Chapter 20

Anyway, since all the trouble had been pushed onto Xie Hengzhizhi, Yi Ling didn’t feel guilty at all.

After cutting the ancestral tablet and showing some false authority, she felt all the frustration in her heart dissipate, planning to leave with an air of grandeur.

However, at that moment, Yi Yun, who had heard the news, hurried back.

He pushed through the crowd and rushed to the front. Upon lowering his head, he saw his sister’s broken ancestral tablet in two pieces and then glanced at the knife Yi Ling was holding.

A dead silence fell over the area.

After realizing what had happened, Yi Yun slowly raised his head and stared at Yi Ling without blinking for a long time. Suddenly, he lunged at her, shouting, “You poisonous woman!!! I’ll fight you to the death!!!”

Yi Ling didn’t even have time to react. It was only when Shen Shufang suddenly pulled her away that she narrowly avoided the attack.

Shen Shufang’s guards were quick to respond and immediately stepped forward, restraining Yi Yun.

In the blink of an eye, almost no one had time to react to the sudden change, except for Mrs. Yi, who cried out and rushed toward Yi Yun.

“Yun’er! Yun’er! What are you doing?! Let go of my Yun’er!”

Shen Shufang, who had regained her composure, barely stood firm. She looked down and saw Yi Yun, who was still struggling like a mad dog.

“Enough!” Shen Shufang shouted angrily. “Take him away!”

Her sharp voice finally snapped the motionless Yi Shangshu from his daze. He opened his mouth and looked at Shen Shufang, then suddenly kneeled down with a thud.

“Your… Your Highness the Crown Princess…”

At his kneel, Mrs. Yi, who had been crying, and Mrs. Xue suddenly fell silent.

They looked at Shen Shufang for a while before, as if waking from a dream, they knelt down too.

For a moment, the crowd of onlookers scattered, with only a few bold ones hiding in the corners, still watching the scene.

Only Yi Yun, the usually handsome and noble young man, had his face pressed to the ground by the guards, his face drenched in saliva, yet he still glared at Yi Ling with fiery eyes.

“I will kill you, you poisonous woman!! I’ll kill you!!”

How dare he call the talented woman from Shang University a poisonous woman?

“How dare you!”

Shen Shufang was furious, pointing at Yi Yun. “Slap him! Hard, slap him!”

“Wait!”

Just as the guards were about to strike, Yi Ling grabbed Shen Shufang’s wrist.

She stared at Yi Yun, her heart filling with a strange feeling, sour and bitter, stuck in her chest.

But when she turned to look at Mrs. Yi, who was about to faint next to Yi Yun, her heart suddenly felt empty.

“Your Highness… let’s go.”

After getting into the carriage.

Yi Ling remained silent, her head lowered as she absentmindedly stared at her sleeve.

Shen Shufang, not knowing what she was thinking, also didn’t speak.

The carriage was eerily quiet, as if wrapped in a heavy atmosphere.

After a long while, Yi Ling finally came back to herself and lifted her head, only to see that Shen Shufang was also staring out the window with a solemn expression.

Thinking about Yi Yun’s earlier outburst, which had angered Shen Shufang, Yi Ling couldn’t help but worry and wanted to say something good in Yi Yun’s defense.

Just as she was about to speak, Shen Shufang sighed deeply and muttered to herself, “I thought that Young Master Yi, like his sister, was nothing more than a useless ornamental pillow, but I didn’t expect him to be such a man of deep emotions.”

Yi Ling: “…”

She suddenly didn’t know how to respond.

The clouds in winter were heavy, seemingly frozen in place, neither rolling nor flying. In the blink of an eye, half the day had passed.

Although Xie Hengzhi had been busy at home the past few days, there were still many matters in the palace awaiting his attention.

Once he finished, dusk had already fallen.

When he walked out of the Wenhua Palace, the twilight cast a dim shadow over him, highlighting his fatigue.

The officials behind him exchanged polite farewells, and Xie Hengzhi nodded before heading towards the palace gate.

His attendant, Li Chun, had been in a daze, and only after Xie Hengzhi had walked several steps did he hastily catch up.

“Master!”

Xie Hengzhi didn’t stop walking but glanced back at him.

Li Chun swallowed hard, then blurted out, “Your delicate wife—”

His voice suddenly cut off.

Seeing Xie Hengzhi stop in his tracks, Li Chun felt as if his life might stop too.

Ah.

He had meant to say “wife,” but those palace eunuchs outside had been gossiping earlier, and he had heard too much. His mouth had gotten out of control.

Luckily, Xie Hengzhi just gave him a cold look.

“Has she fainted again?”

Li Chun: “…She cut the ancestral tablet of the Yi family, which was granted by the Emperor, right in front of Yi Shangshu and Mrs. Xue.”

Xie Hengzhi: “…”

It would have been better to faint.

After a brief pause, Xie Hengzhi tightly pressed his lips together, said nothing, and continued walking out.

Li Chun followed behind, softly asking, “Sir, do you need to visit the Xue or Yi residence?”

Xie Hengzhi didn’t even turn his head, only dropping two words.

“No need.”

After winter set in, the days became especially dark early.

When Yi Ling returned, the entire Xie residence had already lit up lanterns, and the temperature had sharply dropped with the falling night.

Mama Cao had already arranged the evening meal, but Yi Ling told her to distribute the prepared dishes to the servants in Linfeng Courtyard, as she would be eating roasted lamb in the corridor tonight.

“Lamb?”

Mama Cao asked in surprise, “Madam, you want to eat lamb?”

“Yes.”

Yi Ling urged her, “Hurry up and prepare it.”

