Chapter 55: Guarantee to open the door and accept the betrothal gift!
Xie Xuanlan seemed to be very pleased with himself on the surface, but in fact he was not very sure of himself.
He admitted that his mother was right: Aying is irreplaceable to you, but you are not yet that close to Aying, and this is exactly where you should strive for improvement.
In terms of family background and status, the Prince of Jin held him in higher esteem; in terms of character and appearance, it was said that a frail, pretty boy like the Prince of Jin was more likely to attract sympathy, and had recently become quite popular among the women of Yunjing. On closer inspection, aside from the principle of "first come, first served," he had no real advantage that could have attracted Jiang Congying to him in the same way that she had, making her feel that she couldn't be without him.
This made Xie Xuanlan restless and worried. After thinking it over, he could only think of one solution.
That is to take advantage of Jiang Congying's gentlemanly character of keeping her promises, marry her home first, and when she becomes his wife, over time, he will always have the opportunity to slowly win her heart back... Although this trick is very rogue, it is the only way to win.
When he arrived at the gate of Jiang's house, Xie Xuanlan did not knock on the door immediately. Instead, he ordered the Fengchen Guards to disperse the onlookers. After wandering for a long time, he actually climbed over the backyard wall and entered the Jiang's house.
He jumped onto an osmanthus tree and saw Ying, who was drying books in the sun in Yunshui Garden.
She had her arms folded, her long, shiny black hair tied loosely with a goose yellow ribbon. She was concentrating on spreading out the pages of a book, pressing them down one by one with a paperweight. Occasionally, when she came across something that interested her, she would stand there and read for a long time.
The wind blew the lace across her eyebrows, like a startled wild goose sweeping across the lake, and she frowned unconsciously, and her calm face immediately became lively.
Xie Xuanlan looked at it from afar, his mood sometimes rising and sometimes sinking.
Seeing that she was about to go into the house, Xie Xuanlan took off a jade bead from his sleeve and threw it at her. Zong Ying covered her head and turned around, and saw a bright red color among the thick green shade of the tree. She was immediately shocked. She looked around and saw no one, so she quickly ran under the tree.
"Why are you here?!"
Xie Xuanlan jumped down from the tree and said, "I'm just passing by, and I want a glass of water."
Cong Yingqi neither laughed nor laughed: "What kind of lecherous behavior are you doing? If someone sees you, they will spread gossip. Get out of here quickly."
Xie Xuanlan remained unmoved despite her pushing and shoving. Instead, he seemed to enjoy it. His eyes curved slightly, making his pupils appear even darker. "I'm dying for gossip to spread so I can come to your house and ask for a proper status."
Cong Ying was helpless: "What on earth are you doing here? Has the court reached a conclusion on the bandit suppression?"
Xie Xuanlan said, "I have come to report this matter to my wife, but if you want to drive me away, I will not say anything."
Cong Ying quickly grabbed his sleeve and said, "No, no, no, since you're here, let's talk first before we leave."
"This matter..." Xie Xuanlan said slowly, "Someone is coming this way."
Upon hearing this, Cong Ying turned around and tried to escape, but Xie Xuanlan grabbed her wrist, took her through the moon cave door, and hid behind the rockery in the dry pond.
Since the death of the old censor Jiang, the Jiang family has dismissed many of their servants. The courtyard is neglected, the pond has dried up, and many new bamboo shoots have sprouted around the rockery, leaving only a small space for the two of them to rest. Cong Ying's back pressed against the rock, his nose repeatedly brushing against Xie Xuanlan's collar, sniffing the cold, distant scent of sandalwood, and swallowing softly.
She tilted her head back as much as she could, and put one hand between her head and the rock, wrapping around the protruding edges of the stone.
Xie Xuanlan sneered softly, "What do you mean by running away? If you leave me to be caught, wouldn't that make you a thief? Do you still have any conscience?"
Cong Ying felt guilty, bit her lip and said nothing, thinking to herself, if you want to run away, even if we close the door and let the dogs out, we won't be able to catch you.
