Although Xiyuan is remote, the surrounding environment is quiet and elegant, and the location is also good. After crossing the bridge, there is the back gate of the mansion, which connects to the various wards and markets of Yandu. It is a small gate specially opened for people from Xiyuan to enter and exit.
Wang Wan followed her maid through the covered walkway and saw a man-made rockery and waterfall not far from the garden. She was slightly amazed.
There were guards at the entrance. After greeting them, they let her in.
The first thing she saw was a very tall pavilion. The garden was so quiet that there was almost no sound of people. She went up the stone steps and knocked on the door, but there was no response.
Is anyone there?
There was still no sound.
Wang Wan hesitated for a moment before pushing the door open and entering.
While the upper-class gentry were known for their extravagance, Xie Er's house was simply furnished with few unnecessary decorations, exuding an air of elegance and refinement.
She glanced around a few times, then lifted the beaded curtain and walked towards the study on the side.
The study was empty and quiet. A breeze blew in through the window, stirring the books on the table with soft, rustling sounds.
Seeing this, Wang Wan was about to turn around and leave, but just as she was about to go out, she suddenly caught a glimpse of a very thin gap behind the bookshelf.
She paused for a moment, then walked over and discovered that there was a secret room there.
Curious, she walked to the bookshelf and carefully examined the dazzling array of objects on it, turning over a nanmu wood box inlaid with mother-of-pearl and elephant patterns.
The door to the secret room swung open with a loud crash, revealing a labyrinthine interior, pitch black everywhere.
Wang Wan took a glass lamp and slowly walked inside.
It was so cold here, she wondered if it was an ice room, and she was shivering from the cold.
The passageway was very long, and after walking for about half an incense stick's time, she saw a small room.
She stared in shock at the layout of the place, her mouth agape.
The view was filled with a blanket of light gauze, and countless portraits of women hung on the walls. Red silk curtains swayed gently, even though there was no wind.
Through the hazy gauze curtain, one can see an ice lake inside, with ice lotuses blooming on all sides of the pond. The pale light illuminates the lake bottom as if it were daytime.
She boldly stepped forward, lifted the gauze curtain, approached the frighteningly cold icy lake, and peered out. Her expression instantly changed drastically.
A corpse—the body of a woman dressed in a wedding gown lay beneath the frozen lake.
ah---
The body was not buried; it was locked in this secret room.
Wang Wan was so frightened that she stepped back, and the lamp in her hand fell to the ground with a thud.
“Ah Wan.”
Suddenly, a clear, cold voice came from behind her. She trembled and fell to the ground in fright, turning around to look.
The man, dressed in a black cloak, sat in a wheelchair, his expression aloof, his back straight.
"Thank you so much, thank you two so much!"
Xie An glanced at her, then at the frozen lake behind her, and said calmly.
What are you doing here?
Wang Wan looked at him, terrified. A mix of panic and complex emotions welled up inside her, leaving her speechless for a moment.
Xie An lowered his eyes slightly, slowly slid his wheelchair towards her, and extended his slender, clean hand.
"Don't be afraid, get up."
Whether from fear or the cold, she trembled slightly and collapsed to the ground, unable to get up.
Xie An gave her a deep look, then stood up from his wheelchair.
Wang Wan stared at his legs, her eyes widening in shock.
His expression was indifferent. He took off his cloak, wrapped it around her, picked her up in his arms, and walked out of the secret room.
Wang Wan was shocked by this scene. She stared in disbelief at his perfectly intact leg, her mouth agape, unable to utter a word.
Once outside the secret room, the chill that had seeped into her body gradually dissipated. She was placed on a soft couch and offered a cup of hot tea.
The surroundings were eerily quiet, with a silent current flowing through the air.
Wang Wan watched him sit back in his wheelchair and close the door to the secret room. A complex emotion welled up inside her, leaving her speechless for a moment.
After a moment of silence, she glanced at the man who had sat down at the table, carefully considered her tone, and spoke softly.
"Is that Sister Ziyan?"
Xie An gave a faint "hmm" and then fell silent, turning the pages of the book in his hands.
"No—wasn't he already buried?"
He remained silent, his expression eerily calm.
Wang Wan had never seen him so indifferent before, and she knew she had been presumptuous. Her hand holding the cup tightened and trembled.
Xie An's deceased wife was a noblewoman from a prominent family in the north. She grew up in Yandu and they were childhood sweethearts.
When the Great Jin Dynasty was driven into Luoyang, there was no one in the court who could fight back. The Xie family of Chen Commandery was constantly embroiled in internal strife, and their status among the four great aristocratic families plummeted.
In order to turn the tide and defeat the Southern Yan army, Xie An abandoned his bride on their wedding night to fight in Southern Yan.
When news of her death reached them, the bride, who came from a prestigious family in the north, immediately committed suicide by throwing herself against the coffin.
Little did they know that it was a scheme to lure the enemy deep into their territory; Xie An was not dead at all, and the poor bride was so fiercely devoted to love that she committed suicide.
The exceptionally talented eldest son of the Xie family also suffered a tragic fate, ending up with a leg ailment due to that battle.
Yes, leg ailment.
His leg was healed?!
The thought flashed through her mind, and Wang Wan subconsciously looked at his legs, swallowing hard.
Then why did you remain in seclusion and withdraw from the struggles within the Xie family?
She wanted to ask, but looking at the man's cold profile, she hesitated and remained silent, her mind drifting back to the corpse beneath the frozen lake.
When Xie An returned to Yandu, he was revered as a god of war. Stories about him and Sister Ziyan circulated everywhere, and were even written into plays and widely circulated.
But after learning of Ziyan's death, he seemed to vanish and never appeared in public again.
Everyone thought he was avoiding the world because of a leg injury.
But now it seems his leg injury has long since healed, so all these years, he's been...
She suddenly remembered the Buddhist prayer beads on his wrist, and couldn't help but feel a chill run down her spine.
She had asked why she was wearing Buddhist prayer beads and where she got them, assuming it was to pray to the gods for her leg ailment to heal. Now it seems that wasn't the case at all.
Why did you grant my request?
She initially thought she and Xie Er were both near death, and in order to avoid a marriage alliance to consolidate her power, she secretly approached him, and he surprisingly agreed.
But he was clearly cured.
Xie An looked at her and said softly, "Don't you want to anymore?"
"No—no," she said tactfully, "your leg injury has healed, so why would you agree to marry me?"
With her body in such a state, she could die at any moment.
Xie An gave a slight smile and changed the subject.
Even though he didn't say it, Wang Wan had a vague idea in her heart.
In recent years, Xie An has been avoiding the world, and his wife is anxious about his marriage, urging him day and night.
But perhaps he didn't want to get married at all, and only agreed because he knew her body couldn't hold up for long.
Firstly, she wouldn't bother him, and secondly, she would avoid being pressured by her family to get married.
Thinking of the frozen lake in the secret room, she couldn't help but gasp in amazement at how much manpower and resources it would take to create such a tiny space.
"Would you like something to eat?"
A soft, gentle voice drifted over, as a shadow fell over the sky.
Wang Wan snapped out of her daze, saw him standing by the bed, and blurted out, "Where is this miracle doctor from?"
"---"
Xie An glanced down at his legs and chuckled, "It was Sanlang who found it, Old Liang from the Northern Frontier."
"Xie--Xie San knows too? Then what about your mother---"
"No one else knows, only you and Sanlang. Awan, don't tell anyone."
His voice was gentle and cool, with a refreshing coolness that penetrated to the heart.
Wang Wan, being quick-witted, knew that he didn't want to get involved in the Xie family's struggle, and immediately nodded, "I won't say anything."
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