Chapter 112 Chapter 112 The humble "resentful husband"...
Gong Chengyue and the old man in Changling City calculated similarly. This year was not only a cold winter, but it also snowed a lot.
It was a snowy day when Chao Xi, Xie Ju and others arrived. Heavy snow was floating in the air, and everything was white.
Xie Yun walked out of the mansion wearing a black cloak. His tall and slender figure was particularly conspicuous in the snow. Chao Xi and Xie Ju had different expressions when they saw him.
The former had a sharp expression, with a hint of edge, while the latter was lazy, but there was a hint of worry in his eyes.
The death of Chao Xu could not be easily resolved, and someone would have to bear the wrath of the Chao family.
However, unexpectedly, Chao Xi's attitude towards Xie Yun was polite and gentle. Unlike his brother who was bold and reckless, he took the initiative to walk over and called Xie Yun "Prime Minister" without waiting for Xie Yun to come forward.
This was the courtesy name given to Xie Yun by Prime Minister Xie when he came of age. Chao Xi was also invited to attend the coming-of-age ceremony that day.
Xie Yun lowered his eyes slightly, calmly concealing the coldness in his eyes, "The Duke of the County has come here in the snow and wind, and must have had a hard time on the journey."
One is Chao Xu, the other is Chao Xi. He wondered casually who gave the Chao family the illusion that they could interfere with his sphere of influence.
Chao Xi, who had been granted the title of Duke of Nanshan County early on because of his mother's influence, was over a decade older than his younger brother, Chao Xu, and thus more measured and composed. To Xie Yun, he made no mention of the Chao and Xie families' proposed marriage alliance. However, upon seeing Chao Xu's charred corpse, he erupted in rage, his face livid as he threatened to destroy the remains of his brother's murderer.
"My Lord, please accept my condolences. Before leaving, my father asked me to assist you in handling General Chao's funeral arrangements." Xie Ju took the opportunity to speak and looked at his cousin, but found that he had an indifferent expression, as if it had nothing to do with him.
Chao Xi also noticed it and narrowed his eyes. The biggest suspect in his younger brother's death was the King of Donghai, but that didn't mean they didn't suspect Xie Yun.
Everyone knew the purpose of Chao Xu being sent to Changling.
Whether this trip will create enemies or turn hostility into friendship depends entirely on Xie Yun's attitude.
However, Xie Yun's mind was not here. He even treated Chao Xi and his cousin coldly. He took them to the place where Chao Xu was burned to death and left without saying a word.
"Brother," Xie Ju called out, then touched his nose in frustration and asked the person beside him, "Where are you going in such a hurry?"
It just so happened that this person was an official who had been to Yanping County with Zhang Jingxian.
He replied as if it was normal, "Don't be offended, Lord and Young Master. The envoy must have gone to look for the lady. The accumulated snow has collapsed some houses in the city, and the lady... is leading people to investigate."
In fact, the official had some reservations in his mind and did not say it clearly. The lady did not bring people to check, but clearly brought a group of skilled craftsmen to help repair the collapsed house.
It was fine if he was just helping with the repairs, though a bit disrespectful, but he could excuse it with kindness. The key point was that the lady would accept money, food, and silk, which was not polite at all. He saw with his own eyes that the lady returned with a leg of lamb in her hand.
"So it's because of my sister-in-law." Xie Ju was surprised when he heard the reason why Xie Yun left in a hurry. He had met Zhang Jingxian once in Jiankang, but at that time he never thought that she would become his cousin's wife.
Of course, it wasn't just him, everyone in the Xie family couldn't believe it.
"It is said that Xiangzhi's wife is just a commoner. She was able to marry Xiangzhi because she saved his life." Chao Xi said indifferently. Xie Yun's sudden marriage caught the Chao family off guard.
His father, Grand Marshal Chao Liang, and the eldest son of the Xie family were good friends. The two had already reached a tacit understanding to let Xie Yun marry a girl from the Chao family to form an alliance.
I didn't expect Xie Yun to marry a commoner without authorization, although it's not too late now.
"Alas, my brother has had a tragic fate. He suffered a robbery when he was young and was murdered by a villain a month ago. Fortunately, my sister-in-law rescued him." Xie Jue hinted that Chao Xi should not forget the existence of the King of Donghai.
In the final analysis, it was the Chao family's fault. If the Chao family had not caused that tragedy many years ago, the King of Donghai would not have become a mad dog that bites whoever it catches. No matter how you look at it, his cousin is the biggest victim.
He was harmed once by the Chao family and once by the King of Donghai. The root cause lies entirely with the Chao family.
