Chapter 79 A piece of brown oil wrapped up...
A neatly wrapped brown oil paper package fell into Xie Rongjing's hands. He turned his head and focused his attention on Xie Baoqiong, who was walking into the crowd on the street.
The hand hanging by her side suddenly grabbed Xie Baoqiong's wrist.
A sudden pull on her wrist brought Xie Baoqiong back to her senses as if waking from a dream. Her gaze shifted from her wrist, which was being gripped, to Xie Rongjing's face.
"Qiong'er, what's wrong?" Xie Rongjing's concerned face gradually became clear in my eyes.
Xie Baoqiong scratched her face blankly: "It felt like someone was watching me just now."
The hand gripping his wrist tightened, and a voice filled with urgency came through:
"But you can't just run around. What if you get lost?"
Xie Baoqiong looked up and her gaze fell on Xie Rongjing's face. The latter's gaze fell on the bustling crowd behind him, and a hint of wariness flashed in his eyes.
Sensing that emotion, Xie Baoqiong vaguely sensed that something was amiss.
Just now, he sensed the presence of a gaze and turned to trace its source, but the gaze suddenly disappeared. As if his mind had been clouded, he was focused on finding the owner of the gaze, and he didn't even care about Xie Rongjing beside him, as he plunged into the crowd to search for the vanished figure.
Xie Baoqiong shook his head, his almond-shaped eyes showing a hint of confusion, but no matter how much he struggled, he couldn't find the crux of the problem. That strange feeling was quickly suppressed in his heart:
"Brother, let's go."
“Okay, let’s stroll around outside for a while longer, then we’ll head back.” Xie Rongjing broke off half a steamed bun and handed it to Xie Baoqiong.
"Going back so early!?" Xie Baoqiong didn't even care about the steamed buns. They had only been out for a short time, and he hadn't even found the person he was looking for yet.
"I don't want to go back yet."
Xie Rongjing remained motionless, pretending not to have heard Xie Baoqiong's last sentence:
"Don't you want to eat? If you don't, I'll share the food with you."
The aroma of the bun was even stronger after it was broken open, wafting into Xie Baoqiong's nose. He had been waiting for it for a long time, and if it weren't for that unexpected incident, the white pastry would have been in his stomach long ago.
Seeing Xie Rongjing pull his hand back, he quickly snatched the bun from Xie Rongjing's hand.
Xie Rongjing smiled indulgently: "Why are you acting like a puppy?"
"It's not a puppy." Xie Baoqiong, who was engrossed in eating, took a moment to correct Xie Rongjing's statement.
It was a stone, he thought silently to himself.
"What about the rest?" After finishing the half "snack" in her hand, Xie Baoqiong peeked at Xie Rongjing's empty palm.
"That's all." Chishong's words from last night still left a ripple in Xie Rongjing's heart, making him examine whether he had secretly fed Xie Zhuo too much food behind his back.
Upon seeing Xie Baoqiong peeking around, he spread out his hands and presented them to her to prove his innocence.
Her well-defined hands were naturally spread out in front of Xie Baoqiong's eyes, her delicate skin as smooth and warm as white jade. Apart from two jade rings on the little and middle fingers of her left hand, there were no other adornments.
Xie Baoqiong stretched out her two claws, barely managing to wrap them around Xie Rongjing's fingers, pulled Xie Rongjing's hands apart, and nuzzled her nose into the crook of Xie Rongjing's arm.
Worried that Xie Baoqiong might fall if she didn't hold on properly, Xie Rongjing slightly tightened his fingers and gripped Xie Baoqiong's hand tightly.
His eyebrows curved into a smile as he joked:
"Still saying it's not a puppy."
Xie Baoqiong pulled away one of the hands that had been grasped, reached into Xie Rongjing's sleeve, and in the blink of an eye pulled out an oil paper package that was half its original size.
Halfway through drawing the package, the other corner was suddenly grabbed. He frowned, and with a wronged expression, pulled his other hand away from Xie Rongjing's grasp.
"Brother, I found it myself."
Looking up, Xie Rongjing appeared unmoved.
Xie Rongjing's resolve in the face of Xie Baoqiong was already wavering, and now, with that sticky voice, his heart turned into a complete mess.
He suppressed a laugh, and mimicked Xie Baoqiong's serious expression when correcting him, saying:
“In less than half a day, Qiong’er has already eaten quite a lot of… snacks.” Xie Rongjing reluctantly convinced himself to categorize Xie Baoqiong’s food this morning as snacks, but in reality, he gripped the oil paper package even tighter: “If Qiong’er doesn’t eat the buns, how about I take you to buy some pastries later?”
Each pastry was less than half the size of a palm. Eating one pastry was better than eating a bun wrapped in oil paper that was almost half the size of Xie Baoqiong's face.
Xie Baoqiong was calculating that there was one serving of the newly bought pastries, but only half a steamed bun remained in front of him. He could still do that kind of math.
He readily released the oil paper package from his hand: "Let's go."
Xie Rongjing handed the oil paper package to his companion and started walking, pulled by Xie Baoqiong.
—
"Young Master Lin?"
Xie Baoqiong had a piece of pastry in her mouth and was grabbing Xie Rongjing's arm to get another one when she suddenly heard a slightly familiar voice.
He straightened up and looked in the direction of the sound, and a figure gradually walked towards him.
“Young Master Lin, ah, no, I should call you Young Master Xie Bao now.” Su Yuanshuang corrected herself and cupped her hands in greeting: “I just saw someone who looked a bit like Young Master Xie from afar, I didn’t expect it to be you.”
"Qiong'er, what's this?"
Taking advantage of Xie Baoqiong's distraction, Xie Rongjing put away the pastries in his hand and looked at Su Yuanshuang with curiosity.
