Chapter 17
At noon, the servants who had gone out to watch the commotion returned. The commotion startled two people chatting idly in the main hall. Xi Yimin immediately took Leng Xueran's hand, led her out of the main hall, and into the outer courtyard. Looking at the still-discussing crowd, he loudly asked, "You're all back!" Hearing his voice, the servants fell silent in fright. Xi Yimin's expression softened. "You've seen enough of the excitement. I have something to ask you." The servants tensed. "Young Master, please ask. We'll tell you everything we know!" Xi Yimin's feigned seriousness suddenly turned into a smile. "Don't be afraid, everyone. I won't punish you for leaving your posts. Just tell us what you saw today." Seeing their usually approachable young master return, the servants relaxed and exclaimed, "Young Master, today we went to see the martial arts contest for a husband by the daughter of Master Gu. Fengcheng hasn't been this lively in a long time. Everyone knows Miss Gu has a fiery temper and a strong personality..." How could Lie allow Master Gu to arrange a marriage for him? So everyone in Fengcheng wanted to see what would happen. But looking at Miss Gu sitting on the upper floor behind the martial arts arena, her expression was calm, showing no signs of being forced. The servant took a breath and continued, "But there are so many people participating in the martial arts contest. It makes sense, though Miss Gu has a bad temper, she's beautiful!" The servant's eyes lit up at the mention of her beauty. Xi Yimin wanted to laugh and teased, "So, you've got your eye on her?" The servant immediately replied, "How could I be worthy of Miss Gu? Those on the arena are either martial arts heroes, handsome merchants, or scholars who know martial arts!" Xi Yimin drawled, "Oh... what happened next?" Another servant quickly chimed in, "Later, Miss Gu personally fought the winner of the contest. For some reason, Miss Gu fought desperately..." "She wanted to beat that person, and everyone below was worried for Miss Gu!" Xi Yimin laughed out loud at the servant's vivid description and expressive face. "How could you tell that Miss Gu wanted to beat that last person?" The servant hurriedly replied, "Didn't you see? Miss Gu always used unorthodox methods, attacking relentlessly, but her martial arts were far inferior to that person's. How could someone who could win in the end be an ordinary person? That person, however, kept letting Miss Gu win. Although Miss Gu knew this, she attacked desperately, leaving no room for retreat, as if she didn't want to marry the winner. In the end, that person also became anxious, otherwise, sooner or later, Miss Gu would force him off the dueling platform, which would mean defeat. So, that person had no choice but to use a different move, attacking the back of Miss Gu's hand with the hilt of his sword, injuring her and causing her to lose her sword, so he could directly capture Miss Gu! That person would then win. But just as that person was about to capture Miss Gu, suddenly a young master appeared on the platform." The young man was handsome, with delicate features, and somewhat effeminate, but his martial arts were indeed formidable. He kicked the man who tried to capture Miss Gu off the dueling platform. The incident happened so suddenly that the audience fell silent. Miss Gu suddenly burst into tears and threw herself into the man's arms. The servant stopped talking and looked at Xi Yimin. Xi Yimin smiled and asked, "And then?" The servant replied regretfully, "Later, that man carried Miss Gu and flew away from the dueling platform. We don't know what happened after that." Xi Yimin turned to look at Leng Xue Ran. He saw a smile on her lips and felt a warmth rise in his heart. It seemed that the woman beside him was no longer so resistant to him, and she smiled more often. He turned to look at the servants standing below the steps and smiled, "From now on, our courtyard will have a mistress!" Everyone looked at Leng Xue Ran happily. The woman blushed slightly and pinched the hand that was holding her tightly. "Congratulations, young master! We've all been worried about you all these years, but now you finally have someone to care for you." Then, looking at Leng Xue Ran respectfully, he