Chapter 47 Identity: He is the eldest son of the Xie family.
Yue Yining was somewhat taken aback.
A shimmering, watery light appeared in Xie Qingyu's eyes, hidden behind her long eyelashes.
He lowered his eyes, suppressing tears and the intense emotions that permeated the air.
Yue Yining slowly raised her hand, her long fingers resting on his wrist through the soft brocade robe.
Her voice unconsciously lowered, as if to comfort her, "What's wrong?"
"Why are you crying?" Yue Yining's fingers were warm, just like her voice. "Do I look so sad? Or is it because we haven't seen each other in so long that you think I look like I'm having a miserable time?"
"No." Xie Qingyu's eyes were misty with tears, and he smiled again, saying softly, "I'm just too happy."
"Sorry, I was a little out of line just now."
Seeing that he had regained his composure, Yue Yining moved her hand away. "You still haven't told me how you ended up here?"
"...How have you been since you got home?"
She had many questions she wanted to ask, but didn't know where to begin.
Perhaps there's no need to ask.
Judging from his current attire and demeanor, one can tell that he is doing very well, having returned to being a glamorous young master from a prominent family. His every move is elegant and refined, suggesting that he has long since regained his memories.
She was surprised by his emotional fluctuations. She thought that even if they met again, he would no longer be the "Ayu" she knew. She assumed he would only feel ashamed of the past and never imagined he would feel nostalgic or even look forward to seeing her again.
Xie Qingyu watched as her fingers loosened, her nails sliding across his sleeve as she moved away from him.
He forced himself to look into her eyes and gently replied, "I'm fine, how about you, Miss?"
Just as Yue Yining was about to say that she was doing alright, she saw a figure appear on the flower path not far away.
She wore a short silver outfit and had an ordinary face that was easily forgotten.
After seeing Xie Qingyu's back, Yin Yi did not go forward again, but stood a few meters away from them.
"Young Master."
Xie Qingyu's smile faded slightly. He glanced back at Yin Yi, then looked back at Yue Yining with the same gentle expression. "Miss, please wait here for me, okay?"
Yue Yining realized that the silver-clad guard was probably looking for his servant, so he nodded and said, "Go ahead."
It is unclear what the silver-clad guard said to him, but when Xie Qingyu came back, he looked apologetic: "My father sent someone to find me, and I have to go back to the East Garden now."
Yue Yining was taken aback. She hadn't expected him to leave before they had even exchanged a few words, and a sense of reluctance suddenly rose in her heart.
The tall, dark figure obscured the vibrant, cloud-like blossoms above. When Yue Yining came to her senses, fingers beneath the wide, silver-patterned sleeves had already touched her palm. The fair, well-proportioned fingers withdrew, leaving only a cool, wooden plaque.
Yue Yining instinctively clenched her fist and looked up at Xie Qingyu. The dappled shadows of flowers shimmered in her dark jade-colored pupils, which were filled with the bright light of spring, seemingly overflowing with countless gentle, radiant halos.
Xie Yunying rushed over and saw this scene.
She suddenly stopped, stepping over the layers of flowers, and finally saw that Xie Qingyu was smiling at Yue Yining, the emotion in her eyes softer than the petals on her head.
“Then I shall take my leave.” Xie Qingyu looked at her, and said the last sentence very softly, so that only the two of them could hear it, “I will wait for you, Miss, until the beginning of the hour of Xu tonight.”
Yue Yining waved her hand, stood there watching him leave, and then opened her palm to look at the wooden plaque.
The wooden plaque, about half a foot wide, has clear sandalwood grain and smooth polished edges. The back of the plaque bears the logo of Manshenglou, the largest restaurant in Yanjing, and the plaque is inscribed with three large characters "Zuixiange" in the center.
Manshenglou.
The last time Yue Yining went there was because she had arranged to meet Ye Miheng there.
However, she hurriedly sent someone to make a reservation, and could only get a private seat on the second floor. The private rooms and smaller rooms on the upper floors not only needed to be booked a month in advance, but also cost a thousand taels of silver for a single meal, which was unaffordable for ordinary people.
This Drunken Immortal Pavilion is said to be one of the most famous private rooms on the fourth floor, which is reserved for celebrities and dignitaries year-round.
Yue Yining stared at the wooden sign, lost in thought, unaware of Xie Yunying's approach until Xie Yunying called out to her, "Yining."
