Marquis Zhongyong reached out to him, “Give me a hand.”
He couldn’t get up.
Xie Tingzhou furrowed his brows and pulled the man out of the chair.
In a rare moment of kindness, he even helped Marquis Zhongyong adjust Xie Yunzhou’s clothing.
The Marquise had ordered someone to clean Xie Yunzhou’s body, but the ambiguous bruises remained.
At an age where he was nearly a grandfather, Marquis Zhongyong understood the situation just by looking at those bruises.
He closed his eyes, “I always thought he was a good child and often felt guilty for neglecting my second son while taking the eldest with me. A man is often away, while the woman stays home, managing the entire household is extremely difficult. She never complained and handled everything meticulously. I thought that since I married her, I should trust her completely…”
“Fortunately, you’re not confused when it comes to battles. Would you like to see his lover too?”
Marquis Zhongyong’s despondent mood lifted considerably, “Don’t you know what it means to be merciful with your words? Can’t you comfort an old man?”
Always stabbing him where it hurts.
Xie Tingzhou curled his lips in a somewhat irreverent manner.
“You’re not exactly old. If you’re willing, you could still have a few more children. Raising them yourself might actually produce some decent ones.”
Marquis Zhongyong glared at him, “If I recall correctly, you usually call me an old man.”
After a pause, he added, “You don’t have faith in Lanzhou?”
Xie Lanzhou was his and the Marquise’s youngest son, now only five years old.
“I don’t have faith in the child’s mother.”
Unwilling to say more, Xie Tingzhou shrugged, “If there’s nothing else, I’ll head back first.”
But Marquis Zhongyong stopped him, “Will you stay at the Marquis Estate from now on?”
Without pausing his steps, Xie Tingzhou tossed back two words, “I won’t.”
Marquis Zhongyong’s shoulders gradually slumped, pain faintly visible in his eyes.
After a cup of tea, he arrived at the Marquise’s room.
The Marquise knelt before him, “My Lord, your humble wife was wrong. I was foolish, I shouldn’t have feared the Marquis Estate’s reputation would suffer and thus slandered Ye Zhen, planning to sacrifice her to preserve the estate’s honor. But I truly didn’t send anyone to kill the County Magistrate, and I never intended to put Ye Zhen in mortal danger. I only wanted her to take the blame temporarily. After the storm passed, I planned to secretly send her back south and arrange a good marriage for her. She grew up in the south. Returning there would be better than staying a widow in the Marquis Estate for life. I know I was too selfish. But my Lord, I’m a wife and mother without strong convictions. When it concerns my husband and son’s reputation, I couldn’t consider much else…”
She closed her eyes, tears streaming down.
At this point, she could only confess some things voluntarily. Further excuses would only disgust the Marquis and completely lose his trust.
Having been married for over twenty years, she understood her husband.
Marquis Zhongyong had never doubted his wife before, but now he didn’t know if he could trust her again.
“When did Yunzhou and that guard start?”
He had been so certain earlier that Xie Yunzhou didn’t favor men.
But when Xie Tingzhou stopped him from reporting to the authorities, he began to waver.
If it weren’t detrimental to the Marquis Estate, Xie Tingzhou wouldn’t have interfered with his decision. After seeing the corpse, he felt disheartened.
The Marquise opened her eyes, pitifully, “I don’t know when they started. But I did lie to you. Yunzhou contacted me some days ago, that’s when I learned he was still alive. But his affair with Chi Heng shocked me too much. I didn’t know how to tell you.”
She absolutely wouldn’t admit she had known earlier, otherwise the Marquis would only be angrier.
Fortunately, Granny Feng had always been the one handling Yun Zhou’s affairs previously, so Zizhu knew very little about them.
“I must also confess to you that Guard Wu actually went to find the County Magistrate under my orders. However, I only instructed the magistrate to help confirm Ye Zhen’s impurity. After Guard Wu returned, he didn’t inform me that he had killed the magistrate.”
This aligned closely with Zizhu’s account, and Marquis Zhongyong’s expression softened slightly.
“As a fellow woman, your actions toward Ye Zhen were truly vicious. Attempting to deceive me and using power to oppress others were grave mistakes. From today onward, you shall reflect on your mistakes at the estate and are not permitted to return to Jingcheng without my consent.”
She neither pleaded for mercy nor caused a scene, instead kneeling respectfully with her head bowed. “I have erred and willingly accept punishment, but I truly cannot bear for the children to know of this. If Lan Zhou asks, I beg you to preserve my dignity by telling him I am recuperating from an illness. Since I can no longer attend to you personally, I implore you to find a suitable concubine to take care of you in my stead…”
Marquis Zhongyong strode out of the room. He feared that if he lingered, his heart would soften.
