Chapter 6 Chapter 6 She deserves it! I only wish I could scare her to death! ...
The crescent moon is like a hook, and the Yongyi Marquis Mansion is silent.
The servants standing with their hands hanging down were like clay puppets, silent and quiet. Occasionally, one or two figures hurried past, but they tried to step as lightly as possible. Under the cold and frosty moonlight, they looked like fleeting ghosts.
Han Xu looked up at the sky outside and said, "Miss, it's midnight."
Nie Xiangyi curled up in bed, her eyes dazed with sleepiness. Hearing Hanxu's words, she perked up immediately, "Are you going to do it?"
Hanxu nodded, "Most of the servants are sleepy right now, so it's the hardest time to notice."
"I'm afraid Jiang is also sleeping soundly." Nie Xiangyi's eyes rolled around, and his smile was full of malice.
She threw off the quilt and said excitedly, "Let's go! I'll go and have some fun too!"
Hanxu was afraid that she would be blown by the night wind again, so she put on a thick coat for her. Nie Xiangyi was impatient and pouted coquettishly, "There's no need to be so squeamish..."
"The fever has just subsided, how can you stand the wind?" Han Xu insisted and added another cloak for her, wrapping her tightly, leaving only her small face, the size of a palm, exposed.
She hurriedly urged, "Hurry up! We'll miss the fun later!"
The two of them carried an inconspicuous sheep-horn lantern and took advantage of the dark night to head to Furong Courtyard where Jiang Yun'e was.
"Look, girl!"
The two stopped in a garden not far from Furong Courtyard. Taking advantage of the shade of the rockery, Hanxu raised the palace lantern so that Nie Xiangyi could see it more clearly.
With Hanxu's guidance, Nie Xiangyi finally saw that in the dark night, a dark figure had appeared above the warm room of Furong Courtyard at some point.
He bent over and stood on tiptoe, holding a linen bag in his hand. His footsteps were quiet, like a dot of ink, dissolving into the surrounding darkness.
"Yang Qiu is the secret guard that the old general specially left for the young lady. Ordinary people can't easily find him."
The light from the approaching palace lanterns illuminated Nie Xiangyi's fair cheeks, making them glow red. Her eyes sparkled with excitement as she asked, "How many snakes did Yang Qiu find? If there were too few, wouldn't he have let her off so easily?"
"Just take a look, young lady." Han Xu covered her mouth with her hands and chuckled. "That full bag must have taken Yang Qiu a lot of effort."
Nie Xiangyi snorted softly and said bitterly, "It's already a good deal for Jiang Yun'e that there's no poison. If I ever get the chance, I'll definitely drag her head under the water and let her experience what it's like to drown!"
As he spoke, the dark figure quietly leaned over, peeling back the eaves tiles and opening the sack. With a tap of his toes, he vanished into the darkness in a flash.
"That's pretty quick," Han Xu said, then turned to look at Nie Xiangyi. "Miss, just wait and see."
Nie Xiangyi stared at the direction of Furong Courtyard without blinking, until a shrill scream pierced the originally quiet night sky.
"Ah—snake—there's a snake—"
Suddenly, panicked cries were heard one after another, followed by scattered and hurried footsteps. The originally quiet servants hurried in and out, making a mess.
Jiang Yun'e's screams of fear did not stop, and they reached Nie Xiangyi's ears one by one.
Nie Xiangyi sneered, then let out a long breath of air that had been pent up in his chest, "Let's go, I'm afraid they'll have more trouble tonight."
Then, a maidservant in Hibiscus Courtyard cried in panic, "Quick, call the palace doctor! Madam has fainted!"
There was chaos outside, and Nie Xiangyi had a good night's sleep.
The next day, when Nie Xiangyi woke up, it was already noon. She had been ill for the past few days, so Aunt Wu hadn't come to teach her the rules, so she had taken a couple of days off.
"Miss, Furong Courtyard was so lively yesterday!"
