The courtyard fell silent in an instant. Only the wind bell hanging from the corner of the eaves chimed as the wind passed through it.
The servants lowered their heads one after another, concealing the astonishment on their faces.
Lin Qingyun held her breath, her heart pounding wildly.
Heaven rewards the patient.
After three years of scheming, she had finally waited for this day.
Yun Shuangxu had finally been unable to endure it any longer and proposed marital separation.
Now, as long as Xie Jingbai nodded, the position of principal wife she had dreamed of would be hers.
She desperately suppressed the wild joy in her heart and looked at Xie Jingbai expectantly.
However, Xie Jingbai was only briefly startled. He did not take Yun Shuangxu’s words seriously.
Everyone in the capital knew that Yun Shuangxu adored him. Back then, she had even been willing to ruin her own reputation to marry him. Although he had neglected her these past few years, her love for him had never diminished in the slightest.
Besides, she still needed him to support her maternal family and help that good-for-nothing younger brother of hers. How could she possibly be willing to separate from him?
She simply did not want to change courtyards and was throwing a tantrum.
It would be better to give her a way out first and let her calm down. Once her anger faded, she would come around eventually.
Thus, he suppressed his displeasure and patiently said, “The matter of changing courtyards came too suddenly. I can understand that you cannot accept it right away. I’ll give you a day to think it over carefully and come back tonight to ask what you’ve decided. You’ve always understood the bigger picture. I know you’ll come around.”
Having said that, he did not wait for Yun Shuangxu to reply. He picked up Lin Qingyun and strode away.
The cold wind blew mournfully, chilling everyone to the bone.
Yun Shuangxu’s body trembled faintly. She felt the cold seep through her skin inch by inch and into the gaps between her bones.
She stood there without moving. Only after Xie Jingbai’s back had turned out of the courtyard gate and vanished from sight did she turn around, as though she had finally made up her mind, and return to her room.
Lü Bo followed behind her, furious yet heartbroken. The moment she opened her mouth, tears nearly fell from her eyes. “How could Fourth Master do this? In front of all the servants in the courtyard, he didn’t leave you even the slightest bit of dignity. He’s truly gone too far.”
Too far?
Yun Shuangxu gave a wooden smile. “Perhaps, in his eyes, he was giving me a way out. If I don’t take it, then I’m simply being ungrateful.”
Lü Bo stepped forward and took her arm. “Young Madam, please calm down. In the end, Old Madam is still the one who rules this household. I’ll accompany you to see Old Madam right now and have her stand up for you.”
“No need.” Yun Shuangxu shook her head calmly. “Go and have the meal brought in. I’ve already made up my mind. I know what I should do.”
Lü Bo’s heart jolted. “Young Madam, please, you mustn’t act rashly…”
“Go and have the meal brought in!” Yun Shuangxu pulled her arm free, her tone harsher than before.
Lü Bo did not dare persuade her further. She bent her knees in acknowledgment and withdrew.
After breakfast, Yun Shuangxu began counting her dowry and the things she had gradually acquired over the past few years.
Her maternal family had fallen into decline, and she had not brought much of a dowry. But since she intended to enter into marital separation, everything had to be clearly divided, no matter how little there was.
She would not take a single thing belonging to the Xie family with her, nor would she leave a single one of her own belongings behind at the Xie residence.
Seeing her like this, Lü Bo grew frantic, pacing around in circles. She said that marital separation was not something to joke about and urged her not to act out of anger.
Yun Shuangxu understood all too well the principle that the first effort was strongest, the second weakened, and the third was exhausted. She paid no attention to Lü Bo’s words.
Because she was still in charge of the household accounts and affairs, people came from time to time to report figures and request decisions. By the time she had finally finished counting everything that belonged to her, dusk had already settled outside the window.
She glanced at the sky and estimated that Xie Jingbai would be returning soon. She therefore planned to write the separation agreement and, when the time came, show it to Xie Jingbai together with the inventory of her dowry.
The room was somewhat dim, so she lit the lamps, spread out the paper, and ground the ink. She had just lowered her brush and written the three words “separation agreement” when a cool, detached voice sounded behind her.
“What are you writing?”
Yun Shuangxu’s hand trembled. Ink dripped from the tip of her brush and spread into a blot on the paper.
A hand with distinct, prominent knuckles reached over and casually snatched the sheet away.
“Separation agreement?”
Xie Jingbai read the three words aloud, and the air around him grew cold and heavy.