Yue Yining then noticed Xie Yunying's arrival. She lowered her wide sleeves and put away the wooden plaque. "Why has Second Miss come here?"
Xie Yunying: "I noticed you hadn't come back, and I was worried you'd gone too far, so I came looking for you."
"Oh right! I've picked the hosta flowers you mentioned," Yue Yining squatted down, picked up the scattered flower branches from the ground, gathered them in her hand, and handed them to her. "Take a look, is this the kind?"
"Golden-edged blue-stamened, right?"
Xie Yunying slowly took it, looked at her smiling face, and nodded: "Thank you."
Yue Yining noticed her hesitation: "What's wrong?"
Xie Yunying hesitated for a moment before saying, "...I just saw my older brother."
"Yining, what were you two talking about just now?"
Yue Yining was truly stunned this time: "Big brother?"
Xie Yunying was the eldest daughter of the Xie family, the youngest in her family, with three older brothers and sisters. The only person she could call "elder brother" was that one person. A guess was gradually forming in her mind, but Yue Yining found it hard to believe.
Xie Yunying's words forced her to face reality: "Don't you know him? The person who was talking to you just now is my older brother, Xie Qingyu."
Xie Qingyu. Ayu.
It turns out that Ayu is the famous eldest son of the Xie family.
She recalled the ladies-in-waiting's praise of Xie Qingyu's appearance and demeanor, describing the eldest son of the Xie family as an ethereal being, their descriptions so flowery and almost unreal. Yue Yining had only believed half of it at the time, feeling that there must have been some exaggeration.
But who would have thought that the famous Xie Qingyu was actually Ayu? And when she recalled the elegant demeanor she had shown in the past, all those exaggerated compliments suddenly seemed perfectly fitting.
Not to mention those words, even the endless, cloud-like flowering trees pale in comparison to him.
"Xie Qingyu," Yue Yining murmured, "...So this is your real name."
Xie Yunying did not hear what Yue Yining said clearly.
In fact, when Xie Yunying saw Xie Qingyu standing with Yue Yining, she knew something was wrong.
Xie Yunying asked nervously, "Could Xie Qingyu be eyeing Yue Yining?"
system:".....?"
The system hesitated, then asked, "Host, I don't quite understand. What exactly do you mean by 'idea'?"
Xie Yunying: "Didn't you see him smiling at the female lead just now? That smile looked really strange and malicious! It made me feel like he had set a trap and was waiting for Yue Yining to take the bait!"
system:"......."
Xie Yunying fumbled with her hands inside her sleeves, she was incredibly nervous but dared not let Yue Yining notice: "So you two didn't know each other before, right?"
Yue Yining paused, her mind flashing back to everything that had happened in the past three months.
She slowly turned her head and met Xie Yunying's gaze.
“…Hmm.” Yue Yining suddenly smiled. “This is the first time I’ve met him.”
......
Upon returning to the West Garden, Yue Yining inquired with a passing eunuch and followed the lakeside path to a hexagonal pavilion. Two green-headed mandarin ducks emerged from the reeds by the lake, intertwined their necks, and swam across the blue stone bridge carved with meander patterns, leaving two ink-like trails on the water's surface.
The eldest princess sat in the pavilion, watching her approach: "Where have you been?"
"I've been waiting here for you for so long, have you abandoned me and our business to go stroll in the garden?"
Yue Yining laughed and said, "How could I dare?"
"After I saw Zhou Congyi off, I was entangled by the second young lady of the Xie family. She asked me to accompany her for a stroll around the neighborhood, which is why I was delayed for a while."
Wei Yihua frowned: "The second young lady of the Xie family, is that Xie Yunying? How did you manage to provoke such a troublesome person?"
Yue Yining seemed unwilling to continue the conversation and suddenly changed the subject: "Speaking of which, did Your Highness encounter the eldest son of the Xie family today?"
Wei Yihua looked at her with some confusion: "No. Why are you suddenly asking this?"
Yue Yining smiled and said, "I'm just curious. Isn't Your Highness curious? Someone who had been bedridden for half a year and was on the verge of death suddenly recovered overnight without any lingering illness. It's practically a miracle."
Wei Yihua: "It is indeed quite miraculous. Perhaps it was because Prime Minister Xie found a divine doctor for him that he was able to bring him back to health."
