He felt he had done something wrong.
Originally, the fact that Xie Zhinuan had no thoughts of his master in her heart was a secret, but now that Xie Zhinuan had told him...
Duobao suddenly felt a chill down his spine.
"Why do you look down on my master, he is a prince, in the future..."
"In the future, become the emperor?" Xie Zhinuan asked back.
Duobao fell silent.
"Then I’m even less likely to fall for him!" Xie Zhinuan stated affirmatively.
"Why?" Duobao asked, not understanding.
Letting the horse run on its own, he turned around and looked at Xie Zhinuan seriously.
"I don’t want to and am unwilling to share my husband with other people, nor do I want to deal with too many meddling in-laws. I’m even less willing to serve a mother-in-law, get along with sisters-in-law, to curry favor with the elder and younger sisters-in-law. Of course, the main reason is that I don’t want to wait for a man amongst countless other women, wait until the flowers wither and my hair turns gray, only to realize that in this life, I’ve lived in mediocrity, preoccupied with fighting with other women, which is meaningless!"
Xie Zhinuan sighed lightly, "Love should be a matter that brings joy, but jealousy and hatred can make a person ugly. Especially when one falls in love with someone, but then that person’s heart changes, leading to resentment, hatred, making oneself lowly, even cruel and ruthless. Coming from the capital, you must have seen enough of the primary wife grinding down the concubine, the concubine poisoning the primary wife. As for me..."
"As a merchant’s daughter, I might not even qualify to be a concubine for your master, let alone the primary wife. With my temperament, if I were the primary wife, I definitely couldn’t tolerate a concubine. If I were a concubine, then what I would want is supreme power. Do you think I wouldn’t scheme and poison the primary wife? With my capabilities, there are dozens, even hundreds of ways to kill someone without anyone noticing. Duobao, what do you think?"
"..."
Duobao was silent.
He hadn’t expected Xie Zhinuan to say these things to him.
"So you can stay by my side if you can, but if you can’t, you’re free to leave anytime. I won’t keep you against your will, nor will I complain to Li Hengyi or speak ill of you. Don’t think that you’ve done something to change my mind. I’m only being somewhat pleasant to you for Yuanbao’s sake!"
Direct and clear.
It was indeed for Yuanbao’s sake.
Yuanbao was also a ruthless character but had treated her very well. From the beginning, he had been respectful and never showed any disdain.
He said and did things that Xie Zhinuan liked.
"..." Duobao had never thought that he would be rejected so thoroughly.
Her words were so direct.
Xie Zhinuan stopped talking, and he turned around in silence, beginning to doubt his life.
Despite the rain on the journey home, Xie Zhinuan had not gotten wet, remaining completely dry, while Duobao was soaked through and somewhat out of sorts.
"You go back and rest for now. You don’t need to drive the carriage for me anymore!" said Xie Zhinuan softly, carrying the cherries as she headed towards Dugu Zhen’s courtyard.
From a distance, he heard Dugu Zhen teaching the two children about medicine. Qin Mao listened very earnestly while Xie Yi sat askew, unclear if he understood but listening attentively, his little appearance truly endearing.
Perhaps he had noticed Xie Zhinuan’s arrival, for Xie Yi’s eyes suddenly lit up.
He also excitedly sat up straight, but he didn’t rush to get up and run out. Instead, he waited obediently until Dugu Zhen finished a section and said, "Let’s stop here for now. You two go rest and have something to eat. We’ll continue later!"
The two children quickly got up, bowed respectfully, "Old Ancestor, you have worked hard!"
"Hmm!" Dugu Zhen replied.
The two children ran out immediately, "Auntie!"
"Mother!"