Chapter 86: I have to swallow the bitterness of breaking up.
It is a rare cool breeze in the hot summer, blowing from one end of the alley to the other.
Although the wind made Cong Ying's blood boil and burn her skin, a chill rose in her heart, which gradually penetrated into her muscles and caused a layer of cold sweat to seep out.
Behind her, the Prince of Jin stumbled under her shove, his suppressed coughs piercing her ears like a needle. Her mind was torn by this, but her eyes were fixed on Xie Xuanlan at the other end of the alley, fearing he would suddenly draw his Yanzhi knife and decapitate the Prince of Jin in one blow, as he had done to the Prince of Huai and Princess Wenshuang.
Cong Ying slowly moved her trembling legs, thinking she was standing in front of Prince Jin without making a sound. At the other end of the alley, Xie Xuanlan, like a silent stake, finally moved, but instead of raising his knife towards them, he turned and walked away.
Ying's heartstrings suddenly relaxed, until Xie Xuanlan's figure was swallowed up by the gradually rising night fog. She was overwhelmed by greater panic. She suddenly lifted her skirt and ran, chasing the direction in which Xie Xuanlan disappeared.
"Saburo!"
"Sanlang..."
Someone hung a lantern on a roadside Albizia Julibrissin tree. The warm golden light shone through the pleated paper, illuminating the pink clusters and delicate feathers of the Albizia Julibrissin flowers.
Xie Xuanlan was walking to the foot of the Albizia Julibrissin tree when he stopped and turned when he heard her call. His face was expressionless, perhaps from being imprisoned for several days, his complexion had a cold, pale look. A thick shadow shone beneath his eyes, perhaps due to his eyelashes or the Albizia Julibrissin flowers, obscuring his vision, making it difficult to see clearly.
Cong Ying stopped awkwardly two steps away, speechless for a moment, her heart beating wildly.
The two of them were silent for a long time. Xie Xuanlan seemed to turn around and leave. Cong Ying hurriedly grabbed his sleeve, then slowly let go under his gaze.
"Sanlang..."
Her voice couldn't stop trembling, like some suppressed sob, choked by self-blame, regret, and guilt. "I shouldn't have done this. I made a mistake. I was frivolous and overstepped the boundaries. If... if you feel bad, no matter how much you blame and scold me, I'm willing to endure it."
Xie Xuanlan gently lifted her face, and a tear rolled to his palm, followed by another.
He said, "Why are you crying? From what I saw just now, it didn't seem like he forced you."
Cong Ying closed her eyes out of embarrassment and admitted, "...No."
Her whole body was tense, prepared to bear his anger, but she heard a very light sigh in her ears, as if a julibrissin flower had fallen to the ground.
Xie Xuanlan said, "My mother has prepared a banquet at home and asked me to come out to pick you up. Do you want to go back with me, or go find him?"
Cong Ying said, "I'll go back with you."
Xie Xuanlan was not surprised and nodded: "Let's go."
The two walked along the alley toward Xie's residence, one in front, the other behind, without another word. Zong Ying walked nervously in his shadow, afraid to be a step behind. She couldn't fathom his attitude, and it was even more suffocating than her rage and humiliation.
"Sanlang," after thinking for a moment, Cong Ying decided to remove the thorn. "Come on, let's talk it through, okay?"
Xie Xuanlan lowered his eyes and looked at her fingertips holding her sleeves, and laughed self-deprecatingly: "Can you give me some time to accept it, Ah Ying? Don't push me so hard."
Cong Ying was slightly startled: "Accept...what?"
Xie Xuanlan said, "I told you the night you went to the Zongzhi Office that I would listen to your own opinions and respect your choice. I'm about to travel far to the northwest. The journey is long and arduous, and life and death are uncertain. Nothing will work out between you and me, but Prince Jin is different. He truly loves you and seems to understand you better than I do. You'll feel more at ease with him than with that idiotic Du Rupan."
His voice was not loud, but his tone was calm and every word he spoke was clear.
Cong Ying was stunned for a moment: "You actually think so? But...but..."
"No buts." Xie Xuanlan smiled. "It's getting late. My mother is still waiting at home. If we're any later, the food will get cold."
…
Xie Xuanlan's reaction was beyond Cong Ying's expectations, but it was within King Jin's expectations. After all, that was his former self. King Jin only needed to think about what he would choose in such a situation, and he would be almost certain.
