Chapter 3 Separation

“You-” Xie Yi painfully uttered a word in the Central Plains language, picking up the paper scraps she had torn from the ground and holding them in his hands, a bewildered look like that of a small animal flashing in his dark green eyes.

Su Mu held his hand, speaking word by word: “Xie Yi, you are free.” Xie Yi couldn’t understand what she was saying, but at this moment he felt an unprecedented lightness, as if the invisible shackles tied around his neck had been unlocked, even his breathing became easier.

Su Mu pulled him to sit down, pointed at herself with her finger, and said: “Su Mu.” Xie Yi blinked his eyes.

Su Mu was not in a hurry, she continued to point at herself, elongating her voice: “Su, Mu.” Xie Yi vaguely understood, his thin lips opening: “Su, Mo?”

“Su, Mu, Mu-”

“Su Mu?” Xie Yi tried several times before finally pronouncing her name clearly.

“Very good.” Su Mu smiled slightly, her smile as light and gentle as ripples spreading on a lake surface: “Here, for you.” She took out a honey-coated candy from her sleeve, bright red like a berry, lying quietly in her fair palm.

Xie Yi looked curiously, confusion in his eyes: “Um-”

Before he could ask, Su Mu directly stuffed the candy into his mouth.

Xie Yi’s expression was momentarily surprised, and the next moment, the sweetness of the candy spread in his mouth, bringing with it the fragrance of apricot, so sweet.

He looked at Su Mu and smiled, his eyes curved, his smile as bright as spring, his dark green eyes like a crescent of green waves.

“Do you like it? I have more here.” She grabbed a handful of honey-coated candies from her sleeve, scattering them on the table, like sparkling red rubies emitting a bright luster, the air seemed to be filled with the thick sweetness of candy.

She knew that Xie Yi loved eating candy the most, honey-coated candy was his favorite candy in his previous life.

Every time he was bullied by Yan Jiyue, Su Mu would buy this to comfort him, and he would always eat them all, not leaving a single one.

Xie Yi looked at the round, smooth candies before him, shocked and unable to believe these were for him.

Only when Su Mu pushed these candies towards him did he finally realize they were all for him to eat.

The hard candy in his mouth was still stuck in his throat.

He tentatively ate another one, holding it in his mouth, observing her reaction.

Su Mu just rested her head on her hand, watching him, her smile gentle, and in the depths of her smile it was also clean and pure, seemingly impossible to find any nauseating impurities.

Xie Yi suddenly realized that the new mistress was much gentler than the previous master.

“It’s getting late, I have to go back.” Su Mu looked at the sky, pulled him to the kitchen, pointing at the rice, noodles, grains and oil still in the kitchen, she said: “If you’re hungry, make something to eat yourself, I’ll come see you tomorrow.” With that, Su Mu prepared to leave.

Suddenly Xie Yi grabbed her.

She turned back, Xie Yi had already neatly folded the outer robe she had just taken off.

Su Mu smiled, said thank you, and prepared to put it on herself.

But Xie Yi had already consciously spread out the outer robe, personally putting it on for Su Mu.

Subconsciously, he still considered himself a servant.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t understand the Central Plains language now, Su Mu was determined to make him familiar with this place as soon as possible, and then change his current behavior.

After Su Mu left, the small courtyard was so quiet that only the chirping of insects could be heard.

Xie Yi sat alone by the window, holding the paper scraps torn by Su Mu, repeatedly recalling the scene of her tearing up the indenture contract in front of him during the day.

A small flying insect, smelling the sweetness, flew to the edge of the candy. Just as it was about to extend its mouthparts to suck and lick, it was pinched between Xie Yi’s fingers.

The small insect struggled desperately at his fingertips, Xie Yi watched expressionlessly, not a hint of emotion in his dark green pupils, until his fingertips pressed hard, crushing the insect in his hand, finally a faint cold smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

He washed his hands clean, his hands covered with small scars still dripping water, he put the honey-coated candies in his mouth one by one, the clear sweetness of apricot mixed with thick syrup, stirring on the tip of his tongue, sickeningly sweet.

Xie Yi actually didn’t like eating candy, he hated this kind of overly sweet candy even more.

When he used to live on the frontier with his parents and younger brother, he even found raisins too sweet, basically not touching them at all.

But he still ate all the honey-coated candies, his teeth crushing the hard candy into fragments and particles, the sharp corners of the fragments cutting his tongue, his brows slightly furrowed, the sweet candy and the salty blood swallowed together into his throat.

“Su Mu……” Xie Yi murmured softly.

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Su Mu had just arrived at the entrance of Luofeng Courtyard when she saw lights inside, remembering what Yan Zhujun had said earlier about letting Yan Jiyue come to apologize in person.

