Chapter 62 [VIP]

Chapter Summary: The Meeting.

"Xuan'er, you've only just returned from Guizhou, are you going to work tonight?" Li Wei asked as Xie Xuan entered the hall.

"Yes, that's right." Xie Xuan replied somewhat guiltily. Actually, he had only been resting at home for a few days, but he really wanted to see Yu Jing, so he asked to return to his post.

"There's nothing much going on at the manor, and I wasn't injured in Guizhou City, so I thought I'd go on duty," Xie Xuan added.

"The ginseng chicken soup I instructed the kitchen to make should be ready soon. Drink the ginseng chicken soup before you leave," Li Wei said to Xie Xuan as she turned to look in the direction of the kitchen.

"Okay, sure."

"Xuan'er, where are you going tonight?" Xie Ying asked at the right moment as she entered the hall, having just overheard Li Wei's last words.

"On duty?"

"Hey, wait a minute." Xie Ying wasn't surprised at all when she heard that Xie Xuan was going to go on duty. Instead, she seemed to remember something and turned to walk back.

Seeing Xie Ying's reaction, Xie Xuan and Li Wei exchanged a glance, neither of them understanding what Xie Ying was up to.

A moment later, Xie Ying came running back, holding a small bottle of ointment in her hand: "Here, it's been a bit hot these past few days, and there are a lot of mosquitoes. When you're on duty, put some of this ointment on yourself. This ointment can repel mosquitoes."

Xie Ying spoke to Xie Xuan in a serious tone, and Xie Xuan felt a warmth in his heart, reaching out to take the gift: "Thank you, elder sister!"

After drinking the ginseng chicken soup, Xie Xuan got up to go to his duty. Suddenly remembering something, he turned back into the house, folded the paper on the table and put it in his pocket, then went to the bed and took his silver pouch. He rode his horse into the street, turned it around, and headed towards the bustling market. When he reached a shop, Xie Xuan reined in his horse, dismounted, and stopped.

It was already getting dark, so there weren't many people in the shop. The few women who were picking out hairpins glanced at the handsome man who had entered. The waiter also approached Xie Xuan as he entered.

"Sir, may I ask what you would like to order?"

Xie Xuan glanced around and asked somewhat awkwardly, "Do you have any red fabric here?"

Fearing the waiter might not understand, Xie Xuan explained, "It's used to make hairpins."

"Yes, yes, yes!" the waiter hurriedly replied, "May I ask what kind of material you would like, sir? We have red coral, red agate, red chalcedony..."

The waiter listed the items one by one, but Xie Xuan didn't know much about them and couldn't quite understand what he was saying. He went straight to the point and asked, "I want the most expensive and the most beautiful."

"That's red agate," the waiter said. "Would you like a finished hairpin, or one with your own design?"

Xie Xuan took out a piece of paper from his pocket, unfolded it, and showed it to the waiter: "Can this be engraved?"

The waiter glanced at it; he hadn't seen the flowers there before, but they looked quite beautiful. "They can carve them. Our craftsmen here are the best in the entire capital. Even those in the palace might not be able to compare."

"Sir, you've come at the perfect time. We just received a batch of top-quality agate this afternoon, from the south. Would you like to take a look?" the waiter asked tentatively.

"Okay," Xie Xuan replied. The waiter then called out, "Manager."

A refined-looking middle-aged man emerged from inside. He first sized Xie Xuan up and down, then looked at the waiter.

"Shopkeeper, this gentleman would like to have his red agate examined."

The shopkeeper understood and gestured towards the stairs, indicating that Xie Xuan should go upstairs. Xie Xuan followed the shopkeeper upstairs and into a small room. The small room was quite large, filled with shelves and cabinets displaying all sorts of gemstones, some strange and unusual. Xie Xuan immediately spotted the red piece; only a single candle was lit in the small room, but it couldn't conceal the striking red. Xie Xuan walked over and browsed for a long time before finally choosing one: "Then I'll take this one."

"Alright," the shopkeeper replied with a smile, "Sir, you have a good eye. This piece is the best of this batch of materials."

"How much silver do you want?" Xie Xuan asked in turn.

The shopkeeper held out his hand and showed a number.

Xie Xuan paused, then picked out his silver pouch and handed it to the shopkeeper: "This is half of it, consider it a deposit. I'll give you the other half when it's ready."

"Alright." Seeing Xie Xuan's straightforwardness, the shopkeeper readily agreed.

When can I pick it up?

"Your pattern is not mixed up, so you can come and pick it up in about five days."

"Mm." Xie Xuan responded, bowing slightly. "Then I shall take my leave."

"Please take care, sir."

Yu Jing was reading a book on the couch after finishing her dinner. There were so many books on Sheng Hua's bookshelf that even if she read them every day and every night, she wouldn't be able to finish them all. Picking one or two books at random was enough to pass the time.

"Greetings, Lord Xie."

Hearing the faint sounds coming from outside, Yu Jing paused in her grip on the book, then turned to A Yu, who was standing guard beside her, and asked, "Is Xie Xuan on duty today?"

"I heard that's true. It was Lord Xie who requested to be reinstated," Ayu replied respectfully.

"Why can't you rest for a couple more days?" Yu Jing muttered to herself, then continued reading the book in her hands.

Ayu noticed the changes in Yu Jing and Xie Xuan, and quietly gestured for the palace maids waiting nearby to leave. Yu Jing herself might not have noticed, but Ayu, as her personal maid, had to keep an eye on things for her. The palace was always full of gossip, and as the Empress Dowager, Yu Jing was naturally in the spotlight; her every move was the subject of whispers among the servants. If someone with ulterior motives overheard her words, it wouldn't be good.

