Wasn't he supposed to be beaten to death? Why did this powerful cousin love him so much?

The capital city in June was as hot as a steamer, but on the day Xie Yujiao got married, a rare breeze came. Jiang Sese sent a generous dowry and watched from afar as Xie Yujiao was helped into the bridal sedan chair by the matchmaker.

Xie Yujiao didn't put on her arrogant attitude today. Perhaps she was nervous, because she almost stepped on her skirt when she got into the sedan chair, but the matchmaker caught her in time.

Chen Jingxuan, still on horseback, wore the same gloomy expression, but a rare smile appeared on his lips.

However, Xie Huaizhang's situation was quite different.

His marriage to Qi Yun ultimately did not take place.

When the Qi family returned to the capital, both families had already completed the betrothal ceremony and were about to set a date for the wedding.

Although Xie Huaizhang didn't particularly like Qi Yun, he never considered breaking off the engagement—he had already wronged one girl and didn't want to wrong a second.

Even if Qi Yun has some flaws, no one in the world is perfect, and he himself is not without fault. So, what right does he have to criticize Qi Yun?

But on the very day Qi Yun tried on her wedding dress, Qi Lian let slip the secret.

The time Qi Yun and Han Shi discussed things, Qi Yun told Qi Lian to leave. Qi Lian thought to herself, "What is it that I can't stand to hear?" So Qi Lian hid to the side.

I overheard my sister and mother discussing something.

Qi Lian let slip that Wang's people knew about it. Wang immediately sent someone to invite Xie Huaizhang over, and also sent someone to invite Han over for a face-to-face confrontation.

Han was so frightened by the scene that her face turned pale.

Qi Lian was so frightened that she burst into tears. Knowing that she had made a big mistake, she knelt down while crying and said that it had nothing to do with her sister and that she had said the wrong thing.

When Qi Yun rushed over upon hearing the news, the scene in the main hall made her heart sink – Madam Wang sat at the head of the table with a somber expression, Madam Han stood to the side sweating profusely, and Qi Lian knelt on the ground, crying and trembling all over.

Xie Huaizhang turned around, looked at Qi Yun, and remained silent for a long time before speaking: "Is what your sister said true? Back then in front of my mother—were you doing it on purpose?"

Qi Yun's face was as white as paper, and her lips trembled as she tried to explain, but he stopped her by raising his hand.

Looking at Qi Yun's tear-streaked face, Xie Huaizhang suddenly felt extremely tired—he hated being deceived more than anything in his life.

It was like this before, and it is like this now.

Xie Huaizhang closed his eyes and said, "This marriage is off."

When the news of Xie Huaizhang's annulment of the engagement reached the Qi family, the Qi family was immediately in an uproar.

The Qi family was, after all, a prominent family in Shuoyun. Although they couldn't compare to the top families in the capital, they were still quite well-known in the Shuoyun area. With Qi Yun's engagement broken off, how was she supposed to remarry?

In her haste, Han wrote a letter back to Shuoyun that very night. As expected, the Qi family was not satisfied and sent an elder of the clan with the letter to the capital to demand an explanation from the Xie family.

Xie Bo was in a terrible predicament because of this. Although he was dissatisfied with Qi Yun's actions, breaking off the engagement would ultimately damage the reputation of both families.

Xie Bo called Xie Huaizhang over and asked him to reconsider.

Xie Huaizhang remained silent for a long time before saying that he could not marry Qi Yun as his wife; at most, he could only take her as a concubine.

Xie Bo sighed, which was considered an agreement.

But here's the problem—

The Xie family has a rule that they do not take concubines.

This is a rule established by the Xie family patriarch.

After much deliberation, Xie Bo decided he didn't want to tarnish the reputation of the first wife's family because of this incident.

Xie Bo then went to find Xie Jue and talked with him behind closed doors for an entire afternoon.

The next morning, Xie Bo invited the elders of the clan to the scene and formally proposed the division of the family property. The second branch separated from the Xie clan and established its own household; from then on, the affairs of the second branch were no longer related to the first branch.

A high wall of blue bricks runs east to west through the entire Xie Mansion, dividing the residence in two. Only a narrow corner door remains in the wall, which is usually locked.

The main courtyard on the east side was where Lord Xie Jue and Princess Anning lived, and the ancestral hall, Rong'an Hall, and main garden were all located here.

The entire courtyard on the west side was allocated to the second family for their own residence, and the living quarters of each family were also re-divided accordingly.

Aunt Sun used to live in Tinglan Courtyard. Although the courtyard was quiet, it was remote and cramped, cold in winter and damp in summer. She had lived there for many years and had gotten used to it. But things were different now—Jiang Sese had been granted the title of Princess Chenjia, and her status as her aunt had naturally risen accordingly.

In the past, Aunt Sun was just an insignificant concubine, and Madam Wang often treated her with disdain. But now everyone knows that when Jiang Sese marries into the Xie family, she will be the elder of the future mistress, and Madam Wang dares not neglect her anymore.

The new courtyard is located on the south side of the second-floor west courtyard, facing south. It has three main rooms, two rooms each in the east and west wings, a separate small kitchen, and a small backyard. Although it cannot compare to the grandeur of the Wang family's main courtyard, it is much more spacious and brighter than Tinglan Courtyard.

Aunt Sun stood in the courtyard, wiping the corners of her eyes several times with a handkerchief.

She lived a cautious and humble life, never asking for anything, but she never imagined that one day she would be able to benefit from her niece's fame and live in such a nice courtyard.

The ladies of the noble families knew that the second concubine was Princess Chenjia's maternal aunt, so when they visited the Xie family, they would specially send someone to deliver gifts and greetings to Concubine Sun separately.

From then on, the two households kept their own stoves and managed their own daily affairs, keeping separate accounts for income and expenditure. They only opened the corner door between them during festivals, ancestral worship ceremonies, and other special occasions.