At the thought, anger welled up inside Xie Jin'an. No wonder Liu Wan had been so cold when he tried to show her affection earlier.
On their wedding night five years ago, she had looked so delighted and shy to see him. She had been nothing like this cold!
Back then, he had even consummated their marriage to spare Liu Wan any sadness.
That had been the time he felt most mighty and virile.
And Liu Wan?
She had not praised him, said anything tender, or even gotten up in the middle of the night to take care of him.
He had let all that slide, only to discover she was involved with another man!
Xie Jin'an was furious. He had bestowed his kindness on Liu Wan, yet she was utterly ungrateful!
"And she calls herself the Minister of Rites' daughter! She has no womanly virtue whatsoever. When you first married, she didn't bleed, and I suspected she was unchaste. To think she would even dare associate with other men! Jin'an, you were right to bring me home. Otherwise, she really would have dragged the Marquis's Residence's reputation through the mud!"
As Madam Li spoke, she ordered the maids to pack her things and prepare to leave.
"B-bleed?" Xie Jin'an frowned.
He recalled that when he and Xu Rourou had first tasted forbidden fruit, he had not paid attention to that either.
Perhaps it had been too hard to notice in that haystack out in the fields.
Rou Rou was still the better woman.
"Mother, Rou Rou hasn't visited you in a while. I asked her to bring Huai Shan to see you these past few days. Have you prayed for their blessings?"
If she had not, he would finish praying for the mother and son before leaving.
"Rou Rou is a considerate girl. She has come to take care of me every month these past few years. Even when she was pregnant with Huai Shan, she visited often. She's a good child. You must not let her down."
With that, Madam Li took a Buddhist relic from inside her robes. "I prayed for a full day and night. Master Yuantong of the temple told me that our Marquis's Residence has the blood of the Son of Heaven, and that the child will one day be entered into the imperial genealogy. He told us to raise him well. This is Master Yuantong's gift to Huai Shan. Keep it safe."
"Mother, you've gone to such trouble for Huai Shan. I will certainly give Rou Rou the very best."
Xie Jin'an accepted it, his eyes brimming with emotion. His mother actually understood him so well.
"That's nothing. In winter, the water we fetch at the temple is freezing, and the firewood is heavy. The maids couldn't manage, so Rou Rou even had her brother move into the temple to do those things for me. A grown man like him has spent years here fetching firewood and carrying water for me. The Xu family truly treats us with sincerity!"
Madam Li sighed, then thought of the energetic Xu Xinbo.
She told her son, "I want to bring Rou Rou's brother back to the Marquis's Residence and find him a job."
"Whatever you wish, Mother." Xie Jin'an thought there was no harm in having another hired hand at the residence, as long as his mother was happy.
Madam Li's smile was exceptionally tender.
Mother and son laughed together, then packed their belongings, mounted up, and left.
When Liu Wan and Pan Chun arrived at the carriage area with Wanwan in their arms, a monk informed them that the heir and his mother had already gone home.
Pan Chun felt wronged on her mistress's behalf. "Madam, they just left without even telling you! Now that we have no carriage or horses, how are we supposed to get back?"
Madam Li had not spent much time at the Marquis's Residence, so Pan Chun had little impression of her.
Now, on the very first occasion her mistress had come to bring her home, she had deliberately shut her out, leaving her without so much as a carriage.
The mountain path was difficult. Even if they wore holes through their soles, it would still take an entire day to walk down.
Pan Chun's eyes reddened with anger as she gritted her teeth and glared fiercely at the path down the mountain.
Just as furious as she was the tiny, angry baby in her arms.
Argh, argh, argh! I'm furious! That old woman would rather bring Xu Rourou's brother back to the Marquis's Residence than wait for Mommy!
That homewrecker's whole family is shameless!
The mountain path is hard to travel in the rain, and there are bandits robbing people, too. Walking down now would be courting death for Mommy!
Even if she survived, being abducted by bandits would ruin her reputation!
