Chapter 35: Picking Flowers Whoever picks my flowers must marry me. ...
Mrs. Xie called Ah He to her side, peeled a pomegranate for her, and asked about her homework.
Seeing that both daughters had won Madam Xie's favor, Zhao pushed her youngest son forward and said to Madam Xie, "Ah Qian is as smart and well-behaved as his two sisters. He deeply admires the Xie family's learning style. However, he offended Master Zheng last time and was expelled from Congshan Academy. Madam Xie, please put in a few good words for him in front of Master Zheng and ask him to return to school!"
Everyone's eyes turned to the mother and son, and then to Mrs. Xie.
I chose this moment on purpose so that Madam Xie would have to agree out of consideration for her feelings.
Before Mrs. Xie could speak, Cong Ying spoke first, "Mother, today isn't the apprenticeship banquet. Let's talk about Ah Qian's matter later."
Zhao said, "Today is for you, but you must not forget your brother. A man's education is like a woman's marriage; both are important matters that cannot be delayed. I have been unable to sleep or eat these days, and there is really no other way."
After hearing this, a momentary look of sadness and sneer crossed Ying's face.
"So this is actually my fault." She sighed softly and looked at Jiang Congjing: "Ah Qian, come forward."
Jiang Congqian didn't dare, and instead hid behind Zhao.
Cong Ying smiled slightly: "Why, don't you want to study?"
Zhao gave him a push and said, "Be good and go over here quickly."
Jiang Congqian, looking back every few steps, moved to stand in front of Congying. Congying neither hit him nor scolded him. Instead, she looked around at everyone and said to him, "You should have memorized 'You Xue Qiong Lin' by now. I'll give you the first line, and you take the second."
"Youth is gone, we must cherish it—next sentence."
Jiang Congqian stuttered, "The sun and the moon...they..."
From Ying: "An extraordinary child must have an extraordinary life - continue the next sentence."
"Rather than standing by the abyss and envying the fish, it is better to retreat and weave a net—next sentence."
“…”
After four or five sentences, Jiang Congqian stumbled and his face turned red. Some people around him couldn't help laughing and let out a "puff". Jiang Congqian was so embarrassed and angry that he turned around and bumped into Zhao's arms.
Cong Ying sighed, "Mother, if Ah Qian really enters Congshan Academy with his behavior, not only will he be unable to keep up with the Master's teachings, but he will also destroy the reputation of the Xie family. He can't bear such a great sin, and neither can I."
Zhao's face flushed with shame and anger, and her lips trembled. In the end, she didn't say a word and took Jiang Congqian back to the table to sit down.
Ying felt bad too.
She knew that the eyes that were looking at her were all making up stories about her, saying that she was an extrovert and that she was only interested in marrying into a wealthy family and not caring about her own family.
In the past, because of her grandfather's teachings and her fear of these opinions, she had been repeatedly entangled in the Jiang family's troubles, working hard and suffering, but with no good results. Now, she wanted to find a good place for herself, and these things were tangled up again like a tangled mess.
She could still separate from the eldest branch of the Jiang family, but what could she do about her biological mother?
While she was lost in thought, Madam Xie suddenly held her hand and squeezed it gently as if to comfort her: "Sanlang is here. There are only women here. You can go somewhere else with him to relax."
Cong Ying looked up and saw Xie Xuanlan standing outside the pavilion, looking at her with his hands behind his back, his lips slightly pursed.
She stood up and said goodbye, leaving the open pavilion where the female relatives were sitting. She and Xie Xuanlan walked a long way away before she felt her tense mind slowly relax.
Looking back at the direction of Changxuan, she sighed silently: "Did the Third Young Master hear everything?"
Xie Xuanlan said, "I just arrived and heard a few words."
Cong Ying said, "Although the two branches of the Jiang family have separated, our second branch still has many troubles. What we have seen today is just the tip of the iceberg. If there is a chance in the future, my mother will spare no effort to ask for benefits from your family for my good-for-nothing brother."
Xie Xuanlan paused: "So?"
