Chapter 29

◎ quarrel. ◎

Autocracy and arrogance are what people call common problems of those in power.

When Xie Huaijin was young, his father took him into the dark ancestral hall. In front of rows of tablets, he learned to burn incense like his father.

His father told him about the centuries-old history of the Xie family, the generations of emperors, and how the ancestors of the Xie family sailed the century-old ship of the Xie family and maintained the prosperity of the family amidst the rise and fall of dynasties.

Behind my father were rows and rows of elders. They had the same surname and similar faces, and they chanted the prosperity of the Xie family. They stood in a neat row, like the rows and rows of tablets on the altar not far away.

The elders had black eyes and their skinny hands were folded in front of their sleeves. When his father took him to kneel down and burn incense, they stood stiffly behind them, staring and sizing him up.

At the age of four, he became famous all over the world with a poem, and the title of the eldest son of the Xie family began to last for a hundred years.

Except for the one who died unexpectedly from an epidemic in the third year of Yuancheng, every eldest son of the Xie family was a genius. Even the one who died in the third year of Yuancheng, if he had not died before the palace examination, he would have been just one step away from getting the top three places.

His father took him to the depths of the ancestral hall. Xie Huaijin was five years old at that time.

At that time, the elders liked to play a game called "Beast Theory" with him. The game was divided into two sides, he represented human desires, and the elders represented beasts. It was difficult to explain, but it was ultimately a game of strategy.

The elders would arrange their troops in advance. He could ask the elders three questions each time, and then he would have half an hour to arrange his chess pieces.

When the game started, Xie Huaijin didn't get any hints about the rules of the chess battle between the two sides and the final determination of winning or losing. His father told him that he needed to explore it bit by bit.

The first time, Xie Huaijin made a mistake and scattered all 39 chess pieces. Half a day later, his father said to him: "If a person wants to win, not even one piece will be left."

The second time, Xie Huaijin restrained some of his edge and changed his mind according to the last idea. Three days later, his father told him: "People want a son but he is not alive."

That year, Xie Huaijin's fame spread throughout the world, and his glory would later become a glorious chapter in the history of the Xie family. Besides writing poetry, he joined the elders in playing twelve rounds of "Beast Theory."

From the crushing defeat at the beginning, to the increasingly long time it took for his father to announce his defeat, to the subsequent holding of the middle ground, he was able to formulate corresponding strategies without having to ask the elders questions.

Once a month, after a long year, his father said to him, "Shuhe, you win."

At that time, his father looked at him and did not smile.

Xie Huaijin was able to see the battlefield under his command.

A young man with dark eyes knelt in front of him: "Sir."

There was a long scar on the boy's face, and his neck and wrists were dark purple with blood. Behind him were snowy human bones and the corpses of wild animals. The wind in the distance brought the fishy smell of a distant lake.

Intelligence can sometimes be a powerful weapon.

Stab the heart.

Transform into Xie Huaijin's eyes as he looks at his father.

The mountains of corpses and seas of blood before him were all too reminiscent of the "beast theory" he had been playing for a year. Standing on the hillside, he asked his father in front of him, "Father, I won. How many of 'human desires' are left?"

"One son." Xie Huaijin was left with only his father's back. Xie Qingzheng said calmly, "Shuhe, it took me three years back then."

......

Xie Huaijin looked at his father for a long time, but his father never turned around to look at him.

The young man with dark eyes walked silently to his side and said, "Please give me a name, sir."

The sky was dark, and the boy's blood was reflected on him like ink. A low voice echoed through the valley: "Mo Yu, from now on, you will be called Mo Yu."

The sky was as dark as ink, sprinkling on Xie Huaijin's face.

Later, the little boy who was longing for his father in the mountains grew into a handsome young man.

Over the long years, he no longer soaked his hands, which had written the lives and deaths of countless people, for as long as he did in his childhood. As his body grew taller and the snow piled up, he slowly raised his head like a cedar. With every step he took, snow fell and melted into brilliant glory and fame.

He never stopped.

The first lesson in "love" the elders taught him was a maid who was beaten until only a piece of dead flesh was left.

The maid tried to seduce him, but was discovered by the elders and taken to the torture chamber. When he got the news and rushed there, he saw only a limp heap on the cane chair. The maid's eyes were wide open, pain overflowing from her ruptured eye sockets, blood and flesh mixed together, and Xie Huaijin closed his eyes.

He said calmly: "She didn't do anything."