He had said he would come ask her that evening. He had thought she would come to her senses, prepare hot water and dinner for him, apologize for what had happened that morning, and ask for his forgiveness.
He had even thought that as long as she stopped throwing a tantrum and obediently gave up the courtyard, he would stay in her rooms that night and properly make it up to her.
But she was actually writing a separation agreement.
If she truly wanted marital separation, why had she waited until just before he was due to return to write it? Why had she deliberately let him catch her at it?
Did she really think he could not see through her schemes?
“You intend to use marital separation to force me to change my mind, is that it?”
He walked to her side and studied her profile, beautiful as if carved from jade. His voice was cold as he said, “I know you’re unhappy, but even your willfulness must have limits. I already gave you one chance this morning. I won’t keep giving you chances…”
“I don’t need a chance. I only need Fourth Master to sign the separation agreement.”
Yun Shuangxu turned her head and met the man’s deep, shadowed eyes. The warm yellow lamplight illuminated his handsome features.
Ever since she had first awakened to romantic feelings at the age of twelve or thirteen, this had been the face she loved most.
On countless spring nights fragrant with hidden scents, she had held those unspoken feelings of a young girl in her heart and imagined how happy she would be if she could marry him one day.
Later, she truly got her wish. Yet she had never expected that the ending would be so wretched.
Suppressing the bitterness in her heart, she reached out toward Xie Jingbai, asking for the sheet of paper. “Please wait a moment, Fourth Master. I’ll finish writing it. All you need to do is sign it and press your fingerprint.”
“…”
Xie Jingbai narrowed his phoenix eyes slightly and examined her carefully in the lamplight.
Those delicate, picturesque features, that elegant and exquisite makeup, that plain yet dignified dress—this was clearly the appearance he knew best. Yet the longer he looked at her, the more unfamiliar she seemed.
He could not say what was wrong. He only vaguely felt that something was slipping beyond his control.
He disliked this feeling.
Suppressing his anger, he crumpled the sheet of paper into a ball and flung it into the nearby brazier.
“Yun Shuangxu, not everyone has the capital to be willful. I’ll indulge you this once more. Think carefully about whether you can bear the price of marital separation!”
The crumpled paper caught fire inside the brazier.
Xie Jingbai flicked his sleeve and left. He soon went out the door, and the sound of his footsteps gradually receded along the corridor.
Yun Shuangxu watched as the flames rose and then died away, ultimately turning into a thin layer of ash. The ash struggled and spiraled above the brazier before helplessly falling back down, breaking apart into utter silence.
It was just like that small, burning hope in her heart. After three years of torment, it too had finally burned away completely, turning into a wisp of smoke that scattered with the wind.
She sat there in a daze, her heart reduced to dead ashes.
She did not know how much time had passed when Lü Bo entered softly and called to her. “Young Madam…”
Yun Shuangxu came back to herself and concealed the desolation on her face. “What is it?”
Lü Bo glanced toward the door and said in a low voice, “Someone from Spring Splendor Courtyard has come. Madam wishes to see Young Madam and said you must go over right now.”
Yun Shuangxu frowned when she heard this. “The road is dark and slippery. What could be so urgent?”
Lü Bo said, “Fourth Master had only just left when Madam sent for Young Madam. I’m afraid it’s still about changing courtyards. How about I go dismiss the messenger and say that Young Madam is unwell and has already retired for the night?”
“Forget it. You know very well that I can’t avoid it.” Yun Shuangxu shook her head and rejected the suggestion.
As a daughter-in-law, she had the word “filial” weighing on her head. How could there be any reason to hide from her mother-in-law’s summons?
Besides, things had not yet reached the point where both sides would be destroyed. She still had to maintain appearances.
Lü Bo also knew there was no avoiding it. She could only sigh, find a thick cloak from the wardrobe, and drape it over Yun Shuangxu before accompanying her outside.
Snow had begun falling again at some point.
The cold wind swept snowflakes straight into their faces, striking their skin painfully.
The snow beneath their feet made faint, brittle sounds, making the night seem all the more bleak and frigid.
With Lü Bo supporting her, Yun Shuangxu turned through a moon gate. Suddenly, she saw someone ahead in the wind and snow, walking slowly away from them with a lantern in hand.
The dim yellow light revealed a tall figure wearing a dark cloak. The edges of the cloak snapped and billowed in the wind, while at his waist, what seemed to be a long saber appeared and vanished from view.