Heart to Heart
"Come with me." After the family banquet, Qiu Baiji said this and left first.
Xie Chengnan politely bid farewell to the others and then followed.
Qiu Baiji was now forty-eight years old, his body no longer as vigorous as a young man's, but he was holding back his anger and walked quite fast. When Xie Chengnan caught up, he had already entered his study, facing the shelves full of medical books, leaving Xie Chengnan with a slightly hunched back.
At this moment, he seemed to have finally shed the airs of the head of the Imperial Medical Academy and was just an ordinary father.
Without being invited by the room's owner, Xie Chengnan waited quietly outside the door, not daring to go in and disturb them.
Qiu Baiji stood facing the wall of books for a long time, then snorted coldly, "You do know how to be polite."
"Come in."
Xie Chengnan turned around, closed the door, and walked to his side.
The study of this Imperial Medical Academy Director was utterly devoid of elegance. There were no antique vases, not a single green plant, not even a single painting or calligraphy by a famous artist. Instead, it was filled with medical books and pharmacopoeias covering the walls, tables, and corners of the room.
Xie Chengnan looked down and saw the book "Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Pieces of Gold" spread out on the table. It was covered with tiny characters, all of which were the academy head's thoughts and annotations on the prescriptions.
To be fair, although Qiu Baekje was not a good teacher, he was indeed a good doctor.
Qiu Baiji pulled out a chair and sat down, gesturing for Xie Chengnan to sit opposite him. Then he spoke, his voice tinged with weariness and vicissitude: "I know you don't like Qingye. Among the young masters of these aristocratic families, no one likes her."
"You're too modest. As far as I know, there are quite a few young masters who are infatuated with her." This wasn't Xie Chengnan's deliberate flattery. There was once a playboy who was infatuated with Qiu Qingye and pursued her for months, even coming to her residence, which led to Qiu Qingye personally kicking him out. This matter caused quite a stir at the time, and everyone knew about it. The young master fell seriously ill after returning home.
Qiu Baiji waved his hand, saying, "I'm only after her wealth and looks."
This was the first time Xie Chengnan had ever heard anyone speak of their beloved daughter like this, and he found it amusing. "Oh?"
“That child was frail when she was young, and the family indulged her in everything. As time went on, she became more and more spoiled.”
"She has a bad reputation in Mingzhou City, but those people have only met her a few times. Others say she is willful and spoiled, but some people think she is just a spoiled young lady and nothing serious. In this capital city, who isn't spoiled and who isn't noble?"
“I am her father, and I am in contact with her every day. No one knows her better than me. The woman you see is already very restrained. If she were not the daughter of the madam, I would beat her. If she were not a girl, I would beat her to death and straighten her out no matter how outrageous she is.”
Xie Chengnan was slightly surprised. He hadn't expected that Qiu Baiji would have such a thorough understanding of Qiu Qingye, and he was even more surprised that Qiu would choose to say these things to him.
"She's no pushover; if you mess with her, you'll regret it."
“I often reflect on how I could have raised such a good child to be like this. Sometimes I’m glad that at least with her personality, she won’t suffer any losses. But how can a girl never suffer any losses? If she continues to act so willfully and recklessly, one day she will cause a huge disaster that will be impossible to control.”
"Just like how she clearly doesn't like you, but still insists on marrying you, actually just to get revenge on the Crown Prince."
Xie Chengnan shook his head and chuckled, his laughter tinged with sarcasm: "To risk your own life's happiness for revenge is not a wise move."
"When has she ever been wise? She's just a little clever. That's just how she is, loving passionately and hating utterly," Qiu Baiji said with a sorrowful expression, it was unclear whether he regretted not raising his child well or was heartbroken for his beloved daughter.
“She hates him thoroughly, yet she can’t let go decisively. She can’t let go of the Crown Prince. She has liked His Highness the Crown Prince since she was a child, and she follows him around all day, calling him ‘Brother An’ this and ‘Brother An’ that. Her mother and I can’t persuade her at all. She has liked him for too many years, and I’m afraid she has become used to it.”
Xie Chengnan couldn't help but ask, "Since you knew she loved someone else, why did you still agree to her marrying me?"
"It wasn't my consent. She went to the Imperial Noble Consort Shu and asked His Majesty to issue an edict. How could I stop her?"
“But you,” Qiu Baiji’s eyes gleamed, as if trying to see through the young man before him, “you also look down on my daughter. I thought you would refuse this marriage.”
Xie Chengnan said calmly, "You yourself said that this marriage was bestowed by the Emperor, so how could I refuse?"
"You are Xie Yanzhe's son, a notorious romantic. Would his son wrong himself because of a sacred saying that is still undecided?"
Xie Chengnan neither confirmed nor denied this.
Qiu Baiji continued, "But since you readily agreed, I know you have ulterior motives."
Xie Chengnan listened quietly, and even though his thoughts had been exposed, he did not utter a word of rebuttal.
“I do not agree to this marriage. If Qingye ever regrets it, I will help her regain her freedom, even if it costs me my old bones.”
Since the Emperor has already bestowed the marriage, how can she possibly change her mind to save face for the imperial family? Xie Chengnan opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a rebuttal. He could only sigh inwardly, thinking how deeply this man loved his daughter.
