So what if she's my sister-in-law? You seduced me first.

Upon hearing this, the expressions of everyone in the household changed instantly. Fifth Miss Xie Ling felt very uncomfortable and hesitated before asking, "Does Mother mean that my sister-in-law shouldn't be buried in the Xie family ancestral cemetery?"

She didn't mean to speak up for that bitch Ning Yu, but she was still her elder brother's lawfully wedded wife, so why wouldn't they let her hold her funeral at the Xie family's house?

The Grand Princess said coldly, "Ayan is still young, he will eventually have to get married."

Upon hearing this, the third wife immediately agreed, "That's right, it's best not to make a big fuss about such an unlucky event. Just set up a mourning hall at the estate in the suburbs and bury her there."

In her opinion, they should just wrap him in a tattered mat and bury him hastily; why bother with all that fuss?

"We should listen to Ayan on this matter." The old lady didn't want to argue about it and wearily sent everyone back.

Xie Yan received the letter from the Grand Princess at night. At that time, he was still in the hall, having changed into a plain white robe, and was sitting in front of the coffin.

When he heard the servant report, he looked up with bloodshot eyes and said in a hoarse voice, "Tell my mother that I will carry the coffin back to the Xie family tomorrow, and the mourning hall will be set up in the Mo Courtyard."

Upon hearing this, the servant scratched his head in embarrassment. Seeing the prince's unreadable expression, he dared not offer any advice and left in response.

A-Zhou knelt before the prayer mat, her eyes red as she looked at the unsealed coffin. "It's all my fault. If I hadn't abandoned the Crown Princess, she wouldn't have suffered this calamity."

"Your Highness, please don't be like this. It's all my fault. I'm willing to accept punishment and apologize."

Should he blame him or himself? Xie Yan's eyes were bloodshot from lack of sleep. It had been almost two days since he brought the body back from Mozhou, and he hadn't slept for two nights. Now, he felt his vision was blurry as he looked at the coffin.

He leaned against the coffin without speaking, tilted his head back, and closed his eyes.

News of the Crown Princess's unfortunate fall from the cliff spread like wildfire throughout the Xie family. The next morning, a mourning hall was set up in the Mo Courtyard, with white silk hanging in the main hall and a coffin placed behind the incense table.

When Fifth Miss Xie Ling arrived, she saw the servants waiting in the outer courtyard, and her eldest brother, dressed in plain clothes, was sitting on a prayer mat burning paper money.

Looking at the coffin, she felt inexplicably uneasy. She used to find her extremely annoying, so why did news of her death suddenly arrive?

She's so young, only a year older than me.

No one from the Xie family came to visit. They had a disagreement that morning because of the eldest brother's setting up a mourning hall at the Mo Academy. No one cared about a deceased princess consort. Soon, Uncle would choose a new princess consort for the eldest brother. Who would remember her then?

She pursed her lips, walked over and burned the paper money, glanced at her silent older brother, and quietly left.

A villa on the outskirts of Beijing.

Xie Hemian rode his horse all the way from the manor to this estate. He asked the steward and was told that the governor had returned today and was staying here.

He immediately handed the riding whip to the servant who came to lead the horse and strode inside.

The tranquil courtyard exudes seclusion, with pavilions and towers hidden among layers of blooming flowers. The main courtyard is even more beautiful, with a wide expanse of lake and a delicate Jiangnan-style building visible through the bamboo grove.

Qingfeng, who was guarding the door, saw someone rushing in and quickly stopped him, asking, "What does Third Master want to do?"

"Where is my second brother? Take me to see him."

"Sir, please go into the hall and wait. I will go and inform them."

Inside the room, servants knelt trembling on the floor. A maid knelt by the bed, holding a bowl of medicine. Black boots could be seen slowly approaching, and the maid lowered her head even further.

The curtains were lifted, and Xie Xun looked at the sickly person lying on the bed. His face darkened as he grabbed her chin and lifted her up. "Not taking your medicine again?"

