Chapter 15. Xiao Zhen, with his delicate skin and tender flesh.
"Host, the male lead Xiao Zhen is nearby." The system suddenly reminded Xie Yushu.
Xie Yushu paused in her fanning. Nearby? Was Xiao Zhen spying on her again? Did the male lead have some kind of secretive fetish? And of all times, at this moment.
She didn't have time to seduce Xiao Zhen right now. Looking at Meng Min, the wife of the Marquis of Yong'an, who was fuming with anger, she sincerely advised her: "You don't need to lecture me. From the beginning, wasn't it my father who thought I looked like Sister Jia Ning and brought me back to the manor to serve the old lady? Back then, you made me wear Sister Jia Ning's clothes and pretend to be Sister Jia Ning to alleviate the old lady's illness. Now that the old lady is gone, you've used me and discarded me, finding someone to marry me off and not caring whether I live or die. You won't even let me use my own face. Don't you think you've lost your conscience?"
Meng Min, being the legitimate daughter of the Prince's mansion, had no chance of arguing with her. She could only stand up angrily and say, "What do you mean by 'marrying just anyone'? What makes the Pei family unworthy of you, a concubine's daughter?"
“He’s not good enough for me anywhere.” Xie Yushu said slowly, “Mother, don’t forget that you’ve already registered me under your name in order to use me. Now I am also the daughter of the Marquis of Yong’an. Does a mere third-ranking scholar like him deserve our Marquis of Yong’an’s mansion?”
What a sycophantic and opportunistic face!
How come Meng Min never noticed before that she was so quick-witted and made no attempt to hide her ambition to climb the social ladder?
"Don't call me mother! I only have one daughter, Jia Ning!" Meng Min was so angry that she couldn't breathe, pressing her chest and feeling dizzy.
Xie Yushu reached out to help her up, but Meng Min shoved her away forcefully. She watched as Meng Min slumped onto the stone bench, her eyes reddening when she mentioned Jia Ning, and she couldn't help but sigh softly.
She was just a pitiful mother.
“I am not your enemy.” Xie Yushu got up and went over to pour a cup of tea. “I know that seeing me will remind you of the lost sister Jia Ning, but I didn’t harm her, and I have never had any ill intentions towards you.” She pushed the tea to Meng Min’s side. “When I took care of you when you were seriously ill, I sincerely hoped that you would get better.”
"You're so kind?" Meng Min looked up at her, meeting her eyes that were so much like Jia Ning's. She felt both angry and sad. She only had one daughter, whom she had raised with all her heart, but she had suddenly disappeared...
Jia Ning had only been missing for half a year when her husband used the old lady's illness to pressure her into agreeing to bring back this mistress to replace Jia Ning. How could she not hate her? Not resent her?
"You'd love for me to die so your mother could come in, wouldn't you?" Meng Min waved away her tea.
Tea spilled all over Xie Yushu's sleeve, but she wasn't angry. She just sat down and poured another cup for Meng Min: "Even if you die, it won't be my mother's turn to enter the Yong'an Marquis's mansion."
Meng Min didn't expect her to say such a thing. She thought Xie Yushu and her daughter had gone to great lengths to become concubines.
Xie Yushu chuckled sarcastically and said in a low voice, "Do you think the dignified Marquis of Yong'an only has my mother as his concubine?"
Meng Min froze, staring at her with wide eyes, "What...what do you mean?"
"I told you, neither my mother nor I are your enemies," Xie Yushu said softly. "Your enemy is your husband. No matter how many women you guard against in the mansion, if he wants to have an affair, he can find women anywhere."
"What nonsense are you spouting?" Meng Min's face turned deathly pale, and she frowned incredulously. "You've really gone mad, daring to make up stories about your own father..."
Xie Yushu smiled and didn't argue with her: "If he were a loyal person, how could I be with him?"
Meng Min's throat suddenly felt tight.
“You know that Father always wanted a son to inherit his title.” Xie Yushu remembered that in the original drama, Meng Min was in poor health since childhood, and her health deteriorated even more after giving birth to her daughter Xie Jianing. However, because Marquis Yong'an Xie Zhi'an wanted a son, she drank a lot of fertility-enhancing medicine in an attempt to conceive again, but she was unable to get pregnant.