It was impossible for Chao Xi not to understand what Xie Jue said. His face darkened. If this was also what Prime Minister Xie meant, he would have to think carefully about what to do next.
But he still didn't care about a commoner. Since ancient times, there have been many people who did not care about trivial matters in order to achieve great things.
Compared with the overall situation, a marriage and a woman are nothing.
Unfortunately, Chao Xi's inherent idea was completely overturned when he met Zhang Jingxian.
At that time, he took the evidence he had found and chose to talk to Xie Yun.
Although he was very angry about the death of his younger brother Chao Xu, no matter how you look at it, it is a fact that Chao Xu overdosed on Wu Shi San. As for the knocked-over candlestick, there is no clue for the time being.
Chao Xi temporarily accepted this result, but he could not avoid taking his anger out on others. He acted very straightforwardly and brought several of his cousins to visit without any hesitation.
They sat together strangely, and before they could open their mouths to talk, Zhang Jingxian appeared.
This time she had just returned from outside the city. Her hair was a little messy due to the wind, and there were spots of mud on the corners of her clothes and shoes. But when she raised her head, her cheeks were slightly flushed and her eyes were bright.
But in Chao Xi's opinion, this dirty woman was really disgusting to the sight, especially what she was holding in her hand. Chao Xi struggled to recognize that it was a bean cake and could not help but sneer.
In the Chao family, this is food that even the servants would disdain to eat.
Zhang Jingxian ate with great relish. She and others went to several villages outside the city to check the situation after the snow and helped several widows and orphans to reinforce their houses. A woman steamed a jar of bean cake to thank her.
Bean cakes were not rare, so she accepted a few pieces calmly, wrapped them in a clay pot, and ate them while they were still hot.
Zhang Jingxian knew that Chao Xi had come to her house, and she was also aware of his intention of bringing the Chao family girl with him, but what did this have to do with her?
From the very beginning, the power of decision-making was in the hands of Envoy Xie alone.
She walked past them as if no one was around, ignoring Chao Xi and his sisters who were either dignified, beautiful or elegant, ignoring Xie Jue who looked uncomfortable, ignoring Gong Chengyue who was waving a feather fan and ready to watch the show, and also ignoring... Xie Yun who was staring at her without moving for a moment.
"Ah Xian, come and meet the guest. This is General Chao's brother, the Duke of Nanshan."
Xie Yun suddenly called her, stood up and walked towards her. He pretended not to see the coldness in her eyes and raised his hand to help her adjust her hairband and thick gown, his movements gentle.
Zhang Jingxian looked at him silently, her eyebrows slightly furrowed, as if wondering if Chao Xi would feel embarrassed to ask her to stay since he had brought the noble lady of the Chao family with him.
But the man seemed even more confused than she was. Without getting a clear response from her, he uttered a question from his nose, "Hmm?"
In the end, Zhang Jingxian followed him in. Xie Ju called her "Sister-in-law". She nodded politely at him and sat next to Xie Yun.
For a moment, all eyes were on her.
Zhang Jingxian was eating the bean cake in her hand very calmly. She choked a little, so Xie Yun poured a cup of hot tea and handed it to her lips, and she drank it.
She wanted to eat the remaining piece of bean cake in one bite, but she didn't know what the man next to her was thinking. He lowered his eyes, held her wrist tightly, and ate it.
Then, he wiped her fingers that were stained with debris, and every move he made was extremely considerate.
Immediately, Chao Xi's face turned extremely ugly, and his cousins looked at each other, and the light in their eyes immediately dimmed.
Unless they are mentally ill, they would be willing to be inferior to a peasant girl.
"Duke of Nanshan." Zhang Jingxian waited for Xie Yun to wipe his fingers clean, retracted his fingertips, and greeted Chao Xi in a gentle voice.
"Madam Zhang." Chao Xi's tone was slightly cold. He felt that this commoner was provoking him, so he simply got straight to the point. "Mrs. Chao and Mrs. Xie have an engagement. Does Madam Zhang know about it?"
Anyone who knows what’s best for them should leave the Xie family as soon as possible and disappear from public view.
Hearing this, Zhang Jingxian glanced at Xie Yun, thought carefully, and asked, "Is it just a verbal agreement or is there a written document?"
Chao Xi said nothing, and Xie Yun also said nothing, both of them were very calm and composed.
"Oh, so there's no paperwork?" Zhang Jingxian felt a little annoyed and smiled faintly. "Duke Nanshan, is this the custom of your Chao family? You seem to love meddling in other people's family affairs, interfering in everything. I wonder if you've married yet? I think your wife is likely to be quite good-tempered. How about abandoning the Duke?"
"You! How dare you, a commoner!"
