TRBDM -Chapter 29 He Won’t Die

Supported by Nanny Qi, Wei Zhaorong stepped into the room.

“Mother—” Shen Zhizhi felt as though her pillar of support had arrived.

“Mother, you must seek justice for my husband. As the saying goes, an elder brother is like a father, yet Third Brother has no respect for him at all. He actually struck him and beat him until blood flowed. He’s nothing but a despicable villain!”

Shen Zhizhi cried exaggeratedly, her account even more exaggerated than her tears.

Playing the role of a pitiful white lotus was something she had always excelled at.

With tears and snot streaming down her face, she made it seem as though Xie Sheng would breathe his last at any moment.

“That’s enough. Stop crying. You’re giving me a headache.”

After taking her seat, Wei Zhaorong shot Shen Zhizhi a glance.

Shen Zhizhi had not yet fully unleashed her performance when that single look frightened her into shrinking back, her wailing abruptly choking off in her throat.

Xie Lan, who had remained silent all this time, stepped forward and knelt straight before Wei Zhaorong.

“Mother, it is all my fault. I struck Second Brother on the head with a paperweight and caused his injury. Please punish me.”

That was the truth, and Xie Lan did not deny it.

Upon hearing this, Shen Zhizhi’s sobs reignited. Pointing at Xie Lan, she cried, “Xie Lan, how vicious your heart is!”

Over on the other side, Xie Sheng clutched his head and called out, “Mother, you must seek justice for your son!”

Xie Sheng was the only legitimate son of the Marquis Manor who had earned his degree through his own efforts and secured a post in the palace.

Wei Zhaorong had always taken pride in him.

For the sake of Xie Sheng’s official career, she had spent no small amount of effort—calling in favors, giving gifts, exhausting every possible means, determined to push him one step higher.

The silver she had spent for Xie Sheng, both openly and in secret, was beyond counting.

Xie Sheng enjoyed it all with a clear conscience.

Ever since he began serving in the palace, he had grown arrogant, believing the Marquis Manor benefited from his glory. If he were to become a first-rank official in the future, the entire manor would have to look to him and live by his favor.

This was also the main reason he dared to covet the marquis title.

The Marquis Manor had three sons in total. Xie Chuan was a useless drunkard, destined to have no official career in his lifetime. Xie Lan, merely a concubine-born son, had not spent a single day in a private school and could barely recognize a few characters.

Only he, Xie Sheng, was the manor’s sole hope.

His mother would surely stand by him as she always had.

Seated high in the place of honor, Wei Zhaorong had long since seen through everything in Xie Sheng’s heart.

Hmph. He might fool others, but he could not fool someone who had lived through two lifetimes.

After struggling for ten years, Xie Sheng had risen by only a single rank—his performance as mediocre as it could be.

Wei Zhaorong truly could not understand where he got the confidence to believe he was the future of the Marquis Manor.

Because he had a big face?

In her previous life, Wei Zhaorong had been blinded by Xie Sheng’s grand ambitions and devoted herself wholeheartedly, regardless of the cost.

And what was the result? Simply because the marquis title had not been given to him, Xie Sheng had torn off all pretense without hesitation. He had split the family in an extremely ungraceful manner, causing the entire capital to hear of it.

From that day onward, the Marquis Manor declined with each passing day.

“Enough. Stop arguing. Since you want me to make a decision, I need to know what happened. Tell me first, Sheng’er—why did you suddenly come to the Lan Courtyard?”

At the mention of this, the fury pent up inside Xie Sheng finally found an outlet.

“This is something you should ask my dear younger brother about. He’s only been at the private school a few days, and instead of learning anything proper, he’s picked up all sorts of disgraceful nonsense. He actually threatened the Zhang family’s second young master to withdraw from school! Because of him, my relationship with Zhang Xiuzhuan has frozen over. I was even thrown straight out of the Zhang residence—utterly humiliating. Mother, you sent him to school out of kindness, and this is how he repays you—by making enemies everywhere for the Marquis Manor. You must discipline him properly.”

