11 Confrontation
◎Let’s not ask anymore.◎
In the study.
Curls of smoke drifted out of the incense burner, and the maidservants in the inner room knelt on the ground to greet their master who was striding towards them.
Xie Qingzheng walked to the table, picked up the book on it and threw it at the figure behind him. The servants who were already kneeling on the ground around him hurriedly lowered their heads. Xie Qingzheng's words were full of anger: "Xie Huaijin!"
Xie Huaijin slowly shook off his wrinkled sleeves and said softly, "Is father angry?"
His voice was so calm that it was almost disrespectful.
The servant kneeling on the ground was trembling, hating himself for having to be on duty in the study today.
Xie Qingzheng was furious and looked at Xie Huaijin fiercely: "If you agree today, how will you explain it to the elders? Even if that maidservant is the adopted daughter of the Jiang family, she will still become a laughing stock in Chang'an."
Xie Huaijin smiled calmly, his eyes expressionless, as calm as the clouds on the horizon in summer. "Father married my aunt during my mother's mourning period. My aunt failed to escape the marriage and was forced into the bridal sedan. Has anyone ridiculed my aunt in front of my father over the years?"
At this point, the tall young man bent down to pick up the scroll on the ground. His slender white hands smoothed out the messy pages one by one, and he said slowly, "If not, father, how can you think that anyone in Chang'an can laugh at my wife?"
Xie Huaijin closed the book, stood in the shadow with his back to the light, and looked at Xie Qingzheng indifferently.
Xie Qingzheng's fury gradually dissipated. He looked at Xie Huaijin in front of him and closed his eyes tiredly: "How are you going to explain to the elders?"
The servants below shrank even more violently, wishing they could cover their ears and cut out their tongues. They couldn't understand why the patriarch had suddenly changed his mind, but this confrontation made them realize that perhaps... the Xie family was about to change.
Xie Huaijin smiled faintly: "Why do you need to explain?"
As Xie Qingzheng's eyes suddenly opened, the tall, graceful young man opened his thin lips slightly, his eyes very calm: "If you are old and still alive, you are a thief."
When coming out of the study, Xie Huaijin glanced at the maid kneeling at the study door. The moment he looked away, the maid fell to the ground, covering her neck. She died with her eyes wide open without making a sound.
The study floor was instantly stained with blood. Mo Yu retracted the dagger in his hand and whispered an apology to Xie Qingzheng, who was not far away: "The other day, the people below passed on the information that there was a spy whose face looked very similar to this maid. Please don't blame Mo Yu for taking the initiative."
The words were spoken respectfully, but Mo Yu's tone was so cold that it could make people feel cold. The scent of sandalwood was mixed with a lot of blood, and the rest of the people were trembling.
Xie Qingzheng was sitting on a chair, having lost all his strength. He said to Mo Yu, "Get lost."
Mo Yu lowered his head as if to accept the order, turned around and followed Xie Huaijin in front of him. He was still wearing a black brocade robe, like a dark shadow in the daytime.
When they reached a courtyard gate, Xie Huaijin said calmly, "Don't go in if it smells of blood."
Mo Yu stopped outside the door, and the others bowed and saluted: "Young Master."
Xie Huaijin walked straight to the inner room. Yu Sheng helped Lin Lan sit up. Unlike the indifference she had shown in Xie Qingzheng's study just now, Xie Huaijin's tone was full of concern: "Auntie, are you feeling well?"
In the sunlight, the young man stood out, and Lin Lan's eyes were a little blurry.
She was silent and told Yu Sheng to pour tea.
Yu Sheng quietly retreated and looked at the two figures confronting each other inside from outside the bead curtain.
"Can today's events be considered as Shu He's sincere gesture to Aunt?"
Lin Lan didn't say anything. After a long silence, she said, "I was wrong. You are not like your father." Compared to Lin Qingzheng, Xie Huaijin is more like her elder sister.
Of course, Lin Lan doesn't like either of these two people.
Lin Lan slowly frowned, got off the bed, and walked all the way to the young man. She stared into Xie Huaijin's eyes, her eyes full of solemnity, and said in a weak but solemn voice: "Xie Huaijin, swear to me that you will treat Ciying, your future wife, well for the rest of your life."
Xie Huaijin repeated Lin Lan's words in a calm voice, "I, Xie Huaijin, swear to heaven that I will treat Ciying, my only wife, well in this life." He paused, looked at Lin Lan, and said the rest indifferently, "If I break this oath, heaven and earth will become my prison, and I will be trapped day and night until my body dies and my soul is annihilated."
Lin Lan remained silent for a long time. She looked into Xie Huaijin's eyes.
Xie Huaijin had a pair of beautiful phoenix eyes, but now they were empty, and Lin Lan was reminded of her youth. Beneath the decades-old banyan tree at the Lin family's home, her elder sister swore an oath to her father.
Lin Lan closed her eyes and said softly in her heart when Xie Huaijin left.
Shuhe, heaven and earth are just a prison to you.
*
When Ciying woke up again, it was already dusk.
She got out of bed and helped the maids who were still kneeling on the ground one by one. The maids stubbornly refused to get up, and each of them was trembling. Ci Ying sobered up a little, looked at the sun outside, and said softly: "Get up, it's okay..."
At least everything is fine for now. If the master really wanted to deal with these maids, he would not have let them kneel until now.