Chao Xi was furious. He never expected that a commoner would dare to humiliate him and mock the Chao family.
"I'd also like to say this to the Duke." Even a clay man has a temper. Zhang Jingxian was annoyed by the Chao family in both of her lives. Chao Xu tried to kill her, and Chao Xi came to her again. Do they really not care about their face?
If you have the ability, you should fight with real weapons instead of using some calculating and disgusting tricks.
"I've heard that the Grand Marshal is a great man of his time, but I didn't expect his son to meddle in other people's family affairs. Why not wait a little longer? Wait until I've reconciled with Envoy Xie, and then you can come."
"Perhaps, we can't wait for a few days."
"My dear, you see, the Duke of Nanshan has come to our door. How about we just say goodbye now? I promise I will never bother you again and will stay away from you."
She was equally annoyed with her current situation. Did she need to be more clear? What could a commoner like her decide? If Xie Yun was willing to abandon her and marry the Chao family girl, she would express her gratitude profusely.
As soon as Zhang Jingxian finished speaking, the room became eerily quiet. The only sounds could be heard: Chao Xi's suppressed breathing and Xie Yun's erratic laughter.
He said, "Ah Xian is so cute, she lost her temper."
He didn't care at all that she angered Chao Xi, nor did he care that she treated him coldly. The only thing he couldn't tolerate was that she kept talking about divorce.
"I won't divorce Ah Xian."
Zhang Jingxian turned her head away, reacting calmly without any fluctuation in her expression.
Xie Yun watched her quietly, his heart filled with desolation unknown to anyone. In fact, he had listened to her mocking remarks about Chao Xi, and his Adam's apple trembled with pleasure. But then she proposed divorce in the blink of an eye, and his secret joy was shattered.
He smiled, turned his head suddenly, and looked at Chao Xi with his dark eyes, "The Duke has heard it too. It was me who loved Ah Xian and kept her by my side. If she wanted to abandon me, it would only take me a moment to let go of her hand."
At this moment, Envoy Xie, the man who was once extremely arrogant, showed a humble look that was disdainful to others.
"In order for Ah Xian not to abandon me, please don't come here again. I really can't bear it."
His words shocked everyone except Gong Chengyue. Chao Xi looked as if he was meeting him for the first time, his face was cold and stiff. Xie Ju suspected that his soul had left his body and was stunned.
Several girls from the Chao family even covered their mouths with their hands, unable to believe that the legendary Envoy Xie could be such a person who had lost his self-respect.
Without pride and self-respect, we are no different from ants. No, perhaps even worse than ants.
Xie Yun was still smiling. He leaned close to the woman's ear and whispered, asking if she was still angry. "I promise to hold Ah Xian's hand and not let you go far away. I won't let you be alone."
He promised not to let her go back to that wet rainy day.
Zhang Jingxian moved her lips. He had many ways to deal with the situation, but he chose the one that made him most embarrassed, and became a humble "resentful husband".
"Stop it, stop it."
This was not the result she wanted. Even though she was depressed and irritated, she was unwilling to step on him. He was arrogant, picky, and condescending, which were the true nature of Xie Yun.
"Okay, I won't say anything." Xie Yun saw her sadness and agreed readily. If she was willing to pity him because of this, he didn't mind doing it a few more times.
Compared with life, face is sometimes not important.
"Xie Yun, you have completely lost your mind. You don't have any of the charm you had before. Let's go." Seeing that he was still coaxing the commoner, Chao Xi had a lot of anger that he had nowhere to vent, and it turned into unspeakable contempt and pity.
Originally a dragon, now because of a woman he has turned into a boneless insect. The famous Xie Jia Yushu is finished.
He wanted to see how long a worm could support the Northern Army.
Xie Yun ignored it. Madness was hidden in his dark heart. Yes, he was crazy.
"Brother, don't worry. The Duke of Nanshan is gone, and no one asked my sister-in-law to abandon you. Father...he didn't tell you to divorce my sister-in-law and marry a girl from the Chao family." Xie Ju looked at the smile on his face and stammered, his eyes dazed with fear.
My brother has become like this. How should he report this to his father and uncle when he returns to Jiankang?
"I'm going to see off the Duke of Nanshan." Compared to Xie Jue, Gong Chengyue was much calmer. He walked out waving his feather fan.
Xie Yun's expression remained unchanged. He glanced at Xie Jue lightly. Xie Jue shuddered and followed Gong Chengyue away.
The room soon became empty, with only Zhang Jingxian and Xie Yun left.
He touched her cheek as if nothing had happened, feeling the real warmth.
