Chapter 63.1

Dirty secrets?

There’s a melon?!

Ruan Mingfu and Gu Yilin’s eyes sparkled with curiosity as they looked at her.

Hu Wanning was momentarily speechless. After a pause, she finally managed to say, “You don’t know?”

She had thought that Ruan Mingfu was already aware of the situation.

Feeling somewhat at a loss, she glanced at the eager faces of the two and decided to pass the buck to Xie Yanzhao.

“Since it’s about the Xie family, you should ask Old Xie yourself.”

“Huh?”

Gu Yilin was a little disappointed.

…No new gossip for her.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with Old Xie,” Ruan Mingfu was not happy either. “Every time I ask him about his family, he’s not willing to talk about it.”

Hu Wanning sighed.

As someone in the know, she understood Xie Yanzhao well.

For him, the unfortunate experiences of his childhood and the death of his mother were deep wounds that he couldn’t easily discuss. Every mention felt like twisting the knife deeper.

Xie Yanzhao had made up his mind to avoid any entanglement with Commander Xie, whether he spoke up or remained silent made no difference.

But now…

“Why don’t you ask Old Xie later?”

Hu Wanning clearly had information but felt it was best not to press further with Ruan Mingfu’s curiosity.

…..

Meanwhile, the nanny and Xie Yin were being held separately.

Seeing that these people were serious about their actions, the nanny started to panic. She had initially planned to establish her authority over the new daughter-in-law but hadn’t even brought a guard along, fearing the revelation of her true nature after over a decade of pretending.

If she had a guard, it would validate her identity, and these people wouldn’t dare to detain her.

The nanny resented this turn of events.

After years of having things go smoothly, she had never faced such humiliation.

In her heart, Ruan Mingfu’s rank rose rapidly, now sharing the top spot as one of her greatest enemies alongside Xie Yanzhao.

“Comrades, you’ve really got the wrong person! I’m a relative of Commander Xie. Just ask anyone and you’ll find out.”

“Who do you think Commander Xie is? We wouldn’t dare bother the higher-ups with something like this.”

The nanny grew anxious. “Comrades, I’m telling you the truth!”

“Alright, we’ll send someone to verify,” the soldier replied, giving her a sidelong glance. “Just wait here.”

The nanny nodded.

“Comrades, hurry up!”

The soldier turned to leave, and another came up to him.

“Boss, what should we do?”

“What else can we do? Follow the regulations!”

The soldier squinted.

He wanted this pair of mother and daughter to learn a lesson for disrespecting his idol.

“Let’s occasionally send in some water for them. Ignore whatever they ask. As for the other one, let her make a fuss without any water. Keep her locked up for the afternoon and see what happens.”

The other soldier’s eyes lit up. “Got it, boss. Don’t worry!”

The nanny had no idea they were playing tricks on her.

At first, she was able to keep her cool, but as time dragged on without anyone coming to check on her, she began to panic.

She grabbed a passing soldier delivering water. “Where’s Commander Xie? Where’s my daughter?”

“Don’t know!”

He brushed her hand away, not even delivering the water, and left quickly.

In another room, Xie Yin was on the verge of losing it!

She had been detained for a full three hours. Starting with energetic insults, her voice had gone hoarse from calling for water.

She truly believed this place belonged to her family, thinking the soldiers would listen to her.

No matter how much she cried and screamed, not a single drop of water came her way.

Exhausted from her outburst, Xie Yin finally fell silent.

She couldn’t help but lick her lips, but this only intensified her thirst, making her mouth dry and cracked. If she pulled at the skin, it would bleed.

Xie Yin couldn’t hold back her tears.

But she soon realized that crying took even more energy. Especially in the pitch-black surroundings, with only sunlight filtering through the window. The entire room was bare, not even a chair to sit on.

Xie Yin felt a chill in the air.

Any slight noise made her jump in fear.

She rubbed her growling stomach, curling up in the sunlight, feeling slightly better.

But when she thought about Ruan Mingfu and the slap on her face, Xie Yin’s anger flared.

She had no idea how much time passed when the sunlight she had been resting in finally vanished, plunging the room into darkness. Feeling like a startled bird, she sensed danger lurking around her.

Just then, she heard the sound of a key turning in the lock outside.

“Xie Yin, come out!”

Had anyone else spoken to her like that, she would have snapped back. But now she didn’t have time to care about these things, she just wanted to leave this damn place.

Xie Yin rushed out in a panic, as if chased by ghosts.

Stumbling, she spotted the nanny ahead and burst into tears. She threw herself into the nanny’s arms, clinging tightly.

“Mom… that place was so scary… Wuwu…”

“They locked me in a dark room, and I was so afraid…”

“They wouldn’t even give me water to drink, wuwu~”

Seeing the sobbing Xie Yin and her chapped lips, the nanny’s heart ached.

“Your dad sent someone to pick us up. Whatever it is, let’s talk about it back home.”

After spending a day here, both mother and daughter looked utterly disheveled.

