Chapter 26 Chapter 26 Inexplicably, a sense of difficulty arose in my heart...
I didn't expect Nie Xiangyi to be so outspoken in front of Xie Zhi, not even giving him any face at all.
Jiang Yun'e's face showed a momentary embarrassment.
"You child, are you so outspoken in front of His Highness?"
She gave a dry laugh and turned to look at Xie Zhi. "Don't be offended, Your Highness. Xiangyi has always been like this. She's just a bit spoiled and doesn't follow the rules."
Her words were full of magnanimity, making it seem as if Nie Xiangyi was disrespectful to his elders.
Nie Xiangyi hated her most, her sweet, provocative manner. But now that Xie Zhi was present, she belatedly remembered the need to save face in front of him.
She raised her eyes and glanced at Xie Zhi cautiously.
It's over. His Highness must have felt that she was disrespectful to her elders and spoke rudely.
Your Highness doesn't like her in the first place, so wouldn't he think she's even more unruly today...
Thinking of this, Nie Xiangyi subconsciously rubbed the corner of his clothes in annoyance.
Xie Zhi didn't raise his eyes at all, but just glanced at Jiang Yun'e lightly, with the indifference in his eyes no different from looking at an object.
"The relationship between the ruler and his subjects comes first, and then that between father and son. It is the wife of Marquis Yongyi who has overstepped her bounds."
Zhong Qi understood the meaning of his words in an instant, and while apologizing to Xie Zhi, he scolded him harshly:
"I don't even know who broke the rules! Xiangyi is now the Third Prince's consort, the daughter-in-law of the royal family, and you're still allowed to speak so carelessly?"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yun'e knelt hurriedly, "Your Highness, I'm sorry! I was only thinking about Xiangyi, and I have no other intentions! As a virtuous wife, Xiangyi should be generous."
Nie Xiangyi was concerned about Xie Zhi and tried to suppress her temper, but in the end she couldn't help it.
"I think you're addicted to being a concubine, and you want your daughter to follow your old ways! It's my bad luck to have disturbed your nest of concubines!"
She kept calling Jiang Yun'e a concubine, showing almost no mercy and poking at her sore spots everywhere.
Jiang Yun'e's expression changed again and again, but she didn't dare to retort. She just took a deep breath and forced a dry smile.
"Isn't it common for men to have concubines? Even if I don't mention it today, can you, Xiangyi, still stop His Highness from taking a concubine in the future?"
Nie Xiangyi's tone suddenly paused.
She still refused to be outdone, so she raised her chin and sneered, "Do you think His Highness is a mediocre person like you?"
Having said that, her heart was beating fast.
Nie Xiangyi's uneasy gaze fell on Xie Zhiqing's cold profile, intending to find a definite answer from his expression.
Xie Zhi suddenly raised his eyes and his gaze fell on Jiang Yun'e, "Madam Yongyi Marquis wants to interfere in my family affairs?"
His voice was calm and even, not even a question. But Jiang Yun'e broke out in a cold sweat the moment she saw his dark, cold eyes.
She instantly realized that his words were filled with dissatisfaction with her overstepping her bounds, and she quickly kowtowed and apologized, "I dare not! Your Highness, please forgive me!"
"Marquis Yongyi should rectify his family traditions."
As soon as Xie Zhi said this, he already had the intention of asking for punishment.
Nie Zhengqing was sweating profusely, regretting that he had listened to Jiang Yun'e's advice and planned to marry Nie Yuanwei to Xie Zhi, but now it had become a farce.
He could only apologize repeatedly, and with a stern face, ordered Jiang Yun'e and Nie Yuanwei to return home and be under house arrest. Only then was it over.
When returning home, Nie Xiangyi followed Xie Zhi, looking at Xie Zhi's back which was as cold as a green bamboo, but she couldn't help thinking about Jiang Yun'e's words about taking a concubine.
Now Xie Zhi didn't like her, and they hadn't even consummated their marriage. If he really wanted to take a concubine...
