General Xie stared silently at the woman kneeling on the ground.
Xie Yun, who was lying beside him, woke up at some point. His eyes were full of fear as he stared at General Xie without saying a word.
"You unfilial son!" General Xie roared when he saw Xie Yun waking up. He strode forward and slapped him hard across the face.
Smack!
A clear handprint instantly appeared on Xie Yun's face. On any other day, Mrs. Liu would have been heartbroken. But now, she only bit her lips and shed silent tears, not daring to step forward to plead for mercy.
"Who taught you this?" General Xie demanded, his face flushed with anger. He took a deep breath to calm himself down and then continued, "Who? Xie Yun! You're so foolish! How could you do such a thing in broad daylight? Which noble lady would want to marry you in the future?"
General Xie was used to wielding heavy swords, so his slap was much stronger than an ordinary person's. Xie Yun's ears rang, and it took him a while to regain his senses. But then he sneered, and the fear on his face was gradually replaced by mockery. "So you'll always dote on Xie Lang? What's so great about that good-for-nothing?"
General Xie looked at Xie Yun in disbelief, feeling as if the world was spinning around him. He was so shocked that he couldn't catch his breath for a long time.
"Is that what you really think?"
Before General Xie could say anything else, Mrs. Liu struggled to her feet and slapped Xie Yun hard on the other cheek. Xie Yun covered his face in disbelief and looked up at her. "Mother! What are you doing?"
General Xie watched coldly without saying a word.
"It's my fault," Mrs. Liu said, trying to gain the upper hand by yielding. She cried, "General! I didn't raise him well! It's all my fault!"
Tears streamed down Mrs. Liu's face as she crawled over to General Xie and tugged at his robe. "Please, General. For the sake of my years of hard work, give Yun'er another chance."
"I've been so busy with the affairs of the mansion these years that I've neglected Yun'er. It's my fault! Don't blame it all on him!"
General Xie listened, and the coldness in his eyes faded slightly, but he still remained silent.
Mrs. Liu kept crying. When she saw that General Xie's expression had softened a bit, she immediately gave Xie Yun a look.
Xie Yun was about to step forward reluctantly when a cold voice suddenly rang out.
"Father."
Xie Fangfei walked in, wrapped in a plain cloak. Her face was as pale as snow, and her eyes were filled with despair. "Daughter still has something to say."
Seeing Xie Fangfei like this, so different from her usual arrogant self, General Xie frowned, and a hint of hesitation flashed in his eyes.
As she bowed, the cloak revealed the old clothes underneath, and there were dried bloodstains on the hem of her skirt. Seeing her wearing old clothes, General Xie couldn't help but think of Concubine Wang, who had stabbed herself in the neck with a hairpin. So he asked Xie Fangfei, "What else do you want to say?"
"Go back, Fangfei," Mrs. Liu said, pretending to be gentle. "You've had a rough day... Go back and rest first."
Xie Fangfei looked at the hatred and pride in Mrs. Liu's eyes and suddenly let out a soft laugh. "You don't have to act anymore. It makes both of us uncomfortable."
"You..." Mrs. Liu sighed deeply and looked at Xie Fangfei with a look of incomprehension.
General Xie also stared at her intently.
"Father," Xie Fangfei said, her face pale but her expression determined. "Mother is dead, and I have to seek justice for her."
"Mother had a miscarriage before, and the doctor said it was a boy," Xie Fangfei continued, tears welling up in her eyes. "After that, she fell ill."
Mrs. Liu was startled but quickly regained her composure. She said to Xie Fangfei, "Fangfei, I'll give you a chance. Don't blame others just because Concubine Wang is dead."
Xie Fangfei smiled indifferently. "Really?"
"What if I have evidence?" Xie Fangfei said as she took out some yellowed letters from her thick cloak and handed them to General Xie. "These are the letters Mrs. Liu sent back to her family."
"Mother's baby was already six months old, and Mrs. Liu didn't dare to do anything at first," Xie Fangfei said, tears streaming down her face. But her expression remained cold. "But someone said it was a boy."
"How could Mrs. Liu allow another male heir in the mansion?" Xie Fangfei laughed bitterly. "If she weren't so timid, Xie Lang wouldn't have survived either."
General Xie's face turned completely dark. He stared at the letters in his hand word by word, his face full of anger.
Mrs. Liu didn't dare to say a word when she saw the letters. She stood there trembling. When General Xie had read half of the letters, she finally said, "So what? Maybe you forged them. If they're really evidence, why didn't Concubine Wang show them for all these years? Why now?"
General Xie looked up hesitantly and saw Xie Fangfei's bitter smile. She continued, "What else could we do? If we had shown them, Father wouldn't have divorced you. We would have just suffered more after that."
General Xie was touched by what he heard and lowered his head to continue reading.
Outside the courtyard, Shen Mingzhu and Xie Lang were lurking in a small corner.
"How did you find this place?" Shen Mingzhu was dragged here by Xie Lang after he asked her if she wanted to watch the fun.
They could faintly hear the commotion inside, and the guards were nowhere to be seen. Now, only Shen Mingzhu and Xie Lang were standing outside the door.
"Just tell me if you want to listen!" Xie Lang whispered, imitating Shen Mingzhu. "How about it? Exciting, right?"
Shen Mingzhu: "..."
The affairs of Xie Lang's family had made them look like thieves.
[It's exciting. I knew Xie Fangfei wasn't a good person. Shen Mingzhu must be interested. I bet Xie Fangfei is going to seek refuge with Shen Mingzhu. I just don't know if she'll succeed.]
Shen Mingzhu stopped in her tracks and looked at Xie Lang subconsciously.
So that's what Xie Lang had talked to Xie Fangfei about when he stayed in the room just now?
Xie Lang thought Shen Mingzhu was worried when he saw her looking at him, so he comforted her. "It's okay. I've watched this kind of fun for years."
Shen Mingzhu frowned even more and asked, "You... How did you find out?"
"I'm not telling you!"
[I can't tell her that I used to get beaten by Mrs. Liu's complaints. Then I found out that I could hear Mrs. Liu's plans here in advance and escape from the mansion to avoid trouble. That's why I come here from time to time.]
Shen Mingzhu looked at the relaxed smile on Xie Lang's face and suddenly felt a pang in her heart. Just as she was about to speak, she heard another commotion inside.
But... Xie Lang seemed so relaxed on the surface, but he had actually gone through such a difficult time?