Chapter 37 Jealousy Why don’t you go find King Jin?
The Prince of Jin and Xie Xuanlan parted on bad terms. After returning home, the Prince reflected for a long time and admitted that he should not have overestimated his character in the past.
During the fifteen years of loneliness and widowership, longing and guilt were like grindstones, forcibly grinding away the overbearing arrogance in his character, making him realize that all he wanted was for Ah Ying to live well. Even if she still didn't care enough about him, even if they didn't share the same beliefs, he would help her as long as she wanted.
But Xie Xuanlan was different.
He is still the unpolished third son of the prime minister's family. He is young and energetic, and even often disobeys his father, the prime minister. How could he tolerate the Prince of Jin, an unfamiliar outsider, showing concern for his sweetheart?
Perhaps in his eyes, this was a provocation worth fighting for life and death.
Therefore, even though he knew that Aying cherished ancient books and that he should abandon Prince Huai, he still found it difficult to make a rational choice.
After realizing this, Prince Jin sighed and pinched his brows: "You are still too young. You have such a strong temper. What will you do if Ah Ying is wronged in the future?"
After all, he was his former self and was not an outsider. In the end, King Jin decided to lower his status and took the initiative to write a sincere apology letter, which he asked Zi Su to give to Xie San.
The letter first stated his attitude towards Ah Ying: "Mrs. Jiang Si is like a bright pearl and a high moon. It is natural for me to admire her. However, I regard you as a friend. I would rather die than violate ethics and insult you. I hope that Mr. San will let go of my grievances and not worry."
He also listed some of the Huaijun Prince's secret actions, warning him that he was not a trustworthy leader: "On his way back to the capital, Wang Silang secretly gave the Huaijun Prince 100,000 gold. When the censor accused the Wang family of embezzling people's land, the Huaijun Prince ordered the Jingzhao Yin and the Ministry of Revenue to cover up Wang's actions under the name of the Xie family."
When Xie Xuanlan received the letter, he was sharpening his knife in the yard.
Zi Su waited at the side, not daring to breathe. After a long time, he heard Xie Xuanlan sneer after he finished reading.
He sheathed the gleaming blade, which had been sharpened to the point of breaking hair, and said ruthlessly, "You're being too attentive for no good reason."
Zi Su secretly wanted to ease the relationship between the two financial sponsors, so she carefully spoke in Jin Wang's favor, saying, "Although his highness is often ill, he always wishes the best for others. He doesn't seem to have any ill will towards Xie."
Xie Xuanlan: "Who do you belong to?"
Zi Su shut up awkwardly.
Xie Xuanlan added, "Don't let me hear these words again. I'll pay you double the monthly salary that the Prince of Jin's Mansion gives you."
Shiso: “……!”
After sending Zi Su away, Xie Xuanlan threw the letter from King Jin into the furnace.
After Zi Su's identity was exposed, Xie Xuanlan no longer regarded her as a trustworthy and reliable informant. Xie Xuanlan regarded everything she conveyed as something that the King of Jin deliberately wanted to show.
He didn't believe that Prince Jin was so generous and sincere, and inexplicably wanted to benefit the Xie family. He had to find out the extent of Prince Jin's strength and his real purpose in approaching the Xie family and Jiang Congying.
Thinking of this, Xie Xuanlan suddenly decided to visit Prince Jin's mansion at night.
*
It was a cold spring night, and a night owl cried mournfully as it flew over the Prince of Jin's Mansion.
Xie Xuanlan only brought one agile subordinate with him. The two of them sneaked in through the back wall of the palace. While hiding in the dark to explore the location of the secret guards in the palace, they saw Princess Xuande and a group of medical attendants hurriedly heading towards the Prince of Jin's courtyard.
The subordinate, with sharp eyes and ears, followed for a few steps in the dark and returned to report: "The King of Jin has fallen ill again. There are many people in the living quarters. Third Young Master, it would be easy to be discovered if you sneak in now."
