If you were cold and aloof in your past life, why are you crying in this one?

The distant sound of the night watchman's drum at the fourth watch of the night was deep and resonant.

In the courtyard of the governor's mansion, the moonlight was mostly obscured by clouds, with only a few thin rays falling on the blue brick floor.

Two dark figures, like black bats, silently slid down from the top of the wall into the courtyard.

The two moved close to the shadows along the wall, like two fish swimming in the dark. As they passed under the corridor, the two maids on night watch were chatting quietly, completely unaware that two more people had appeared in the shadows behind them.

One of them pulled a thin bamboo tube from his sleeve and gently blew on it.

A wisp of smoke drifted out of the bamboo tube, spreading out faintly, colorless and odorless, instantly diluted by the night breeze.

The two maids went limp at almost the same moment, as if they had fallen asleep.

In the room, Xi Lingxian, lying on the bed, heard some noise, was still sleepy, and turned over without paying attention.

The latch was pulled off, and a beam of moonlight shone through the crack in the door.

A dark figure flashed in, followed by a second one.

The first dark figure stopped at the doorway, listened intently, and confirmed that there was nothing unusual in the room.

The second dark figure crept directly towards the bed and paused briefly beside it.

Moonlight streamed through the window and fell on the face of the person in bed.

The shadowy figure confirmed the target, pulled a piece of black cloth from its waist, and made a gesture behind it.

The man behind him stepped forward, squatted down beside the bed, and took out a thinner bamboo tube from his sleeve, pointing the tube at the woman on the bed.

He took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled.

Milky white smoke billowed from the bamboo tube, like a silent snake, winding its way toward the bed.

The smoke slowly dissipated around the bed.

After a few breaths, the dark figure beside the bed reached out and nudged the woman's shoulder.

No response.

He pushed it again, a little harder, but there was still no response.

"It's done." He said in a low voice, then lifted the blanket and hoisted the woman's body onto his shoulder.

Going through the door would require going through a corridor, which is too risky. Going out through the window and climbing over the wall is the fastest route.

"Walk."

Two dark figures, one scouting ahead and the other carrying a person, climbed out of the window, placed their feet on the windowsill, slightly bent their knees, and then suddenly exerted their strength to leap onto the top of the wall.

The two climbed over the wall and landed in the alley outside.

At the alley entrance, a black carriage was already waiting. There were no lanterns hanging, and the driver's face was hidden under a straw hat, so his features could not be seen.

The shadowy figure shoved the person on their shoulder into the carriage, the movement anything but gentle. The person's head slammed against the wooden planks of the carriage with a dull thud, but there was no reaction; the sleeping gas was still strong.

"Hurry up!" He jumped onto the carriage and shouted at the driver.

The driver cracked his whip, and the wheels creaked and groaned as they rolled over the cobblestones, quickly disappearing around the corner of the alley.

The carriage sped through the night, exiting the city gate, onto the main road, and then turned onto a side road.

The road was flanked by dense woods, the moonlight completely blocked by the canopy. The carriage, like a fish diving into deep water, disappeared silently into the darkness.

The rear residence of the governor.

Half an hour later, the guards on duty found two maids unconscious in the corridor, the door wide open, and the bed empty.

In an instant, the entire governor's mansion was brightly lit and bustling with activity.

When Chang'an rushed into the inner courtyard, his face was already pale.

"Miss Xi has disappeared!"

"Disaster! Thieves have broken into the manor! Immediately issue an order for the entire city to be on high alert!"

……

建康

Inside the Golden Palace, the courtiers were in high spirits, their spittle flying as they spoke.

Xi Jian, dressed in a scarlet official robe, was handsome and refined, and remained calm in the face of adversity.

"Xi Jian, my younger sister is devoted to you. She has been married to you for many years, managing the household, taking care of your parents, and bearing your children. Such a virtuous wife is hard to find. But what about you? How have you treated her?"