said, "Greetings to Madam." Xi Yi Min, seeing the slightly embarrassed woman with a blushing face, said to ease the tension, "Alright, everyone go about your business! Lai Fu, check if the food in the kitchen is ready. If it is, bring it directly to the main room." Then, he led Leng Xue Ran back to the inner courtyard, to the garden pavilion. "Xue Ran, sit down. Did you guess who the person the servant mentioned who suddenly appeared later was?" Leng Xue Ran smiled and said, "Could it be Qi Zi Yue?" Xi Yi Min laughed, "Xue Ran is indeed clever! But wasn't Qi Zi Yue sent to Meizhou by me? How did he appear in Fengcheng?" He then burst into laughter, "Zi Yue still cares about Miss Gu, otherwise how could he know what happened in Fengcheng from thousands of miles away? He's been keeping a close eye on things." "Miss Gu, Miss Gu really has some tricks up her sleeve. She managed to throw Ziyue, who's always oblivious to the world around him, into disarray. Haha... what a show!" Leng Xueran said sarcastically, seeing the person beside her speaking of her subordinate in this way. "She's really unlucky to have a master like you. You don't help at all, and you're just looking for a good show." Xi Yimin said unhappily, "Xueran doesn't understand. Life is short, so we should enjoy it while we can. If there's a good show to watch, how can we miss it? Maybe we can even help it become a beautiful thing." Leng Xueran suddenly fell silent, looking confused. "If it really is a beautiful thing, that would be great. But I'm afraid that after Miss Gu finds out the truth, her love will turn into hatred, and they'll become strangers." Xi Yimin held the woman beside him tightly and said softly, "Why are you so pessimistic, Xueran? Perhaps Miss Gu will accept Qi Ziyue, who is actually a woman?" Leng Xueran said urgently, "Do you think all women in the world are like me..." She stopped speaking before she could finish. Her face flushed again, but Xi Yimin chuckled and continued, "Although not all women in this world are as accepting of being loved as Xue Ran, there are still women like Xue Ran. Perhaps Miss Gu is just like Xue Ran?" Seeing Xi Yimin's words, she quickly retorted, "How do you know I accepted your love? I didn't know!" Seeing her vehemently denying him, Xi Yimin smiled, "But I didn't say Xue Ran accepted my love. I only said accepting of being loved by women. It seems the more Xue Ran vehemently denies something, the more she has something in her heart." The woman, as if her secret had been exposed, quickly retorted, "Nonsense!" Just as he was about to tease the suddenly short-tempered woman beside him, he heard Lai Fu outside the pavilion say, "Young Master, the food is ready and has been brought to your main room." Xi Yimin waved to him, indicating he understood, then turned and, smiling, took the woman's hand, leading her towards the main room. "Xue Ran doesn't need..." "No matter how much you deny it, it won't become a fact. Anyway, Yimin's heart is full of Xue Ran!" The woman looked at her hand being held, then looked up at the face beside her, her voice soft, "If you say sweet words too often, won't they become ingrained in your heart, taken as truth? If one day I really do put you in my heart, will you abandon me, hurt me, for some reason?" Hearing the woman's sorrowful words beside him, Xi Yimin frowned, looking down at her, somewhat helpless, "If for some reason I really hurt Xue Ran, abandon Xue Ran, then that Xi Yimin wouldn't be the real me. I would definitely kill her, perhaps then she would be free. The one who can redeem Xi Yimin is you." The woman tightened her grip on her hand, somewhat moved. Such deep affection, how could she not be moved? If everything was true, the deep affection was true, the sweet words were true, then the heart that resisted worldly obstacles would be even stronger. Why not just follow your heart, be free, and live more authentically? Thinking of this, Leng Xue Ran smiled. "Yi Min..." Xi Yi Min trembled and looked at Leng Xue Ran in disbelief. "Just now, did Xue Ran call me?" Seeing the man's incredulous look, Leng Xue Ran said angrily, "No!" After saying that, she shyly shook off the hand that was holding hers and went straight into the main room.
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