Nie Xiangyi couldn't help but pout when she thought of that scene.
She looked up at Xie Zhi cautiously, "Your Highness...will you take a concubine?"
Xie Zhi's words brought a faint chuckle to his eyes. He raised his eyebrows and looked at the nervous Nie Xiangyi, "Didn't you just say that I'm different from those mediocre people?"
"Can……"
She just has no idea in her heart...
Xie Zhi looked at her dejected look with a pursed mouth, and pursed his lips helplessly, "No."
"Huh?" Nie Xiangyi, who thought she would not get a response, suddenly widened her eyes, almost unable to believe it, "Why!"
"Because I'm different from those mediocre people."
Nie Xiangyi smiled foolishly for no apparent reason.
Only after all the formalities of audience and return visit are completed, the marriage can be considered truly completed.
Nie Xiangyi never thought that there would be so many rules after marriage.
All day long, she was watched by Aunt Wu, forbidding me to do anything or go anywhere. She even urged me to get up early and kowtow to the imperial concubine's tablet.
Even when she wanted to go horseback riding in the Imperial Garden, Aunt Wu said it was a disgrace.
"Madam, this is the account book of the mansion. Please take a look." That day, Aunt Wu brought the account book of the mansion in recent years and asked her to study it with a stern face.
Nie Xiangyi felt dizzy when she saw those numbers. "Aren't these all monitored by the housekeeper? Why should I learn all this?"
"As the mistress, you need to do everything yourself. If the lady can't even understand the account books and allows her subordinates to fool around, wouldn't it be a joke? The daughter-in-law of the royal family is actually a useless fool."
"Who are you calling a fool?" Nie Xiangyi gnashed her teeth in anger. But now that she was the one bestowed by the imperial concubine, there was nothing she could do to her.
She snorted, "Put the account book here! I'll learn how to read it!"
The heat of early summer was setting in, and the occasional cicada chirp outside was silent. A thick stack of account books from the past five years lay before Nie Xiangyi, making her dizzy and upset.
She was so fed up with it that she threw the pen in her hand down and said, "I'm so fed up! Even the top scorer in the imperial examination didn't study as hard as I did!"
Hanxu fanned her and advised her with concern, "Madam, since you are tired, why don't you take a rest? There are so many account books, how can you finish reading them all?"
"I think that Aunt Wu is just trying to make trouble for me!" Nie Xiangyi put her hands on her hips angrily, "Last time's slap was not enough to teach her a lesson!"
She said this, slumping over the desk in self-abandonment. "I'm not going to watch it anymore! Even if the king of heaven comes, I won't watch it anymore!"
A cool breeze blew behind him, and the chirping of insects outside lulled him to sleep. When Xie Zhi returned to the mansion, he saw Nie Xiangyi sleeping peacefully on the desk, facing the setting sun under the window.
The golden sunset shone on her fair face, giving her a soft halo. Xie Zhi could almost see the soft and fine hairs on her cheek.
The girl's lips were crimson, pouting in dissatisfaction, and she seemed to be furious even in her sleep.
Her thin summer gown was unconsciously lifted, revealing a slender, pale arm. Her hair was slightly loosened between her hands, and a butterfly hairpin was hanging in her hair, about to fall.
"Why did you fall asleep here?" he asked Hanxu, but his eyes were always fixed on Nie Xiangyi's sleeping face.
Han Xu knew that the royal family had many rules, and fearing that Xie Zhi would think his daughter didn't understand them, she simply said, "The daughter has been looking at the account books all day, and just couldn't hold on any longer, so she took a break."
As he said this, he wanted to wake Nie Xiangyi up.
Xie Zhi glanced at the account book that had only a few pages turned over and said, "No need to call her. You can leave first."
"yes……"
Perhaps because his arm was numb from being placed on the pillow, Nie Xiangyi hummed softly in his sleep and turned his head to change his posture.
Xie Zhi pursed his lips and sighed helplessly.
