"Yue Niang, please, don't be so starkly at odds with your father and mother. You endured it when your mother treated you that way before, didn't you? Just bear with it a little longer, Yue Niang, and I promise I will persuade them." Chang Yuncheng murmured, gently stroking the soft hair of the woman before him.

Qi Yue closed her eyes, her body slowly stiffening.

In the end, the one sentence she waited for never came—that simple, straightforward sentence, perhaps just a single word.

All she wanted was that one sentence; with it, she could persist alongside him. But…

Chang Yuncheng noticed the shift in her demeanor and grew more uneasy, yet he couldn't fathom what he had said wrong.

Qi Yue gestured for him to release her. Though Chang Yuncheng let go, his hands remained fixed upon her shoulders.

Qi Yue looked at him and shook her head.

"I can't anymore, Chang Yuncheng," she offered a faint smile.

"Why?" Chang Yuncheng asked, his voice strained.

"Because I don't care about you anymore," Qi Yue stated.

I don't care about you anymore! I don't care about you anymore!

Is there any utterance in this world more wounding than that?

The pressure from Chang Yuncheng’s hands on her shoulders made the bones in his forearms audibly strain.

She must still be angry, deliberately saying harsh things to spite him! It had to be!

"You could before, so why not now? Didn't you say you loved me…" he articulated slowly, his eyes reddening as he looked at her.

"Yes, even though I love you, I can also do without you now," Qi Yue replied, reaching up to remove his hands. "It’s nothing."

Truly, there were even more hurtful words in this world!

"I tolerated it before because you were worth the effort," Qi Yue pried his hands away, meeting his gaze with utter calm. "But now, you are not worth it."

Chang Yuncheng looked at her, slowly straightening his back.

"Is that so?" he managed to say.

"Yes," Qi Yue answered without the slightest hesitation.

Chang Yuncheng turned and walked out.

Qi Yue ultimately did not leave the Residence of the Marquis of Dingxi. The young ladies of the household had gathered, and Yan'er, especially, wept and clung to her legs, refusing to let go.

"I don't want a new aunt, I don't want a new aunt…" the child cried with heart-wrenching desperation.

Qi Yue quickly reached down to lift her, admonishing sternly, “…I told you not to cry so loudly. You are so disobedient… you don't even value yourself; did I teach you surgery for nothing?”

It was the first time Yan'er had ever seen her so fierce, and the child instantly stopped crying out of fear, clutching tightly onto Qi Yue's neck instead.

"…Auntie, Yan'er will turn into a swan for you… please don't go…" she sobbed.

"Silly girl, if Auntie leaves here, it doesn't mean I can never see you again," Qi Yue laughed, patting her head.

"Yue Niang." Chang Chunlan approached, tears streaming down her face. "Wait, just wait a moment longer, we will go beg Mother and Father."

The Second and Third Young Ladies behind her nodded in agreement.

Qi Yue looked at them, a complex mix of emotions swirling within her.

She knew these young women revered Madam Xie above all else and dared not offend her in the slightest, as their very fates rested in Madam Xie's hands. That was why, when the young ladies had initially treated her with deliberate coolness or outright disdain, she hadn't taken it to heart.

But she never expected that today, for her sake, they would make such a stand.

To stand against the Marquis of Dingxi and Madam Xie for her sake—she could only imagine the trouble they would face given the current circumstances.

"There's no need," Qi Yue said with a slight smile, reaching out to take Chang Chunlan's hand. "I chose to leave; no one forced me. In truth, I should have left long ago."

Chang Chunlan shook her head tearfully, her expression showing an unmistakable resolve.

Upon hearing that Chang Chunlan and the others were kneeling outside the gates, Madam Xie gave a cold laugh.

"Kneeling to me?" She lifted her teacup, her face dismissive. "Then let them kneel. Do you think I fear people kneeling before me?"

Mama Su rushed in urgently.

"Madam, the Heir has gone to the Marquis again, kneeling, demanding that the Marquis withdraw his order to take a secondary wife," she reported.

Madam Xie smashed her teacup onto the floor.

"Even now, he still defends that lowly wench!" she cried out in hatred. "Summon them all here."

Chang Yuncheng was called in quickly, and Qi Yue was summoned as well.

"Oh, you haven't left yet? Making such a fuss, I thought you'd have been gone long ago," Madam Xie sneered upon seeing Qi Yue.

Qi Yue spread her hands.

"I was just about to mention it. Perhaps your household staff should be more attentive. I can't even find someone to open the main door, and even the side gate is locked. Am I supposed to scale the wall to leave?" she asked with a bitter smile.

Those courting death servants! Don't worry, once this passes, I'll remember all of you, and we will settle accounts properly!

Madam Xie gritted her teeth and sneered.

"Mother, I will not agree to a divorce," Chang Yuncheng stated.

Both Madam Xie and Qi Yue turned to look at him.

"And I will not take a secondary wife," Chang Yuncheng continued, looking at Madam Xie. "Nor will I agree to a divorce."

Qi Yue looked at him, her expression complex.

Madam Xie raised her hand and delivered a sharp slap across his face.

"I will not agree to a divorce," Chang Yuncheng insisted, dropping to his knees.

Madam Xie did not hesitate and delivered another slap.

"Hey, can you stop that? Why are you hitting him!" Qi Yue cried out, stepping quickly to stand in front of Chang Yuncheng. "Is this how you act as a mother? Do you even know how to be a mother?"

Chang Yuncheng looked at her, genuinely surprised that this woman would shield him! Simultaneously, a sharp ache pierced his heart.

This woman does care about me deep down! She truly does!

He couldn't help but clench his fists.

