TRBDM -Chapter 65 The Severance Document

Wei Zhaorong cast a glance over, then withdrew her gaze. She was going to see Xie Wanrou.

“Mother,” Xie Wanyi called out.

Wei Zhaorong stopped in her tracks but did not turn around.

“Mother, is Elder Sister all right?”

Hearing this, Wei Zhaorong slowly turned back. “Why don’t you go see her yourself?”

“I’m scared. I heard the marks on Elder Sister’s neck are terrifying. If I see them, I won’t be able to sleep.”

From beginning to end, not a single word of concern left Xie Wanyi’s mouth. She only ever cared about herself, always wanting everyone to revolve around her—extremely selfish and self-serving.

Wei Zhaorong closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath. This was the “good daughter” she had spoiled.

“Mother, may I ask you about someone? His name is Nangong Hai—”

Before she could finish, Wei Zhaorong raised her hand and slapped her across the face. “Xie Wanyi, are you even human? When you were little, Rou’er saved your life. Now her life hangs by a thread, and you won’t even go take a look? At a time like this, you still have the mind to think about someone else!”

When Xie Wanyi was five or six, she had fallen into an ice hole while playing. Xie Wanrou had immediately jumped in to pull her out.

But she herself caught a severe chill and needed a full month to recover.

Xie Wanyi had long since forgotten that debt of gratitude.

“Mother, why are you hitting me? I’m not the one who had her injured. Besides, you were the one who personally arranged that marriage back then. You misjudged him and sent Sister into a tiger’s den. What’s the point of hitting me now?”

Clutching her cheek, Xie Wanyi’s words struck straight at Wei Zhaorong’s heart.

“You—” Wei Zhaorong could not utter a single word.

Because Xie Wanyi wasn’t wrong.

The true culprit behind all of this… was herself.

“Waaah! What right do you have to hit me?” Xie Wanyi grew angrier the more she thought about it. “From now on, my marriage will be decided by me alone. Don’t even think about interfering in the slightest.”

A sharp pain twisted through Wei Zhaorong’s chest; she nearly lost her footing. Nanny Qi quickly stepped forward to support her.

“Do you truly mean that?”

“Of course!”

Pointing at her, Wei Zhaorong said sternly, “Very well. Then we shall put it in writing. From this day forward, I will not interfere in Xie Wanyi’s marriage. She may marry whomever she wishes. Once she is wed, she will immediately sever ties with the Marquis Manor—just as if I had never borne this daughter.”

“Fine, then write it.” Xie Wanyi lifted her chin, refusing to back down.

She firmly believed in her own judgment. Nangong Hai was a hundred times better than Lei Lieshan. Once she married him, she would surely be happy for the rest of her life.

Nangong Hai was the study companion of the young heir of Prince Jing’s residence and was currently studying at the Imperial Academy. In the future, after passing the examinations, he would enter officialdom directly.

After marrying him, what was there in the Mingde Marquis Manor worth her lingering attachment? Sever ties? So be it. She could hardly wait.

Paper and brush were quickly brought. Without even drafting a copy, Wei Zhaorong wrote the severance document in one breath.

Xie Wanyi signed and pressed her fingerprint without the slightest hesitation.

Wei Zhaorong put away the document. “Xie Wanyi, once you are married, you will immediately cut all ties with my Marquis Manor.”

“Cut ties, then. Mother has always been biased and never truly cared about me. I might as well marry early and seek my own way out.”

“Good. Remember what you said today.”

“A gentleman’s word cannot be taken back even by four horses,” Xie Wanyi declared solemnly.

Wei Zhaorong looked at the youngest daughter she had loved for over ten years and, in her heart, completely drew a line between them.

“Come. We’re going to Moyun Courtyard.”

Wei Zhaorong turned and left. Xie Wanyi also turned away. Mother and daughter walked in opposite directions.

In Moyun Courtyard, the heavy scent of herbal medicine still lingered.

