"Servants," he said after a moment of silence, addressing the servants. "Take Lady Liu away and guard her in the room."
Lady Liu looked up in disbelief, with a hint of smugness in her eyes. Before she could say a word, General Xie gave her a cold look. "Bring me paper and a brush."
"I'm going to write a divorce letter," General Xie said. Looking at Lady Liu, his eyes were full of disappointment. "You've done so many evil deeds. You can no longer stay in the Xie Mansion. I'll give you some dignity. We'll tell others that we're divorcing amicably."
"General!" Lady Liu shrieked, looking at him in panic. "Are you trying to drive me to death?"
General Xie looked at her steadily and said, "What do you mean by driving you to death? If you had shown mercy back then, why would it have come to this today?"
Seeing the disgust in General Xie's eyes, Lady Liu shrieked, "But I gave birth to Yun'er for you and managed the Xie Mansion for many years. Why can't you show me mercy just once! Just once, General!"
"I was just momentarily confused!"
But General Xie no longer listened to her. He continued, "That's enough. I'll give you this last bit of dignity. As for Xie Yun, after his injury recovers, I'll send him to the army to be tempered slowly."
Lady Liu was in tears. Looking at General Xie, she suddenly sneered and said, "General, do you really not know, or do you just not want to break this peace?"
"How could these things be hidden from you?"
"Nonsense!" General Xie's face instantly turned cold. He said to the hesitant servant standing beside him, "Take her away, and then inform the Liu family to pick her up!"
Xie Fangfei watched Lady Liu being dragged away. There was a hint of a smile in her eyes, but her tears couldn't stop, and her body trembled slightly.
Concubine Zhang still looked gentle and frail. Seeing Lady Liu being taken away, there was also a hint of pleasure on her face.
She hesitated for a moment, then turned to General Xie and sighed, "General is really heartless. Instead of divorcing Lady Liu, you might as well send her to the manor."
"A dull knife cutting flesh is the most painful." After saying that, she coughed a few times, blocking General Xie's words. "The general is really heartless."
After saying that, there was a faint smile on her face. She said gently, "Lianlian is not young anymore, but her health is not very good. I plan to keep her with me for a few more years."
"Then General, you can be busy first. I'm not feeling well, so I'll take Lianlian back first." Concubine Zhang bowed and left, leaving General Xie with a dark face and Xie Fangfei silently shedding tears.
"Go back and rest first," General Xie said, looking at Xie Fangfei's pale face. After a moment of silence, he continued, "We'll talk about other things later."
...
After that, there were a few peaceful days. Lady Liu refused to go back, but the Liu family, who was worried about offending General Xie, still took her away, along with Liu Zhiyu, whose leg had been broken.
Shen Mingzhu didn't see Xie Fangfei for a long time after that. She only occasionally heard news about her. Liu Yuanyuan, as Lady Liu's niece, should have gone back with her, but Shen Mingzhu kept her. Naturally, the Liu family wouldn't refuse such a good thing that fell from the sky, so they silently allowed Liu Yuanyuan to stay.
After resting for a few days, Shen Mingzhu was going to the palace to see her mother.
Xie Lang had been elusive these days. He rarely appeared during the day but always came back on time at night. Shen Mingzhu didn't know what he was doing, but she thought he wouldn't harm her, so she didn't bother to ask.
"Your Highness,"
Shen Mingzhu was sitting in the sedan chair. When she came back to her senses, she saw Chun Tao looking at her gently and asking, "Your Highness, do you want to go and have a look at the shop?"
She was going to the palace tomorrow and was really bored now, so she planned to go out of the mansion for a stroll.
Hearing Chun Tao's words, Shen Mingzhu thought it was a good idea, so she decided to go and have a look.
"Which is the nearest shop?"
Shen Mingzhu thought for a moment and asked, "Let's go to the nearest one."
Chun Tao nodded and said, "Yes, the nearest shop is a spice shop. Your Highness can go and pick some insect - repellent incense. Spring has come, and it's getting warmer these days. There are also more mosquitoes."
Shen Mingzhu nodded.
The shop arrived soon. With Chun Tao's support, Shen Mingzhu got out of the sedan chair.
The spice shop was very large. There was a curtain at the entrance. When you lifted it, you could smell a faint fragrance. Take a step forward, and the fragrance would change. Each one had its own characteristics.
When the shopkeeper saw Shen Mingzhu, he rushed to greet her. With a smile on his face, he bowed respectfully and said, "Greetings to Your Highness. Is Your Highness here to see the newly arrived spices today?"
"Right," the shopkeeper suddenly slapped his head and said, "That... the young master you sent here last time is currently making incense. I wonder if Your Highness is here to see him?"
Shen Mingzhu frowned and thought.
It seemed... it seemed that she had brought back a man when she went to that building some time ago and then left him here.
What was his name... something like Shu?
Frowning, Shen Mingzhu looked at the shopkeeper and said, "Yes, take him upstairs. And also select some spices for me and send them up."
She went upstairs and sat down. Before Chun Tao could pour the tea, a young master in green clothes knocked on the door and came in. When he saw Shen Mingzhu, there was an unstoppable smile on his face. He said gently, "Greetings to Your Highness. Is Your Highness here to see me?"
Saying that, he took a step forward and naturally took the teapot from Chun Tao's hand and poured a cup of tea for Shen Mingzhu.
Shen Mingzhu looked at him. She had a slight impression of this handsome face, but she still couldn't remember the name of the person in front of her.
Seeing the faint confusion in Shen Mingzhu's eyes, Qingzhu was silent for a moment. Then he still smiled and said, "Has Your Highness forgotten Qingzhu's name?"
Qingzhu smiled faintly and gently gave her a way out.
Shen Mingzhu found that the person in front of her was quite perceptive, so she subconsciously glanced at him.
Qingzhu looked back gently. Even though his eyes were always on Shen Mingzhu, because of his expression and behavior, he didn't seem impolite.
Isn't it a bit of a waste of talent to keep him here?
Shen Mingzhu was calculating in her heart whether there was a better place for Qingzhu.
"Your Highness," the shopkeeper knocked on the door outside and then came in with the spices. "I've brought the newly arrived spices, Your Highness."
Seeing Qingzhu standing in front of Shen Mingzhu, the shopkeeper smiled knowingly. He said to Shen Mingzhu, "Young Master Qingzhu is also familiar with these spices. Why don't you let him tell you about them?"
After saying that, he quickly retreated.
Shen Mingzhu looked up at Qingzhu and saw him gently pick up the incense. Looking at her, he said, "Does Your Highness want to start now, or would you like to take a break and have a cup of hot tea first?"
"Let's start,"
Listening to Qingzhu's gentle voice, Shen Mingzhu felt a bit of leisure. So she sat there steadily, her eyes on the hands of the person in front of her.
How about putting him in the teahouse?
Shen Mingzhu thought about it but felt that the teahouse might not be very suitable either. She always felt that Qingzhu was a very all - around talent, but if she directly took him as her confidant, Shen Mingzhu definitely wouldn't trust him completely. So it was better to keep him in the shop for now.
"Your Highness,"
There was a knock on the door, and Chun Tao's slightly flustered voice came.