Chapter 4 004 Do you mean to let her feed you?

Xie Zhan had already made up his mind about the imperial decree from the palace.

When he entered the palace yesterday, the Yonghui Emperor held a Hongmen Banquet for him, hoping to release his military power with a cup of wine. If that didn't work out, he would find a way to keep him trapped in Chang'an forever.

General Han Ting's face turned grim. "That general is really anxious. I heard that the Left General who will take over Beiting will leave for Beiting within three days."

After saying this, he sighed softly, "Fortunately, the Marquis was farsighted and had already made arrangements before returning to Chang'an. If General Zuo were to go, he wouldn't have gotten away with anything good."

Xie Zhan's expression was solemn: "Send a message to the deputy general in the army, do not act rashly and alert the enemy."

Han Ting nodded: "Don't worry, my Lord, the deputy general knows what's going on."

As soon as he finished speaking, he heard a soft female voice coming from outside the window, delicate but not coquettish, and evocative of pity.

Han Ting smiled and said tactfully, "If there is nothing important, I will not disturb your pleasure."

The door of the study opened slightly, and Yun Sheng subconsciously looked up, only to see the other person's face full of interest.

She remembered this man. Once was the night she first met Xie Hou, and once was the day Xie Hou returned to the city. He was by her side both times.

The man nodded at her and walked away. The cold-faced guard looked over and said, "My Lord, please let Madam Yun in."

Yun Sheng clenched his fist holding the food box and hurried inside.

Xie Hou has a tall figure, standing sideways in front of the desk.

"My Lord, how are you? I steamed a basket of lotus cakes for you as an apology. I hope you will accept it and not hold it against me."

Yun Sheng leaned forward slightly. After paying her respects, she pursed her lips and said, "My Lord, please enjoy your meal. I will be leaving now."

"Open it. Do you agree to leave?" Xie Zhan turned sideways and glanced down at her condescendingly.

Yun Sheng's heart lifted a little, she lowered her eyes in response, and placed the blue and white porcelain plate in the food box steadily on the table. On it were six lotus cakes, small and exquisite. Just by looking at the appearance, one could tell that the taste was not bad.

She pushed forward slightly and said, "My Lord, please enjoy your meal."

A slender white hand came into view, with a white jade wrist visible from the gauze sleeve. Xie Zhan said firmly, "Come and serve."

Yun Sheng was stunned. Serve?

Does...do you mean to let her feed it?

In the past, when I followed my mother-in-law to the market in town, I could always hear people talking about the son of the county magistrate. They said that he was unruly and extravagant, and even had to be fed fruit by the maid.

The rules of the Marquis' Mansion are probably even stricter than those of the County Magistrate's Mansion, and the nobles enjoy better lives.

Yun Sheng pursed her lips. She nominally called Lord Xie her cousin, so she should have avoided suspicion. It was already against etiquette for a single man and a single woman to be in the same room, let alone serving him meals?

She lowered her eyes and whispered, "There are no eating utensils here. How about asking the maid to prepare a set and then come over to serve you?"

Xie Zhan narrowed his narrow eyes, and a sneer seemed to escape his lips.

"What? I can't order you around? Yesterday you even called me your cousin. Isn't it your job to serve your elders?"

He lowered his voice, his face showing displeasure: "Is this how Xie Qingyuan taught you?"

The color drained from Yun Sheng's rosy face, and her lips trembled. "My cousin misunderstood. It has nothing to do with my husband. He respects you very much."

Marquis Xie is the head of the Dingbei Marquisate. Whether his family goes or stays depends entirely on his wishes. My husband's future imperial examinations and entry into the court will also depend on his protection and support.

If she angered Marquis Xie, her mother-in-law would be the first to tear her apart.

"If you don't have any, why don't you come over?"

Xie Zhan lifted up his robe and sat down on the Arhat couch, then listened to his instructions towards the door.

"Send water for washing hands."