"You actually poisoned her food, causing her to become bedridden and deteriorate. You can be so ruthless to your own husband. Xi Jian, what right do you have to hold military power and be ranked among the Three Dukes?"

Yu Liang's cronies came prepared, spouting all sorts of offensive rumors. The issue of an official's private morality can be a big or small matter, but if one holds a high position, one must keep a clean record, because any breach of private morality can become evidence for others to attack.

Given Xi Jian's current status, the fact that he poisoned his wife is an absolute scandal.

Even Wang Dun didn't know how to defend him on this point.

When everyone finished arguing and looked at him, Xi Jian calmly took out a stack of documents from his sleeve and presented them to him.

The eunuch first presented it to the emperor, then to Grand Commandant Wang Dun, and finally to Yu Liang.

The first document in the stack was a divorce agreement already stamped with the official seal of the government. Below that were several confessions from servants of the Yu family, who admitted that they were instructed by Yu Liang to take the secret medicine from the Yu family and bribe the wet nurse of the eldest daughter of the Xi family in an attempt to poison her. They also admitted to giving Xi Jian aphrodisiacs twice.

Xi Jian bowed slowly and calmly, saying, "Your Majesty, I did indeed divorce Yu last year when I returned to the capital. The divorce papers are signed and stamped with official seals, so they cannot be faked. As for the poisoning... that viperous woman harmed my daughter first, and I was merely giving her a taste of her own medicine."

Yu Liang's expression changed drastically, but he still refused to give up.

"No, that's all just your side of the story. This divorce agreement is definitely fake!"

"My sister is a stepmother, and it's only natural that she's not close to the children from your first marriage. How can you frame her like this?"

"Furthermore, she has given birth to two children for you. Even tigers don't eat their cubs, so how can you bear to abandon Xi Hui and Xi Yao's two children as well? How can there be such a heartless and cruel father in the world?"

"Those two might not be my children!"

These words struck like a thunderclap in the imperial palace.

Yu Liang was so angry that he was trembling all over. These words could be said to have put the reputation of the women of the Yu family on the edge of a knife.

Of course he couldn't admit it!

Xi Jian made no attempt to conceal the fact that he had only shared a room with Lady Yu twice, and made it public.

Although there was no absolute certainty, no one is a fool.

We only had sex twice, and I was drugged, so it's uncertain whether it was successful.

It's hard to believe that she could have given birth to two children.

"Who doesn't know that Lord Yu possesses countless miraculous elixirs and poisons? Perhaps you were involved in some of them?"

Xi Jian had been planning this for many years, waiting for this day, so he was naturally not afraid of a complete breakdown in relations.

He wished he could stab Yu Liang to death.

"I had no intention of getting involved with your Yu family. It was your family that, relying on the Empress, arbitrarily issued an imperial decree to arrange the marriage!"

"No matter how good your Yu family's daughter is, I wouldn't even look at her, let alone the fact that she tried to harm my daughter; I've already let her off easy by not killing her outright."

"Yu Liang, what right do you have to criticize me on behalf of that poisonous woman?"

Xi Jian's eyes were bloodshot, and he wished he could devour Yu Liang alive.

Wang Dun was speechless as he watched this scene.

He knew that Xi Jian was not an incompetent person who would be easily bullied, but he did not expect that what would prompt him to endure humiliation for so many years and then suddenly tear off the mask and fight back was actually these private matters of love and affection.

For a moment, Wang Dun was in a daze, recalling a scene from many years ago when Xi Jian and his wife, Han, attended a banquet hosted by the Wang family.

The young couple entered the banquet side by side; one was handsome and dashing, the other gentle and elegant.

He introduced her to the guests, always protecting her from the side, and quietly adjusted her clothes when she sat down.

In aristocratic families where marriage and kinship were used as tools for power struggles, the impact of that scene on everyone was self-evident.

In an instant, Wang Dun seemed to understand everything.