Chapter 17 Don't Push Me

Yuqian Lane in western Beijing.

Liu Yueli leaned on the faded brocade pillow, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the cracked patent leather on the edge of the couch.

This villa was originally rented by Xie Wuqi after pawning his jade pendant. The window paper was still covered with holes left by the previous tenant, and it rustled when the night wind blew.

The crisp sound of the door latch breaking startled the sparrows flying from under the eaves.

Madam Xie's eyes gleamed with brilliance, and her jade-inlaid armor pointed at the tip of Liu Yueli's nose: "Tie this bitch up for me!"

Four burly old women surrounded them like hungry tigers pouncing on their prey.

Liu Yueli was horrified, and suddenly broke free from her shackles and rushed to the dressing table: "Madam! Wuqi won't be able to see me when he comes back..."

"I just want him to be kept away from it!" Madam Xie pulled her messy hair, "When Miss Luo's sedan chair arrives, do you think he'll still remember this shabby yard?"

Nanny Chao shook open the bundle, and yellowed pieces of letter paper fell out like snowflakes.

Madam Xie picked up a piece of letter and sneered, "When you fell into the water at the age of fourteen, dragging Luo Zhaohan to the bottom of the lake, did you ever think that this letter would fall into my hands?"

Liu Yueli dug her nails into the cracks in the bricks. She had indeed learned how to swim that day, and when the water plants at the bottom of the lake entangled Luo Zhaohan's ankles, she even deliberately pressed him twice more.

These dirty thoughts were now laid out in black and white in front of Mrs. Xie, like a peeled orange revealing its rotten flesh.

"Wuqi said you were a frightened bird." Madam Xie suddenly pinched her chin, "I think you are a snake spitting out its venom."

The armor was stamped on the four words "I am willing to break up with you" at the end of the letter, where there was still a mark of dried rouge - the day before yesterday, Xie Wuqi kissed this mark and vowed to cancel the engagement.

Mrs. Xie suddenly swung her arm violently, like lightning, and slapped Liu Yueli hard in the face.

"Shameless!"

Liu Yueli's head involuntarily tilted to the side after being struck, and she felt a burning pain on her cheek. A distinct slap mark instantly appeared on her delicate skin, making it particularly conspicuous.

At this moment, her heart seemed to be burning in flames. She felt extremely panicked and filled with unspeakable fear.

Because in other letters, she and Xie Wuqi also revealed many secrets unknown to outsiders!

The golden hairpin on Madam Xie's head shone with a cold light, which was reflected on Liu Yueli's pale face.

Nanny Chao tightened her grip on the hemp rope, and the rough knot rubbed against the old scar on Liu Yueli's wrist.

"Madam, please make a quick decision. Taking this bitch away as soon as possible is the most important thing." Nanny Chao lowered her voice, "Young Master will be off duty at the latest at twilight hour!"

"Yes, we have to do it before he comes back!" Mrs. Xie pinched her fingertips into her palm.

When she found the secret letter that Xie Wuqi had hidden under his pillow that day, she almost tore the pillowcase embroidered with lotus.

Liu Yueli suddenly raised her face, tears hanging on her pointed chin: "Madam, please understand. Yueli really did advise Wuqi."

"Persuade?" Madam Xie suddenly pinched her chin, her red nails digging into her flesh. "Persuade him to break off the engagement? Persuade him to disobey his parents? Persuade him to turn against the Luo family for you, an orphan?" She suddenly laughed out loud. "What a wise and righteous way of persuading!"

There was a sound of hurried horse hooves outside the window.

When Xie Wuqi kicked open the shaky wooden door, he saw Liu Yueli kneeling on the ground like a white butterfly with broken wings.

The sunlight filtered through the leaky window, making the palm print on her left cheek look like a branding iron.

"Mother!" A bloody smell came out of Xie Wuqi's throat, but the slap from his mother seemed to be slapping himself.

Madam Xie's fingertips trembled, and she looked at Xie Wuqi in shock: "Wuqi, how dare you leave your post without permission!"

"Abandoning his post without permission?" Xie Wuqi sneered and cut off the conversation. "Mother, do you know that there are spies planted by the Luo family on duty at the East City Military Headquarters tonight?"

