Chapter 50: Confession

“Why are you here?” Su Mu asked almost instinctively when she saw Yan Ting visiting.

“Are you Lady Su?” Yan Ting looked at her and asked.

“Yes, it’s me. Do you have any business?” Yan Ting had met her and talked to her before falling off the cliff in her previous life.

Now that Yan Ting couldn’t recognize her, it meant her memory hadn’t recovered. If so, why did she come to find her? Su Mu was even more puzzled.

Yan Ting sighed softly and asked, “Lady Su, can I come in to talk?”

Su Mu nodded. After all, she had no grudges against Yan Ting, so she invited her in.

The two sat on stone benches in the small courtyard. Xie Yi was busy brewing tea inside.

Yan Ting sat opposite her, hands placed on her knees, looking somewhat awkward. “I’m sure Lady Su has heard about what happened to the Yan family.”

Su Mu’s expression didn’t change much, still calm: “I have indeed heard some rumors.”

Seeing her calm reaction, Yan Ting didn’t know how to continue. But after all, she had forgotten her role this time, so she gritted her teeth and said, “I came here to ask you, for the sake of past affection, to help Jiyue.”

“Yan Jiyue?” Su Mu was surprised.

She thought Yan Ting had come to ask for help for the Yan family, but didn’t expect her purpose was for Yan Jiyue.

“Yes, after all, you were once a married couple. It’s… it’s my foolish brother who ruined your marriage. But now he has realized his mistake. He stays in his room all day, not eating or drinking. Recently, we even called a doctor to examine him. The doctor said he’s lovesick. I hope you can reconsider.”

“Reconsider?” Su Mu laughed, “Miss Yan, spilled water is hard to recover.”

“I understand. You now have a beautiful companion. But you also know the current situation of the Yan family. My father is planning to marry him off. I really can’t bear to see him like this.” Yan Ting’s tone was tinged with sorrow.

Although she had lost her memory and had no feelings for the father and brother who suddenly appeared, they were still her closest kin.

The Yan family had fallen, but they still had some assets. A large mansion, several shops, and the contracts of a few personal servants were still in their hands.

For someone like Yan Ting, who had been living a farmer’s life since losing her memory, this actually didn’t mean much. She could still take the opportunity to marry the son of the farming family that had taken her in, do some small business, and live a comfortable life with her husband and children.

But her father didn’t think that way. He was determined to restore the family’s glory, and the quickest way to do that was to marry off Yan Jiyue.

But Yan Ting knew well that Yan Jiyue, as a second marriage, couldn’t find a good wife-master. Given his fiery temperament, if he were forced into marriage, it would likely end in tragedy.

“So, I want to ask you to take in Jiyue. Even if not as a concubine, just… just take him as a servant, to do odd jobs in your courtyard.”

Xie Yi, in the kitchen, heard everything clearly. The peony in his hand was crushed to pieces, the flower juice seeping through his fingers, his eyes filled with cold hostility.

They had just gotten rid of the Sixth Young Master, and now Yan Jiyue was trying to shamelessly enter the house. And there was still Xie Miaorong lying in wait inside.

Xie Yi threw the mangled peony on the ground, his embroidered shoes viciously grinding it into mud, his eyes as cold as a meat grinder.

Yan Ting naturally knew of Xie Yi’s existence. The whole city knew that Su Mu had an extremely beloved man, and it was for this man that Su Mu had broken up with Yan Jiyue.

In the past, when Xie Yi was mentioned, the reputation was mostly bad.

Although people sympathized with Su Mu’s situation, they slandered Xie Yi for interfering between Su Mu and Yan Jiyue’s marriage, secretly speculating that if it weren’t for Xie Yi meddling, Su Mu might not have divorced Yan Jiyue.

But now when Xie Yi was mentioned, the reputation had completely reversed.

It was because Su Mu had now passed the imperial examination. When Su Mu divorced, she was just a commoner, but in less than a few months, she had become a successful candidate, envied by others.

When mentioning Xie Yi, people now praised his foresight in choosing a hidden gem. As for those who had slandered him for interfering before, they now said that if a couple’s relationship was truly loving and harmonious, no amount of interference could shake it.

Yan Ting was also wary of Xie Yi, fearing he wouldn’t want Yan Jiyue to enter the house. That’s why she suggested him becoming a servant, and she had come secretly without Yan Zhujun’s knowledge. If he knew, he definitely wouldn’t agree.

“Lady Su, please consider it for the sake of past affection. Jiyue can only rely on you now.” Yan Ting softened her voice and pleaded.

Su Mu was silent for a moment, then said, “Miss Yan, since you’ve placed all your hopes on me alone, you should be prepared to lose everything if I refuse.”

“……” Yan Ting didn’t speak, seemingly not expecting her to refuse.

Su Mu calmly said, “No matter how fallen the Yan family is now, Yan Jiyue and I were indeed husband and wife. Have you ever heard of a woman who, after divorcing her primary husband and remarrying, takes her former primary husband as a minor attendant or servant in her household? How should I conduct myself in the future? How would my husband feel? And how would others view me?”

