Volume 1, Chapter 65: Wanting Her to Annul the Marriage

Xie Liming only half-understood. Shi Hanyue rarely discussed inner courtyard matters with him; he only knew that his father's legal wife had been bedridden and unconscious for many years, with no one to care for her in daily life.

Shi Hanyue did not say much more. Looking at the large slap mark on her son's face, she wished she could vent all her blazing fury onto Madam Xie, née Gu.

She led Xie Liming toward Chunyi Hall. The servants, usually lazy and idle, were strictly guarding the doorway today. Seeing her approach, they immediately stepped forward to block her path.

"Mistress Shi, the Master gave explicit orders today that no one is allowed to enter or leave the Madam's courtyard casually."

"Why?" Shi Hanyue asked in astonishment.

Gu Qingying's courtyard had always been neglected. At first, Shi Hanyue often came here to hurl curses and vent her anger. Later, as she became the de facto mistress of the Xie family and her life grew increasingly prosperous, she stopped coming altogether.

The servant lowered his head: "The Master gave the order. We do not know the reason."

After Qi Jingshan and his wife departed, Xie Changxun had hurriedly sent men to guard the courtyard, terrified of any further incidents. His devoted and faithful persona as a steadfast husband had won deep admiration from those in higher places. Today, Xie Liming's true parentage was already at risk of being exposed; if even the slightest scandal leaked out, his image of a loving husband could no longer be maintained.

Therefore, Chunyi Hall had to be guarded with the utmost strictness, ensuring not a single whisper could escape.

Hearing this, Xie Liming flew into a rage: "That Xie Mingyue is truly a plague! Everything was fine before, but the moment she showed her face today, Father immediately started paying attention to the people in Chunyi Hall."

Shi Hanyue was also filled with doubt and alarm. Why did this sudden display of force suggest that Xie Changxun was beginning to care about Gu Qingying again?

Knitting her willow brows tightly, she coaxed Xie Liming back to his courtyard. After a moment of thought, she instructed someone to summon a maid from Chunyi Hall.

After a while, the maid returned to the courtyard, pinching a pouch of loose silver.

That night, Xie Mingyue stayed in Qi Jingshan's courtyard, her hands deftly working on a long tassel pendant adorned with a backing plaque.

"For the Spring Blossom Banquet, everything was originally fully prepared, but Her Imperial Highness the Grand Princess suddenly fell indisposed, which unexpectedly bought us quite a bit of extra time to prepare. During these days, my maids have all studied some calligraphy and painting, but as for Mother's side..."

Thinking of this matter, she brought it up in advance to consult with Qi Jingshan.

She had previously spoken to Lady Luo, who had arranged for all the maids in the household who needed to make an appearance to make a last-minute dash, cramming some rudimentary knowledge to cope with the Grand Princess's examination.

However, Lady Yun had sneered at the whole endeavor.

Qi Jingshan's expression remained dark and deep as he raised his eyes from his thoughts: "Let her be."

Xie Mingyue immediately furrowed her brows tightly.

She had no desire to manage Lady Yun's affairs, but Lady Yun making a fool of herself would inevitably implicate Qi Jingshan, and she was unwilling to let him endure mockery on that account.

As if sensing her worry, Qi Jingshan pulled her waist toward him.

"Matters of the inner courtyard cannot shake my standing in the imperial court."

The resistance he had faced over the years amounted to far more than this, yet none of it had ever stopped his ascent.

Xie Mingyue loved this quiet confidence in him, as if he held all things in the world within the palm of his hand. Compared to the gloomy youth of a decade ago, the grown man before her now was like a vast, steady mountain, sheltering everything beneath it.

As the two were speaking, a bird's call abruptly broke the silence of the nocturnal sky. It did not sound quite natural. After a rapid succession of bird-like chirps flashed past, Qi Jingshan's brows furrowed slightly. He gave two light taps with his palm, and a dark shadow swiftly darted into the courtyard, landing right before them.

Was this not the female guard who had taken her to see her mother at the Xie residence during the day?

By the time Xie Mingyue recognized her face, the female guard had already spoken in a hurried whisper: "My Lord, My Lady, today Xie Changxun reinforced the guards around Madam Xie's courtyard. Shi Hanyue attempted to bribe a subordinate with money to harm Madam Xie, but her plot was thwarted by our people."

