Meeting Li Jinghe
"Dongyang, you can go down now," Li Jinghe instructed.
A long-lost smile appeared on Li Jinghe's face. "Why are you here?"
Xie Xuanye sat on the stone bench next to him and said, "Don't worry about why I came."
"I have good news and bad news. Which would you like to hear first?"
Li Jinghe lowered his eyes and said, "Good news."
Xie Xuanye laughed and said, "The good news is that I've arrived!"
"..."
A gentle breeze blew by, making the atmosphere between the two less awkward.
Seeing that Li Jinghe did not react, Xie Xuanye broke the silence himself and said, "You should ask for the bad news."
"I also have some bad news. You can leave now," Li Jinghe said.
"No, no, no!" Xie Xuanye shook his head and refused.
"You probably don't want to hear this bad news, but I still have to tell you."
"Nianrou got married." Upon hearing this, Li Jinghe's pupils shrank, and he looked shocked.
Seeing his old friend's distressed expression, he felt bad too.
After a long pause, Li Jinghe finally managed to utter a sound from his throat, "Who did she marry?"
Xie Xuanye pursed his lips and explained, "The man who married her is the eldest son of the Vice Minister of War, named Ye Huaijin. He is very knowledgeable, has been praised by the Emperor many times, and has a bright future."
A hint of melancholy flashed across Li Jinghe's eyes; Nianrou naturally deserved an outstanding person.
What right do I have to be with her in my current state of barely surviving?
Seeing his friend deep in thought, Xie Xuanye changed the subject, saying, "I heard your father found you a wife."
“When I came here, I passed by Xinningyuan and took a look. I thought it was pretty good.”
Li Jinghe glared at him fiercely and said coldly, "If you think it's good, why don't you just give it to me?"
Xie Xuanye quickly waved his hand and refused, saying, "That won't do! One should not covet a friend's wife."
Besides, I came here to avoid an arranged marriage. What would it be like if I brought a woman home with me?
"I heard them say that this woman is there to bring you good luck. If your illness is really cured because of her, then you have to treat her like a goddess!"
The smile on Xie Xuanye's lips froze the moment he met Li Jinghe's gaze.
“I can worship you right now,” Li Jinghe said quietly.
His finger pressed a switch on the wheelchair, and countless arrows shot towards Xie Xuanye.
He immediately somersaulted, dodging the sharp arrows, and stopped a short distance away. "Jing He! You're serious!"
Li Jinghe shook his head and said, "No, I just want to test your skills."
As soon as he finished speaking, a dart was launched from the wheelchair, and Xie Xuanye leaped upwards, landing on the roof.
He wiped the sweat from his face and said, "That's enough! That's enough!"
He suspected that Li Jinghe was channeling his grief into resentment and attacking him.
Li Jinghe stopped and said, "Not bad, your skills have improved."
Xie Xuanye climbed down from the roof, put his hands on his hips, and said breathlessly, "Your wheelchair is getting more and more amazing."
Li Jinghe carefully rubbed the wheelchair beneath him with one hand. He had studied this thing for a long time, and there were even more amazing things he hadn't seen yet.
“Find the housekeeper and have him arrange a courtyard for you to stay in,” Li Jinghe said.
Xie Xuanye refused, saying, "No! I don't want too many people to know I'm here."
She leaned close to his ear and whispered, "Especially your steward and your father."
Li Jinghe looked at him and said, "Why? Are you hiding something from me?"
Xie Xuanye immediately stood up straight and said solemnly, "No! Absolutely not! There's definitely not!"
"I came here because I haven't seen you in so long, and I miss you terribly!"
Li Jinghe gave a disdainful smile. "Do you think I wouldn't be able to find out about you running away from home?"
Xie Xuanye immediately deflated and lowered his head, saying, "Alright, actually I came here to avoid my family's arranged marriage."
Li Jinghe lowered his eyes. A normal person could run away from an unsatisfactory marriage, but I could only let others manipulate me.
"You can sleep anywhere in the Li residence," Li Jinghe said, pushing his wheelchair into the room.
Xie Xuanye was overjoyed. He could stay anywhere! His eyes darted around, and his body vanished from the spot in a flash.
Su Yuexing was enjoying the flowers in the garden when she saw Zhou Yong walking towards her. She quickly turned around to avoid him.
"Sister-in-law, why are you hiding from me?" Zhou Yong strode forward and blocked her path.
Su Yuexing frowned slightly, a hint of impatience flashing in her eyes. Forcing herself not to act impulsively, she asked, "Cousin, did you call me over for something?"
Zhou Yong's face was full of frivolity. He reached out to touch Su Yuexing, but she dodged him. He took a few steps back and said fiercely, "Cousin, please have some self-respect."
Zhou Yong scoffed at her words, "Have some self-respect?"
"You expect me to behave myself in my own home?" He grinned wickedly, pressing closer with each step.
As he approached, Su Yuexing stepped on his foot. "Ouch!" he cried out in pain, clutching his injured foot.
Su Yuexing quickly slipped through a gap and ran away, not daring to look back. When she heard no sound behind her, she leaned against a pillar and looked back, only to find no one there.