Cong Ying's voice dropped. "Such an in-law would do the Third Young Master no good but only harm. Do you really want to cause such a mess just for a momentary affection?"
Xie Xuanlan chuckled softly, "You've been thinking about this for so many days, and this is the only reason you can come up with to reject me? Jiang Congying, you're being too perfunctory with me."
Ever since he ran into her and Prince Jin in Yingtou Gorge a few days ago, Xie Xuanlan had been holding back a knot of jealousy, which burned deep inside him.
He secretly thought of many reasons for her, vaguely hoping that she would take the initiative to clarify the misunderstanding, but no, nothing happened.
What he waited for was just insincere perfunctory and insincere rejection.
"The Xie family is a prosperous family, so it wouldn't hurt to protect a few more mediocre people like Jiang Congjing. Besides, you are not weak and without opinions. How the Xie family treats the Jiang family is just a matter of your words. It is not an obstacle at all."
Xie Xuanlan was so angry that he almost laughed when she could come up with such an excuse. He wanted to ask her directly whether there would be no such entanglements if she married into the Prince of Jin's Mansion, but he was afraid that if he broke the window paper, there would be no room for maneuver or concealment between the two of them.
Cong Ying asked him again quite seriously, "Third Young Master, do you really not mind the Jiang family's situation and are you really willing to marry me?"
Xie Xuanlan's voice was slightly cold: "Yes, I don't mind. Even if you have ten younger brothers, I would still be willing to marry you. Come, let me hear what other reasons you have."
Today, he was determined to get to the bottom of this matter until this unfaithful person could find no other excuses and could only explain the affair between her and the King of Jin.
But he listened to Ying and said, "Then I am willing to marry you."
Xie Xuanlan was stunned: "What did you say?"
"I said..."
Cong Ying's eyebrows arched slightly, and she took a step forward, only a fist's distance from him. She stood on tiptoe and whispered in his ear: "I said I like you and am willing to marry you."
This sudden turn was like a basin of water poured on the anger in Xie Xuanlan's chest, and a cloud of smoke rose up with a sizzling sound. He stood in the middle of it, dazed for a long time.
After a long while, he stared at her uncertainly and asked, "You said you would marry me?"
Cong Ying smiled and nodded, a faint blush appearing on her cheeks.
"Is this what you really mean?"
Cong Ying nodded again: "Yes, the truth."
This was the answer he had been longing for, but it was an unexpected answer. Joy slowly surged into his heart like a tide. Xie Xuanlan suddenly didn't know how to react. He stared at Cong Ying for a long time, and suddenly held her wrist.
As if afraid that she would run away, he said, "Then I will go to your house to propose marriage tomorrow and set a date for the wedding."
Cong Ying smiled and said, "It's still early. Why not wait until the mourning period is over before discussing it."
Xie Xuanlan: "Then come with me to see Princess Xiaocheng. We must make this matter clear with her."
Cong Ying said, "It would be more appropriate for the elders to handle this matter. Let's go... like elope."
What she said made sense, but it was just words. Xie Xuanlan still wanted to do something to make sure that what she said was not just a mirage or a fleeting dream that he could deny later.
He took off the gold-inlaid black bird jade pendant from his waist and handed it to Congying. Congying took it and gave him the sachet she was wearing.
"It's a matter of reciprocity." Cong Ying saw that he still looked worried, so she asked with concern, "Does Third Young Master have any other concerns?"
Xie Xuanlan wanted to ask her about Prince Jin, but when the words came to his lips, he hesitated and couldn't say them.
If Jiang Congying had continued to put him off, he could have thrown in the towel and gotten to the bottom of everything. But she had agreed to the marriage, presenting him with a cracked, yet repairable, jar. He was cautious, not wanting to create complications or break it.
The doubts about King Jin slowly retreated into his heart like a shadow under the sunlight.
Maybe he really saw it wrong.
"I heard that there is a rare black plum tree in Huanlang Mountain. Does the third young master know where it is planted?" Cong Ying asked Xie Xuanlan.