Beneath her black night-walker's garb, the attire of a Xie family maid was faintly visible.

Xie Mingyue was momentarily stunned, then turned to Qi Jingshan and asked urgently: "Is this a secret plant you placed inside the Xie family?"

Judging by appearances, this female guard was currently serving as a maid in her mother's courtyard.

Qi Jingshan nodded: "Over the years, Xie Changxun has managed the Xie family like an iron bucket, making it difficult to plant people easily. Therefore, I trained women skilled in the art of disguise. It was only a few days ago, taking advantage of a maid's death from illness, that she managed to take her place."

A warm current coursed through the depths of Xie Mingyue's heart.

Such a subordinate was not easily trained; Qi Jingshan must have begun making arrangements for this long ago.

It seemed he had always kept this matter close to his heart for her sake.

"Husband, you are truly wonderful." Unable to help herself, she reached out to take his hand, her voice softening with deep emotion, "I originally intended to go through a great deal of trouble to rescue Mother, but you had already planted someone there."

Pleased by her praise, Qi Jingshan's expression remained unchanged, though a trace of a smile flickered in the depths of his eyes.

He gave a slight nod, turning his grasped hand over to wrap around her soft palm, and looked toward the female guard: "Well done. Maintain your position."

Seeing that the female guard was about to be dismissed, Xie Mingyue felt a surge of anxiousness, though she could not quite sort out what exactly she was anxious about.

With someone protecting her mother in the Xie family, her situation would surely improve, but she was far from satisfied.

When she was a child, whenever she fell ill or grew tired, she would always rest her head on her mother's lap, gently stroked on the cheek, and fall asleep full of trust. Yet now her mother was trapped deep in a whirlpool, and she was utterly powerless!

This would not do.

Xie Mingyue burned with anxiety for a brief moment, then suddenly turned back of her own accord, straddling Qi Jingshan's lap and wrapping her arms around his neck.

Her light, delicate breath brushed against the man's chisel-cut facial contours. Suppressing her shyness, she clumsily offered her crimson lips.

"Husband..."

With an amused glint in his eyes, Qi Jingshan curved his lips as he gazed at her. His left arm supported her soft form, resting a hand on the back of Xie Mingyue's head.

"Hmm?"

Lowering his gaze, he casually masked the emotions swirling in the depths of his eyes.

Struggling to ignore the large hand he had planted against her lower back, Xie Mingyue whispered softly, "Thank you, Husband..."

Saying this, she trembled slightly from head to toe, looking up from above into Qi Jingshan's eyes.

Yet without a word of warning, he pulled her closer, forcing her to lean down and press her lips against his upturned ones.

The moonlight was pristine and bright, casting two indistinct, tightly intertwined shadows behind the tree foliage.

"Can't even take this much?" Qi Jingshan released her, lowering his gaze to wipe away the moisture at the corners of the embrace-holder's eyes.

Xie Mingyue panted softly, her neck dyed completely crimson. She stammered, "You... you were too fierce."

Her clothes and hair bun were both neat, but a patch of her lip rouge had smeared off. Her delicate, pale fingers gripped tightly onto Qi Jingshan's shoulders. Clearly embarrassed to the utmost extreme, she still stubbornly nestled on his lap, her expression hesitant.

Qi Jingshan gently stroked her cheek with the side of his palm, his voice laced with amusement: "My wife doesn't need to use the honey-trap method on me. You only have to ask, and I will grant it."

Xie Mingyue suddenly raised her head, staring at him in a daze: "You..."

How did he know she was acting this way because she wanted a favor from him!

Having been found out, how mortifying.

She opened her mouth, but Qi Jingshan leaned closer to her lips and silenced her words once more.

"Want Gou Zihan to rescue your mother?"

He spoke out of the blue, startling Xie Mingyue and making her blink rapidly.

Could this man see straight through to her stomach?

She had merely wanted Gou Zihan to step in and diagnose and treat her mother's illness, yet he seemed to have seen right through her from the very beginning.

"Yes. I suspect there is more to my mother's severe illness—perhaps my Father never actually invited a physician to treat her at all."

Xie Mingyue's gaze grew heavy as she voiced her suspicion.

However...

Leaning against Qi Jingshan's shoulder, she spoke softly, "Husband, actually I have another idea."

"Please speak, My Wife."

"My mother... I want her to divorce him."