Ning Yu winced in pain. When she opened her eyes, she saw his cold gaze. Her pale lips moved slightly. "It's too bitter. I don't want to drink it."

"I thought you were just sulking with me." His voice was unfriendly, and the force in his hand did not lessen at all.

Ning Yu lowered her eyes, "I wouldn't dare."

What was there for her not to dare? On the way back from Mozhou, she had been giving him the cold shoulder, using the excuse that she had caught a cold and wouldn't let him touch her. Xie Xun had never been dared to mess with him in his entire life.

"Good that you don't dare. Get up and drink your medicine."

Ning Yu saw him sitting by the bed, about to watch her drink the medicine. After a moment of silence, she sat up, took the medicine from the maid, and drank it all in one gulp.

The atmosphere inside the room was eerily quiet. The servants kneeling on the ground retreated silently, closing the door behind them as they left.

Xie Xun glanced at her weak face and informed her, "I'll come over tonight. I don't want to see you like this."

Given her condition, wouldn't she have caught a cold if he hadn't insisted on doing it in the carriage?

Too lazy to argue with him, she leaned against the pillar by the bed and remained silent.

"Your mouth is hoarse."

Ning Yu didn't want to pretend anymore. She had been feigning friendship with him enough at the Xie residence in the past, but she couldn't turn against him. She had to make him lower his guard. She couldn't fight city hall. Turning against him now would do her no good and would only get her locked up.

She had to be rational. If she argued with him, she wouldn't even be able to leave this house, let alone leave the other courtyard. How could she go find Xie Yan then?

Yes, once the news of her falling off the cliff and dying spread, what will Qinghe do? Her parents and relatives at home don't even know if they've received the news yet.

"I've been traveling for two days, and I'm a bit sleepy."

Seeing her weak face as she leaned against his shoulder, Xie Xun's heart softened. He reached out and hugged her waist, pulling her closer. "Have you figured it out?"

She nuzzled against his chest. "Things have already come to this. What can I, a woman with no strength to even kill a chicken, do? I can only stay with the Governor."

Xie Xun didn't know if she was telling the truth or not. She was sharp-tongued, unruly, and difficult to discipline. She was used to saying one thing to his face and another behind his back. She said she wanted to be with him, but in the blink of an eye, she dragged Xie Yan and wanted to run away to Qingzhou. When things were exposed, she even dared to be fierce to him.

She just knows the situation is already set in stone and doesn't dare to make a scene. Making a big fuss would do her no good. She's always good at assessing the situation.

It's good that he knows to behave; it saves him the trouble. No matter how much he makes a fuss, he won't cause any trouble.

Seeing her nestled against him, Xie Xun was in a great mood and lifted her up to kiss her.

Ning Yu groaned and instinctively tried to bite him, but he fiercely pressed her head down and kissed her until her eyes turned red. She couldn't resist and whimpered.

"Master, Third Master has arrived and is waiting in the hall."

Qingfeng had arrived long ago. He didn't dare to go in and disturb them, but after seeing that the servants had all come out, he hesitated for a long time before speaking up.

Little did he know that it was as if he had disturbed his master's good time. When his master came out, he glanced at him with a rather unpleasant look.

In the hall.

Xie Hemian was getting impatient. When he saw the person slowly approaching, there was no sadness on his face. Instead, he seemed to be carrying an unsatisfied displeasure.

His suspicions grew stronger, and he immediately dismissed everyone around him. "Could it really be you who did it?"

Xie Xun walked to the table, poured himself a cup of tea, and neither refuted nor said anything.

"Are you crazy?"

The sidelong glance from Xie Hemian carried a chilling aura. He shut his mouth and remained silent for a while before saying, "Playing around is fine, but how could you do something so foolish?"

"If this gets out, not to mention the elders' council, all the clan elders will be furious."

As he spoke, he recalled the image of his older brother sitting in the mourning hall before he left. "My older brother seemed very sad; he looked very pitiful."

"My woman became my brother's wife, don't you think I'm pathetic?"