Chapter 73 Chapter 73 Soft-hearted.
After receiving round after round of thank-you gifts, no one finally set foot in the room. The sky gradually darkened, and Zhang Jingxian had planned to go to the thatched cottage to look for Huang Ying.
However, as the orange-red sunset streamed in, four large characters on the wall quickly caught her attention.
"A gentleman should be cautious when alone" is hung in the center of the wall. The brushstrokes are as sharp as hooks, so conspicuous that it cannot be ignored.
Zhang Jingxian tried hard to recall the books she had read and barely remembered the source of the article. There was a saying in "The Book of Rites: The Doctrine of the Mean", "Nothing is more visible than the hidden, and nothing is more obvious than the subtle. Therefore, a gentleman should be cautious when he is alone."
The meaning is very simple. A gentleman should be cautious and self-disciplined even in private, when no one is around, and should restrain his selfish desires and stick to his original intentions.
So, why didn't the person who put these four words in the most conspicuous place to warn himself when he was young become a gentleman?
Zhang Jingxian stared at the four words, her eyes blank. She always felt that there was endless white fog hidden behind them. Although the sun was shining on the surface, a cold feeling was actually coming from her fingertips, making her whole body cold.
"Ah Xian, let me hug you."
Just as she was stunned for a moment, accompanied by a soft voice, a heavy and cold body suddenly pressed down from behind her.
Xie Yun was very tall, and when he held her in his arms, he completely covered her in shadow, and the warm orange sunset was also completely blocked by him.
He hugged her so tightly that Zhang Jingxian's body shook violently. She opened her lips but couldn't utter a word.
"Just now, I went to pay my respects to my parents according to the etiquette. My father was not there, and my mother was sitting upright, like a jade Bodhisattva. Ah Xian, do you know Bodhisattva? It is the Buddha that came from the Western Regions during the previous dynasty."
Xie Yun pressed his thin lips against her earlobe and spoke softly. He lowered his eyes and saw that her earlobe was red, and he couldn't help but chuckle.
Red is also hot, burning, and extremely real.
An ordinary peasant girl, with a warmth that pleases him, and when he gets close to her, he can smell the scent of mountains and streams, which is really... seductive.
"I don't know." Zhang Jingxian answered stiffly, feeling an extremely strong sense of separation in her heart. She thought that when Xie Yun was young, he didn't take these four words to heart at all.
It was just a casual writing, but she was so gullible that she was still seriously analyzing why he didn't become a gentleman.
Following her gaze, Xie Yun also saw the calligraphy hanging in the center, silently mocking something.
There was no expression on his face, he just held the peasant girl tighter in his arms, his two big hands clasped around her waist, digging into her flesh.
Zhang Jingxian struggled uncomfortably, but compared to him, she was like an ant trying to shake a tree, so she stepped back hard on his shoes with one foot.
Suddenly, he held her waist and lifted her up, without her feet touching the ground.
Xie Yun half-closed his eyelids and saw the gray marks on his shoes. His eyes were deep and he said nonchalantly, "My father will return from Dongshan Manor tomorrow. My uncle will probably see me after that. I will take the opportunity to ask him to hand over everything my brother has."
If she didn't let him hug her, she would be the only one to regret it.
Hearing the threat, Zhang Jingxian calmed down, her body no longer tense as it had been at first. She pursed her lips and asked, "My dear, are you unhappy?"
In fact, when he pushed her into the reeds by the river, Zhang Jingxian vaguely sensed that Xie Yun was in a bad mood, not just because she went to find Gong Chengyue.
She secretly speculated that perhaps Uncle Jian had said something Xie Yun didn't like. But it was strange that no matter how cold and cruel he was behind people's backs, in public, he was always respectful to his elders.
Regardless of their identities, the same was true for her uncle and the elders of Xishan Village at the beginning.
So even if Lord Uncle Jian accidentally offended him, he did not vent his anger in front of him. He just suppressed it in his heart and looked cold and gloomy.
Xie Yun did not answer her. He held her and sat on the low couch in the room. Halfway through, he felt that the cloth bag on her body was a bit uncomfortable, so he pulled it off impatiently and threw it to the ground.
The cloth bag containing the wooden arrows fell heavily to the ground, hitting the smooth stone bricks with a loud noise.
Two or three wooden arrows had half of their shafts exposed.
Zhang Jingxian's eyelids twitched slightly after she saw the letter she had written to Prime Minister Xie was inside the bag. Fortunately, after holding her breath and reading it several times, she found that the letter was still well hidden.
"Ah Xian's heart is beating very fast. Is she nervous or scared?" Xie Yun tugged at his collar and leaned back in a relaxed manner, but he had excellent hearing and immediately heard the woman's pounding heartbeat.
Thinking she was afraid of what he might do to her, he calmly observed her reaction and asked.
"...Is there anyone else who will break in?" Zhang Jingxian quickly found an excuse for her panic. If she had known earlier, she would not have chosen these rooms. She pointed to the inconspicuous inner door.
"Xie has taken over this place. No outsiders will come to the main courtyard without my permission."
Xie Yun spoke in a calm tone. The relationships among the Xie family members have always been indifferent. Unless it is an important matter, they generally will not set foot on other people's territory.
"oh."
Completely different from the various possible temptations she had imagined, Zhang Jingxian smiled awkwardly, as if no one except the manager cared about her. No, no one cared about Xie Yun.
Her eyes suddenly became clear, and she looked up at his calm face. A chill passed through her heart. He almost died, and the only people who came to look for him in two lifetimes were Gong Chengyue and his men.
Zhang Jingxian stopped talking and let him hold her, quietly watching the last ray of sunlight in the room disappear.