She stretched lazily, listening to Hanxu gloating in her ear, "The snakes in Hibiscus Courtyard have been making a scene all night, frightening Jiang to the point of fainting several times. Now she doesn't dare stay in Hibiscus Courtyard, not even to sleep. She's forcing herself to endure it, fearing that another snake will haunt her in her dreams."
"She deserves it! I only wish I could scare her to death and let Xue Mo pay with his life!"
There was still a hint of nasal sound in Nie Xiangyi's angry voice, and he ordered Hanxu to ask Yang Qiu to find a good place to bury Xue Mo.
But this matter is not over yet.
"Hanxu, go and get Aunt Wu. Even though she's not feeling well, she can't miss out on teaching."
Aunt Wu was always puzzled when she came to the Nie residence. The eldest daughter of the Nie family wasn't a hardworking person. She had always been at odds with her and had a rebellious nature. How could she be so ambitious today? Even when she was sick, she refused to give up?
When she arrived at the Nie Mansion, she saw the servants in a panic, with realgar and mugwort scattered everywhere. She couldn't help but wonder, "It's so early before the Dragon Boat Festival, why are they spreading realgar?"
Upon inquiry, they discovered that there was a snake infestation in the mansion, and even the Marquis' wife had been frightened and sick. Although the Waking of Insects had just passed and snakes and insects had just begun to appear, how could there be a snake in such a large mansion with so many people coming and going?
Aunt Wu was puzzled and walked towards Qingfangyuan.
But just as she reached the courtyard, Han Xu stopped her and said, "Aunt, please stay."
Aunt Wu was proud of her status and didn't expect to be stopped by her, so she couldn't help but frown at her.
Hanxu just smiled and said, "The young lady has caught a cold. I'm afraid that the disease will spread to Aunt. Why don't you teach her in the courtyard?"
Nie Xiangyi sat at the table under the window, pinching the silk cloth and pretending to cough twice, "Ahem."
"Since the eldest lady is ill, you can rest for two days." Aunt Wu looked at Nie Xiangyi's pale cheeks from afar. Her sickly look could not be faked.
But even as she spoke these words, she couldn't help but frown impatiently. She had always been treated with courtesy by the noble families. When had she ever been asked to stand in the courtyard and teach through the window? Wasn't that rude?
So she sneered with a forced smile, "How come you're so diligent now that you're sick?"
Nie Xiangyi coughed twice more. "I was thinking that Aunt Wu had worked so hard for me. I had to give her a gift. That's why I was a little anxious."
Then she instructed Hanxu, "Hanxu, give the thank-you gift I prepared to aunt."
Hanxu raised a slight smile on her lips, took out a mahogany brocade box with hollow carvings from the house, and handed it to Aunt Wu.
Aunt Wu took the brocade box, but she felt confused and didn't understand its meaning.
Why give a gift for no reason?
She still had a respectable smile on her face, "Thank you, young lady."
"I don't know if the gift I prepared is to your liking. Why don't you open it and take a look?"
Aunt Wu hesitated for a moment, then reached out and opened the brocade box.
"ah--"
The brocade box had barely opened when Aunt Wu's pupils constricted. She couldn't help but scream, and hastily withdrew her hand. The mahogany brocade box clattered to the ground, and a large, ugly, dark blue toad leaped out.
It was suddenly thrown down and jumped up in fright, running onto Aunt Wu's feet.
“Quack—”
Nie Xiangyi covered her silken cloth with her hands and chuckled softly, "The golden toad announces good news! It's a good omen! Does Aunt like my gift?"
Aunt Wu had no time to care about her. She was frightened by the gnash on her instep and her face suddenly turned pale. She hurriedly lifted the hem of her skirt and shook her instep, trying to get rid of the horrible thing. For a moment, she almost threw her embroidered shoes away.
This funny look made Nie Xiangyi tremble with joy. "Auntie always taught me to be dignified and serious, so why am I being so frivolous and careless today?"
