Chapter 8

Bitter Winter

The doctor in Wangxuewu hurriedly pushed his way through the crowd with his medical box. He took Xie Hengzai’s pulse, tried pressing on his philtrum to revive him, and administered a few acupuncture needles right there, but it was all in vain.

“Report to Madam, the Eldest Young Master’s heart is completely damaged, and it is beyond saving... Please... everyone, mourn in peace.”

Upon hearing this verdict, Qiao Yin Zhi could no longer hold herself together. She threw herself onto Xie Hengzai’s body and cried out in deep sorrow.

A person who was alive just a moment ago was now dead.

The two spies in the crowd exchanged puzzled glances. They had not yet found an opportunity to act, and this death was not at their hands.

Xie Taifu, devastated by grief, collapsed into a chair. She shakily extended a finger and, with fury in her eyes, pointed at Xie Que Shan.

“Your elder brother was killed by you!”

Upon hearing this accusation, the grieving crowd turned their angry gazes toward Xie Que Shan. He stood there, facing the fury of the crowd, his expression still calm.

He looked toward his enraged grandmother and spoke with a hint of exhaustion in his voice, “Grandmother, do you not think your judgment is hasty?”

Huang Yankun, sensing the situation was not right, quickly raised his voice: “The cause of the Eldest Young Master’s death is still unclear. We must investigate the assassin. No one at tonight’s banquet is allowed to leave until their identities are verified.”

With those words, the soldiers quickly surrounded the wedding hall.

In the confusion, the crowd didn’t notice that someone had disappeared from the hall.

Nan Yi had thought that the Qin family’s estate was large, but it was nothing compared to a fraction of the size of Wangxuewu.

The courtyards here were close to one another, with continuous corridors stacked upon more corridors, and the eaves of the buildings stretched endlessly. It felt like a winding, deep canyon that never seemed to end.

Escape had always been her first choice in life.

It was when she heard the news that the Eldest Young Master’s condition was hopeless that she seized the opportunity to slip out of the wedding hall unnoticed. She realized that whether it was her husband, who had died by her side, or the living demon, Xie Que Shan, standing in the high hall, everything she had encountered tonight was enough to make her wish for a thousand deaths.

She had to escape from the Xie family and deliver the message to Guyu Pavilion. There was no time to wait anymore.

But this nine-layered courtyard was like a massive cage—once someone entered, there was no escape. It was only then that Nan Yi vaguely realized she had made a very foolish move, yet she dared not stop.

Suddenly, in her panic, Nan Yi collided with someone. She looked up and saw Xie Que Shan’s face, unguarded, right before her eyes. She was so frightened that she quickly stumbled backward a few steps, hurriedly raising the fan in her hand to shield her face.

The surroundings suddenly became deadly silent. Nan Yi could only hear her heartbeat, which seemed to leap into her throat.

She knew that the action of raising the fan was like covering her ears while stealing a bell—Xie Que Shan had certainly seen her. But she still harbored a glimmer of hope. Today, with her heavy makeup and glamorous appearance, she had changed from the appearance of the little beggar she once was—perhaps, just perhaps, he wouldn’t recognize her.

Nan Yi saw that his boots took a step closer to her. She could only timidly step back. As he advanced, she retreated again until she bumped into a low railing at the edge of the corridor, almost losing her balance and falling backward.

Below the corridor was a lake in the garden, with moonlight shimmering faintly on its surface.

His hand gripped her waist, stopping her from falling. The warmth of his palm seeped through her clothes to her back, sending a chill through her entire body. She was trapped in this small space with no way to escape.

“Your sister-in-law should go keep vigil for my eldest brother.”

His voice was as calm as the lake below the corridor, but one could clearly feel that the lake had been soaked in the winter’s harsh cold for a long time, making it as frigid as ice.

Xie Que Shan released his grip, and Nan Yi immediately stepped to the side, as if trying to escape. She still held the fan tightly in front of her face. Without any effort, he grabbed her wrist, forcibly lowering her arm and the fan. Nan Yi clenched her fist, resisting him, but it was futile against his overpowering strength.

Little by little, the fan was lowered, and her face was fully revealed before him.

Xie Que Shan only vaguely remembered that the little beggar had beautiful brows and eyes, but he hadn’t expected that after washing off the grime and changing into fine clothes, she would reveal a face that was dazzlingly beautiful.

At this moment, her clear eyes were brimming with tears, her panic and fear almost overflowing.

It was the struggle between the predator and its prey. The fan was the shield in this battle, but much later, when Xie Que Shan recalled this moment, he suddenly realized the significance of the gesture with the fan.

“M-Master, you’ve mistaken me for someone else.” Nan Yi stammered, trying to justify herself. But her words were obviously futile; her nerves were so frayed that she had lost her composure.

“Oh? And whom do you think I have mistaken you for?”

Nan Yi was left speechless, her mouth opening but no sound coming out. She was so nervous that she suddenly let out an untimely hiccup.

Her features trembled, and the tears that had been held back finally spilled down her face. Nan Yi was defeated without a fight, her resistance crumbling completely. Even someone with a heart of stone would be pierced by this girl’s pitiful gaze, yet Xie Que Shan remained unmoved.

“Master, please have mercy on me.”

“You’ve transformed into a member of the Qin family, you’ve got some skill.”

“I was forced into it!”

“Who exactly are you?” His tone became more pressing, harsh even.

“I... I am indeed from the Qin family, but I’m just their illegitimate daughter... It was you who helped me escape. I was afraid you would catch me, and with nowhere else to go, I sought help from the Qin family. I never expected they would deceive me into marrying into the Xie family.”

“They already have a daughter. Why would they send someone else in her place?”

Xie Que Shan’s questions became faster, giving Nan Yi no time to think, forcing her to answer immediately.

“Their legitimate daughter is pregnant...”

At that moment, a sound of footsteps came from the opposite corridor, across the lake. The torches in the hands of the soldiers blazed like fire dragons, leaping along the corridor.

“Someone is over there!”

Xie Que Shan lifted his gaze toward the noise. The soldiers would arrive here soon.

Nan Yi also realized what was happening, and she looked at Xie Que Shan more pitifully than ever.

He merely raised an eyebrow at her with an amused look. “Even if I spare you, others won’t.”

Xie Que Shan looked as if he were watching a show from a distance. Nan Yi knew she couldn’t count on him. She even felt a bit angry. She had thought that if she answered his questions obediently, he would spare her life, but he had been playing her all along.

With a defiant glare at Xie Que Shan, Nan Yi gathered her resolve, turned, and climbed over the railing.

“Husband, I will die for you!”

Nan Yi shouted, and with a splash, she jumped into the water.

The entire sequence of movements happened in the blink of an eye, and even Xie Que Shan was momentarily stunned. Women really could change their expressions quickly—one moment, she had looked at him pitifully, and the next moment, she was diving into the lake without hesitation to save herself. He watched the ripples on the lake’s surface with a neutral expression, but his demeanor seemed to relax ever so slightly.

Soon after, the calm lake was disturbed as soldiers, servants, and female attendants jumped in one by one to rescue her. The noise spread from the center of the lake, and the previously silent Wangxuewu erupted in chaos.