Chapter 131 The Current Situation of the Marquis's Residence
The guard felt a chill run down his spine and replied in a deep voice.
The two men stepped forward and, without any pity, dragged Xie Wulu, who was covered in blood and delirious, from the pool of blood, as if he were a dead dog.
Xie Wulu was roughly held up, his legs dragging weakly on the ground, leaving two glaring bloodstains on the ground.
He struggled to lift his heavy eyelids, feeling no relief whatsoever.
Temporary survival... is nothing more than probation.
If the mineral vein is found, proving Xie Sangning guilty... he might still be considered a hero.
If...cannot be found...
No mine found...
He's definitely going to die!
Moreover... the death would be a hundred times more miserable than being on the gallows!
——
Inside Ruixue Tower, Xie Sangning had just finished writing a letter.
The letter was addressed to Magistrate Qu of Xihan County, stating that he had received the fiefdom of Xihan and would return to Xihan in two months.
"Seal it well and send it to Magistrate Qu by the fastest carrier pigeon. Make sure to hand it to him personally." Xie Sangning handed the letter to Ru Dong, who was standing to the side.
"Yes, Miss." Ru Dong took it with both hands, carefully sealed it with sealing wax, put it into a specially made thin bamboo tube, and quickly retreated to make arrangements.
After dealing with matters in Xihan, Xie Sangning did not relax.
She leaned back slightly, resting against the back of the chair.
"Ru Chun." She didn't lift her eyelids, her voice indifferent, revealing no emotion. "How is Xie Wuyou doing at the Yongning Marquis's residence these days?"
"Miss, Xie Wuyou's situation in the Marquis's mansion is still difficult."
She paused briefly, seemingly considering her words, speaking at a measured pace:
"Since marrying into the Marquis's mansion, the young master did not enter the bridal chamber that very night, but instead stayed in the courtyard of the concubine who had been taken into the mansion on the same day. This matter has become a laughing stock in Jinling, and Xie Wuyou has lost face."
"Lady Wei was extremely cold towards her. During the morning and evening greetings, she would often find fault with her and scold her. It was common for her to be punished by copying the 'Admonitions for Women' and kneeling in the ancestral hall. She said that she was 'born as the adopted daughter of a merchant and did not know etiquette. She needed to be properly disciplined.'"
"The heir apparent, Wei Zikai, completely ignored him and avoided seeing him. When they occasionally met, his words were extremely harsh and humiliating, as he considered him unlucky and said he was bringing shame to the Marquis's family."
"The servants in the mansion are all opportunists who fawn over the powerful and bully the weak. Xie Wuyou's allowance is often cut, and of the maids who came with him as part of his dowry, only Cui'er is still loyal, but she has been provoked and beaten many times."
"As for that concubine..." Ru Dong's voice carried a hint of coldness that was hard to detect, "Relying on the young master's slight favor and the tacit approval of the Lady of the Marquis, she is extremely arrogant. A couple of days ago, when that concubine ran into Xie Wuyou in the garden, she provoked and mocked Xie Wuyou, saying that she was all talk and no action. The two of them got into a fight over this. When the matter reached Lady Wei, Lady Wei rebuked Xie Wuyou for being jealous and intolerant, and said that she was unfit to be a wife of the clan. Instead, she punished her by confining her to her quarters for three days to reflect on her mistakes and copying the 'Rules for Women' a hundred times."
The mistress is harsh and oppressive, the husband despises and humiliates her, the favored concubine bullies and provokes her, and the servants flatter and fawn over her…
Each and every one of these things will gradually erode her dignity and vitality.
The once proud Xie Wuyou now lives in the inner quarters of the Marquis's mansion, worse off than even a decent servant girl, and has become a laughingstock despised and trampled upon by everyone.
But that's not enough.
Xie Sangning slowly closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, only calculation and determination remained in her eyes.
"Tell the people planted at the Marquis's residence not to interfere. Just keep an eye on her and protect her life."
Ru Chun was taken aback.
Is protecting lives all that's needed?
"Miss..." Ru Chun couldn't help but speak, "Xie Wuyou... she's probably not going to make it..."
"Can't hold on? What she's going through now is nothing."
"Hatred needs nourishment. Humiliation needs to accumulate. Despair needs to settle."
"Xie Wuyou now harbors hatred. She hates Madam Wei's meanness and Wei Zikai's ruthlessness... but this hatred is still scattered, not deep enough, not intense enough, not enough to make her burn her bridges and disregard everything!"
Xie Sangning stood up, walked to the window, and gazed at the heavy twilight pressing down outside the high walls of the General's Mansion. His voice was low and deep:
"She shouldn't hate any one person."
"What she hates is the Yongning Marquis's Mansion, and the malice and humiliation that the entire Wei family has inflicted on her! She hates them so much that she is willing to drag everyone down with her as long as she can take revenge."
“If we go and help her now, making her life in the Marquis’s mansion a little easier, it will only dilute her hatred, make her think that she can still get through this, and keep her in a ridiculous fantasy.”
"What I want..."
"It's a Xie Wuyou whose feathers have been completely plucked, whose eyes have been pecked out, whose lifelines have been cut off, and whose heart is filled with nothing but boundless rage. It's a Xie Wuyou who will go mad and seek revenge if given the chance to turn the tables. Only in this way can I disrupt the peace of the other party's home and bring me unexpected joy."
Xie Sangning's tone was cold and cruel:
"Until she was tortured until she had only her last breath..."
"That will be the time for me to appear."
"Hand her...the sharpest knife."
"She will naturally use all her strength to pounce on those who once dragged her into hell!"
The study was deathly silent.
Xie Sangning sat back down at his desk, his gaze indifferently fixed on the night outside the window.
The chessboard in the west has been set.
The chess game in the Yongning Marquis's mansion... is also heading towards its inevitable chaotic end, thanks to her precise calculations.
The heat... needs to be simmered a little longer.
She picked up another secret letter from the palace and began to examine it with her eyes lowered.
Xie Nu'er is now undoubtedly a favored concubine.
The candlelight flickered across her profile, revealing no pity, only reason and coldness.
——
In the inner palace of Yuntang Garden, as dusk settled, gilded palace lanterns were lit one after another, casting a hazy glow.
Dinner was laid out on the round table, consisting of only three or four seasonal dishes, a bowl of glistening rice porridge, and a plate of delicate steamed eggs—simple and refreshing, without a trace of extravagance.
Xie Nu'er was dressed in a light purple satin palace dress, her black hair loosely tied in a bun, adorned with a simple jade hairpin. She was holding chopsticks and eating steamed eggs in small bites.
Her posture was impeccable, exuding a carefully trained gentleness and elegance.
Each chew and swallow is like completing a certain procedure.
This isn't eating; it's a performance.
She was performing for everyone in the palace, but even more so for herself—she was Consort Ru, deeply favored by the Emperor, living a comfortable and peaceful life.
Just as she picked up a chopstick of stir-fried asparagus.
"Squeak—"
The palace doors were suddenly pushed open!
The force was so great that it created a draft!
She suddenly looked up and, by the flickering lamplight, recognized the familiar figure at the doorway.
Wearing a bright yellow dragon robe and a golden crown to tie his hair, who else could it be but Emperor Pei Yan?
He barged in without being announced.
"Your Majesty...Your Majesty? What brings you here?"
Pei Yan strode into the hall, the doors closing behind him to block the prying eyes from outside.
He seemed quite pleased with Xie Nuer's stunned reaction; his face no longer held its usual gloom and irritability, but instead bore a smile of great interest.
"how?"
Pei Yan walked up to her in a few steps, "My beloved concubine, can't I come here?"
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