TRBDM -Chapter 76 Shi Yi’s New Name

In Quyang Courtyard, Xie Sheng was having his medicine changed. The pain and tearing sensation made him curse uncontrollably.

“It hurts—damn it, it hurts! Be gentler, gentler! You wretched slave, I told you to be careful—are you deaf?”

The servant changing his bandages immediately dropped to his knees, still holding the bowl of medicine. “Second Master, please bear with it. Changing medicine is always painful. This servant is already being as careful as possible.”

Xie Sheng sucked in cold breaths again and again, his forehead drenched in sweat.

“Get lost! Get out! All of you, get out!”

It hurt too much. Xie Sheng felt as if he were being repeatedly fried in a vat of boiling oil—every inch of him, even the gaps beneath his fingernails, throbbed with agony.

The pain made him want to curse at everything.

“Someone! Where is everyone? Are you all dead? Get back in here!”

The servant who had just been scolded out returned with his head lowered.

Xie Sheng had been tormenting him back and forth for quite some time now. Hardly any medicine had been applied, yet the scolding had been endless.

“Husband, husband.” Shen Zhizhi walked in from outside.

Her complexion was sallow, dark circles under her eyes. The moment she stepped into the bedroom, the heavy smell of medicine made her feel like vomiting.

When she reached the bedside and caught sight of Xie Sheng’s ghastly, mangled back, she let out a “wah” and threw up.

“Madam, Madam, be careful—don’t upset the fetus!” Xie Sheng anxiously tried to get out of bed, but the movement tugged at his wounds, making him grimace in pain.

Shen Zhizhi vomited until stars danced before her eyes and had to be supported out of the room by a maid.

After quite a while, she finally recovered.

Tears clung to the corners of her eyes, and her throat felt as though sharp stones had scraped through it. “Husband, I know you’re in pain, but you must grit your teeth and endure it. If you don’t change the medicine, how will you recover? The child and I are depending on you.”

Ever since marrying into the Marquis’ household, Shen Zhizhi had never suffered like this.

Pregnant and kneeling in the ancestral hall—after her mother-in-law discovered it, she had thought she would be treated like an honored ancestor. Who would have expected that not only did the Marquis’ household ignore her, they even beat her husband severely?

Who was her husband? He was the most capable and promising son in the entire household! By what right did they treat the Second Branch this way?

Shen Zhizhi was so angry her chest ached.

She placed a hand over her belly, her gaze turning vicious in an instant. “It doesn’t matter. Once I give birth to the legitimate eldest grandson, I’ll make you all regret this.”

“Madam… Madam…” Xie Sheng called out to her weakly from inside.

Shen Zhizhi wiped her tears. “Husband, I’m here.”

“Don’t worry, Madam. I’ll change the medicine properly. Once I recover, I’ll take care of you and our son. You’ve worked hard these days. I’ll remember everything they’ve done—every bit of it.”

The resentment in Xie Sheng’s heart had been festering for a long time. He already hated everyone in the Marquis’ household to the bone.

Now he lay injured in bed, like a man whose legs had been severed. No matter what he wanted to do, he couldn’t.

Everything would have to wait until he recovered.

“Husband, I’ll listen to you.”

——

At dusk, beneath a crimson sunset, Xie Lan and Shi Yi returned to the Mingde Marquis’ residence.

Wei Zhaorong had someone divine Shi Yi’s fortune and decided to give him the name Xie Yu, homophonous with the character for “jade.”

“Third Master, Fourth Master, you’re back!”

The servants of Lan Courtyard smiled as they came forward to greet the two young masters walking side by side.

Shi Yi’s ears instantly turned red. He still wasn’t used to being called “Fourth Master.” It always felt like they were calling someone else.

“Fourth Brother,” Xie Lan called on purpose.

Ever since Shi Yi had been acknowledged by Wei Zhaorong as her adopted son, Xie Lan had been calling him “Fourth Brother” every single day—cheerfully and incessantly.

At first, Shi Yi had been too embarrassed to respond. But if he kept silent, Xie Lan would just keep calling, so now, whenever Xie Lan opened his mouth, Shi Yi answered immediately.