As Wei Yihua spoke, she casually turned her head, only to meet Yue Yining's dark eyes. Yue Yining said softly, "Doesn't Your Highness find it strange?"
Suddenly, a clear understanding dawned on Wei Yihua. She slowly straightened up, frowning, and said, "You mean to say that Xie Qingyu might be faking illness?"
“But what benefit would he gain from feigning illness? His career is going smoothly; claiming illness for half a year would only delay many things and cause him to miss a good opportunity for promotion. If he pretends to be sick in bed, what could he possibly do during that time?” Wei Yihua frowned, thinking hard but unable to come to a conclusion, before slowly relaxing her expression. “He must really be sick. If it were me, I would never leave when I was on the rise; there’s nothing worth it for him to do that.”
Yue Yining remained noncommittal: "Is that so?"
Yue Yining had checked the intelligence agencies and sources of information from the Princess's residence, and they were all trustworthy. This meant the problem must lie with the Xie family. It was Xie Zhi who covered up Xie Qingyu's disappearance, falsely claiming he was ill and bedridden, thus concealing the truth from the outside world. Even after Xie Qingyu was found, he did not change his story.
The fact that the son of the current prime minister has been reduced to a lowly slave being sold into slavery is a serious matter. If this were to be publicized, the entire Xie family would lose face, and Xie Qingyu might as well prepare a white silk ribbon to commit suicide.
Xie Qingyu is the perfect heir carefully cultivated by the Xie family. Xie Zhi certainly doesn't want Xie Qingyu to die, nor would he risk putting the Xie family in jeopardy by not addressing the potential threat. Given Xie Zhi's character, if he knew she was also involved, he would definitely eliminate her completely.
No wonder he left so decisively and hasn't come looking for her for so long.
Yue Yining paused again, pondering this. But Xie Qingyu had come to find her now, and even acknowledged her as his own, seemingly no longer afraid of endangering her life. Could it be that he had already dealt with the Xie family and resolved all those potential problems?
Yue Yining pondered for a long time but couldn't come to a conclusion.
The Hundred Flowers Welcoming Spring Banquet was still in progress when colorful butterflies suddenly fluttered around the rose-covered curtains, their golden dust fluttering into the wine jars. The maids, dressed in pomegranate-red skirts adorned with spring blossoms, swept the green branches of crabapple trees with their light gauze. Later, she accompanied Wei Yihua to the East Garden, where she met several renowned scholars and high-ranking officials to discuss national affairs and strategies, but she did not encounter Xie Qingyu again.
As the sun began to set, its rays lingered among the flowers. Back at the Princess's residence, Yue Yining gazed into the bronze mirror, removing her makeup to reveal a clean, white face. All the jade hairpins and pearl ornaments from her hair were taken off.
Yue Yining gazed at the bronze mirror, which gradually became mottled, its edges corroded and rusted. The precious rosewood dressing table had been transformed into a small cypress table with chipped corners. The sunlight grew intense, and a familiar figure appeared in the mirror: Ayu, dressed in a cotton robe, was applying hair oil to her long hair, a faint smile playing on her lips, warm and gentle as jade.
His gentle words still echoed in my ears: "I learned how to style hair from Miss Fu. From now on, I can comb your hair for you."
As the light dimmed, the jade hairpins and gold hairpins on the table reminded her that it was all in the past, something she could only reminisce about.
Yue Yining left the dressing table, took out her most frequently worn blue and white robe from the wardrobe, and changed out of her Shu brocade dress.
There was still some time before the beginning of the Xu hour (7-9 PM), and Yue Yining specifically told Fu Yao that she had an appointment that evening and didn't need to have dinner. So Fu Yao went to the training ground again. At this moment, she was the only one sitting alone at the upturned table in the bedroom. Yue Yining watched the begonia pattern of light and shadow projected on the ground, gradually lengthening until it reached her heels.
Yue Yining was reading, propping her elbow on the table, when she suddenly remembered something. She immediately stood up, went to the antique shelf to get the files, turned to the one about the Xie family, and wrote down Xie Qingyu's birth date and time on a piece of scrap paper.
The warm sunlight streamed into the hall, casting a dazzling glow on the Bagua plate on the table. Copper coins fell into the copper plate, their metallic clinking resounding.
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