Chapter 63 If Childhood Sweethearts 2 Yes, everyone is fine. ...
Later, Nie Xiangyi and her mother moved to another courtyard and lived alone.
My father often came to the villa looking for my mother, with a helpless look on his face. "Qiu Rong, it was really just an accident. Yun'e and I were old friends, and when our family suddenly fell into decline, I was just trying to help."
The mother had a disgusted look on her face as if she had eaten a fly, and just told him to get out.
Sometimes Nie Yuanwei would also come along, looking pitiful, and timidly calling "Mother" and "Sister".
"That's my mother! Why are you yelling?" Nie Xiangyi waved a broom in the air, raising dust and poking it in front of Nie Yuanwei, scaring her so much that she stepped back repeatedly.
The mother ignored the two of them and just raised an eyebrow at her. "Our Ah Si's swordsmanship is quite good!"
Not long after, Nie Xiangyi saw her grandfather. She heard that the emperor had specially ordered her grandfather to return to the capital to report on his work.
My grandfather was exhausted from the journey, and as soon as he got out of the carriage, he shouted with all his strength, "Where's that bastard? I'm going to teach him a lesson!"
Nie Xiangyi jumped in front of him and called out crisply, "Grandfather!"
Zhong Qi's ferocious expression instantly turned into a smile, and his voice became soft and gentle, "A-Si has grown so big!"
He squatted in front of Nie Xiangyi, hugging her affectionately. However, his chin had a thick beard, and his cheek was close to Nie Xiangyi's round face, making her grimace.
Nie Xiangyi pursed his lips, feeling a bit angry. So, while Grandfather was taking a nap on the recliner at noon, he took a pair of small silver scissors and trimmed off his long-grown beard.
She was unaware of the majesty of the beard. From then on, many officials in the capital could not help but laugh when they saw the famous General Anxi. "The general looks much younger."
He didn't find it funny at all, but raised his shiny chin proudly and asked, "Has your good grandson ever shaved you?"
Nie Xiangyi simply showed off his gray and black beard in front of Xie Zhi, not knowing what he was showing off. "This is my grandfather's beard! It's so long! Does your grandfather have one?"
Xie Zhi looked at her expressionlessly, "I don't have any maternal grandfather."
"My grandfather died very early."
"He is buried in the Duanling Mausoleum in the Western Hills."
Nie Xiangyi put away his grandfather's beard dejectedly.
After my grandfather came back, many things happened, but Nie Xiangyi couldn't remember them clearly.
She only remembered that one day her father and mother were confronting each other in the Marquis' Mansion. Her grandfather called many people over and looked so aggressive that Nie Yuanwei was scared to tears.
Later, he heard that his father had committed a crime and was stripped of his title, and was only allowed to live in the marquis's mansion with his concubine.
That concubine no longer had the gentle demeanor she had when they first met. She had gone a bit crazy and even went to the other courtyard and pointed at my mother and yelled, "Zhong Qiurong! The Marquis' Mansion is your husband's family after all, yet you won't even leave us a way out!"
Her mother just looked down at her like a mad woman and said, "If you say one more word, you won't be able to live in the Marquis' Mansion anymore."
Nie Xiangyi was more direct. He rolled up his sleeves angrily, stepped forward and pushed her, causing her to fall headfirst.
The little person was quite strong, and Jiang Yun'e fell on her butt.
Later, Nie Xiangyi was chosen to be the prince's companion and entered the palace to study.
My mother once asked the Empress, "How can a girl be a study companion to the prince? I'm afraid it will give people something to talk about."
"It's okay, and Ah Si isn't alone. There are also daughters from several other families here, even the sixth daughter of the Pei family is here!"
The Queen winked at her and said, "It would be good for Ah Si to go and learn some knowledge. Old Master Pei is well-versed in both ancient and modern knowledge. The Emperor invited him back specially for Ru Heng."
Since then, Nie Xiangyi has never slept in again.
Every day at dawn, a carriage would take her to the palace gate, and then a carriage from the palace would take her to Chongwenguan.
Waking up in the morning became her most dreadful time. She would curl up in her quilt, tears welling up in her eyes as she hugged her mother's hand and asked, "Can I skip school?"
Her mother always smiled gently at her and then refused firmly, "No."
She covered her stomach with a sad look on her face. "But my stomach hurts."
