After a long silence, a cold, mocking sneer followed.
Xie Yuheng looked at Ji Hanyi with icy eyes. He did not believe she had the capability to actually demand a divorce from him.
She was no longer the sole daughter of the Ji family she once was. After a divorce, where could she possibly go?
Even if she returned to her maternal grandfather’s house to live under someone else’s roof, she would still be an outsider. How long could the Gu family continue to take her in? Moreover, the Gu family had declined and no longer possessed much of a foundation.
Who would want a divorced woman?
Did she truly believe she could continue to live a life of luxury and be waited upon like she was now after leaving him?
She was likely just reacting to the misunderstandings of the past two days and his refusal to help her cousin. She was using this method to force him to compromise.
However, Xie Yuheng knew that his treatment of Ji Hanyi over the last two days had been inappropriate. Recalling how she had stood alone in the cold snow, he admitted to himself that he had indeed been inconsiderate.
He had also misunderstood her last night.
Xie Yuheng took a deep breath and looked down at Ji Hanyi, speaking with a rare flash of patience. “Hanyi, there is a limit to throwing tantrums.”
“I misunderstood what happened last night. I’ve already had the housekeeper send over some bird’s nest and supplements for you. Focus on recovering from your illness these next few days. Once your cold is better, you can go pay your respects to Mother and attend to her.”
Ji Hanyi had originally thought Xie Yuheng would agree immediately.
After all, she understood how much he loved Li Mingrou. The only reason he hadn’t brought up a separation was to protect his reputation. Now that she had proposed it herself to preserve his face, he thought she was merely throwing a fit.
It seemed Xie Yuheng had never truly understood her. Had he known her even a little, he would have known she never threw tantrums.
Regardless of what he thought, things had already reached this point; everything needed to be made clear.
Ji Hanyi shook her head. She looked at him earnestly. “I have actually considered the matter of divorce for a long time; I simply hadn’t brought it up to you until now.”
“We have been married for three years. No matter how many times you misunderstood me, I never threw a tantrum, and I certainly wouldn’t use something as serious as a divorce to do so now.”
“This is a decision I have weighed for a long time. Please, sign and seal it as soon as possible.”
Xie Yuheng looked at Ji Hanyi’s calm face in shock. Under the flickering candlelight, the sincerity in her eyes did not seem feigned.
In an instant, countless thoughts flashed through his mind, all rooted in disbelief that she would actually dare to divorce him.
He took the divorce agreement from her hand and unfurled it. Every word entered his vision, and when he reached the line, *’Two boats may cross the same waters, but their final destinations differ,’* Xie Yuheng’s grip tightened. He looked up at her.
Ji Hanyi lowered her gaze and said softly, “I have already signed my name. Once the Eldest Young Master adds his seal, I will have all my belongings packed and ready by tomorrow.”
She hadn’t brought much to the Xie estate. When the Ji family was seized, she and her mother had left the Ji manor with nothing but the plain clothes on their backs. The once-glorious Ji family no longer had anything to do with her.
Xie Yuheng stared at the vermillion signature on the divorce agreement, then looked at Ji Hanyi in silence for a long while. Suddenly, he let out a cold laugh and tore the document in half.
The pieces fell between them.
Ji Hanyi could hardly believe he would do such a thing. She had wanted them to part ways with dignity and composure, without mentioning the woman in his heart or the grievances she had endured during her three years in the Xie family.
She had hoped for a clean break—a wide world for one, and long days for the other—where they would no longer concern themselves with each other.
Xie Yuheng’s impatient voice came from above. “Hanyi, I will only tolerate your willfulness this once.”
He spoke again in that voice that always carried a hint of disappointment. “Your temperament hasn’t changed at all in three years.”
“How are you supposed to become the matriarch of the Xie family with such a character? If you continue to act so unreasonably, I wouldn’t mind having you kneel in the ancestral hall to properly reflect on your actions.”
Ji Hanyi felt a wave of coldness wash over her.
Even though she knew he had always been heartless toward her, she hadn’t expected him to remain so utterly unchanged.
Simply because of that cup of tea Li Mingrou had intentionally spilled years ago, he had judged her for three whole years. No matter how well she behaved, in his heart, she was always a narrow-minded, unreasonable woman who couldn’t tolerate others.
A sudden surge of exhaustion and revulsion toward Xie Yuheng rose within her. Even looking at him made her heart ache.
Ji Hanyi took a step back and closed her eyes. Her swaying body leaned against a small side table for support. Her face was pale, and it took a long moment before she could speak. “If I go kneel in the ancestral hall to reflect, will you write the divorce agreement when I come out?”
Xie Yuheng looked at her pale face and her thin, delicate frame which was trembling slightly. He still felt some pity for her, but he disliked her constant willfulness.
It was undeniable that she managed the courtyard perfectly, the maidservants were well-behaved, she served his mother with total devotion, and she was always dignified and poised during social engagements.
In truth, he had never intended to divorce her; he simply disliked how she was always so calculating.
Knowing she might have been spoiled while growing up in the Ji family, Xie Yuheng often ignored or neglected her, hoping to smooth out the sharp edges of her personality.
Even if he didn’t take concubines in the future, her level of jealousy was ultimately unacceptable.