Argh, I'm furious! I'm furious! Why do they get to leave in a carriage? Why?! Why doesn't lightning strike them dead and send them rolling all the way back to the Marquis's Residence like nice round balls?!!!
Little Wanwan clenched her fists tightly, her chubby face scarlet with rage. She was utterly furious.
She babbled curses in baby talk. Although Liu Wan could not understand them, she could tell from her tone that they were filthy.
Liu Wan sighed and took Little Wanwan from Pan Chun's arms.
Her heart twisted painfully.
She had come specifically to bring her mother-in-law home and had even prayed for her blessings, yet they had abandoned her just like that.
They would rather bring the homewrecker's brother back than send someone to fetch her.
With bandits making the mountain road so perilous, could they truly bear to watch her and her daughter go to their deaths?
Fine. Since that was how it was, they could not blame her for refusing to spare Madam Li's dignity.
"Pan Chun, go rent a carriage for us to return home," Liu Wan instructed, her face grim.
Pan Chun had only just left.
Fine strands of rain fell onto her face.
Suddenly-
Rumble!
A bolt of dry thunder flashed across the horizon and struck toward the road down the mountain.
A carriage on the mountain road was scorched black by the lightning, blasted into fragments that scattered everywhere.
Xie Jin'an and Madam Li lay stiffly atop each other on the blackened ashes. Their legs twitched, then they puffed out mouthfuls of black smoke.
Stacked with them, likewise spewing black smoke, was Xu Rourou's brother, Xu Xinbo.
Madam Li was sandwiched between the two men, and the maids hurried over to help.
They had only just reached out when a wild gust came from nowhere and sent all three tumbling.
They rolled all the way down the mountain.
The maids chased after them, weeping.
After finally catching up, one of the maids accidentally kicked them.
The three charred figures rolled farther down the mountain.
Even faster this time!
The maids cried as they chased them. "Boohoo! Oh, heavens above!"
Sheltering from the rain at Golden Mountain Temple, Liu Wan had been badly startled by that thunderbolt. She was just about to ask whether Little Wanwan had summoned it.
But she discovered that Little Wanwan had already fallen asleep in her arms.
It seemed that making her words come true drained Wanwan's strength. Her heart aching, she hugged her daughter close.
Her daughter possessed such a world-shaking ability. As her mother, she had to guide her carefully as she grew, lest she stray down the wrong path.
Pan Chun came running back in a hurry. "Madam, it's raining, and all the carriages have been rented. There's one decent carriage left, but they absolutely refuse to rent it to us!"
"Why?" Liu Wan frowned slightly. It looked as though night would soon fall.
If they did not head down soon, they could run into wild beasts or villains on the mountain road.
"They said they won't rent to women!"
"How unreasonable! Pan Chun, hold Wanwan. I'll go speak to him!"
Liu Wan walked over with furrowed brows to deal with the driver.
But the driver did not seem open to reason. A burly brute with a coarse manner, he refused to rent to her no matter what she said.
Liu Wan let out a long sigh. At worst, she simply would not return to the Marquis's Residence!
She turned to leave, only to hear a strong male voice challenge the driver. "This lady was here first. Why won't you rent to her?"
"I'm renting it to you, and you're still unhappy? Live long enough and you really do see everything!" the driver said.
Liu Wan turned around and saw that the man speaking up for her was Jing Wu, the guard who had broken Xie Jin'an's arm outside the palace gates a few days earlier.
Jing Wu placed his hand on the driver's shoulder and applied a little pressure. "First come, first served. Do you understand?"
The driver nearly dropped to his knees. Realizing that this was someone he could not afford to offend, he said, "Y-yes, I understand. Madam... I'll rent it to you, then..."
Liu Wan looked at Jing Wu gratefully. "Thank you, young man."
Jing Wu respectfully indicated the luxurious carriage nearby. "My master has never tolerated the bullying of women."
Liu Wan looked over just as a long, large hand with distinct knuckles lifted the carriage curtain, and she met the gaze that glanced casually her way.
Her heart skipped a beat.
It was actually the Ninth Prince!
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