Xie Yi and the other Xie family juniors were moved to the front courtyard.
He remained calm and composed, entirely unlike the shaken others.
Everything had unfolded exactly as he expected—except for one thing.
The usually noisy system in his consciousness was unusually silent tonight.
Lin Zhiji was curled up quietly in the consciousness space.
It wasn’t his first time seeing Xie Yi kill people.
But this time was… a bit too much.
The image of blood and flesh raining from the sky kept replaying in his mind.
He felt nauseated.
He was probably going to have a lifelong trauma regarding fireworks.
He curled himself tighter.
At that moment, Xie Pingyue’s attendant entered and said, “Young Master Yi, the general requests your presence in the main hall.”
Instantly, all eyes turned toward Xie Yi.
Xie Yi remained unbothered and stood up calmly.
The main hall was heavy with tension.
After Li Guan’s head fell, the old madam had fainted on the spot.
Doctors had been summoned, guests escorted out, and chaos managed piece by piece.
Then Han Wan’s pregnancy destabilized.
The entire residence was in disarray.
Even Xie Pingyue, a seasoned general, looked visibly exhausted.
Reports from his men indicated the fireworks artisans were terrified and claimed they had no idea how Li Guan’s corpse ended up inside the fireworks container.
Meanwhile, Madam Jiang’s maid was found in the side courtyard—mad, incoherent, and barely conscious.
Both were clearly her trusted people.
But who would have such a deep grudge against a mere household woman?
Xie Pingyue looked coldly at Madam Jiang. “Do you have any leads?”
Madam Jiang trembled.
Her lips moved, but no words came out.
Then—she remembered Xie Yi’s gaze earlier.
A chill crawled up her spine.
She suddenly grabbed Xie Pingyue’s sleeve and said in panic, “It’s Xie Yi! It must be him!!”
Xie Pingyue paused, then slowly recalled who she meant.
His illegitimate son born of a foreign concubine—the one with the left eye defect, considered inauspicious.
He frowned. “Why would he kill Li Guan?”
Madam Jiang quickly fabricated an answer. “I only sent Li Guan to deliver clothes to him out of goodwill… but they must have quarreled. Perhaps he held a grudge and acted out of hatred…”
Xie Pingyue gave her a long, unreadable look.
Then he ordered someone to summon Xie Yi.
Xie Yi entered and bowed casually. “General. Madam.”
Seeing him, Xie Pingyue paused.
The young man was composed, even elegant in bearing.
Far better than many carefully raised legitimate heirs.
But upon hearing his address, Xie Pingyue’s expression immediately turned cold.
“Who taught you not to call your father and mother properly?”
He had fought and slaughtered across campaigns for many years. When he suddenly turned cold-faced, that oppressive aura alone was enough that even the personal attendants who had followed him for years could not withstand it.
Yet Xie Yi remained calm and composed, completely unaffected. “Naturally, it is not the rules taught in this residence.”
Xie Pingyue was choked by him for a moment, his anger growing even more intense. He asked directly, “Earlier, when Steward Li sent you clothes, did he verbally humiliate you and make you hold a grudge?”
Xie Yi said casually, “There are many people in this residence who humiliate me. Am I supposed to hold a grudge against every single one?”
Xie Pingyue: “You!”
At that moment, Xie Pingyue’s personal attendant walked in. “General, Miss Shaoyao has taken the medicine and has gradually regained consciousness.”
Shaoyao was Madam Jiang’s personal maid.
According to the servants in the residence, earlier in the afternoon Shaoyao had gone to look for Steward Li.
Now that Steward Li had died under suspicious circumstances, Shaoyao was likely the only one who knew what had happened.
Unfortunately, when Shaoyao was found, she was already in a crazed and delirious state.
Xie Pingyue had the imperial physician examine and treat her.
Now that she had regained clarity, Xie Pingyue ordered the attendant to bring her over.
Shaoyao had previously been mad, her clothes covered in filth and dirt. Since she was to meet her masters, she naturally needed to be cleaned up, which required some time.
Xie Pingyue sat in the main seat. Madam Jiang clenched her handkerchief and sat below him. Xie Yi did not sit, standing quietly in place.
The three of them had different thoughts, and the silence was so deep that only the sound of the water clock could be heard.
Lin Zhiji had previously only heard Xie Yi say to that maid, “Everything proceed according to plan.” But what exactly the plan was, Xie Yi did not say, and the maid did not ask.
Lin Zhiji listened in confusion until that fireworks display, and everything that followed.
Only then did he suddenly realize—this was Xie Yi’s plan.
But he had been bound to Xie Yi for three days, and he had never seen Xie Yi go meet this maid, nor arrange anything related to it. Moreover, he had heard servants gossiping before that the fireworks business was extremely popular, and reserving a display required booking half a month in advance.
Also, when Steward Li came to deliver clothes and told Xie Yi to attend the birthday banquet, Xie Yi had shown no surprise at all.
Putting all the clues together, it meant that half a month ago, Xie Yi had already planned to blow Steward Li into fireworks.
No!
