Chapter 49 Teasing

After leaving the yamen, Xiao Ling appeared on time in room number nine of the Tianzi building at Tianxing Tower.

Upon entering, Xie Yunyu was not yet present, so he sat down and waited for a while.

After a while, I heard a noise at the door and looked up to see Xie Yunyu.

She wore a red pomegranate dress, a light green shawl, and her hair was styled in a high bun, adorned with a set of pearl hair ornaments, making her look charming and lovely.

The first thing Xie Yunyu asked Xiao Ling was, "Did you do what happened in room number two last night?"

Xiao Ling raised his eyes and asked slowly, "Did you do the thing about the storybooks in the teahouse?"

Their eyes met in mid-air, clashed, and then fell silent before both looking away.

Xiao Ling walked to the small tea table and sat down.

He poured himself a glass of water, drank it, and explained:

“My men have investigated, and Ye Jing is indeed doing all this because he wants to marry you.”

Moreover, the matter of the shadow on the window of room number two in the "Earth" section still needs to be resolved.

That's why I resorted to this desperate measure.

Xie Yunyu also sat down, watching Xiao Ling pour water:

"I just want to get rid of that shadow thing and don't want to affect Tianxinglou's business."

Xiao Ling nodded lightly: "You could say we've arrived at the same destination by different paths."

Xie Yunyu said, "But if that happens, Chen Jiatao will be in trouble."

He was born out of wedlock and was disliked by his elders.

In this way, he probably won't be able to attend the academy, and his official career will be ruined.

Xiao Ling, however, said unconcernedly, "They attacked first with ill intentions, so what's wrong with us giving them a taste of their own medicine?"

"This is fine for Ye Jing, but it will implicate Chen Jiatao, who may lose his life as a result."

Xie Yunyu still couldn't bear it.

Xiao Ling scoffed, "The Chen family is like a corrupt family; if the upper beam is crooked, the lower beam will be crooked too. What right does Chen Heng have to punish Chen Jiatao?"

Upon hearing this, Xie Yunyu sensed a hidden meaning in the words and perked up, quickly leaning closer to ask:

"How so?"

Xiao Ling shook his head and said, "I'm afraid it would offend your ears if I told you?"

Xie Yunyu, however, seemed quite excited, her eyes sparkling as she pressed on with the question:

How dirty is it?

Seeing that she was quite interested in this matter, Xiao Ling spoke up:

"Back then, Chen Heng had an ambiguous relationship with his superior in order to climb the ranks."

Xie Yunyu's eyes lit up. Was it really that exciting?

"So it's because of a family tradition of learning."

Xiao Ling drank a glass of water, then pushed another glass towards Xie Yunyu, and said:

"In fact, Chen Jiatao is superior to Chen Heng in both appearance and knowledge."

However, Chen Heng disliked him very much and never cared about him, leaving him to fend for himself and struggle to make a living under the care of his stepmother.

Actually, Chen Heng's wife was quite good; at least she didn't kill Chen Jiatao.

However, Chen Heng is a man who will stop at nothing to get promoted and has no moral bottom line. This time, to protect himself, it's hard to say he won't kill his own son.

Xie Yunyu was stunned; it truly shattered her worldview.

After a long pause, Xie Yunyu continued to ask, "Then what should we do? I only want to deal with Ye Jing, I don't mean to kill Chen Jiatao."

Xiao Ling did not answer, but said, "With his current identity, he can never be with Ye Jing."

Xie Yunyu laughed upon hearing this: "What? You want to match them up?"

Xiao Ling said, "You're right. Chen Jiatao was innocently implicated, so it's not bad to give him a proper marriage."

"It seems that all those years of chanting Buddhist scriptures haven't been in vain."

After Xie Yunyu finished commenting, she picked up the teacup on the table and took two sips.

"Do you think Ye Jing might sever all ties with Chen Jiatao to protect his own and his family's reputation?"

Xie Yunyu asked again.

Xiao Ling shook his head slightly and said, "I don't know. I don't know much about Ye Jing."

