Shen's mother "died"
The early morning light had not yet completely dispelled the chill of the night when she was awakened by the sound of hurried footsteps and a crying voice.
"Madam! Madam! Something bad has happened!"
Shen Qianyue suddenly opened her eyes, her heart inexplicably tightened, and she subconsciously looked to her side. The pillow was empty, and Xie Shangjia had gotten up and left without her knowing.
The unfamiliar little maid stumbled to the bed, trembling all over as if she had been extremely frightened, but her speech was clear and coherent.
"Madam! Something happened at the Prime Minister's Mansion! Last night, a fire broke out in the old lady's courtyard. It was a huge fire! It burned all night and was not put out until dawn... The old lady didn't escape... All we found was a charred corpse..."
Shen Qianyue sat up suddenly, clenched the quilt tightly with her fingers, and stared at the maid.
"Whose are you?"
The little maidservant, under the pretext of helping her calm down, stuffed a crumpled piece of paper into her clenched hands and whispered a reminder.
"Madam, the old lady has moved into the west of the city. Please don't let the prince down."
Shen Qianyue clenched her fingers, clenched the paper ball, took a deep breath, calmed her emotions, and put her mind to the role she should be in at the moment.
"You go down first."
Her voice was trembling, and the grief she felt was palpable, but it made sense.
The maidservant bowed as she was told, lowered her head and quickly retreated, as if she was just there to complete the task of announcing a death.
As soon as the door closed, Shen Qianyue unfolded the paper ball, revealing a familiar line of handwriting that was so powerful that it could be seen through the back of the paper.
I have fulfilled my promise and await your good news.
It’s Xie Zhiyun!
Mother was safe, completely out of the vortex of the Prime Minister's Mansion and out of the center of the upcoming, bigger storm.
If I fail and my entire clan is executed, my mother will be spared.
Then, she really... acted without any scruples.
Outside the window, it was already bright.
A white banner was hung high in front of the Prime Minister's Mansion, and the originally vermilion gate was covered with pale silk cloth. Funeral music and cries were heard in the mansion, revealing a suffocating sadness.
Chen Qianyue got off the carriage in plain clothes. Her face was as pale as paper and her eyes were red and swollen. She looked as if she had just heard the bad news and was heartbroken.
As soon as I entered the mansion, I saw Xie Shangjia's busy figure. He was directing the servants to set up the mourning hall and receive guests who came to pay their respects. His behavior was quite methodical.
As soon as he saw Shen Qianyue, he immediately left everyone behind and walked towards her quickly, his eyes full of heartache and worry. Ignoring the gazes from all around him, he opened his arms and hugged Shen Qianyue tightly in his arms.
"Madam...why are you here..."
"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, it's okay, you still have me..."
Xie Shangjia hugged her so tightly, as if he wanted to use his body temperature to dispel the coldness emanating from her body.
He even felt a subtle sense of relief, relief that he couldn't hide it from her, and relief that he could be with her at the moment, trying to play the role of a calm and reliable husband.
He wanted to say that he had done a really good job and no one could tell that he had lost his memory.
Shen Qianyue's body was stiff. Under the gaze of everyone, with mournful music and crying sounds in the background, she slowly pushed him away.
Xie Shangjia was stunned, his arms still in a hugging position, his eyes full of surprise and confusion.
Immediately afterwards, Shen Qianyue's cold voice sounded. It was not loud, but it was like a piece of ice hitting the silent water, and it was clearly heard in every corner of the mourning hall.
"Thank you, Minister, please respect yourself."
Secretariat?
She called him an official?
Everyone held their breath for a moment, all eyes focused on the two of them.
Shen Qianyue's face was expressionless, even with a hint of just the right amount of disgust and alienation, as she continued, each word sounding like an ice needle dipped in poison.
"Our bond is over, and the imperial decree of divorce has been issued. In the future, please maintain your composure in public and refrain from such misleading behavior that would invite unnecessary criticism."
Wow——!
Like cold water dropped into boiling oil, the scene was instantly in an uproar!
All the mourning guests and busy servants looked at this scene in disbelief.
Sighs and whispers suddenly arose everywhere.
Xie Shangjia froze in place, his face drained of all color, paler than the mourning clothes he was wearing.
He seemed not to understand what she said, but also seemed to understand but could not believe it. He stretched out his hand tremblingly, wanting to grab her shoulders again, his voice broken.
"Madam...you...what do you mean? Last night, you clearly..."
"Thank you, Minister!" Shen Qianyue interrupted him harshly, her eyes as sharp as a knife, with undisguised sarcasm, "Wake up! Stop deceiving yourself!"
She took a step forward, staring into his shocked and pained eyes, her voice firm and resounding.
"Isn't divorce what you long for? It's you who despised me, Chen Qianyue! Now that it's done, I don't want to have anything to do with you anymore! I came here today to pay tribute to my mother, and I will move out of the Xie Mansion soon!"
Every word was like a heavy hammer, hitting Xie Shangjia's heart hard. A headache suddenly came over him, as if there were steel needles stirring wildly in his skull, and his vision went black.
Shen Qianyue's cold and heartless face began to spin and blur in his sight.
Xie Shangjia could no longer hear what she was saying, and watched her turn around without hesitation and walk towards the depths of the mourning hall.
"No... no..." He stretched out his hand in vain, trying to grab something, but he couldn't grab anything.
