It felt as if he were inside an ice cellar, Xiao Yanyi only felt a hint of coldness spreading bit by bit from his heart.
Heirs, titles... why was the life he wanted so difficult to have?
He closed his eyes in pain, and scenes from his childhood appeared before him. Those years when his parents weren’t there, it was only he and his older brother relying on each other in the vast Marquis Mansion. He was only three and his brother was just six. He often sat at the door, opening a crack to watch the bustling life outside, hoping his father and mother would appear in his sight.
But they didn’t; every day was only filled with disappointnt.
At the age of seven, his brother took over the household matters, managing everything inside and outside the house alone. For young him, his brother was more important than a father; he was his support!
Therefore, he never considered inheriting the title, thinking that soone like his brother, who could stand tall and be unyielding, could never be defeated by anything in this world.
Later, when the late Emperor newly ascended the throne, the brothers were taken into the palace, and he understood the Emperor’s intentions, because their father held significant power and was ordered outside...
He and his brother lived in an unknown part of the palace, without any guards, but he knew countless eyes were watching them. People threw dead rats into their room at night, saying their father was incompetent for not returning to support the king, blaming him for the regi change...
His brother held him, and at that ti, he feared nothing, following his brother everywhere. No matter what food the palace sent, his brother would always eat first before giving it to him, saying that the n of the Xiao Family feared nothing. He told him he must live to see their father and beco a Marquis Xuanning who, with a stomp, could make Great Zhou tremble, making everyone fear and respect them, so no one would dare bully the brothers again.
He believed his brother’s words but never believed he could achieve them himself. He was willing to be the younger brother, always following behind his brother...
After half a year of hardship, their father and mother returned. He didn’t know what happened in between, but the brothers returned ho, where their father, mother, and younger brothers, graced their household again.
He was very happy, playing every day with his younger brothers...
Later, his mother fell ill frequently, and his father was not involved in affairs. Those years were his happiest monts, with his father, brother, younger brothers, and another brother...
His father was uninterested in managing affairs, so his brother took charge, dealing with people and shouldering responsibilities.
He tried hard to play the role of an older brother, taking care of his younger brothers.
He wanted a sister, and after many years, his mother’s illness finally improved, and they had a sister...
He heard he had another sister who died at a very young age; this sister beca the second sister.
His mother’s health gradually improved, but his father’s health seed to wither away, until much later he learned that his father didn’t die of illness...
His brother inherited the title and stood like a mountain protecting them, shielding them from the elents, ensuring the Marquis Mansion stood strong regardless of the circumstances, and ensuring the Xuanning Marquis Mansion thrived...
Even when he got married, when his third brother went missing, or when his fourth brother left ho, he remained the older brother, the pillar of the family.
But what happened afterward? His brother died, and it felt as if the sky had gone completely dark, suddenly collapsing over the mansion.
Having no choice, he had to inherit the title, embracing all that originally belonged to his brother.
But all of this never belonged to him from the start, nor did he ever think about it, because he knew the Marquis Mansion needed a hero like his brother, indomitable and fearless, not soone like him who only knew how to play the role of an older brother.
Reality proved he truly was unsuitable.
A tangled ss of a heart, a twisted ss of inner affairs, a chaotic ss of a life.
It’s not what he wanted, all he wanted was a simple life, having a woman standing under the holly tree, radiant as the moon bowing gracefully to him... living with one person for a lifeti... a simple life, growing old together like that!
The wine in the pot was gone, and he hurled it with force, the shattering sound echoing along the empty street, strikingly out of place, just like his heart at this mont, feeling as if it didn’t belong to him—wanting to tear it out... to beco a heartless person; perhaps he could be freer.
But could he? No, he couldn’t!
The wine was gone, but life continued. He raised his head and took another gulp, only feeling the burning pain spreading from his throat to his heart, seeping through the cracks, scorching both his heart and eyes.
He shook his head in self-mockery, tossing the wine pot from his hands again, and headed back to the Marquis Mansion.
Since it’s not life, why live it as if it is?
Inside the Marquis Mansion, the Grand Dowager closed her eyes leaning against the chair, with Nanny Wu quietly standing beside her. After a long ti, the Grand Dowager asked, "Has the Imperial Physician co?"
Nanny Wu bowed her head, her face also full of pain and reluctance. She nodded, "The maid from the Second Madam’s room just ca over and said there’s no child, and the Second Madam has been in high fever, talking nonsense the entire ti."
"Hmm." The Grand Dowager responded softly, and asked, "Has the second son returned?"
Nanny Wu shook her head, "Should we ask the Fourth Master to send soone to find him?"
The Grand Dowager waved her hand tenderly, saying, "The second son has been the most sensible and considerate since he was a child, without a trace of malice. Even I find tonight’s incident hard to bear, so he must feel even worse. Letting him have so peace is also good. The future of this mansion relies on him, and if he can’t find clarity and harden his heart, the days ahead will be long!"
Nanny Wu sighed, thinking of Xiao Yanyi’s state, and wiped her tears saying, "The Marquis’s marriage, really... it was assud that the Commandery Princess would be better than the Second Madam. Although not lovingly sweet, they could grow old harmoniously, warming the Marquis’s heart, but now it seems... if the Marquis could vent his anger on the Second Madam thoroughly, maybe after forgetting this incident, there could have been a chance, but looking at it now, it seems impossible!"
"Go check over there, if anything’s lacking, have soone send it over, instruct the maids to take good care." If sothing happens, others might think the Xiao Family is bullying the Second Madam without support because the Empress Dowager left the capital, and besides, if a life is lost...
It would be bad for both the Marquis Mansion and the future of Xiao Yanyi!
Nanny Wu agreed and left.
The Second Madam woke up in a daze and imdiately covered her stomach with her hand, her face full of terror as she asked the maid, who was dozing off at the footrest, "How is the child, how is my child!?"
The maid woke up in shock, and replied anxiously, "Madam, the... the young master... is gone."
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