Xie Yuheng took a deep breath. Seeing her in such a state, he couldn’t bring himself to punish her after all. He merely said, “Hanyi, I won’t hold today’s matter against you. I’ll give you a few days to reflect and recover from your illness. Don’t disappoint me again.”
After saying this, Xie Yuheng gave her one last deep look before turning to leave.
His tall shadow vanished from behind the screen. Ji Hanyi stood alone in the empty inner chamber.
She looked down at the divorce agreement Xie Yuheng had torn in two, bent down to pick up the pieces, and threw them into the nearby charcoal brazier.
She watched the flames leap up, the light reflecting in her eyes. She sat down on the Arhat couch, watched Xie Yuheng’s receding figure leave the courtyard through the window, and then turned away.
Rong Chun entered from outside, carefully carrying a porcelain bowl. She approached Ji Hanyi and said with a smile, “Young Madam, the Eldest Young Master ordered the kitchen to brew this tonic for you. Please drink it while it’s hot.”
She added, “It’s rare for the Eldest Young Master to show such concern for you. He must have finally realized your worth.”
Ji Hanyi only glanced at the bowl and gave a faint, tired smile.
What “concern”? It was only because he had somehow realized he’d wronged her last night, so he was offering her a sweet treat as compensation.
It was just like that bolt of Shu brocade from before.
Things that Li Mingrou could obtain without doing anything, Ji Hanyi had to “earn” through such means.
Ji Hanyi looked up at Rong Chun. “You were out in the wind with me today as well. You drink it.”
Rong Chun was stunned and quickly said, “This was given to the Young Madam by the Eldest Young Master. How could a servant like me drink it?”
Ji Hanyi rubbed her forehead. “Just drink it. It’s only a bowl of tonic; perhaps there won’t be any more tomorrow.”
Saying this, Ji Hanyi stood up and walked toward the study in the rear gallery.
When she had returned today, she had stopped by her shops and brought back the account books.
Since she intended to divorce Xie Yuheng, it was naturally better to have more assets on hand.
She knew she couldn’t stay at her maternal grandfather’s house forever. Even if her grandfather said nothing, her aunt would certainly be unwilling.
She didn’t blame them; she understood that the Gu family was currently in a difficult position, and she didn’t want her divorce to implicate others.
The divorce was her business alone; she couldn’t let it drag her relatives down.
The earnings from the first shop were decent since it had been established for a long time. The second shop had been operating for less than a year, so its profits weren’t as high.
Still, something was better than nothing.
The manager of the shops was someone Ji Hanyi had requested from her maternal grandmother, so she felt relatively at ease, but she still reviewed the quarterly accounts carefully.
Beside her, Rong Chun trimmed the lampwick. Only then did Ji Hanyi realize she had been reading for a long time.
She massaged her temples and asked Rong Chun, “Did you drink the tonic?”
Rong Chun nodded quickly, though she seemed a bit anxious. “I just feel that the Eldest Young Master finally showed some heart toward you… if he finds out, will he neglect you again?”
Ji Hanyi didn’t care about that. She closed the accounts and leaned back against the chair, exhausted. Stroking the soft, warm white cat in her lap, she stared blankly at a spot in the room and whispered, “Right now, I’m only worried about my cousin’s situation.”
She feared the charges would be escalated, further endangering the already precarious Gu family.
When the disaster struck years ago and her two maternal uncles were demoted, the Gu family was still relatively wealthy. After all, they had been rooted in the Capital City for over a century and owned many lands and shops.
However, back then, to ensure her uncles received lighter sentences, they had spent money everywhere to pull strings, exhausting more than half the family fortune without changing the outcome.
At this moment, Ji Hanyi suddenly remembered the day her mother had taken her to see the Old Senior Grand Secretary Shen to plead for her father.
Old Senior Grand Secretary Shen was the Emperor’s teacher. If he spoke for her father, perhaps her father would have been shown mercy.
By then, the old man was no longer the Senior Grand Secretary. He had stepped down the year Shen Si entered officialdom.
When she and her mother had knelt before him, the Old Senior Grand Secretary had only sighed with regret: “It is not the Emperor who refuses to let Zixu go; it is the people of Liaoxi.”
Ji Hanyi hadn’t quite understood those words then, but remembering the past now, she finally did.
The war in Liaoxi had seen defeat after defeat. Countless commoners had died, and immeasurable wealth had been plundered. It was inevitable that they would resent the court’s incompetence. The court’s dignity had to be maintained, as did the Emperor’s.
Her father had been the Minister of War, in charge of the Liaoxi strategy. The Liaoxi commissioner and the generals were also people her father had recommended. Having her father pay with his life was the best way to appease the people of Liaoxi.
Let the hatred of the Liaoxi people fall upon her father.
No one could have saved him. And how could those implicated alongside him be pardoned?
Those people knew they couldn’t save him, yet they greedily clung to a sliver of hope to fleece the family of their wealth.
Ji Hanyi closed her eyes and sighed softly. How could the struggling Gu family endure another storm?
When she went to bathe and sleep, the room was as cold and quiet as ever. Ji Hanyi was long used to it; in fact, she felt a sense of relief.
Just as she was drifting off to sleep in her exhaustion, she heard a small movement outside the bed curtains.
Before long, there was a rustle. The curtains were parted slightly and then closed. Immediately after, the quilt was lifted, and a warm body pressed against her from behind, a hand coming to rest upon her waist.