Chapter 69 Chapter 69 Xie Tingyu, I hate you to death. ...
Ji Lian and Yuan Fuxue had always been just nodding acquaintances, and had always passed each other coldly in the past.
At this moment, when the two of them were sitting next to each other, he was surprised to realize that this Yuan Sanlang had a hidden edge, which was just perfectly concealed by his cold appearance.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
At this moment, a cry of pain rang out from the corner. Cui Yuanying had knocked someone to the ground with a single punch. The woman huddled up, her face contorted. "Cui Yuanying, you're still trying to sneak up on me! Do you have any shame?"
"Pay your debt! Where's the thousand strings of cash you just lost to me? Bring it to me now!" Cui Yuanying laughed heartily, raising an eyebrow proudly at Xie Tingyu. "Second Xie, did I learn anything from your punch just now?"
Xie Tingyu stood with his arms folded, shaking his head and sighing.
Ji Lian and Yuan Fuxue looked away at the same time.
Yuan Fuxue whispered, "Your Highness, you seem to be very concerned about Madam Tingyu."
Ji Lian raised her eyes and scanned Yuan Fuxue's face repeatedly, "Aren't you the same?"
"Yes." Yuan Fuxue twirled her fingertips on the table and said calmly, "After all, she saved me from danger the night of the riot, and now she's my sister's specially invited bridesmaid, so it's inevitable that I'll pay a little more attention to her."
"But it seems like Emperor Guan and her have known each other for a long time?"
"I met Xie Tingyu much earlier than you did. It happened to be the day of the flower banquet at Qingliang Villa."
"It seems His Highness has gotten there first. No wonder I felt an inexplicable hostility when I went to the palace to take her pulse a few days ago. So that's why." Yuan Fuxue understood. "I wonder what the situation is between His Highness and Madam Tingyu?"
As he spoke, Yuan Fuxue moved a little closer, emphasizing each word, "Observing the way Your Highness walks, I'm certain you're still a virgin. So, are you two acting out of affection and restraining yourself with propriety?"
As soon as these words were spoken, it was like a sharp knife piercing through the window paper, completely tearing apart the tacit veil between the two people.
At that moment, another round of crackling noises came from the corner. Cui Yuanying was already grappling with someone, one grabbing the other's jade belt, the other pulling at the other's front. "You slap me, I punch you." The two rolled around on the ground, fighting without distinction.
Xie Tingyu continued to watch with his arms folded, showing no intention of trying to stop the fight, while someone in the crowd was shouting, "Fight! Fight! Fight!"
Some even went so far as to snatch the sheng and xiao from the musicians' hands and improvise a tune to liven up the atmosphere. They really enjoyed watching the fun and making trouble.
"Yuan Lang, there really wasn't any line crossed between Xie Tingyu and me." Ji Lian's eyes were filled with emotion, and when she looked up again, there was a hint of a smile in them. "But, she and I held hands, hugged, and kissed. I'm sure Yuan Lang will never know what it felt like."
As if he had not expected Ji Lian to be so straightforward, Yuan Fuxue's expression froze and he almost choked on the tea in his throat.
“Cough, cough, cough…”
Yuan Fuxue covered her face with her sleeves. After calming down, she carefully examined Ji Lian's eyes and said, "Your Highness's eyes are dark blue, which shows that your kidney fire is too strong. You need to control it more."
He raised his hand and poured a cup of chrysanthemum and cassia tea and pushed it in front of Ji Lian. "This is a heat-removing tea specially prepared for today's banquet. Your Highness may wish to drink more."
Ji Lian pushed the cup of tea away expressionlessly.
"Yuan Fuxue, just say whatever you want to say."
"What a coincidence! I also have a crush on Xie Tingyu." Yuan Fuxue lowered her head to look at the tea leaves floating in the cup and whispered, "Ever since she saved me that night, I've often dreamed of her riding a horse, appearing before me like a god. I guess this is what they call love that comes from nowhere, yet remains deep and lasting."
Ji Lian bit her lower lip fiercely. Xie Tingyu, why are you so lenient? Xie Tingyu, why are you so hateful?
Yuan Fuxue seemed lost in some memories as she continued, "My eldest brother also had someone he loved, but unfortunately, she came from a poor family and was ultimately forced into the palace despite her mother's support. Every time I visited him, even though he held the position of Feng Jun, I could see the sadness in his eyes. From then on, I knew that if I couldn't marry the person I loved, I would rather remain single for the rest of my life."
He raised his eyes and looked directly at Ji Lian, "Your Highness, tell me, between you and me, who will be Xie Tingyu's legal husband in the future?"
Cui Yuanying was already fighting furiously, his face covered in bruises, his shirt ripped open, revealing his wrinkled undershirt. He kept shouting, "Xie Er, save me! Come and save me! Come quickly!"
Xie Tingyu finally stepped forward mercifully and forcibly pulled the two apart. "Stop fighting, stop fighting, stop fighting. You won't get any results from fighting like this."
Ji Lian couldn't help but stare at Xie Tingyu's figure and said coldly, "Yuan Sanlang, are you so sure that Xie Tingyu will marry you?"
"Even if it's not me, will he marry you?" Yuan Fuxue asked calmly, "Besides, intermarriage among the Five Surnames and Seven Families is a common thing."
Ji Lian's eyes suddenly turned cold as she met Yuan Fuxue's gaze.
Yes, as long as Xie Tingyu remained an official at court, there was no way she could marry an imperial minister. Even if she wanted to, she wouldn't be able to get past Grand Tutor Xie. A marriage without the blessing of her mother and father wouldn't last.
The status of an imperial minister gave him many honors and privileges, but it also brought him royal shackles.