However, his interference in Congying's fate caused Heaven to take immediate and severe revenge on him.
Prince Jin leaned against the alley wall, his body weakened by the pain, a cold sweat dripping down his face. The scent of her rouge lingered between his lips and teeth, but the beauty had already departed. A hazy glow, cast by a light from somewhere, drifted before his blurring vision.
The guards hiding in the dark had to come out and help him up.
Prince Jin had a premonition that this would be another serious illness. He quickly thought over all the trivial matters and felt that there would probably not be any problems.
Then he ordered the guards, "Return to the palace... Don't disturb her."
*
In the morning, Han Zhongcheng's memorial was delivered to the palace, and in the afternoon, Xie Xuanlan was released from the Zongzhi Office.
Prime Minister Xie breathed a sigh of relief, and Madam Xie was so excited that she burst into tears. She checked that he was not injured, and then told Xie Xuanlan about Cong Ying's visit to the Han Mansion to plead for mercy.
Xie Xuanlan first went to Han's house and met Du Rupan. He asked about the whole process of the meeting. After hearing that Cong Ying had left with King Jin, he remained silent for a long time. He didn't know where to look for him, so he had to try his luck at an alley leading to Jisu Garden.
As expected, he met him... To a certain extent, he and King Jin were in sync with each other.
Today's small banquet at the Xie Mansion was more like a family banquet, with only four people present: Xie Xiang and his wife, Xie Xuanlan, and Congying. One reason was to welcome Xie Xuanlan, and the other was that Xie Xiang wanted to clear up any misunderstandings with Congying and let bygones be bygones. So, although the banquet was small in number, the quality was extremely high.
On the round table before them, golden plates and jade cups laid out a feast of delicacies: freshly cut sea bass fillet with golden orange, crystal pig's trotter braised in a basin full of crab roe, and eight kinds of meat, eight kinds of vegetables, eight kinds of braised dishes, and eight kinds of fresh delicacies, all delicacies not often encountered in ordinary homes. Ice jars were placed around the open space, holding fresh seasonal fruits.
But Xie Xuanlan was silent and just drank one cup after another. Cong Ying was also preoccupied and only picked up a few pieces of vegetables with his chopsticks before stopping.
The atmosphere was a little chilly. Xie Xiang raised his glass to Cong Ying and said, "It is said that a friend in need is a friend indeed. Today, I am free from this predicament, thanks to Madam Jiang's help. I have made many mistakes in the past, so please forgive me, Madam Jiang. Drink this glass to the full."
Just as Cong Ying was about to take it, Xie Xuanlan said, "She can't drink."
Xie Xiang was slightly stunned: "Just one cup, isn't that okay?"
Xie Xuanlan took the wine glass, drank it all in one gulp, and said calmly: "As long as father really has this intention, I will drink as many cups as she wants."
These words were not pleasant to the ear, and the atmosphere became even more tense. Madam Xie kicked Xie Xuanlan from under the table, then smiled and turned things around. She used her serving chopsticks to pick up a piece of fresh sea bass, wrapped it with golden orange, and placed it on a plate. "This dish is called Golden Fish and Jade Fish. It uses live sea bass brought in from the Songjiang River, paired with golden orange from Shu. It's a rare seasonal delicacy. Try it."
After taking a bite from the firefly, Mian Yan smiled and said, "It tastes very good. Thank you, Madam."
"And these lobsters are good too. I hope you come and don't just drink."
Mrs. Xie picked a shrimp with a shiny shell and placed it in front of Xie Xuanlan. She kicked Xie Xuanlan lightly under the table, signaling him to peel it for Congying.
Xie Xuanlan, however, was like a piece of unconscious dead wood. He raised his hand and filled another glass and drank it all.
Cong Ying said, "Let me do it."
Her fingers just touched Xie Xuanlan's plate, but he stopped her with his chopsticks. Xie Xuanlan didn't look at her, but turned to Madam Xie and said, "The shrimp bones are sharp. Have someone peel the shrimp meat before serving."
Cong Ying had no choice but to withdraw her hand awkwardly.
When Mrs. Xie saw the two of them acting like this, her eyelids couldn't help but twitch.
Something was wrong when they just walked in. Mrs. Xie thought they were arguing and she wondered why the third brother was so stubborn and didn't even put on a smile and try to make peace.
