Chapter 72 Chapter 72 "Don't move, let me hug you." ...
The Xie family's residence was enormous. Upon entering, Zhang Jingxian realized it was even larger than she'd imagined. She couldn't help but wonder if she'd lost her way without someone to guide her.
So, she meticulously memorized the route from the entrance. The platform, the rockery, the bamboo grove—every iconic location was imprinted in Zhang Jingxian's mind until she was dazzled.
They went directly to Tingsong Pavilion, the courtyard where Xie Yun had lived since childhood, but when they got there, she silently felt that the name was too confusing.
Although there are indeed many strange-shaped pines growing in the courtyard, she would rather call it a mansion.
There are gardens, pavilions, buildings and clear ponds, and the area is almost equal to half of Xishan Village.
Zhang Jingxian even saw several spacious thatched houses in the southeast corner, but she didn't know who lived in them.
However, she soon discovered the thatched hut's purpose. Before entering the main hall, Gong Chengyue pointed to the rooms and asked a stern-looking old servant with a smile if the wine he had warmed earlier was still inside.
"Shiyilang, you're joking. Half a year has passed, and any wine would have gone cold. However, this summer, I've already had the new wine from Jiankang warmed for you and Qilangjun. If you'd like, you can drink it now."
It turned out to be a place where people gathered to drink. Zhang Jingxian took a closer look while holding the wooden cage.
Unexpectedly, at this moment, the bird in the cage flew out, chirped, and flew straight to the thatched hut.
Xie Yun and Shu Jian were walking in the front. When they heard the oriole singing, they turned around and saw Zhang Jingxian's somewhat embarrassed expression and the empty wooden cage in her arms.
"Seventh Young Master, I will immediately order someone to catch the bird raised by this lady." Yong Bo, the servant and the manager of the Xie family, spoke respectfully.
When he looked at Zhang Jingxian, his eyes were calm, with a hint of doubt.
A beautiful woman returned home with Qilangjun, but also walked with Qilangjun's subordinates. What kind of identity is she?
If she was the concubine accepted by the Seventh Young Master, her appearance was acceptable, but her clothes were too simple and there was no shyness in her eyes, which didn't seem like her.
In fact, Yong Bo wanted to ask how to arrange for her.
Zhang Jingxian also felt the Xie family servants around her looking at her with secret suspicion. She straightened her back and remained calm.
She was about to say that she could do it herself, but Xie Yun opened her thin lips, interrupting her words.
"It's okay, it will fly back by itself."
He raised his eyes, glanced at the location of the thatched hut, and said to Zhang Jingxian in a calm tone, "Since it has stopped here, Ah Xian, just pick a house nearby to stay in."
Originally, his advisers and guests were supposed to live in the Xie family's unified guest house, but Gong Chengyue was an exception, and she was even more different from others.
Gong Chengyue had his own special courtyard in Tingsong Pavilion, not far from where they were standing now, which was considered the west courtyard.
And what Xie Yun meant by picking a house nearby... what place could it be? It was obviously the main courtyard of Tingsong Pavilion.
Everyone who understood fell silent, because only the master and mistress were qualified to live in the main courtyard.
Of course, Master Xie Qillang is unmarried, and there is no mistress living in Tingsong Pavilion now.
Hearing this, Zhang Jingxian opened her eyes and looked around. There were dozens of houses, all spacious and quiet. She chose the most ordinary-looking one and said she would live there.
Xie Yun nodded quietly and ordered someone to take her there.
"Seventh Young Master, may I know how we should address this lady?" Yong Bo immediately asked again, overturning his previous thoughts in his mind. Perhaps she was indeed the concubine accepted by the Seventh Young Master.
After all, Qilangjun's thoughts are really hard to understand.
"Yong, don't underestimate her. Don't look at this thin and weak girl. She is the benefactor who saved Qilang, and now she has been recruited by Qilang as a high-ranking guest." Shu Jian stroked his beard and spoke with a smile. He sent the person here, and it was time for him to go back and report to Prime Minister Xie.
As for when the uncle and nephew will meet, it is not his business.
When Yong Bo heard Shu Jian speak, an expression of surprise that was hard to conceal appeared in his eyes. When he saw the usually cold and arrogant Qi Langjun nod at him, he immediately changed his attitude.
"Girl please."
He personally took Zhang Jingxian to the house she had chosen. He was much more polite than before and even wanted to order someone to take the empty wooden cage from her arms.
"No, no, I can do it myself." Zhang Jingxian smiled at him and walked into the house carrying the wooden cage.
As she stepped into the room, she was slightly stunned. When she had chosen it before, it looked extremely ordinary, but now that she had entered, she realized that there was something special inside.
The room was very spacious, with simple and natural pottery and lacquerware placed in a scattered manner. The cursive calligraphy hanging on the wall, a few books scattered on the low couch, and the long zither placed horizontally under the window made Zhang Jingxian feel as if she had entered the residence of Xie Yun in her previous life.
"Did anyone live here originally?" she asked Yong Bo a little awkwardly.
If I just pick one at random, I won’t pick the room where Xie Yun lives, right?
"Don't worry, young lady. No one lives here." Yong Bo saw the uneasiness on her face and explained to her in a gentle voice that this house had an inner door that opened to a quiet and peaceful pond. "When Qi Langjun was young, he liked to wash his brushes in the pond, so he stayed here for a while, but it has been more than ten years now."