Xie Yin was desperate for water, but she didn’t dare drink anything here.

Before leaving, the nanny shot a meaningful glance at the soldier.

Commander Xie was here on official business, staying in accommodations provided by the army. Upon seeing the miserable state of the mother and daughter, his expression darkened.

Xie Yin couldn’t care less. She grabbed the water on the table and gulped it down.

“Hey—”

“Hiss…” Xie Yin gasped as the hot water scalded her mouth. She quickly spat it out, looking up at Commander Xie with watery eyes. “Dad, why is it hot? It nearly burned me!”

She fanned her mouth with her hands.

The nanny was equally anxious.

“Who told you not to check? Is it too hot? Let me see.”

Xie Yin shook her head.

“Good thing I spat it out in time…”

“What happened?” Commander Xie’s brow furrowed, tightening like he could crush a fly, “How did you end up like this?”

“Dad~”

Xie Yin, feeling wronged, collapsed into Commander Xie’s embrace.

“Look at what they did to me…” She grew more pitiful as she spoke, tears streaming down her face. “We went to find Sister-in-law, and she didn’t even recognize us. She slapped me and locked me and Mom up.”

“They wouldn’t even give me water…”

The nanny felt just as wronged but quickly hushed Xie Yin.

“Be quiet,” she said, her tear-filled eyes looking at Commander Xie, speaking hesitantly, “Old Xie, don’t listen to Xiaoyin’s nonsense.”

Xie Yin glanced at the nanny, feeling aggrieved but ultimately closing her mouth.

The nanny looked at Commander Xie. “Old Xie—”

“Bang—”

With a stern expression, Commander Xie kicked over a nearby tea table, the cups clattering to the ground with a dull thud.

He gritted his teeth. “That bastard Xie Yanzhao is getting more outrageous by the day!”

“Too much maternal indulgence has spoiled him. After all this, do you still want to protect him?!” Commander Xie shouted at the nanny, then turned to Xie Yin. “Xiaoyin, tell me everything that happened today.”

Xie Yin’s eyes lit up.

But the nanny, pinching her side, made her reluctant to be too bold, fearing Commander Xie might catch on.

She had no choice but to tell the whole story.

Of course, she had to exaggerate the story. At the end, she showed him the slap marks on her face and looked at him pitifully.

“Dad, look at what she did to me.”

It hurt initially, but now it was swelling. Xie Yin couldn’t help but suspect Ruan Mingfu had poisoned her hand just to harm her.

“Xiao Lin,” Commander Xie was also very distressed and called the guards outside the door, “Take her to apply medicine.”

Xiao Lin nodded.

However, Xie Yin was unwilling to leave.

After enduring such humiliation, she couldn’t swallow her anger without getting back at that little wretch Ruan Mingfu a thousand times over.

“Dad, I—”

The nanny shot her a glance.

Despite her reluctance, Xie Yin knew she had to comply.

Once the room was clear, Commander Xie took the nanny’s hand, feeling a bit guilty. “I’m sorry you had to go through this.”

“It’s nothing,” she replied, though tears began to flow down her cheeks.

“As long as you two can reconcile, what’s a little grievance worth…”

Commander Xie sighed.

“Don’t worry, I’ll definitely give you a satisfactory explanation for today’s incident.”

“No,” the nanny quickly refused, “It’s just a misunderstanding. Yanzhao’s wife hasn’t met me, and if a stranger came to say she was her mother-in-law, I would be cautious too. Old Xie, as elders, we should be more forgiving.”

The more she spoke, the more she cried, nearly breaking Commander Xie’s heart.

With her tears flowing, Commander Xie’s impression of Ruan Mingfu sank even lower.

“No way!”

“A daughter-in-law dares to bully her mother-in-law? This is outrageous!”

Commander Xie grew angrier, especially seeing the nanny’s tear-streaked face, his fury rising even more.

He began pacing, the anger in his heart building.

“Back then, I told you to introduce him to someone, but that little brat refused. The one he ended up with is just as clueless.”

“No, I disapprove of this marriage!”

The more Commander Xie thought about it, the angrier he became.

He wished he could push Xie Yanzhao into a divorce right away.

The nanny’s eyes flickered, and she feigned concern.

“Old Xie, don’t say things in anger. It’s all settled now. Besides, they’re already married. Do you think you can force them to divorce?”

“What’s wrong with getting divorced?” Commander Xie waved his hand. “Once they’re divorced, I’ll find someone better, ideally someone who can be on the same page as you.”

“By then, that little brat Xie Yanzhao will thank me!”

The nanny wiped her tears. “Old Xie, you can’t do something so unscrupulous. There’s an old saying: it’s better to ruin a temple than to break a marriage. If you do that, Yanzhao will definitely be angry with you.”

“He dares!”

“Who’s the father here?” Commander Xie sat down, his eyes blazing with anger. “They’ve been married for so long and haven’t even had a child; what good are they?”

“Old Zhou was right. A daughter-in-law needs to be approved by her parents…”