Amid the exclamations and chaos around him, the severe dizziness completely engulfed him, and Xie Shangjia fell straight back.
"The Secretariat—!"
“Sir, the Minister—!”
"Quick! Hold on to the master!"
There was a sudden chaos in front of the mourning hall, and someone rushed to help Xie Shangjia who had fallen unconscious to the ground.
Shen Qianyue did not pause for a moment, and did not even look back at the chaos and exclamations behind her.
She straightened her back and walked step by step towards the depths of the mourning hall where the smoke was curling and the crying was deafening. Only the nails clenched tightly under her wide sleeves were deeply embedded in her palms.
Inside the mourning hall, incense smoke curled and white candles wept.
Shen Qianyue knelt on the cold mat and cried bitterly in front of the coffin and the memorial tablet.
Her crying was not loud, but very contagious. Her shoulders shook slightly and she covered her face with her wide sleeves. To anyone who saw her, she looked like a filial daughter who had lost a loved one and was heartbroken.
However, if one looks closely, they will find that although tears are sliding down the corners of her eyes that are wiped by the corner of her sleeve, deep in her eyes, there is a frozen lake, without the slightest sadness.
Shen Qianyue's entire mind was fixed on the area behind her that had just experienced chaos. Xie Shangjia fainted and was carried away.
Every slightest sound coming from that direction pricked her nerves like a needle, but she could not look back or show any concern.
At this moment, she was kneeling here, and every tear and every sob was a performance for the guests in the room.
In front of all the important figures in the capital, she personally severed her relationship with Xie Shangjia and confirmed the divorce.
In this way, when the earth-shattering change occurs a few days later, Xie Shangjia can be removed from the situation to the greatest extent possible, or at least, he will not be implicated immediately.
She knelt in the mourning hall for a whole day without eating or drinking. Her body was so thin that it seemed as if she would be blown away by the wind at any time, causing many female relatives to shed tears in secret and sigh for her unfortunate fate.
Until late at night, the mourners gradually dispersed, and only the servants who were keeping watch and the curling smoke remained in the mourning hall.
Prime Minister Shen walked over with tired steps and stopped beside Shen Qianyue.
He saw Xie Shangjia's unpretentious pain and coma during the day, and the anger in his heart caused by the divorce was replaced by another calculation.
"My daughter, if your mother were still alive, she wouldn't want to see you so sad." He spoke in a deliberately slow voice of consolation.
Shen Qianyue did not respond and remained kneeling, as if immersed in her own sorrow.
Prime Minister Shen paused and continued, "What happened today...your father has also seen it. The Shangshu Province...has clearly not broken its affection for you."
"When he woke up just now, the first thing he asked about was you. If the imperial physician hadn't stopped him, he would have rushed over again. Do you think... is there some misunderstanding? Perhaps..."
Shen Qianyue slowly lowered the sleeves that were covering her face and turned around. Under the candlelight, her face was still covered with tears, but her eyes were filled with cold sneer, and her voice was hoarse but extremely clear.
"Father, Mother's body is still warm, and you're already impatient to persuade me to 'remarry'?"
Prime Minister Shen was choked by these words, and his face suddenly became ugly.
"Nonsense! How can they be confused? Besides, he's your husband! I'm not asking you to marry someone else! This is a reconciliation, it preserves your relationship and saves both families' reputations!"
Shen Qianyue seemed to have heard a very funny joke, and a cold arc appeared at the corner of her lips.
"Marriage? Do you have any? My mother is gone, and Aunt Zhao entertains guests with such splendor, acting like the mistress of the house. Father, please worry more about yourself. Don't worry about my affairs."
Prime Minister Shen swung his sleeves and said coldly, "No matter what, you are still a daughter of the Shen family! If there is any glory in you, it belongs to the Shen family! As long as the Ministry of Shangshu has not publicly abandoned you, you cannot agree to this divorce!"
Upon hearing this, Shen Qianyue slowly turned around and looked at her mother's tablet again, her tone so calm that it was chilling.
"Yes. A daughter of the Shen family. Glory belongs to the family."
She tilted her face slightly, the candlelight casting a deep shadow on the other half of her face. Her voice was as soft as a whisper, but it carried a thousand pounds of weight.
"And vice versa. Father, you'd better be mentally prepared."
If we share the glory, then we must also share the misfortune.
Prime Minister Shen thought this was an agreement with his words and smiled hypocritically: "I'm glad you understand."
The mourning hall returned to silence, with only the crackling of candlelight remaining.
Shen Qianyue looked at the leaping flames. Beneath the ice in her eyes was a surging undercurrent that was powerful enough to swallow everything.
After guarding the mourning hall in the Prime Minister's Mansion for three days, Shen Qianyue was exhausted both physically and mentally.
Every moment of these three days was torture. She had to respond appropriately to the guests who came and went, whether they offered sincere or false condolences, without revealing any flaws.
What made her most uneasy was the news about Xie Shangjia that kept coming into her ears.
I heard that he never regained consciousness after fainting in front of the mourning hall that day.
People from the Imperial Medical Bureau came in and out of the Shangshu Mansion, and their stories varied. Some said it was due to anger, some said it was a relapse of an old illness, and some even hinted that perhaps he was over-stimulated, his mind was damaged, and he was unwilling to wake up.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
