Chapter 61 Chapter 61 "The lady's name is Pearl, so it is clear that she is...
In the cold winter, the sky is like an endless piece of silk, swaying in the blue-gray mist.
When the sky just turned pale, Xie Zhiyan pushed the door open and walked in.
The candlelight flickered, and the room was filled with silence.
Princess Duanyang supported her cheek with one hand and leaned against the inside of the soft couch. She was covered with a crimson brocade quilt, and a sweet and soft young lady was leaning in her arms.
Sheng Puzhu closed his eyes, breathed softly, and slept soundly.
Princess Duanyang heard the door open, but without even opening her eyes, she lazily asked, "Is it done?"
Xie Zhiyan tapped the doorframe with his finger, making a soft sound. He looked at her for a long moment without saying a word, then asked, "Isn't the Princess coming back yet?"
"What's the rush?" Princess Duanyang pursed her lips, still remembering the bitterness of being sent to Tianchang Monastery. Her phoenix eyes held a hint of playfulness, and her tone was light and airy. "Isn't it more reassuring for her to be here with Puzhu than to have you, a cold and indifferent husband, to be with her?"
She knew how to annoy him, so she snorted, "It's just a hug, and you're so jealous of it?"
Xie Zhiyan's face turned even darker. He strode forward and reached out to rescue the person.
Princess Duanyang leaned aside, raised her hand to block the attack, and every word she said pierced his heart: "My relationship with Puzhu is incomparable to that of a man who has been away from home for two years and has not paid any attention to me."
Xie Zhiyan's eyes became sharp and he snorted.
Sheng Puzhu seemed to be aware of something, moaning and unconsciously rubbing against Princess Duanyang's arms. She opened her eyes hazily and happened to meet Xie Zhiyan's dark and gloomy eyes.
She was stunned for a moment, unable to recover in time. Princess Duanyang had already lowered her head and chuckled in her ear: "Tsk, look, it turns out that someone is jealous of even their own aunt! This is incredible."
Jealous?
How is it possible? Sheng Puzhu habitually refuted in his heart, but secretly raised his eyes to look at him.
Xie Zhiyan's eyes were stern and his lips were tightly pursed, as if he was chilled by the night wind. He was as elegant and reserved as ever, and clearly had no unusual emotions.
Seeing his expression, Sheng Puzhu didn't take it to heart and just thought it was a joke from Princess Duanyang as an elder.
"The curfew has passed, shouldn't you go back?" Xie Zhiyan asked in a deep voice.
Princess Duanyang, with her nail-dyed hands, lifted Sheng Puzhu's fair and delicate chin and glanced aside with a hint of a smile, her beautiful eyes hiding a hint of teasing: "Auntie's dear Pearl, if you miss me, remember to come to the mansion often."
She blinked and continued, "Auntie saves all the good things for you."
After saying this, Princess Duanyang didn't care about the expression on Xie Zhiyan's face and stood up quickly, fearing that if she delayed for a moment, blood would be splattered in Yunyu Hall.
"My dear."
"Don't misunderstand me. The eldest princess and I have a good relationship. It's just that we have similar interests."
The words "similar interests" always sound a bit complicated.
Sheng Puzhu's eyelashes trembled and she bit her tongue hard. She felt a little annoyed and couldn't help but feel that the more she explained, the worse it got.
In front of him, she always lost her usual calmness and composure, especially when she was looked at by his deep gaze. Even if it was just an ordinary glance, she had to be extremely alert to deal with it.
The room was very quiet, and Xie Zhiyan still didn't look angry.
Sheng Puzhu thought for a moment and asked tentatively, "Are you angry, my dear?"
"Pearl?" Xie Zhiyan did not answer her, but lowered his eyes and asked in a very intriguing tone.
Sheng Puzhu's heart skipped a beat. She didn't dare look him in the eye and explained softly, "Zhenzhu is my nickname, given to me by my elders when I was a child."
Xie Zhiyan looked at her for a long time, then suddenly leaned over and picked her up horizontally.
Sheng Puzhu exclaimed and instinctively clutched the collar of his shirt.
"Why is it called Pearl?" Xie Zhiyan said in a low voice.
Sheng Puzhu blushed slightly as she looked up at him. Her snow-white teeth bit her plump lips and she explained shyly in a gentle voice, "Because I loved to cry when I was little."
"My grandmother said crying too much is bad for the eyes, so she named me Pearl in the hope that I would cry less in the future."
Xie Zhiyan was obviously stunned for a moment. He had never thought of this as the reason.
Seeing that he still seemed puzzled, Sheng Puzhu looked at him innocently, "My sisters all have nicknames. Puyao was born during the Grain Full Moon period, and her cry was so loud, so my grandfather asked my grandfather what he meant by that, and we chose 'Grain Full', which means the middle of April, when small and full."
