TRBDM -Chapter 238 Xie Sheng’s Visiting Card

News of Wei Zhaorong being granted the title of First-Rank Lady of Imperial Favor quickly spread throughout the capital.

Every day, visitors came to the Marquisate in an endless stream.

Carriages and horses filled the gates; the courtyard was bustling like a market.

As Zhao Jingheng gradually consolidated his power, the Gao family’s influence, once formidable, had been contained under the imperial authority led by General Nanyang and was now no longer a threat.

Some were dead, some wounded, some had fled.

At the same time, many from the former Third Prince faction switched sides at the critical moment, voluntarily pledging loyalty to the emperor in hopes of receiving pardon.

Zhao Jingyan’s crime of plotting against the prince and Gao Yong’s treason were well-documented and would soon be officially judged.

Against this backdrop, Wei Zhaorong agreed to open the gates of the Marquisate to receive congratulations from everyone.

Lin Juehui, Madam Dong, and any other well-known ladies of the capital all submitted formal congratulatory letters to the Mingde Marquisate.

Wei Zhaorong selected some of them to reply to, while letters from those deemed unworthy were outright rejected.

Xie Yu also visited the Marquisate once.

He brought generous gifts to congratulate Wei Zhaorong on her elevation to First-Rank Lady of Imperial Favor.

Wei Zhaorong accepted the gifts and, in turn, selected imperial items from the emperor’s favor to present to him.

Xie Wanrou personally cooked for him, preparing pastries.

That day, he did not rush back to the Princess’s residence but stayed at the Marquisate, accompanying Wei Zhaorong for the entire day.

Xie Lan had gone to study at the Dong residence, and Wei Zhaorong had specially sent someone to fetch him.

The two brothers reunited and had endless things to say.

The last time they met, due to the attack on the Marquisate, their minds were heavy, and many words had gone unsaid.

They returned from Anhe Courtyard to Lan Courtyard:

Xie Yu exclaimed in delight, “Third Brother, the crabapple tree has grown taller!”

“You’ve grown taller too,” Xie Lan replied.

Xie Yu paused, then grinned and came up to Xie Lan, gesturing with his hands: “Third Brother, I’m about to surpass you. How come you haven’t grown these past days?”

Xie Lan refused to admit it: “I have grown, of course I have. It’s just that you grew faster than me.”

“Hehe—” Xie Yu had been waiting to hear exactly that.

He had always been short, and Xie Lan had always protected him from behind. Now that he was taller than Xie Lan, he could protect Xie Lan in return.

The two teased and bantered with each other, as if time had rolled back to those old days.

The clear, youthful laughter from Lan Courtyard drifted over, and in the neighboring Moyun Courtyard, Xie Wanrou, embroidering, couldn’t help but laugh along.

“Miss, Third and Fourth Masters get along so well. Now that Fourth Master is back, Third Master hasn’t stopped smiling all day,” Xiaodie said from the side.

“Mm.”

Occasionally, Xie Wanrou thought that if the Fourth Young Master weren’t the Long Princess’s child, Lan Courtyard might have remained this joyful and lively forever.

But the thought quickly passed. She shook her head in self-reproach—if that had been the case, the Long Princess’s life would have been far too pitiful.

Fortunately, the Long Princess had found her son.

By evening, Xie Yu was to return to the Long Princess’s residence.

This time, Xie Lan did not feel the same pain and sorrow that had accompanied their previous separations.

He had fully accepted the reality that he and Xie Yu would inevitably be apart at times. Separation was not frightening, because there would always be a next meeting.

Both were still in the capital; a half-hour ride by carriage was enough to reunite, so meeting each other remained easy.

“Third Brother, I’m leaving.”

“Mm, be careful on the road.”

Xie Lan waved to him. The lanterns hanging under the Marquisate’s eaves stretched Xie Lan’s shadow long across the ground. The autumn wind lifted the hems of their clothes, and the two boys, through each parting, grew a little more with each passing day.

Time flew, and deep autumn had already arrived.

