owe me.”

The air was bitingly cold and still, so quiet that the whisper of sand in the hourglass in the corner could be heard clearly.

Tian Qin bent down to pick up the trinkets from the silk cloth, each movement agonizingly slow, like a spectacle of savage humiliation.

“It was all my idea.”

She suddenly dropped to her knees with a heavy thud, avoiding his cold, penetrating gaze, tears streaming down her face. “Brother-in-law, you promised to see me married in the future. I was momentarily foolish, wanting to save up some dowry. I sold the unused items to also repay some of your money.”

Xie Tanwei’s expression remained calm, unmoved, gazing down at her kneeling form, frozen and aloof, erasing any hint of intimacy.

“You are indeed foolish. Calling your own mother’s heirlooms ‘unused items.’ Since I promised to see you married, why would you need to save your own dowry? You’re eating and living at the Xie residence now. If you want to repay me, you’d have to sell yourself into slavery, and even then, you wouldn’t cover it.”

“If you need money, I’ll give it to you.”

He no longer let this small mistake slide; he latched onto this small mistake and made it a big deal, digging at her very soul. “…Or, do you refuse my money and just keep thinking about running away?”

Servants brought out large stacks of banknotes—each enough to buy an entire homestead—along with gold and silver ingots, both whole and neatly cut pieces of silver, large and small. They were placed before Tian Qin, enough to make her wealthy overnight.

Tian Qin stared blankly at the glittering gold, speechless.

What she wanted wasn’t money, at least not money given in this form.

He could lift her to the heavens, but he would never give her freedom. He could bestow upon her wealth that others could never earn in a lifetime, but he wouldn’t tell her to rise from her knees on the cold floor.

“I don’t want it.”

She struggled to push away the filthy lucre, but they were too heavy to budge. “I won’t take a single coin of your money.”

“Then what do you want?” Xie Tanwei’s tone suddenly turned harsh, cold and ruthless, pressing down on her like a tidal wave. “So you don’t like being looked after? You only like being on your knees?”

Tian Qin couldn’t hold back, tears streaming as she accused, “You’ve never cared for me. You only control me. I am a living person.”

Xie Tanwei said darkly, “I took you in, arranged everything for you, and even supported your brother—and yet I’m the villain. Fine, you’re willful and spoiled, relying on your sister’s protection, and I can’t touch you. But those treacherous servants who abetted your mischief and have sticky fingers—their contracts are with the Xie family, and I still have the right to clean house.”

He called for Zhao Ning and gave a crisp order: “Take those three maids and send them on their way. Not a single one, old or young, is to be spared.”