Yun Sheng was still dazed when she saw a maid carrying a copper basin into the room. The clear water was covered with peony petals. The maid kept her head lowered and raised her hand holding the copper basin slightly upwards: "Please wash your hands, my lady."

She came back to her senses, washed her hands, and dried them with a white towel placed on the edge of the copper basin.

The maidservant retreated quietly again.

Yun Sheng took small steps over and asked hesitantly, "Won't my cousin ask someone to bring over the utensils?"

"The eating utensils are inconvenient, so you can use your hands." Xie Zhan put down the book in his hand and raised his eyebrows slightly.

Yun Sheng clutched her skirt tightly, her moist almond-shaped eyes widening. Hand-feeding was something she had only ever done before: her husband.

She swallowed slightly, feeling that this was even more impolite. Suddenly, Xie Hou's sharp eyes slanted over to her.

"What are you standing there for? Do you want me to go and invite you myself?"

Yun Sheng whispered, "I dare not."

She breathed a sigh of relief and comforted herself that Lord Xie was her elder and that the way she served Mrs. Qian was no different from what she usually did.

Yun Sheng pinched a piece of cake and broke it in half. She picked up a small piece and handed it over, saying politely, "Uncle, please have some."

Xie Zhan's eyes fell on her milk-white hands and wrists, and he suddenly remembered that night when the cold moonlight enveloped her and her neck was also this white.

She was trembling with fear, her face showing unconcealable panic. Looking at the beauty under the moonlight, he was aroused with desire.

"Hmm." Xie Zhan took two light bites and rolled the pastry into his tongue.

He moved his jaw slightly, chewed it for a few minutes, and then it went into his stomach.

Yun Sheng lowered her eyes quietly, and from the corner of her eye she noticed his demeanor, which was full of dignity. She was momentarily stunned. She had thought that since Marquis Xie had been leading troops abroad for many years, his manners would be a little unrestrained.

She was in a trance for a moment, until she felt a wet feeling on her fingertips. Yun Sheng realized that Xie Hou's lips had touched her fingers. Her fingertips suddenly became hot, and she withdrew her hand, feeling embarrassed and not knowing where to put it.

Yun Sheng stole a glance at the man and saw that he remained calm, as if nothing had happened. He slowly breathed a sigh of relief, thinking he didn't notice.

Xie Zhan covered his sleeves and drank a cup of cold tea to rinse his mouth. He wiped the corner of his lips, threw the towel aside, and said slowly: "This marquis does not like sweets. Please be careful to use less honey next time."

Yun Sheng was startled at first. "Next time?" Then he was puzzled. Aren't all cakes sweet? What would they taste like without honey?

But she just said yes.

The young lady spoke softly, and Xie Zhan raised his eyebrows, only to see that there was still a bit of shyness on her hot face. Thinking of the touch of his tongue rolling across her soft fingertips, he closed his eyes.

"Uncle... do you have any other instructions?" Yun Sheng asked tentatively, feeling uneasy.

"Back off."

"Thank you, uncle."

Yun Sheng bowed and left the study lightly. The moment the door opened, Xie Zhan's eyes fell on her twisted foot from yesterday.

Having stayed in Lord Xie's study for more than a quarter of an hour, Yun Sheng was feeling uneasy on the way back.

She glanced at the silent Ah Xi and suddenly said, "Don't you have anything to ask me?"

Ah Xi had a blank expression on his face: "Madam Yun is the master, and you don't need to explain your actions to me."

Yun Sheng looked at her carefully. Ah Xi had been taking good care of her these days and never complained. Sometimes she had absurd thoughts that she was not an ordinary maid in the mansion.

Soon after returning to Qingtong Courtyard, Ah Xi entered her room. She pulled out a box of ointment from her bosom and handed it to her, saying, "The Marquis said your foot might be injured, so he sent someone to deliver the medicine."

Yun Sheng was surprised. Her foot was fine, and it didn't affect her walking. She just felt a little uncomfortable after standing and walking for a long time. Last night, when she took off her stockings, her ankle was slightly red and swollen. She had sprained her ankle before, and it would heal after a few days of rest.

