Xie Zhunfeng
After the New Year, Xie Sili learned from Xie Yi about Xie Chun's dismissal as prime minister. It was said that it was a long-buried secret that the emperor had come to know. After investigation, it was found to be true, and Xie Chun was dismissed without even being given a chance to explain.
She stood before Lu's grave and told her everything she had heard from Xie Yi. Knowing that her mother's grave was here, she would often come to visit it. She would also tell her mother things here that she couldn't tell others.
"Mother, don't worry, I will move your grave to Yuzhou City. I will not let Xie Zhun's name be placed together with yours." She raised her hand and touched Lu's tombstone.
Lu's tombstone was not placed in Xie's cemetery because Xie Zhun felt that such a woman was not worthy of their Xie family cemetery, even though she had given birth to three children for him.
But they were always the ones who were not favored, so Xie Zhun never had them in his heart. Because he didn't love them, he was able to kill Xie Sinian with his own hands. Because he didn't love them, he was able to watch Xie Sinan being raised into a "dull tyrant" by the Huang family. Because he didn't love them, he never went to Yuzhou City and never cared about her life or death.
"I knew you'd be here."
Hearing the familiar voices, Xie Sili turned around and saw Xie Sinian and Xie Sinan. Xie Sinan had completely shed his previous domineering image and was now as gentle and refined as Xie Sinian. However, in some ways, Xie Sinian was still superior.
"Eldest brother, second brother," Xie Sili greeted them. "You must have heard about Xie Zhun's matter. I want to move Mother's grave to Yuzhou City so that she can be with someone like Xie Zhun, and so that her name will not be dishonored."
“I went back to the house where I lived with Granny Lu a few days ago and found a box there, but I can’t open the mechanism no matter what I do.” Xie Sinian said as he handed her an exquisite box with intricate mechanisms on it.
However, the intricate design of the box can be judged by the patterns on its mechanism, as these patterns are based on the Five Elements and the Eight Trigrams.
“I think my sister is smart enough to open this box.” Xie Sinian turned his gaze to her.
"I can indeed open it."
Xie Sili looked at the box in his hand and spoke without thinking.
"Tell me your birth date and time."
Xie Sinian and Xie Sinan each gave their birth dates and times, and Xie Sili opened the box in her hand using only one permutation and combination of the three people's birth dates and times.
Inside the delicate little box were three silver daggers, their blades engraved with the names of the scalpers. Also inside was a letter, pressed beneath them.
Xie Sili handed the short blade to Xie Sinian and Xie Sinan, and then reached out and took out the letter.
Upon opening the letter, Xie Sili felt as if she were seeing a mother's earnest teachings to her future children.
The letter begins with her past with Xie Zhun, the middle section expresses her expectations for them, and the end reveals her wish to regain her freedom after death and to divorce Xie Zhun.
Since it is Lu's wish, they, as his children, must help Lu realize this wish no matter what.
The three of them went to Xie Chun's residence together. Now that the Prime Minister's residence had been taken back by the Emperor, they temporarily settled in a place that was still acceptable.
But the four of them were crammed into a two-entrance, two-exit house, which was really not enough, not to mention that they could hear about their arguments every day.
The letter explained that Lu stayed in the Prime Minister's residence not to gain Xie Zhun's favor, but for the sake of her children's future.
But without their mother's protection, how can they expect a better future?
When Xie Sili met Xie Chun, he saw him drinking in the courtyard, completely unlike the former Left Prime Minister.
He's a complete and utterly useless scoundrel.
He doesn't love anyone; all he ever loves is the power he holds.
When Huang saw Xie Sinan, she said she had something to say to him, but Xie Sinan refused.
Meeting Huang's astonished gaze, Xie Sinan almost sneered as he spoke, "I've known about your scheme for a long time. In order to survive in your hands, I had no choice but to put on that act."
