Chapter 480 What does the master feel?

For the first time, Song Chunxue witnessed the gap between the poor and the rich.

Although Xie Zheng held a high position, he was honest and upright. Although there were many novel furnishings in the courtyard, she could imagine them all.

Stepping into the Yang residence, she was immediately struck by its magnificence. The sight of the precious objects dazzled her, and the tables were laden with all sorts of delicacies, many of which she had never even heard of before, let alone seen.

To avoid any misunderstanding, she and Xie Zheng sat separately after entering the courtyard.

However, she lied and claimed to be Lord Xie's cousin, and that she was sitting at the same table as him.

From the moment she stepped into the Yang residence, her eyelids began to twitch. In the dim light, she could see a faint aura of bloodlust emanating from Xie Zheng.

Could it be that their invitation to Lord Xie was a pretense, and their real intention was to assassinate her?

This is reasonable, after all, Xie Zheng's arrival made the local officials grit their teeth in hatred. Many of the things he did and the cases he handled made many people resentful.

"Thank you, sir. Please be careful."

Xie Zheng nodded. "Yes, you don't need to worry."

Looking around, she saw two guards with swords standing behind Chunshu and thought to herself that Xie Zheng was still not cautious enough.

It's easy to dodge a spear in the open, but hard to guard against an arrow in the dark. If inviting him here today was a trap, he should at least bring a few more people with him.

Lord Yang's second daughter had her face veiled by a light gauze. She was tall and slender, and one could tell she was a beauty just by looking at her eyes.

Many elders presented her with coming-of-age gifts and said auspicious words.

What Song Chunxue found strange was that Lord Yang brought his eldest daughter to Xie Zheng.

"Thank you, sir. My daughter is Yang Jingyi. I have long admired your esteemed reputation."

Looking at the young woman's shy and timid expression, Song Chunxue suddenly realized that Lord Yang's real intention was not what it seemed.

The others followed suit, saying, "We've heard that you are skilled in calligraphy, sir. May we have the honor of seeing it?"

"Yes, Lord Xie, as your colleague, I have never had the chance to obtain your calligraphy. Now that you have come all this way, why don't we go to your study for a chat?" Lord Yang smiled warmly, his eyes narrowed into slits, and his tone was very sincere.

To the study?

Song Chunxue put down her chopsticks and noticed that Liu Chunshu had followed her. She felt relieved; the food was really delicious, and she hadn't even tried it all yet.

Before long, she noticed that the two girls were being led to the back courtyard. She had almost finished eating and was about to get up to see who was more fond of Lord Xie.

It is worth noting that two servants were standing at the bottom of the steps not far from the study, and they raised their hands to stop Song Chunxue.

"Please take a seat at the front, distinguished guest."

Just as Song Chunxue was about to explain her identity, Liu Chunshu came down the steps.

"This is Lord Xie's friend."

The servant looked at Song Chunxue suspiciously, and just as he was about to say something, a scream came from the study.

"Quick, someone grab him!"

"Quickly hold him down and protect Lord Xie."

Song Chunxue immediately pushed aside the people around her and ran into the house.

Crimson blood splattered on the white paper on the table. Several young ladies and maids were terrified, their faces pale, and they screamed loudly against the wall. Xie Zheng and Lord Yang fell to the ground, and the two guards Xie Zheng brought were fighting with a masked man. Books and gaudy trinkets on the bookshelf were scattered all over the floor.

Who would have thought that Xie Zheng's bloodshed would begin in such a crowded place? Weren't the people who did it incredibly stupid?

Just as she was about to rush over to help Xie Zheng up and check how badly he was injured, the masked man rushed to the door and forcefully pushed Song Chunxue aside.

Song Chunxue pushed her shoulder forward, grabbed the man who was brushing past her, and swung her fists at his chest.

"Bang bang bang~"

The masked man, whose eyes were only the size of peas, suddenly widened to the size of broad beans, his eyebrows almost flying off, and he lost control, knocking over tables, chairs, and bookshelves one after another.

"Quickly, quickly, restrain him! He's incredibly audacious to attempt to assassinate a distinguished guest in my study! Crush him to dust!"

Lord Yang wiped the blood from his ear and angrily pointed at the person whose head had been knocked unconscious by the book.

When the others realized what was happening, they all rushed over to inquire about Lord Xie's safety. Song Chunxue peeked through the gap.

Fortunately, Xie Zheng only injured his arm and was not in life-threatening danger.

Then, the courtyard became noisy as waves of people rushed into the study, and the women inside were driven out. Some brought water, others brought medicine, and soon the doctor came running in, panting, carrying a medicine box...

There was absolutely no room for Song Chunxue to intervene.

She sat at the stone table outside the study, looking at the bare grape trellis, waiting for news from Xie Zheng.

The guests outside were unaffected, and the festivities continued.

After waiting for half an hour, Song Chunxue told Liu Chunshu that she was leaving early.

She changed out of her gorgeous clothes, carefully checked them, and returned them.

She could tell that Xie Zheng was probably destined to be alone and wouldn't find a good marriage partner.

Afterwards, she went to the neighboring courtyard wearing a blue robe and found that a bricklayer was working very quickly. Several roofs had been repaired, and the gaps in the missing paving stones in the courtyard had been filled. The next morning, the doors and windows would be painted and the furniture replaced, and Song Chunxue would be able to move in.

At the beginning of the hour of Wei (1-3 PM), Lord Xie appeared before her with a cloth wrapped around his arm.

"Why is Lord Xie here instead of going back to rest?" Song Chunxue quickly put down the broom in her hand. "You should be recuperating after being stabbed."

Lord Xie's lips were pale as he gently questioned, "Why did you return early?"

"I came back because I felt like I was too idle with so many people around you," she said casually, brushing the dirt off her clothes. "What happened to the person who hurt you? Have you found out anything?"

Xie Zheng's expression was unreadable. "It's a good thing you stopped him. Apparently, he was dissatisfied with the cases I handled before and wanted to kill me to vent his anger, but Lord Yang blocked two of my attacks."

"It was quite a fruitful experience. Although you were injured, it's clear that the Yang family is sincere in trying to win you over."

Xie Zheng smiled bitterly, "Yes, that scoundrel used to call me brother, and now he actually wants to be my father-in-law."

Song Chunxue remained silent for a long time.

"Didn't you notice that the eldest daughter of the Yang family is in love with you? She is excellent in every way, well-educated, reasonable, and poised."

"But she's only a year older than my daughter."

"..." Forget it, Song Chunxue urged, "Then don't think about it anymore, go back and rest. You're not lucky enough to be an old cow eating young grass. Like me, being alone is fine too."

As Xie Zheng entered the courtyard, he hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

Liu Chunshu and the others quietly withdrew.

Song Chunxue knew he had something to say to her.

If she didn't quite understand before, now, seeing his conflicted and dejected expression, there was nothing she couldn't understand.

"Let's go, I'll take you to rest."

Song Chunxue was the first to enter his room and sit down in a chair.

Sure enough, Xie Zheng's expression was as if he had seen a ghost at first, then he lowered his head to avoid eye contact and sat down at the tea table next to him with a slightly nervous look.

Seeing him reach for the teacup, Song Chunxue reached out and grabbed his hand.

Xie Zheng jerked his hand in a panic, spilling the tea from his hand onto theirs.

"Be careful, it's hot!" Xie Zheng hurriedly tried to pull his hand back to find a handkerchief.

Song Chunxue held his slender fingers tightly, her gaze calm as still water.

"Sir, how does it feel?"