Xie Xuanlan was hiding in the bushes, using the moonlight to arrange a formation with stones on the ground. After he finished, he asked his subordinates to look at it: "Does it look familiar?"
The subordinate stared at it for a long time, then said doubtfully, "This looks a bit like the Star Locking Merchant Formation that our secret guards use for patrols."
Xie Xuanlan nodded: "This is the location of the secret guards in Prince Jin's mansion that I found out. Prince Jin made it more sophisticated."
The subordinates were puzzled: "You personally created the formation, and even the Prime Minister doesn't know the details, so how can the Prince of Jin know it?"
Xie Xuanlan also wanted to know why.
He raised his hand to brush away the stones: "This way."
After figuring out the deployment of the secret guards in Prince Jin's mansion, Xie Xuanlan easily avoided all the spies, sneaked into Prince Jin's yard, and hid under the side window.
At this time, Princess Xuande and her entourage also walked into the courtyard. Xie Xuanlan threw a stone and hit a wild cat sleeping on the roof of the pavilion. The wild cat jumped up and down with a "wow" and landed at the feet of the princess. The princess was so scared that she took two steps back and fell to the ground with a "ouch".
The wild cat turned and scurried into the bushes.
This sudden change attracted the attention of all the secret guards. Xie Xuanlan took the opportunity to pry open the side window and climbed into the house with his hands on his waist.
Unlike the splendor and luxury that Xie Xuanlan had imagined, the King of Jin's living quarters were very deserted, with only two or three street lamps on and not even a night watchman.
He heard heavy and uneven breathing coming from behind the screen. He paused slightly and made sure that the person was really unconscious before walking into the house from the side hall and taking a quick look around.
Something strange. This was Xie Xuanlan's first feeling.
On the left side of the door is the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams Treasure Box, and on the right side is the Eight Immortals Table. The bead curtain is hooked high as if it is in the way. To the inside is the tea table by the window, and the waist couch is covered with only a fox fur blanket, and a row of unfinished books are turned upside down on the armrest.
Apart from the different styles, the placement and usage of these tables, chairs and utensils are surprisingly similar to Xie Xuanlan's.
The subordinate pointed at the words on the wall and said, "Third Young Master, look!"
The poem on the scroll is exactly the same as the one in Xie Xuanlan's room: Fallen osmanthus flowers turn into fireflies, illuminating the entire room.
"You still dare to say you don't have any improper thoughts." Xie Xuanlan looked very unhappy and sneered, "You are just imitating others."
The subordinate was very sensible: "I will go back and investigate the spies in the palace. Also, there is no good end for those who imitate others."
Xie Xuanlan nodded in agreement.
In his eyes, from the formation to the handwriting, from the living room to the hanging calligraphy, Prince Jin was imitating him in every way. The purpose of doing this was nothing more than to attract Jiang Congying's attention and win her favor.
Dream on. Xie Xuanlan thought to himself, at least he still lacks a face.
Suddenly, he saw something through the gap in the screen, his brows slowly furrowed, and then he walked over.
His subordinates reminded him: "The princess is coming this way!"
Xie Xuanlan seemed not to hear anything. His eyes fell on the flower table behind the screen and were fixed on it.
There were two bouquets of flowers on the flower table, one was osmanthus and the other was black plum.
Osmanthus fragrans was not in season at this time. It had been soaked in medicine and then dried into dried flowers, and then carefully glued back into its original shape one by one. Xie Xuanlan remembered the day when he plucked some osmanthus fragrans and gave it to Jiang Congying. Jiang Congying accepted the flowers and the next thing she said was that she wanted to cancel the engagement.
And the black plum tree was still alive because it was carefully cared for, and even the buds were slowly blooming. The bottle underneath was dug out from the soil by him, washed, and handed to Jiang Congying.
Xie Xuanlan's mind went blank for a moment.
