Actually, what Hong Xiu initially said was that she was sent by the Ji Family to serve him, and Mrs. Ji knew about it.
But in San Langâs letter, he wrote that he couldnât say such vague words, Mrs. Ji couldnât figure it out, and he must clearly tell her that the Ji Familyâs servants were being two-faced, just deceiving her.
Company Commander Xie had spent a few years with Mrs. Ji and understood her simple mind. If he didnât present things as opposites, she wouldnât grasp the seriousness, so he followed the reminder in the letter, insisting that Hong Xiu was secretly undermining her, pretending to follow her orders and seducing him.
Mrs. Ji was indeed shocked when she heard that. Although her affection for Xie Cheng hadnât been good these past two years, she clearly remembered the first time she asked Hong Xiu to send Xie Cheng some tonic.
At that time, the two were newly married. She disliked the countryside county, but still wanted to live well with Xie Cheng, so she just asked Hong Xiu to deliver the tonic and didnât ask Hong Xiu to serve him immediately.
Could it be that Hong Xiu was really deceiving her?
After all, they grew up together, they were not only master and servant but like sisters.
Xie Cheng looked at her incredulous face and asked, "I am your husband, the father of your child. Do you trust me or an outsider like her?"
Xie Cheng wanted an answer, so he removed the cloth from Mrs. Jiâs mouth so she could speak.
But Mrs. Ji was too delicate, her mouth hurt from being gagged by the cloth, and she couldnât speak for a moment.
"Who do you trust?" Xie Cheng pressed.
Tears welled up in Mrs. Jiâs eyes as she turned to look at him and did not answer. Instead, she said, "Even if Hong Xiu is wrong, you defiled my concubine sister! After defiling her, you pretended to be dignified and sent her back to the Ji Family!"
With a loud bang, Xie Cheng angrily punched the carriage wall and glared at Mrs. Ji. "I am your man, do you trust outsiders or me? You already said that I didnât like your concubine sister. Your concubine sister was jealous you married an official and wanted to ruin your marriage, deliberately deceiving you!"
Mrs. Ji was stunned. "How could that be? Youâre just a countryside soldier, not some noble family scion. Why would the Prefecture ladies want to marry you?"
Xie Cheng closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and told himself: not to strangle, not to strangle, this is his beloved wife, strangling her would be painful for him.
Seeing Xie Cheng close his eyes again made Mrs. Ji very scared. Whenever he got very angry, he did this, making her shrink into the furthest corner of the carriage, shivering with fear.
Xie Cheng opened his eyes, looking at her like this, and his heart ached. He asked, "Are you really so afraid of me? Is it because I killed someone?"
"Ah!" Mrs. Ji shrieked when she heard the word "kill."
Indeed, it was because of this that she consistently refused to get close to him.
Xie Cheng felt very sad. Perhaps he shouldnât have married such a delicate lady in the beginning, but now that he had, he couldnât let go. What could he do?
The carriage was silent, but the quieter it got, the more afraid Mrs. Ji became, always thinking he would suddenly rage and kill her.
Xie Cheng was in pain. He really didnât want to see her like this.
"I know youâre afraid, but I kill bad people. Which soldier hasnât killed someone?"
A soldier whoâs never killed canât be called a soldier, right?
"Stop talking, stop talking, sob sob, please spare me, donât frighten me anymore, Iâm scared!" Mrs. Ji cried, wishing she would faint immediately and not hear such dreadful words.
Xie Cheng didnât want to force her, but today he killed Hong Xiu and tied her up, and if he couldnât resolve things once and for all, theyâd have to go through this again next time.
Even if she had the strength to cause a scene with him, he couldnât take it anymore.
Xie Cheng decided to stop hesitating, simply stripped his clothes, baring himself completely.
Mrs. Ji seeing this was terrified and cried out, "What are you going to do? I was wrong, I was wrong, please spare me, donât do this!"
Ji Zhenniang was raised delicately, growing up loving poetry and song. She wanted to marry a husband who was elegant and could recite verses, and simply couldnât bear the likes of Xie Cheng, a soldier with a murderous aura.
Moreover, Xie Cheng had killed someone. He had killed someone, so how could she sleep with him?!
Seeing her reject him so vehemently, Xie Cheng felt as if his heart was being cut.
At first, Xie Cheng only thought he was too rough, making her uncomfortable, and thatâs why she rejected him.
But later, he already treated her very gently, suppressing himself each time, careful of her feelings, yet Ji Zhenniang still rejected him.
He was at a loss to understand, only finding out later that she feared for her life when alone with him because she had heard heâd killed someone.
Every time Xie Cheng saw her scared and disdainful of him, he was in unbearable pain. To avoid his own suffering, he only reduced the number of times he went to see her.
But Xie Cheng didnât expect that after killing Hong Xiu, she would not only refuse to let him touch her but be terrified just by seeing him strip.
"What are you afraid of? Iâm not a beast, and I donât intend to force myself on you!" Xie Cheng shouted, rushing over, grabbing her face and making her look at his body. "Look at my wounds. Each knife wound is fatal. Itâs not that I wanted to kill them; those people were evil. If I didnât kill them, it would have been me who died. Do you want me not to fight back and let them kill me? Or do you just wish for my death!"
Mrs. Ji froze. Was it really those people who wanted to kill him, that he only retaliated?
But Nanny Ji said Xie Cheng was born with a murderous aura, a stone-faced killer. He became Company Commander through killing people, the countyâs Fu Family ladies also said this, everyone feared him.
They even mocked her stupidity for marrying him, to live with this murderous fiend for a lifetime.
She heard it so often, she was terrified.
Seeing her insist on closing her eyes and refusing to look at him, Xie Chengâs heart turned to ash. Thinking of the years of hopeless pursuit, sadness overcame him and he couldnât help but shed tears.
His burning tears, his suppressed sobs shocked Mrs. Ji into opening her eyes and staring at the crying Xie Cheng in disbelief. "You... you... Are you crying?"
Why would Xie Cheng cry? Men like him didnât cry in frustration or angerâthey killed people.
Already in emotional despair, Xie Cheng ignored her, tightening his embrace around her, shedding his pride to allow himself a moment of vulnerability.
After a moment, he released her and cast a glance at the scars on his body, then dressed himself and untied her. "Ji Zhenniang, I didnât marry you for your familyâs Silver. I saw you on the painted boat and liked you as a person, so I went to your home to seek your hand in marriage."
He thought that if he sincerely treated her well, even if Ji Zhenniang didnât return his feelings, she would at least live with him peacefully.
But he was wrong, terribly wrongâshe despised him!
"I know you donât like the countryside county life and love the bustling Linhe Prefecture. Iâll let you go."
"I bought a house on East Wenqu Street in Linhe Prefecture. There, scholarsâ families abound, and you will be safer living there. As for Nanny Ji and Hong Xiang, I will deal with them for you, preventing any future harm they might cause."
Fearing Ji Zhenniang might think him ruthless, deliberately causing harm to those around her, he explained, "Nanny Ji, as your nanny, should prioritize your interests, helping you deal with disobedient maids. Yet she allowed Hong Xiu to compete with you for me. Hong Xiang may seem honest, but she coldly watched as Hong Xiu and Nanny Ji deceived you without saying a word; such a maid is a lurking viper, cannot be kept."