The Prime Minister's Residence.
Qingfeng Garden.
The Prime Minister's wife had to use all her persuasion to convince Li Xiuxiu and Yi Changfeng to leave. She was extremely anxious inside, but on the surface, she remained calm and composed.
As they watched their figures gradually disappear, the Prime Minister's wife continued knocking on Xie Changling's door.
"Ling'er, Changling, open the door quickly!"
The Prime Minister's wife knocked for a while, but no one came to open the door. In the end, she had no choice but to order several servants to kick the door down.
"Manager Liu, you've come to break down the door. I'm really worried that Ling'er might do something rash."
The Prime Minister's wife looked very solemn. She only had one son. If Ling'er were to die, wouldn't that be like taking away half of her life?
Her expression grew increasingly anxious; she was like an ant on a hot pan, pacing back and forth in a panic.
"Yes, madam."
"Bang--"
Steward Liu suddenly burst the door open, and the Prime Minister's wife rushed in without even asking him what was wrong.
"Changling, Changling—"
The Prime Minister's wife had thought Xie Changling would be unconscious, but to her surprise, she found him sitting properly at his desk, writing something.
Xie Changling's already thin frame looked even more frail now, and he wrote each stroke very carefully.
The Prime Minister's wife was taken aback at first, but then she relaxed and slowly approached Xie Changling, intending to pat him on the shoulder. However, she was surprised to find that the entire sheet of paper was filled with writing.
The entire page was filled with the words "Xi'er, I was wrong," but what surprised her was not that, but that every word was blood red, some of them already darkened.
"Changling, where did this cinnabar come from? No, wait, the color, the smell..."
The Prime Minister's wife seemed to remember something, and she grabbed his wrist. Sure enough, she saw cuts all over his arm, large and small.
"Changling—"
Her hands, which were holding Xie Changling, were trembling. Her voice suddenly rose and became high-pitched. Her eyes were red. She never thought that her son would harm himself!
"Mother, I am so incompetent."
Xie Changling spoke, his voice hoarse. Only then did she notice that Xie Changling's eyes were already bloodshot and swollen beyond recognition.
"I failed to protect Xi'er, Your Majesty... Your Majesty threatened me with your lives, and I gave in. I truly deserve to die!"
Xie Changling recalled that scene countless times. Xiao Jin gave him two choices, but he abandoned Xi'er without hesitation and signed the divorce agreement.
He was irresponsible, he deserved to die, he was too weak and incompetent, as lowly as mud!
He couldn't imagine what Xi'er would do if she saw the divorce agreement, or if she would hate him to the core.
"Mother, I'm so useless! Why, why did you take Xi'er away from me!"
Xie Changling's voice was filled with sorrow, choked with sobs countless times, yet he still managed to speak in fits and starts. His face was as pale as paper, and his body swayed precariously.
The Prime Minister's wife's eyes also welled up with tears. She didn't know how to comfort her son. She wanted to tell him that if the emperor took a liking to someone, he wouldn't give him a chance to refuse.
Even if Xie Changling hadn't compromised back then, the emperor would have had countless ways to force him to submit. They were all the emperor's servants, and how could servants be more powerful than their masters?
But she couldn't bring herself to say it. Who was to blame? Was it her? She knew perfectly well that the princess had ill intentions, yet she still took Lingxi with her. Couldn't she have refused?
"Don't do this, it breaks your heart."
The Prime Minister's wife grabbed Xie Changling's arm, carefully avoiding his wound, and pulled him in front of her.
“Strange Mother, I sensed that the Princess had ulterior motives from the beginning, but I still took Lingxi away because I was afraid of offending people.”
"Don't blame yourself. Blame your mother. It is your mother's fault. I shouldn't have underestimated the enemy."
The Prime Minister's wife had red eyes and was filled with regret. Why was she so hesitant? She could have refused.
In that one wrong decision, she harmed Lingxi and her own son; she was the real culprit.
"Mother, I don't know who to blame. You're only doing this for Xi'er's own good, not wanting to keep her confined at home."
Xie Changling knew that his mother was not a bad person. In fact, she had prepared many dresses that day so that Xi'er would not attract too much attention.
"It's because my son is useless; he dares not defy the emperor—"
The Prime Minister's wife quickly interrupted him. She didn't want her son to be trapped in permanent self-blame, blaming himself for being useless. But who was useful in front of the Emperor?
"Ling'er! He is the emperor, the ruler of the world. No one can defy him, not even your father, the prime minister!"
"You need to pull yourself together. Do you want to watch Xi'er grow old and die in the palace?"
The Prime Minister's wife couldn't just watch her son be ruined like this. If a person doesn't even have the will to live, what's the point of living?
She reached out and cupped Xie Changling's face in her hands, and when she saw the despair in his eyes, her heart ached.
She knew all too well the sadness and grief in her son's heart, but people must ultimately pull themselves together and move forward to find hope!
"Ling'er, Mother knows you have let Xi'er down."
Sure enough, Xie Changling's eyes narrowed when he heard Song Lingxi's name. His originally desperate eyes suddenly lit up like a candle.
"Mother, what should your son do?"
Xie Changling's voice was hoarse, and his eyes were pleading, but his spirits had recovered somewhat, and he hadn't completely collapsed.
"Silly son, you should take care of yourself first, and then pretend that you don't care about Xi'er anymore. The Emperor will definitely keep a close watch on you. You have to get through this period."
When the Prime Minister's wife spoke of the Emperor, she lowered her voice and looked around. Only when she did not see anyone eavesdropping did she feel relieved, and then she added.
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