When Wei Zhaorong entered Xie Wanrou’s bedchamber, she saw Xie Lan lying beside the bed, already asleep.

She lightened her steps and waited quietly in the room.

Nanny Qi looked at Wei Zhaorong sitting silently in her chair, unable to guess what she was thinking.

In just one short night, so many things had happened. The vast Marquis Manor had begun to fall apart ever since the old marquis passed away. When the great tree collapsed, its rotten roots were laid bare.

Wei Zhaorong had become the pillar holding everything up—but how could she change this situation?

Nanny Qi could not help feeling distressed for her. Her husband was gone, her children were disappointing, and the decline of the Marquis Manor seemed impossible to stop.

“Madam, go back to Anhe Courtyard and get some sleep,” Nanny Qi urged softly.

At her age, after staying up all night and rushing about for half a day, even an iron body would not be able to endure it.

“Mm.”

Wei Zhaorong knew that if she continued like this, her body would collapse.

And if she collapsed, no one would seek justice for Xie Wanrou.

Moreover, she still had to enter the palace tomorrow to have an audience with the Emperor. She had to rest well today and gather her strength.

After returning to Anhe Courtyard, Wei Zhaorong quickly fell asleep.

“Water… water…”

She was so thirsty. Her body hurt terribly.

“Water, give me water…”

Someone helped her sit up. Warm water flowed into her mouth, moistening her parched throat.

Wei Zhaorong slowly opened her eyes and saw Xie Chuan’s face full of anxiety. Only when he saw her awake did his brows finally relax.

“Mother, you’re awake?”

“Chuan’er? Why are you here?”

“Shuyao asked me to come. Such a huge incident happened in the manor—I was frantic in the Eastern Courtyard. Eldest Sister is ill. Shuyao has to take care of her, handle the manor’s affairs, and worry about your health at the same time. She truly couldn’t manage everything alone. Without your permission, she let me leave the Eastern Courtyard. Mother, extraordinary circumstances call for extraordinary measures—you mustn’t blame her.”

Wei Zhaorong was still dazed. She had just had a nightmare, reliving the moment of her death in her previous life.

Her throat had burned like fire, unbearably thirsty, yet after calling out for days and nights, not a single person had come to see her.

When Xie Chuan’s face appeared before her now, she could not tell past life from present.

“Mother, please don’t blame Shuyao, alright? If you’re angry, I’ll go back to the Eastern Courtyard right now. I won’t come out again until Imperial Physician Xiao permits it. Would that be alright?”

Afraid she would be angry, Xie Chuan even raised his fingers in oath.

Wei Zhaorong looked at him for a long moment. The tightly drawn string in her heart, strained for an entire day, finally loosened.

Xie Chuan had grown sensible. He knew how to cherish his wife.

That was good. Fortunately.

After being reborn, at least she had changed one person.

“I don’t blame her. She did very well.”

Hearing his mother’s approval, Xie Chuan felt rather proud. “Shuyao really is very good. She said the Marquis Manor is facing unprecedented difficulties, and that as a family we should unite and overcome them together.”

“And you? What do you think about Lei Lieshan killing his wife?” Wei Zhaorong asked in return.

“Of course he must pay the price! He bullied a daughter of our Marquis Manor—I’ll make sure he comes alive but doesn’t leave alive.”

Xie Chuan blustered with bold words, but Wei Zhaorong smiled.

At least he was willing to stand up for his family.

As for the other one—Xie Sheng—not only had he aided the tyrant, but after the incident, he had not blamed Lei Lieshan even once from beginning to end.

In his eyes, there was only profit. Whoever was useful to him—he would not hesitate to step on his own family’s bones to climb higher.

Thinking of him, the anger Wei Zhaorong had just suppressed flared up again.

“Mother, Lei Lieshan is a general with military merit. Will the Court of Judicial Review truly enforce the law impartially?”

“They will!” Wei Zhaorong answered with absolute certainty.