Chapter 137 Return: A cage forged from love.

Chapter 137: Returning to the Mansion: A Cage Built by Love.

In the height of summer, the sunlight was scorching, casting light and shadow everywhere. The fields were lush green, the roof tiles distinct and countable, and the trees were filled with the particularly grating chirping of insects. The blue sky and pale moon were like a deep blue slumber. The summer was pleasant and the scenery delightful, with springs and mountains vying to entertain, as the sun's radiance bathed the whole land.

Today was a good day to return to the mansion.

Inside the third-floor pavilion of Drunken Years, the soft bundles were already packed. Tian Qin wore a bean-green ruqun, her head covered by a veil that tightly concealed her features, making her look like a neatly wrapped package.

Xie Tanwei, knowing she was sentimental, patted her shoulder and said, "Take whatever you want to take with you."

Recently, he had given her many pieces of jewelry, many custom-made originals—a shame to leave them unworn.

Tian Qin brought her usual wine cups and a pipa, having no other attachments. She had been driven out with nothing, her fate drifting like falling petals, landing wherever they may.

In the past, she had intended to save money, quietly hoarding any loose silver she found. After enduring the poverty of Nanny Chen's home, she realized that a few coins couldn't save her life in a crisis or even keep her fed and warm.

No matter how much money she saved, it could be swept away with a flick of a superior's finger. The process of saving was also painful, like a frog at the bottom of a well—climbing two inches, slipping back three, filled with despair.

So she gave up on saving, resigned to her fate, and began to indulge in wealth and luxury, no longer wanting to own anything.

"Bringing back things stained with the world's dust might soil your honor, my lord."

Tian Qin's sarcasm was half-hearted, half-jokingly saying, "I plan to make a scene on the street halfway, shouting that the great Confucian scholar is kidnapping a common woman."

Hearing this, Xie Tanwei leaned in, radiating danger: "Oh, really?"

"Porcelain can be washed clean if it's dirty. Smashing a precious piece over that would be a loss, not a gain."

He slowly stroked her chin, standing in the deep shadows, with a lazy smile: "But I'd advise you to behave, or I'll have to tie you up again—that wouldn't look good."

Tian Qin turned her head aside.

"Xie Tanwei, may you never be born a woman in your next life."

She cursed bitterly.

Otherwise, she'd make him taste every bit of a woman's pain.

Xie Tanwei smiled like a spring mountain in sunlight: "Nonsense."

Outside the door, faint sounds of voices and figures jostling and whispering could be heard—it was the envious, jealous girls from the brothel. Yingge, with such luck, had only stayed in the brothel a short while and hadn't even received customers before being bought out at a high price by a client, soon to be a wealthy lady in a grand mansion. In the same building, their fates were worlds apart.

Xie Tanwei, feigning consideration, asked, "Don't you want to say goodbye?"

Tian Qin said flatly, "Nothing to say. We'll never see each other again in this life."

He smiled, "You really know how to move on."

Liu Ruyan came to shoo away the gawking girls. Everything was ready, and she respectfully invited the honored guest to the carriage.

Xie Tanwei then reached for Tian Qin's hand, their fingers intertwining.

With his arm around her, Tian Qin slowly descended the wooden steps, her face still covered by the veil. She was no different from other purchased "thin horses"—the secret possessions of the gentry, hidden from daylight.

Outside, the sunlight pierced her eyes, darting playfully through the leaves, making her dizzy.

It was on such a clear day she had been driven out of the Xie Mansion, believing she'd be free to live or die on her own from then on. Little did she expect that she would once again be bound by shackles and personally escorted back by the Head of the Xie Family.

Her brief taste of freedom had its bittersweet moments, each one vivid and countable. The southern breeze cleansed her body; for the rest of her life, she would probably have to live on memories within the high walls of the grand mansion.

Tian Qin's steps were unsteady and slow, but Xie Tanwei’s outwardly lenient yet inwardly firm nature would not tolerate her hesitation. He firmly grasped her hand and held her waist, steering her only in the direction he had set.

No trace of her arrival remained.

Tian Qin suddenly felt immensely weary. Once in the carriage, she leaned lazily on Xie Tanwei's shoulder, feigning sleep, with no interest in looking outside. The earthly smoke and bustle of street vendors drifted in, entering her nostrils. Amidst the lively and bustling human world, she should indeed cherish this—this was her last time to be outside the high walls.

Xie Tanwei placed an umbrella into her hands. Tian Qin looked at it and recognized it as the one she had pawned.

"Were you following me?"

She remembered clearly that this bamboo-ribbed umbrella had been sold to the plump pawnshop owner for forty-five taels of silver.

Xie Tanwei just smiled and said nothing.

As the foremost Powerful Minister of the dynasty, the entire nation and city held no secrets from him—from major changes in laws and taxes to minor matters like satirical poems secretly exchanged among literati. No matter how trivial, nothing escaped the keen eyes of his spies.

In fact, she had never truly left him.

She had suffered enough outside to realize how good it was to be by his side.

"A lady's possessions shouldn't fall into another man's hands."

So the moment she left, his men had already redeemed the bamboo-ribbed umbrella from the pawnshop.

Tian Qin lowered her lashes, silently touching the cold umbrella ribs. His control and possessiveness were terrifying to such an extent—he could not tolerate any other man holding something she had touched. He mistakenly believed that the tighter he drew his protective net, the more she would feel suffocated.

"At that time, I was desperate and wanted to sell the umbrella to exchange for some food. Nanny Chen's family was very poor. At night, we all huddled together in a drafty little thatched hut, and before dawn, everyone had to busy themselves with their own tasks—making pastries, washing clothes."

Tian Qin said quietly, with a detached tone: "Someone like you, a noble perched above the clouds, would never understand."