Mrs. Wen An knew what she was up to, "It's no use even if you're in pain all over."
Then he stuffed her into the carriage without saying anything.
Life in the palace was even more unbearable. She and Xie Zhi sat in the first row and couldn't even take a nap.
Old Master Pei was an old scholar, and his words were difficult to understand. Whenever Nie Xiangyi was distracted, she would lose track of what he was saying.
She could only poke Xie Zhi beside her with her elbow out of boredom, "Brother Crown Prince, do you understand what he is saying?"
Xie Zhi was always silent in class, and only after class did he hold her hand and say, "I'll explain what you didn't understand just now."
Nie Xiangyi's eyes widened. Class is over and he still has to listen to this!
She waved her hand quickly, "Let's talk about it tomorrow. I still have to go catch crickets with Brother Ziying!"
"Brother Ziying?" Xie Zhi's face suddenly turned cold, and even the mention of his name seemed to carry a chill. "You have another brother?"
Nie Xiangyi didn't think there was anything wrong with it. She just nodded, her eyes sparkling. "He's such a nice guy! He's great at catching crickets! He can even weave straw cages!"
Xie Zhi's expression darkened slightly, "You are not allowed to go."
"Why?" Nie Xiangyi's rebellious spirit also came up, "I'm going!"
"You didn't listen to a word in class today. Do you know how to do the homework assigned by Mr. Pei?"
Nie Xiangyi blurted out, "Brother Ziying said he would help me write it."
As soon as she finished speaking, she realized that she had let something slip. She felt a little guilty, but she refused to show her fear, so she just stiffened her neck and retorted, "How do you know I didn't hear a word? Were you staring at me the whole time?"
Xie Zhi's tone suddenly paused.
"You are not allowed to go!" Xie Zhi grabbed her collar, like grabbing the scruff of a kitten's neck, and brought her back to the palace.
Then he placed the homework in front of her expressionlessly and said, "Do your homework. I'll watch you do it."
"Xie Zhi, are you still a human being?" Nie Xiangyi was so angry that she threw the book at him, "I'm not going to take the imperial examination!"
Xie Zhi was unmoved, "If you don't understand, I will teach you."
Under his unquestionable gaze, Nie Xiangyi could only pick up the pen with tears in her eyes.
Although Xie Zhi would always give her some exquisite gadgets every time she finished her homework, such as the golden jade hairpin with the heavenly lantern, the agate jade cup and the ox horn fan, Nie Xiangyi loved them all.
But under such high pressure, even the noodle makers would lose their temper! Nie Xiangyi rose up in rebellion.
She slammed the pen down, pointed at Xie Zhi's nose and shouted, "Xie Zhi! I want to divorce you!"
Mrs. Wen'an, who came to the palace to talk to the queen, happened to hear this and almost fell down.
She looked at Nie Xiangyi with a look of hesitation, "Ah Si, you can't keep saying things like that. Do you know what a divorce is?"
"I know!" Nie Xiangyi raised his chin.
She asked Xie Zhi the same question that year. Xie Zhi's expression was very complicated at that time, and he was silent for a long time before answering her.
"It means we won't play together anymore."
Mrs. Wen'an was at a loss whether to laugh or cry.
Since then, Nie Xiangyi and Xie Zhi have been on a cold war. Whenever she sees Xie Zhi, she always hums loudly, as if she is afraid that no one can hear her, and then pouts her lips.
Even when I sat at the same table with him in class, there was a clear distance between us.
Such indifference made Xie Zhi feel helpless. Even though his face seemed calm, every time he saw Nie Xiangyi and Pei Jue talking and laughing, his eyes almost froze into ice.
"Little old-fashioned? Did you make Ah Si angry?" The Queen noticed that he was absent-minded and teased him with a chuckle.
Xie Zhi remained silent, as if agreeing.
The Queen smiled, her tone hinting at something, "Look at Pei Jue, he's really good at making people happy."
"But..." Xie Zhining paused, "Master said that drowning is harmful."
"That's the truth. But if she doesn't want to do it, what's the harm in letting her do it?" The Queen looked at him with curved eyes. "You're the Crown Prince, not a master. You just need to cover for her and protect her, isn't that all?"
"Thank you, Mother."
Xie Zhi was smart and understood everything immediately. He wanted her to be protected by him and to be protected by him.
