Yan Sanhe’s dark pupils seemed frozen by something. She said nothing.

Xie Erli’s heart surged like tempestuous waves. “Father, what happened afterward?”

“Afterward?”

A sense of vindication rose in Xie Daozhi’s heart as he sneered coldly. “Without me lifting a finger, the Yan family was as if cursed—they were utterly ruined.”

“How were they ruined?”

“Two months after we left, Yan Xing was demoted, his house was confiscated, and he was exiled to Yunnan.”

“Did he go alone?”

“His youngest son went with him.”

“What about the other Yan family members?”

“Those who fell into poverty fell into poverty, those who died early died early.” Xie Daozhi sneered repeatedly.

Forty years—gone in a flash.

Now that he held a high position, those Yan family people and matters had long left his heart.

If Yan Sanhe hadn’t come to his door, if she hadn’t repeatedly pressed him with questions, he would have treated those two years as nothing more than a dream.

The moment he lit the incense, he woke up.

It wasn’t a dream.

Those were brutal fragments carved into his heart, painful memories sunk into his blood, hatred that neither drifting smoke at sunset nor moonlight on falling blossoms could prevent.

And at the end of this hatred stood Yan Xing.

“Xie Daozhi!”

After a long silence, Yan Sanhe looked at the man before her with an extremely calm gaze.

“I spent forty days traveling from Yunnan Prefecture to the capital. Today is the second day since I entered your Xie residence. In other words, there are still seven days remaining.”

Her tone was equally calm, without any ripples.

“Not knowing another’s suffering, one shouldn’t urge them toward goodness. I’ll say it again—the choice is in your hands. Of course, there’s another possibility: that the old lady did obtain that divorce letter.”

Xie Daozhi was stunned for a moment, as if unable to believe these words came from Yan Sanhe’s mouth.

“Two hours is enough time for you to clarify the old lady’s affairs from back then and make your decision.”

Yan Sanhe coughed softly. “After two hours, I will leave the Xie residence. Time is short—make the most of it.”

An indescribable feeling spread through Xie Daozhi’s heart.

The consummation ceremony back then had been extremely perfunctory. If Yan Sanhe hadn’t produced the marriage compatibility document, he wouldn’t have known his mother was actually a legitimate wife.

When they were driven from the Yan residence, aside from crying, his mother had said nothing to him—let alone mention anything about a divorce letter.

He sneered coldly and strode into his study.

Steward Xie hurried after him, but Xie Erli remained motionless, watching Yan Sanhe.

This person hadn’t mentioned a single word of Yan Xing’s wrongdoing. She merely laid out the advantages and disadvantages on the table, using a retreat-to-advance strategy to force his father to make a choice.

How composed she was!

Composed?

Yan Sanhe’s heart was already boiling beyond control.

She thought to herself: Grandfather, come back to life! Come back and tell me this isn’t true, that Xie Daozhi is making it all up.

How could you treat them like that, mother and son?

Where was your integrity?

Where was your noble character?

Where was your pride in not following the corrupt ways of the world?

Were they all false appearances?

Yan Sanhe closed her eyes. For the first time, she felt the ice-cold night of the capital was so cold—so cold her teeth were chattering.

…

Xie Daozhi’s study had never fallen into such dead silence repeatedly as it had these past two days.

Xie Daozhi hadn’t felt this way in a long time either—feeling that life offered neither advance nor retreat, that any choice was difficult.

“Father!”

Xie Erli’s throat bobbed several times. “If it comes to it, I’ll make the trip myself and go to the temple to ask the old lady.”

“No need!”

Xie Daozhi understood his elderly mother’s heart too well. Yan Xing was an insurmountable barrier in most of her life. The topic couldn’t even be mentioned.

“The old lady is advanced in years and mustn’t be disturbed. If something truly happened to her…”

Three years of mourning for himself—it would be difficult to return to office. This was a risk he absolutely couldn’t take!

“But what if…” Xie Erli dared not continue.

What if there was no divorce letter…

What if those misfortunes really would fall upon the Xie family…

“In this old servant’s opinion.”

Steward Xie gritted his teeth. “That person is just fear-mongering. What cracked coffin, what dissolving obsessions—it’s all deception. Don’t believe it!”

“But what if it’s real?” Xie Erli’s eyes suddenly flashed with cold light.

“This…”

Steward Xie lowered his face, not daring to meet the young master’s eyes.