Tong Xiyan ascended the steps one by one, drawing closer to Jiang Shilin.
She looked at him, yet felt increasingly distant. Every step she took was so slow, as if a long, long ti had passed, long enough that she couldn’t rember how they t, when they married, or how they reached this point today...
Whose fault is it?
She stood at the doorway, halted her footsteps, and tilted her head to look at him. Her white inner garnts fluttered in the breeze, and her black hair hung loosely behind her... it was ssy, and she had no inclination to tidy it. She just watched him like this...
Whose fault is it?
She couldn’t understand. She had always tried to be a good wife, fulfilling all his requests, trying to love whatever he loved, but in the end, it still turned out this way.
She knew that n would always take concubines. She never expected a lifelong exclusive partnership, but she hoped those things would co a bit later, just a bit later, to let her experience living as a couple. So, from when did she stop feeling it?
Was it when her mother-in-law elevated Xinju as a concubine, or when Miss i moved in, or perhaps even earlier?
When was it? Oh, right, it was from the second day of marriage. Her mother-in-law made her follow rules. She held a tea tray and stood in her mother-in-law’s room for an hour. She couldn’t resist complaining to Daijuan and was overheard by her husband. Her husband argued with her mother-in-law, and the next day, the mother-in-law stopped making her go, yet refused to see her, and if they ever t, it was only with cold sarcasm...
ntioning how her mother drove her husband out, ntioning how her husband was severely injured in Fujian for her sake, saying it was all because of her. What’s so great about the Tong Family... Indeed, there’s nothing great about the Tong Family. There wasn’t anything great in the past, and even less so now.
At least, in her mother-in-law’s eyes, there’s nothing worth ntioning.
She just stood there, tilting her head.
"Xiyan." Jiang Shilin stood up, looking at Tong Xiyan. "Will you co back with , please? I don’t want to leave you. Can we live a peaceful life together?"
Tong Xiyan continued to look at him, neither crying nor smiling, without any expression.
Jiang Shilin beca frightened, taking a few steps to grab Tong Xiyan’s arm: "Xiyan, what’s wrong with you? Speak to ." He anxiously turned to the First Master: "Father-in-law, what’s happened to Xiyan?"
The First Master turned his pained face away.
Nanny Fang covered her face and began to cry softly, not daring to wail in case Lady in the room heard, and she clenched her fist tightly, telling Jiang Shilin: "Lord Jiang, our Fourth Miss is doing just fine. You better leave quickly. The divorce papers will be sent to your residence in a couple of days."
Jiang Shilin couldn’t hear what Nanny Fang was saying. He thought Tong Xiyan looked absent-minded, her gaze unfocused. The more he looked, the more terrified he beca: "Quick, call the doctor, get the doctor here!"
No one moved, not even Nanny Qiu or Daijuan, who instead supported Tong Xiyan into the door.
Tong Xiyan stopped again, turned around, and began to look at Jiang Shilin, her eyes gradually clearing. She said, "I’m fine, how could I be unwell?" Saying this, she slightly bowed to the First Master: "Father, your daughter has worried you."
The First Master furrowed his brow, looking at this version of Tong Xiyan, devoid of her usual smile and spirit, as if a heartless puppet, causing him such grief he couldn’t speak, rely replying with a nod: "Sit down when you speak."
Tong Xiyan nodded, telling the First Master: "Father, I have a few words to say to Lord Jiang."
Jiang Shilin’s face lit up upon hearing this.
The First Master glanced at Tong Xiyan, then appraised Jiang Shilin with scrutiny, pondering a long ti before nodding: "Alright, go ahead!"
Tong Xiyan nodded, and as Nanny Qiu and Daijuan loosened their grip, she entered the Warm Pavilion. Jiang Shilin also bowed to the First Master before following inside.
As the curtain fell, Jiang Shilin walked over and embraced Tong Xiyan from behind. His voice choked with emotion as he explained: "Xiyan, I know you’re very upset. I know you’re angry with , but I really plan to send ii back. I’m not lying to you!" Saying this, he paused, holding her more tightly: "I’m also deeply troubled, but I cannot disregard ii or ignore my mother’s feelings."
Tong Xiyan remained unmoving, letting him embrace her, saying with a blank face: "Do you think saying this now is useful?"
Jiang Shilin was stunned, only to hear Tong Xiyan coldly say: "Let’s divorce. I don’t want to hear or know anything else," each word seeming to exhaust all her patience and strength.
"No!" Jiang Shilin shook his head: "Divorce? I will not divorce you. Have you forgotten what we said? We promised to grow old together, to spend a few years wandering and enjoying life with you and our children when I took an outside post. We agreed..."
"Stop!" Tong Xiyan interrupted him: "You actually rember? You can actually say it again?" She broke free from Jiang Shilin’s hold, as if the repressed anger of several days erupted: "We agreed on so many things. Ask yourself which one you accomplished? You once said you’d only love for life, but what happened... You promised not to let ii enter our ho, but what happened..." she laughed coldly, looking at Jiang Shilin: "I wouldn’t believe anything you say at all, nor do I want to hear it. Leave!"
Jiang Shilin was stunned: "No, no, I’ve not forgotten. I still only love you. Letting ii in was not my will, it was mom, it was mom..." He couldn’t continue, watching as Tong Xiyan took out a stack of letters from her sleeve. He recognized them as their correspondence over the years, a thick stack of their passionate love letters.
Tong Xiyan didn’t even look at him, lighting the flint and tossing the pile of letters into the stove with no attachnt. She raised her eyebrow at Jiang Shilin: "Now, you don’t have to use lies to cover previous lies, and you don’t have to worry these will spoil your reputation. We have no past, thus no future. Lord Jiang, farewell!"
Jiang Shilin felt as though his heart was being cut with knives. He squatted by the stove with a pale face, reaching his hand to stir the fire, desperately trying to grab the letters without caring that his hand was burned, but managed to snatch only half a sheet of paper...
Love held in the heart, who can express it, hidden within, when to forget...
Jiang Shilin stood still, eyes gradually blurring...
When to forget, when to forget...
Tong Xiyan looked at the back of his hand, her eyes filled with pain, yet she turned away from Jiang Shilin, waving her sleeve: "Lord Jiang, henceforth, regardless of our joys or sorrows, they are our own matters." With this, she paused, closed her eyes, and after a mont of contemplation, pronounced each word with finality: "From this day forward, we are no longer involved!" She finished, leaving the room without looking back.
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