After being reborn with my scumbag ex-husband, I became his sister-in-law.

He Yunze stared blankly at the pill in Song Xizhi's hand, his whole body stiffening, his mind going completely blank for a moment.

Seeing his expression, Song Xizhi chuckled softly: "What? Afraid to eat?"

"Just now you were weeping and full of regret. He Yunce, there's no truth in what you've said."

After saying this, Song Xizhi closed his palms to put the pills away.

He Yunze stared at Song Xizhi's face with near-obsession, as if he had suddenly made up his mind.

He took the pills from Song Xizhi's hand with trembling hands, and the pills even fell to the ground because of the shaking.

The pill fell to the ground without making a sound, rolled twice, and then turned dusty.

He Yunze scrambled forward a few steps, carefully picked up the pill, and placed it in his palm.

He looked in Song Xizhi's direction with trembling hands, his gaze still lingering.

The next moment, Song Xizhi heard him speak, his voice choked with emotion, his whole body still trembling: "Zhizhi...you know me, I've been a coward my whole life, and a fool for two lifetimes..."

"I really regret it, I really regret it..."

"If I can die, if my death can make you feel even a little bit better, then I will die willingly... I will be free..."

After saying this while trembling all over, He Yunze looked down at the pill in his palm, closed his eyes tightly, and swallowed the pill.

The pills made by Song Xizhi melt in the mouth.

The pills weren't bitter; a lingering medicinal fragrance remained on his lips and teeth, and even gave He Yunze a slight sweetness in his mouth.

He Yunze glanced at Song Xizhi with some surprise. Song Xizhi stood there and smiled at him, saying, "You're afraid of bitterness, so I added sugar when I was making the medicine."

Upon hearing this, tears streamed down He Yunze's face again.

He collapsed to the ground with a sigh of relief and gave Song Xizhi a smile.

He gazed longingly at Song Xizhi's face, then slowly closed his eyes again, as if awaiting his impending death.

But Song Xizhi slowly returned to his seat on the soft couch and spoke to He Yunze, his voice devoid of emotion:

"You can leave now. Our feud is over, and we have nothing to do with each other anymore."

He Yunze opened his eyes blankly, and just as he opened his mouth, wanting to ask what she had given him to eat.

But as soon as he opened his mouth, he suddenly realized that his throat felt like it was blocked by something. He tried hard to speak, but could only make "ah ah ah" sounds and couldn't say anything at all.

He Yunze was momentarily stunned. He was so excited that he wanted to say something to Song Xizhi, and even waved his hands and feet as if trying to express something, but he couldn't utter a single word.

In an instant, he seemed to understand something. His mind went blank, his eyes became blank and helpless, and his pale face was filled with pain and despair.

He suddenly knelt down on the ground, clutching his chest in grief and choking himself with both hands, looking as if he wanted Song Xizhi to kill him!

Don't poison him to make him mute, just kill him!

Just kill him!

Song Xizhi shook his head and said to him, "I've already said it, even for the sake of Marquis Anding, I won't let you die. He still needs you."

"I no longer hate you, He Yunce. Let's call it even."

A few days ago, Song Xi heard that He Yunce wanted to enter the imperial court through the imperial examination. He knew that He Yunce had come to a complete understanding, put down his pride and arrogance from his previous life, and wanted to start over from scratch.

But Song Xizhi couldn't allow He Yunce any opportunity to climb the ranks.

She wanted to cut off He Yunce's path to advancement.

He was born mediocre, and since he enjoyed glory he shouldn't have, he should also die mediocre.

She wouldn't let He Yunce die before Huang Suyi's baby was born.

Having spent time together in their past life, Song Xizhi understood He Yunze's character best. Rather than letting He Yunze let go of all his regrets and die with a clear conscience, it would be better to poison him and make him mute, so that he would live in repentance every day.

Once Huang Suyi's child is born, as long as she has no ill intentions towards the Marquis of Anding's mansion, Song Xizhi will use his influence to support the child's growth and use his own money to help the Marquis of Anding's mansion operate.

This will allow Marquis Anding and Madam He to enjoy their later years without any worries.

This was the best ending she could come up with.

He Yunze felt as if his heart was being torn apart. He knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Song Xizhi repeatedly with such force that it was as if he were harming himself.

He would rather die; he was willing to die at Song Xizhi's hands, as if it were repaying her for the life he had given her in his previous life.

But he was unwilling to live like that, like a cripple!

Does Dad need him?

But he was a cripple, a laughingstock in other people's eyes, and he couldn't have children!

What is the point of his life?

But Song Xizhi got up from the soft couch, stopping him, and even his tone became more amiable:

"Alright, get up, go back."

He Yunce gasped for breath, tears streaming down his face, mumbling incoherently, but unable to utter a single word.

He would rather Song Xizhi speak ill of him! He would rather Song Xizhi let him die! He would rather Song Xizhi give him a reason to hate her!

It's not that Song Xizhi just let him go like that, allowing him to live like a rat in this world.

He Yunze fell heavily to the ground, his body hitting the ground with a dull thud.

In the end, Song Xizhi had him carried back to Guanyun Pavilion, and secretly appointed a guard to closely monitor He Yunce's every move.

To the outside world, Song Xizhi claimed that He Yunze had come to see her three times because of his infertility.

After his master thoroughly examined him and confirmed that there was no hope of recovery, He Yunze was unable to speak again after being traumatized.

Everyone in the Marquis's residence was quite surprised when they heard the news. The Marquis of Anding sighed deeply and remained silent for a long time.

He Yunze was carried back to his bed while unconscious, and he had another very long dream.

He dreamed of Song Xizhi again, but he was no longer the young Song Xizhi.

It was Song Xizhi, who had lived in the cold courtyard for thirty years. Her hair was completely white, and she looked incredibly old. He knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly to Song Xizhi, but Song Xizhi could only silently shed tears.

He Yunze was also crying continuously, tears streaming down his face, but he could only make muffled sobs, unable to utter a single word.

He Yunze struggled to wake up from his dream for the third time, feeling utterly exhausted, as if he had died once.

He instinctively tried to call out to Shuangxi, but suddenly found that he couldn't make a sound.

He then realized, in a daze, that it was all real, that it wasn't a dream.

He sat blankly on the bed for a long time, silently shedding tears, then slowly put on his clothes, walked to the windowsill, and stared blankly outside.

His eyes, his whole body, were vacant, like a marionette; even his heart had stopped beating.

Suddenly, a thick plume of black smoke billowed from somewhere outside the Marquis's residence, and in the distance, it looked as if there were flames covering the sky.