Mama Cao thought for a moment, then nodded, “At this time, there isn’t much lamb left in the kitchen. Madam, please wait a moment. I’ll go check.”

As soon as she left, Yi Ling removed her cloak and sat by the heater.

More than ten years ago, Princess Xiaoduan, who was still alive, had said that roasted lamb was a barbarian food and should not appear on the noble tables.

So, all the wealthy families in the capital abandoned roasted lamb, and Yi Ling, who loved this dish, was no longer allowed by her mother to eat it. But whenever Yi Yun craved it, her mother would turn a blind eye and let him eat it secretly, as long as no one saw.

It had been many years since Yi Ling had tasted it, and she gradually stopped missing the flavor.

But today, for some reason, she really craved it and wanted to eat it to her heart’s content.

Before long, Mallow had set up a table and chairs in the corridor, and footsteps could be heard approaching.

Mama Cao brought over a stove with charcoal, holding a plate of sliced lamb.

“Madam, I heard the master has returned. Should I invite him to join us for some roasted lamb?”

So fast.

What a buzzkill.

Had the Xue family and Yi family been settled?

Yi Ling pouted and sat at the table, glancing at the lamb in Mama Cao’s hands.

“There’s only this little lamb. I have to be frugal with it. He’s a six-foot-tall man—one meal could easily finish half a lamb. Isn’t he ashamed?”

“When have I ever eaten half a lamb in one meal?”

A familiar voice suddenly came from behind. Yi Ling froze, stiffly sitting still. Her eyes flicked around before she slowly turned her head and smiled.

“Ah, Master Xie, you’re back so early?”

Xie Hengzhi stood at the moon gate, not too close, not too far, just the right distance to see through her forced smile.

But the lanterns in the corridor were too bright, their light casting a shimmering glow on her face, making even her fake smile appear somewhat lively and radiant.

Xie Hengzhi, who had originally planned to go straight to the study, suddenly changed direction and sat down across from her.

He took the wooden tongs from Mallow and laid the slices of lamb onto the hot stove, one by one.

The quiet corridor was filled with the sizzling sound of meat cooking, the fat dripping and sliding down, filling the air with the mouthwatering aroma…

Yi Ling’s gaze slowly shifted to Xie Hengzhi’s face.

Is he really going to eat here?

Xie Hengzhi lowered his eyes, not looking at her.

The lamb was sliced thinly, and once it changed color, it was done. He picked it up with the
tongs, placed it on a porcelain plate, and then picked up another raw slice to place on the stove.

Just when Yi Ling thought she could start eating, he suddenly spoke.

“Speak. Why did you cut someone’s memorial tablet?”

Yi Ling, who had been staring at the lamb, abruptly raised her head.

With one hand holding the tongs and the other adjusting his sleeve, his every movement was graceful, as though he were wielding a brush. His words were calm and collected.

Yet, Yi Ling felt an invisible pressure from him.

After a long pause, Yi Ling gripped her sleeve, her expression calm, but she spoke with boldness,

“I was jealous.”

Xie Hengzhi paused in his actions, looking up at her.

As their eyes met, Yi Ling’s fingers trembled slightly, but she still managed to maintain her composure.

“Everyone in the capital says you like that young lady. I heard some rumors about it in Jiangzhou too.”

Seeing he didn’t refute it, Yi Ling gathered more courage and spoke with a hint of sarcasm.

“I heard you ruined two of her engagements and later had her husband transferred to the southeast on their wedding night. Is that true?”

Xie Hengzhi still said nothing, continuing to flip the lamb slices.

His eyes lowered, and Yi Ling could no longer read his expression, only able to snort lightly and say, “As your legally married wife, I’m constantly subjected to this insult. Isn’t it only fair for me to vent a little?”

Yi Ling knew full well that all of this was false, but she said it to justify her actions and to see how Xie Hengzhi would respond.

To her surprise, he remained calm, slowly flipping the lamb slices for a long while before finally curling his lips in a cold smile.

So cutting someone’s memorial tablet is considered a “small vent”?

He lifted his head, his gaze fixed firmly on the sly woman in front of him.

“Don’t worry. My heart only belongs to you.”

Yi Ling: “?”

A chill ran through her body, and her expression froze completely.

How could someone lie so smoothly without a hint of guilt?

“Really?” she asked, her voice stiff.

“Naturally.”

Xie Hengzhi continued, his face still impassive. “You, Madam, are as beautiful as the moon and stars, and your talents are unparalleled. What man wouldn’t fall in love with you?”

Yi Ling: “…That’s actually true.”

She pretended to lower her head and brush her hair, hiding her awkwardness, and then, not willing to back down, said, “But Miss Yi is also not bad. She’s a famous beauty in the capital, and she doesn’t lack for admirers. Who knows if you’ve ever fallen for her?”

“You can rest assured a thousand times over.”

Xie Hengzhi glanced at her, letting out a light laugh. “All show and no substance, a dandy rich kid—only those men who lust after beauty would be taken in by it. A woman like you, with talent and intelligence, is far beyond comparison.”

Yi Ling: “…”

He wasn’t finished, continuing, “We’ve known each other for years, so you should know I’d never be interested in someone like Miss Yi, a mere embroidered pillow.”

If you don’t like her, fine, but why attack her personally?

Yi Ling was about to argue back, but he stood up, took the damp cloth Mallow handed him, wiped his hands after grilling the lamb, and then turned without a glance, heading toward the study.

The long corridor suddenly became eerily silent.

The words “Silk ointment ” and “embroidered pillow” echoed in Yi Ling’s ears, making her grind her teeth in anger.

Looking down, she saw that Xie Hengzhi had already grilled all the thin slices of lamb, carefully arranging them in the porcelain bowl in front of her.