“No matter what happens in the future, I will never regret it.”
Xie Yunye was never one to regret.
What he wanted, he would obtain.
In the past, since he had no woman he liked, marrying anyone would have sufficed.
Now that he liked Meng Jinyue, he wanted only her. Any other woman would be a compromise.
Madam Meng could see that his mind was made up, with no room for negotiation. No matter how much regret she felt, she could only let it go.
“Very well, the Meng family will not stand in your way.”
Xie Yunye nodded. “What you did last night, I will also keep it a secret.”
After Madam Meng left, Xie Yunye embraced Meng Jinyue, lifting her off her feet. She let out a small gasp of surprise.
Seeing her startled, Xie Yunye even tossed her upward.
Finally, she fell back into his arms once more.
Xie Yunye’s words were filled with laughter. “Yao Yao, now half of the marriage issue is resolved. Wait for me to marry you.”
Meng Jinyue hugged him, pretending to be delighted. “Mm.”
Then, her watery eyes looked up at Xie Yunye.
“Just now, my mother said I had ulterior motives toward you. I… I don’t.”
Before she could finish, Xie Yunye covered her mouth with his large hand.
“I know you don’t. The one with ulterior motives has always been me. I was the one who sought you out. I know all of it. You’re so simple-minded, how could you ever scheme against me?”
Xie Yunye looked at her with a smile. “So you don’t need to take her words to heart. People like her, who are so malicious, say everything only for their own purposes.”
Meng Jinyue lowered her head, biting her lip tightly. “But I… but what she said might not be wrong. Second Sister has liked you for years, but I haven’t known you for very long. Although I like you, it can’t compare to Second Sister’s deep affection for you.”
Xie Yunye cupped her face. “Why do you compare yourself to her? I don’t like her. No matter how much she likes me, it has nothing to do with me. In fact, it only brings me trouble.”
“I only like you. I only want you.”
Seeing her still frowning slightly, as if deeply troubled by this matter, Xie Yunye’s heart softened.
He comforted her. “That you are willing to like me and agree to marry me is already a blessing to me. Before, when I said I would take responsibility for you, I already had feelings for you in my heart.”
Though he couldn’t thank those wicked-hearted people, if Meng Jinrong hadn’t committed such an evil deed, he might not have been so firm in recognizing his own feelings, and Meng Jinyue likely wouldn’t have accepted his affection either.
“In the future, we have many years ahead of us. There’s no need to care about outsiders.”
“Alright.”
She had originally worried that Xie Yunye might harbor doubts because of her mother’s words, so she had tested him.
Now it seemed Xie Yunye did not.
“What happened last night, I will remember. In the future, I will seek justice for you.”
Meng Jinyue nodded. “I know.”
As long as the emperor was alive, the Chenguo Duke’s Mansion had support, and her mother naturally wouldn’t be easy to deal with.
But in the future, when the Crown Prince ascended the throne, the situation would be different.
Back then, when the Crown Prince’s birth mother, the late empress, passed away, it seemed to have some connection to the Chenguo Duke’s Mansion.
Meng Jinyue guessed that this was also why her mother wanted to marry both her daughters into the Crown Prince’s faction.
“Qiu Ning.”
“Don’t worry, Miss. I’m fine. I only found out after waking up that such a thing happened last night. Madam and Second Sister are truly wicked, wanting to ruin you like that!”
Qiu Ning puffed out her cheeks, filled with righteous indignation.
In her past life, her stepmother targeted only her, and did not lay a hand on Qiu Ning.
“You’ve finally come through the bitterness to sweetness, Madam. The Second Young Miss brought this upon herself—evil people are always punished by heaven.”
Meng Jinyue smiled but said nothing.
This was far from enough.
Though she felt some joy at Meng Jinrong’s suffering today, it was far from satisfying.
Perhaps it was because Xie Yunye’s affection came too easily, or perhaps because Meng Jinrong’s misery was not severe enough—mere heartache was insufficient.
She wanted them to die as tragically as she had in her past life.
“Qiu Ning, pack our things. We’re returning to the manor. After all, I must attend Grandmother’s birthday celebration.”
Qiu Ning hesitated. “Miss, is it safe to return now?”
Qiu Ning feared Meng Jinrong might go mad.
“It will be fine. Qiu Zhi will protect me, and Xie Yunye has also assigned other Shadow Guards.”
At this moment, her stepmother would not dare to act against her.
For the first two days after Meng Jinyue returned to the manor, all was calm. Meng Jinrong remained unconscious in the manor, but neither Madam Meng nor Meng Jinhua sought her out.
“Miss, could Madam be planning something big?”
“Could they be targeting your mother?”
“No, don’t worry.” Meng Jinyue took her hand.
“With the people Xie Yunye assigned to me, she can surely guess that my mother also has protection. Sending anyone now would only be walking into a trap.”
