Chapter 44. For a long time, Lord Xie sent a box of tea.
Xie Yunying looked at the two people in front of her: "......."
This scene was quite bizarre to her.
On the table are two hair ornaments: one is a white jade lotus petal shape, with a pure and rich texture; the other is a hollowed-out entwined branch shape with cloud patterns, with a light blue mixed with a touch of ink like smoke.
In Yin Yi's eyes, these were just two jade hair ornaments, and that was it.
Yin Yi remained silent.
After much deliberation and struggle, Yin Yi pointed to the vine-like crown on the right: "This one."
Xie Qingyu nodded thoughtfully, and then Yin Yi and Xie Yunying saw him pick up another jade crown.
Yin Yi: "......."
Yin Yi's usually calm heart was suddenly stirred by a raging storm, but this was only reflected on his face by a slight pursing of his lips: "Why did the eldest young master choose the other one?"
While combing her hair, Xie Qingyu replied gently, "I asked you to come and eliminate this problem. Do you have any questions?"
Yin Yi nodded silently, but his back view carried a hint of desolation. Xie Yunying couldn't help but burst out laughing. She laughed so unrestrainedly that even the system was worried she was about to laugh herself to death: "Host, calm down."
Xie Qingyu finished putting her hair up, looked in the bronze mirror, and put on the jade crown. In the mirror, she caught a glimpse of Yin Yi staring at her: "Do you have something to say?"
Yin Yi hesitated for a moment: "Young Master, you are dressed in fine clothes and very well made up today. Are you going out of the manor to attend a banquet?"
Xie Qingyu hummed in agreement, but instead of answering, asked, "Is it necessary to dress like this to meet someone outside the manor?"
Yin Yi said, "That's not what I meant..."
"I'm just in a good mood today," Xie Qingyu said. "Yinyi, you're too curious."
The extra hairpin on the table was tossed back into the silver box by Xie Qingyu with a clang. Upon hearing this, Yin Yi's heart sank, and he bowed his head, saying, "It was my fault for being so talkative, please forgive me, young master."
The atmosphere inside the room changed so quickly that Xie Yunying didn't even realize what had happened.
Xie Qingyu put on her headdress, subtly adjusted her hair in front of the bronze mirror, and said calmly, "Go outside and ask when Master Yue's carriage will arrive."
Yin Yi said "Yes" and silently withdrew. He returned shortly afterward and said, "Young Master, the front courtyard says that the Princess's carriage has arrived and is now parked at the main gate. Master Yue has been taken to the Master by a maid from the front courtyard."
Xie Yunying exclaimed, "Huh? The female lead has arrived? Why didn't Jin Xuan come to call me—" Before she could finish speaking, Xie Yunying realized something and suddenly fell silent.
System: "...Um, host, it seems we should go back."
Xie Yunying: "Holy crap! System, get me back right now!"
After a series of operations by the system, Xie Yunying's figure disappeared from Xie Qingyu's room in a flash.
After reporting on Yue Yining's situation, Yin Yi changed the subject and said, "In addition, someone from the front courtyard came to say that the Seventh Prince's residence sent an urgent letter. The messenger said that the matter was urgent and that the letter must be delivered to the eldest young master as soon as possible."
Upon hearing this, Xie Qingyu finally shifted her gaze from the bronze mirror to the envelope that Yin Yi was handing over.
He opened the letter, skimming through it, his brows gradually furrowing.
After reading the letter, he seemed somewhat lost in thought, raising his eyes to look at the bronze mirror before him. The person reflected in the mirror had a serene and captivating appearance, with delicate eyebrows like spring smoke, truly possessing a beauty that could rival the finest jade.
He wasn't usually one to enjoy drawing eyebrows and makeup, but the thought of seeing Yue Yining made him sit in front of the mirror without even realizing it.
He knew she liked his looks. Every time her gaze lingered on his face, it spoke volumes. A gentleman should serve others based on virtue, not appearance, but he felt no shame, only pride. He secretly rejoiced that he possessed a handsome appearance that surpassed others; his dressing up was solely to ensure that Yue Yining's gaze would linger on him longer.
He was willing to use any means to capture her attention, so what if it was shameful?
He really hadn't seen her in a long time.
But he painstakingly planned and schemed so that he could see her for a long, long time.
The hidden anticipation and fervor in Xie Qingyu's eyes gradually faded. He loosened his grip, the paper as thin as a cicada's wing already unconsciously crumpled into a ball.
