Chapter 91

The tense confrontation between Xie Que Shan and Zhang Yuehui suddenly became aware of a third person in the corridor.

Song Muchuan, who had just bid farewell to Lady Gantang, happened to walk into this scene on his way out of Wangxuewu.

He felt a bit awkward and unsure of what to do. Not knowing what had happened between the two, he could see clearly that neither was leaving. Trying to maintain peace, Song Muchuan stepped forward and cupped his hands.

“Gentlemen, a nobleman speaks with his mouth, not with his fists…”

“What does it have to do with you?!” The two of them responded in an unusually unified manner.

Song Muchuan was taken aback by their harsh response. He, a person of great courtesy, felt like a scholar encountering soldiers and was left speechless.

Zhang Yuehui, in a fit of anger, flicked his sleeve and stormed off. Xie Que Shan coldly snorted, showing no regard for Song Muchuan, and walked in the opposite direction.

Song Muchuan stood there, feeling utterly confused.

He hesitated for a long time, unsure whether to go and speak to Xie Que Shan.

He actually had a hundred questions to ask him. After saving the Princess Lingfu, she had told him that when the Yucheng army was in trouble, Xie Que Shan had sent her to the Shipping Bureau to find him. Why had he done that? Clearly, it went against the interests of the Qi people.

He really wanted to ask, but seeing Xie Que Shan acting so domineering made him inexplicably angry.

“Xie Chaoyan,” he unexpectedly called out sternly.

Xie Que Shan stopped, turned around with a suspicious and dark look in his eyes.

Song Muchuan seriously scolded, “You are being unreasonable.”

Xie Que Shan was taken aback, his aggression subsided, and he appeared somewhat embarrassed, his tone much gentler. “…Why haven’t you left yet?”

Normally, he would have enjoyed making everyone believe he was rude and violent. That was more convenient for him. But ever since he had grasped a faint thread of hope in the abyss, he subtly wanted to maintain a bit of dignity.

The two of them stood in the corridor, gazing at each other from a distance. Xie Que Shan found it amusing. Song Muchuan was such a person who always maintained his principles, valuing etiquette above all.

This familiarity made Xie Que Shan feel an inexplicable warmth flow through him—discipline was a good thing, it meant that Song Muchuan still had expectations of him.

His thoughts drifted back to a long time ago. When he first arrived in Bianjing, he was just a soldier who had shed his armor. His temper was fierce, and he was often mocked by the young masters of the capital as a discarded illegitimate son, a rough man. He valued face and had a strong sense of self-esteem, frequently getting into conflicts with others.

Song Muchuan had been like a Buddhist monk, constantly lecturing him in his ear about the noble man mastering his desires and restoring propriety, the importance of harmony, and how the nobleman never argued for the sake of a momentary victory…

He had grown tired of hearing it, yet he also learned to adopt the demeanor of a scholar. But the reason he became close friends with Song Muchuan was precisely because Song Muchuan was not a rigid scholar. He was a proud man who only felt regret for people he cared about. As for those he didn’t care about, he would just politely watch them go astray, without saying a word. He understood him, knew his ambitions, but after becoming close, he became a bit talkative.

Xie Que Shan had once taken pride in standing alongside Song Muchuan, debating literature on equal terms, enjoying wine, and speaking their minds freely.

How long had he deliberately avoided recalling those things? Tonight, he felt unusually sentimental.

Song Muchuan remained silent for a while, torn inside, but ultimately gave up asking Xie Que Shan. If he asked, it might reveal Xu Kouyue’s secret to him. He couldn’t take that risk.

So, he came up with a half-hearted excuse, saying, “I’m lost.”

Xie Que Shan turned around, raised his hand to lead the way, and casually said, “I’ll walk you.”

Song Muchuan didn’t refuse and walked alongside him.

This familiar tacit understanding made Song Muchuan feel a bit dazed. He impulsively wanted to know if the parts of Xie Chaoyan that belonged to Xie Que Shan were still there.

“Chaoyan, the Cold Food Festival is coming soon,” he said softly.

