“Mother, it’s not like that.”
Xie Xuchuan said, “It has nothing to do with Wansu, nor is she the one clinging to me…”
“Could it be that you are the one clinging to her?”
“Yes.”
Xie Xuchuan lowered his head to the ground.
His hands dug tightly into the blue bricks on the floor, his voice pleading: “Mother, I am the one who has wronged Wansu. All of this was my idea. I owe her, and I must repay her.
“Mother, please help me. I truly have no other way.”
His voice was filled with exhaustion, and the barely concealed sobs made Hua Nanzhi’s heart ache.
“Tell your mother, what exactly happened?”
Cui Yulin’s death was like a heavy stone pressing on his heart. Every time he thought of it, Xie Xuchuan was overwhelmed with grief.
Throughout his life, his father had been strict, his mother loving.
The fiancée arranged for him since childhood was gentle and beautiful, and his family was wealthy.
His grandparents also doted on him. The greatest setback he had ever faced was simply not being close enough to his twin brother.
Life had been too smooth, so much so that when Xie Xuchuan encountered this kind of trouble, he was utterly defenseless.
He lay awake all night, filled with both fear and remorse.
Many days had passed since returning from Huizhou, yet he dared not visit Yulin’s father, nor did he dare tell him that Cui Yulin had perished.
Xie Xuchuan thought that only after Wansu and the child in her womb were properly settled would he have the face to go before him and beg for forgiveness.
But Xie Xuchuan had never imagined that all of this would be so difficult.
He knew that neither his grandmother nor his mother would tolerate mixing up the Xie family bloodline.
After a long time, Xie Xuchuan finally pressed his forehead to the ground and mumbled, “It was me… I was drunk… I owe her. Mother, I beg you to grant me this.”
“You!”
Hua Nanzhi grabbed the teapot from the table and slammed it to the ground: “How can you face Yuanzhu? Yuanzhu has shown you such deep affection. Is this how you repay her?”
“I didn’t want this either. I truly didn’t.”
The frustration of being misunderstood made Xie Xuchuan inexplicably agitated. He blurted out recklessly: “Yuanzhu agreed. Yuanzhu agreed to bring Wansu’s child into the Xie family.
“As long as…”
“As long as what?”
“As long as the Xie family no longer uses the Shen Family Dyeing Manual.”
“You…”
Hua Nanzhi was so angry she nearly fainted: “Was that agreement? That was nothing but a refusal using an impossible condition!”
“Mother! In the end, Yuanzhu did relent. As long as you agree, this matter won’t cause any further complications.”
“How could I possibly agree? Even if I agreed, your grandmother, the entire Xie family, would not agree.”
Clutching her chest, Hua Nanzhi said, “Xuchuan, have you lost your mind? It’s true you are the Xie family’s legitimate eldest grandson, but do you really think you are more important than the Shen Family Dyeing Manual?
“Before you went to Huizhou, rumors were already spreading that Jiang You, the Superintendent of Weaving, had offended a noble in the palace. It’s unknown whether he will remain in charge of the Weaving Bureau this year.
“Without Jiang You, the Jiang family is nothing. Would you trade a Jiang Wansu for the Shen Family Dyeing Manual?
“If word gets out, the entire Xie family will think you’ve gone mad.”
Despite the Xie family’s current appearance of harmony, if the Shen Family Dyeing Manual were lost under his watch, the second branch would immediately jump out and declare Xie Xuchuan incompetent, unfit to inherit the Xie family business.
Given Xie Sanniang’s doting on Xie Jingyuan, it was truly hard to say who would end up with the family fortune in the future.
Seeing her son kneeling helplessly on the ground, Hua Nanzhi’s heart softened: “Xuchuan, listen to your mother. I will help you resolve things with Wansu. Whatever she wants, I can make it up to her.”
“If she insists on having the child, Mother can arrange for her to stay outside, but she absolutely cannot be brought back to the Xie family.”
“Mother means to make Wansu an outside mistress?”
Xie Xuchuan shook his head: “Mother, how can we humiliate Wansu like this?”
“Then what? Bring her back and risk upsetting Yuanzhu, who might refuse to hand over the Shen Family Dyeing Manual? Let the Xie family’s business fall into the hands of other branches?”
“Business, business—why does everyone keep talking about the Xie family’s business?”
Xie Xuchuan stood up, his eyes bloodshot with anger as he looked at Hua Nanzhi: “Is business so important? Is the Shen Family Dyeing Manual so important?”
“Of course it’s important. How many years has the Xie family spent building the reputation of Xie family Cloud Brocade? Now we’re just one step away from becoming Imperial Merchants.
“With the Shen Family Dyeing Manual, the Xie family can dye rare true colors like deep purple and madder red. Do you know what that means for the Xie family?
“Xuchuan, listen to your mother. Leave this matter to me. I promise it won’t affect your relationship with Yuanzhu.”
All this talk of business and dyeing manuals filled Xie Xuchuan with loathing.
He began to wonder if there was any genuine affection between him and Shen Yuanzhu.
Did his grandmother and mother treat him so well only because of his engagement to Shen Yuanzhu, because he could obtain the dyeing manual and benefit the Xie family?
Suddenly, Xie Xuchuan thought of Xie Qi.
“If I don’t marry Yuanzhu, will you treat me the same way you treat Xie Qi? Xie Qi—a person whose very name is superfluous. How can you be so cruel?”
As soon as the words left his mouth, Hua Nanzhi slapped Xie Xuchuan across the face.
Xie Xuchuan covered his cheek, stunned.
After a long silence, Hua Nanzhi said, “In any case, this is impossible. Don’t bring it up again, and don’t go to Yuanzhu about it…”
“Mother, I must bring Wansu and the child in her womb through the gates of the Xie family.”
“What nonsense are you saying?”
Xie Xuchuan’s expression was eerily calm, as if the slap had either sobered him or driven him further into madness.
Xie Xuchuan said, “Mother, go speak to Yuanzhu for me. Tell her the Xie family agrees to all her demands. As long as the engagement remains unchanged, once Yuanzhu marries into the family, I have a way to make her produce the other dyeing manual.”