After leaving Tianshui Alley, Xiao Ye rode his horse straight toward Chengbo Manor in Zhuque Alley. However, as soon as he reached the East Market, he was stopped by a group of patrolling officers from the City Defense Battalion. They had received reports from citizens earlier that someone was galloping recklessly through the city in disregard of the law, so they had come to investigate. Unexpectedly, they actually caught the culprit.
But the moment they saw Xiao Ye’s face, all of them were stunned. Their shock intensified when they noticed the bright red palm print on his cheek. No matter how much Xiao Ye had fallen from grace, he was still the heir of a noble house, a descendant of meritorious officials.
Who would dare to strike him?
Yet, no one dared to ask. They could only look at him nervously and stammer, “Y-Young Lord…”
Xiao Ye pressed his lips together and lowered his gaze. The faces before him were neither too unfamiliar nor too familiar. Understanding the situation, he forcefully suppressed the impatience in his heart, cupped his hands toward them, and said, “Apologies, gentlemen. I have urgent business today.”
Since he had already said this much, the patrol officers exchanged glances before lowering their voices. “It’s actually not a big deal. We just received a report and came to check it out.”
After all, rules were made by people.
Had it been someone else, they would have reprimanded them and possibly even imposed a fine. But this was Xiao Ye they were dealing with.
Before joining the Imperial Guards, Xiao Ye had spent some time in the City Defense Battalion. Even after earning the emperor’s favor and becoming the Commander of the Imperial Guard’s Palace Patrol Division, he never forgot his old comrades in the City Defense Battalion. He was generous by nature—whenever someone was short on money, he would offer help without hesitation, and whenever they dined out, he never let others pay.
Seeing that it was him, the officers decided to turn a blind eye. Moreover, they were well aware of Xiao Ye’s current predicament—rebuked and demoted by His Majesty, abandoned by his wife, and now the subject of rampant rumors throughout the city. Who could possibly be feeling cheerful under such circumstances?
Recalling how well Xiao Ye had treated them in the past, the officers couldn’t help but offer words of comfort. “Young Lord, don’t be discouraged. You are capable—though you may be facing some setbacks now, you will surely rise again in the future. As for your wife, you have even less reason to worry. A young talent like you, there are plenty of women eager to marry you!”
“Exactly, out with the old, in with the new!”
They were unaware of the Xiao family’s situation—or rather, even if they were, now that the relationship between the two had crumbled, they naturally sided with Xiao Ye.
However, as he listened to their chatter, Xiao Ye’s expression grew darker and darker, his grip on the reins tightening.
“You… Young Lord, what’s wrong?”
Noticing his silence, the officers looked up, only to be startled by the gloom clouding his face.
Hearing their voices, Xiao Ye glanced at their slightly bewildered expressions. He took a deep breath, loosened his clenched grip on the reins, and forced himself to soften his tone. “It’s nothing.”
As soon as he spoke, seeing them relax, his heart only felt heavier.
He thought of all the things he had done to Lanyin.
Why was it that he could control his temper with outsiders, empathizing with them and caring for them, yet when facing the person who should have been closest to him—his wife—he could only blame and resent her?
He knew the grievances she had endured.
But he had grown accustomed to Lanyin’s sacrifices, accustomed to her concessions. He knew she would never leave him, so he never bothered to comfort her, never felt the need to put in any effort.
Lanyin was right—he was no better than a beast.
He had personally created this outcome.
He had personally… driven away the woman who had once loved him, little by little!
Recalling the words Lanyin had spoken to him earlier, though her tone had been so calm, he could now clearly see the thousand days and nights she had spent beneath that calm facade—bearing grievances, suffering in silence.
His throat tightened, his heart grew bitter, as if a saw was slicing through it, the pain so unbearable he wanted to hunch over, as if curling up would make it hurt less.
The men in front of him were still chattering away, but Xiao Ye no longer had the heart to listen. Hoarsely, he cut them off. “I have matters to attend to today. I will treat you all to a meal another time.”
With that, he ignored whatever else they were saying and continued on toward Chengbo Manor.