Huang staggered back a step, her eyes almost filled with terror as she looked at him, her eyes seemingly resisting the sudden revelation of the truth.
"Do you know why Xie Siyu has always been better than me? It's because I've never taken any exam seriously, especially after I learned the truth. I felt that doing so would be like dying silently."
"The same goes for Lian'er's matter. I've known about Lian'er's matter for a long time, and I've known about her body for a long time. Everything was just to deceive you and make you lower your guard." Xie Sinan continued to speak, looking at Madam Huang.
“At least when I was young, I genuinely considered you my mother. Even if you didn’t love me, I respected you. At least you never mistreated me in terms of food, clothing, or daily necessities, and you didn’t beat or scold me like other stepmothers do. You were just trying to ruin me in another way.”
"You were even afraid that I would hinder Xie Siyu's bright future, but unfortunately, he never had a bright future." Xie Sinan watched as Madam Huang threw all the bloody details of the king's life into the background before her.
Looking at Xie Zhun standing to the side, Xie Sili was about to bring up the matter of divorce when he heard Xie Zhun's voice.
"What are you doing here? Do you want to see me make a fool of myself?" Xie Zhun's gaze was gloomy as he looked at them. "I don't need your pity. Get the hell out of here. I don't want to see you either."
Xie Sili handed the divorce papers she had prepared to Xie Zhun, saying, "Sign them. From now on, we will have nothing to do with you."
"You have nothing to do with me anymore!" Xie Zhun sneered. "Don't think you can make me like you this way. I will never like you. You should..."
“This is the divorce agreement between you and my mother. Sign it, and my mother and we will have nothing to do with you anymore. I will also move her grave to prevent you from insulting my mother’s name.”
Xie Zhun stared at them with a sinister look in his eyes. Just as he was about to step forward and snatch the thing from her hand, he was suddenly kicked by Si Ze, who appeared out of nowhere, causing him to kneel down in front of them.
"Xie Zhun, if you don't sign now, I'll chop off your hand before you sign." Xie Sili stood in front of him, looking down at him, his eyes no longer showing the sickly look of the past.
"You're not sick! You're faking it all!" Xie Zhun belatedly exclaimed. "Why would you do this? I'm your father!"
"So you're suddenly acknowledging me as your father now?" Xie Sili sneered. "Too bad, I'm going to abandon you as my father now."
She squatted down, meeting Xie Zhun's eyes, and said, word by word, "I once had expectations of you as my father, and I once thought that it would be good if you could come to Yuzhou City to see me even once. It's a pity that you have never set foot in Yuzhou City. Even the reason you brought me back to Chang'an in the first place was so that I could marry Jun Qiyu."
"You planned for me to return to Chang'an, you planned for me to successfully marry Jun Qiyu, and you even planned that you could control Jun Qiyu after my death. It's just a pity that you overlooked one thing, which is that neither Jun Qiyu nor I are people who can be manipulated by others."
She didn't give Xie Zhun a chance to speak and continued, "You've planned every step carefully, but you don't know that Jun Qiyu has never been a playboy, nor do you know that I've never been a sickly person. You've never loved anyone, just like His Majesty the present. You're both selfish and self-serving."
Xie Sili pinched Xie Zhun's chin, "You are all unworthy of being fathers. In fact, my brother and I have at least one thing in common: we both have a good mother."
Seeing Xie Zhun struggling, Xie Sili held his chin firmly, "Your behavior only makes me think you're a clown, my good father!"
Without waiting for Xie Zhun's consent, she took his hand and pressed his fingerprint onto the divorce papers using the inkpad Xie Sinian handed her.
Holding the newly printed divorce papers, Xie Sili released Xie Zhun's grip and even wiped her hands in disgust.
"Your mother loves me so much, she'll hate you for doing this," Xie Zhun said without hesitation. "Aren't you afraid your mother will hate you in the afterlife?"