“I’m not going.” Without waiting for him to finish, Xie Que Shan rejected him. He knew exactly what Song Muchuan was going to say as soon as he opened his mouth.

Invite him to worship the souls of the dead? He had no face to do that.

Song Muchuan didn’t press further and smiled. “Then if I die, will you come and worship me at next year’s Cold Food Festival?”

Xie Que Shan replied coldly, “If you die, you die. What’s the point of worshiping? If you have the ability, stay alive.”

Xie Que Shan’s attitude made Song Muchuan suddenly come to his senses—what was he expecting? They were clearly on opposing sides, so what was the use of mentioning useless sentiments? He sighed deeply in his heart.

“Let’s stop here.”

They had already passed the screen wall and reached the main gate. Song Muchuan took a step back, subtly creating some distance, and cupped his hands in farewell.

Xie Que Shan watched as Song Muchuan moved further away from him. He stood still, feeling a bit sad.

Suddenly, he spoke, “I buried Zixu in a plum grove on Tiger Kneeling Mountain. Last year, during the heavy snow, the flowers had just bloomed.”

Song Muchuan had once said that a gentleman is like a plum, with integrity that does not bow to the secular world, standing proudly in the cold winds of winter.

They all remembered this.

Song Muchuan looked up in shock, tears welling up in his eyes.

Outside, the night rain fell softly, and the yard was quiet, with only the sound of the rain.

Nan Yi was standing in her room, unsure whether to sit or stand, feeling weak. She wanted to get some water to ease her dry throat, but her hands were trembling. Thinking it was the cold, she closed the door tightly, locked it, drew the curtains, and, feeling guilty, lit a candle.

The room suddenly became bright to the point of feeling exposed. She hurriedly blew out the candle.

That’s when she saw a box on the table, which seemed to have been placed there by Zhang Yuehui earlier when he came in.

She opened the box and found a bracelet, the broken part wrapped in gold, making the shattered piece look like a perfectly whole circle, quietly lying in the box, symbolizing a certain resolution.

The object felt as hot as if it were burning her hand. Nan Yi quickly slammed the box shut and returned it to its original place.

Had they all gone mad?

Nan Yi collapsed onto the bed, burying her head in the blankets. After suppressing her anger for a while, she suddenly started to pound the bed like a madwoman, twisting and turning on the bed like a worm.

The next day, Nan Yi got up, and after much thought, she was afraid of running into Xie Que Shan while going out for breakfast. Her stomach was growling with hunger, so she lied, saying she was feeling unwell, and had someone bring the food to her room.

While eating, a young boy, not even fully grown, came into her room, leading his younger sister.

“Mother,” Xie Qin called in a babyish voice as he saluted.

Nan Yi was so shocked that her soup spoon dropped into the bowl. It took her a while to process how she had suddenly gained such a big son.

“Mother,” the chubby little girl also called after her brother.

Her daughter was also hers???

Nan Yi stared at the two small children, feeling like the world was collapsing around her.

Lady Gantang’s cheerful voice came from outside the door, “Nan Yi, did I scare you?”

As expected of their biological mother, Xie Fu and Xie Qin immediately rushed into Lady Gantang’s arms. She embraced the two children, sat them down, and explained everything to Nan Yi.

Although the children were officially registered under the first wife’s name, it was Lady Gantang who had been raising them. Xie Qin’s education could not fall behind, so she had asked Song Muchuan to be his tutor. As Song Muchuan was busy with the affairs of the Shipping Bureau, he could only teach during his rest days. Lady Gantang had mentioned that she couldn’t attend to the household matters and hoped that Nan Yi could personally escort Xie Qin to school in the future.

Nan Yi immediately understood that Lady Gantang was providing a reasonable excuse for her to meet Song Muchuan and exchange information.

She felt a sense of relief. Firstly, she really wanted to go outside to meet Xu Kouyue. Secondly, part of the reason was... she felt uneasy staying in Wangxuewu. She had originally wanted to stay here and investigate Xie Que Shan, doing it so openly without distractions. But with Xie Que Shan’s actions, she wasn’t sure what to do anymore... Was he deliberately using this method to cast a charm on her?