Though he was in a hurry, he restrained himself from galloping within the city. It was only after turning into Zhuque Alley that he finally raised his whip. His jade-green steed, stung by the lash, immediately lifted its hooves and charged forward.
As Chengbo Manor came into view, Xiao Ye yanked the reins.
The horse came to a halt right in front of the manor gates.
As soon as the young servants at the gate saw him return, they were about to greet him. However, before they could even utter “Young Lord,” Xiao Ye’s figure had already rushed past them. Watching his hurried departure, the two young servants were momentarily stunned but did not think much of it, returning to their posts as usual.
Xiao Ye strode toward the main courtyard where his mother resided, his expression dark.
Along the way, he encountered many servants and maids, but he paid them no mind—until he met Jinglan.
“Young Lord?” Jinglan was surprised to see him, but when her gaze landed on the red mark on his face, her expression immediately shifted from shock to pale horror. She quickly stepped toward him. “Your face…”
Xiao Ye knew what she wanted to ask, but he ignored her and instead asked, “Where is Mother?”
“The Madam is in her room.” As soon as Jinglan answered, she saw him striding straight inside. He moved so fast that she didn’t even have time to stop him, and the maids at the door didn’t have time to announce his arrival. Not knowing what had happened, they could only watch his hurried figure, their brows furrowing when they noticed the red mark on his face.
Jinglan hesitated but realized it was too late to send word now. Instead, she instructed the maids, “Go prepare some tea,” before heading to another room to find medicine to reduce the redness.
Inside, Mother Xiao had just finished taking her medicine and was feeling somewhat drowsy.
There were too many household affairs to manage. If she didn’t deal with them today, they would pile up tomorrow. She could have let Madam Xu handle them, but she had already decided to arrange a new marriage for Xiao Ye. She couldn’t afford to let Madam Xu gain any more influence—otherwise, if wives and concubines started stirring up trouble in the household, it would only lead to more chaos.
She had no desire for Chengbo Manor to become a mess.
Besides, even if she wanted to sleep, she wouldn’t be able to rest easy. There was too much to worry about—her son had been demoted, and his new superior had long held a grudge against him. Now, there was still no word on when Xiao Ye was supposed to take up his new post. That man was surely involved.
Mother Xiao thought that she would need to set aside a sum of money to smooth things over. Regardless of the rank, it wasn’t acceptable for Xiao Ye to remain idle at home indefinitely.
But withdrawing such a large sum all at once was no simple matter. The household had just recovered from its losses a year ago. Back when Lanyin was around, things had been better, but now that she was gone, even the family’s businesses in the city had suffered losses due to the public scandal surrounding the divorce.
Mother Xiao was already considering whether she should sell a few estates or countryside properties to ease the situation.
Her head throbbed, and even her temples were pulsing painfully. Just as she lifted her hand to massage them, a sudden flash of light appeared at the front of the room. Assuming it was an inattentive maid, she was about to scold them—only to see that it was Xiao Ye walking in.
“Ye’er?” Upon recognizing her son, Mother Xiao was momentarily stunned. But the moment she processed his presence, the gloom on her face vanished, and even her headache seemed to ease. She let go of her temples, walked toward him, and asked in a gentle voice, “Did you visit your sister and nephew? How are they? Are they well?”
As soon as she spoke, her eyes landed on the red mark on Xiao Ye’s face.
Her once-smiling face abruptly hardened. She seized Xiao Ye’s arm and demanded furiously, “Who did this?!”
She had disciplined her son before, but she had never struck his face. And now, out of nowhere, a slap mark appeared on her son’s cheek. Mother Xiao felt a mix of heartache and rage.
She was about to question him further when Xiao Ye cut her off. “Are you arranging a marriage for me?”
The words that were about to leave her lips froze in her throat.
Mother Xiao locked eyes with Xiao Ye’s dark gaze and saw the suppressed anger within them. The worry and fury on her face slowly faded away.
She remained silent for a moment, then walked back to her seat. After taking a sip of tea, she deliberately ignored the glaring red mark on his face, then lifted her gaze and spoke in a cool, steady tone. “Is this how you speak to your mother? The rules I taught you from childhood—where have they gone?”