In the past, she had no one to rely on, making it easy for her stepmother to target her. But now, with Xie Yunye by her side, her stepmother would act with extreme caution in the future.
“Until Eldest Sister secures the position of Crown Princess, she will not make any rash moves.”
Any further action would only be taken if it was foolproof and would not expose her.
“Mother is safe for now.”
As the mistress and servant were speaking, sharp, noisy voices erupted from outside the courtyard.
It was Meng Jinrong, who had come looking for her as soon as she regained consciousness.
“How dare you return to the manor!”
Meng Jinrong tried to rush forward but was stopped by Qiu Zhi.
“Do you know how many days and nights Xie Gege knelt in the family ancestral hall to marry you? What kind of seduction did you use on him?”
Meng Jinrong was heartbroken.
“What are you talking about, Second Sister? I don’t understand.”
Meng Jinyue feigned innocence.
“I never tried to seduce him. Before, he repeatedly said he wanted to marry me, but I only saw him as my brother-in-law. I told him that you were his fiancée.”
“Shameless liar! If you didn’t seduce him, why would he want to marry you?”
“Does Second Sister truly not know? If not for your attempt to harm me this time, he and I would have had nothing to do with each other in this lifetime. I would have wholeheartedly regarded him as my brother-in-law, never overstepping even half a step.”
This was exactly how she had been in her past life—pitifully laughable.
Kindness and weakness brought no security.
In the eyes of others, it only made you seem lowly and easy to bully, encouraging them to become even more ruthless.
Step by step, she had retreated, only to end up with her belly cut open, watching helplessly as her child and mother were torn apart and devoured by wild dogs, leaving no whole corpse behind.
“Come to think of it, if not for Second Sister, I would never have believed he cared for me so much. In a way, Second Sister is our matchmaker.”
Hearing her innocent tone, Meng Jinrong felt her anger rise even more.
Meng Jinrong sneered, clutching her chest. “You’re nothing but a social climber, just like your lowly mother—always stealing other women’s men, yet acting so innocent as if you’ve done nothing. Do you think I’d believe you?”
“Meng Jinyue, I’m telling you, I will never let things go like before. Su Lie isn’t worth even one of Xie Yunye’s fingers—I’d rather die than let you snatch him away!”
Though Xie Yunye was young, he had won so many battles. Everyone in the world knew of him, knew he was a great hero.
Mother said Xie Yunye’s stepmother was domineering, and that Xie Yunye would still need to go through some trouble to secure the heir position.
But Meng Jinrong understood that no amount of scheming could stand against absolute strength.
She had a feeling Xie Yunye would obtain the heir position, and she believed he would climb even higher in the future.
Even setting aside Xie Yunye’s abilities, just his self-discipline alone was something few men in the entire capital could match.
Almost every man from a family with some power kept concubines at home; if not concubines, then there were a few ambiguous, beautiful maidservants.
But Xie Yunye had nothing like that around him.
She had even overheard Xie Yunye tell the Crown Prince that he would never take concubines in the future.
Mother always said she was foolish, that she had no brains.
But when it came to judging men, she wasn’t foolish at all. Whether it was Su Lie or Xie Yunye, both were far better than other men.
At the very least, they were kind-hearted at their core—unlike her cousin, who poisoned his wife to death.
And unlike Prince An, who tortured women to death.
How the former Princess Consort of Prince An died was an open secret.
Since childhood, she had resolved to marry a man of good character, even if his status was lower or his looks were plain.
But Xie Yunye exceeded her expectations in every way.
If she missed Xie Yunye, she would never find another man as outstanding and pure as him.
In the future, she might have to endure her husband’s betrayals, just like her mother. How could she bear it?
“Second Sister.” Meng Jinyue blinked her innocent and stunningly beautiful eyes, pretending to comfort her:
“Why must you be so stubborn? Even though you harmed me, showing not a shred of sisterly affection, I don’t wish to see you suffer like this.”
Hypocrisy and sanctimoniousness were what she had learned from her sisters.
Meng Jinyue covered her chest, deliberately provoking her further: “Do you know, that night when the people you sent chased me to the edge of the cliff, just as I fell, Brother Xie, to save me, jumped down without hesitation.”
“At that moment, I understood that his feelings for me weren’t just empty words. He cares for me so much he would even risk his life.”
“Second Sister, I’m telling you this not to boast, but to make you understand that forcing things is useless.”
“Sister, the man you love—his heart belongs only to me.”
Meng Jinrong knew this wretch was showing off, both openly and subtly. She thought she had seen through it, thought she wouldn’t be affected.
But hearing that Xie Yunye had risked his life for this hypocritical wretch, Meng Jinrong still lost control.
She didn’t even want to believe it.
“You’re saying he jumped off the cliff to save you?!”
“Impossible! Brother Xie would never do that. He’s always so rational! It’s absolutely impossible!”