After the meal, Cong Ying was preoccupied. His nose was not a nose and his eyes were not eyes - it was not that his attitude was bad, he was always paying attention to Cong Ying, but his behavior seemed distant and almost cold, as if the two of them were not familiar with each other.
What happened? Is the third brother going to rebel?
Seeing that Cong Ying's eyes were reddening uncontrollably, Xie Xuanlan finally put down his wine glass and said to her, "It's getting late. If you're tired, I'll send someone to take you back."
And he sent someone...who? Didn't he have legs?
Xie Xuanlan, who had grown legs, stood up first: "I have a headache. I'm going to rest first. Mother, please take her there."
Where did this filial son come from?
Madam Xie was about to scold him, but Cong Ying followed his words and stood up, still gentle and soft: "I am indeed a little tired, and I want to say goodbye and go back. Ji Su Garden is only a few steps away, so I won't bother you, Madam."
After saying this, he bowed politely, turned around and left the pavilion.
She walked slowly, deliberately following the dimly lit path. Tears rolled silently from her eyes, and she had no time to wipe them away. Some soaked her clothes, and some fell to the ground. She felt as if a piece of her heart had been ripped out, leaving only confusion and regret, a bloody mess.
Sanlang doesn't want her anymore... He doesn't like her anymore.
But all this was the result of her indecision, the result of her own fault. She was the one who hurt him first, and she didn't even dare to speak up to keep him.
Walking back to Jisu Garden from Ying, looking at the couplet on the door, the spirit and energy were like clouds and cranes flying in the sky. It was exactly Xie Xuanlan's handwriting: Rain brings water to add to the inkstone, bamboo provides wind to sweep the bed.
She recalled him standing on a wooden ladder, holding a brush in his right hand and a carving knife in his left. The ladder was wobbling under his feet, and he turned around and joked with her, "This room is windproof. It seems I'll have to add inkstones and sweep the bed for you from now on."
Suddenly, my heart ached again.
I pushed the door open and walked in. There were a few lanterns lit in the courtyard, and the dim light illuminated the entire courtyard. He was nowhere to be seen, yet he was everywhere.
The further Zong Ying walked inside, the more uncomfortable she felt. She finally stopped and stood there for a long time. No one knew what she was thinking about. Suddenly, she turned around and walked out. Her steps became faster and faster. As soon as she walked out, she started jogging towards the Xie Mansion.
At this time, the banquet in the mansion had ended, the servants had left the pavilion, and the tea had gone cold.
Congying politely declined the housekeeper's request. She remembered Xie Xuanlan's living quarters, and based on her memory, she walked eastward through a bamboo forest and saw the plaque of "Dulanju" in the distance.
For some reason, the bamboo grove outside Dulan Residence had been haphazardly felled, its joints revealing freshly broken thorns, pointing towards the residence's open gate. As Cong Ying approached, stepping on the scattered bamboo leaves, she heard the recurring thuds of heavy objects colliding within the courtyard. She hesitated for a moment, then found a low window with a diamond-shaped pattern on the wall and tiptoed quietly to peer into the courtyard.
The moon was at its zenith, its silver light spilling onto the ground, illuminating the courtyard as quiet as water.
Xie Xuanlan stood with his back to her, before a solid wooden puppet stand that stretched his entire height, hammering down on the puppet with punch after punch. The puppet, originally embedded deep in the blue brick floor, was gradually swaying from side to side as he struck it. She saw Xie Xuanlan gather his strength and then deliver a powerful punch. The puppet instantly shattered into pieces, its skull, covered in a layer of iron armor, rolling away on the ground.
He stood in front of the bare wooden frame with his hands hanging down, and from Ying he saw liquid dripping down his knuckles.
He seemed to feel no pain, and drew out the Yanzhi knife again, and chopped it in the air under the influence of alcohol. The bright green blade in the moonlight blew up gusts of wind, and the coldness swept out of the courtyard, blowing up the broken bamboo leaves at Ying's feet.
Unfortunately, there was no opponent in the empty courtyard, so he could only chop silently at the moonlight. All his strength and resentment had no place to go, so he just chopped at the ground in vain.
Finally, he ran out of energy, casually threw down the knife in his hand, bent his legs and knelt on the ground.
Cong Ying was still pondering what to say to him later when she suddenly saw Xie Xuanlan, who was kneeling on the ground, tilt his head slightly and said in a cold voice, "Who's there?"
