After getting married, she spent every night alone in her room; when she asked for a divorce, he kne

Xiao Jinghan pondered for a moment, then asked Liu Yuansheng, "I haven't heard of that." "Is that official a relative or friend of yours?"

Liu Yuansheng shook her head. "No."

"Who is he?" Xiao Jinghan asked. "What's his name? I'd like to find out for you."

Liu Yuansheng clenched his sleeves, about to utter Jiang Zhihuan's name, when a clear female voice suddenly broke the tranquility of the lakeside, "Third brother, third sister-in-law, what are you two doing here?"

Xiao Jinghan was listening intently to Liu Yuansheng when he heard her voice and immediately turned around. "Sister-in-law?" he asked, quite surprised, looking at Xie Qinghe who had rushed over with several maids and servants. "Why are you here?"

"You two have been on my last legs! What time is it? Grandmother is waiting for you to have dinner!" Xie Qinghe walked over, staring at the two sitting by the fire, and asked in surprise, "What's wrong with you two...?"

She glanced at Xiao Jinghan, whose outer robe had inexplicably landed on Liu Yuansheng, and suddenly realized, "Third brother, you and Yuansheng, the two of you..."

Xie Qinghe's eyes darted around, her expression gradually becoming very subtle. Liu Yuansheng didn't know what Xie Qinghe was thinking. She wanted to explain, but was afraid of making things worse, so she tried to lie, "Sister-in-law, I just..."

"No need to say anything more, no need to say anything more!" Xie Qinghe put her hands in her sleeves, looking like she knew what was going on but wouldn't say anything. "I understand, you two just went out to play and accidentally got your clothes wet, right?"

Liu Yuansheng: "...Yes"

"Are the clothes dry yet?" Xie Qinghe asked with a smile. "If they're dry, hurry back with me. Grandma is waiting for you two!"

Liu Yuansheng then went to look at Xiao Jinghan, who helped her up. "Can you walk?"

Upon hearing this, Xie Qinghe burst out laughing.

Liu Yuansheng was completely baffled. "Sister-in-law, what are you laughing at?"

"It's nothing, it's nothing." Xie Qinghe pressed a handkerchief to her lips. "You two hurry up, I'll go wait for you up ahead."

"Okay."

Looking at Xie Qinghe, who was acting mysteriously and laughing about something, Liu Yuansheng asked Xiao Jinghan, who was standing beside her, "What's wrong, sister-in-law?"

"Sister-in-law must be thinking about something happy." Xiao Jinghan's lips were tightly pressed together. "Let's go."

-

Upon returning to Yuxu Temple, the old lady originally intended to scold the two of them.

As a result, Xie Qinghe whispered something in the old lady's ear, and the old lady laughed after hearing it. She told the two of them to go back to their room to rest and gave them a lot of tonics to take.

Liu Yuansheng was completely baffled and found it extremely strange. Xiao Jinghan, on the other hand, seemed to know everything, but since he wouldn't tell her, she was too embarrassed to ask.

As night fell, Ying'er brought hot water. Liu Yuansheng washed up, changed her clothes, and prepared to go to sleep.

But even then, sleep isn't so easy.

There was only one bamboo bed in the room, enough for two people to sleep on, and not even a footstool. Liu Yuansheng walked around the room and finally spread the quilt on the floor, preparing to sleep on the floor.

She had another episode of hysteria today. If Xiao Jinghan hadn't arrived in time, she might have actually drowned at the bottom of the lake. If Jiang Zhihuan were dead, she would not live either. But the news of Jiang Zhihuan's death was not entirely accurate. She didn't believe he was dead, nor did she accept that he was dead. She would continue to wait. Only when she actually saw his body and his grave would she believe that he had truly left this world.

Liu Yuansheng knew that her obsession was hard to shake, but compared to her own life, she cared more about whether Jiang Zhihuan was still alive in this world.

After the bedding was laid out, Liu Yuansheng crawled into bed, leaving Ying'er with only one candle.

Xiao Jinghan returned from outside. As soon as he entered, he saw Liu Yuansheng lying on the floor. "What are you doing?" he asked, walking over. "Who told you to sleep on the floor?"

"There's only one bed in the room. I sleep on the floor, and the young master sleeps on the bed," Liu Yuansheng explained.