Seeing that this place was quiet and cramped, making it a perfect place for a private meeting, Xie Xuanlan didn't bother to argue with her and continued, "The Prince of Huai has identified Wang Zhaoshen, and the princess has evidence of Wang Zhaoshen colluding with bandits. He can't escape, but it's hard to convict him. If the charges are too light, they won't intimidate the public. If they are too severe, Wang's family will hold Prince of Huai and the princess hostage. So, there's no conclusion yet. Today, the emperor will probably order the three ministers to hold a trial and examine the evidence in detail."
Cong Ying asked, "What about the Xie family? Were you implicated?"
Xie Xuanlan was about to boast about his wisdom when an idea suddenly occurred to him and he changed his mind. He sighed deeply and said, "Of course, I'm worried about this matter right now. I came to you today to ask for your help."
Cong Ying's heart immediately lifted when she heard this, and she expressed a serious attitude: "Tell me what I can do for you, and I will never refuse."
She thought of testifying in court on his behalf, or contacting her grandfather's former students and friends to write a petition on Xie's behalf. However, these were all too unlikely. As she was planning and worrying, she heard Xie Xuanlan clear his throat and say:
"If I'm sentenced to prison and the imperial court comes to search my house, I'm afraid all the money my parents have saved for me to marry me off will be confiscated, so I want to bring it to your house to keep."
From Ying: "Huh?"
Xie Xuanlan touched the tip of his nose with a guilty conscience: "Just...just help me open the door, I'm already outside."
After being teased by him for a long time, Cong Ying finally came to her senses and punched him in anger: "Xie Xuanlan!"
He just stood there and replied shamelessly: "Yeah, I'm listening."
Cong Ying asked him, "What on earth are you doing here? Are you really bringing the betrothal gifts to my doorstep?"
Xie Xuanlan said shamelessly, "Yes, you said you would never refuse. You wouldn't even help with such a small favor, would you?"
Cong Ying: “…” What a small favor.
Xie Xuanlan gave her time to accept this matter and let her lecture him obediently. After she calmed down, he said solemnly, "Jiang Congying, I really want to marry you. I won't be at peace until this matter is settled. I know you are still in mourning, but there is a precedent in our dynasty for accepting marriage during mourning. We can get married after you are out of mourning, okay?"
His eyes were serious and focused, and Cong Ying was bewitched by him. Her heart was beating wildly, and she almost nodded in indulgence.
But she still had a concern in her heart that had not been resolved.
Finally, she shook her head gently: "No... This is not appropriate."
Xie Xuanlan's smile faded, and he stared at her quietly, as if he hadn't heard her. He asked again, "Open the door to welcome the bride, and let's get engaged first, okay?"
Cong Ying said, "Not good."
Her explanation was somewhat blunt: "The precedent for this dynasty's practice of marrying off a general during the mourning period is that a veteran general died in battle, and a major general took over. Since there was no one to care for his elderly mother at home, the late emperor issued an edict to arrange a marriage between the major general and his cousin, based on the principle of forfeiting affection. There's no reason for us to join in this excitement."
Xie Xuanlan said, "That's not the reason. You're lying." He only had a vague guess as to why she lied, but he felt a burning pain in his gut. The rage of jealousy and the chill of anxiety mingled and tormented him. He wanted to question her, but then he remembered Madam Xie's words, "Resentment only pushes people away," and he forced himself to hold back the razor-sharp bitterness.
Cong Ying was indeed lying, and she hadn't figured out whether she should say it or how to say it.
Her younger brother Jiang Congqian is addicted to gambling, and her mother is incompetent and indulgent. She doesn't know how much trouble he will get into.
Yesterday, she went to the warehouse to look for century-old ginseng for Wei Yin'er, only to discover it had been replaced with rhubarb roots. A quick check revealed a complete mess. She was worried that if the Xie family's betrothal gifts weren't properly cared for, they would end up at the casino within a few days. Her high-class marriage already attracted attention, and if something like this happened again, her reputation would be completely ruined.
She didn't want to tell Xie Xuanlan about this. Maybe he didn't care, but she did. Who doesn't want to maintain more dignity in front of the person they like?