He leaned forward, put Nie Xiangyi's jade-white arm around his neck, gently picked her up horizontally, and walked towards the bed.
"Um?"
Nie Xiangyi opened her eyes hazily a little, the familiar cool breath seemed to bring a reassuring meaning, she quickly closed her eyes again, tilted her head, and leaned on Xie Zhi's neck.
The scent of gardenia lingered again, and fluffy hair brushed back and forth against his neck. Nie Xiangyi, however, was still restless in her sleep, rubbing her head against his chin like a kitten.
Xie Zhi tightened his grip.
"Yang Qiu..." Xie Zhi heard her speak in a daze while she was sleeping.
He frowned. Who is Yang Qiu?
It seemed like I had heard her say before that he was her secret guard?
She actually called the name of a secret guard in her sleep?
The tone of her dream talk was so gibberish that it was hard to hear clearly. Xie Zhi could only lean his ear close to her soft lips, letting the hot breath spray on his ears.
"You...you go catch all the cicadas outside! Throw them all...into Aunt Wu's room!"
A hint of smile flashed across Xie Zhi's eyes, but he had no choice but to put her on the couch. However, an inexplicable and uncontrollable feeling inexplicably arose in his heart.
He stared at Nie Xiangyi's bright red lips, and as if possessed by a ghost, he leaned down and brought his thin lips closer to Nie Xiangyi.
"Knock, knock, knock."
Just as their lips were about to touch, a sudden knock on the door broke the ambiguous atmosphere.
"What is it?"
When he opened the door, Ling Zhu felt that the aura around His Highness seemed a little colder than usual.
He bowed cautiously, "I have something important to report."
Xie Zhi glanced back, closed the door, and went to the study with Ling Zhu.
"Your Highness, Wu Fan went to the palace after leaving the house and stayed in the Imperial Concubine's Palace for a long time."
"knew."
He was not surprised that Aunt Wu was his mother's spy.
He knew what his mother cared about. She was afraid that he would compete with the prince and that he would hinder the prince.
Since he was a child, if he liked something, the prince would snatch it away.
The mother had a helpless expression from the beginning, "He is the crown prince, Ruheng, you can't compete with him."
He originally thought that his mother was being prudent and did not want to offend the Crown Prince, or that she wanted to maintain her reputation as a virtuous adoptive mother.
But her attitude towards Nie Xiangyi seems to be more than that.
Xie Zhi lowered his eyes and glanced at Ling Zhu, "Find an opportunity and deal with her quietly."
"Yes." Ling Zhu said respectfully, "Also, the Crown Prince seems to be preparing to take over the Divine Strategy Division."
"Let him be."
When Xie Zhi returned to the bedroom, Nie Xiangyi woke up at that moment.
Her head was a little messy, and her eyes were still confused as if she had just woken up. "Huh? Why am I sleeping in bed?"
In a daze, she vaguely remembered that someone seemed to have carried her to the couch.
She couldn't help but look up at Xie Zhi who had entered the room, and asked blankly, "Your Highness? Were you the one who carried me to the couch just now?"
Xie Zhi pursed his lips and said, "Let the servants help him over."
Yes, looking at his appearance, it seems as if he just came back from outside.
Nie Xiangyi pursed her lips in disappointment, thinking that her dream had come true.
The next day, she got up early again to learn how to look at the account books, but suddenly heard from Aunt Wu that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had taken over the Shen Ce Division.
"I heard that it was Lord Pei who personally recommended him, saying that the Crown Prince could have a try."
What about the Third Prince?
Nie Xiangyi frowned upon hearing this, "But didn't I hear that the Crown Prince is in poor health?"
"With Little Master Pei's help, what's the problem?" Aunt Wu glanced at her. "To be honest, Little Master Pei and the Third Prince were even better together in the past. However, things are different now."
"Why?" Nie Xiangyi tilted his head to look at her.
"Of course it's because of you."
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Author's words: Xiao Xie: We almost kissed (Falling [angry]
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