The Marquise’s mention of their young son and a suitable concubine reminded him how his wife had nearly lost her life giving birth to their youngest child at an advanced age, remaining bedridden for nearly a year before recovering. Even while confined to bed, she had constantly worried about him and managed all his affairs flawlessly. She had even arranged concubines for him, concerned that prolonged lack of release might harm his health since she couldn’t attend to him herself. Yet secretly, she feared he would forget her after taking concubines, becoming unable to eat or sleep, crying out his name even in her dreams.
She had made mistakes, but her affection for him was genuine.
Watching Marquis Zhongyong’s hurried departure, the Marquise slowly curved her lips into a smile. Moments later, her smile turned cold as she gritted her teeth. “What a fine Ye Wantang.”While seemingly cooperating with her, she had actually dared to investigate Yun Zhou behind her back and revealed it to Ye Zhen.” This was a debt she would certainly repay.
At the Ye residence in Jingcheng, Ye Wantang sneezed twice in succession. Ye Furen hurriedly fetched a cloak and fastened it around her.
“Mother, I’m not cold,” Ye Wantang said, removing the cloak.
In private, she always addressed Ye Furen this way, only switching to “Aunt” when others were present.
Ye Furen coaxed her affectionately, “Be good and keep it on. If you catch a cold, you’ll feel miserable.”
“She sneezed twice because someone is cursing her,” remarked Ye Zhengqing, taking a sip of tea. “Could it be that Ye Zhen has guessed we’re working with the Marquise and is cursing us?”
“She’s too foolish. To this day, she still doesn’t know you’re not her parents but her uncle and aunt. How could she possibly guess we’re helping the Marquise?” Ye Wantang said dismissively.
“Exactly. If the Marquise had succeeded, Ye Zhen wouldn’t have the leisure to curse us now,” Ye Furen quickly agreed. “We’re having such a cozy family moment—don’t bring her up and spoil the mood.”
Ye Zhengqing fell silent under his wife and daughter’s remarks. After a long pause, he said, “Must we really take Ye Zhen’s life? Couldn’t we keep her in the countryside as before?”
After all, she was his sister’s only child, and their daughter had taken her place. Thinking of his sister, Ye Zhengqing always felt somewhat apprehensive. Especially these past few nights, he had been restless, dreaming repeatedly of Ye Jinghong coming to settle scores with him, piercing him through with a silver spear.
“Father, I know you can’t bear it. If possible, why would I want to drive my cousin to utter ruin?” Ye Wantang’s almond eyes lowered, filled with murderous intent despite her helpless tone. “But the current situation is different from before. If she remains alive, my identity could be exposed. By then, forget your promotion—our entire family might not come to a good end.”
Hearing this, Ye Zhengqing’s slight reluctance completely vanished.
He even hoped the Marquise would soon bring good news.
At the manor, Wan Xing learned of Marquis Zhongyong’s punishment toward the Marquise and felt indignant.
“She’s so vicious, yet she only gets to reflect on her mistakes. To the outside world, they even save face by calling it recuperating from illness. She got off too lightly. Who knows—in a few days, if the Marquis softens, he might just bring her back.”
Then what about all the suffering her young lady endured?
If her young lady weren’t skilled in martial arts and hadn’t reacted swiftly, she dared not imagine how far the Marquise would have gone to harm her.
Ye Zhen, however, remained unusually calm.
The Marquise had been pretending in front of Marquis Zhongyong for decades. His feelings for her ran deep and couldn’t be severed overnight.
They also had children together. A mother’s tarnished reputation would directly affect the children.
Marquis Zhongyong was a father who valued his children deeply; he wouldn’t easily impose severe punishment on their mother.
Moreover, she was certain that the Marquise would eventually return.
But returning didn’t mean her status in the Marquis Estate or in Marquis Zhongyong’s heart would remain the same as before.
After changing the dressing on her wound, Ye Zhen said to Wan Xing, “Let’s go, it’s time to keep vigil for Xie Yunzhou.”
Wan Xing couldn’t accept it.
She wished she could chop Xie Yunzhou’s corpse into pieces and feed it to the dogs—why keep vigil for him?
Someone like him deserved to go to hell, never to be reincarnated.
Ye Zhen winked at her, “We’re putting on a show. When we return to Jingcheng, I’ll treat you to a feast along the entire street.”