Chapter Twenty-One: Don’t Go

“Liu Fuying.”

Shen Xiunian growled her name through gritted teeth, every twitch of his brow sharp as a blade, as if he could skin her alive with sheer fury.

“Get out. Get out of the Shen family!”

He pointed to the door, his words full of rage, like he wished she’d vanish from his life forever.

But Liu Fuying remained calm. The angrier Shen Xiunian got, the calmer and colder she became, making him seem all the more like a petty clown throwing a tantrum.

At last, she simply responded with one quiet word: “Fine.”

Then she turned decisively and walked out without a moment’s hesitation.

Jin Li shot a glare full of resentment at Shen Xiunian, then quickly hurried after Liu Fuying.

At the courtyard gate, they happened to run into the old madam.

When Liu Fuying saw her, her eyelid twitched. And when she noticed what the old lady was holding—a spirit tablet—everything clicked. Shen Xiunian had assumed she’d stolen it, but it had been with the old lady all along.

She paused slightly and glanced back. Shen Xiunian was walking over from the bathhouse.

When he met her eyes, his look was filled with even deeper contempt.

So that’s it, he thought. She only pretended to walk away coolly—this was just a ploy to get him to stop her.

But Su Su…

Even if only her spirit tablet remained, no one was allowed to insult it!

He had told Liu Fuying from the start—Su Su’s tablet was off-limits. It was his bottom line. She’d crossed it knowingly. She had no one to blame but herself.

Now, seeing his mother again just added to the headache. No doubt Liu Fuying would use her to pressure him. His mother would surely take her side and scold him.

But then—he saw the tablet in his mother’s hands.

Wait a minute…

“Ayin, I went to that boy’s courtyard looking for you just now,” the old madam said brightly as she walked up to Liu Fuying, tablet in hand. “Didn’t see a soul in there—just this sitting on the bed. Isn’t this one of those memorial tablets for the dead? Looks like the ones in the ancestral hall.”

“I thought someone had taken it from the hall, so I was going to return it. But Nanny Zheng said it wasn’t from the ancestral hall. I thought I’d bring it to you—maybe you’d recognize it? Did you and this thing sleep together last night?”

Sleep with a spirit tablet?

Liu Fuying frowned. She was a living woman, thank you very much.

“Old Madam, that tablet—should be the General’s. Perhaps you should ask him.”

“Oh, alright, I’ll ask.”

Still smiling, the old lady turned to go ask her son. But she had barely taken two steps before she suddenly stopped. Her smile froze as a strange awareness settled in.

When she turned back, Liu Fuying was already heading for the courtyard exit.

“Ayin? Why didn’t you call me ‘Mother’?”

“Where are you going?”

“Ayin? Ayin!”

She called out over and over, but Liu Fuying didn’t look back even once.

In moments, she was gone through the courtyard gate.

“Ayin! Liangyin, don’t go!”

The old lady panicked. She tried to run after her and twisted her ankle, dropping the tablet to the ground.

“No… no…!”

Her whole body collapsed. Even Nanny Zheng couldn’t hold her up. Her eyes turned bloodshot with terror—it was as if she’d been thrown back ten years to the day Xu Liangyin had died in her arms.

“Old Madam! Hold on, please! Someone get a doctor! Quick!”

Nanny Zheng was crying now too.

Shen Xiunian, who had rushed over, picked up the tablet first. Then he ran to lift his mother in his arms.

“Move! All of you, move! I need to find Ayin!”

The old madam tried to push everyone away, but her body had gone completely weak.

Shen Xiunian carried her straight into Liu Fuying’s room.

The courtyard was in chaos. Two messengers had already been sent for doctors. Shen Xiunian sat by the bed, watching his mother whisper nonsense in her sleep, and the guilt twisted his heart.

He’d wrongly accused Liu Fuying… and worse, he’d caused his mother’s collapse.

He had been reckless.

—

Meanwhile, Liu Fuying walked toward the main gates of the Shen household. Along the way, every servant she passed greeted her more respectfully than ever.

Once outside, Jin Li finally explained what had happened.

“Madam, last night, Cui Xi was carried out.”

“Cui Xi?”

Liu Fuying blinked before recalling—she was the maid who had betrayed her and leaked information to the second branch.

“She was unconscious when they carried her out, all bruised and sick. I heard they took her to a clinic, but no one knows her condition now. Still, it was her own choice—whatever happens is on her.”

A carriage was waiting by the gate. Liu Fuying had ordered it to be prepared earlier when she left Shuxing Courtyard.

“At first, when you didn’t punish Cui Xi openly, many thought you were afraid of the second branch. But after what happened last night, they realized you’d just used a clever hand to deal with her. Now they’re all extra cautious—I’m sure they’ll be much more respectful in the future.”

As she spoke, the two of them boarded the carriage.

Liu Fuying instructed the driver to head to the Liu residence.

After being thrown out by her husband, the natural place to go was her parents’ home.

“Do you think I was too cruel?” she asked suddenly.

Jin Li opened her mouth but didn’t know how to respond.

“Not about Cui Xi. I mean the old madam.”

“Madam, that wasn’t your fault either.”

“I knew she couldn’t take another shock, yet I still chose to leave right in front of her. She’s always treated me kindly… Was I too heartless?”

“No!”

Jin Li sat up straight and grabbed Liu Fuying’s hand.

“Madam, you should think more about what Shen Xiunian just did to you. He almost threw you to the floor. You were barely dressed, and he didn’t care at all. And he’s the one who told you to leave. Whatever happens to the old madam, he’s the one who should be worried.”

“You’re right.”

“Yes, Madam. You’ve always had a strong heart—don’t go soft when you shouldn’t. If you stayed today because of the old madam, the General would know your weakness. He’d use it against you in the future.”

Liu Fuying nodded. She agreed.

That was Shen Xiunian’s mother. If he didn’t care enough to look after her properly, why should she be the one burdened?

She could help him care for her—but only on her terms.

The carriage rolled down the street and finally stopped in front of the Liu family home.

Not far from the gate, a vendor selling rouge had drawn a small crowd. People were talking animatedly.

“Is it true? I heard that even though Imperial Uncle Pei is already a prisoner, he still managed to kill someone?”

Imperial Uncle Pei.

Those three words instantly caught Liu Fuying’s attention.

“It’s true! They carried the body down the mountain last night. That Pei fellow—tsk tsk…”