Chapter 423: Come Back to the Xie Family with Me

Chapter 423: Chapter 423: Come Back to the Xie Family with Me

Xie Dizhi looked at Fang Qingdai, his deep, cold voice trembling slightly.

"Have you really thought this through?"

Looking at him, Fang Qingdai lowered her gaze. "Yes. If the world were to find out now that Liang Shi raised another man’s child, he would become a laughingstock. When he discovered I was pregnant, he willingly married me to protect my secret. I’m very grateful."

"Liang Shi was good to me, and good to our child. He never complained and always respected me, never forcing me to do anything I didn’t want to. If it weren’t for finding the spy who killed him, I would never have returned to the Capital City."

"Dizhi, I now see our past love as a friendship. From now on, I hope we can still be friends."

Xie Dizhi fell into a deep silence.

Outside, an old temple bell chimed, its sound exceptionally clear and tranquil amidst the misty rain.

To say he wasn’t disappointed and hurt would be a lie.

For so many years, Fang Qingdai had been the most important person in Xie Dizhi’s heart.

Even though his legs were crippled, whenever there was the slightest conflict on the border where Fang Qingdai was stationed, he would immediately write a letter. He would ask his elder brother, Xie Suzhi, to send the strategic and territorial analysis maps to Fang Qingdai in his own voice.

His tactical skills were unmatched. When news of Fang Qingdai leading the Liang Family Army to consecutive victories reached the Capital City, it was the happiest Xie Dizhi had ever been.

But in all these years, he never said it was him. He believed Fang Qingdai knew in her heart, though. After all, his older brother, Xie Suzhi, was a civil servant. How could he be so knowledgeable about military strategy?

But Fang Qingdai had never responded, so Xie Dizhi had assumed it was their silent, unspoken understanding.

Only now did he understand that everything he had done was inappropriate.

Fang Qingdai already had a better man by her side—one more loyal and more fortunate than him.

Xie Dizhi slowly lowered his head.

Before, he hadn’t bowed his head when an enemy soldier pierced his shoulder on the battlefield. He hadn’t bowed his head when Mrs. Xie Sr. forced him to marry Second Madam Xie. And he certainly hadn’t bowed his head after he became a cripple, vomiting blood!

But now, he admitted defeat.

’If this is what fate has decreed, what can I do?’

Even though Liang Shi was dead, and even though he was divorced, there was no going back to how things were with Fang Qingdai.

Xie Dizhi quickly composed himself. When he looked up again, his eyes were a mask of dark, profound calm.

"Then what about Xu Jingxi? The Liang Family Army all think your son died in a flood."

This was precisely Fang Qingdai’s dilemma. She had no way to openly bring Xu Jingxi home.

For the past few days, Liang Yici had been constantly asking about Xu Jingxi’s identity, and why Fang Qingdai was so concerned about him.

Fang Qingdai couldn’t bring herself to say it.

How could she explain to her daughter that her biological brother wasn’t dead at all?

"I’m thinking of adopting him as my godson," Fang Qingdai said. It was the only solution she could think of.

However, Xie Dizhi shook his head decisively.

"He won’t agree. Xu Jingxi wants a family, which you can’t give him."

The next moment, Xie Dizhi’s expression was firm, his tone resolute. "Then give him to me."

"You?" Fang Qingdai looked up, astonished. "And how would you explain it to everyone? Second Madam Xie was just thrown in jail. Can your child just appear out of thin air?"

Xie Dizhi had already stood up. He picked up his cloak from the side and draped it over his shoulders again.

His profile was sharp and stern, his gaze like a torch. He looked just like the mighty Great General he once was, commanding his troops.

"I will publicly admit that Xie Yuanjiu is not my child, but was adopted by Lady Yuan. My true child was lost, and that child is Xu Jingxi."

"You don’t need to worry about his future. He will take my surname, and I will be responsible for him to the very end."

With that, Xie Dizhi walked to the door.

He suddenly stopped.