Everyone in the Mingde Marquisate household had changed into the autumn robes made this year. The emperor had bestowed precious brocade, and Wei Zhaorong had found the finest tailors in the capital to make bespoke outfits for everyone in the residence.

As a first-rank titled lady, her stipend was already generous. With the emperor’s gifts of fertile land and a house, the Mingde Marquisate instantly rose to the status of a prominent noble family.

Wei Zhaorong raised the allowances for each branch of the family, and the monthly wages of all the servants were upgraded accordingly.

When Xie Chuan heard that the main branch’s share was now twice what it had been before, he proudly lifted his head. “I told you, a son is noble because of his mother. Look—life at Ruixiang Courtyard has suddenly taken a turn for the better.”

Dou Shuyao teased, “When has it ever been bad?”

“Well, that’s true. Let me rephrase—life at Ruixiang Courtyard has suddenly gone from good to even better.”

That sounded about right.

Xie Chuan had improved a lot in recent days; he could get out of bed and walk without help. Only the wounds itched, and he kept wanting to scratch them.

After being scolded several times by Dou Shuyao, he would rather scratch his head from the itch than touch the wounds.

Life went on in an orderly fashion, and just as the period of national mourning was about to end, a surprising name appeared among the visiting cards received by the Mingde Marquisate:

Xie Sheng.

He did not come in person but sent a visiting card.

Wei Zhaorong stared at the two characters “Xie Sheng,” her brows tightly furrowed.

Nanny Qi noticed Wei Zhaorong’s hesitation. “Madam, perhaps you should refuse him.”

When Wei Zhaorong had rescued Xie Sheng from prison, she had told Shen Zhizhi that any ties between Xie Sheng and the Marquisate ended there.

Shen Zhizhi had agreed.

Xie Sheng could not fail to understand what Wei Zhaorong meant.

Now, sending a visiting card could only mean that seeing Wei Zhaorong elevated to a first-rank titled lady, he regretted his past behavior and hoped to apologize, trying to mend his relationship with the Marquisate.

Wei Zhaorong saw through Xie Sheng. Regardless of whether she met him this time or not, it would not change what had already happened.

“I’ll accept the card. Let him come.”

“Yes, Madam.”

The next day, Xie Sheng arrived on time with Shen Zhizhi.

Along with them came a baby girl—their child.

Shen Zhizhi had longed for a son for ten months, only to have a daughter instead. During her confinement, she cried every day, her eyes nearly ruined from weeping.

Xie Sheng sat in a daze, disheartened.

For the sake of Shen Zhizhi’s child, he had compromised many times, even to the point of separating from the Marquisate and breaking family ties.

A son had been promised, but a daughter was born instead—an empty bamboo basket, and the second branch gained nothing.

How could he not be furious?

Originally, after Shen Zhizhi rescued Xie Sheng from prison, the couple’s relationship had warmed slightly. But once their daughter was born, their relationship quickly plummeted back to freezing point.

At the same time, Shen Tianci was caught by the authorities for theft.

The elder Shen couple, disregarding appearances, stormed the Xie household demanding two hundred taels of silver. When they were refused, they threw tantrums and rolled on the floor, refusing to leave.

Xie Sheng’s heart finally died completely.

He had always been selfish. For Shen Zhizhi, he had repeatedly crossed his own limits, and he had already done more than enough.

But as long as the Shen family existed, Shen Zhizhi would always be a burden for life.

Therefore, he decided to divorce her.

Xie Sheng had already planned it. He sent a visiting card to Wei Zhaorong, then told Shen Zhizhi that he would take her back to the Marquisate.

“Really? Our little girl can enter the Xie family genealogy?”

Their daughter’s nickname was “Xiao Nan.”

Shen Zhizhi thought that Xie Sheng was bringing their daughter back to the Marquisate to acknowledge her in the family records and rejoiced, immediately preparing new clothes.

Xie Sheng watched her busy herself coldly, expressionless, turning his face away.

The next day, the couple carried their child and arrived at the gates of the Mingde Marquisate.