Chapter 51 Chapter 51 In front of and behind people.
Brocade clothes are women's clothing, and I don't know the size.
But the set of green jade quietly placed next to it has a soft luster, pure inside and exquisite style.
Zhang Jingxian only took a glance at it and concluded that it was worth a lot of money and was not something that a mere middle-class guest like her could own.
Her first reaction was that she had walked into the wrong room, so she calmly closed the door and walked out.
The Cai family estate was vast, with pavilions, towers, and hundreds of houses. They occupied half of it. According to Xie, except for Envoy Xie and Mr. Gongcheng, who each lived in a separate courtyard, everyone else lived in a shared courtyard.
As for the servants, Xie Yun and Gong Chengyue naturally had more of them. Here, Zhang Jingxian looked around for a long time before spotting only a young girl.
She was wearing the same dress as the Cai family's maid, and she looked hurried. When she was called, a hint of fear flashed across her face.
"Is there anything wrong with a distinguished guest calling me?" Seeing Zhang Jingxian approaching, her body even trembled.
"...Nothing, I'm just worried that I've come to the wrong place, so I came to ask you." Zhang Jingxian softened her tone and explained to the girl in a gentle voice that there were brocade clothes and very valuable jade ornaments in the house, which did not belong to her.
"My dear guest, I know nothing." The girl trembled even more violently. She replied anxiously and ran away, as if there was a man-eating beast hiding here.
Zhang Jingxian watched the man run away and moved her lips awkwardly. Although she was carrying a bow and arrow, it wouldn't scare anyone away.
But the next moment, she understood why the girl was afraid and ran away.
Seven or eight men with fierce looks and burly build came up behind the girl. When they saw Zhang Jingxian, they nodded slightly as a greeting.
They are all Xie Yun's men, and they came here for patrol.
Zhang Jingxian vaguely remembered that one of them was named Wei, so she took the opportunity to ask him where the room arranged for her was.
"Isn't Madam Zhang's residence right here? I remember someone brought your luggage here just now." Wei didn't understand and pointed to the room she had entered and left before.
"Luggage? But..." Zhang Jingxian was stunned for a moment, then went back and opened the door again. As she said, she found a familiar bag in the room. This was prepared for her by her uncle, and she would not make a mistake.
So, what about those brocade clothes and jade ornaments? She asked again, but he looked at her with even more confusion.
"Hasn't Xie told Madam Zhang before this that the envoy treats his guests generously, providing not only money and food every month but also sets of clothes and accessories for each season?"
The items in the room are the normal share for a guest.
"Oh, is that so." Upon hearing this, Zhang Jingxian's ears turned slightly red. Xie did tell her the same thing, but she didn't expect Xie Yun to be so generous.
Moreover, the speed of preparation was so fast that it caught people off guard. You know, they are not in Changling County now, but are staying in someone else's manor.
She and Wei nodded and thanked him, then quietly returned to the room.
She was the only one in sight. She put down her bow and arrow, and couldn't help shaking out the brocade clothes to try them on. The size was just right.
Now, she finally confirmed that the brocade clothes and jade ornaments were for her.
"So even a middle-class guest can receive such treatment. No wonder the book says a scholar will die for his friend. If he can be normal... this trip would be worthwhile."
Zhang Jingxian talked to herself in front of the soft new clothes, with a little more calmness between her eyebrows. It was good that her ill-fated relationship with Xie Yun ended here. She regarded him as her lover and he regarded her as someone useful. They each got what they needed.
Thinking of this, her hatred and anger at being forced disappeared by more than half.
Today's Cai family daughter, tomorrow's noblewoman, and the inevitable ally she'd marry into in the future—countless women were more respectable than this humble mountain peasant girl. Perhaps, before the war in her previous life was over, he would have lost interest in her.
Zhang Jingxian felt that the impulses between men and women were simply because she was the only one by his side when he was in trouble.
He told himself that Xishan Village was a cage, so how could it not have trapped him as well as her?
After leaving such a small and pitiful place, it was only a matter of time before Xie Shijun, who already had a vast world, lost interest in her.
Perhaps it was the same in the previous life.
Despite hearing such humiliating words, she was still willing to believe that at the initial moment, before Gong Chengyue came to her, he must have had some sincerity towards her mixed with pretense.
Unfortunately, sincerity is too fragile and mixed with pretense, so her efforts only resulted in a miserable end.
"I don't want to think about him anymore. The most urgent thing now is to find out what relationship Prime Minister Xie has with the safety of my cousin and the others."
Zhang Jingxian sat at the table, her fingers gently sliding across the warm jade, recalling the image of Prime Minister Xie over and over in her mind.
As far as she could remember, she had only met Prime Minister Xie once.
It was before the Lunar New Year when Xie Yun brought her back from Changling to Jiankang City to live, but strangely, they didn't live in the Xie family's main residence. For a time, Zhang Jingxian thought it was because she was not liked by the Xie family, so she never asked.
Later, on a snowy winter day, Prime Minister Xie came in person and brought her several collections of essays as gifts.
Zhang Jingxian was very happy and showed great affection for Prime Minister Xie, who was still elegant in his middle age. She even went the extra mile by drinking and eating barbecue with him.