And what was he saying about liking her? He clearly had said that men’s love for women was cheap!

Ugh, ugh, ugh, it felt like something dirty had gotten into her mind.

Now, when she thought about him, her mind became all tangled. She wanted to find a peaceful place outside the mansion to think about what to do.

Before that, though, she didn’t want to see Xie Que Shan.

But, of course, the very thing she feared was what came to pass.

There were fewer people at Wangxuewu, and in order to save resources, after Lady Gantang arrived, the small kitchens in the various courtyards were closed, and all meals were taken together.

Xie Que Shan did not join the women for meals. He knew that his presence made everyone uneasy, so he chose not to appear.

Nan Yi had planned to continue feigning illness, but when she heard that Xie Que Shan wouldn’t be coming, she felt relieved and came to eat. However, unexpectedly, just as everyone was seated and about to begin the meal, he arrived slowly.

He had even changed out of his usual dark clothes into a crescent moon-white round-collared, narrow-sleeved robe, giving off a somewhat refined gentlemanly look, as if deliberately trying to appear more approachable.

Everyone stood up nervously to greet him, but Xie Que Shan raised his hand to stop them.

“No need for formalities, just as usual.”

He sat down in the seat opposite Nan Yi. His gaze swept across her face without expression. Nan Yi stiffened, trying to act like she wasn’t familiar with him, but her heart began to race, and her face turned bright red, reaching all the way to her ears. She didn’t dare to look at him again.

Nan Yi silently cursed herself for being weak. She had already been unsettled before any action had even begun, and now, she buried her head in her bowl like a turtle.

Seeing the tense atmosphere, Lady Gantang started a conversation and asked Xie Que Shan, “What brings you here today?”

Xie Que Shan smiled and replied, “Second sister, is there a reason to come home for a meal?”

Even Lady Gantang found this hard to respond to. She awkwardly smiled and said, “Hmm, well, it’s always good for the family to have a meal together.”

And so the conversation ended, leaving only the sounds of chewing and chopsticks clinking.

Nan Yi, however, was filled with mixed emotions—her thoughts were in turmoil. He usually didn’t come, but today he did. Was it for her?

But she also felt like she was being overly sentimental. This scheming Xie Que Shan might be planning something bad!

The meal no longer tasted good. She was very anxious and couldn’t stop shaking her leg.

Suddenly, she felt a kick on her foot. Startled, she stopped, looked up, and stared blankly at Xie Que Shan.

Xie Que Shan didn’t look at her. Instead, he calmly lowered his gaze to Xie Qin, sitting beside him, and said, “Qin’er, don’t shake your legs, it’ll waste your wealth.”

Xie Qin looked at Xie Que Shan in confusion—he wasn’t shaking his leg.

But as a self-reflective little gentleman, he quickly thought that he must have disturbed his third uncle with some action and hastily apologized, “I’ve remembered, thank you for your teachings, Third Uncle.”

Xie Que Shan smiled warmly, “Continue eating.”

God knows how terrifying his “gentleness” is.

After the brief interruption, everyone continued eating quietly, heads lowered.

Before Nan Yi had a chance to look away, he blatantly stared at her. His face remained calm, and without showing any emotion, he subtly tilted his chin toward the bamboo forest outside the window.

Across the table, Nan Yi clearly understood his message—an invitation.

Her mind exploded in confusion—how dare he do that in such a public setting?

She buried her face in her bowl, too afraid to look up.

As if nothing had happened, Xie Que Shan casually set down his chopsticks, said he was full, and stood up to take his leave.

As soon as he left, everyone felt a collective sigh of relief, and the atmosphere relaxed. The women began chatting about family matters, and the table regained its usual liveliness.

But for Nan Yi, this meal felt incredibly long and tasteless. She dragged her time, torn over whether to go or not.

Avoiding this wasn’t the answer; it was delaying important matters. Nan Yi decided she needed to confront Xie Que Shan and make things clear once and for all.