Xie Baoqiong recognized Su Yuanshuang immediately upon seeing her, and he told Xie Rongjing the whole story of how he met Su Yuanshuang.
Xie Rongjing fell into Su Yuanshuang's gaze and couldn't help but feel grateful: "Thank you, Young Master Su, for letting me go home so soon."
"I am unworthy of such thanks from Young Master Xie. It was I who implicated Young Master Xie at the time. Fortunately, Lord Xie handled the matter impartially, which is why I am able to stand here. I should be the one thanking you." Su Yuanshuang recognized Xie Rongjing's identity upon hearing Xie Baoqiong's address and said shyly.
Listening to their polite conversation, Xie Baoqiong asked in confusion, "What is Young Master Su doing here?"
Su Yuanshuang's gaze returned to Xie Baoqiong, who was now shorter:
"My home is in Luozhou County."
Xie Baoqiong nodded. No wonder he was able to meet Su Yuanshuang's carriage on the way. The journey from Luozhou County to the capital happened to pass near Sishui Mountain.
"Did Young Master Su pass the exam?" he asked casually, exchanging pleasantries in the manner of humans.
Su Yuanshuang gave a bitter smile: "Although I was released safely because of the Spring Examination case, I was still implicated. My results for this year were canceled, so I returned to Luozhou County to prepare for the exam next year."
Xie Baoqiong inexplicably felt that he might have said something wrong. What was it called again? He carefully recalled the books he had read. It seemed to be called "touching someone's sore spot".
Instead, Su Yuanshuang relieved him with a relieved expression: "In the past, when such things happened, candidates were often unable to take the exam again for many years. This time, thanks to Lord Xie, we who have been wronged have been able to take the exam again next spring. It is already a fortunate thing."
Furthermore, I feel I didn't perform exceptionally well in the policy essay section of this year's imperial examination. Perhaps if I study for another year and take the exam again next year, my ranking will be better.
Xie Baoqiong's unease vanished. She glanced at Su Yuanshuang, noticing that Shan Qing, who was usually with her, was not behind her, and asked:
"Isn't Young Master Su going to study today?"
“Recently, Luozhou County suffered a disaster, and the academy gave the students a holiday. They don’t need to attend classes recently. I usually study at home. Today, the family set up a soup kitchen on Huihe Street in the west of the city. My father asked me to go and take a look, saying that it would give me more insights when I write policy essays in the future.”
At this point, Su Yuanshuang suddenly suggested, "Would Young Master Xie like to go and take a look?"
Huihe Street in the west of the city was a distance from where Xie Baoqiong wanted to go, but the important thing right now was not to go back with Xie Rongjing. "Brother, I want to go."
Xie Baoqiong deliberately only said "I," implying that Xie Rongjing would have the greatest freedom if he didn't go with him.
Xie Rongjing gently rubbed his head as he looked up, his eyes subtly scrutinizing Su Yuanshuang, who had extended the invitation.
Seeing Xie Rongjing's unchanging expression and his silence, Xie Baoqiong assumed that Xie Rongjing had tacitly agreed to Su Yuanshuang's invitation.
"Young Master Su, let's go together."
As he spoke, he bypassed Xie Rongjing and began to walk alongside Su Yuanshuang.
But then, unhurried footsteps sounded behind him, and he was grabbed by the back of his collar.
Why are you running so fast? Don't you want your brother anymore?
"Didn't you say you weren't going, brother?" Xie Baoqiong froze on the spot like a cat whose collar had been grabbed, and whispered.
"When did I say I wasn't going? As for you, since you're going to see it, write a policy essay for me when you get back." Xie Rongjing pulled back the scurrying "little kitten," uttering these terrifying words with a slight smirk.
Xie Baoqiong followed closely beside Xie Rongjing, her eyes filled with an innocent and carefree naivety, and she spoke blankly:
"Brother, what is policy discussion?" Xie Zhuo hadn't taught him this yet, and it wouldn't appear in storybooks, so he only had a vague understanding of the two words.
Xie Rongjing's smile deepened: "It's alright, I'll teach you."
"Thank you, Your Highness, thank you, Young Master Xie, please." Su Yuanshuang chuckled and gestured for them to proceed, having already observed their interaction.
—
Huihe Street, west of the city.
This is different from the market where the two brothers had just strolled.
The streets were devoid of bustling crowds and vendors' hawking.
A sense of desolation was palpable, with even the houses and buildings on the street appearing dilapidated and old.
Stepping into Huihe Street is like entering another territory, making one realize that Luozhou County is a town that was closed due to disaster.
Almost all the doors and windows on the street were closed, and you could only occasionally encounter one or two thin pedestrians as you walked in.
Xie Rongjing's gaze swept across the street, his brows furrowed. He didn't take Xie Baoqiong too far, only strolling around the area near their arranged accommodation for a while.
Although he had some idea of what a town would be like after a disaster, the scene before him was far more serious than the young nobleman, who had never seen anything like this before, had imagined.
Xie Baoqiong, who was standing to the side, was quite used to the empty environment. After all, he had been living in Sishui Mountain since he was enlightened. Each spirit had its own territory, and the vast forest was empty. It was normal to see each other only occasionally.
Houses can still be seen on both sides of the street in front of him. Some of the mountain spirits have caves as their dwellings, while those like him use the sky as their blanket and the earth as their bed.
Therefore, Xie Baoqiong did not feel anything was wrong when she saw the empty streets.
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Author's Note: It's a little late today. I've been very tired lately, both physically and mentally. I plan to finish writing this list's word count, then take a couple of days off, or maybe skip the next list and update every other day.
I'll try my best to advance the plot from here on out; I really love writing slice-of-life stories! [crying emoji]
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