“My mother had expectations for you, at least before you killed my elder brother with your own hands. It’s just a pity that your fate will probably end here.” Xie Sili turned to look at Xie Zhun.
"You and Madam Huang both know perfectly well how my second brother and I came to be, so we won't go into details here."
"I didn't mean to kill Niannian. I was too excited, so I accidentally killed him." Xie Zhun said without thinking, lying on the ground. "I know I was wrong. Please forgive me."
"Xie Zhun, we're not children anymore. Do you think anyone will listen to what you say?" Xie Sili's lips curled into a smile. "From now on, we have nothing to do with each other. You'd better watch yourself."
As she spoke, she left with Xie Sinian and Xie Sinan. The day after the divorce papers were signed, Xie Sili ordered that Lu's coffin be moved to Yuzhou City. She even sent a message by carrier pigeon to ask them in Yuzhou City to select a good burial site for Lu. She even went back to Yuzhou City with them, which was quite rare for her.
She personally carved a monument for the Lu family, and this time the monument bore the names of the three of them.
Before leaving, the three siblings respectfully kowtowed three times to Madam Lu.
Upon returning to Siyuan Garden in Yuzhou City, Ning Yi greeted her, "Miss, are you going back to Chang'an?"
Xie Sili nodded at Ning Yi, "Yes, things in Chang'an are not over yet. We must wait until things are stable before we can leave."
"How have Mr. Zhuge and the others been lately?" Xie Sili took the tea that Si Ze handed her and turned her gaze to Si Yi.
"Mr. Zhuge and the others are doing well these days, so don't worry, young lady. Mr. Zhuge said he'll keep you company and bring him good news."
Hearing Si Yi's words, Xie Sili took out a bottle from his sleeve and handed it to Ning Yi, "Give this to Mr. Zhuge and tell him that I will resolve the matter soon."
When the three returned to Chang'an, it was already the end of March. A lot had happened in those few short months. Xie Sichuan performed well in the palace examination and was assigned by the emperor to the Dali Temple as the Vice Minister of the Dali Temple.
Xie Sinan missed the palace examination, but he had previously told the emperor that his ambitions lay not in the court, that he could not learn Xie Zhun's tact and was not suited for officialdom, and the emperor did not force him.
The biggest news is the appointment of a new right prime minister. In the months since the left prime minister was dismissed, a new right prime minister has been appointed.
Just as she sat down in the living room of Si Garden, she heard Ying Yi's voice, "Miss, you're finally back. Xie Zhun seems to be coming here all the time these days, but we know you two don't get along, so we've never let him in."
Hearing his words, Xie Sili nodded in satisfaction. "What did he want to see me about?"
"I don't know. I just wanted to tell you something, but I haven't seen Second Master either. I feel like he's not going to make it."
Hearing Ying Yi's words, Xie Sili turned her gaze to Xie Sinian and Xie Sinan, "Shall we go see Xie Zhun?"
After receiving nods of approval from the two people, Xie Sili and the others went together to where Xie Zhun was now.
But this time it was completely different from the last time. The house reeked of a foul stench, and corpses were strewn everywhere. They even saw the bodies of Huang Shi, Xie Siyao, and Xie Siyu in the crowd.
And then there's Xie Zhun, who has been insane for who knows how long.
When Xie Zhun saw them, he rushed over immediately, his eyes filled with humility. "I was wrong, please forgive me? Please forgive me?"
Xie Sinian kicked Xie Zhun away, his words filled with coldness, "We have no relationship, so why should I forgive you?"
Xie Zhun then turned his gaze to Xie Sinian, shouted "I've seen a ghost!" several times, and then fainted.
Xie Sili reported the incident to the police, and Xie Sixian came to take Xie Zhun away. Xie Sixian looked at the corpses on the ground and then turned his gaze to Xie Sili. "Did Xie Zhun kill all of these people?"
Xie Sili nodded at Xie Sichuan, "Yes, take him away. We probably won't have a chance to see each other again."
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