Xie Jingyu stared intently at the porcelain bottle.

His voice took on a note of urgency: “Madam, I was momentarily possessed and killed two innocent children. I know my sins are irredeemable… Now that the Xie family has come to this, it can be considered my retribution. If heaven gives me another chance, I will never do such a thing again. I was wrong, I was truly wrong…”

Yun Chu closed her eyes.

Xie Jingyu had admitted his sins and received his due retribution, but why was there not the slightest satisfaction in her heart?

How she wished time could return to that night four years ago—she would have protected her children at all costs…

Two streams of clear tears slid from the corners of Yun Chu’s eyes.

She allowed herself to be vulnerable for only a brief moment before wiping away her tears and extending the porcelain bottle in her hand.

Xie Jingyu raised his only movable right hand, just about to receive the life-saving antidote, when he saw Yun Chu withdraw her hand.

She took a folded piece of paper from her sleeve and handed it over: “Write your name on it and press your handprint. Then we’ll be even.”

Xie Jingyu used his right hand and mouth together to unfold the paper. When he saw the three largest characters, his eyes suddenly changed.

“Divorce agreement?” His tone couldn’t hide his shock. “Madam, you want to divorce me?”

“What, Xie Jingyu, do you think we can still continue living like this?” Yun Chu smiled. “Aren’t you afraid I’ll poison you again?”

Xie Jingyu’s dry lips pressed tightly together.

Although he feared having such a poisonous woman by his side, he was more afraid of the Xie family losing this marriage alliance with the Yun family.

But he also knew that he and Yun Chu had reached this point—there was no possibility of being husband and wife again.

Yet how could he be willing to let Yun Chu go…

These past few years, the Xie family had been on an upward trajectory, gradually establishing a foothold in the capital, but now, everything had been destroyed by the woman before him…

After he recovered, the first thing would be to rescue An’er, the second would be to clear his own name, the third would be to help the Xie family rise again, and finally… he would make Yun Chu pay the price…

He admitted that he had once been moved by Yun Chu.

But compared to the family’s honor and disgrace, what did this slight attraction matter?

“Where’s the brush?”

Xie Jingyu extended his hand.

Yun Chu took out the writing brush she had prepared and handed it to him.

He wrote the three characters “Xie Jingyu” at the end of the divorce agreement, then bit his thumb and pressed down his handprint.

Yun Chu took the divorce agreement, read it word by word, folded it, and put it back in her sleeve before finally handing over the porcelain bottle.

Xie Jingyu used his teeth to remove the stopper. Smelling the strong fragrance, his fingers paused. He tilted his head back and drank all the liquid in the porcelain bottle.

As soon as he finished drinking, he met Yun Chu’s eyes, full of mockery.

Having always prided himself on being clever, seeing Yun Chu’s expression, he immediately realized something was wrong. He thrust his fingers into his throat, but the liquid had already been swallowed—he couldn’t even vomit it out.

He roared in despair: “Yun—Yun Chu! What did you make me drink!”

“Don’t worry, it’s not poison.” Yun Chu picked up the porcelain bottle that had fallen to the ground. “This is the essence distilled from eighteen jars of strong liquor. Does it taste good?”

Xie Jingyu’s pupils dilated sharply.

The doctor who had treated him said he couldn’t drink alcohol with this condition.

Once, when he went out for a social engagement and drank just half a cup of rice wine, he was bedridden for seven days.

Eighteen jars of strong liquor—though not poison, it was enough to trigger the toxicity and take his life.

Sure enough, his abdomen soon began churning violently, his intestines felt as if they were being pulled apart, and he rolled on the ground in agony…

“Yun Chu! You poisonous woman!”

“I’ve already done what you said! Why won’t you let me go!”

“The antidote! Quickly give me the antidote!”

Xie Jingyu rolled and roared on the ground like a madman.

She told him to kneel and repent—he knelt!

She told him to write the divorce agreement—he wrote it!

He already knew he was wrong, so why was she still treating him this way!

He was only twenty-eight years old, with so many ambitions yet unrealized. How could he just die like this?

“Yun Chu, I was wrong, I was truly wrong. Save me.”

“I really regret it. I shouldn’t have thrown away your children. Please, Yun Chu.”

“Yun Chu, save me, I beg you to save me…”

Yun Chu stood to the side, quietly watching him go from violent rolling to slowly writhing and convulsing on the ground.

Gradually, he couldn’t move at all.

She crouched down, looking into his wide-open eyes, seeing hatred and unwillingness in their depths.

She had never intended to let Xie Jingyu live.

It was only after learning that her children died at Xie Jingyu’s hands that she decided to kill him personally.

At the moment of his last breath, the grievances between them would truly end…

Yun Chu reached out and closed his eyes.

“Xie Jingyu, I hope in your next life you’ll be an upright and honorable person. Rest in peace.”

Xie Jingyu’s eyelids closed.

He lay on the ground, the last trace of consciousness still lingering. Before his eyes appeared what seemed like a prosperous scroll.

He had become a third-rank official in the Ministry of Revenue. Ten years after An’er achieved the top three ranks in the imperial examinations, he became the second-in-command of the imperial cabinet. For some unknown reason, Ping’er became the Emperor’s favored consort. Wei’er, that most disobedient child, actually became a third-rank general commanding thousands of troops… Their Xie family became a prominent household in the capital, a family everyone competed to court…

What a beautiful scroll, what an ideal future, but he would never see it…

The scroll gradually dissipated, and Xie Jingyu slowly lost his last breath of life…

“Someone come.”

Yun Chu called out.

Qiutong and Tingxue, who had been guarding the door, entered first, while Tingfeng continued to stand watch.

Seeing Xie Jingyu lying lifeless on the ground, neither of them showed much surprise. They knew this day would come sooner or later—it was just earlier than expected.

Without waiting for Yun Chu’s instructions, the two each carried out their duties.

A quarter-hour later, Tingfeng went to find the other members of the Xie family with a panicked expression.

At this moment, the other masters of the Xie family were all in Yuan Shi and Xie Zhongcheng’s courtyard. The two of them sat in the seats of honor, with several concubines seated in order below them.

“I’ve called you here so we can all think of a solution together.” Xie Zhongcheng spoke. “Our Xie family is now trapped in the residence, which puts us in a very passive position. Many matters cannot be resolved. First is An’er’s matter, second is Jingyu’s matter. Both require silver to grease the wheels. We can’t wait until the verdict comes down to think of solutions, don’t you agree?”

The concubines all nodded.

How Xie Shi’an fared—they might not care, but if something happened to Xie Jingyu, it directly concerned them. They couldn’t remain uninvolved.

“Leaving the residence requires silver, finding people to handle matters requires silver. A rough calculation shows we need at least ten thousand taels.” Xie Zhongcheng sighed. “We only have four or five thousand taels in hand. We need each of you to contribute another thousand-plus taels…”

Concubine Tao’s eyes widened: “This concubine is just a concubine—where would I have so much silver?”

Concubine Jiang’s fingers clenched her handkerchief: “Master, this concubine only has a little over a hundred taels and is willing to give it all.”

Yuan Shi looked distressed: “A hundred-plus taels would barely be enough to bribe the guards at the gate. Take out all your usual jewelry and pool it together. Let’s get through this difficult time together.”

Tingyu spoke softly: “Why not ask Madam to contribute?”