After all this trouble, Aunt Wu was so angry that her face turned blue and black. She looked at Nie Xiangyi from afar with a gloomy face.
"You are so rude, young lady. You don't respect your elders, and you don't get along with your sisters." She said word by word, "With such a character, you are not worthy of being married."
She is a well-known governess in the capital. With her words, it is likely that Nie Xiangyi will have a hard time finding a husband in the capital in the future.
"Do you think I care? Auntie, what you said might be useful in scaring other noble ladies from aristocratic families."
Nie Xiangyi sneered, "I'm tired of restricting myself to some inexplicable and boring rules just for a good reputation that will satisfy my husband's family."
Aunt Wu also sneered, "Such bold words, it's not too late to say them when the young lady is discussing marriage."
After saying that, he turned away.
Han Xu looked at Aunt Wu's departing back and said, "Finally, I've given the girl some relief!"
Nie Xiangyi said coldly, "If she hadn't colluded with Jiang Yun'e to complain, how could Jiang Yun'e have set her sights on Xue Mo? If you have the guts, come at me! What's the point of attacking a defenseless kitten? It's truly despicable!"
Hanxu hesitated for a moment, a look of worry on her face. "But Aunt Wu's words do carry some weight... What if she really delays the young lady's marriage proposal?"
Nie Xiangyi raised his chin and snorted, "I'm not afraid!"
Hanxu continued, "Young lady, you returned to the capital this time because the old general thought you were old enough to get married. Otherwise, why would you come and suffer this injustice?"
Nie Xiangyi recalled the day before she returned to the capital, when her grandfather had said to her earnestly, "Shanzhou is remote, and we can't delay Ah Si. Regardless of family background, as long as our Ah Si likes it, everything is fine."
The beautiful eyes beneath the mask suddenly popped up in her mind. If she were to discuss marriage with him...
Her face suddenly turned red.
This appearance actually scared Hanxu. "Could it be that you have a fever again? You shouldn't leave the window open to let in the wind..."
"Han Xu." She tilted her head and looked at Han Xu, her eyes sparkling on her rosy face. "Let's go find the Third Prince."
She pursed her lips and added, "He spoke up for me last time and helped me find the cat. I haven't thanked him yet."
"Can we talk about it after you feel better?"
A few days passed like this, and the snakes were still haunting the mansion. Jiang Yun'e didn't dare close her eyes for several days, and she was so frightened that she was too sick to get up.
Nie Xiangyi took advantage of the cold to get some peace and quiet and watched the excitement for a few days.
After she was completely healed, he couldn't wait to pull Hanxu and head towards the Shen Ce Division.
Xie Zhixia's shift has never been fixed. Now he is on guard everywhere, and Nie Xiangyi can't climb over the wall, so he can only wait for him at the door of Shen Ce Si.
The two stone lions guarding the gate were majestic, and the Shen Ce guards kept their eyes fixed on them. Nie Xiangyi was so bored waiting that he just played with the lions' eyes.
Until the sky gradually darkened, Nie Xiangyi's legs became weak, and the sound of footsteps coming from far away finally sounded, and she saw Xie Zhi's figure again.
She waved her hand and was about to say hello to Xie Zhi, but she didn't expect that he didn't even see her and leaned over to get on the carriage.
"Your Highness!" Nie Xiangyi called out anxiously.
It was Ling Zhu who saw her first, "Your Highness, it's Miss Nie."
Xie Zhi's cold voice came from the carriage, "What's the matter?"
Nie Xiangyi hurriedly tried to step forward, but her feet were numb from standing. As she took a step, she suddenly stepped on her skirt and stumbled forward, being supported by Han Xu.
Nie Xiangyi, belatedly realizing the embarrassment of such a flustered appearance, blushed on her fair cheeks. She rubbed the hem of her clothes with her fingertips and stammered, "Your Highness... can I get in the carriage first?"
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