Yan Ting bit her lip. She hadn’t thought so much. She just didn’t want to see her own brother locked in his room, slowly withering away, or being forcibly married off to someone else.

She thought she was doing a good deed, helping Yan Jiyue and allowing Su Mu, who had once lost her dignity as a married-in son-in-law, to regain her face. She thought it was a win-win situation, but she hadn’t realized that Su Mu was thinking deeper and further than her.

Su Mu stood up, paced slowly for a couple of steps, and advised, “Miss Yan, go back. Yan Jiyue and I have long since had no relationship. Rather than hoping for me, it’s better for you to stand up on your own.”

Yan Ting looked up at her.

“You are the eldest daughter of the Yan family. Yan Zhujun’s desire to marry off Yan Jiyue is, frankly speaking, for your future. If you can carve out your own path, naturally there would be no need for Yan Jiyue to sacrifice himself for you.”

Yan Ting was silent for a while: “I understand, but all my past memories have disappeared. The glory of the Yan family is too vague and distant for me. I don’t have such grand aspirations in my heart. I just want to keep our current assets, do some small business, and live a peaceful life.”

Hearing her words, Su Mu felt somewhat moved.

She was the same, not just in this life, but even in her previous life. Her wish was to live a peaceful and smooth life, but unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned.

She patted Yan Ting’s shoulder: “Then go back and persuade Yan Zhujun. You can’t rely entirely on others.”

Yan Ting wanted to try one last time: “Lady Su, if you’re unwilling to take him as a servant, could you at least let him stay at your home for a few days to avoid the situation?”

She feared that with Yan Jiyue’s personality, he might refuse to leave. A short stay might become a temporary stay, and a temporary stay might become a long-term stay.

She shook her head without any hesitation.

Yan Ting had no choice but to give up and leave.

Su Mu lazily leaned one hand on the stone table, looking at Xie Yi who was eavesdropping on their conversation in the kitchen. He must have panicked, so he forgot about being ‘discreet’. The moon-white hem of his skirt was exposed from the door crack, along with his nervous and uneasy thoughts.

Su Mu chuckled: “I’ve already refused, won’t you come out?”

Xie Yi walked out of the kitchen, his eyes filled with melancholy.

Su Mu stroked his head: “Why are you unhappy? You heard that I didn’t let him come.”

Xie Yi didn’t speak, nor did he sit beside her. Instead, he knelt on one knee on the ground, slowly resting his head on her leg, his hand tightly gripping her waistband. Like a dog who had been wronged outside, whimpering and whining, he revealed a pair of wet puppy eyes as he nestled on his master’s knee to act coquettishly.

His long hair cascaded down like a waterfall from the side of her skirt, and between his slender fingers flowed a thick, bright red color, as if a sickly flower was blooming from his palm.

Su Mu took his hand and asked, “What happened to your hand? Is it bleeding?”

Xie Yi held her hand in return, his long fingers hooking around her knuckles: “It’s not blood, it’s… peony juice.”

Su Mu glanced at the kitchen. The kitchen door was wide open, and on the ground lay an object of indistinguishable color and distorted shape. Only the dismembered branches and leaves beside it barely told Su Mu that it had once been a beautiful peony.

Su Mu laughed out loud, suddenly feeling like she was witnessing an angry dog destroying things online.

Xie Yi raised his head, looking at her in confusion.

Su Mu ruffled his soft hair, her fingertips curling around his slightly wavy hair ends: “Are you jealous?”

Xie Yi buried his face between her legs, his warm breath coming out, his voice muffled: “Mm.”

Previously, Su Mu had told him to tell her his thoughts completely, honestly, and without any concealment. Only then did he dare to reveal a little bit of his jealousy, which was considered a great taboo for men. He was still constantly observing Su Mu’s reaction, ready to immediately correct himself if she showed any displeasure, and never show even a hint of it in front of Su Mu again.

“Who are you jealous of?” Su Mu hooked his chin.

“All of them.” Xie Yi rested his head on Su Mu’s leg, his face flushed, whether from the heat or other reasons. In any case, he indulgently felt the soft flesh between Su Mu’s legs, the warm and soft touch, as if he had fallen into a paradise of tenderness. Unknowingly, he spoke his heart: “Young Master Yan, the Sixth Young Master, and even my brother. I’m jealous of all of them. Seeing them trying to curry favor with Sister Mu, constantly making small moves to try to get your attention, it makes me so angry.”

His voice was soft, as if covered by a thin veil of melancholy: “I know I’m wrong, I shouldn’t be like this, even being jealous of my own brother. But the moment you called him Miaorong, I really panicked. I thought you had fallen for him, who looks so similar to me.”

“Sister Mu, I really want… want you to look only at me. I want… want to bear children for you, to continue the Su family line, want my belly to carry your flesh and blood.”

Xie Yi spoke with extreme restraint, not daring to tell her all his thoughts, afraid that the overly intense possessiveness buried in his heart would frighten her.