"Whether you marry me or not, how can you guarantee the future?" Ji Lian said softly, trying her best to stop the resentment and sadness that surged in her chest.
"As for you, although you come from the noble Yuan family of Runan, there are many young men from the Five Surnames and Seven Noble Houses in Jiankang City. You don't have to be too confident." Ji Lian raised the corner of his eye slightly, "Who knows, maybe it's Wang Lang?"
Wang Qiwu, who was drinking his soup with his head down, suddenly shuddered. When he looked up blankly, he found that Wang Lanzhi had already left the table and was watching the fun with Xie Tingyu.
Wang Qiwu looked puzzledly at Ji Lian and Yuan Fuxue who were talking across from him. Although he couldn't hear what they were saying, he could feel a subtle atmosphere between the two that no one else could interfere with, as if there was an invisible barrier that isolated them from the surrounding noise.
After an unknown amount of time, they both stood up simultaneously, exchanging a standard greeting. Ji Lian then flicked her wide sleeves and walked out of the hall. Yuan Fuxue turned to clean up the mess Cui Yuanying had left behind.
With new injuries piling up on top of old ones, Cui Yuanying had no choice but to seek treatment from the garden's physician. As he left, he deliberately tugged at Xie Tingyu's sleeve, insisting he stay with her. After everything was packed up, Xie Tingyu left her room and walked along the bluestone path, which led her to a lake within the garden.
The lake shimmered, willows swayed on the shore. Amidst the waterside pavilions, a moon-white figure stood in the wind.
Jiangzhu waited quietly on the steps outside the pavilion. When she saw Xie Tingyu approaching, she quietly stepped aside, leaving the two of them some space to be alone.
Ji Lian stared at the lake, his heart in turmoil.
Could it be that he really couldn't marry Xie Tingyu just because of her status as an imperial minister?
At this moment, for the first time in his life, he felt a sense of disgust towards this noble status. But then he immediately fell into confusion. If he lost this halo, what would he be left with?
Looking down at his own slender jade-like fingers, he realized that even when he was practicing calligraphy, he carefully maintained them with ointment every day, and there was not a single callus on them until now.
If it weren't for Di Qing, how could he have an endless supply of rare hair cream to nourish his long, shiny black hair? How could he have received instruction in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting from a young age?
If Xie Tingyu, such a lustful man, didn't have these, how could anyone even look at him?
This thought was like a heavy burden, almost suffocating Ji Lian.
Ji Lian turned around with a sad face, but was caught off guard by a pair of amber peach blossom eyes that were so close to her. So close that she could clearly count each of her eyelashes.
Xie Tingyu took advantage of the situation and put her arm around his waist, pushing him against the carved railing, a sly smile flashing in her eyes. "Hey, I wanted to blindfold you from behind and let you guess who I was, but who would have thought you would suddenly turn around."
Those long-standing confusions once again surfaced in my mind.
"Xie Tingyu." Ji Lian called her name softly, her breath as soft as orchid. "When we first met, were you attracted only by my appearance?"
Seeing Xie Tingyu nod without hesitation, Ji Lian's heart suddenly surged with a sour sweetness, "You really are attracted to me because of my beauty."
"I've never denied it." Xie Tingyu smiled. "The ancients said, 'Food and drink are the essence of yin and yang, and they are the foundation of human desires.' They also said, 'Food and sex are part of human nature. Lianlian, aren't you also attracted to my appearance?'"
Ji Lian looked at her steadily, the question that had been lingering in his mind for a long time almost coming out of his mouth. He unconsciously clutched the fabric behind her waist.
If he asked, he might get a heartbreaking answer. If he didn't ask, it would be like a thorn stuck deep in his heart, tearing him apart every time he saw her.
He could no longer ignore the problem and deceive himself.
He wanted to find out, right now.
"Xie Tingyu, I have something to ask you."
Ji Lian exhaled slowly, finally mustering up the courage to speak in a voice so soft it was almost inaudible: "If I were not the Emperor, would you marry me?"
The moment he said this, it was as if a huge burden had been lifted from his shoulders. He hadn't wanted to push her like this, but this question gnawed at his heart day and night, leaving him no peace.
He stared into Xie Tingyu's eyes with an almost pleading expectation, eager to get the answer he wanted most from her.
Tell me, tell me the answer I want to hear the most. Ji Lian cried out in her heart.
But the opposite happened.
Xie Tingyu looked at Ji Lian with a puzzled look. She seemed very distressed, frowning and pondering for a long time before finally opening her mouth.
"But Lianlian."
Xie Tingyu whispered the most cruel words.
"Whether you are an imperial minister or not, I have never thought of marrying you."
"Why should we get married?"
"Wouldn't it be nice to just be happy like this for a while?"
In that instant, it was as if a pair of invisible hands suddenly tore open his chest and ripped his burning heart in two.
Ji Lian's body swayed and she almost fell down.
His face was as pale as paper, his lips trembling slightly, and he looked at Xie Tingyu in disbelief. His eyes instantly filled with tears, and he opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
“I…I…”
Her vision had long been blurred, and hot tears slid down from the corners of her eyes, falling on their clasped hands. Ji Lian took a deep breath and held Xie Tingyu's hand tightly.
“I…you…”
He finally asked with a sob.
"Is all this just my wishful thinking?"
"Have you never...felt anything to me?"
"Xie Tingyu..." His voice was broken and hoarse, "I hate you so much."
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The author has something to say: Food and drink are related to yin and yang, and the greatest desires of human beings are there. -- Book of Rites·Li Yun
Food and sex are human nature - Mencius, Gaozi (Part 1)
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