“Third Brother, what is it?”

“Put down your book satchel. Let’s go see Eldest Sister first.”

“Alright.”

Shi Yi returned to his room to drop off his bag, then hurried out to meet up with Xie Lan.

Moyun Courtyard was close by; the two of them arrived in no time.

“Lan’er, Yu’er, you’re here.”

Xie Wanrou was embroidering a sachet. When she saw them, she set aside her needlework and instructed the maid to serve pastries and tea.

The two half-grown boys were at the age when they were shooting up in height—no amount of food ever seemed enough.

Sure enough, after a full day of lessons, both were starving. Xie Lan didn’t stand on ceremony; he picked up a lotus pastry and took a big bite.

Xie Yu was more reserved. Only after Xie Wanrou urged him twice did he take the smallest mung bean cake.

Watching them eat, a faint smile curved Xie Wanrou’s lips.

When she learned that Mother had accepted Shi Yi as her adopted son, she had genuinely felt happy.

The sachet she was sewing was meant as a gift for Shi Yi and Xie Lan.

Her two younger brothers were very well-behaved, studying late every day. A small gift would surely cheer them up.

That evening, Xie Lan and Xie Yu stayed in Moyun Courtyard for dinner.

After the meal, they didn’t linger—they still had books to read.

As they stepped out of Moyun Courtyard, they saw someone peeking about at the gate.

The sneaky behavior made Xie Lan think someone had come to cause trouble for his elder sister.

Though he attended school, he constantly had people watching over Xie Wanrou, afraid that the Wei Yuan General’s Manor might try something underhanded.

He even worried they might secretly abduct her.

“Who’s there? Come out!” Xie Lan shouted angrily.

“Third Young Master… I’m a servant from Linshui Courtyard.”

The man stepped out from the shadows.

Xie Lan looked carefully—it was indeed someone from Linshui Courtyard.

“What are you doing at Moyun Courtyard? Do you have business with my elder sister?”

“No, sir. I came to find you. A maid from Lan Courtyard said you were here, so I waited.”

“Looking for me?” Xie Lan frowned. “For what?”

The servant glanced toward the courtyard and lowered his voice. “Third Young Master, may we speak privately?”

After a moment’s thought, Xie Lan agreed. He wanted to know what Linshui Courtyard was plotting.

Xie Yu immediately followed along.

The three of them went to a secluded spot.

“Third Young Master, it’s like this. During the day, Second Miss had a quarrel with Eldest Miss over a trivial matter. In a fit of anger, she went to Old Marquis’s grave. Now it’s nearly dark, and she still hasn’t returned to the residence. I was hoping you could go and bring her back.”

After running out of the marquis’s residence, Xie Wanyi had assumed that either Mother or Xie Wanrou would send someone to look for her. So she stubbornly waited at the gravesite, determined not to move.

But now it was dark, and not a single person had come.

To slink back on her own would be humiliating. She had considered asking someone to fetch Second Brother, but remembering the harsh words he’d left her with last time, anger flared in her chest. She would never lower her head to Xie Sheng.

After much thought, she decided to have a servant pass word to Xie Lan instead.

How could Xie Lan fail to see through her intentions? He didn’t want to go.

“This sort of matter should be reported to Mother. I cannot make such a decision on my own.”

The servant grew anxious. “Third Young Master, Third Young Master, the Old Madam is still angry with Second Miss. I’m afraid she won’t go look for her. It’s already this dark, and Old Marquis’s grave is out in the outskirts. Second Miss and Xiao Luo are just two young women—it’s not safe.”

Xie Lan nodded. “You’re right. It is dangerous for just the two of them. In that case, go back to Linshui Courtyard immediately and bring several household guards to fetch Second Sister.”

The servant hesitated, stamping his foot, unwilling to leave.

Xie Lan was kindhearted in the end and added, “Tell Second Sister it was I who instructed the servants of Linshui Courtyard to invite her back to the residence. If she agrees, let her return early. If she refuses, then there’s nothing more I can do.”

The servant knew that was as far as Xie Lan would go. He could only brace himself and say yes.