How could Yan Jiyue possibly come to apologize, more likely to come and make trouble.

As soon as she entered the courtyard, she saw Xiao Ping guarding outside the door, looking at him with a half-smile: “Young Mistress, you’ve finally returned, the young master has been waiting for you for a long time, even the Zhujun hasn’t made him wait this long before.”

The implication was to mock her for putting on airs.

In the past, Su Mu might have explained a bit, but now Su Mu only wanted to separate, and started to give up: “Let him wait then.”

Xiao Ping’s smile twitched at the corner of his mouth: “What did you say?”

Su Mu didn’t care: “I didn’t know Yan Jiyue was waiting for me, since he came to my courtyard on his own initiative, isn’t it right for him to wait for me a while? Do I have to kneel at the door to welcome him?” What a big face.

Xiao Ping couldn’t maintain face, struggling to maintain a smile: “That’s not necessary, the young master is still waiting for you, please go in first.” He gritted his teeth and opened the door.

Yan Jiyue sat in the main seat, wearing a red robe with cold eyes lowered, his appearance cold yet alluring, his eye shape not like the popular modern European double eyelids, but extremely traditional classical single-lidded phoenix eyes, at first glance a bit unfamiliar, but becoming more charming the more one looked.

Unfortunately, such a good-looking face was paired with such a dog-like temper.

Yan Jiyue raised his eyes and gazed at her deeply, his voice as cold as icicles colliding: “I heard from my father that my attendant offended you and was beaten with twenty strokes?”

Yan Jiyue got straight to the point as soon as he opened his mouth.

“Yes.” Su Mu leaned against the doorframe, standing tall and straight, her white robe like snow with a blood-red waist, the red and white matching like snow and red maple, the corners of her eyes slightly upturned in provocation: “Did Hua Lu complain to you?”

“Complain?” Yan Jiyue’s phoenix eyes narrowed slightly, looking at her coldly: “Weren’t you the first to complain? As a mistress, you can’t even control your servants and need my father to intervene, how is that like a woman.” It was thanks to you father and son that she couldn’t control the servants, and you still have the nerve to point fingers at her here.

However, now Su Mu couldn’t be bothered to argue with him.

She closed the door and latched it from the inside, blocking Xiao Ping outside.

“What are you trying to do?” Yan Jiyue stood up instantly, looking at her nervously.

Xiao Ping also realized something was wrong at this moment, anxiously knocking on the door, shouting loudly: “Young Master, Young Master, Young Mistress please open the door.”

Yan Jiyue watched her warily, the usually arrogant and aloof him now slightly retreating.

It felt as if Su Mu was an old lecher with ill intentions.

Su Mu felt playful, deliberately smiled and said: “My little young master, we are husband and wife, what do you think I want to do?”

“You— shameless.” Yan Jiyue leaned against the wall, tightly clutching his collar.

Su Mu chuckled lightly, who was more shameless between her and this father and son pair?

The playfulness subsided, and the smile on Su Mu’s face disappeared. She directly took out the separation agreement she had prepared long ago and threw it in his face.

“This is what the young master has always wanted.”

Yan Jiyue opened the envelope uncertainly, glancing at it casually, then his eyes widened slightly, looking at Su Mu in disbelief.

Su Mu leaned against the desk, a faint smile on her lips, the autumn moon by the window hanging like a silk curtain, blowing her long hair like a waterfall.

“You, you really mean it?” Yan Jiyue tightly clutched this thin piece of paper, his grip so excited it seemed he might crush it.

“Of course.” Su Mu nodded, tidying her wind-tousled hair: “The freedom you’ve always wanted, I’m giving it back to you.”

“Good.” Yan Jiyue hardly hesitated at all, afraid that Su Mu would change her mind after coming to her senses, he immediately said: “Where’s the red clay?”

“No need for red clay.” Su Mu’s room didn’t have such things, even the writing brushes and ink in this room were bought by herself.

“Then what should we use?” Yan Jiyue asked.

“Use this.” Su Mu bit her finger, took the separation agreement, and pressed a bloody fingerprint on her name.

Yan Jiyue was somewhat shocked, he hadn’t expected Su Mu to really be willing to separate from him, and in such a resolute manner.

Wasn’t she the one who took advantage of the situation back then, actively begging to marry into the Yan family?

Now that she had obtained the status and wealth she wanted, living the privileged life of a young mistress, what was she unsatisfied with except for not being able to get him? Why would she actively propose separation?

Or was it that after marrying in, she discovered that the life of a married-in wife wasn’t as glamorous as she had imagined, and decided to retreat?

“It’s your turn.” Before Yan Jiyue could think it through, Su Mu interrupted his thoughts, urging him.