"My second sister, Mingshu, is frail, and the elders hope she will be like a pine tree, healthy and green year after year, so she is named 'Songnian'."
Sheng Puzhu raised her head and spoke in a cheerful tone, "My third sister, Mingya, is called 'Baizhi' by the elders in my family because Baizhi means pine trees with a hundred branches, which represent longevity and evergreenness."
"Does my dear have a nickname?"
Xie Zhiyan's eyes darkened, and his voice slowed down, "Mother used to call me 'Tuizhi', but later she felt that Tuizhi was not a good name and that I shouldn't do so anymore. So she often called me Sanlang."
"The lady's name is Pearl, which shows that she is the treasure of the family."
He spoke every word very slowly, especially the word "pearl", which he would hold on the tip of his tongue, dissolve in it, and grind over and over again thousands of times before he was willing to shout it out.
The slightly hoarse tone of voice made Sheng Puzhu's body tremble, and even the breath that fell was full of temptation, leaving her unable to resist.
"Don't shout like that." Sheng Puzhu closed her eyes lightly, not daring to look at him.
"Why not?" Xie Zhiyan gently placed her on the couch, held her face with his big hands, and pressed his thumb under her eyelids.
The name he had heard since childhood was lingered slowly and deeply between his lips and teeth, brewing a different taste, and the gradually elongated ending tone was moist and revealed an alluring tenderness.
No matter how light or heavy the words were, as long as they came out of his thin lips, it would only make her tremble uncontrollably and give rise to more greed.
This couldn't go on any longer. Fatigue and lack of sleep were making it difficult for her to remain calm. She felt like she was about to get drunk.
Sheng Puzhu blinked lightly, her porcelain-thin neck tilted back slightly, forming a crescent-shaped arc, and said weakly, "I don't know. Maybe I'm not used to it."
"Pearl." Xie Zhiyan called out again, his breath moistening her earlobe.
He enunciated the words slowly and emphasized the words, not wanting her to be satisfied until she heard them clearly: "If you listen to them for a long time, you will get used to it."
Sheng Puzhu opened her mouth, unable to speak, breathing heavily, her eyes as moist as the mountains shrouded in mist in the morning. She knelt on the bed, staring at him blankly.
Xie Zhiyan spread out his palms and pressed them on her soft hair. He raised his eyes and smiled slightly: "Rest early, I have to go to court."
Only when the soft brocade quilt covered her did Sheng Puzhu come back to her senses. She forced herself to ask, "I will help my husband change into court clothes."
"It's cold, you don't have to get up." Xie Zhiyan raised his hand and wiped her eyelashes, which were stained with tears and looked even thicker.
I couldn’t help but think, no wonder she is called “Pearl”, she really is a crybaby.
The curtain was hanging down, Sheng Puzhu curled up in the quilt, looking out with his eyes open.
Xie Zhiyan was standing with his back to the light, within easy reach.
She could clearly see him taking off his casual clothes one by one until there was nothing left on, and then putting on the complicated court robes layer by layer. His movements were meticulous and he didn't need anyone's help. His elegance and grace seemed to be his innate temperament.
Sheng Puzhu stared at the man's thin and dignified lips, his narrow and long phoenix eyes that did not reveal any brilliance, and his thick eyelashes slightly drooping, like the mountains and rivers at the end of the sky. The shimmering appearance was an illusion, and the gentleness was the essence.
The crimson court dress, the cold white skin, were too neat, leaving only the clear plain color, and the white jade fan, as silent as a beautiful jade carving, was only suitable for being placed in a glazed niche, to be admired from a distance and not to be played with.
"Why aren't you sleeping yet?" Xie Zhiyan dressed neatly and raised his hand to open the curtain.
Sheng Puzhu came back to her senses, biting her lip, not daring to look him in the eye: "I can't sleep."
"Not tired?"
Sheng Puzhu shook his head, then nodded: "Tired."
"But it's already daybreak, and I need to go and pay my respects to my mother. I'm afraid my grandmother was sad at night, so I need to try to comfort her. I have housekeeping duties to attend to during the day, and New Year's Day is coming soon, so there are many things I need to take care of."
After Xie Zhiyan finished listening, his calm brows furrowed. "As for the housekeeper's affairs, mother is here, you don't have to worry."
"Grandmother, my father sent someone to bring my aunt home yesterday. With my aunt's advice, you can just rest assured."
In addition to her three sons, Mrs. Xie also had a daughter named Xie Yun.
Xie Yun married Zheng from Xingyang and went to Weizhou with her husband. Fortunately, Weizhou was not far from Chang'an and could be reached in one day by car.
Sheng Puzhu wanted to say something, but Xie Zhiyan sat down on the bed, reached out and picked her up along with the quilt.
"Go to sleep."
"I'm holding you."