She was startled and was about to show up, but she saw another person walking into the courtyard. It was Madam Xie.
Neither of them noticed her, so Cong Ying remained where she was. She heard Xie Xuanlan call out "Mother," his voice choking with sobs, and then he said, "This time... I really can't keep her."
Cong Ying's mood, which had just calmed down, suddenly became sour because of this sentence, as if she was tightly grasped by an invisible hand, almost making her breathless.
Mrs. Xie said, "I can see that Ah Ying cares about you very much. She has become very haggard these past few days because of running around for you. At the banquet tonight, it seemed as if you were hurting her feelings."
"I broke her heart..."
Xie Xuanlan laughed at himself and said, "I don't even have the qualifications to care for her, so how could I possibly want to hurt her feelings?"
Mrs. Xie asked, "What happened?"
Xie Xuanlan didn't mention what he encountered when he went out to look for Congying. He only said, "In the past, I would have fought for her with all my might, but now I'm a criminal and about to go to the northwest to join the army. Why should I drag her down with me? Since she already has a better place to go... Mother, break off the engagement with Jiang Congying."
Mrs. Xie was silent for a long time, then said, "Aying is not someone who seeks profit and avoids harm. She treats you with such sincerity that it's rare."
Xie Xuanlan said, "Because of her sincerity, she suffered a lot of injustice in the Han Mansion today. She will worry about me in the northwest in the future and don't know how she will eat or sleep. Moreover, in this family, Ah Zhu treats her disrespectfully. You know my father's character well. Mother, it is not enough for you to protect her alone."
Mrs. Xie still felt regretful: "But..."
"No need to say buts anymore," Xie Xuanlan said impatiently, "I'm already exhausted from restraining myself, mother. I really don't have the energy to convince you anymore. Just do as I say."
Mrs. Xie sighed deeply, walked over to him, helped him up, and checked the wound on his hand.
The blood was still flowing out, and the splinters of wood had cut the flesh open, almost exposing the tendons and bones inside.
"Does it hurt?" Mrs. Xie asked him.
Xie Xuanlan did not answer, but a tear suddenly fell from his eyes when he closed them. He turned around and leaned against the tree trunk with his forearms, remaining silent for a long time. Although he did not utter a single cry, his shoulders were so tense that he could not help shaking.
Mrs. Xie recalled some past events and said with a wry smile, "Back then, your second brother was just like you. I don't know who committed the evil, but the young man of the Xie family always had to suffer so much."
She tore a piece of cloth from her sleeve and bandaged Xie Xuanlan with it, telling him to apply some medicine to her later. Xie Xuanlan calmed down for a long time, and except for the redness in his eyes, his tone was steady.
"There's one more thing," he said. "After I leave, I hope Mother will adopt Ah Ying as her adopted daughter. This will preserve her reputation. Princess Xuande has a hot temper, and if Ah Ying is wronged in the future, at least there will be someone in Yunjing who can support her."
Mrs. Xie sighed and nodded: "Okay."
…
Cong Ying stood under the Youlong Wall until her feet grew numb, and the moon's shadow slowly moved across the wall.
The midnight breeze chilled the tear marks on her face, but she still felt a burning pain in her heart, repeating every word Xie Xuanlan had just said over and over again. The anxiety she had felt on the way here was completely drowned out by feelings of pity and heartache, and inevitably a hint of resentment in these emotions.
Why do they both want to manipulate her and be her boss?
Cong Ying finally did not disturb Xie Xuanlan and quietly left Xie's house.
The next morning, Mrs. Xie was worrying about how to ask Congying to break off the engagement and adopt her as her adopted daughter. Before she could figure it out, Congying came to her door first.
"I have an important matter and need your help, Madam." She said brightly.
-----------------------
The author has something to say: There is some bad news...
I've been experiencing some health issues lately, and the doctor said it was a hormonal imbalance, so he told me not to stay up late. I stopped updating for a few days, but I felt uncomfortable not writing. So, I used my wedding leave, which was supposed to be after a long trip, to write updates from home. These past two weeks, I've been updating more frequently, so I don't get so worked up during the day that I lose sleep at night. But my wedding leave ends today, and I'm going to resume my slow updates.
The next part of the plot should be a more important part. It would be unethical to make everyone wait too long. I can't guarantee anything, I can only try not to delay it too long and bring a bad experience to friends who are following the reading. I am really sorry.
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