Chapter 78: Lady Han Meets Mistress Moon

“Qingyun, he is your father. You cannot speak of him like this.” Madame Han spoke sternly, reaching out to take Shen Qingyun’s hand, but Qingyun avoided her touch.

“Father?” Qingyun turned slightly, a cold smile curling at her lips as a scalding tear fell. “Mother, tell me, by what right does he call himself my father? Is it merely because he fathered me but never raised me, or because he schemed from the start to exchange me for another child and send me to the countryside? Or because he manipulated my marriage prospects, favored Shen Sisi and Shen Minglei, and never showed me a shred of affection?”

“Qingyun.” Madame Han listened, her heart as if cut into pieces by a blade.

“I still remember, when I was a child, a boy from the village came to play and accidentally broke a vase. He blamed it on me, and I was beaten for it. Even then, I vaguely sensed I was not their true daughter. I wondered, if my real father were here, would he defend me? Would I not suffer such injustice?”

As Qingyun spoke, she wiped away the traces of tears on her face. Her heart felt as though it might be crushed, yet her expression returned to its calm, unruffled state.

“Mother, do you still hope I can forgive him, and honor him with filial piety?”

Madame Han’s face was as pale as paper. She lowered her head with a bitter smile. “Qingyun, I know he is unworthy—not fit to be a husband, nor a father. But you are still young. In the eyes of the world, he is your father. If you plot against him, it will be seen as the gravest of disloyalties.”

In truth, the first time she met Yue-niang, she sensed something was amiss.

Shen Zhifeng’s gaze, so full of apparent care and affection, his subconscious bias and attentiveness—how could anyone be so easily deceived?

She had only been deceiving herself, clinging to the veneer of tranquility. Even when Shen Zhifeng began to show her kindness again, she was delighted, believing his heart had finally returned to his family.

But after hearing Yue-niang’s words, Madame Han understood it was all an illusion. Shen Zhifeng had never truly loved her, not from the beginning.

Yet...

“Qingyun, have you considered, if I divorce him, what will become of you?” Madame Han forced herself to remain calm. “Next year you will be fourteen, and marriage discussions will begin. Since he is so callous and heartless, if I am gone, who knows how he will scheme against you?”

“Besides, even if I do divorce him, where could I go? The world is harsh on women; gossip alone can crush a person.”

Qingyun sighed deeply. “Mother, there are so many men in the world. Could you not, after divorcing him, choose someone better?”

“Someone better?” Madame Han’s eyes grew confused. Remembering Shen Zhifeng’s disgusting hypocrisy, she gave a despairing laugh. “The next one—would he really be any better? Who’s to say what he might be hiding?”

Perhaps these words touched a sore spot in Yue-niang’s heart.

She recalled Chen Yan’s sweet words to her, which had amounted to nothing but chaos in the end. “Yes, men’s promises—they hardly believe them themselves, yet they deceive you completely, calling it laughable love.”

Qingyun saw Yue-niang’s look of anger and bitterness, and was left speechless.

She had wanted to say there were still men like Xiao Jue, upright and self-disciplined, but she knew Madame Han was grieving and perhaps could not hear anything now.

“Mother, even if you never remarry, you still have me, and the General’s Mansion behind you. Is it truly impossible to live without Shen Zhifeng?”

“If I divorce him, would it not bring shame upon the General’s Mansion? Qingyun, I cannot be so selfish. For you, for the honor of the General’s Mansion, I will not divorce him.” Madame Han seemed to have made up her mind. “Most importantly, he would never agree.”

“What if I could make him agree?”

A low male voice came from outside the door.

Xiao Jue pushed the door open and entered. His rugged face unconsciously showed concern. “If Old General Han knew you lived like this, he would return from the frontier and spear Shen Zhifeng with his crimson lance!”

Madame Han stared at him in surprise. “Why are you here?”

“Mother, I invited General Xiao,” Qingyun replied, though she herself was puzzled.

How did he arrive so quickly? She had thought it would take at least another half hour.

But in truth, as soon as Xiao Jue heard it concerned Madame Han, he cast aside all affairs and rode his blood-sweat horse at full speed.

Madame Han’s expression did not improve in the slightest. Instead, she looked at Xiao Jue with disapproval. “Xiao Jue, as the Grand Commandant, you carry the fate of the nation, command the armies, and serve the court. How can you involve yourself in such private matters of the inner household?”

Xiao Jue subconsciously lowered his voice before Madame Han, a hardened man showing a hint of grievance. “I... am worried about you.”

Qingyun observed this and thought, well, it seems Xiao Jue has little say before Mother.

Madame Han steeled herself. “There’s no need for persuasion. From now on, I will sever all ties with Shen Zhifeng. Everything will be decided after Qingyun marries.”

With that, she stepped onto the carriage, taking Qingyun with her back to the mansion.

Qingyun ordered Yue-niang to remain under guard, sighed, and said to Xiao Jue, “General, this has happened suddenly. Perhaps Mother needs time to process it.”

Madame Han had been the Lady of the Marquis for over ten years. How could she change so abruptly?

Xiao Jue gazed at Madame Han’s carriage for a long time before withdrawing his eyes. “I understand. Do not blame your mother. She has many of her own concerns.”

Qingyun nodded, bade farewell to Xiao Jue, and boarded the carriage.

Inside, mother and daughter sat in silence. When they returned to the Warm Jade Pavilion, Madame Han dismissed the servants and finally spoke, her voice filled with exhaustion. “Qingyun, I know what you’re thinking, but there is no possibility between me and General Xiao Jue.”

“Mother, why is that?”

Madame Han’s face seemed lost in memories. When Qingyun was her age, she too was radiant and bold, and Xiao Jue would always help her sneak out of the General’s Mansion to play, taking the brunt of Old General Han’s wrath.

She had not failed to imagine childhood sweethearts walking together to the end.

But Xiao Jue bore the blood feud of his parents and the duty to restore the Xiao family’s honor. At barely more than ten, he followed Old General Han to the battlefield, and that journey to the frontier lasted seven years.

When he returned in glory to the capital, she had already been arranged to marry Shen Zhifeng.

Only as she grew older did she understand that life is filled with regrets. Even had she not married Shen Zhifeng, the emperor would never have permitted Xiao Jue to marry her, for fear the Han family would monopolize the military.

And now, naturally, it is impossible.

Qingyun knew not what to say. The Han and Xiao families had sacrificed all for the court, and in the end, this was their fate.

Perhaps Xiao Jue understood as well, which is why he seldom returned to the capital, instead guarding the distant frontier—for the sake of the maiden in his heart, blessing her from afar, remaining unmarried his entire life, even in the last one.