Chapter 17 Who Dies

Chapter 17 Who Dies

Shen Nanzi's mind went blank; he was with the Second Princess again.

This time, he not only held her child, but the two of them appeared together.

Although there weren't many people around at night, couldn't the guards responsible for security see them?

Can't we see the people who appear occasionally?

They walked together so openly, like a family, while I felt like a joke.

Seeing that this place was too close to the emperor's tent, Shen Nanzi could only suppress her anger and follow behind.

The night at Hongchi Lake was exceptionally cold, but at that moment, Shen Nanzi was consumed by the flames of jealousy, wishing she could tear them apart.

Although they were standing one in front of the other, separated by a distance, they did not speak to each other.

However, Shen Nanzi had a vague feeling that there was an emotion flowing between them, but it was something that could not be expressed aloud.

The Second Princess's tent was not far away, and Xie Yan stopped at the entrance.

Xue Qingning took the child, and the maid in the tent lifted the heavy curtain, revealing a bright corner inside.

Xue Qingning carried the child inside, and the two did not exchange a single word throughout the entire process.

Xie Yan did not leave immediately, but stood outside the door for a moment.

Shen Nanzi watched quietly until Xie Yan turned around and noticed her.

The moment he saw her, his gentle gaze instantly turned wary, and before Shen Nanzi could speak, he grabbed her arm and pulled her away.

Shen Nanzi unexpectedly complied with his pulling until she was pulled away from the tent area and reached the edge of Hongchi Lake, where there was almost no one in sight.

It was so dark that all we could see were each other's silhouettes and the lights in the distance.

"You were following me?" Xie Yan questioned.

Shen Nanzi shook off his restraint, and the anger she had been suppressing finally ignited.

"So you know how to avoid suspicion? Too bad, you've got it wrong. It's not us who need to avoid suspicion, it's you."

"You're so brazen, have you ever considered my feelings?"

"Shen Nanzi!" Xie Yan's tone was unfriendly. "You..."

Shen Nanzi interrupted him, "You're going to say something again, but don't talk nonsense, don't be ridiculous, you're unreasonable, aren't you?"

"Is this all you've ever said to me?"

Xie Yan shut his mouth and fell completely silent, waiting for her to go crazy.

"What? You're not going to say anything now! I've said everything you wanted to say, and you have nothing left to say?"

The night wind was biting, but at this moment it was so quiet it was as if the wind had stopped, leaving only the white mist between breaths.

After a moment of silence, she heard him sigh, "The Emperor ordered me to send the child there!"

Shen Nanzi sneered, thinking of the child leaning on his shoulder, so trusting, so dependent.

It didn't seem like they'd only hugged her a few times, but rather like they'd hugged her countless times.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they are father and son.

"Do you know that Cheng'er is still waiting for you? He even forced himself to stay awake so that he could sleep with you."

"Xie Yan, I accept that you hate me, but Cheng'er is innocent."

"Have you ever held Cheng'er like that, even just once?"

"Xie Yan, you've never hugged him even once."

Do you know how much he longs for even a single word from you?

“You always ignore him, as if he doesn’t exist. Cheng’er is just young, but he’s not without feelings.”

"Tonight he poured you a drink, but you didn't look at him. He also put food on your plate, but you still didn't look at him."

Do you know how disappointed he was?

"Xie Yan, I hate you! I hate that you are inconsistent in your words and deeds, I hate that you are heartless and ungrateful, and I hate that you have affected innocent children."

Shen Nanzi's body was trembling, filled with resentment and indignation, and her chest felt tight, making it hard to breathe.

Xie Yan looked at her, and unlike Shen Nanzi's heart-wrenching cries, her explanation was calm.

"After the banquet tonight, the Emperor summoned all the princes to his tent and gave them a lecture."

"During this time, she...the Second Imperial Sister-in-law entered the room and spoke with the Emperor for a while."

“Hongrui was asleep. The Emperor saw that I was going the same way, so he ordered me to take the child back.”

After he finished speaking, he fell silent.

However, Shen Nanzi did not believe it; she trusted her own eyes more.

“Xie Yan, I saw it all. In the evening, Cheng’er disappeared. I went to look for him and met you on the way. I saw you carrying the Second Princess’s clothes in your arms, the apricot-colored one.”

In the pitch-black night, Xie Yan's expression was not visible, but his voice was not heard arguing.

Shen Nanzi knew this was an admission, and laughed speechlessly, "You actually have feelings for your sister-in-law."

She had so much to say, but at this moment, she couldn't say a word.

Only tears fell silently in the darkness, the heart aching as if being slowly tortured with a knife.

She was very familiar with this kind of discomfort; she had experienced it four times in total.

The first time was three days into their marriage. He left her without a word to quell the rebellion.

He returned after half a year, but when he came back, he refused to share a room with her.

She angrily threatened him that if he didn't sleep with her, she would report him to the Emperor.

He immediately pulled her into the palace and consummated their marriage.

They also agreed on a rule of at least once a month.

After that, he frequented brothels and spent time with the most beautiful courtesans. Several months later, she discovered him.

She was in the same pain, so much so that she had no choice but to eliminate the root of the problem.

He was ordered to provide disaster relief the next day, and at that time, she was already six months pregnant.

By the time he returned to Luoyang, Cheng'er had already turned one month old.

Although she hated him, they were betrothed by the emperor, so no matter how much she hated him, she had to live with tears in her eyes.

She naively thought that since no one knew, it would be as if nothing had happened.

She and Xie Yan were still just the two of them.

Then came the second time, when Cheng'er was a little over one year old, but not yet two.

They also discovered that he was having a close relationship with a pipa player, who was also heartbroken.

Similarly, she knew that only by removing his confidante would her heart find peace.

That time, Xie Yan almost strangled her to death, then abandoned her and her child to fight on the border.

That departure lasted for two years.

She knew he was trying to escape from her, and her hatred intensified.

When Cheng'er was four years old, he returned to Luoyang and was also granted the title of Prince Jing for his military achievements.

Instead of returning to the Prince Jing's residence, he lived in his villa, the Pear Garden.

She didn't want to be laughed at, and she also wanted to repair her relationship with him.

He didn't reply, so she waited for him outside the pear orchard every day.

He was forced to move back to the Prince Jing's residence.

The condition was that he would live in a separate courtyard.

As a result, she found it difficult to see him, and her goal was to repair their relationship.

But how can you repair a relationship when you don't even have a chance to meet?

She would often create opportunities and chance encounters, but little did she know that the more she did this, the more disgusted the men became.

She had never experienced love between a man and a woman and could only clumsily use the methods in books.

Two years passed in the blink of an eye, and Cheng'er turned six.

The third one is Bitao.

To her surprise, the fourth time came so quickly.

However, this time it was the Second Princess Consort, and she couldn't make her disappear.

However, the pain was too unbearable, and she needed pain relief.

Shen Nanzi rushed over and drew the short knife he always carried.

Xie Yan reached out and grabbed, but couldn't stop him.

Shen Nanzi held the knife with both hands, the blade gleaming coldly in the night.

Xie Yan looked at her, his voice carrying a rare gentleness, "Put the knife down."

Shen Nanzi smiled and said, "I was wrong before. I thought that by driving away your confidante, I could win back your heart."

"It now seems that only if one of us survives can we let each other go."