He stopped looking at the bronze mirror, stood up, and the gloom in his eyes vanished.
Xie Qingyu remained calm: "Yinyi, order the servants to prepare a carriage and horses, and come with me to the Seventh Prince's residence."
Upon receiving the order, the attendants hurried towards the front courtyard, passing several covered walkways along the way. Outside, the attendants' figures rushed past, while inside, several maids walked forward with lowered heads and eyes, all wearing matching moon-colored vests, their plain pleated satin skirts swaying with each step. A group of people surrounded a woman in a blue robe; her long hair cascaded down her back, and she had fair skin and dark eyebrows.
The flowers and trees in the courtyard were already withered and broken. Just then, a gust of wind blew by, and a flurry of apricot petals fell like rain onto Yue Yining's head.
Yue Yining tilted her head back, gently shook off the petals from her head, and patted the few remaining petals on her shoulder with her delicate hand. The maid leading the way stopped immediately upon hearing the sound, and the entire line of maids also stopped one by one to wait for Yue Yining to straighten her clothes.
Seeing this, Yue Yining quickly said, "No need to stop, let's keep going."
The head maidservant responded respectfully, her voice soft: "Your Majesty, the council hall is just ahead."
The group continued forward.
This mansion is truly enormous. Yue Yining picked up a petal, held it in her hand, and thought casually.
Perhaps because she had visited the Prince's Mansion before, Yue Yining couldn't help but compare the two in her mind. Both the Xie Mansion and the Prince's Mansion were the residences of founding nobles, not only from prominent families but also holding power in the court. The Prince's Mansion was luxurious and grand, with carved beams and painted rafters, embroidered gold plaques and jade plaques; while the Xie Mansion's decoration and furnishings were much more elegant, with bamboo, cypress, pine and stone arranged in a harmonious manner, exuding a restrained and appropriate temperament.
The moment Yue Yining saw Xie Zhi, she understood the reason.
Inside the council hall, wisps of smoke curled upwards. The afternoon sun shone brightly, filtering through the horizontal bamboo gauze curtains and spreading out in thin streams. Xie Zhi, dressed in a wide-sleeved robe with a deep crimson turban, sat behind a table with altar. Upon seeing Yue Yining, he stroked his beard and smiled kindly: "It is an honor to have Master Yue grace us with his presence."
Yue Yining bowed and said, "You flatter me, sir. I am Yue Yining, and I greet Prime Minister Xie."
After Yue Yining took her seat, a maid came forward to pour her tea, but Xie Zhi waved his sleeve, indicating that it was unnecessary: "You may leave."
The maids responded and withdrew, closing the hall door tightly. Yue Yining looked directly at Xie Zhi. He was rather thin, his body draped in a dark robe, his face bearing a smile, but his eyes were deep and unfathomable. Although he was over fifty, he still had a dignified appearance, showing the integrity of a scholar-official.
Yue Yining smiled and asked, "What is it that Lord Xie wants to discuss by inviting me here?"
A few days ago, Xie Zhi sent a visiting card to the Princess's residence, catching Yue Yining off guard and even alarming the Princess herself. In the letter, Xie Zhi stated that he had heard that Yue Yining was a disciple of the Venerable One and hoped to invite Yue Yining, as a celestial master, to his residence to perform a divination for him.
His words were earnest, and even though Yue Yining could tell at a glance that it was mostly written by someone else, she still agreed. The reason was simple: she had long wanted to visit Xie Zhi, and she didn't care about the reason, because she was well-versed in physiognomy and could glean a lot of information from a person's face.
Xie Zhi smiled and said, "The latter half of March after the Spring Banquet happens to be the ancestral worship day in my hometown. I plan to take my wife and children back to my ancestral home to worship my ancestors. The journey is long, and I think it will take at least half a month to return to the capital. Therefore, I would like to ask Master Yue to divine the auspiciousness of the journey and choose an auspicious day to set off."
Yue Yining nodded: "I see."
He is lying.
Having realized this, Yue Yining had a plan in mind.
Xie Zhi had no reason to lie to her about such a matter, but he was clearly genuinely seeking divination, which Yue Yining could see. This meant that Xie Zhi was hiding the true purpose of his trip from her, and that this trip could not be known to others, and he most likely wouldn't be bringing his wife and children along.
Xie Zhi will leave the capital alone in late March. What is he going to do?