Xie Sheng valued his relationship with Zhang Xiuzhuan greatly. For the sake of his official career, currying favor with Zhang Xiuzhuan had not been a matter of just a day or two.

On one occasion after drinking, Zhang Xiuzhuan had mentioned that he would recommend him for a position in the Hanlin Academy. Xie Sheng had engraved those words in his heart.

He firmly believed that once he entered the Hanlin Academy, his career would be bright and boundless.

Thus, on the road of flattering Zhang Xiuzhuan, Xie Sheng had been both diligent and devoted. No one was allowed to damage their relationship.

Previously, when Xie Lan’s carriage had collided with Zhang Xiuzhuan’s, a rift had already formed between them. Now, that rift had turned into a chasm. Repairing it was almost impossible—how could Xie Sheng not hate him?

“Sheng’er, did you ever ask Lan’er what happened at the private school that made him demand Zhang Lin withdraw?”

Xie Sheng replied, “What is there to ask? He’s just a concubine-born son. He should keep his head down and behave. Even if Zhang Lin acted unreasonably at times, he should have endured it. But instead, he demanded that Zhang Lin withdraw! Since when does a concubine-born son dare to be so arrogant? If word gets out, won’t people say our Marquis Manor doesn’t know how to raise its children and use it as gossip against us?”

The more Wei Zhaorong listened, the colder her heart became.

She knew Xie Lan had lived a hard life—she just hadn’t realized it was this hard.

Xie Sheng, with every other word, emphasized “concubine-born son,” constantly reminding Xie Lan of his lowly status, ensuring he could never hold his head high.

Yet despite growing up in such an environment, Xie Lan had still maintained a kind and resilient heart. Even with a disastrous start to life, he had relied on himself to secure a clerical post in the government and even managed to arrange a grand funeral for himself. Compared to her two biological sons, he was better in countless ways.

The stark contrast only made Wei Zhaorong’s heart ache more for Xie Lan.

“Lan’er, get up first. Physician, examine him. Did Second Master injure him just now?”

“Mother!” Xie Sheng cried out in disbelief. “I’m the one who’s injured! Look at my head!” He pointed frantically at his scalp, trying to draw her attention. “There’s a hole in my head—it won’t stop bleeding!”

“I know. Why are you shouting?” Wei Zhaorong waved her hand impatiently. “You won’t die anytime soon.”

In her previous life, Xie Sheng had once said those exact words to her.

After Nanny Qi froze to death, Wei Zhaorong had fallen gravely ill. She couldn’t swallow even a drop of water and remained bedridden for half a month.

At that time, Xie Chuan had not yet entirely lost his conscience and had summoned the estate physician to treat her daily.

Lying on her sickbed, Wei Zhaorong longed desperately for her second son, Xie Sheng. Even in the grip of nightmares, she called out his name.

With no other choice, Xie Chuan sent someone to the Xie residence to summon Xie Sheng, but he refused to see them. Helpless, Xie Chuan went personally to invite him.

When he finally met Xie Sheng, he received only one sentence:

“She won’t die anytime soon. If she really dies, then come notify me.”

At that time, Wei Zhaorong had been at death’s door—her condition a hundred times more severe than Xie Sheng’s current head wound.

She had survived that ordeal.

Xie Sheng would surely be fine.

At this moment, Wei Zhaorong cared only about Xie Lan.

Bullied by outsiders during the day, bullied by his elder brother once home—this child suffered grievances everywhere, and yet he didn’t even have a single person to shield him. The more she looked at him, the more her heart ached.

After taking Xie Lan’s pulse, the estate physician noticed the ghastly bruises around his neck.

“Reporting to Old Madam: Third Young Master’s pulse is weak and floating—he has been badly frightened. The bruising around his neck is severe. It appears someone strangled him.”

Wei Zhaorong looked at Xie Sheng. “Did you do this?”

“No! I didn’t.”

Xie Sheng was stunned. He had only grabbed Xie Lan by the collar—how could there be such heavy bruising on his neck?

Judging by the size of the marks, the other party had seemed intent on killing him.

This was a blame he absolutely could not bear.

“Mother, it truly wasn’t me.”