"You might think of it this way—there is absolutely no possibility between her and the Crown Prince, while I, though without official position or power, am destined to inherit the position of the Marquis's family. If I marry into the Marquis's family, she wouldn't be too wronged."
Qiu Baiji's eyes narrowed: "You want to enter the court?"
Xie Chengnan avoided answering the question: "Not loving her doesn't mean I'll treat her badly. I will give her the dignity and respect due to a lady of the Marquis's household." He smiled and continued, "However, I really have nothing right now, I'm penniless and destitute, so I need my father-in-law's help and understanding."
"To put it bluntly, you just want to use the Qiu family to..." He suddenly changed the subject, "I am just a royal physician, I do not hold office or attend court. If you want to return to the court, you might as well go to her mother."
Xie Chengnan shook his head slightly: "Actually, I don't need you and your wife to help me with anything. By getting close to the Qiu family, I have already achieved my goal."
Qiu Baiji frowned, somewhat unable to understand this young man. Did he really only want the title of Qiu family's son-in-law? Once he came of age, he could inherit the title of marquis, and before long he would be a marquis himself. What would he need this empty title then?
"However, there is something I would like to ask for your help with right now—" Xie Chengnan clasped his hands together, bowed, and raised them above his head, speaking earnestly.
Inside the Qinggui Villa of the Qiu family.
Xueya was chatting away with Cangxie, and seeing that her young mistress had no intention of stopping her, she became even bolder. She pointed to a tree and said, "These are our young mistress's favorite osmanthus trees. They will all bloom in August, and the whole house will smell of sweet cakes."
"It's more like you just want to eat osmanthus cake again." Lin Yi sat in the pavilion, his gaze fixed on the pages of his book, without looking up.
Xueya blushed. "Miss, I'm not that greedy!"
"Oh? No? Then tell me how much you crave it."
"Just a little bit," Xueya held up her little finger, "I only want to eat this little bit."
"You greedy cat, you deserve a slap on the mouth."
The conversation between the master and servant was so amusing that even the most dull-witted Cang Xie couldn't help but laugh.
Hearing the laughter, Lin put down his book and said to him in a serious tone, "You should talk to Xueya more often; it might change your personality. You're not much older than Xie Chengnan, but you look much more mature than him. That's not good; you'll age faster that way."
The smile on Cang Xie's face visibly faded, quickly replaced by a trembling expression.
Lin Yi added, "If you feel offended, just pretend I didn't say anything."
Cang Xie hurriedly explained, "Miss Qiu, that's not what I meant. I... thank you! I will keep in touch with Xueya more often."
Xueya clapped her hands: "Great! I'll take you to see where Miss swings, it's a beautiful place..."
Cang Xie was pulled away before he could even perform the proper greeting. Before leaving, he stared longingly at Lin Yi, as if the missing greeting could be made up for by just a few more glances.
Lin Yi smiled. This Xueya was really childish.
But she is clearly not like that in the book.
Lin Yi carefully recalled the differences between the people she had met these past few days and those described in the book. She thought Xueya had suffered greatly under Qiu Qingye's control, but that wasn't the case. She thought Qiu's parents were unreasonable and only knew how to protect their child, but that was a very one-sided view.
When she read those words, she never thought about what they were really like.
However, the book does not mention that they are not like they are today.
Lin Yi realized that what she was feeling and seeing now was what the book had not fully told.
It's like she's unlocking the map and fighting monsters little by little, which is actually quite interesting, if you ignore the predetermined ending and story missions.
Thinking about this, Lin Yi felt utterly exhausted. She had already struggled through the college entrance exam and the postgraduate entrance exam, yet she still had to painstakingly study. All this so that one day the indexing system could come in handy.
Her life seems peaceful and comfortable right now, but that's because she hasn't completed her story missions yet. Heaven knows how many goodwill points she'll lose for a villainous mission.
She's been taking good care of her parents, treating the servants kindly, and feeding the pets these past few days, accumulating some good karma points. But that's far from enough; one wrong mission and she'll be back to square one. She needs to stockpile more to keep on hand!
Having food in hand brings peace of mind; how many good deeds would she need to feel at ease enough to get a good night's sleep?
Lin Yi thought that Qiu Baiji was the head of the Imperial Medical Academy, which in modern terms would be equivalent to the director of a top-tier hospital in the country, so he must have abundant medical resources.
She is now Qiu Qingye, the dean's beloved daughter. With such a unique advantage, why not make the most of it?
Without hesitation, Lin Yiteng stood up, wanting to borrow a medical book from the dean for a quick look.
She took a slight step, but didn't know where to look for him in this vast Qiu mansion.
"If you are looking for the academy magistrate, he should be in his study right now."
Xie Chengnan arrived in her courtyard at some unknown time, watching her from a distance. Lin Yi also had no idea how he knew she wanted to go find someone.
Xie Chengnan seemed to see through her thoughts with ease: "I see your face turning red and green, isn't it because you've suddenly realized something and want to repent to your father?"
Lin Yi gritted his teeth and smiled: "I really need to repent, to repent until I can't repent anymore."
Xie Chengnan smiled brightly, revealing a few white teeth: "That would be perfect."
Lin walked past him without glancing to the side.
Just as the two figures were about to pass each other, she heard Xie Chengnan say to her, "I have to go back now. With Xie Chengfeng like that, the manor can't be left unattended for too long. Cang Xie will stay here, and when you want to go back, he can take you back to the manor."
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