Know how to be a mother—that phrase struck a nerve with Madam Xie.

"I don't know how to be a mother?" She turned her head toward Qi Yue. "Are you implying I have never borne a child, that I am unworthy of motherhood?"

"Qi Yue Niang, can you please stop talking?" Chang Yuncheng hissed, his voice thick with exhaustion.

Qi Yue let out a breath.

"I am genuinely worried for you two—mother and son," she said. "What is all this torment about? Madam, do you truly believe this is what is best for him? Chang Yuncheng, do you truly believe this is filial piety? Can the two of you not just sit down and calmly discuss your perspectives?"

Madam Xie looked at her, then suddenly burst into laughter.

"I'm not being good to him?" she laughed, looking at Qi Yue. "I'm not being good to him? What right do you have to say such a thing? I'm not being good to him? What do you know? I married into this Marquisate for his sake; for him, I killed my own son—my son!"

At these words, Chang Yuncheng and Qi Yue were both stunned, turning sharply to face Madam Xie.

What?

"I am not fit to be a mother—you are right," Madam Xie said, looking at Qi Yue with a hint of mania, her hands pressing against her abdomen. "My child, I couldn't have him. They were all targeting me. I knew that old hag and that little slut were waiting for their chance. They waited for me to give birth so they could take Yuncheng away, so they could harm Yuncheng to death! They dream of it! As long as I am here, no one will hurt Yuncheng…"

"Mother, that child, that child wasn't an accident…" Chang Yuncheng crawled toward Madam Xie on his knees, shouting in horror.

"It was an accident, it was an accident. I 'accidentally' spilled water on the path, I 'accidentally' walked past a certain spot, I 'accidentally' slipped, I 'accidentally' drank the decoction the kitchen made for that slut Zhou. My child was 'accidentally' lost…" Madam Xie recounted, laughing tremulously. "Not only did I thwart their wishes, but I also made that slut take the blame! Yuncheng, rest assured, Mother only has you. There will never be another child. Mother will only ever love you."

Qi Yue's expression was one of pure shock.

"My God, a madwoman," she whispered, unable to articulate the sheer horror she felt, only managing to repeat the word madwoman.

Mad! This woman is insane!

"I'm not being good to him?" Madam Xie looked back at Qi Yue, a cold smile spreading across her face. "Qi Yue Niang, and what have you done for him? By threatening my son like this, are you trying to force my hand?"

"Madam, this is wrong; you need… psychological help…" Qi Yue said, frowning at her. "This isn't for his sake. This perverse, twisted behavior—you don't love him, you love yourself…"

"Qi Yue Niang, shut up!" Chang Yuncheng roared softly.

Qi Yue immediately fell silent, looking at Chang Yuncheng with a touch of pity in her eyes.

Truthfully, he was pitiful…

"Mother, I know you mean well. I will listen to everything you say," Chang Yuncheng said, taking Madam Xie's hand and urging her to sit. "Mother, I understand, Yue Niang has nothing to do with these matters. Can you please…"

Qi Yue looked at Chang Yuncheng, who remained kneeling on the ground, her expression tangled.

"Madam," she stepped forward, steeling herself, and bowed deeply to Madam Xie. "Madam, your grievances with the Old Madam should not be borne by me, or by Yuncheng. That is unfair to both him and me."

Chang Yuncheng watched her bow; though she didn't kneel as he did, he was immensely relieved.

She was finally willing to endure a little for his sake…

Madam Xie smiled again.

Can’t keep up the pretense anymore, can you? Or maybe you can’t bear to leave? Giving up because you can’t win the argument and now resorting to pity? You little slut, if I couldn't see through your petty schemes, I wouldn't have lived this long!

"Unrelated?" she laughed. "Unfair? Do you know how Yuncheng's mother died?"

Without waiting for Qi Yue's reply, she continued speaking.

"…That old hag tormented my sister from the very day she married into the household. She laid down rules, constantly punishing my sister with kneeling, forcing my sister to drink those bizarre tonics—those tonics must have been poisoned! Fortunately, my sister was strong enough to survive and even bear children. Still, she wouldn't give up. She actually switched my sister's medicine while she was ill, then sent her own little slut to seduce the Marquis, performing lewd acts right in front of my sister! She was driven to death by sheer rage!"

Qi Yue and Chang Yuncheng both paled noticeably.

Is this true? So Madam Zhou really was like that… or is Madam Xie just psychologically twisted with delusions of persecution?

"Mother, these matters have nothing to do with Yue Niang," Chang Yuncheng said, grasping Madam Xie's hand tensely.

"A debt incurred by a father must be paid by the son; how can you say it has nothing to do with her? Yes, perhaps it has nothing to do with her directly, but if it truly had nothing to do with her, why would she be here?" Madam Xie sneered, looking at Qi Yue. "If you were still begging for scraps outside, I wouldn't treat you this way. Perhaps I would have tossed you a few coins, or seeing how well you are favored, I might have even allowed Yuncheng to take you as a concubine."

She spoke with condescending amusement, looking down on Qi Yue.

"But now that you are here, and as the young mistress of our Marquisate, occupying the position of my daughter-in-law—how can you claim it has nothing to do with you? Without that old hag, how would you have reached this status today? Since you have benefited from the old hag's favor, you must inherit the enmity she created!"

Qi Yue lowered her head and sighed, remaining silent.

"Let's make this arrangement," Madam Xie took a deep breath, looking at Chang Yuncheng with a soft, pitiful gaze. "For my son's sake, if you can accomplish one thing, then I will persuade the Marquis, and the matter of taking a secondary wife will be dropped."

What?

A wave of delirious joy washed over Chang Yuncheng's face. His mother was finally willing to concede!