Why are these two bouquets of flowers at the head of Prince Jin's bed?
Was it given to him by Jiang Congying, or was it folded for him from the beginning?
Xie Xuanlan really couldn't think of a more reasonable excuse. Instead, the scene of the two of them leaning against each other intimately in the carriage at Yingtou Gorge slowly came to his mind.
Jealousy and anger surged in his heart. He took two or three steps forward, intending to kick over the flower table and smash the two vases of flowers to pieces. Suddenly, a hand reached out from the bed curtain and grabbed his arm.
The cold, pale fingers unconsciously locked onto him, and a sinister ghostly aura quickly climbed up his forearm.
Xie Xuanlan only felt a buzzing sound in his head, as if a golden bell had hit his head hard. His eyes became dark and double, and the blood in his body began to cool rapidly.
He saw his back swaying, his left hand was grasped, and his right hand was waving in the air, trying to grab something to steady himself.
Normally, a person cannot see his own back, but now he seems like his soul has left his body.
At the same time, countless unfamiliar images flashed through his mind: the lingering romance of the bridal chamber, playing chess under the moon, admiring flowers in the breeze, a farewell at the Ten-Mile Pavilion, and the mourning in mourning all over the courtyard...
It's him, but it's not him.
When did he and Jiang Congying experience this?
Just when my head was about to explode, Princess Xuande and her group pushed open the door of the bedroom. A gust of wind rushed in, ringing the golden bells hanging under the eaves, dingdangdang, dingdangdang——
Like a flash of lightning splitting the dark clouds, Xie Xuanlan's mind became clear for a moment. It was at this moment that his subordinates pulled him up, and the two of them quickly flipped over from the nearest window. The moment the window fell, they almost came face to face with Princess Xuande.
"Why is there another wild cat? Get rid of it!" Princess Xuande shouted from inside the house.
Xie Xuanlan leaned against the window and took a breath. He found that he was sweating profusely and was too exhausted to stand. However, he did not dare to stay for a moment. He asked his subordinates to support him and reluctantly left the Prince Jin's Mansion. He walked to a safe and secluded place, where he held onto a tree trunk and vomited violently.
The subordinate was terrified: "Third Master, you just suddenly didn't respond when I called you, what happened?"
Xie Xuanlan's face was pale and he didn't speak for a long time.
When King Jin reached out to grab him just now, many images flashed through his mind. Now he only remembered the grief and shock he felt at that time, but he could not remember the specific content of those images.
It was like a colorful dream that quickly retreated like the tide the moment he woke up, leaving only the tearing pain in his brain.
But he clearly remembered what he had seen before——
The two bouquets of flowers he picked for Jiang Congying were placed by Prince Jin on the bedside with great care.
Xie Xuanlan's dark, almost dull pupils moved slightly, and the corners of his pale lips curled up in a sarcastic arc.
He whispered through gritted teeth, "I want an explanation for everything that happened tonight."
＊
The whereabouts of an ancient book that Ying had been looking for some time ago have been revealed. She heard that a down-and-out scholar who claimed to be the descendant of the book's author was selling his ancestral property in the Xiqiao Peng Market, so she got up early and took a carriage to check it out.
Xiqiaopeng Market is close to the west city gate and is home to many poor families. Many able-bodied men without land to farm would come here to look for work. It is also the largest slave trading market in Yunjing.
Cong Ying put on her veil, slowed down her pace, and walked around the market a few times on purpose, feeling a little uncomfortable.
She chose a gentle-looking old woman, paid her two copper coins, and asked her, "Grandma, why are so many families selling their daughters in the West Bridge Market these days?"
The old woman smiled bitterly and said, "The price is good. It used to be six taels, but now it's eight taels. The more handsome ones are sold for more."
Cong Ying asked again, "Do you know who the buyer is?"
The old woman waved her hands and said, "I don't know, I don't know."
