Volume 1, Chapter 8: Divorce Me Immediately

“It's so late; Mother has probably gone to bed. Let Wutong go and fetch her.”
A warmth settled on Xie Mingyue’s shoulder, her heart pounding at the intensity reflected in his eyes. She averted her gaze and sent Wutong to call for her.

Qi Jinshan continued, “Search these two brazen hags thoroughly.”
At his command, the servants and maids brought by Jin He swiftly entered the two women’s quarters, turning everything inside out.

The search uncovered not only gambling dice and yellow slips but also several pieces of jewelry and ornaments clearly not belonging to servants. Qi Jinshan recognized many items he had previously gifted to the Qionghua Courtyard.

“These were never given by me. How did they come to be in your rooms?”
Xie Mingyue regarded them coldly.

“To think you have been in my courtyard all these years, yet you have been betraying your mistress all along.”
The two women could never have imagined that, in the dead of night, Xie Mingyue would bring Qi Jinshan back to the courtyard. Faced with irrefutable evidence, they could only collapse to the ground, wailing in despair.

“Master, have mercy! We were momentarily led astray. Madam, please consider the late matron’s kindness and grant us one more chance.”
Xie Mingyue remained unmoved, awaiting the arrival of Madam Yun. Qi Jinshan, growing impatient, furrowed his brow slightly, and Yujing stepped forward to deliver two harsh kicks.

“Everyone stay quiet and kneel. Don’t sully the ears of Master and Madam with your filth.”
With his strong kicks, the two women were sent sprawling to the ground, unable to rise for quite some time.

At that moment, a voice rang from outside the courtyard.

“Mingyue, the maids Huang and Li were assigned to you by me. As for theft, it’s probably just a careless oversight by the servants. There’s no need to make such a fuss.”
Madam Yun, who had already lain down, was awakened by the commotion and forced to get up.

This daughter-in-law of hers was usually as quiet as a quail, but now, for some unknown reason, she had taken an uncharacteristic stance, daring to question her staff. Madam Yun bore a heart full of grievances against Xie Mingyue.

“Mother, I sent for you.”
Qi Jinshan spoke calmly.

Madam Yun was surprised to see Qi Jinshan present. The reprimand she had prepared twisted on her tongue but was ultimately swallowed back.

Seeing Madam Yun’s sudden change of expression, Qi Jinshan’s face also grew colder.
It seemed that many people had been putting on a show in his presence all along, but tonight’s unexpected revelation had laid bare their true nature.

“It’s so late; why are you here?”
Madam Yun softened her tone, addressing her son.

“Mother, Jinshan is my husband. It is only natural that he is here in my courtyard.”
Xie Mingyue finally found her voice when facing her adversaries.

“If he hadn’t come, you wouldn’t know how loyal the people you chose for me have been.”
She approached the pile of items on the ground and took a bracelet from Wutong’s hand.

“Since my illness, I have been unable to manage many affairs. Many of these things were gifts from Jinshan, including the bracelet Mother gave today, yet they all ended up in their hands. This is a failure on my part as a wife...”

“Why blame yourself? Evil servants betraying their mistress must be punished.”
Qi Jinshan’s anger was deep-seated as he grasped Xie Mingyue’s hand tightly.

At the sight of the bracelet suddenly brought out, Madam Yun’s eyelids twitched.
In the next instant, the bracelet slipped from Xie Mingyue’s hand and fell straight to the ground.

“Ah!”
Wutong cried out in alarm and hurried to pick it up, only to recoil in horror.

“Blood!”
Everyone bent down to look at the bracelet. A hidden compartment had opened, spilling a bright red powder onto the floor, sharp and shocking to the eye.

“What is this?”
Xie Mingyue stepped back in confusion, glancing at Madam Yun.

“Mother, this was the bracelet you had sent to your daughter-in-law today. It actually contained something inside?”
Madam Yun faltered for a moment but quickly put on a smiling face.

“How careless! White Ma’am told me it was a beneficial powder for offspring. Fearing you might be displeased to hear about it, she hid it inside the bracelet, hoping you and Jinshan would soon have good news.”

White Ma’am’s face flickered with shock and despair, yet she stood firmly behind Madam Yun, bowing her head. “It’s a family remedy from my homeland, Madam, please forgive me.”

She understood perfectly well that Madam Yun intended to pin the blame on her. But thinking of the family she was tightly bound to under Madam Yun’s control, White Ma’am could only accept this fate.

Yujing, knowledgeable in medicine, stepped forward at Qi Jinshan’s signal. After scraping a bit of the powder and sniffing it carefully, he said calmly, “Master, this powder contains Huang Bai and Talc, both cold substances. Rather than aiding offspring, it is more likely to cause infertility.”

Upon hearing this, Madam Yun was more surprised than anyone. Her eyes reddened as she looked at White Ma’am, her trusted attendant.

“Infertility? White Ma’am! You have served me for years, yet you would harm my daughter-in-law so?”

White Ma’am immediately revealed a cruel expression. “You know how long I’ve served you. I begged you to give my son a position, but you refused. I wanted to make sure you would never have grandchildren, that your lineage would never continue!”

“Shameless and vicious old woman! How dare you use my hands to harm Mingyue!”

Madam Yun’s face twisted with both sorrow and fury. She spoke before Qi Jinshan and Xie Mingyue could respond.

“Mingyue, your mother was wrong to listen to this old woman’s slander. Please forgive your mother this once.”

To onlookers, this seemed to be White Ma’am’s instigation. As an elder servant who had admitted fault, if Xie Mingyue still refused to relent, she would appear ungrateful.

Madam Yun was skilled; with a single sentence, she discarded her loyal maid.

Xie Mingyue watched her quietly as their eyes met. Suddenly, Qi Jinshan stepped in front of her.

“Is what White Ma’am said true?”
He twisted the ring on his finger, his anger heavy and dark like a starless night pressing down on everyone present.

Madam Yun frowned. “Jinshan, this old woman has admitted it. What else is there to ask?”

She was usually very calculated, but she had not expected that Xie Mingyue would bring this matter directly to Qi Jinshan’s attention.

Some things she could suppress in the inner quarters with her status as mother-in-law, but if Qi Jinshan intervened, it would be a different matter altogether.

“Mother, I am asking White Ma’am.”
Qi Jinshan’s expression was calm, but his tone was chilling, sending an involuntary shiver through the room.

“It was me.”
White Ma’am stiffened her neck.

Qi Jinshan nodded slightly. “Good. Do you know that by harming an official’s wife, you not only commit a crime yourself, but your family will also be implicated? For three generations, they will be barred from entering academies or taking any examinations.”

Hearing this, White Ma’am’s resolute expression faltered.

“White Ma’am, have you thought this through? Do you want your descendants to be deprived of the chance to study and advance?”

Under Qi Jinshan’s cold and imposing presence, White Ma’am crumbled instantly.

“It was the late matron! The late matron ordered me to do it. Master, you see everything clearly. This was not my initiative. I accept the blame, but my family is innocent!”
Desperately, she kowtowed toward Xie Mingyue.

“Madam, forgive me. It was the late matron’s instruction to put the powder in, and it was Nurse Li who bought it from the clinic.”

Under Madam Yun’s disbelieving gaze, White Ma’am spilled the whole truth.

Xie Mingyue raised an eyebrow, looking at Madam Yun. “How have I wronged you to deserve such a cruel punishment? Infertility? If Mother dislikes me so much, why not just have Master divorce me directly?”