Liu Yueli suddenly let out a soft moan and grabbed the hem of his clothes with her bloody fingertips.

Xie Wuqi's pupils suddenly shrank.

The person in his arms was so thin that she seemed to melt in the moonlight. This reminded him of the night when Liu Yueli passed away in his previous life - she grabbed his sleeve and said, "Don't let me down in the next life", but he had clearly abandoned Luo Zhaohan in this life, so why couldn't he protect her?

"Wuqi." Liu Yueli tilted her neck back, leaving red marks where her tears had fallen. "Madam is doing this for your own good." She suddenly coughed violently. "You can go back to the mansion. I will go to the nunnery and cut my hair to become a nun!"

"Shut up! I don't allow you to talk nonsense!" Xie Wuqi shouted, and the scimitar at his waist came out of its sheath with a buzzing sound.

The four old women screamed and retreated to the corner.

Mrs. Xie staggered and held onto the door frame.

She watched as her son lifted Liu Yueli into his arms. This obedient son, now possessing the same gaze as her husband who had insisted on taking a concubine.

"Rebellious son!" She grabbed the letter and threw it at him. "This bitch is already coveting Young Master Xie's position at the age of fourteen! You can see how cunning she is!"

"Mother, please stop pushing me! Yueli is so gentle and kind, isn't she a thousand times better than Luo Zhaohan?" Xie Wuqi glared at her.

Mrs. Xie held onto the rickety antique display case, the armor scraping harshly against the sandalwood. Liu Yueli sobbed in Xie Wuqi's arms.

"How gentle and kind!" Madam Xie pulled off the sachet from her waist and threw it at them, the fragrance spilling out and blinding everyone. "When she urged you to break off the engagement, did she ever think about the twenty years of friendship we've had with the Luo family?"

Xie Wuqi waved his sleeve to block the sachet, and the jasmine powder stained Liu Yueli's tear-soaked clothes. He suddenly remembered the hunting last year, when Luo Zhaohan blocked an arrow for him, and his blood had spread on his moon-white clothes.

"You only care about power and marriage!" He clenched Liu Yueli's cold hand, "Yueli can't even bear to step on an ant."

"Ant?" Madam Xie suddenly overturned the table, sending a celadon cup shattering at Liu Yueli's feet. "She was only fourteen years old, and she dared to push Luo Zhaohan to death!" She picked up the letter from the ground with her fingers. "It says 'Zhaohan is blocking my way' in black and white on it. Are you blind?"

Nanny Chao hurried to support her staggering master.

Madam Xie pushed her away, pointed at Liu Yueli and yelled, "This slut is using the title of someone else's adopted daughter to snatch the marriage of someone else's biological daughter. She even wants to kill Miss Luo and take her place as the real daughter of the Luo family!"

Liu Yueli suddenly screamed and covered her ears.

Xie Wuqi immediately protected the person behind him: "Mom, how much more dirty water are you going to throw on Yue Li!"

Thunder roared outside the window and raindrops hit the tiles.

Mrs. Xie looked at her son's bloodshot eyes and suddenly sighed.

"Wuqi, did you know that Brother Chen passed the Imperial College exam last month..." Her voice was hoarse, "Your father thinks more and more of him..."

"Xie Wuchen again!" Xie Wuqi suddenly roared, "You always use Concubine Zhang and my half-brother to pressure me! You're not doing this for my own good, but for your own!" He kicked away the broken porcelain at his feet, "I want to marry Yueli, not be a puppet in your hands!"

Nanny Chao's scream was drowned out by the thunder.

Mrs. Xie stumbled, holding onto the doorframe. She slowly squatted down to pick up the broken porcelain, the sharp edge cutting her fingertips. The pain, piercing through her fingers and heart, was nothing compared to her own son's heartless words, "For your own sake."

Liu Yueli snuggled in Xie Wuqi's arms, with a barely perceptible curve at the corner of her mouth.

She had acted out that scene beautifully—her trembling fingertips, her tearful sobs, even the angle at which she hit the broken porcelain was carefully calculated.

She deliberately pressed Xie Wuqi's hand on her bruised wrist: "Don't blame Madam, I'm not worthy of you..."

"Nonsense!" Xie Wuqi hugged her tighter, "Tomorrow I will go and ask the emperor for permission to marry me!"