Cong Ying thought carefully in her heart: brothels need to register with the government when buying people, and they will not buy too many at a time, which will cause changes in the market price.
Most of the slaves of princes and nobles were born within their families or given to each other, and they would not go to the Xiqiao tent market to buy these girls who did not know the rules.
Who would buy up young girls in large numbers these days?
Just when he was puzzled, Cong Ying heard a burst of crying from under the shed not far away.
"I don't want to! I don't want to go with him!"
"Be obedient, your brother is still waiting for money to treat his illness, you should go with him and live a good life!"
Cong Ying felt as if a prick was stabbed in the heart, and she looked along with the crowd. It didn't matter that she saw the little girl, she clearly recognized her.
The Lord of the Crimson Cloud Crown adopted many orphans in the Xuandu Temple, but her energy and financial resources were limited, so she would sometimes pick out a few smart and sensible girls and ask those who had no children and came to pray for children to adopt them.
The girl in front of him was named Lianjun, and Congying had met her once before.
Seeing Lianjun's arm almost dislocated, Congying quickly squeezed through the crowd and said, "Wait, I want to buy this girl!"
When Lianjun saw her, he suddenly stopped crying. Tears reflected light in his eyes and he looked at her with expectation and pleading.
Cong Ying nodded gently at her, then turned to her father and said, "I see she's quite clever, and I'm willing to pay ten taels of silver to buy her back to be a maid."
The previous buyer was a tall, burly man with a fierce look on his face, and his clothes suggested he was a powerful servant of some noble family. He was displeased when he heard this and reached out to push Congying, but Congying dodged swiftly.
He scolded, "Do you understand the first-come, first-served rule? Your husband is in a hurry to reincarnate, so he asked you to come out and buy someone to keep his offspring?"
Cong Ying discussed this with him in a gentle tone, "Don't be angry, sir. I really like this girl and am willing to give you another five taels of silver as compensation."
"I need your five taels of silver." The man with the dangling eyes pulled out a long knife from under the shed, thrust it forward, and said to Lianjun's adoptive father, "I will only give you six taels of silver. You must sell this child to me today."
Knowing he was outnumbered, he didn't argue with him. He turned and left. After climbing into the carriage, he ordered the driver, "Go to Yong'an Gate, quickly!"
Yong'an Gate was the closest city gate to Xiqiaopeng Market, and was guarded by the Yanqi Guards. She had the jade pendant given by Xie Xuanlan, so perhaps she could ask the guards for help. With luck, she might even run into Third Young Master Xie himself.
The carriage sped through the alleys and stopped at the foot of the Yong'an Gate Tower. Cong Ying ran up to the tower panting. As expected, he was blessed by the gods and saw Xie Xuanlan talking to his subordinates at a glance.
Both of them were stunned.
But after Ying was stunned, she was ecstatic, but Xie Xuanlan seemed to be choked and slowly frowned.
"Thank you, Third Young Master!"
Cong Ying ignored the formalities and ran up to him through the heavily armored guards, grabbing his wrist and saying, "Please come with me to Xiqiao Peng Market. I need your help with something urgent!"
But she failed to pull Xie Xuanlan, and Xie Xuanlan shook her hand off.
This was the first time Jiang Congying had run to him with such joy, actively asking for something from him. He should have felt obliged to do so and felt honored. However, her secret entanglement with the Prince of Jin was like a long, cold needle piercing his heart, causing him to feel a sharp pain every time he was moved by her.
He wanted to calm down for a few days, but unexpectedly she appeared in front of him so suddenly.
Cong Ying thought it was inconvenient for him to escape: "Then can you lend me a few guards? I'll take them with me to give me courage."
Xie Xuanlan looked at her with a dangerous coldness in his eyes, questioning her word by word, "Why don't you go find Prince Jin at this time?"
Upon hearing this, Zong Ying was stunned for a moment, and her heart suddenly tightened.
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