Xie Tanwei brushed the umbrella, as if wiping away the dust that had settled on it and in her heart. His brows lowered with sympathy, his eyes cold, as he encircled her and said earnestly, "That's why I brought you back, to give you a better life."

He shifted the concept, not truly listening to her words.

He was born cold-blooded, incapable of true compassion. Every word and action served his own purposes.

Tian Qin closed her eyes tightly and said no more.

The carriage moved at a moderate pace, with slight jolts.

Tian Qin wanted to stick her head out and shout for help, to fight to the bitter end, but after a moment of thought, she abandoned the idea with a self-mocking sigh. Why waste her strength only to suffer a cruel punishment?

"Are you cold?" Xie Tanwei noticed her body trembling, like a newborn bird just out of its down in autumn.

It was midsummer, so it shouldn't be cold.

The sunlight felt like the chilly moonlight at midnight on her skin.

Tian Qin shook her head, then nodded slightly: "A little."

Her body was hot, but her heart was cold and bleak.

Xie Tanwei's eyes were also as chaotic as the cold moonlight. His lips touched her forehead—her forehead was far cooler than his burning lips, so her coldness was not caused by a fever.

Her heart was cold and disappointed; he understood.

Anyone would feel disheartened after the ups and downs she had endured, especially since he had personally driven her out back then. Now, forcing her to return to the mansion and going back on his word was indeed very harsh.

But time stretched long ahead; he would prove his sincerity to her, his good treatment of her for a lifetime.

She wanted to give him a chance; no one is a saint, and no one is without fault—she couldn't just condemn him outright.

"Look at me." Xie Tanwei cupped her face in his hands.

"Mmm..." Her cheeks were slightly squished by his grip.

"Still cold?"

"..."

It felt even colder.

Tian Qin was guided to spread her fingers and interlock them with his.

The carriage arrived at the familiar Xie residence—familiar, yet not so familiar.

The general layout vaguely remained as before, but the details had changed drastically, completely erasing any trace of the mistress Xian Qiu. Only a few white mourning lanterns hung here and there.

As for Qiutang Residence, where Xian Qiu had lived, it had been completely leveled and rebuilt.

Recently, rain had been drizzling continuously, soaking the cracks between the blue bricks with dampness and moss, tiny moss flowers like grains of rice, exuding an ancient charm. Apart from Qiutang Residence, the study, the Wuwotongchun Hall, and the Painting Garden were all exactly as they had been, spotless, as if time had frozen, creating an illusion—that Tian Qin had merely gone out for a casual trip and had never left this ancient, sprawling mansion.

But Tian Qin remembered the scarred bricks underfoot, which she had stepped on in embarrassment when she was ruthlessly driven out. At that time, staying even a moment longer was a luxury; she was trash, something the master had thrown away.

A strange melancholy surged through Tian Qin as she stood still, arms hanging limp by her sides.

Xie Tanwei asked, "What's wrong?"

Hatred flashed in her eyes, and she turned to leave.

Xie Tanwei promptly grabbed her slender wrist, his expression resolute and unmistakable.

"I want you back," he said word by word.

He had emptied the mansion; he only wanted her.

"What if I absolutely refuse?" Tian Qin's eyes were bloodshot, her emotions spinning out of control.

Her arm was suspended in the air at an awkward, pulled-up angle—one side straining to get away, the other desperately holding on.

Xie Tanwei's face turned ashen; he was silent for a long while, then directly wrapped his arm around her shoulder, applying great force to drag her to her destined cage—the Painting Garden. It was practically an abduction—she stumbled and staggered, completely forced along.

Inside the Painting Garden, Tian Qin's room had been kept even more pristine. The half-burned incense candle she had used before leaving, the slightly open drawer, the comb on the table—all remained exactly as they were. After all this time, there wasn't a single speck of dust.

The vases, curtains, bonsai plants, paintings and calligraphy on the walls, jade pillows, round fans... When she left, he hadn't let her take a single thing. It was his way of keeping a door open, anticipating that one day she would return.

Xie Tanwei pressed Tian Qin down onto a low couch, the weight on her knees like the Five Finger Mountain.

"This is your home," he said, his tone fierce for the first time, "Whether you like it or not, you're staying here."

With that, he leaned in and wrapped himself around her entirely, as if kneading her into his own flesh and blood, dropping an anchor into a narrow creek. He held her tightly, with utmost care, as if he weren't holding a real person, just a wisp of air that could vanish at any moment.

Tian Qin nearly smothered.

Xie Tanwei was, after all, Xie Tanwei; his true feelings lasted only a moment.

By the time Tian Qin got her breath back and squeezed out of his arms, he had already regained his usual calm.

"You can either stay in the Painting Garden or move to Wuwotongchun to live with me."

Xie Tanwei's words were stated matter-of-factly.

Tian Qin frowned, displeased, wanting to say something.

There was no point saying anything—he wouldn't listen.

"Stop fighting a losing battle; I really can't control myself."

Xie Tanwei would never forget those countless long nights after she left, when he sat alone on the cold couch in the Painting Garden, almost greedily inhaling the faint scent of her in the room, falling asleep alone.

The memories of their time together—every sweet and bitter moment—replayed like a revolving lantern in his mind, tormenting his heart.

When he finally realized that her scent in the room was gradually fading, fear took hold of him. When fate forcibly snatched her from him, he realized he couldn't live without her.

He couldn't bear that kind of torment anymore.

If he wanted, she could come back to him completely and escape those dark, torturous days.

He wanted it.

Although she saw it as imprisonment, this prison she was stuck in.

A sweet prison—hoping it might bring her some comfort, though it was a cage, it was built with care and love.

————————— Probably the main story will end around the end of the month~ Mwah.