Yue Yining didn't say much. She took out her copper plate from her sleeve and handed three copper coins to Xie Zhi: "Please throw the copper coins at will, Lord Xie. As long as the copper coins eventually land in the plate, that's fine."
Xie Zhi's expression turned serious, and his focused and cautious demeanor only made Yue Yining more certain of her guess.
The water level in the Yixing teapot sinks, and the tea leaves gradually absorb water and expand, becoming dry and astringent.
The edge of the bronze plate reflected a faint halo of light, which was reflected into Yue Yining's pool-like eyes, making them appear as if they were covered in gold.
Yue Yining had already calculated the result, but she was quite surprised. She pondered for a long time before slowly speaking: "According to the divination, I believe that it would be best for Lord Xie to choose March 22nd or March 24th to travel. Do not set off after the 25th, as you are prone to encountering floods."
"It is advisable to travel by water rather than by land, but the opposite applies if you travel after the 25th. Do not carry too many ritual objects, especially bells and tripods; and do not carry too many pigments, especially reddish-brown ones."
Following the divination, Yue Yining carefully gave her instructions. Because there were too many items, she took out a pen and ink and wrote them down one by one: "Lord Xie can give this list to the servants in his household. If they follow my instructions, everything will be fine."
"Thank you for your trouble, Celestial Master Yue." Xie Zhi personally filled a teacup and handed it to Yue Yining, then asked casually, "May I ask if anyone from my household has visited Celestial Master Yue before today?"
Yue Yining: "?"
Yue Yining was somewhat confused, but she answered truthfully, "No."
"So, Celestial Master, have you ever heard of Xie Qingyu before?"
Xie Qingyu? Yue Yining had a vague impression of this name. She seemed to have heard Qiu Yuebai and Shen Liude mention it in their casual conversation. He was Xie Zhi's eldest son, the famous young master of the Xie family.
So Yue Yining said, "The eldest son of the Xie family is renowned far and wide, and I have naturally heard of him. It is said that the eldest son is exceptionally talented, gentle and elegant, and has the demeanor of a gentleman. It is evident that Lord Xie has raised his son well, which I greatly admire."
Xie Zhi seemed to be deep in thought, then lowered the glint in his eyes and smiled, "Master Yue is too kind. My son is just an ordinary person, and this occasional praise is nothing to mention."
After the divination was completed, Yue Yining and Xie Zhi exchanged pleasantries for a while. Xie Zhi then leisurely stroked his beard and said, "It's getting late. This old minister will have someone escort Master Yue back to his residence."
Yue Yining stood up with him and watched him go back to the shelf, take out a mahogany lacquer box, and hand it to her. It felt heavy in her hand.
Xie Zhi raised an eyebrow and said, "This box of gold and silver is a token of my appreciation. I hope the Celestial Master will accept it. The rest of the gifts will be sent to the Princess's residence soon."
Yue Yining replied with a forced smile, "It was just a small favor, Lord Xie need not worry about it."
The two walked out the door with smiles on their faces. Yue Yining said goodbye to Xie Zhi, and two rows of maids immediately stepped forward and surrounded her, just like when she came, half pushing and half leading her to the main entrance.
Speaking of treatment alone, it was indeed better than at the Prince's mansion. At least Xie Zhi didn't make her wait for ages like Wang Zhichang did. Yue Yining thought aimlessly as she walked out to the gate of the mansion. Suddenly, the maid at the front was stopped by a silver-clad guard who flashed out.
Yue Yining was forced to stop, somewhat confused. After some negotiation, the maid took the brocade box from the silver-clad guard and respectfully approached her. "Lord Yue, this is a thank-you gift sent by Lord Xie. He said he forgot to include it earlier."
Yue Yining was taken aback. "Really?" But Xie Zhi had clearly already given her a box of gold and silver. She had glanced at it at the time, and there were no other boxes on the shelf.
Yue Yining felt something was amiss, but without suspicion, she still reached out and took the box. The brocade box was only the size of a palm, much lighter than the box of gold and silver Xie Zhi had given her. Yue Yining did not open it immediately to examine it, but waited until she left the mansion and got into the carriage before placing the brocade box on her lap and turning the gold knob on the side of the box.
As the lid was lifted, a wonderful aroma of tea wafted out.
Yue Yining was stunned.
Inside the brocade box were two sealed bags of tea, the openings of which were tied tightly, but even so, the fresh and fragrant aroma of tea could not be contained.
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