He took a Pear Blossom Hairpin from his robes and placed it on the nearby windowsill.

"Qingdai," Xie Dizhi said, his voice heavy as he glanced back slightly. "Before the incident, I won you this hairpin you wanted. That it’s taken me so many years to give it to you... perhaps it’s fate."

Saying this, he pushed the door open and left, a cold wind carrying strands of rain swirling into the room.

Fang Qingdai picked up the Pear Blossom Hairpin. Clear yellow jade was carved into the shape of a tree full of pear blossoms. It had been the prize at the Capital’s lantern festival many years ago.

The hairpin, as the prize, was placed in the Grand Ninefold Tower. Whoever could reach the top first would win the Pear Blossom Hairpin.

That night, Xie Dizhi had been ordered to train soldiers, so Fang Qingdai had gone to see the lanterns by herself. While she was feeling sad that they couldn’t enjoy the festival together, it turned out he had secretly gone to win the hairpin for her.

Unfortunately, the incident happened the very next day.

It brutally severed the bond between them.

Fang Qingdai clutched the hairpin to her chest, squatted down, and began to sob, trying to stifle the sound.

...

Xu Jingxi was chopping firewood at home.

In his peripheral vision, he saw someone standing at the courtyard gate, watching him.

He glanced to the side and saw it was Second Master Xie.

Xu Jingxi stood up, opened the fence gate, and invited him inside.

"Is there something you need, Second Master Xie?"

Second Master Xie was smiling, his sharp brows holding a hint of pleasure. "I came to see you."

He then looked down at the pile of wood on the ground.

"Did you chop all this?"

Xu Jingxi nodded.

Second Master Xie took his hand and saw that the skin between his thumb and index finger was broken, revealing a raw, red cut.

"That’s not how you use an axe. If you use brute force with any weapon, you’ll only end up hurting yourself," Second Master Xie said, then walked over, picked up the axe, and weighed it in his hand.

He picked up a piece of wood. "When you hold a weapon in your hand, you must understand that every person and every thing in this world has a weak point."

"The weak point of wood is its grain. Look here." Second Master Xie pointed to a spot. The axe came down from above, seemingly without much force, but as soon as it struck, the wood split into pieces on its own.

Second Master Xie split several more logs. Xu Jingxi watched with rapt attention. Eventually, Xu Jingxi realized that Second Master Xie wasn’t just teaching him something; he was trying to help him chop the firewood.

Xu Jingxi quietly went inside the house. When he came out, he was holding another axe.

Second Master Xie didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. "Isn’t it enough to have just me helping?"

"Two people get the job done faster," Xu Jingxi said, sitting down next to him.

The father and son, who had never truly met, chopped wood in silence under the sun, their movements gradually synchronizing.

Grandpa Xu saw this from the window and nodded with a smile.

’The bond of blood between a father and his son truly cannot be severed.’

After they finished chopping the wood, Second Master Xie followed Xu Jingxi to fetch water and build a fire, and even helped him deliver wood carvings to the town.

By the end of the day, they were both exhausted.

They stopped to rest halfway up the mountain path, sitting together on a large rock.

Xu Jingxi took out his water flask, and Second Master Xie naturally took it from him and drank a mouthful.

Xu Jingxi was a little stunned.

’Second Master Xie isn’t disgusted by using something I’ve used.’

They leaned against the rock together, watching the brilliant sunset in the distance.

"You worked all day today and only earned one tael of silver. Have you grown up like this all these years?" Second Master Xie asked.

Xu Jingxi was silent for a moment, then nodded. "Sometimes I don’t even make one tael in a day. But every little bit adds up."

’He works during the day and studies at night, and he still manages to get excellent grades.’

Second Master Xie turned his head and looked at Xu Jingxi seriously.

"Come back to the Xie family with me. Be my son. I will acknowledge you. Whether you want to take my surname or continue to be a Xu, I will respect your choice. We’ll bring Grandpa Xu back with us, too. As long as I have breath in my body, I will never let you suffer again."