Xiao Ye pressed his lips together.
But as he inhaled the faint medicinal scent in the room, recalling the things Zhou An and Jinglan had told him over the past few days, his heart softened just a little.
Lowering his gaze, the tightness in his expression loosened slightly. He bowed respectfully and greeted her in the same way he always had. “Mother.”
Mother Xiao felt somewhat appeased, and the coldness on her face lessened. She gestured for him to sit. “Sit down first.”
But how could Xiao Ye have the patience to sit?
Xiao Ye was anxious for an answer, but under Mother Xiao’s sharp gaze, he pressed his lips together and eventually sat down in a chair.
Jinglan entered to deliver the items.
Xiao Ye ignored her, his eyes fixed on Mother Xiao as he asked, “Mother, is it true or not?”
Seeing his demeanor only fueled Mother Xiao’s anger, but years of noblewoman etiquette kept her from immediately lashing out. Suppressing her irritation, she looked at Xiao Ye and coldly said, “It seems you didn’t visit your sister today, but instead went to see Gu Lanyin.”
Her gaze fell on the glaring red handprint on his face, and her eyelid twitched. Her voice dropped even lower, its chill unmistakable. “Your face—was it Gu Lanyin who hit you?”
Jinglan nearly lost her grip on the teacup upon hearing this. She hurriedly placed it on the table and hesitated, not daring to hand over the medicinal balm she had brought. Holding the balm in her hand, she turned to leave, unwilling to interrupt the mother and son. Yet, she still overheard Xiao Ye’s voice behind her.
“Yes, I went to see her.” He only admitted to that.
As for the latter question, he left it unanswered and simply looked at Mother Xiao, pressing her again, “Answer me—is it true?”
His words darkened Mother Xiao’s expression to the extreme. Unable to suppress her anger any longer, she slammed the teacup onto the table with force, not even caring that the splashing tea stained her finely embroidered robes. She snapped, “What did you go to see her for?! Do you not understand that you and she are already divorced? You—”
Xiao Ye furrowed his brows and interrupted, “You know very well that I never wanted this divorce.”
Seeing her fall silent, he knew that what Shi Yu had told him was true. He no longer pressed for confirmation but instead looked at Mother Xiao and stated, “I don’t care what plans you may have. I came here today to tell you—I like Gu Lanyin. I still love her. I know we’re already divorced, but I will not let go. And I will never marry another. From beginning to end, my wife is only Gu Lanyin—she is the only one.”
As he finished speaking, Xiao Ye saw Mother Xiao’s face turn ashen. He pursed his lips slightly.
Knowing that her health had not been well recently, he did not want to anger her too much. So, he softened his tone and promised, “Mother, I will work hard from now on. I will reclaim the honor that belongs to our Chengbo Manor and the Xiao family. I won’t let you down again. I will protect you, protect my sister, and protect Lin’er. My only request is that you do not interfere in my marriage again. Can you do that?”
The room fell into silence.
Mother Xiao stared at him without speaking, and Xiao Ye did not seem to need an answer. After finishing his words, he stood up, bowed, and said, “Please take care of yourself. I will take my leave now.”
Then, he turned to go.
Yet, just as he took a step forward, Mother Xiao’s cold voice rang out behind him. “Now you’re suddenly so devoted? Even after she slapped you, you can still say such things? And what about Gu Qing? Where does she fit in all this? Didn’t you like her very much before? What now—have you stopped liking her?”
Her tone carried a trace of mockery.
She did not believe in Xiao Ye’s sincerity. She thought he was simply unwilling to accept defeat, acting on stubbornness. When she saw him stop in his tracks, she scoffed. As expected, nothing had changed—when he had Lanyin, he couldn’t let go of Gu Qing; when he had Gu Qing, he couldn’t forget Lanyin. Always failing to cherish what was in front of him, only regretting after it was lost.
Lowering her eyes, she dusted off the tea stains on her robe with a handkerchief. She was about to speak again when she heard him say—