Chapter 40 Jealousy of me, how could I blame you?
Xie Yunying's eyes widened: "How did he get into Xie Qingyu's courtyard?"
System: "Could it be that Xie Qingyu wants to discuss something with him? But Xie Qingyu shouldn't be in the manor at this time, right?"
Xie Yunying narrowed her eyes. She secretly observed from behind the artificial hill, somewhat incredulous: "If I remember correctly, there are guards at the entrance of Xie Qingyu's courtyard. How could they just let him in like that?"
System: "No need to think, Xie Lianquan must have given false orders to get in."
Xie Yunying stared at them: "No, my intuition tells me that Xie Lianquan's entry into Xie Qingyu's residence is definitely not for good reasons." She is now an ally of Xie Qingyu, so she has to follow him in to see what Xie Lianquan is planning to do!
Just as the system was about to tell her to be careful, Xie Yunying emerged from behind the artificial hill and rushed straight up.
System: "?" Are you just going to go for it by brute force?
At the entrance of the Frost-Spraying Courtyard, two guards suddenly noticed the newcomer and bowed in greeting, "Greetings, Second Miss."
To everyone's surprise, the person receiving the greeting didn't even raise his head and was about to step into the courtyard when the two guards quickly raised their hands to stop him.
"Second Miss, you can't go in."
"Why not?" The woman's voice was clear and melodious, like the cry of a kite.
The newcomer had an almond-shaped face, thick eyebrows, and lips as beautiful as summer cherry blossoms. She wore a flowing red silk dress and a magnificent cloak that trailed on the ground. It was Xie Yunying.
She proudly raised her head: "When I came to see my elder brother yesterday, I left a hairpin in the side room. I went in to get it and came out right away. What, are you going to stop me from doing that?"
The guard on the left replied respectfully, "Second Miss, please forgive me. It was not that I intended to stop you, but the eldest young master said that no unauthorized persons are allowed to enter the courtyard unless they have his permission."
Xie Yunying frowned, her voice tinged with displeasure: "Are you implying that I'm just some nobody?"
The guards exchanged glances, both hesitant: "This..."
Xie Yunying looked impatient: "What's with all this nagging? I don't have time to waste here! Can't I, as your younger sister, even enter my older brother's courtyard? Besides, I'm just going in to get a hairpin, do I have to repeat myself so many times?"
"Please forgive me, Second Miss, this servant is truly in a difficult position..."
Seeing that the guards were still dawdling, Xie Yunying's face turned cold. She drew a soft red whip from her gold belt and flicked it in the air, the sound of it cutting through the air echoing in a corner of the courtyard.
She stared at the two men menacingly: "You've been babbling on and on, just repeating the same few phrases to appease me. You dare to block me from going in? You're asking for a beating!"
The guards all changed their expressions when they saw her holding a whip, because the whip in Xie Yunying's hand was her usual weapon, called "Broken Rainbow." The whip was more than seven feet long, with a steel frame and red sharkskin. It could be curled up like a hair and wrapped around the waist as if it were nothing; it could also be as sharp as thunder, and a single lash could tear through skin and flesh.
In the past, any servants who angered Xie Yunying would inevitably suffer this whipping. However, this whip was a gift from the emperor, given to Xie Yunying by Xie Zhi when she was ten years old. The servants could only silently endure it and dared not speak out, for fear of being accused of disrespecting the emperor.
Therefore, Xie Yunying used this whip to run rampant in the mansion, and no one dared to stop her. Later, she even went so far as to cause trouble outside the mansion.
In short, whenever Xie Yunying pulled out her whip, it meant her patience was about to run out and someone was going to suffer.
The system was also a little surprised: "Host, you really want to fight them?"
Xie Yunying: "It was just a scare tactic, how could I dare to hit someone?" Besides, she doesn't know how to use this thing!
She knew that all the servants in the manor were afraid of Xie Yunying, especially her whip. Sometimes, just pulling out the whip was enough to intimidate them, without even actually hitting them. She was afraid that even with all that, they wouldn't move aside, which would put her in an awkward position.
What are you doing?
Xie Yunying was taken aback. She looked up and saw an unfamiliar silver-clad guard standing in front of the courtyard gate.
The silver-clad guard arrived suddenly, his face calm and expressionless, but his eyes were scrutinizing the three people standing at the door. Xie Yunying looked up and happened to meet his gaze.
Xie Yunying felt a chill run down her spine from his gaze. Feigning anger, she preemptively asked, "And who are you?"
Xie Yunying: "Holy crap! When did this guy get here? Does he walk without making a sound?!"
