Chapter 288 – In the blink of an eye, all the riches and honor had vanished like smoke (1)

In Nie Sangyu’s memories, her older brother and father were the two people that treated her the best in Nie Residence. Although there were occasional times when her father didn’t have time for her, her older brother was always there to side with her. He even helped her when she had confrontations with Chen-shi. And so, whenever a problem came up in the marquis’s estate before, Nie Qingyun would be the first person that Nie Sangyu would ask for help.

But, right now, as they were standing in front of Nie Xiangyuan, Nie Qingyun had his eyes lowered as he said, “Qingyun doesn’t think that I did anything wrong. Geshan and Sangyu aren’t the same person.”

Nie Xiangyuan had a headache. “What do you want Errong to think? She’s a grand titled lady that’s only been married to you for a year, and you brought home a courtesan that looks like your younger sister to be your concubine.”

Standing nearby, Ji Man stayed silent.

Nie Qingyun slightly pursed his lips and said, “Errong is the one that said I could take a concubine. In mother’s eyes, she committed a sin by not becoming pregnant within a year.”

“You’ve always ignored your mother’s words before. And yet, you seem to have your heart set on this matter,” Nie Xiangyuan said with an unsmiling face, “There’s already a lot of matters to deal with in the imperial court right now. Why are you doing this now and throwing this household into disorder? Qingyun, you’ve always been a sensible child.”

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The men under Nie Xiangyuan’s command had been making a lot of mistakes recently. In addition, the emperor had told Xiangyuan to handle the logistics of supplying the soldiers that would be going into battle soon. If any trouble came up, the emperor would inevitably blamed him. Originally, Nie Xiangyuan had been planning on asking help from Jing Province. First, it was because Jing Province was rich in black iron ore. Second, they were related to Marquis Jingwen’s family by marriage, and he would feel more at ease with trusting him to handle the matter.

(T/N: Just in case it was too long ago. Marquis Jingwen is Errong’s father.)

But, when he had come back home, Nie Qingyun said he wanted to take a concubine, and Chen-shi was the one that thought of this lousy idea.

The loathing that Nie Xiangyuan felt for Chen-shi had reached its peak. Because she was Suxin’s sister, he had tolerated her all these years. But, she wasn’t satisfied with small gains. He could accept that she didn’t know how to manage a household, but she was narrow-minded and repeatedly make Sangyu’s life difficult. And now, by wanting Qingyun to take a concubine solely for the sake of benefiting herself, she had ruined a crucial part of his plan.

Nie Qingyun said in a low voice, “Father, if you won’t agree to Qingyun taking a concubine, then just let Geshan stay in the other estate until she gives birth to a child.”

Ji Man turned her head to the side to look at him. “Older brother, how will you explain this to Errong?”

“What’s there to explain?” Nie Qingyun chuckled. “She doesn’t care about this.”

Doesn’t care? Ji Man was stunned.

Although Errong’s earlier expression had been calm, how could he view it as her not caring? What exactly had been happening between the two of them during the past period? Why did she feel that Nie Qingyun did care about Errong?

Nie Xiangyuan sighed. “Sangyu.”

Ji Man turned her head back to look at him.

Nie Xiangyuan stroked her hair and said in a low voice, “It’ll be better if you don’t come back to Nie Residence for a while. “Your older brother isn’t being clear-headed. He can’t distinguish the difference between guilt and romantic love. Give him space to calm down.”

Guilt? Ji Man looked at Nie Xiangyuan in confusion. Why did he say guilt?

Frowning, Nie Qingyun looked at her and said, “Sangyu, you don’t need to worry about this.”

Ji Man blankly nodded. It felt as if there was a gap in her mind. To summarize Nie Xiangyuan’s words, she didn’t need to return to Nie Residence. As for how long Nie Residence would remain a place where she couldn’t seek shelter, this depended on the situation.

Ji Man asked, “Before I leave, can I go see Errong for a bit?”

Nie Qingyun lowered his eyes. Nie Xiangyuan sighed and said, “You can go see if she’s willing to see you.”

How could Errong not want to see her? Her relationship with Errong had always been good. They could tell each other anything.

—

But, when Baizhi stopped her at the doorway, Ji Man patted her own head and finally understood.

Errong was probably mad at her. After all, no one would be happy to have her husband snatched by her sister-in-law. Although she wasn’t the one that had actually snatched Nie Qingyun away, the end result was more or less the same.

After standing in the doorway for a while, Ji Man returned to the marquis’s estate. As she was getting out of the carriage, she happened to see Nie Chenyu at the entrance. She was gesticulating as she ordered the servants to pack.

Seeing her, Nie Chenyu smiled and said, “Aiya, isn’t this my older sister? This winter is getting colder and colder. I heard from the marquis that there’s hot springs in Foshan. The marquis is going out of his way to take me there. Older sister, thank you for remaining here and working hard to manage the estate while we’re gone.”

Liu Hanyun, Wen Wan, Xia-shi were all going to Foshan in order to pray for blessing for their children. As for why Nie Chenyu was going with them, Ji Man didn’t want to know the reason.

This winter was truly getting colder and colder.

—

Qi Siling and Mu Shuiqing would be remaining at the estate with her. As for the other women, they would be leaving in two days. Sitting underneath the eaves and looking at the empty courtyard, Ji Man was somewhat lost in her thoughts.

—

The second prince’s marriage was held as schedule. She had heard it had been a lively wedding. But afterwards, there wasn’t much news of Princess Pengyue and the second prince. The entire capital had become extremely quiet.

In the end, Nie Qingyun didn’t take a concubine, but Ji Man received the news that the two of them no longer slept in the same bed.

No matter how she struggled, was it inevitable that the rope of fate would strangle her? Ji Man pressed her lips together as she walked around the courtyard and quietly waited.

—

Originally, the victory over the battle of Jiangdong should have been already been within the army’s grasp. However, according to the rumors, there was an issue with the armory. The shields hadn’t been able to block the enemy’s arrows, and the bows had broken as soon as they were put into use. Not only had the army suffered a crushing defeat, Commander Han De had been shot to death with ten arrows while he was on his horse. Ning Mingjie was temporarily entrusted with management of the army, and the army was forced to retreat for hundreds of kilometers.

Furious, the emperor directly ordered that the high official that was responsible for overseeing the weapons and armor to be put to death. Even Nie Xiangyuan was thrown into the imperial dungeon.

Translator Ramblings: I originally thought Nie Xiangyuan was a kindly father-in-law that just wasn’t aware of his wife’s abusive behavior. But, if Errong’s father wasn’t Marquis Jingwen, and Nie Xiangyuan doesn’t needs help from her father, would he care that his wife is bullying Errong as long as its not too obvious? Would he have just kept turning a blind eye to the whole thing? The gap between what he says and what he thinks seem so two-faced.

He sees himself as a magnanimous person because he’s tolerating Chen-shi bad behavior, but he’s not the one that continues to suffer from her abuse. By doing nothing, it’s the same as condoning her tyrannical behavior. Imagine how hellish Sangyu’s childhood would have been if Nie Qingyun hadn’t been protecting her from Chen-shi when they were children.

What do you guys think?

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep