Chapter 19 I am my brother, and he no longer wants to call her sister-in-law.

Thank you twice in one summer

Xia Rushi calmed down and stood there, laughing and crying at the same time.

If an outsider saw this, they would definitely think this person is crazy.

Painful memories are like turbulent river water.

She hated Xie Dang for ruining her peaceful life; she wished she could tear him apart!

But what's the point of tearing it up?

When Xie Pan returned home that day, he sensed something was wrong when Xia Rushi looked over.

Her gaze was as clear as a stream, unlike the sweet look that had filled his eyes before. His heart tightened, and he could hardly breathe for a moment.

"I'm back."

Xia Rushi seemed oblivious to his odd behavior and smiled at him.

Xie Pan forced a smile and hummed in agreement.

"What did you bring back today?"

He put his hands behind his back, looking like he was burying his head in the sand.

Xie Pan stood there frozen for a long time. Hearing this, he hesitated for only a moment before walking up to Xia Rushi and handing her the thing he had hidden behind his back.

It was a rather ordinary cherry-colored silk flower.

But the silk flower reminded Xie Pan of the past.

While at school, he mustered up his courage one day to buy silk flowers to give to her. But when he went to the school, he couldn't find her. In his anxiety and sweating profusely, he saw his older brother carefully taking her hand from behind the bushes.

The silk flower fell to the ground, and it wasn't until much later that he picked it up, wiping his eyes as he bent down. He carefully hid the silk flower in his wide sleeve, and that's where it remained hidden for twenty years.

When Xia Rushi accepted the silk flower, she inevitably touched Xie Pan's palm, and both of them paused.

The atmosphere in the dormitory instantly became extremely awkward.

I'm going out for a bit.

Xie Pan fled in panic. Xia Rushi looked up at his suddenly lonely figure and remained silent.

She doesn't always stay away from Beijing.

Occasionally, she would quietly come back to visit Wanyan without telling anyone, and sometimes she would stay at her daughter's place.

It was obvious that Xie Pan was still single. Although he was born out of wedlock, he always listened to the old lady, but he was very stubborn about marriage and wouldn't listen to anyone's advice.

But he has a good temper and doesn't get angry when spoken to. He remains silent no matter what others say.

Xia Ru never imagined that she was the "culprit".

She twirled the silk flower back and forth, and then thought of her daughter.

I wonder how my daughter has been doing lately.

They must have been terrified.

Although she didn't know why Wan Yan would forgive Wei Mingzhao and marry him against her will, Wan Yan always had a plan. Seeing that the Wei family boy's eyes were practically glued to Wan Yan, she didn't interfere and let the two children get along on their own.

Then I thought of the younger generation of children.

How wonderful!

Although Wan Yan's children didn't spend much time with her, they were all very affectionate towards her.

Xia Ru never expected that something like this would happen at her age.

Although she is not very old now because she got married and had children early, she still feels old because of her seniority.

But the way Xie Pan looked at her these days made her feel like she was still sixteen.

How funny!

Xie Pan was unaware of Xia Rushi's thoughts. He left the bedroom but did not go far.

His courtyard was much simpler than the other large courtyards in the mansion, and it did not have a small lake or pavilion.

He walked around the long corridor, leaned against the blue brick wall, and felt very anxious.

He gasped for breath, feeling as if a huge boulder was pressing on his chest.

Is she... leaving?

These days were like a rare and beautiful dream in his life.

Today, his dream is about to end.

In fact, he was already very grateful to God for giving him this opportunity to be her husband.

They behaved properly and did not overstep their bounds.

To receive her tender and dependent gaze is already worth it!

Xie Pan thought this way.

Even with these thoughts, my eyes still welled up with tears.

His face was flushed, and he leaned against the wall, staring down at the crack in the corridor floor. Tears welled up in his eyes and fell to the ground, leaving a heartbreaking stain.

When will she leave?

He thought helplessly.

He no longer wanted to call her sister-in-law.

His sister-in-law has already held a funeral.

Xie Pan stared intently toward the bedroom; the graceful woman inside couldn't possibly be his sister-in-law.

Why should her brother get good things for doing something wrong to her?

In an instant, all sorts of thoughts flooded Xie Pan's mind.

He even considered kidnapping her and eloping with her, disregarding everything else!

But that won't work.

She has always been upright and honest; she would never want to do such a thing.

Suddenly, the dormitory door was pushed open, and the wooden door creaked softly.

Xie Pan suddenly raised his hand to wipe away his wet eyes.

"Why aren't you in bed yet?"

Those watery eyes stared at him, their gaze sweeping over the ground beneath his feet with a mixture of reproach and resentment. She raised her chin and pointed, "Are you planning to sleep here?"

Xie Pan froze, the ground seemed to be burning hot under his feet, making it hard for him to stand.

Seeing him standing there like a block of wood, Xia Rushi spoke again, "Shall I get you some bedding?"

Xie Pan snapped back to his senses and strode toward her. His fierce momentum seemed to be about to knock her away, but he stopped a step away from her, lowered his eyes to stare at her, and his prominent Adam's apple bobbed up and down.

Xia Ru looked up, her gaze slowly sliding over the protrusion. She had never known before that Xie Pan was so handsome.

Xie Pan's face was both dark and red, and the burning gaze made his throat dry; he dared not move.

Seeing that his soul had left his body, Xia Rushi reached out and hooked his finger.

With just a gentle tug, his soul followed.

He couldn't remember how he washed up, how he arranged the bedding on the footstool, or how he lay down.

He felt like a puppet on a string, doing whatever she said.

When I came to my senses, the curfew gong was already sounding outside.

The bedroom was very quiet, with only the sound of her breathing.

Has she really remembered?