Prime Minister Xie asked her about her hometown and her relationship with Xie Yun. She answered one by one and took the opportunity to ask some questions about Xie Yun.
Prime Minister Xie spoke to her very gently, and the two of them had a very harmonious conversation.
Until now, Zhang Jingxian still thinks so.
However, Xie Yun came back too quickly. He was wrapped in the coldness of the heavy snow. He first bowed respectfully to Prime Minister Xie, and then shouted at her why she didn't stay in the room and dragged her back.
Then, within two days, they returned to Changling from Jiankang. Zhang Jingxian never saw Prime Minister Xie again, but she kept the collection of essays he gave her, even though Xie Yun had taken it and then returned it to her.
She knew that Xie Yun respected his uncle, Prime Minister Xie, very much, because the only time he didn't look sullen was when he was reading Prime Minister Xie's collection of essays.
If she read other people's works for a little longer, she would always hear his comments full of sarcasm and irony.
Because of respect for Prime Minister Xie, we have to be polite to Mr. Zi Ji, who is acquainted with Prime Minister Xie; my cousin and the villagers are under the command of Brother Xie Yun.
Brother Xie Yun, Prime Minister Xie... Zhang Jingxian paused for a moment, and suddenly it dawned on her that Chun'er and Xia'er always had to ask their uncle and aunt to make the decision whenever they were fighting and angry!
After she thought it through, she seemed to have hope and her eyes lit up.
Immediately planning to check with Gong Chengyue, she stood up and quickly headed for the door. However, as soon as her hand touched the door, a strong force pulled her body into someone's chest.
Zhang Jingxian endured the pain from being hit, raised her head, and her pupils dilated slightly. Didn't he go to see Mr. Ziji off in person? Why did he come to her?
Xie Yun lowered his eyelids and calmly watched her every reaction. When she tried to dodge, he raised his foot forward and forced the woman back into the side room.
He closed the door behind him and asked her calmly, "Who is Ah Xian busy looking for?"
There was already insufficient light in the closed room, and his figure, which was much taller than an ordinary person, pressed down, and Zhang Jingxian instantly blended into the darkness.
After blinking hard and adjusting to her current situation, she answered honestly that she was going to look for Mr. Gongcheng.
"I have a question that I would like to ask Mr. Gongcheng."
Xie Yun's eyes were heavy. He suddenly reached out and held her retreating shoulders, saying calmly, "What are you asking Gong Chengyue? You're so anxious. I thought you had an appointment."
Did she have an appointment? No, Yi Yu hadn't agreed to go shopping for clothes with her in Wuling City, and there was no need for that now.
Zhang Jingxian was confused and honestly said that she was only looking for Gong Chengyue. "I think Mr. Ziji is quite respected, so I wanted to ask Mr. Gongcheng about his background to avoid offending anyone in the future."
"Really?" Hearing this, Xie Yun laughed softly and she nodded, but then the smile on his face disappeared and he asked her coldly, could it be that Gong Chengyue knew more than him.
"My dear, you are very busy. I cannot disturb you." Zhang Jingxian made up an excuse, her fingers touched the table quietly, and she leaned back to avoid his hand that was grabbing her shoulder.
"Thank you, my dear, for the clothes and the jade."
She stepped aside and the contents of the table were revealed.
Then, Zhang Jingxian bowed as befitted a guest and thanked the man with a gloomy expression.
As a result, before she could straighten up, a deep and strong voice covered her ears.
"Put it on."
Xie Yun's gaze fell on her face, and he tapped her face lightly with his long fingers. The words that came out of his thin lips were like a thunderbolt that pierced through his body.
"Now, I want to see it."
Zhang Jingxian looked at his fingers in disbelief. His fingertips fell right between the brocade clothes and the jade ornaments.
I don't know which one he is talking about.
But neither one is suitable and neither one is willing.
"My dear, you must have drunk some wine at the banquet. Let me take you back to your courtyard. It's getting late, and you should rest."
Zhang Jingxian walked around him and hurriedly pushed the door. As she wished, the door opened, the light became clear, and Xie Yun tilted his head to look at her.
"Ah Xian, there's no need to repeatedly emphasize your guest status. In front of others, you will be a respected and good guest, saving your face and...dignity."
He casually mentioned what she cared about, but before Zhang Jingxian could breathe a sigh of relief, the man raised his thin eyelids, walked past her, and closed the door again.
"But, behind the scenes," Xie Yun gently touched her hair, "Ah Xian, you should understand."
"Don't do what you shouldn't do, don't laugh when you shouldn't laugh, and don't hide when you shouldn't hide."
"Otherwise, I'll be angry."
Zhang Jingxian's eyebrows were twitching wildly. Listening to his pointed words, she wanted to play dumb, "But in front of others and behind their backs, I am always your guest."
Hearing this, Xie Yun lowered her eyelids, untied the hairband behind her head with her fingers, and picked up a strand of hair to play with in her hand.
"It's just an excuse, why did Ah Xian take it seriously? What? Have you ever seen a guest who would take the initiative to kiss the host?"
He asked questions one after another, and each sentence seemed to be filled with poison.
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The author has something to say: Muah, respect in front of others, but don’t be behind others…
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