System: "This person seems to be Xie Qingyu's personal bodyguard, a secret guard assigned to Xie Qingyu by Xie Zhi. He is highly skilled in martial arts and his name is Yin Yi."
When the two guards saw Yin Yi arrive, they were overjoyed as if they had seen a savior, and they quickly stepped forward to explain Xie Yunying's situation. Yin Yi listened attentively and nodded, saying, "I see."
He stepped forward, bowed to Xie Yunying, and gave a neat salute: "Your subordinate Yin Yi greets Second Miss. They are newcomers and do not know the rules. I hope Second Miss will be magnanimous and not hold it against them."
"Please come with me, Second Miss."
Does this mean she's allowed to go in? Xie Yunying was a little surprised; she hadn't expected it to go so smoothly.
As the winter chill recedes and green buds are soaked in snow, Xie Qingyu's courtyard already shows signs of spring. The courtyard is deep and secluded, the paving stones are clean and dust-free, and the plum trees in the courtyard are broken, with fallen petals scattered all over the ground, yet their fragrance still lingers.
Xie Yunying followed behind Yin Yi. This man walked so quietly that his feet barely touched the ground, which startled her.
Yin Yi seemed to have just come out of the courtyard. Realizing this, the usually oblivious Xie Yunying finally understood.
So she tentatively asked, "I just saw my second brother enter the courtyard. Was he looking for my eldest brother?"
Yin Yi's voice was flat: "Reporting to Second Miss, the eldest young master is working in the manor today, and the second young master is currently talking with the eldest young master in the inner room."
Xie Yunying's conjecture was confirmed: "..."
System: "Oh, so Xie Qingyu is here too."
Xie Yunying, who had made such a huge blunder, was so embarrassed that she wanted to crawl into a hole and spend the rest of her life as an earthworm.
Yin Yi led Xie Yunying to the door of the side room and asked, "What does the second young lady's lost hairpin look like?"
Xie Yunying hadn't forgotten any hairpins; she was just making it up. So, feeling guilty, she could only fabricate a story: "It was a gold hairpin, inlaid with purple pearl tassels and leaves, about the size of a palm. I didn't see it on my dressing table this morning, so I wondered if I'd left it in my eldest brother's yard. Maybe it's not there anymore. If I can't find it, I'll just search elsewhere..."
Before the words were finished, a heavy thud came from the house next door. The sudden noise was particularly jarring in the quiet courtyard, making it hard to ignore.
Xie Yunying paused for a moment, then heard Xie Lianquan's voice, filled with terror, intense regret, and pain. He pleaded, "Brother, I was really wrong, I truly know I was wrong! I shouldn't have secretly colluded with the Wang family, causing you to be kidnapped and disappear, suffering so much. It's all my fault, I was out of my mind to do such a thing! Please forgive me, I swear I was forced! That old scoundrel Wang forced me! You must save me this time! Otherwise, I will really die, I will be finished!"
"The Xie family, yes, the Xie family too! If the Wang family falls, how can the Xie family, which has close ties to the Wang family, remain unscathed? We will all be dragged into it! Why are you and Father sitting idly by?"
The amount of information in this passage is already explosive.
Xie Yunying felt dizzy and her ears were ringing from listening. Xie Qingyu spoke up at this moment, her gentle voice like a breeze through a bamboo forest: "Second brother, you are overthinking it. Even if the Wang family is investigated and this matter is brought up, at most you will only be dismissed from your post and investigated. It will not affect the safety of the Xie family. Besides, the head of the family is Father. As a son, I am also a junior. How can I go against Father's decision to protect you?"
Xie Lianquan became even more agitated: "Do you think I didn't plead with Father?! He completely ignored me! I don't understand why Father is so cold and heartless! He's my own father, yet he just watched me get arrested and interrogated, watched the Wang family fall from power, and watched the Dali Temple investigate me! If what I did is also exposed, I'll definitely lose my official position, a position I worked hard for half my life to get! Just because I made a mistake? Is this how he treats me?!"
"Brother, brother, listen to me! Father suffered because of you. Now that he knows everything, he wants me to be punished. He treated me like this because of you! If you forgive me and plead with him, he will definitely listen!"
Xie Yunying: "...System, is the Wang family they're talking about the one you mentioned when you were telling me about the plot a while ago, the one in the 'Down with Wang Case'?"
System: "Yes, host. I didn't expect that you, who seemed to be daydreaming at the time, actually listened to everything. I'm very pleased."