On the way back, he looked at Ling Zhu beside him and said, "Can you weave a straw cage? Teach me."
Pei Jue was an interesting man, unlike his grandfather, who was old-fashioned and knew a bit of everything. But when Nie Xiangyi was catching crickets with him, for some reason, she kept thinking of Xie Zhilai.
Xie Zhi would always have a stern face, pointing at the homework and teaching her step by step. Whenever she finished her homework, Xie Zhi's usually cold face would always reveal a faint smile and hand her a small toy.
After a long time, she was actually looking forward to what the little gadget would be today.
Thinking of this, Nie Xiangyi cursed herself for being useless, having been bribed by such a small thing! She couldn't help but curse Xie Zhi again in her heart for being such a nuisance, for making her so distracted during play that she was still thinking about her homework!
She said goodbye to Pei Jue, but on her way back she saw Xie Zhi waiting for her in front of the palace gate.
"Sister Ah Si." Xie Zhi handed her a emerald green straw cage that looked like it was newly woven. "I shouldn't have treated you like that. Don't ignore me."
Seeing the prince apologize to her, Nie Xiangyi was so excited that her tail almost flew up to the sky.
She forced the corners of her mouth down, "Do you really know you're wrong?"
Xie Zhi nodded.
"Then don't force me to do homework in the future."
"good."
"Then you help me do it."
Xie Zhi took a deep breath and said, "Okay."
"You are not allowed to stop me and Brother Ziying from going out to play."
"No." Xie Zhi subconsciously said, "I can accompany you wherever you want to go."
"You're not doing your homework anymore?" "No."
"Can we catch crickets?" "Sure."
"Can you climb over the wall or climb a tree?" "Sure."
Nie Xiangyi could hardly believe her ears, her eyes widening in surprise, "Is this still my old-fashioned, boring, dignified and self-possessed prince brother?"
"I only have one request." Xie Zhi pursed his lips, "Don't call Pei Jue brother anymore."
Nie Xiangyi was puzzled, "Why?"
Xie Zhi's tone choked.
He thought for a moment and said seriously, "Because I am the crown prince. If you call him brother and then call me brother, I will become his brother, which is impolite."
"Are there still such perverse rules in the palace?" Nie Xiangyi expressed his doubt.
"Yes." Xie Zhi replied calmly, "So you can only choose one person to call brother. Who do you choose?"
He asked almost subconsciously, and then his eyes were fixed on Nie Xiangyi's face, waiting for her answer.
"Then I'd definitely choose Brother Ziying." Nie Xiangyi answered without hesitation.
Xie Zhi's eyebrows were almost frozen in a layer of frost, "Why?"
"Because according to the rules you just mentioned, if I continue to call you brother, wouldn't we become brother and sister?" Nie Xiangyi said seriously, "That's also against the rules, isn't it?"
Xie Zhi was choked and couldn't speak for a long time.
I've never seen her think so quickly when she was doing homework.
He said faintly, "That's different."
In short, the two of them reconciled.
Nie Xiangyi later met a frail and sickly second prince in the palace.
At that time, she and Xie Zhi were sitting on the roof of the East Palace. The afterglow of the setting sun was shining on the glazed tiles. She was reading a storybook and Xie Zhi was reading a book.
Suddenly, she saw a thin figure in the distance, looking up at the clear sunset around them, eyes full of envy.
"Who is he?" she asked Xie Zhi.
"The Second Prince." Xie Zhi replied.
"Then why have I never seen him before?" Nie Xiangyi tilted her head, "and never studied with us?"
"You have seen him." Xie Zhi said, "He is in poor health and cannot stand the wind. Father specially invited a teacher to come to his palace to teach him."
"Then I can't even go out to play?" Nie Xiangyi glanced at him with regret. "How pitiful."
"His mother almost killed my mother, and almost killed me too." Xie Zhi looked at her with regretful eyes, and suddenly an inexplicable thought arose in his mind.
"What if his mother really succeeded?"
Nie Xiangyi shuddered for no reason at these words, and felt that Xie Zhi's assumption made her hair stand on end.
She waved her hands hurriedly, "There won't be such a thing! No! Everyone is fine!"
Xie Zhi let out a long sigh and looked at the bright golden sunset in the sky with Xie Chengxin.
"Yeah, everyone's fine."
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