"What you should be wary of is the day your father brings back a son and forces you to acknowledge him." Xie Yushu lowered his voice and gently patted Meng Min's back. "Mother, I have always believed that Sister Jia Ning will come back. She will definitely return safely. All the property of the Yong'an Marquis's Mansion should belong to Sister Jia Ning."
Meng Min looked up at her, stunned, unable to believe that she would say such things. Whether she meant it or not, Meng Min was shocked.
Even Meng Min herself had never had this thought before. Jia Ning was a daughter who would eventually marry, and the title of marquis would never be hers. But... if Xie Zhi'an really brought back an illegitimate child and wanted to hand over the marquisate and the family business to him, how could she be willing to accept it!
She, a princess, married Xie Zhi'an, a son of a concubine, because Xie Zhi'an was sincere and dared to swear to his parents that she would never take a concubine.
She had married him wholeheartedly and fought for his succession to the title of Marquis of Yong'an. She could never accept that he had an illegitimate child!
“He wouldn’t dare,” Meng Min said. Aside from a drunken encounter with Xie Yushu’s mother, her husband had been very well-behaved all these years…
"Have you ever tried Liu's Dried Fruit Shop on Wuyi Street?" Xie Yushu asked a seemingly random question.
Meng Min looked at her in surprise.
Just as Xie Yushu was about to say something more, he suddenly heard a muffled groan and the sound of a tree branch breaking from not far away.
The old woman guarding the tree a few steps away cried out in fright, "Oh dear! Someone has fallen from the tree!"
"Who goes there!"
Meng Min was also startled and hurriedly stood up to ask who the old woman was, but then she felt dizzy.
Xie Yushu held her firmly in his arms and whispered to her, "Don't be afraid, Mother. Let the nanny help you to the side hall to rest for a while. I'll go and take a look."
She didn't know why, but the words "Don't be afraid, Mother" struck her heart. In her dizziness, it was as if she heard Jia Ning's voice. She subconsciously wanted to grab her and tell her to be careful.
But as soon as she opened her mouth, Meng Min was startled awake. It was Xie Yushu, not her Ningning.
"Host, congratulations on gaining 1 point of Popularity Points." The system suddenly announced: "From Lady Meng Min, wife of the Marquis of Yong'an."
As expected, Meng Min was able to achieve the "Most Popular Person" rating.
When Xie Yushu boosted Zhang Youwei's popularity to the highest level, is it possible for Meng Min to do the same?
Just then, Lady Meng Min, the wife of the Marquis of Yong'an, came to her door herself, and a few words of banter actually got her some attention.
Unfortunately, she didn't have time to worry about Meng Min right now, because she seemed to see a familiar face under the messy trees...
Xie Yushu immediately walked out of the pavilion. Before he even reached the big tree, he was already certain that he hadn't seen wrong. One of the people who fell from the tree was Xiaodao.
Little Dao has some nerve; he actually sneaked into the Duke of England's mansion!
Fortunately, Meng Min brought her to this secluded West Garden in order to teach her a lesson, and the people who were alarmed were all Meng Min's personal nanny and maid.
"Shut up." Xie Yushu stepped forward and immediately shut up the shouting maids. He said coldly, "What are you yelling about? Are you trying to alarm everyone in the Duke of Ying's mansion? If my conversation with my mother today is leaked, none of you will escape!"
Before the maids could react, she directly ordered, "Mother is hot. Help her back to the side hall to rest. I will handle things here." Then, she glanced at them one by one and said coldly, "Shut your mouths."
The maids instinctively looked at their mistress, Meng Min, who nodded to them with her personal maid in hand, indicating that they should obey Xie Yushu's orders.
They all agreed and quickly went over to help Meng Min back to the side hall via the path.
Only after the figures gradually disappeared into the West Garden did Xie Yushu breathe a sigh of relief and walk towards Xiaodao.
Before she could ask, Xiao Dao said, "This person is eavesdropping on you."
Under the dense shade of the trees, Xiao Dao pinned a tall, thin man in fine clothes to the grass, twisted one of his arms, and forced him face down.
Xie Yushu stopped two steps away, completely stunned. Although she couldn't see the face of the person being escorted, his gorgeous clothes and the jade crown and hairpins in his hair made him look like no ordinary peddler.