Xie Yunying: "Would it kill you to stop teasing me?"
"Speaking of which, what kind of commotion is this? So, in the original story, Xie Qingyu was sold into slavery because he was behind it all?"
System: "This wasn't mentioned in the original book. After all, Xie Qingyu really did die in the slave shed in the original storyline, and the Wang family didn't fall from power at the beginning. Unless Xie Qingyu's wronged spirit flies back from afar to tell Xie Zhi, no one would suspect Xie Lianquan."
The system was puzzled: "Actually, I don't understand either. Why would Xie Lianquan want to harm Xie Qingyu? What benefit would he gain from killing Xie Qingyu?"
Xie Yunying raised an eyebrow: "You don't understand, do you? The benefits are obvious. With Xie Qingyu dead, the only one who can inherit the title is Xie Lianquan, right?"
System: "Just because of a title, you'd put your brother to death? Xie Qingyu in the original story was a true gentleman, and he must have treated his younger brother quite well. How could Xie Lianquan be so heartless?"
Xie Yunying: "The better you treat this kind of person, the more they hate you. His suffering is not caused by Xie Qingyu, but stems from Xie Zhi's bias. I guess Xie Lianquan himself is well aware of this." It's just that Xie Lianquan is a coward who bullies the weak and fears the strong. He clearly hates Xie Zhi but dares not hate him, so he transfers his anger and hatred to Xie Qingyu.
At least after hearing Xie Lianquan's words, she did not sense any strong fear or anger from him. Instead, she subtly perceived Xie Lianquan's deep resentment and jealousy.
He had been Xie Qingyu's shadow for too long. He imitated Xie Qingyu, following behind her step by step with difficulty, but he could never catch up with her. This was his resentment. As a son, he was naturally inferior to others because of his different mother. He was not entitled to a title, ignored by the First Madam, and did not receive his father's favor or affection. This was his jealousy.
The black venom flowing from his soul eventually consumed him.
As one person chatted idly, the frozen silence in the opposite room gradually dissipated.
Xie Qingyu pondered for a moment and said, "I didn't know that my second brother thought this way."
“I understand how you feel, my second brother. I will find an opportunity to talk to Father and see if I can plead with him on your behalf.”
Xie Lianquan's voice sounded extremely excited: "You mean you've forgiven me?!"
Xie Yunying was startled by his sudden shouting. She rubbed the goosebumps that had risen on her arms, and then she heard Xie Qingyu's gentle voice, as if coaxing a child: "Of course, we are half-brothers. How can brothers hold a grudge overnight? Besides, my second brother also said that the Wang family forced you. Of course, I am more willing to believe what you say. You must not have wanted to harm me on purpose, right?"
"Second Miss."
Xie Yunying, who was listening intently, was suddenly called and almost jumped up on the spot. When she looked closely, she realized that it was Yin Yi standing in front of her.
He had left sometime earlier, but now he suddenly reappeared, still with that calm expression: "I have already searched both rooms, but I haven't found the hairpin that the second young lady mentioned."
Xie Yunying breathed a sigh of relief: "It's alright, it's probably left somewhere else. I'll go look for it elsewhere."
Yin Yi nodded: "Then, I'll see the Second Miss out."
Xie Yunying was about to respond when she heard the door next door open. The words that were on the tip of her tongue slipped away and she swallowed them back. She chuckled dryly, "...Ah, I think the paintings on the wall are quite nice. I'll look at them a little longer before I leave."
"Are you kidding me? If I go out now, I'll just bump into Xie Lianquan who's leaving! I don't even want to think about how awkward that would be!"
Yin Yi's inorganic gaze flickered slowly for a moment. It seemed to be a mixture of confusion, and also a mixture of cautious thought and difficult understanding.
Finally, he said, "Okay."
So the two of them stood awkwardly inside, and no one spoke for a moment.
Xie Yunying strained to focus her gaze on the splashed-ink landscape painting, while listening to the sounds fading away outside the door. "Hmm, those fish and shrimp are truly fish and shrimp, and those peonies are truly peonies."
Suddenly, three clear knocks sounded from the door, which was just inches away, and the knocking was light and slow.
Xie Yunying was so frightened that the hairs on her body stood on end. She quickly hid behind the screen and gestured to Yin Yi with a wide smile and pursed lips: You go open it!
Yin Yi obediently went to open the door.
The door opened a crack and then closed again. Xie Yunying didn't dare to breathe until Yin Yi pushed the door open again and called her.
He said, "Second Miss, the eldest young master wants to see you. He says he wants to have a talk with you."
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