Perhaps from the very beginning, he had arranged for someone to guide Han Wan into booking this fireworks display, and also deliberately provoked Madam Jiang’s jealousy, drawing out this scheme.
And how long had he been weaving this massive net?
One month?
Two months?
Or a year… or even longer.
This should have been chilling.
Yet Lin Zhiji suddenly thought: with Xie Yi’s skill, killing Madam Jiang did not require such trouble.
Xie Yi could kill a heavily guarded official like Official Wu with ease. Let alone Madam Jiang, a deep inner-house woman—he only needed to lift a finger to kill her.
If so, why go through such elaborate planning?
To take revenge, nothing more than killing the body and destroying the heart.
If Xie Yi was not in a hurry to kill, then he must be trying to destroy the heart.
Lin Zhiji was lost in thought and did not notice that Xie Yi’s aura was gradually turning colder.
After a while, the attendant brought Shaoyao over.
Although Shaoyao had been cleaned up, her hair was still slightly disheveled, and her expression was filled with terror, her whole body shrinking back in fear.
Xie Pingyue said coldly, “Shaoyao, what exactly did you see? How did Steward Li die? Tell everything you know!”
Madam Jiang frowned. Afraid Shaoyao might say something inappropriate, she added with a warning tone, “Yes, Shaoyao, think carefully before you speak. The General and I will uphold justice for you.”
It would have been better if she had not spoken. The moment Shaoyao heard her voice, her fear intensified. She fell to her knees and knocked her head on the ground. “Madam, please don’t kill this servant, this servant was wrong, this servant knows her mistake…”
Madam Jiang’s breath caught. She shouted sharply, “What nonsense are you talking about!”
But Shaoyao looked as if she had been frightened out of her wits. She confessed everything about drugging Han Wan and Xie Yi with aphrodisiacs. Afterward, the attendants indeed found that packet of aphrodisiacs in Shaoyao’s room.
Madam Jiang collapsed to the ground.
Xie Pingyue’s expression also changed.
He was not unaware that Madam Jiang was jealous and often competed with Han Wan. But in the past, it had all been minor matters, and he did not care. Now, however, this had unfolded in front of everyone, humiliating him in full view of the noble families of the capital, pressing his face into the ground and trampling it—how could he not be enraged?
Madam Jiang hurriedly clung to his leg. “Husband, I am wronged!”
Before she could argue further, crying came from outside the door. Han Wan’s maid rushed in with red eyes and knelt. “General, my mistress… my mistress’s child is gone…”
Xie Pingyue sucked in a sharp breath and kicked Madam Jiang away in fury.
Madam Jiang was struck in the chest and spat out blood, collapsing pale-faced to the ground.
Xie Pingyue said in disgust, “Men! Take this poisonous woman away!”
Seeing this scene, Xie Yi suddenly smiled slowly.
As Madam Jiang was dragged away, she happened to see Xie Yi’s smile. She instantly realized something, fear flashing in her eyes, followed immediately by a hatred that looked as if it could devour him alive. But her mouth was gagged, and she could only make muffled “wu wu” sounds as she was taken away.
Through Xie Yi’s vision, Lin Zhiji saw Madam Jiang’s expression clearly.
He suddenly realized—Madam Jiang was afraid of Xie Yi.
But on the surface, Xie Yi had been abandoned in an unused courtyard since childhood, without power or influence. Moreover, Madam Jiang had never read the original book and should not know what kind of person Xie Yi was.
What was she afraid of?
Unless she had a guilty conscience.
Unless… the so-called “ill omen” on Xie Yi had been caused by her.
The original story contained very little about Xie Yi’s past. Regarding the general’s residence, it only said that after the Great General died, the residence was destroyed at his hands, using it to prove Xie Yi’s cruelty and coldness.
Lin Zhiji had previously only taken it as background. Now, personally inside it, a faint bitterness rose in his heart for some reason.
Xie Pingyue was overwhelmed by these events and hurried off to comfort his favored concubine.
Only when he reached the door did he notice Xie Yi standing there.
Objectively speaking, Xie Yi was also a victim, and his own son.
Moreover, over the years, the general’s residence had been flourishing, and no misfortune had appeared.
Xie Pingyue paused and said, “Men, tidy up Qingping Courtyard.” Then he turned to Xie Yi. “From now on, you will live in Qingping Courtyard. If you need anything, tell Steward Xie.”
Steward Xie was the general residence’s chief steward.
Xie Yi lowered his eyes. “Many thanks, General.”
Xie Pingyue frowned, about to lecture him on his lack of respect, but Xie Yi had already turned and left.
The chief steward acted quickly. Soon the courtyard was prepared.
He stood respectfully in front of Xie Yi, carefully explaining the arrangements.
Xie Pingyue was the wind direction of the entire residence. One word from him could change anyone’s fate.
For others, this might have been overwhelming. But Xie Yi only felt it was dull and meaningless.
After the steward spoke for a long time, seeing Xie Yi unmoved, he felt uneasy and asked, “Young Master, is there anything else you require?”
Xie Yi moved his fingers slightly, then slowly said,
“Bring a plate of pastries.”
“Don’t make them too sweet.”