Her eyelids drooped, and Xie Hou... didn't seem that scary.

As the master and servant were talking, Xie Qingyuan stepped inside.

He looked worried and hurried forward: "Sheng Niang twisted her ankle yesterday, why didn't you tell me?"

Yun Sheng chuckled: "It's nothing serious. I didn't tell you because I was afraid you would worry."

Xie Qingyuan was annoyed: "It's my fault too. I'm not as careful as my uncle. I didn't notice that you were feeling unwell."

He immediately glanced at the box of precious ointment, a smile on his face: "It must be that Sheng Niang's cooking skills pleased my uncle, so he gave me the ointment."

His eyes fell on Yun Sheng's pair of jade feet wrapped in white silk stockings, and Xie Qingyuan inexplicably felt a thirst. He said distractedly, "I'll apply the medicine for Sheng Niang, just to make up for my carelessness."

A girl's feet cannot be easily shown to others. Even though Xie Qingyuan would be her husband, Yun Sheng was still shy.

Before she could say anything, Ah Xi said, "My dear, go and do your homework quickly, or Old Madam Qian will get the news and come over to complain to you. I have my servants here to take care of you."

Xie Qingyuan was very dissatisfied with Ah Xi.

However, Yunsheng also urged him to go to school, so he had to leave embarrassedly.

His Sheng Niang is good in every way, except that she is too disciplined and has refused to give him any benefits so far.

_

After Yun Sheng left, Xie Zhan was invited to Wenzhaitang by the old woman in Xie Lao Madam's courtyard.

He looked at his grandmother's gray hair and the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, and understood.

Xie Zhan sat on the pear wood chair and said comfortingly, "Grandmother, don't worry about the imperial edict. Before my father died, I swore that as long as I live, I will protect the Xie family."

Old Lady Xie waved her hand. "Xingzhi, you've been a resourceful and capable person since you were young. At the age of fifteen, you followed your father into battle. Grandmother is proud of you and trusts you. My Xie family has been loyal to the emperor for three generations, but commanding a large army inevitably makes the emperor wary. When the late emperor was on the throne, he issued an imperial decree that your father could not return to Chang'an without being summoned. As a result, your father spent half his life guarding the Northern Court. Now that you have taken over the Dingbei Army, the current emperor still has many doubts about you."

Xingzhi is Xie Zhan's courtesy name.

She sighed and continued, "Grandmother originally wanted you to return home this time and marry you off to a virtuous woman, so that when you return to Beiting, you'll have someone who understands your needs and cares for you. Now that the emperor has left you in Chang'an, I don't know whether this is good or bad, but starting a family must not be delayed any longer..."

My grandson is already twenty-eight years old. Young men of his age would have children running around everywhere, but he has been staying in Beiting, delaying his marriage.

What she didn't say was that the Hou Mansion was now supported by him alone, and he was carrying the heavy burden of continuing the Xie family's bloodline.

Thinking of her husband and son who died in the war, Mrs. Xie looked up with tears streaming down her face.

Xie Zhan's heart sank, he knew what his grandmother had not yet said.

If he was not picky, he could have married and taken in several beautiful concubines while in Beiting. Now that he had someone he liked, Xie Zhan didn't want to settle.

He said solemnly, "I know this matter well. Grandmother, don't worry about it, and don't worry about arranging a marriage for me."

Old Lady Xie nearly fainted: "Do you know? What can you know? If you knew, you wouldn't still be alone."

Xie Zhan smiled and said, "Grandma, just trust me. I will definitely let you hold your great-grandson."

Old Madam Xie stood up and stared at Xie Zhan carefully. Seeing that he didn't seem to be joking or being perfunctory, she breathed a sigh of relief and felt a little more at ease.

"Okay, Grandma will wait for that day."

As long as her grandson is willing to touch a woman, she will not force him now.

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The next chapter will be on the 24th. Please help collect it. I am still working hard to collect it. I will update it every day once it is on the list [poor]