Chapter 110

The Xie clan is a great family; the marquis's mansion holds real power, and its status in the capital is second to none.

And he, Xie Lin, is the heir of the Yongning Marquis's mansion; his mother is of imperial lineage, and the current emperor is his maternal uncle, making his status noble and beloved—anyone who sees him must address him as "Young Marquis."

Even if he did nothing and willingly lived as a spoiled rich youth, he would still enjoy endless wealth and glory, mountains of gold and silver.

The woman he loves can be brought home in grand style, then clothed in silk and jade, cherished and pampered beyond measure.

If she likes staying at home, he will give her the most stable and comfortable days; if she grows bored, he will abandon everything to take her out to see the world's mountains and rivers; whatever she likes, he will give her—even if she wants the stars, he will find a way to build a ladder to pluck them.

He would never let her furrow her brow or shed a single tear.

Born with everything, he naturally believed his possessions would never change. To marry Shen Shuangning, he had ample confidence.

Only today did he realize that all he possessed was actually built on others' blood and tears, sucking the marrow of others......

"Ningning, I thought I had everything and could give you the best, but I was too naïve; my considerations were still not thorough enough. Now I truly don't know what to do."

The fearless Young Marquis Xie Lin now looks filled with panic, helplessness, and deep powerlessness.

As if a heavy burden weighed upon him, making it hard to breathe.

Xie Lin's eye sockets grew hot, and tears rolled onto Shen Shuangning's neck skin.

The youth's sincere heart made Shen Shuangning, for some reason, think of her past self, and her eyes grew sore and swollen.

Shen Shuangning's tone also grew sorrowful as she softly said, "Perhaps things aren't as bad as we think; isn't the emperor very fond of you? The marchioness is the emperor's sister—if she pleads for mercy, maybe the emperor will grant special clemency and not implicate you."

Xie Lin released her, a bitter smile touching his lips: "I thought so too, but it's far from simple... I... went back to see my father."

From the hunting grounds to the capital is over ten li—not close—and Xie Lin, wounded, rushed back and forth, so it's no wonder his complexion looks poor.

Shen Shuangning suddenly felt an ominous premonition: "Could it be that the marquis himself is secretly colluding with the rebels?"

Xie Yan shook his head: "No, not that—I merely learned some truths about the past."

"What truth?"

Xie Lin pondered for a moment, then asked: "Do you have tea?"

"Yes, please sit; I'll brew tea."

Shen Shuangning first dismissed the palace maids outside the tent, then took out a set of simple white porcelain tea ware and sat cross-legged on the cushion opposite Xie Lin.

Xie Lin remained silent for a moment.

Shen Shuangning didn't urge him; while brewing tea, she tried hard to recall matters concerning the Yongning Marquis's mansion, hoping to find some clues.

According to her past life's timeline, Xie Lin had left the capital this September and even voluntarily resigned as heir, which at the time caused quite a stir.

Everyone said the Young Marquis was indifferent to fame and fortune, yet no one knew why he suddenly made such a choice.

And Xie Yan did not take over the position of heir.

That marquis, it is said, fell ill—seriously ill—and never stepped out of the mansion again.

The marchioness left the mansion, went to a Buddhist temple, shaved her head to become a nun, and often kept company with the ancient Buddha under the green lamp.

Such a glorious Yongning Marquis's mansion ultimately had its vermilion gates shut tight, no one knowing what happened inside, and it quietly declined.

Now thinking back, it was originally related to Xie Yan. Yet he expended great effort stirring up storms, only to gain nothing in the end—what was he after?

Shen Shuangning faintly felt that the truth behind this was not simple.

Xie Lin lifted his tea cup, took a sip, paused a while, then said: "It's the marquis's mansion that owes an apology to the elder brother, and I too owe him......"

The Junior Tutor Pei told him that the past truths were unimportant, but Xie Lin could never forget that blood‑curdling question from Suiying, so he spurred his horse back to the marquis's mansion.

He urgently wanted to know why Xie Yan hated the marquis's mansion so much—if Xie Yan merely wanted the heir's position, he could simply have yielded it!

He didn't care at all about those damn empty titles!

Until his father personally told him that buried truth——

"Mingyuan, don't blame your elder brother; ultimately, it's all my fault!"

"... When your grandmother was still alive, she controlled the entire marquis's mansion; although I inherited the title, I was merely superficially splendid, everywhere restrained, many things beyond my control."

"I was too self‑righteous, thinking that giving them mother and son fine clothes and jade food was enough, but I forgot the original oath—I let her down, and I let down your elder brother; I am unworthy to be a husband or a father."

"That child Xie Yan actually harbors so much hatred—no wonder, since he witnessed his mother's death with his own eyes, how could he let go?"

"If only I hadn't composed a poem for your mother at that palace banquet back then, I wouldn't have been forced to marry her, you wouldn't have been born....... If Xie Yan wants to destroy the marquis's mansion, let him do it—I have long regretted stepping into this Yongning Marquis's mansion!!"