It was not to excuse the maidservant. Writing a love poem and giving a few glances would not have resulted in beating her like this, leaving her with neither life nor dignity. He took off his snow-covered coat, bent down and covered the maidservant with it, and asked the servants to bury her properly.

The elders were furious, thinking that he had been seduced by a maid. How could the head of the Xie family be so soft-hearted?

Xie Huaijin only asked Mo Yu to properly settle the maid's family and apologize on his behalf.

Mo Yu frowned and glanced at the young man, but the young man just let him go with a cold look. Mo Yu gritted his teeth and picked up the remains of the maidservant, or rather, a piece of soft flesh.

The young man in a snow-white coat turned calmly and knelt down: "Shu He is willing to be punished."

Whip after whip, the young man closed his eyes and blood flowed down the corners of his lips.

After the punishment, someone respectfully helped him up and whispered to the other elders, "Young Master is only kind and kind, and still young, so he doesn't understand the filthiness of this."

Dirty|filthy.

After that, Xie Huaijin was forced to stand in front of the shaking bed for a whole month, observing the untouchable lust they talked about.

It's really dirty.

The elders did not let him close his eyes, but prepared the best tea for him. Two or three of them watched with him, and occasionally chatted with him.

The mating slaves were not allowed to make any sound. In the dark room, the rocking of the bed became the only source of sound in the dead silence. Two lumps of flesh slowly pressed together and separated, like the zombies described in ancient books, with a pale coldness and deathly aura. Sorrow and pain overflowed from the silent bed curtains.

During this time, the slave couldn't help but lose control of his bladder, and was afraid that his urine would splash onto the bed. The two lumps of white flesh connected together cried and begged for mercy.

Xie Huaijin looked at him indifferently, without saying a word from beginning to end.

He began to truly become the eldest son of the Xie family.

He was famous in Chang'an and throughout the world. The name Xie Huaijin gradually emerged from the Xie family's century-long history of glory. The elders, initially arbitrary, arrogant, and snobbish, gradually became respectful and submissive after a brief period of observation.

He began to stand alone in front of the ancestral hall. A young man in a snow-white robe lit an incense stick and slowly fluttered his clothes. The scarlet dot on the slender incense stick was like an eye in the mountains, containing broken desires and ambitions.

He no longer asked his father, no longer looked at his father, and left the child behind him. Mo Yu became his eyes behind him like a ghost.

And he always looks forward, his phoenix eyes gazing at everything deeper and farther.

People call it the future.

Flowers never fade, this shouldn't be the case in the world.

......

It was night, or maybe it couldn’t be called night anymore, because when I closed the door and rested, it was almost dawn.

Perhaps it was because he met Ci Ying today, Xie Huaijin had a dream at night that he hadn’t had in a long time.

Before the article from Lishan Academy was delivered to Xie Huaijin's desk, Xie Huaijin had already known the name "Ci Ying".

There was no other reason. His second sister protected this maid named "Ci Ying" as if she were the apple of her eye. Not only did she protect her in private, but she also did it in a high-profile manner and made it known to the whole mansion.

Among the messages that Mo Yu frequently sent over, there were always the names of Xie Suwei and Ci Ying, so it was hard for Xie Huaijin not to know them.

Occasionally, he would see two people playing in a corner of the Xie Mansion. They always liked to stick close to the wall, supporting each other as they walked step by step. Xie Suwei was in poor health and would cough after walking a few steps. The maid named Ci Ying would use her entire body to support Xie Suwei.

When the two of them were tired, Ci Ying sat down and used her legs as a cushion for Xie Suwei.

Xie Suwei seldom sat there, but sometimes she would just sit on the grass without paying any attention to etiquette, resting her head on Ci Ying's shoulder, muttering something.

The two would occasionally see him. Xie Suwei liked to hide him first and then greet him in a strange way.

......Xie Huaijin didn't understand what there was to hide.

The maid named Ci Ying would occasionally glance at him secretly, thinking she was being discreet, but it wasn't. Xie Suwei would cough lightly, and as soon as she coughed lightly, the maid's gaze would disappear, her face filled with worry.

They always say that they want to go to Jiangnan.

Jiangnan was a dream that their aunt had woven for them, but as Xie Suwei's health deteriorated, neither of them mentioned it anymore.

Xie Suwei died that spring.

He survived the coldest winter, but died that spring.

My aunt accepted it calmly, and while she was acting crazy, the deathly aura on her body spread little by little.

When they met that year, he had suggested that he could "persuade" his father to release his aunt from the house, but his aunt just shook her head and said "no need".

But his aunt asked him again if she could really trust him.