Ci Ying finally helped the people up this time, but soon these people knelt down again, expressed their loyalty to Ci Ying, and said that they would serve Ci Ying wholeheartedly in the future.
Ci Ying paused for a moment and told the person to get up.
Everyone knew that the source of this disaster was the flower viewing party that day. Strictly speaking, it was Ciying who had implicated them. But at this point, who was right or wrong was no longer important. What mattered was the outcome: Ciying survived, so they survived.
A clever maid had already supported Ciying, and the others also stood up and took up their respective duties.
The maid holding Ciying was called Xiaowan. She used to be in charge of the chores in the courtyard. Xiaowan was very observant. Even though Ciying didn't say a word, she would still look at her face and say, "Sister Ruzhen never came back. At that time, you were sent back by the maid from the princess's mansion. Sister Ayun in the courtyard went to inform the lady. After the lady came over in a sedan chair, the old lady came soon after. While they were arguing, the master of the family arrived with the eldest son."
As Xiaowan spoke, she pointed to where Ayun was, then looked at Ciying's face and said, "Sister Ruzhen hasn't returned to the courtyard. Whether she hasn't returned to the mansion or is somewhere else in the mansion, I don't know."
Xiao Wan continued, "Should I ask the housekeeper about Sister Ruzhen's matter?"
Ci Ying shook her head. The sunset outside shone a little, brightening her whole body. Ci Ying squinted her eyes, feeling light and fluttery, as if the wind could carry her away to who knows where.
Want to ask?
Let’s not ask anymore.
What was she asking? Why did Ru Zhen betray her? Ci Ying recalled the day in the execution hall when she looked up and saw the pearl hairpin. She also recalled the daytime flower viewing banquet when she turned around and saw the smile on Ru Zhen's face.
Xiao Wan said quietly: "Actually, I saw Sister Ru Zhen and the Third Miss in private..."
Ci Ying interrupted her and said softly, "Come with me to the Madam's courtyard, Xiaowan, Xiaowan, right?"
Xiaowan nodded quickly and held Ciying's hand.
By the time she arrived at the lady's courtyard, it was already dark. Ci Ying stood outside the door, debating whether to come back tomorrow. But after much deliberation, she decided to send someone in to report. She could escape for a while, but not forever. She had done something wrong and needed to apologize.
Aunt Yusheng came out quickly and led Ciying in.
Ci Ying went to the inner room, walked to the bed and knelt down, with her head bowed to the ground for a long time.
Yu Sheng couldn't catch up with Ci Ying's pace. When she looked at Lin Lan on the bed, they both laughed.
"Okay, get up," Yu Sheng spoke for the Madam. Ci Ying only raised her head to see the sickly Madam on the bed, with the gauze wrapped around her neck. Her eyes reddened. She cried, "I'm sorry, Madam. I'm sorry. I pretended to be a young lady. What I did today has humiliated the young lady and implicated Madam. If I had been more careful and cautious before the banquet, if I had been calmer and collected, things wouldn't have turned out like this."
Ci Ying kowtowed and cried: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."
Yu Sheng couldn't stop her and could only kneel with Ci Ying.
Lin Lan sighed, got off the bed and supported Ci Ying. The girl's head was already bleeding from the bump. Lin Lan raised her hand to touch it and said distressedly, "You're getting married in two months. How can you look good with a scar on your face? Yu Sheng, go get the jade cream in my box."
Ci Ying sobbed, looked at the lady with tears in her eyes, and choked with sobs, unable to utter a word.
Lin Lan looked at Ciying as if she had seen her own daughter. She touched Ciying's face and said softly, "Ciying, Asu and I both hope you can be happy. I'm very grateful that you've been by Asu's side all these years. Because of you, Asu has been very happy for the past ten years. Asu is gone now, and I don't have much time left. Ciying, you must live well. When Asu died, you told Asu that from now on, your eyes would be Asu's eyes, and your soul would have a part of Asu. Then, Ciying, Asu's mother is also your mother. Just think of me as your mother. Today, I just did what a mother would do for her daughter and gave Ciying a small gift."
Ci Ying burst into tears and hugged her wife, while Lin Lan gently stroked her head.
Late at night, after Ci Ying left, Yu Sheng stepped forward and gently massaged Lin Lan: "The child cried for a long time in his own yard. Miss, the gift you gave is too heavy."
Lin Lan narrowed her eyes and leaned against the bed beam: "Why are you calling me Miss again?"
Yu Sheng smiled but didn't change her words.
Lin Lan closed her eyes and whispered, "Originally, it wasn't necessary. I was planning to have Xie Qingzheng adopt Ciying as his daughter and leave you to Ciying." The pressure on her forehead softened a little. Lin Lan sighed and held Yu Sheng's hand. "But I sense you'd be reluctant, and with what happened at the flower viewing banquet today, let's just go along with Ciying's wishes."
Yu Sheng's eyes were already filled with tears. Lin Lan opened them and raised her handkerchief to wipe them away. "You loved crying when you were little. How come you still cry now that you're old? Yu Sheng, I noticed a few days ago that I had some white hair on my head. I plucked it out, but then I thought, if Ah Su hadn't... she would have reached the age of marriage, so I should have some white hair too."
Yu Sheng cried in Lin Lan's arms, and Lin Lan patted Yu Sheng's back gently, just like when they were young.
【Author’s words】
The general update time is around 24:00. Now, babies can get up in the morning to watch it~
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