He was the one who had suffered in this marriage, what was she in such a hurry for?

Yan Jiyue suddenly felt annoyed.

She was a woman after all, after separation, she could still marry other men, while he would become a second marriage, something to be condemned by thousands and bear infamy.

But even so, he still wanted to separate, he hated Su Mu, hated this disgusting woman.

Yan Jiyue wrote his name on the separation agreement, then decisively bit his finger and pressed it down.

“From now on, we have no relationship whatsoever.” Yan Jiyue threw down these words harshly.

“Wait!”

“What else do you want? Want to change your mind?” Yan Jiyue carefully put away the separation agreement in his bosom, even taking two steps back for fear she might change her mind: “The separation agreement has been signed, you can’t go back on it.”

Su Mu was amused by his behavior: “I won’t go back on it, but I think the separation agreement should be in duplicate, that’s better for both parties.”

Since it wasn’t about changing her mind, Yan Jiyue gradually relaxed: “Then you write another copy.”

Su Mu nodded, picked up the brush and began to write, the room suddenly falling silent.

The orange firelight dancing on the desk was reflected on her profile, a hidden glimmer in her eyes.

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Yan Jiyue suddenly realized belatedly that Su Mu could actually write, and she had good handwriting, her strokes soft yet strong with the momentum of a flying dragon.

“You can write?” He couldn’t help but ask.

“Mm.” Su Mu replied softly.

This was the first time the two had spoken so calmly, unexpectedly during their separation.

“Didn’t you not know how before?” He asked again.

Su Mu might not know, but Yan Jiyue had seen her before, though at that time she was in the outer residence while he was in the inner residence. He had seen her once from afar, hearing servants discuss her background, saying she knew a few characters but couldn’t write, wasting such a pretty face.

Later he naturally assumed she was an uncultured person who couldn’t write.

“I couldn’t before, but later when I was a servant in the Yan family, I would practice whenever I had free time,” Su Mu said indifferently.

She had just transmigrated to an unfamiliar place, and deep down she was anxious. After realizing she couldn’t go back, she began to study desperately, just to seek a foundation for her life.

The characters in the female-dominant world were similar to traditional Chinese characters. She could read but not write, so after finishing her work every day, she practiced until late at night. At that time, she couldn’t afford paper and pen, so she used a wooden stick to write on the ground, slowly learning how to write.

Yan Jiyue suddenly realized that the Su Mu before him was very different from what he had imagined.

“Don’t be prejudiced against Su Mu.” His father’s words suddenly echoed in his mind.

Yan Jiyue’s thoughts became a bit chaotic. He stood up and for the first time, surveyed Su Mu’s room.

Clean, tidy, simple, and with very few things, it didn’t look like someone had lived here for half a month at all, more like a traveler, with even clothes pitifully scarce.

Wasn’t she meticulously planning to enter the Yan family? Why, after entering the Yan family, was she living worse than a servant?

The only decoration in the room was a pink and white peony in the vase on her desk. There was still a drop of water on the peony’s petals, seeming to have been carefully watered by her.

The candlelight shone on the soft petals of the peony, melting into Su Mu’s downcast profile, revealing a section of fair wrist as she held the brush, ice-like posture and jade-like bones.

To be fair, Su Mu was beautiful. Using ‘beautiful’ to describe a woman was indeed a bit presumptuous, but it was very suitable for Su Mu.

Her features were even softer and more graceful than a man’s, but her eyes occasionally revealed a distant coldness. Even wearing red clothes, she seemed as cold as snow. If carefully appreciated, even the second young miss Shen would be inferior to her by three points.

Unfortunately, such a person had improper thoughts, her background was not as good as the second young miss Shen, her talent was not as good as the second young miss Shen, yet she didn’t know how to establish herself with her own abilities, only thinking of crooked ways to climb high branches, not even keeping a woman’s face, becoming a married-in wife.

“It’s done.” Su Mu put down the brush, pressed her handprint on the separation agreement, then handed it to Yan Jiyue.

“Young master?” Seeing Yan Jiyue had no reaction, Su Mu called out again, and Yan Jiyue’s thoughts were barely pulled back.

He looked at the words on the separation agreement, “Since our hearts are no longer the same, it’s difficult to unite our intentions… Let’s part ways, each finding our own happiness.”

They indeed had different hearts, difficult to unite their intentions.

“Young master, please press your handprint.” Su Mu urged softly.

Yan Jiyue looked at the bloody finger, suddenly feeling a surge of unbearable depression in his heart. The feeling came inexplicably, he couldn’t even think of any reason.

They were finally separating, shouldn’t he be happy? Why couldn’t he press down?