The system just told her that the male lead, Xiao Zhen, was nearby, secretly watching her.
He must be Xiao Zhen.
With 11 points of "charm factor," she actually bumped into the male lead like this...
Her feelings were complicated. If he really was Xiao Zhen, wouldn't Xiao Dao be doomed for offending the Fourth Prince like this? And what good would it do for her, as Xiao Dao's master? She couldn't even explain how Xiao Dao had trespassed into the Duke of Ying's mansion!
But then she realized that it wasn't exactly something to be proud of for the Fourth Prince to be eavesdropping from the tree.
She couldn't explain why Xiao Dao had trespassed into the Duke of Ying's mansion. The Fourth Prince was probably more afraid of being caught eavesdropping as a prince, right? Otherwise, he should have shouted at Xiao Dao and revealed his identity to make Xiao Dao stop as soon as he was captured.
Xie Yushu looked down at the elegantly dressed man with his head down, and suddenly felt less flustered. He didn't even dare to lift his face. He must be more flustered than she was.
Since that's the case, she might as well pretend she doesn't know who he is.
"Who dares to spy on the female guests at the Duke of England's residence?" Xie Yushu asked coldly.
The elegantly dressed man remained kneeling on the grass, head bowed, and said, "I was merely passing by and was unaware of the presence of female guests. But Madam, how dare you send your men to trespass into the Duke of Ying's residence?"
His voice was gentle, “If your men are ordered to release me, I will pretend that nothing happened today.”
He's still trying to take the initiative at this point; no wonder he's the kind of male protagonist who can play dumb to get rid of the emperor and seize the throne by using Song Jie.
In the original drama, the female supporting character Xie Yushu also genuinely liked Xiao Zhen and thought that Xiao Zhen was the only man in the world who truly cared for her. However, after Xiao Zhen used her, he showed no mercy and said to her: How could you be so naive as to think that I would fall for someone as lowly as you?
How could such a wicked person fall into her hands? If she lets him go easily, wouldn't she be wasting her 11 points of charm?
Xie Yushu, her anger rising, said, "Just passing by? I think you're a little thief who sneaked into the Duke of Ying's mansion." She bent down and reached out to pull the jade hairpin from his hair. The jade crown lost its hold and fell to the ground, his black hair cascading down with it, spreading like satin all over the floor.
He was startled and instinctively tried to look up.
Xie Yushu stepped forward and stepped on his loose black hair. He was pulled in pain and had to lower his head again, staring at the embroidered plum blossom shoe tip. His brows were furrowed. She was humiliating him.
"You stole this hairpin too, didn't you?" Xie Yushu toyed with the jade hairpin in her hand, looking down at the man kneeling at her feet. "I think you stole this fine dress too."
What does she mean?
Before he could react, she said in a light tone, "Little Knife, strip him of this stolen finery."
How dare she!
Xiao Zhen was so surprised that she thought she had misheard. Even if he really was some kind of petty thief, no woman would dare to strip a man's clothes like that.
But he heard the man guarding him reply, "Yes."
She actually reached out and grabbed his collar, trying to pull off his outer robe.
Startled, he immediately struggled and asked, "Do you know who I am?"
"I don't care who you are." Xie Yushu said without thinking, "You dare to break into the Duke of Ying's mansion to steal things. Stripping you of your clothes is too lenient. I'll use a knife."
"Xie Yushu!" Xiao Zhen angrily called out her name. Before he could shake her off, the person holding him was incredibly strong and ripped his inner and outer robes off his shoulders in one go, peeling them down to his waist like skin peeling off. The hot wind blew on his skin, and he could clearly feel his bare chest pressed against the grass.
He was so ashamed and angry that his face turned completely red, but then he heard Xie Yushu laugh and say, "You've got a lot of tender flesh."
Is this something a woman should say? Is this the same Xie Yushu who is so servile and obsequious?
He was so shocked that his mind went blank, and his whole body felt like it was burning. He shook off Xie Yushu's foot and managed to pull one hand out to pull at his clothes...
Footsteps suddenly came from afar.
Someone is coming.
A note from the author:
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I was on time today!
Xiao Zhen wanted to say thank you. [shy]
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