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

The sky suddenly darkened, and a cool breeze stirred up the yellow flowers piled on the ground. The guards and maids in the villa saw the lady's figure and immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

The head steward immediately gave the guards a look, signaling them to go find the governor. Then he chased everyone away from the courtyard, leaving his own men to hide and keep watch.

The two looked at each other, their eyes locked, but neither made a move.

The surroundings were dim, with only the lamplight under the eaves illuminating the two people on the corridor. In the dim light, Ning Yu could see the various emotions surging in the man's eyes, and a silent discomfort spread through her body.

"What happened?"

The cold voice was different from his usual gentle whispers. Ning Yu could feel his oppressive gaze, heavy and suffocating.

She didn't know where to begin, how to tell him those unbearable things. She opened her lips with difficulty, her dry voice seemingly stuck shut, unable to utter a sound.

Xie Yan knew he had frightened her, so he forced himself to calm down.

When he learned that she was not dead, his emotions were too complicated, so complicated that he could not distinguish the joy in his heart.

Now that he has seen her alive with his own eyes, the image of her tragic death at the bottom of the cliff no longer haunts him like a nightmare, tormenting him and keeping him awake at night.

All he wanted to know was what was going on, right under his nose, right there in front of him—

"Ayu, tell me, what's going on between you and Xie Xun?"

His voice was flat and there was no hint of murderous intent in his expression. Ning Yu lowered her eyes and moved her lips.

"It's just as you see it, I'm not dead."

Her murmured voice was barely audible, like a mosquito's buzz. Xie Yan strode towards her, and when they were almost touching, she silently took a step back.

He noticed her resistance, his fist clenched and unclenched in his sleeve, the veins on his arm bulging, making him look ferocious and terrifying.

"Why are you at Xie Xun's villa? How did my princess consort become his wife?" He looked at her, staring intently at her. "Ayu, answer me."

She also wanted to tell him directly, to lay everything out, and to tell him the truth. She didn't want things to be like this; she wanted to live a good life with him.

But then what? Can he accept her past with Xie Xun? The Xie family won't let her off the hook if they find out about their relationship.

Things had already come to this point, and she had no other way out.

A hint of sadness flashed in Ning Yu's eyes, but the moment she looked up and met his gaze, her emotions had returned to calm.

"I'm sorry, Xie Yan. Just pretend I died at the bottom of the cliff."

Xie Yan felt as if he had been punched hard, almost stumbling and losing his balance. He forced a smile, "How could I possibly consider you dead, gouge out my eyes, or erase all the memories from my brain, as if I had never found you?"

Xie Yan didn't know why he was so angry when they hadn't known each other for very long. He only felt a strong sense of powerlessness and a murderous rage lingering in his chest.

Ning Yu's heart clenched at his words, and her eyes reddened uncontrollably, but she didn't know what to say in rebuttal.

He's right, she has no right to make him forget all of this; it would be too cruel for him.

It was her fault, all her fault. She should have confessed to him long ago. She shouldn't have been forced to fake her death, which led to this irreparable situation.

"Ah Yu, if you have any unspeakable difficulties, you can tell me?"

What was he hoping for? Was he hoping she would tell him that it was all a lie, that she hadn't betrayed him?

An unspeakable secret?! Ning Yu took a deep breath of fresh air. Even if there was an unspeakable secret, so what? Things had already turned out this way. She couldn't deny those things; they had already happened.

"Xie Yan---" She moved her lips with difficulty, "I---My fault---"

"Ayu, I don't want to hear any of this. I want you to tell me what really happened, whose body is it at the bottom of the cliff, and why you're at Xie Xun's villa. How many things have you been hiding from me?"

He guessed it, didn't he? Why did he have to hear her say it in person?

Ning Yu dared not look at him, her nails digging into her flesh. "The corpse at the bottom of the cliff is fake, it's fake."

"That day, after I came out of the post station, I encountered bandits disguised as refugees. Qinghe was injured, so I asked Azhou to take her to run into the dense forest on both sides, while I rushed into the main road."

"The bandits chased after me, and in my panic I ran into a carriage. I didn't run to the cliff, nor did I fall off."

"So, that carriage belonged to Xie Xun, and this was all a scheme from beginning to end. He arranged it himself. The corpse was fake, and your falling off the cliff was also fake. He took you away and forced you to stay in this villa?"

Ning Yu's palms trembled, and she remained silent.

Xie Yan looked down at her. "When did it start?"

News of your death in battle came from the frontier. My mother ordered me to be buried with you and gave me poisoned wine, but he saved me.

No wonder he couldn't find out the truth. It wasn't Xie Hemian at all, but Xie Xun. The two had always been close.

"And you?"

Ning Yu knew what he wanted to ask: whether she had voluntarily followed Xie Xun and faked her death to leave him.

How should she answer? How could she possibly answer?

Seeing her like this, Xie Yan didn't want to hear her answer anymore and pulled her away.

Ning Yu was startled, and stumbled as she followed him forward. She almost twisted her ankle as she went down the steps.

She quickly grabbed his arm, asking anxiously, "Where are we going?"

Xie Yan said in a deep voice, "We haven't divorced, you are my wife, so naturally I will take you back to the Xie family."

How could Xie Xun, with his dog-like temper, let her off so easily? If she returned to the Xie family, she would be drowned in the spittle and saliva of the Xie clan members.

No---that won't work.

Ning Yu struggled to shake off his hand. "The Xie family already knows I'm dead. What am I supposed to say if I go back like this?"

"Xie Xun kidnapped you, he kidnapped his own sister-in-law! Now you should ask him what he said to the Xie clan!"

A terrifying look appeared on his usually handsome face. Ning Yu was startled by the bloodshot eyes and her expression froze for a moment.

Xie Yan realized that his emotions had been revealed, so he quickly released her, suppressed the rising emotions in his heart, and returned to his usual expression.

"Did I scare you?"

Ning Yu shook her head, stiffened, and took a few steps back without saying a word.

Of course she knew that Xie Yan couldn't really be gentle and refined; he was a general who had fought his way up from the battlefield, but his temperament was indeed much better than Xie Xun's.

She thought he would want to kill her if he knew about this, but he didn't. He processed all his emotions on his own, even though they were just husband and wife in name only.

"Come back to the Xie family with me."

"No—no, I can't go back." Seeing the unspeakable sorrow flash in his eyes, she didn't know what to say, so she could only say, "Xie Xun and I aren't what you think."

"What do you mean?" Xie Yan looked at her with a self-deprecating smile. "What's your relationship with him?"