"Ah Xian, they've all run away in anger, and no one's bothering us anymore. How about you? Are you tired from going out of town? Your clothes are dirty, so you should change them later. Do you want to take a shower?"
Zhang Jingxian stared blankly ahead, the pleasure she had felt from angrily confronting Chao Xi gone. She muttered, "What do you want?"
"Or should we change now? There's no one else here. I'll give my cloak to Ah Xian."
"I'm not treating you well at all now. I'm ignoring you, treating you coldly, and I don't care about you at all. If you keep me, I'll be miserable too."
"The New Year is coming soon. I don't plan to go back to Jiankang, Ah Xian. Let's spend it together. What do you want to do? Drink in the thatched cottage or go to the manor outside the city?"
Xie Yun couldn't help but kissed her earlobe with a smile in his eyes. It was great, this would be their first year together.
His joy was clearly conveyed to her.
"The Di people are different. The war will probably spread to Changling after the New Year. While we have peace, let's try more things we haven't done before."
He is looking forward to visiting places he has never been to and experiencing pleasures he has never experienced.
Xie Yun thought of the several houses built in the manor. It was so cold that they could not live in them, but he knew that there was a valley in the hills with hot springs. They could go there to soak in the warm water and then rest in the house she was familiar with.
After a long moment, Zhang Jingxian lowered her head helplessly. "You will defeat them."
Indeed, the New Year is almost here.
Then, as spring blossomed, a great war broke out. She and he had witnessed many thrilling moments together: times of danger, moments of despair, moments of victory, moments of difficult decisions...
Zhang Jingxian doesn't know whether everything will go according to the trajectory of her previous life, but in order to end the disputes and deaths more quickly, she will write down everything she has experienced.
However, Xie Yun seemed to have sensed her thoughts. He bit her earlobe and whispered seductively, "So Ah Xian is the sorcerer who can tell fortunes. She should go to Zhaixingtai and become the imperial teacher."
Zhang Jingxian trembled for a moment but said nothing.
What qualifications does she have to be the Imperial Master? Moreover, the Star Picking Platform is so high that anyone who walks up there will probably break their legs due to exhaustion.
-
The conversation failed, and the next day, Chao Xi left Changling with his cousins and Chao Xu's body and returned to Jiankang.
Xie Ju did not return with them. His reply letter and Xie Yun's New Year gift were put together and taken back to the Xie family in Jiankang by his troops.
Zhang Jingxian had lived with him in her previous life and had a good impression of Xie Ju, Prime Minister Xie's biological son. She would often take the initiative to find him to discuss Prime Minister Xie's collection of essays.
Xie Ju complained bitterly. He was not as talented in writing as his father. What he really liked were military books. Otherwise, why would his father send him to his cousin's place?
"Military book? I'm reading it too." Zhang Jingxian took out a copy of "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu.
Xie Jue caught a glimpse of his cousin's piercing gaze not far away from him from the corner of his eye, and broke out in a cold sweat. Without saying a word, he stood up and ran away. Even a fool knew that one should not provoke a "resentful husband".
"Look at you, you scared Ajiu away, didn't you?" Xie Yun stepped forward, hugged her affectionately, and spoke.
The house renovation work came to an end. Zhang Jingxian had nothing to do and just wanted to talk to someone. However, Gong Chengyue was acting weird, Xie and Yu were busy preparing New Year gifts, her cousin was in the barracks, and Xie Ju ran away again. She thought about it and agreed to Xie Yun's proposal.
The two of them rode their horses to the outskirts of Changling City.
Although there is still snow, the sun is shining brightly and it feels warm on my body.
Zhang Jingxian carried a bow and arrow and a water bag, and Xie Yun carried a pottery jar filled with food, and they quietly entered the deserted valley.
Putting aside the distracting thoughts in their minds, they returned to the days when they were just the two of them.
They found the hot spring that Xie Yun had mentioned. It was a steaming place with vibrant flowers and grass growing next to it. It was colorful and beautiful.
Zhang Jingxian also got a surprise, she actually saw a deer.
It had a pair of watery eyes and stood in the woods looking at them. After realizing that humans had no ill intentions, it slowly approached them.
Zhang Jingxian picked some flowers and grasses and made a necklace for it. She took the opportunity to touch the antlers that represented the blessing of the mountain god. The deer did not dodge, but rubbed against her palm gently.
Xie Yun was beside her, saying nothing, but as he looked at the scene, his eyes were filled with a peaceful smile.
Perhaps, this is the happiness that this peasant girl wants.
"...Come here and touch it too. The antlers are spiritual." She suddenly called him, and Xie Yun's eyes became moist again.
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The author has something to say: Muah, the calm before the storm.
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