Yu Jing had been reading for a long time and was getting sleepy. After yawning twice, she looked up at A Yu and said, "A Yu, I'm a little sleepy. Let's get some rest."

"Yes." Ayu approached and tidied up Yu Jing's bedding. Yu Jing lay down, and Ayu went to the candlestick and extinguished several candles before quietly retreating.

Xie Xuan led his men on a patrol, and when they returned, they saw that the candles in the bedchamber had been extinguished, and A-Yu had come out. He frowned slightly, then continued leading his men on the patrol. When they reached the back, Xie Xuan pointed to the distance and said, "Why don't you go take a look over there?"

"Yes." They responded and left.

Xie Xuan walked to the window, looked around, and seeing that no one was around, climbed through the window.

Just as Yu Jing was about to go to sleep, she heard a noise by the window, which startled her. She instinctively called out, "Who's there!"

Before he could finish speaking, a gust of wind blew, and Xie Xuan was already in front of him, making a shushing gesture with one hand and whispering to Yu Jing, "It's me!"

"You scared me to death!" Yu Jing said reproachfully, patting her chest.

"Did you think I was an assassin?" Xie Xuan chuckled as he sat down next to Yu Jing. He was dressed in scarlet robes, his long hair tied up high, and he looked quite dashing with a smile on his lips.

Yu Jing was momentarily stunned, but after a moment he came to his senses and said, "Hmm, I didn't expect it to be not an assassin, but a lecher."

"A lecherous scoundrel?" Xie Xuan turned his head to look at Yu Jing with surprise in his eyes.

At this moment, Yu Jing had removed all the makeup from her face, revealing her red lips and white teeth. Her long hair flowed smoothly down her back, and she wore a light blue inner garment, looking elegant and charming.

Xie Xuan's gaze sharpened, then a smile curved his lips as he swiftly leaned in and kissed Yu Jing. By the time Yu Jing came to her senses, Xie Xuan's kiss had already vanished like a dragonfly skimming the water.

"Since I've already been labeled a lecher, I can't let down that reputation," Xie Xuan said with a smile.

Looking at Xie Xuan's smile, Yu Jing's heart pounded, and she turned her head away uncomfortably. Although she and Xie Xuan had already been intimate, Yu Jing still felt shy.

"Gurgle, gurgle." Her stomach growled at an inopportune moment. Yu Jing pursed her lips, her face flushed instantly, and she raised her hand to touch her uncooperative stomach.

"Hungry?" Xie Xuan asked, raising an eyebrow.

Yu Jing stammered and honestly replied, "Yes...yes, a little."

"Should I ask Ayu to have the kitchen prepare some?"

"No need, I need to sleep now. If I eat, I'm afraid I won't be able to sleep for a while. Besides, if I eat too much, I'll grow bigger."

Yu Jing could clearly feel that she had grown quite a bit taller when she was in Jinzhu Village. Although Sheng Hua was thin, she couldn't resist eating like this. Yu Jing thought that it would be really unacceptable for an Empress Dowager to be so round.

Xie Xuan reached out and stroked Yu Jing's smooth, long hair, saying, "Then go to sleep early. I can't stay too long. I'll leave once you've fallen asleep."

"Okay, fine." Yu Jing reached out and pulled the thin blanket up to lie down, looking at Xie Xuan. The blanket covered half of her face, and Yu Jing's voice was muffled through the blanket, "I'm ready, you can go now."

Xie Xuan found Yu Jing's appearance adorable, smiled and nodded, then climbed out the window.

The weather was already quite hot in mid-July. Yu Jing was originally very sleepy, but she woke up after Xie Xuan arrived and couldn't fall asleep for a while after lying back down.

Since returning from Guizhou, the Third Princess of the Western Sea had visited her a few times. Originally, she had been wary of the Third Princess, but now that the object of her love tribulation had changed, she didn't care anymore. Thinking of the love tribulation, Yu Jing's heart tightened. Now, Xie Xuan was probably completely devoted to her. She wondered when it would end…

Thinking of this, Yu Jing felt a pang of guilt for trampling on his sincerity! She found it hard to imagine what such a bright and genuine young man as Xie Xuan would ultimately become. But since the Old Man of the Moon spoke of trampling on sincerity, it must be something serious.

The more Yu Jing thought about it, the more awake she became. She tossed and turned for a long time before finally falling asleep at the crack of dawn.

Ayu and her men had been waiting at the gate for a long time, but they hadn't heard any movement from Yu Jing. Usually, Yu Jing would be up long ago at this time. But Ayu was afraid of disturbing Yu Jing, so she didn't dare to speak. Just as she was hesitating, she heard a noise behind her, and a little palace maid hurriedly came over to report, "Sister Ayu, Lord Su is outside requesting an audience."

Xie Xuan's expression changed immediately upon hearing Su Siyang's name.

Ayu accidentally met Xie Xuan's gaze and was startled. She steadied herself and turned to instruct, "Go and tell them that the Empress Dowager has not yet gotten up."

"Yes." The little palace maid ran out and replied to Su Siyang.

Su Siyang had just finished court and came over. Upon hearing this, he paused for a moment, then asked, "I heard that Lord Xie has returned to his post?"

"Yes, it was Lord Xie who was on duty last night," the palace maid replied truthfully.

Before he could finish speaking, Su Siyang's face darkened considerably.