He didn't answer, and sure enough, his aunt mentioned Ciying.

Ciying was like a relic, which was handed over to her aunt by Xie Suwei, so her aunt pretended to be crazy and tried her best to give Ciying an identity that would allow her to live a stable life in the future.

When his aunt felt that her life was coming to an end and that she could no longer rely on the Lin, Jiang, and even Wei families, she gave Ciying's relic to him.

She was originally the adopted daughter of the Xie family, but something went wrong at the flower viewing banquet, and her aunt took advantage of the situation and gave him benefits that he could not refuse at the time.

When his aunt passed away, she said to him, "Please treat Ciying well. She is the only relic Suwei left in the world. Suwei treated her with great care, and I hope you will do the same."

Xie Huaijin felt that he had done a good job.

Until Ciying left without saying goodbye——

Until Ciying left without saying goodbye again——

Xie Huaijin woke up from his dream and his eyes quickly regained clarity. He lifted the quilt and walked to the window. It started raining outside the window again without him noticing.

He recalled the scene yesterday and Ciying was very happy.

She wiped the fruit juice from the corner of the child's mouth, picked a sweet dish from the meal and put it into the child's bowl, and coaxed the child with Li Sheng and laughed.

She was happy, so he didn't want to interrupt that happiness.

The young man looked at the rain outside the window calmly.

Recalling the chaos in the study that day in Chang'an, he rubbed his thumb and called Mo Yu over: "What kind of person is Mr. Li?"

Mo Yu recalled, "He's the eldest legitimate son of the Li family, but his mother was framed while he was in the womb, resulting in a difficult birth. Although Li Sheng luckily survived, the poison he carried in his mother's womb left him weak from childhood. Most of the household affairs were taken care of by his half-brother. His half-brother's talents were average, and after his father suffered a stroke, he hasn't been able to carry out all the tasks assigned to him by the elders, much to the anger of the elders."

"We haven't yet figured out why the Patriarch gave a force to a complete stranger, Li Sheng. But the reason Li Sheng initially went into hiding must have been related to the young master. The Patriarch must have found a scapegoat for Li Sheng and released him from prison."

"Have you taken the imperial examination?" Xie Huaijin stroked the white jade ring on his hand. Yesterday, there was a poem written by someone else on Ciying's desk. The only person he had contact with these days was Mr. Li. His talent and learning were not extraordinary, but he was sure to pass the civil service examination.

Mo Yu shook his head: "I am too weak to take the imperial examination."

It means no.

Xie Huaijin lowered his eyes: "Continue to investigate, and call Zhu San over by the way."

Zhu Guang quickly reached the courtyard, but didn't go in directly. She fetched some water from the courtyard, took out the potion from her bosom, and carefully smeared it on her face. After a while, she washed it off with clean water, revealing her original plain face before getting up and going in.

When she went in, Xie Huaijin was practicing calligraphy.

Zhu San walked closer and saw that it was the handwriting that Ci Ying was using now.

Her eyes flashed, and an idea went through her mind. She sat opposite the young man cunningly: "Sir, is there something you want to call me here for?"

Xie Huaijin said calmly, "A few days ago, Mo Yu asked me to let you out of the house."

Zhu San's face froze for a moment, and he said indignantly: "Who told Mo Yu that the secret guards could be released from the mansion? I'll go talk to Mo Yu." After saying that, he turned around and wanted to slip away.

The young man's calm voice sounded behind her: "I talked to Mo Yu."

Zhu San admitted his mistake: "Sir, I'm sorry."

Mo Yu appeared in the study. When he walked past Zhu San, he was grabbed by Zhu San and gritted his teeth: "Master, you can't chase me away."

Mo Yu's voice was cold: "You're so sloppy even when reporting the news about the Madam every day. Is this how I taught you the rules in the Dark Guard Camp?"

Zhu San blinked. She rarely saw Mo Yu angry. She only remembered three times, and each time was related to the Young Master. She lowered her head and said, "I didn't miss anything important."

People's hearts are biased. Apart from her master, no one has ever treated her as well as Ci Ying. Zhu San poked her hand. She thought that the young master would not know about such a small matter, and even if he knew, he would not care.

Xie Huaijin really didn't care, but Mo Yu did.

Mo Yu carried Zhu San out.

After a long time, Xie Huaijin put down the pen in his hand.

When Zhu San was sent back by Mo Yu, he had obviously been punished. Mo Yu stood up and left to do other things. Zhu San rubbed his wrist and said, "Master, did you call me here just to watch Master teach me a lesson?"

Zhu San's words were filled with resentment.