She hated her own soft-heartedness, but she could do nothing about it.
She could only comfort herself that there were only a few days left, Gongcheng Yue had already agreed to help her, and once she met Prime Minister Xie, she would be able to return to her own world.
Xie Yun was so perceptive that he immediately noticed the softness revealed in her. With a dim look in his eyes, he called her name again and again.
"Ah Xian."
"Ah Xian."
“…”
A low and hoarse voice reached her ears, and Zhang Jingxian's earlobes turned red as if blood could drip out. She frowned and said, "Don't call her anymore."
As soon as her lips opened, the person behind her seemed to have smelled the ghost of the sweet scent and laughed slowly, her voice full of eager joy. It was almost time, and the peasant girl was already regretting what she had done.
So, showing weakness to her was actually useful? Xie Yun suddenly remembered what his uncle Jian had said to him, and pondered for a moment, wondering whether it was his brother's assassination that was more heartbreaking, or whether it would be more thorough to bring back the weak and powerless Xie Qilang of the past.
"Chirp!" A yellow warbler flew in from the open inner door. It took a fancy to the fine thatch and spent more than an hour busying itself building a simple nest in the tree.
The little bird prefers to live in the high tree canopy rather than in a wooden cage.
Compared with the Cai family in Wuling County, the environment here is quieter and closer to nature. Huang Ying was very satisfied and almost instantly chose a pine tree to roost.
The two humans in the room hugged each other again. It flapped its wings and kept crying at its human friends.
Its nest is ready, go and take a look.
Xie Yun's thoughts were interrupted by a noisy bird. Holding back his anger, he said calmly, "We should get a civet cat."
Perhaps, he could catch the mountain cat again. When the mountain cat was around, the bird hid in its nest and never dared to show up.
Hearing him mention Xiaoli, a hint of longing flashed in Zhang Jingxian's eyes. Then she recalled the various means he used to force her to leave with him. Her back shuddered and she whispered that she was tired and hungry and wanted to rest.
It was getting dark, and she looked at him with a hint of pleading.
Xie Yun slowly let go of her, his black eyes vaguely scanning the red behind her ear that had not yet faded, and he gracefully stood up and walked out from the inner door.
Less than a quarter of an hour after he left, A Luo knocked on Zhang Jingxian's door and brought a wide variety of dishes and snacks.
"Madam, please come in. Hot water has been prepared for you to wash in the room. Madam has told the servant to pass on the message that you should have a good rest today. We will host a formal banquet tomorrow."
The lady that A Luo mentioned was Xie Yun’s biological mother, Madam Ruan. In her previous life, Zhang Jingxian had only heard of her name but never seen her in person.
She thanked him and started eating the food on the table.
But after eating, she did not take a bath as A Luo had arranged, but instead practiced with a bow and arrow in the empty yard.
Several maids around her looked at her, their eyes showing neither sadness nor joy. Including A Luo, her expression remained unchanged.
However, when Zhang Jingxian's hairband accidentally fell off and was picked up by Huang Ying, there seemed to be more spirit in their eyes.
Zhang Jingxian sensed it, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and then carefully asked them about the Xie family's rules, "I'm afraid something might go wrong when I see Madam tomorrow."
After A Luo exchanged glances with the others, he smiled politely, "Madam has a kind disposition, you can rest assured, my lady."
However, she gave Zhang Jingxian a general account of the situation in the mansion. There were five branches of the Xie family living in Jiankang City, and Xie Yun's sixth uncle was studying abroad and was rarely at home.
"The eldest master is staying in Dongshan and hasn't returned yet. The second master is out of town visiting friends. The fourth and fifth masters are both at home. Perhaps you will see them tomorrow."
"What about Master Sanlang?" Zhang Jingxian asked, pretending not to understand.
She remembered that Prime Minister Xie should be the third among six brothers.
"The whereabouts of Master Sanlang are not known to us. Madam Zhang, in the mansion, you can also respectfully address Master Sanlang as Prime Minister." A Luo's answer was very cautious. From her reaction, it can be seen who is the real boss in this huge Xie mansion.
Zhang Jingxian's face showed deep admiration and respect, but A Luo and others were already used to it.
In the Xie family, the third master has the greatest authority, the first master is bold by nature, the second master is indifferent, the fourth and fifth masters are brave, and the sixth master is the most unrestrained.
"Seventh Young Master and the other young masters and ladies in the mansion were all raised by Third Young Master when they were young." A Luo thought for a moment and added a few words.
Zhang Jingxian nodded. No wonder Xie Yun respected his uncle Xie Cheng more than his biological father.
"The ladies in the mansion are from famous families. Aside from the eldest lady who manages the household, the others rarely show up." A Luo explained that the second lady and her family might not attend the banquet tomorrow, "but the third lady will be returning from the Wang family."
Xie Yun’s sister?
Zhang Jingxian's eyes lit up. Among Xie Yun's family, besides Prime Minister Xie, the person she most wanted to see was this third lady.
I heard that she is not only talented, but also a heroine, and her brilliance is no less dazzling than that of her younger brother Xie Yun.
"I heard that the Xie family has another eldest son." Zhang Jingxian said again, with a very respectful tone.
"The eldest son has recently caught a cold and is recuperating. The young mistress is at her parents' home in Nanjun and has not returned yet."
After saying this, A Luo stopped talking.
However, Zhang Jingxian had already understood a lot from her few words. She thought that Xie Ping's death in his previous life might have been man-made.
So, he still has many things hidden from himself.
Zhang Jingxian lowered her eyes, took the hairband, and tied her hair neatly behind her head.
Without a moment's hesitation.
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The author has something to say: Kisses, I’m a little late, there will be another update at the usual time tonight.
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