In a moment of impulse, I forcibly kissed my brother's best friend.

In the stories her maternal grandmother told about her mother, it was likely her maternal grandfather who forced her mother to marry Prince Rong'an.

More than ten years of good upbringing made Xie Yige unable to show a bad attitude to a smiling old man.

She could only bow slightly and perform a standard crossed-hands salute: "Yige greets the two elders."

"My dear granddaughter, get up quickly." Xie Chengyu hurriedly reached out to help her up, his eyes instantly reddening, making his aged eyes appear even more cloudy. "We came here so suddenly today because we miss your mother, and we miss you all."

Xie Yige glanced quickly at Zhou Xuan'an. The siblings' tacit understanding from when they were kids doing naughty things together immediately clicked.

She lowered her eyes, her voice trembling with a perfectly timed sob: "Thank you for your concern. We are all fine, but Mother has been depressed these past few years. Do you know why?"

After saying this, both siblings' eyes reddened, looking quite pitiful.

Xie Chengyu's expression froze, and the atmosphere instantly became tense.

After a long while, he said sadly, "It's all my fault for letting your mother down. I forced her to marry someone she didn't like for the sake of the family's interests. My maternal grandfather had no choice back then. But after your mother passed away, I also felt very remorseful, and I haven't done anything to force her since."

This is a story of how our predecessors planted the trees so that future generations could enjoy the shade.

More tears welled up in Xie Yige's eyes, and her voice grew softer and softer: "I heard from my father that before we were born, my mother had a very serious illness, and she never wanted to talk about the past again, nor did she want to leave Donglin City." Her voice choked with sobs.

"We didn't even know that we had a maternal grandfather, and our father's grandparents had also passed away long ago. My brother and I never had any elders to care for us growing up."

As she spoke, tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.

Zhou Xuan'an quickly stepped forward to support her: "My sister has been frail since childhood and is often sick. Please, elders, sit here for a while. I will help her back to rest."

Liu stood up anxiously, looking at Xie Yige's departing figure with heartache, and her resentment towards Xie Chengyu increased even more.

She lowered her voice, her voice laced with suppressed anger: "I told you not to come suddenly, but you insisted. If anything happens to my granddaughter, I will never forgive you."

Xie Chengyu looked even more dejected after being scolded like that, overwhelmed by guilt towards his daughter and two grandsons.

The two, now free, walked along the corridor leading to the Pear Garden.

The morning light slanted in through the carved corridor, casting dappled shadows on Xie Yige.

Zhou Xuan'an quickly took out his handkerchief and wiped her tears while scolding her, "Just say what you want to say, why are you crying? It's bad for your health."

"These things are all true, I just couldn't help myself." Xie Yige's big eyes were red and swollen, with tears still clinging to her eyelashes, making her look incredibly pitiful.

"Grandmother is one thing, but how can we let Grandfather get away with this so easily? Mother has suffered for nothing."

"Okay, I know." Zhou Xuan'an sighed and gently patted her shoulder. "You go back and rest first, I'll deal with them."

His younger sister is very delicate; she is prone to illness, and each time she gets sick, it is quite dangerous.

It's probably related to the fact that his mother injured her body when she faked her death, yet still insisted on giving birth to a second child. He's always protected her like the apple of his eye, so he feels terrible right now.

When he returned to the main hall, he saw Xie Wanzhou and Xie Wanning come out.

"Xuan'an, I've already persuaded Father and Mother to go back home," Xie Wanzhou asked worriedly. "How is Yige?"

He never imagined that this soft, sweet, and extremely beautiful girl was actually his niece; it was quite amazing to think about.

"She has gone back to rest and will be fine soon."

"Zhou Xuan'an, I didn't explain things clearly before. You won't blame your aunt, will you?" Xie Wan Ning has a carefree personality and is sometimes a bit oblivious. Otherwise, she wouldn't have done something like claiming kinship with a strange man without any evidence.

Zhou Xuan'an's lips twitched, and he shook his head helplessly: "No."

"That's great!" Xie Wan Ning immediately seized the opportunity. "From now on, we're family. I'll come visit Yi Ge often, you won't mind, will you?"

"I don't mind."

Zhou Xuan'an and Xie Wanzhou were already good friends, and the grudges of the previous generation had nothing to do with the younger generation, so the atmosphere among the three of them immediately warmed up.

"I heard that our newly appointed top scholar, Brother Cui, has proposed marriage to Yige." Xie Wanzhou stroked his chin thoughtfully.

"I never realized he had such intentions. I was wondering why he came to your house to pick flowers at the Apricot Garden Banquet. Turns out, this guy had been planning this for a long time."

"Did he pick the pear blossoms at my house that day?" Zhou Xuan'an was taken aback.

"Yes." Xie Wanzhou didn't mince words when she started complaining, "I waited outside for a long time that day."

Zhou Xuan'an's expression immediately darkened. He wanted to punch someone again.

He treated him like his best brother, but he was always thinking about bullying his most precious sister.

"Xie Wanzhou, if you keep quiet, no one will think you're mute." Xie Wanning was excitedly gossiping, but when she saw Zhou Xuan'an's expression, she quickly stopped her brother's unstoppable mouth.

At this moment, Cui Yutang, unaware that he had been blacklisted by Zhou Xuan'an, was in his study arranging for Cui Shijiu to secretly investigate matters in the southwestern border region.

"Go to Father's place and send me a copy of the memorial impeaching Prince Rong'an for illegally mining salt and iron in his fiefdom." He sat behind his desk, his gaze sharp and cold.

"Two other groups will be arranged. One group will consist of merchants who understand the Miao language, who will go to the Miao areas in the southwest; the other group will go to the area under the jurisdiction of Rong'an King to investigate whether the iron ore is used to forge weapons, the quantity for which it is forged, and where it is distributed. We need to find out everything. We also need to investigate Rong'an King's recruitment of soldiers over the past ten years."

"Yes, Master." Cui Shijiu bowed and accepted the order.

"This trip could be extremely dangerous, so they must be extremely careful and avoid alerting the enemy."

After Cui Shijiu left, Bao Yu suddenly walked in, looking somewhat hesitant.

"Master, Xie Chengyu, the head of the Xie family, went to the Zhou residence early this morning with his family and many gifts."

"The Xie family of Chenjun?" Cui Yutang's fingers paused. "They all share the surname Xie. It seems it might be related to her mother." He unconsciously tapped the table twice, lost in thought.

"I also heard..." Bao Yu continued, forcing herself to speak, "that Miss Xie almost fainted from crying this morning."

Cui Yutang's hand suddenly stopped.

The person vanished from the room in an instant.

Bao Yu was stunned for a moment before quickly chasing after him.