Xie Yongnian drank a pot of strong liquor before daring to speak his true feelings.

In these twenty years, Xie Lin had never seen his father look so anguished and indignant.

Brotherly affection and filial respect, fatherly kindness and filial piety—turns out they were all fake.

The familial love he had treasured and taken pride in for years was torn to shreds in an instant.

Sourness, bewilderment, anguish... myriad feelings surged in his heart. It was as if something extremely important had been violently torn from his youth's life overnight, leaving an empty hollow that chilled at the slightest breeze.

The surrounding light and shadow faded to black and white, and his father's face, mixed with resentment and regret, also grew increasingly blurred.

Only one sentence grew ever clearer in this chaos, echoing like a sound in an empty valley.

It was the elder brother's words each time he saw him off from the mansion—standing under the gatehouse with a smile, saying, "A Lin, the marquis's mansion will always be your home."

Xie Lin had always thought it was just a brother's ordinary care and concern, but only today did he suddenly grasp the deep meaning in Xie Yan's words.

The marquis's mansion is his home, but it has never been Xie Yan's.

All the oddities he had unintentionally overlooked in the past now surfaced. Xie Yan—he had actually been hating him all along.

At that moment, all of Xie Lin's resentment and dissatisfaction turned into a pool of stagnant, dead water.

Everyone knows that Marquis Yongning Xie Yongnian once had a childhood sweetheart as his original wife, of humble origins.

But at that time the Yongning marquis was merely an inconspicuous cadet son of a family branch; they were well matched, neither marrying up.

After marriage they were deeply affectionate, and soon had a son named Xie Yan, meaning "everlasting affection."

At that time the main line of the Xie family was dwindling, the family declining; the sole legitimate son died after reaching adulthood, and the old marquis was already spent, leaving the main house temporarily facing a succession crisis.

Then the old matriarch decided to adopt someone from a cadet branch; after much screening she chose Xie Yongnian, largely because he already had offspring—the Xie family then truly feared cutting off the incense line.

The old matriarch was fairly pleased with Xie Yongnian, and she also doted on the young, clever Xie Yan, regarding him as heir‑in‑training. The only one she looked down on was his wife—that is, Xie Yan's birth mother.

She merely disliked that the woman's birth was too low; she knew neither music, chess, calligraphy, nor painting, her temperament was timid, she was displeasing in every way, and felt she was utterly unworthy of the soon-to-be-inherited Marquis Xie Nianye.

Coincidentally, the palace's Princess Changyu showed affection for the extraordinarily talented Xie Nianye.

But he was already married, the princess being of noble birth, it was impossible for her to be a concubine, nor could she stand as equals with a commoner woman. Thus the grandmother forced Xie Nianye to divorce his wife, using every means, but he absolutely refused to abandon his first wife.

Later, the grandmother came up with a compromise—demote the wife to concubine. Thus the woman could still remain by Xie Nianye's side.

Xie Nianye had no choice but to comply.

As a result, the original wife could not bear the humiliation and actually drowned herself in the lake!

What's more heartbreaking is that after her death they learned she had been three months pregnant. One corpse, two lives!

Forcing the death of his first wife was a scandal; outwardly, the Marquis Manor claimed she died of illness.

And they kept the truth tightly concealed.

At that time, Xie Yan was only four; though young, he should have known what happened.

Less than two months after the original wife's death, Princess Changyu splendidly married into the Marquis Manor, becoming the new marchioness. Within a year of marriage she gave birth to a fair and plump son.

The grandmother was overjoyed, cradling the newborn Xie Lin, declaring outright that this child would be the marquisate's heir apparent.

For a time everyone gathered around Xie Lin, as if he were the marquisate's sole legitimate son.

But Xie Yan's situation became awkward, even humiliating; though he was the rightful eldest son, he suddenly seemed like an outsider.

He had been intelligent since childhood, able to recite the Four Books and Five Classics at a glance, and at that time he still retained a child's innocence and held a hope for his family.

He thought, perhaps if he were good enough, his father would look at him again, and his grandmother would treat him kindly.

Thus he studied harder, striving to improve his lessons, and his handwriting became neater than a copybook, earning nods of praise even from Hanlin scholars.

But what he got in return was the grandmother's ever colder gaze; she disliked him, even feared his prominence would overshadow Xie Lin, so she suppressed him everywhere, checked him, guarded against him like a thief.

Thus Xie Yan learned to conceal his clumsiness, and also hid all his hatred.

He behaved as everyone expected, pretending to be a dutiful junior, a friendly elder brother, and the uncompetitive, ungrabbing eldest son of the Xie family.

He accepted every unfair arrangement, his heart as still as water, taking everything as it came, yet secretly vowing a grand and malicious wish—he would have the entire Xie clan buried with his mother, and make the royal family pay the price!