Xie Huaijin pointed out her thoughts: "Are you unhappy?"

Zhu San: “…”

After a long silence, she whispered, "Master, please don't let your slave master hear this."

Xie Huaijin didn't respond to this, but the next sentence made Zhu San feel that it would be better to continue talking about her and her master.

......

After a long silence in the study, Zhu San looked troubled: "...It's okay."

Then she made an excuse and ran away in a hurry.

Whenever Zhu San thought she was rebellious enough, the young master would teach her a lesson.

*

Ci Ying saw Xie Huaijin again on a very ordinary afternoon.

There was a knock on the door outside the study. Unlike when she was in Xie's house, where she had servants serving her personally, now she had to open the door herself.

She thought it was Li Sheng or a maid who came to deliver a message. She hadn't finished writing yet, so she said, "Wait a moment."

After finishing the last word, she placed the brush on the table, stood up and opened the door. The door was opened from the inside by the girl. She looked up and saw a handsome young man.

The girl's smile froze on her face, and her heartbeat was not sure whether it was due to fear or something else. Before she could react, she was gently embraced by the young man.

A voice as clear as snow yet with a hint of gentleness reached Ci Ying's ears, and her heart suddenly stopped. Along with the hug came the young man's words: "Long time no see, Ci Ying."

The snow-white clothes were dry and soft, but Ci Ying felt cold all over. She shivered and after she came to her senses, she pushed the person away, ran into the house, closed the door, and isolated the face and the person behind it.

Escape was almost her first reaction, but other emotions that surged in her heart soon overwhelmed her.

With shaking hands, she mechanically packed her things and tried to run, but after picking up the manuscript box, she squatted down in embarrassment. How could she run...

The young man was not angry even though he was locked outside.

After the ding-dong sounds in the house stopped, the young man's gentle voice came through the door: "Ciying, let's talk."

After a long time, the door was opened.

Ci Ying barely managed to clean up her mess, but the moment she met the young man's eyes, she was stunned by the faint smile in his eyes. A soft sigh came to her mind. The young man raised his slender jade-white hand and gently wiped the ink on Ci Ying's face: "Just like a little cat."

Ci Ying didn't know how Xie Huaijin could pretend nothing had happened. She took a step back, avoided Xie Huaijin's hand, and said nothing with a cold face.

Xie Huaijin put his hand down casually, the smile on his lips remained unchanged, and he sat next to Ci Ying.

He looked at the girl's shivering body and said softly, "Don't be afraid."

Ci Ying's eyes froze, her emotions difficult to contain. She couldn't stop wondering why Xie Huaijin had found her. Was it martial arts? She had only left the house a handful of times in the past three months, so how could she have been so easily guessed to be in Jiangnan? Where had she let herself go? She hadn't told anyone.

Ru Zhen and Yu Wenfu didn't know how Xie Huaijin found Jiangnan, or... Ci Ying felt a chill in her heart, or Xie Huaijin's power had reached such an extent that she would be found no matter where she was.

This horrifying guess made Ci Ying panic and desperate. In Xie Huaijin's eyes, she was like a frightened bird.

Xie Huaijin's words attracted Ciying's attention, and the young man said gently, "Ciying, listen to me."

Ci Ying pinched her hands and forced herself to look over. In fact, she couldn't look directly at the person in front of her. But when she saw him, all the past memories rushed towards her like a flood, drowning her.

Three months can only dissipate those detailed memories, but as the memories fade away, what surges in is the straightforward emotions.

Her heart was filled with fear, dread, and disgust at the person in front of her.

Her eyes probably couldn't hide her emotions, so he heard Xie Huaijin sigh and raise his hand to touch her head.

It was probably meant to comfort her, but Ci Ying was only terrified. She took a step back, stood up, held up her armor, and looked at Xie Huaijin with a cold face.

She spoke first: "Xie Huaijin, I will not go back with you. Even if you kill me today, I will not go back with you, absolutely not."

The young man was startled and laughed dumbly: "You are my wife, how could I kill you?"

Ciying couldn't describe this feeling, it was this feeling again.

She was suspicious, tempting, and collapsed, but he was always indifferent and calm, watching her lose control as if it was a matter of course, as if she was a lunatic and he had done nothing wrong.

Ci Ying calmed down a bit and said softly, "I'm not your wife."

The girl's eyes were red. "I wrote a divorce letter with you. My name and handprint are on it. I also explained everything to you clearly in that letter. Xie Huaijin, please let me go."

When she said the word "let go", the girl's tone softened.