Xie Pan's mind was in turmoil. He stayed awake until dawn, listening to her steady breathing.

Later he understood: if she didn't say anything, it meant she hadn't remembered. If she hadn't remembered, then he was still her husband!

It wasn't that he was taking advantage of her; that's what she called him.

Xie Pan didn't know how long she would stay by his side, he could only pray that it would last longer, and much longer.

When she woke up the next day, Xie Pan was no longer there. The bedding on her feet had been tidied up and placed on the armchair in the corner of the bedroom.

Xia Ru glanced at it with a rather complicated expression.

Now that I'm awake, I have something to do.

Having been in charge of the household for over ten years, she knew the Marquis's mansion inside and out.

During the day, undisturbed, she made a human skin mask and collected servants' clothes, then walked around the Marquis's mansion twice.

The information she gathered relieved her.

What she misses most now are her two children.

Hearing that Wanyan was doing well, she often came to stay at the manor for a few days. However, each time she stayed for only a few days, Lord Wei would come and take her back. Most of the time, he would take Wanyan back and leave the child with him for a few days.

Xia Rushi then realized that Wanyan and Wei Mingzhao had returned to the right path.

She couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

However, there was one thing that she regretted: being unconscious for so long after being attacked by bandits ultimately delayed her son's marriage.

I wonder if Qingqing will feel sad that she didn't show up.

Qingqing was in a difficult situation in the Liu family. She insisted on returning to preside over Lang'er's wedding despite her brothers' objections, just to save face for Qingqing.

Whether it's people inside or outside the mansion, anyone who wants to harm Qingqing will have to see if Xia Rushi will allow it!

pity……

However, she was relieved to hear that although the young couple had some initial disagreements, they were now getting along better.

It wasn't that she didn't trust Qingqing, but that she was worried about Lang'er.

She was poisoned while pregnant with Lang'er. Although Xie Dang later found an antidote, the poison still reached the child in her womb.

She hadn't taken it seriously when she didn't miscarry, and was relieved.

As Xie Lang grew up, Xia Rushi gradually realized something was wrong.

One day, she saw Xie Lang, who was not even as tall as a table, go to find needles and thread. She secretly followed him and saw Xie Lang turn left and right until he reached a corner of the garden in the mansion.

There was a kitten whose head had been bitten off its body, leaving only its fur attached to it.

She watched as Xie Lang used his soft, chubby little hands to arrange the bloody, horrifying head and sewed it back up with needle and thread.

Later he hid even deeper.

He had a cat that clung to Xie Lang, but Xie Lang rarely gave the cat a second glance. His gaze was indifferent, as if he didn't like the cat at all.

But after the cat died, Xie Lang consulted an old master of funeral rites, who personally emptied out all the cat's internal organs and managed to preserve the skin.

Only then did she realize that Lang'er seemed somewhat bewildered and clueless about ordinary emotions.

She sought medical help, but everyone said that because it had been there for so long and was congenital, it was difficult to treat.

She could only watch over him and teach him every day.

Lang'er is filial, so he will always listen to her.

It gets much better over time; at least it's not noticeable on the surface.

But she always felt a sense of unease, as if this was like gunpowder, and that it would explode one day.

What might happen? Let's take it one step at a time.

There was one more thing she hadn't considered.

Her funeral was actually completed; it was discovered that her brother had taken advantage of Xie Dang's unpreparedness to handle it.

This suited her just the way she wanted to.

She returned to her parents' home and then began vomiting abnormally for over a month, naturally causing her family great concern.

At first, we thought she was pregnant, but if she was pregnant, why would she go through all this trouble to go back to her parents' home?

A doctor was called in, and he said that the patient was suffering from severe mental distress.

The Xia family was greatly alarmed.

The Xia family, with its tradition of military prowess, also deeply cherished the women in their household.

After finding out what happened, he was so angry that he smashed the table!

The Xia family's daughter will not tolerate this humiliation!

If you don't want to live it, then don't!

But Xia Rushi still missed her two children.

Now it's all good; she's "dead." Even if someone else enters the Marquis's mansion in the future, her two children will still be born to the first wife and legal mother, and will be protected by the elders of the clan and the laws of propriety.

She didn't want to get entangled with Xie Dang, and the current situation suited her wishes.

He would never have any connection with Xie Dang again.

Xia Rushi took a walk around and immediately understood the situation.

She was relieved to see that her two children were doing well.

But she doesn't plan to show her face.

This time, the "bandits" are extremely strange; she's currently in the shadows while they're in the open. She must make good use of this advantage and thoroughly investigate who they are!

She had an idea that needed to be confirmed.

In addition, Xie Dang gave her a "surprise," and she wanted to reciprocate in kind.

We circled back to Tingzhuxuan.

She removed the human skin mask and folded the servant's clothes, putting them into the cabinet.

He then read the storybook while waiting for Xie Pan to return.

Speaking of which, Xie Pan has really spoiled her lately. As dusk approaches, she is curious about what Xie Pan will bring her back today.

Xie Pan returned to Tingzhuxuan in the afterglow of the setting sun.

The cloak fluttered in the wind.

Hearing the door open, Xia Rushi got up to greet it.

When Xie Pan saw him, an awkward smile appeared on his usually stern face. Perhaps it was because he didn't smile often that his expression was so strange.

Xie Pan stopped in front of her and took out an oil paper bag from his pocket and handed it to her.

"Hu Bing (a type of flatbread)".

He stared intently at her. "Try it."

Xia Rushi held the flatbread in her hand, staring blankly at him.

It was still hot, even a little scalding.

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Author's Note: Next Chapter Preview:

He not only wanted her to live under the same roof with him, but he also wanted her to have him in her heart!