Although the house has been empty for more than ten years, no one dares to slack off and it still maintains the appearance it had before Xie Yun left. Perhaps one day, Qi Langjun will find the pleasure of washing his brush in the clear pool.
"So that's how it is." Zhang Jingxian murmured. As Yong Bo spoke, a little boy seemed to appear before her eyes.
Here he read, played the piano, and practiced calligraphy. When the ink on the brush dried, the young man pushed open the inner door and walked leisurely towards the clear pool.
Perhaps it was a quiet night, with the sky and moon reflected in the clear water. He placed his brush in the water, stirring it to create strands of ink...
"Seventh Young Master is diligent and studious. Look, young lady, the running and cursive scripts hanging on the wall are all written by Seventh Young Master himself."
Yong Bo's words shattered the image before her eyes. Zhang Jingxian raised her head, glanced at him politely, and praised him out loud, "Your Excellency is a man of great talent. I am honored to be his guest."
Her eyes fell from the wall to the couch and the books on the shelves. She walked over with longing. There were so many books.
"If I could get a few of these books from you when I return home, and if I have children in the future, I would definitely point to them and tell them how lucky I was to have seen a whole wall of books!"
Zhang Jingxian's expression did not seem fake, and her tone was recognizable as sincere.
Yong Bo paused and pretended to ask her where her hometown was and who was in her family.
"In Wuyang County, under Wuling Commandery... there's a mountain village there. My uncle, aunt, cousins, and others are all very happy to learn that I'm your guest."
Zhang Jingxian embarrassedly said that she came from a remote mountain village, but she would go back there one day.
"The envoy's guests are well paid. When I have enough money and food, I will build a few houses like this in the village. I am sure many people will envy me then."
As Yong Bo listened, his impression of the woman in front of him kept changing. Who would believe that the benefactor who saved Qilangjun was actually a very simple peasant girl from the mountains?
However, the master and mistress of the family should like such a person very much, because the life-saving grace only requires some money and food.
Yong Bo pointed to a maid to serve him and then left.
Zhang Jingxian lowered her eyes and asked the maid's name. "I've been living here for a while now, so I'd like to ask you to remind me of some etiquette and rules."
The maid's name was A Luo. She responded neither humbly nor arrogantly, saying that as long as she had any requests, she could just give them.
"OK."
Zhang Jingxian answered with a smile, looking natural and easy-going. A Luo raised his eyes slightly to look at her, then quietly retreated.
She was the only one left in the room. Zhang Jingxian found a pen and paper and roughly outlined the route she took to enter the Xie family.
She didn't want to actually get lost.
However, when she was halfway through drawing the route map, she heard the sound of many footsteps outside the door. Although the footsteps sounded uniform and not loud, she concluded that there were no less than five people coming.
Zhang Jingxian hurriedly stood up and walked towards the door. The maid A Luo bowed to her and explained that the boxes carried in were thank-you gifts prepared for her by the mansion.
"Seventh Young Master has ordered that my lady accept all of them."
This is just part of it. Later, each branch and courtyard will send gifts of thanks as the most basic courtesy.
"There are too many. I can't fit them all here." Zhang Jingxian's face showed genuine surprise, and her heart was filled with grief. Why had she been so confused in her previous life!
How happy she would be if she had just been Envoy Xie's savior from beginning to end.
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After washing up briefly, Xie Yun changed his clothes and went to visit his parents.
His relationship with his parents used to be lukewarm, and it remains so now. They only see each other a few times a year and only exchange a few casual greetings.
This time, when the news of his injury spread throughout the Xie family, there was not much change.
Xie Yun's father was not even at home, but had gone to stay at the manor in Dongshan. Xie Yun's mother, Mrs. Ruan, did show up, but after looking him over and making sure he was safe, she sent him back to Tingsong Pavilion.
"Yong has already told me that a girl named Zhang saved you, and you accepted her as your guest. Mother sent someone to give her a thank-you gift. If she has any other requests in the future, she can ask again."
Mrs. Ruan was dignified and beautiful, and her words were as gentle as water. However, Xie Yun rarely felt any real warmth from her. He nodded indifferently, asked his mother to take care of herself as usual, then got up and left.
In just a quarter of an hour, the mother and son only exchanged less than three sentences, and did not mention why Xie Yun was injured.
His elder brother Xie Ping, he and his elder sister Xie Fuyun were all born to Madam Ruan, but their relationship was only by blood, which was very common among aristocratic families.
"By the way, Qilang, your sister sent a message saying that she will come back from the Wang family to see you tomorrow."
Mrs. Ruan watched him leave without changing her expression. She said another sentence lightly, mentioning her daughter Xie Fujun who married into the Wang family.
Among his relatives, Xie Yun is closest to his elder sister and uncle.
Hearing this, Xie Yun's expression softened a bit. "I understand, mother. I will personally welcome my sister back tomorrow."
He walked out of the courtyard where Madam Ruan lived at a leisurely pace. When his dark eyes inadvertently caught sight of the clear pond reflecting the shadows of the trees, he paused and changed his path.
When a person's heart has been cold for too long, he or she can't help but want to find a warm place.
Xie Yun pushed open the familiar inner door with an expressionless face, stood behind the peasant girl who was not sure what she was thinking, and leaned down to press her down.
"Don't move, let me hold you."
He whispered.
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Author's note: Kiss, transition chapter. Next chapter will be out tomorrow at 12 noon.
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