She relaxed her guard and wiped the sweat from her face with her sleeve.
Looking around, she wondered where she was. She walked forward aimlessly, trying to find a way out.
Suddenly, the sound of a flute rang in her ears. Someone was playing the flute, so there must be someone nearby. If she found the person, she would know the way back. Su Yuexing followed the sound of the flute.
The sound of the flute is like the cold rain on withered lotus leaves in an autumn night, each drop breaking the silence, carrying sobs and sighs, crushing unspoken sorrow into the air.
Although Su Yuexing didn't understand music, she could tell from the sound of the flute that the person playing it must be very sad.
She turned a corner and saw a man sitting in a wheelchair, his back view so lonely and desolate.
She didn't go forward to disturb him, but stood quietly behind him, waiting for him to finish playing the piece.
As she listened quietly, memories of her past with Liu Jin surfaced in Su Yuexing's mind.
She couldn't help but shed tears; the music resonated with her.
As Li Jinghe finished playing the last note, the tears on his face had already been dried by the wind.
As he turned around, pushing his wheelchair, he saw a woman standing behind him and looked slightly surprised.
Su Yuexing snapped out of her daze, wiped the tears from her face, and stepped forward, saying, "Young master, your flute playing is very beautiful." Li Jinghe's expression remained indifferent.
She's really courting death, daring to trespass on my property.
How should I punish her? Should I give her a good beating or strip her naked, drag her out, and throw her away?
Su Yuexing was startled by his cold expression and cautiously asked, "I accidentally got lost and want to know how to get to Xinning Garden?"
Li Jinghe's eyes changed slightly. He looked up at her. Her attire was not that of a maid in the manor. He tentatively asked, "You are the young mistress who just entered the manor."
Seeing that he had finally spoken to her, Su Yuexing smiled and said, "That's right."
"You haven't said anything for a while, and I was wondering if I had offended you somehow."
A strange smile appeared on Li Jinghe's lips, sending a chill down Su Yuexing's spine. Why did this person give off such a sinister feeling?
"How did you get in here?" he asked.
Su Yuexing didn't understand why he suddenly asked this, but she still answered truthfully, "I just ran in like that." As she spoke, she ran around his wheelchair.
Li Jinghe looked her up and down expressionlessly and said, "Since you came in like this, then you should leave like this."
"Huh?" Su Yuexing opened her mouth in surprise.
Li Jinghe pushed his wheelchair forward on his own, and Su Yuexing stepped forward and took his hand, saying, "Which courtyard do you live in? I'll see you off."
Li Jinghe hated it when others got close to him. A fierce glint flashed in his eyes as his fingers remained motionless beside the mechanism.
If he were to gently press the mechanism, this woman would surely be shot to death by a hail of arrows.
"Who are you in this household? I've never heard of anyone in this household who has difficulty walking?" Su Yuexing asked.
Upon hearing her words, Li Jinghe paused, a mischievous thought welling up inside him.
"I am a good friend of Young Master Li, my name is Xie Xuanye."
"I'm here to stay at the Li residence for a few days; I only arrived today," Li Jinghe explained.
Su Yuexing nodded slightly, "I see. Since you are Young Master Li's friend, do you know him very well?"
Li Jinghe narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "Does the young mistress want to curry favor with him through me, her friend?"
Su Yuexing said awkwardly, "To please? Not really, I just want to get to know this husband I've never met before."
"I want to know what taboos he has about people and things, so that I don't accidentally offend him on our first meeting."
“If he’s uncomfortable at that time, I won’t be comfortable either.”
Li Jinghe said quietly, "He doesn't like people barging into his residence without permission, nor does he like strangers approaching him casually." As he said this, a fierce glint flashed in his eyes.
"I understand," Su Yuexing said. "Anything else?"
“And…” He paused for a moment, a playful glint in his eyes, “and others inquired about everything concerning him.”
Su Yuexing whispered, "Ask him about everything?" His eyes widened. "Oh no! Oh no! You're not going to tell him, are you?!"
Li Jinghe remained calm, glancing at the flustered Su Yuexing beside him.
She immediately forced herself to calm down and asked nervously, "What will happen if I offend him?"
A sly glint flashed in Li Jinghe's eyes as he said, "Either you'll suffer a fate worse than death, or you'll be riddled with arrows."
Su Yuexing froze, not daring to move an inch.
Her reaction pleased Li Jinghe, greatly improving his previously gloomy mood. He hadn't felt this amusing in a long time. "My dad really did let me marry a fun person."
Su Yuexing swallowed hard and said, "I'm asking you about him. Could you please not tell him?"
Ignoring her pleading expression, Li Jinghe said quietly, "How could I, as his good friend, deceive him?"
He changed the subject, "Unless..."
Su Yuexing's eyes lit up, feeling there was still hope, and she excitedly asked, "Unless what?"
Li Jinghe gestured for her to squat down, and Su Yuexing did so, squatting down in front of him.
He looked at Su Yuexing and said, "Unless you kiss me."
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