She was trying to decide her words in the tense atmosphere, but Xie Xuanlan was the first to ask, "So what you're saying is, you don't want me anymore. Are you going to break the marriage promise you made?"
Cong Ying quickly defended herself: "That's not true!"
The two were very close to each other, and a drop of water fell on Ying's nose. She raised her eyes blankly and met his red eyes, which were staring at her deeply, full of sadness.
Cong Ying immediately panicked: He he he...why is he crying!
"Jiang Congying, how could you do this to me, you——"
Xie Xuanlan took a deep breath and gritted his teeth to swallow back the resentment that he could not hide bit by bit.
...Can't blame.
"I beg you, please keep your promise and marry me, okay? What the King of Jin can give you, I can also give you. Since we've already made a promise, why can't you choose me?"
Cong Ying really didn't expect that Xie Xuanlan, who was always full of vigor and courage and who would speak out loudly when captured by Wang Zhaoshen, would actually cry over such a trivial matter.
Yes, she originally thought it was a trivial matter. The two of them talked at cross purposes for a long time until Xie Xuanlan mentioned Prince Jin, and then Cong Ying realized how big his misunderstanding was.
So he quickly clarified, "This fact has nothing to do with Prince Jin. I have family matters that will delay me for a while. Sanlang, I swear to heaven, I really have no intention of breaking off the engagement. You...you don't have to be sad."
Xie Xuanlan finally heard something he liked to hear, and thought to himself that asking for help was actually more effective than complaining.
He did not comment, still looking at her with his red eyes. His eyelashes closed slightly, and two more tears fell, sliding across his jade-like face and landing on her clothes.
Cong Ying simply didn't know how to persuade him: "I didn't lie to you... I really didn't want to break the contract. Can you give me some time and I'll take care of my family affairs?"
As she spoke, her voice couldn't help but become very gentle. She took out a handkerchief and handed it to Xie Xuanlan. Seeing that he didn't take it, she had to wipe his tears herself. Her fingertips slid under his eyes through the silk handkerchief, but he grabbed her wrist. His strength was really quite fierce, and it made her pulse beat faster.
Xie Xuanlan said, "How do I know that you are not just giving me a quick lip service? I need a promise."
He considered asking her to write a letter of acknowledgment; it was written in black and white, and he couldn't deny it. He also felt that it would be like signing an indenture, which was really unethical. Just as he was contemplating how to act as a guarantor, Cong Ying stood on tiptoe and gently touched his cheek with her lips.
Soft and light, it was like a trace of tear marks on his face left by fallen petals blown by the wind.
Xie Xuanlan was stunned by this and stared at her. The color of his pupils gradually darkened, as if some desire was awakened. The next moment, he leaned close to her. The distance between their lips and teeth was very close. Although they did not touch, their breaths were already intertwined.
He hesitated for a moment, waiting for her permission.
Cong Ying secretly regretted her impulsive behavior, saying in a trembling voice, "This is against etiquette..."
Xie Xuanlan muttered in a low voice, "If you don't agree, then write me a contract to sell yourself."
From Ying: "..."
She fell silent. Seventeen years of reading the sages' books had left her with only one last word: not to make a promise. She couldn't back down again and again, allowing him to climb over the wall into her house, hiding with him among the rocks, and even letting him be so unruly and reckless... This was simply, simply insulting!
Xie Xuanlan touched the corner of her mouth lightly, very lightly, as if it was just an unintentional mistake.
At the same time, the hand behind her head gently pulled off Cong Ying's hairband, and her long, loose hair fell like a waterfall, engulfing his palm.
Because she had just washed her hair, the headband still held a rich scent. She watched Xie Xuanlan wrap the headband around his hand, bite the other end with his lips, and tie a knot. His movements were slow and almost provocative, and as he did all this, his eyes remained fixed on her, a look of innocence that made her dare not think too deeply.
Her heart was beating so fast that it was about to burn, and she quickly lowered her eyes.
Xie Xuanlan's voice, pretending to be gentle, could not hide his lingering desire: "Aying, this guarantee will only last for a month at most. Next time I come, I won't be so easy to get rid of."
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