"I'll leave after you fall asleep."
Sheng Puzhu's heart beat faster, and she felt that not only his gaze but even his breathing carried weight.
Although her nickname was Pearl and she would shed precious tears from time to time, she actually seldom cried since her father passed away, except for the few times when Xie Zhiyan came home and she cried in bed because of him.
But now, she lay in his arms, the curtains hung low, and there were only the two of them in the small space, and her husband held her tightly as if she were a child.
His large palm rested against her thin back, patting it gently, occasionally stopping to massage a certain spot, helping her to relieve the fatigue from the day's jolting ride on horseback.
I couldn't bring myself to say no, as if I were a kid again.
"Go to sleep." Xie Zhiyan's voice was deep and slow, with a reassuring gentleness.
Sheng Puzhu responded in a daze, her eyelids gradually drooping, and she nudged her head into his arms, as if wanting to smell his scent.
"My wife."
"Have lunch first. If you're still sleepy, it's not too late to rest after you've digested the food."
Aunt Du's voice came from far away.
"Well, I don't want to." Sheng Puzhu turned over slowly without opening his eyes, showing no sign of waking up.
"Madam, if you sleep any longer, you will have insomnia at night." Madam Du raised her voice.
Sheng Puzhu closed her eyes, resting her cheek on the soft pillow. She slowly sat up and forced her eyes open. "What time is it?"
"It's almost noon." said Nanny Du.
"Wow!" Sheng Puzhu was shocked and hurriedly looked for his shoes on the pedal, and then he woke up.
"It's too late then. Have you dealt with the matter in the meeting room? And has Mother's case been resolved?"
"How is grandma's health? Have you asked for the imperial physician?"
Madam Du wiped her face and sighed, "My lady, please don't worry."
"In the meeting room, the princess has sent a maid from the palace to help deal with it. The old lady is in good health. She took some medicine last night and can eat today."
"Mrs. Xie has just entered the mansion and is now having lunch with the old lady in Yishou Hall."
"The Princess was worried that you would miss your meal and starve, so she told me to ask you to eat something first before you continue to rest."
Sheng Puzhu took a deep breath, and after lunch, she got up and went to Wangyue Pavilion to pay her respects to Princess Shoukang.
"Father, Mother."
Xie Huaiqian nodded, his sharp features showing off, and a gentle smile: "No need to be polite."
"Go and talk to your mother."
"yes."
Xie Huaiqian went to the study. Princess Shoukang waved to Sheng Puzhu and asked, "Did Sanlang wrong you?"
How could that be.
Xie Zhiyan was actually quite dedicated to her.
In particular, Sheng Puzhu thought of how she had been coaxed to sleep in his arms like a child this morning. Her cheeks flushed uncontrollably, and she quickly shook her head to deny it: "No, Sanlang is very good to me."
"Really?" Princess Shoukang was clearly unconvinced. "My son, you look a little thinner than before Sanlang returned to Chang'an."
Sheng Puju couldn't help but touch her cheek. She didn't pay much attention to it, but her chest seemed to be tighter than before. She couldn't say it out loud.
Princess Shoukang pulled the person closer, and the more she looked at him, the more satisfied she became. "Don't worry about the housekeeper's affairs. I will leave Tianchang Monastery after the spring. From now on, Nanny Yan will take care of the affairs of the meeting hall for you."
"Next spring, which is the anniversary of Sanlang's grandfather's death, your grandmother plans to have the eldest daughter return to Boling to live for a while. Firstly, they will reflect on their past mistakes, and secondly, they will be filial to the old man."
"Back to Boling?" Sheng Puzhu was surprised.
Princess Shoukang suddenly laughed: "The Xie family's roots are in Boling, and the old marquis's cenotaph is also in Boling."
"Xie Juyuan made a mistake, there's no reason for him to be the only one punished. Since he made a mistake, the whole family of the first house should be punished."
"Is it your idea or my husband's?" Sheng Puzhu bit her lip and asked in a low voice.
Princess Shoukang smiled faintly, "It wasn't my idea, nor was it Sanlang's idea. It was your father's idea."
"Father?"
"right."
Princess Shoukang's rosy lips revealed a hint of deep meaning: "If the eldest wife is not worrying, then send her far away first. When she is worrying less, she can come back."
Sheng Puzhu was puzzled: "But uncle is an important official in the court after all. Will the emperor agree?"
"My brother is probably willing to do this in his heart."
"One hundred lashes and you'll lose half your life, not to mention attending court."
"Given my royal brother's inherently suspicious nature," Princess Shoukang said, her smile barely reaching her eyes as she spoke of the Saint. Instead, she held a subtle hint of mockery in her phoenix eyes. "If we don't allow Xie Juyuan to return to Boling for six months to recuperate, that would be a truly unusual situation."
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