Perhaps because she understood too well the gap between them, Ci Ying found it difficult to be completely tough. She could only gamble, or she could talk things over with Xie Huaijin.

As the young man's eyes gradually drooped, Ci Ying spoke, "I didn't send that poem at the flower viewing banquet. You should have sent someone to investigate. I didn't mean to force you into marriage by relying on the fact that Madam mistook me for a young lady."

Xie Huaijin raised his eyes and looked at Ci Ying. Her body was a little stiff, but she was no longer trembling.

Without being interrupted by him, she continued, "A lot of things happened later. I couldn't refuse Madam's kindness. I married you under the pretext of filial piety and ruined your marriage. I'm sorry. I know I owe you an apology. I'm sorry, Xie Huaijin. If I could go back to the beginning, I would refuse Madam."

The young man touched the ring on his hand and looked at Ci Ying gently.

Ci Ying continued, "But it's not too late, Xie Huaijin, it's not too late. Now you are heartless to me, and I am indifferent to you. As long as you sign the divorce agreement and take it to the government, we can get divorced. It won't be difficult for you to choose whoever you like, that Miss Su or another lady."

Xie Huaijin finally spoke. He asked softly, "You have to at least let me know what I did wrong."

Ciying opened her mouth but didn't know what to say.

Xie Huaijin stood up and walked towards Ciying. Ciying stepped back step by step until she finally reached the cabinet. The young man stood in front of her and repeated, "Ciying, if you really want to break up, you have to at least let me know what I did wrong."

He rarely defended himself. "If this is about Xiaowan, Ciying, you're really too soft-hearted. She has had ulterior motives around you, and she's done so many things behind your back that you can't even count them on one hand. You always condone her, and one day it will lead to disaster. Even that time, you almost had health problems because of her selfishness."

Ci Ying looked at Xie Huaijin, a trace of despair flashing across her eyes.

She thought she didn't care so much anymore, but it seemed not to be the case. Now that he was in front of her, she looked at his face and heard the man in front of her say such high-sounding words, her heart still ached.

This pain was the same as before yet different, tearing at her soul as if something was about to burst out of it.

Ci Ying realized belatedly that she had felt wronged. This feeling of grievance was not because of what Xie Huaijin had done, but because as long as she looked at this person, she could not suppress the grievance that arose in her heart.

Her eyes were red, her breathing became rapid, and the surging emotions were almost completely overwhelming her reason.

She had never been like this before, probably because she hadn't lost everything.

The roaring thunder and lightning at the post station that day have always been hidden in her heart, and the fear and terror have become a part of her body without anyone to tell.

So she later let herself go and let herself sink, as long as Xie Huaijin was willing to lie to him.

But he didn't. She closed her eyes and ears, but he still blatantly lied to her over and over again.

For him, saving Ru Zhen was just a matter of raising his eyes. She had already begged him so much at that time, but he still didn't see it. He indifferently wiped away her tears and ignored her pain, but here he said such high-sounding words.

Xie Huaijin was still talking about Ru Zhen: "Ru Zhen is the same. I showed you in the study how Ru Zhen approached Yu Wenfu. Why should we interfere in what happened between them? Besides, Ci Ying, for your sake, I have already forgiven Ru Zhen once."

Ci Ying finally couldn't bear it anymore and exploded completely, pushing Xie Huaijin away.

"Forgiveness, what forgiveness! I don't care at all that Ruzhen took my jewelry to sell. Why do I need your forgiveness? Why do you act like you're giving us alms... Why is it always like this, Xie Huaijin? The rules of the Xie Mansion are rules, but what is the rule that I don't have the right to dispose of my things? Tell me what the rule is."

Xie Huaijin had never thought that Ciying would be so emotional, so he reached out and grabbed Ciying's hand which was about to throw it towards the cabinet.

Ci Ying kept struggling, and Xie Huaijin said, "Calm down."

Ci Ying couldn't calm down. When she saw this person, all the emotions that had accumulated in her over the past few years began to explode. Fear, sadness, sorrow, resentment, all these emotions intertwined together, turning into her tears and her louder voice.

She had probably never acted so mad before. She looked at Xie Huaijin with red eyes, "Yes, I'm not as calm as you, because those slaves you mentioned who could be arbitrarily punished or even executed by family rules are my family members who have been with me day and night since I was a child. They are not, not the objects you mentioned. They are not like that to me."

Xie Huaijin only heard the word "family". After thinking for a while, he frowned and looked at Ci Ying.

"They are family, so what am I?"

【Author’s words】

It's a dog.