Xie Xuanlan nodded. "I know. That black plum tree was a gift from my teacher when he retired. The color of the flowers is very rare. After my teacher left, this black plum tree almost died of illness. Fortunately, with the guidance of an expert, I moved it to Huanlang Mountain. Since then, it has grown prosperously day by day and has now become a scenic spot in Huanlang Mountain. Do you want to go and see it?"
Cong Ying wondered why the flowers that Prince Jin specifically requested were always so difficult to get.
She asked tentatively, "I want to go and take a look... and then pick a branch to take away, is that okay?"
Xie Xuanlan heard this and said with a bright smile: "If you want, you can dig up the whole tree, but this black plum is a betrothal gift. Whoever picks my flowers must marry me."
From Ying: "..."
Okay.
The black plum tree needs to be nourished by mountain spring water and is planted in the depression on the top of the mountain. The climate here is colder than that at the foot of the mountain.
Cong Ying wrapped herself tightly in the green feather fur coat given to her by Madam Xie, but she still felt the cold wind blowing in through her collar and sleeves. She was shivering secretly when suddenly a warm embrace came up from behind.
Xie Xuanlan held her close and said, "This is the right place for the wind to blow. Don't worry, no one will see you. Just go this way."
I don't know if it was intentional, but the road became more and more rugged the higher we went. There were several steep slopes, and Cong Ying had to grab Xie Xuanlan's wrist for support. After climbing up, she didn't want to get rid of him, so she had to let him lead the way.
He said proudly: "Actually, you don't have to work so hard. I can carry you up or hold you in my arms."
Cong Ying said stubbornly, "It's not hard. I'm just exercising my muscles."
Xie Xuanlan took over the conversation again: "Speaking of strengthening the muscles and bones, my family has a modified set of Five Animal Exercises in their family tradition. It is most suitable for women to do in the morning. It can relieve liver depression, moisturize muscles and nourish bones. When you marry into my family, I can teach you every morning."
On this short mountain road, Xie Xuanlan mentioned "Wait until you marry into my family" four or five times, as anxious as a young boy.
From recommending her to attend Congshan School, to tailoring the most beautiful dresses for her and brewing the most expensive tea, now he wants to teach her the Five Animal Exercises and how to pick fruits from the trees with a slingshot.
Every word was like a vivid picture scroll, slowly unfolding in Ying's mind. She listened quietly, and the expectation in her heart slowly rose like the tide.
Such a comfortable life is actually quite desirable.
The two finally found the black plum tree, and it was indeed unique. Its petals were the color of white jade, yet traces of black spread from the calyx to the tip, like the ink marks left by a drunken calligrapher. This flower might be fine in the mountains, but if it were planted in Yunjing, it would surely be recounted by literati and poets for thousands of times.
Xie Xuanlan asked her to wait under the tree for a while. He found an old pottery jar from somewhere, squatted by the spring, washed it, wiped it dry with the corner of his clothes, and handed it to Cong Ying.
He said, "This black plum is very delicate. We need to protect it in a clay pot to prevent it from being damaged or blown away by the wind."
He asked Congying which branch she wanted. Congying pointed to the lowest branch with the fewest flowers and said, "This one will do."
Xie Xuanlan said, "No, you should pick the best one. What do you think of the branch where the titmouse landed?"
It grew so straight and lush that Cong Ying was reluctant to break it. However, Xie Xuanlan did not hesitate to give her a hard time. He stepped on the mountain wall to gain leverage. His posture seemed to be lighter than a titmouse falling from a branch. He lightly tapped the black plum tree and broke off the branch. A few petals fell into Cong Ying's hair.
He handed the nearly intact plum branch to Cong Ying, his eyes gleaming with tenderness as he looked at her intently. "Actually, I really regret it. Last time you asked for the osmanthus flowers from my yard, I should have taken you there myself to pick them. Maybe then we could have wasted less time together."
Cong Ying lowered her head and sniffed the plum blossoms, but smiled softly: "It's okay."
These flowers were picked for others, so I can't say I feel sorry about them.
On the way back, it was Cong Ying who took the initiative to hold his hand and said with anticipation: "After we get married, how about we pick another branch and keep it in the yard?"
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