As the two were talking, a servant knocked on the door and brought in a table full of food and wine.

Xie Yunyu looked at the pot of wine and suddenly remembered the time she got into trouble because of drinking.

Dead memories suddenly began to attack her brain relentlessly.

Xie Yunyu instantly became embarrassed and reserved.

His fingers tapped and fidgeted on the teacup in his hand.

Seeing that she suddenly lowered her head and gripped the cup in her hand, Xiao Ling asked:

"What's wrong?"

Xie Yunyu had no choice but to say, "I'm sorry about what happened last time."

I was drunk, so please forgive me if I did anything wrong.

Seeing her guilty look, Xiao Ling decided to tease her.

"Forgive me? How can I forgive what you did that day?"

Xiao Ling looked at Xie Yunyu with a resentful expression.

Xie Yunyu panicked when she saw Xiao Ling's unusual expression.

Did I really strip people naked later, and do this and that, and that and that?

He then stammered as he explained:

"Wh...what..."

I... whatever I did...it wasn't intentional...

You...know...I..."

Before Xie Yunyu could speak, Xiao Ling cut her off with a single, casual remark.

You said I'm good-looking.

Xie Yunyu was stunned when she heard this.

He then looked him up and down twice and nodded.

"You... are indeed good-looking, and I didn't... say anything wrong."

"You even said you wanted to marry me, and that after your second brother passed the imperial examination, you would ask me to propose marriage."

Xie Yunyu jumped up from her seat.

"No...no...this is impossible, you must be lying to me."

Xiao Ling continued unhurriedly, "Then you reached out and touched my face."

Xie Yunyu covered her head and tried hard to think, "Did I really do that?"

Then, you took my hand and led me to sit by the window.

He reached out and hooked his arm around my collar, pulled me closer, and then kissed me…

Xie Yunyu listened as if she were reading a script, "This...this...this is really something I did?"

"Then you started taking off my clothes, and I was almost stripped naked..."

Xie Yunyu blushed, jumped over, and covered Xiao Ling's mouth.

"Ah... please stop talking..."

Gu Yu, who was standing at the door serving, almost popped her eyes out when she saw this, and quickly coughed twice.

After Xie Yunyu realized what was happening, she immediately let go.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry... I... just for a moment..."

Xiao Ling reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling her to sit down next to him.

"What good are just saying sorry? Aren't you going to apologize today?"

As he spoke, his gaze drifted toward the wine pot.

Xie Yunyu waved her hands repeatedly.

"I only got drunk last time... I only... I absolutely cannot drink again this time."

Xiao Ling continued to tease, "That won't do if it's not sincere enough."

Seeing that Xie Yunyu was completely flustered and disoriented due to Xiao Ling's interference, Gu Yu stepped forward to interrupt:

"Miss, someone outside is asking if you'd like more dishes?"

Distracted by Gu Yu, Xie Yunyu turned her head and saw Gu Yu giving her a wink.

He took a deep breath and said, "No need."

He then turned around and sat back in his seat, covering his face with his hands and remaining silent for a while.

Then he suddenly looked up at Xiao Ling and said, "Your Highness, the incident at the pool was your fault, and the incident last time was my fault. We're even now."

Seeing that she had recovered from her earlier panic and started negotiating with him, Xiao Ling felt it was pointless.

He immediately lost the will to tease her and nodded, saying:

"Okay, we're even."

He raised his glass to Xie Yunyu and said, "Come on, cheers."

Xie Yunyu took a deep breath, raised her glass, and clinked it with his.

Gu Yu stayed in the room today as Xie Yunyu had instructed beforehand, to remind herself not to drink alcohol.

Seeing that Xie Yunyu had drunk wine, he stepped forward to stop her:

"Miss, the old master said you can't drink alcohol."

Upon hearing this, Xie Yunyu put down her cup and looked at Xiao Ling innocently.

Xiao Ling turned to look at Gu Yu and said coldly, "Get out."