"You're quite selfless," Xiao Jinghan said, patting the bamboo bed. "This bed is too hard; I don't like sleeping on it. You can come and sleep here."

After saying that, he stood up and walked towards the door.

"Young Master, where are you going?" Liu Yuansheng asked, tilting her head as she lay in bed.

Her appearance was rather comical. Xiao Jinghan chuckled and said, "I'll find a place to sleep. You go to bed, don't sleep on the floor."

After saying that, he closed the door and went into the yard.

The courtyard was peaceful, and outside the gate, the nightingale on night watch had already dozed off.

Xiao Jinghan looked up at the moon hanging in mid-air, then leaped up and landed lightly on the oak tree in the courtyard.

The branches and leaves were swept away by his robes and slowly drifted to the ground.

He looked towards the fallen leaves and saw a slender, graceful figure slowly rise in the dimly lit room. After hesitating for a moment while holding the quilt, she climbed onto the bamboo bed.

Xiao Jinghan chuckled and smiled, a slight curl at the corner of his lips.

He adjusted his position, just about to fall asleep, when a strong gust of wind blew straight at his face.

He slightly turned his head to avoid it, and then heard a whoosh as a throwing knife pierced the oak tree behind his head.

Xiao Jinghan frowned, clicked his tongue impatiently, pulled out the throwing knife, opened the handle, and took out a piece of paper.

Unfold the note; it contained only four words: "Old Eight has been arrested."

Xiao Jinghan's gaze lingered on those four words for a long time before he crumpled the paper into tiny pieces with his fingertips...

The next morning, the weather turned against them, and a torrential downpour began.

The roads were slippery due to the rain, making travel unsuitable, so the old lady had no choice but to order a postponement of the return journey.

Liu Yuansheng, Xie Qinghe, and others could stay at Yuxu Temple with the old lady, but Xiao Jinghan and Xiao Jingzhuo had official business to attend to and had to brave the rain to go down the mountain to the capital.

In the afternoon, after the rain stopped and the sky cleared, Xie Qinghe ordered people to carry the old lady down the mountain in a sedan chair and carefully escort her to the carriage.

The old lady was getting on in years, and the long journey was exhausting. As soon as she got into the carriage, she began to complain to Liu Yuansheng, "Alas, I'm old and useless. I have to be carried around wherever I go."

"Grandmother, what are you saying? You are in your prime, more energetic than us younger generation!" Liu Yuansheng said as she placed the hot water bottle next to the old lady's legs, afraid that the cold air would seep into her bones and trigger her old ailment.

The old lady looked at her two legs and smiled bitterly: "There are only seven or eight people in this family, and two of them are lame. What a fate..."

He paused for a moment, as Xie Qinghe bent down and got into the carriage.

"Jingting said that Grandma is prone to feeling unwell after the rain, so he asked me to take care of her," Xie Qinghe said as she sat down next to Liu Yuansheng. "Besides, the journey home is long, and with Yuansheng and me keeping Grandma company and talking to her, she won't feel bored."

"I'm not bored at all. Just looking at you two makes me happy," the old lady said with a smile, gazing at her two granddaughters-in-law. "I really hope there will be a few more babies in the house; that would be truly lively!"

"Grandmother, Yuansheng and I understand!" Xie Qinghe patted Liu Yuansheng's hand. "Right, Yuansheng?"

Liu Yuansheng gave an awkward smile and lowered her head.

The carriage swayed and rocked, and soon the old lady fell asleep.

Liu Yuansheng was also feeling tired, but she couldn't sleep. She would occasionally lift the carriage curtain to look outside, eagerly anticipating returning to the capital.

Seeing her anxious expression, Xie Qinghe chuckled and teased, "We've only been apart for half a day, and you're already itching to see your third brother?"

Liu Yuansheng paused upon hearing this, "Huh? I didn't."

"Nothing at all!" Xie Qinghe said teasingly, "Yuansheng, I didn't realize you and Third Brother were so romantic!"

"Sister-in-law, what are you talking about?" Liu Yuansheng asked, somewhat puzzled. "What kind of mood?"

"You're still playing dumb with me!" Xie Qinghe slapped Liu Yuansheng. "Weren't you two by the lake yesterday...?"

Before the words were finished, a loud "bang" was heard, and an assassin wearing a mask and holding a long knife broke through the roof of the car and fell from the sky, landing in front of Liu Yuansheng and Xie Qinghe.