Chapter 34 Chapter 34 "Don't be shy."
The next day, Xue Yuanyin waited for Zhang Jingxuan to have breakfast together.
He got up as usual, looking normal, as if after a night's sleep, the events of the previous day were all over and would not affect him at all.
No one spoke during the meal, and it was silent from beginning to end.
Xue Yuanyin put away the dishes and turned to collect her clothes from the drying line.
The small dress has been dried. It is a beautiful pomegranate red color with a floral pattern in the middle. It looks very beautiful in the autumn sun.
Granny Chen went to wash the dishes and saw her gathering the clothes. She said, "Madam, please don't bother! Leave them there first. I'll do it!"
Xue Yuanyin smiled at her and said, "It's okay, I'll take care of it."
She put her pomegranate-red bellyband into place, and when she returned to the house, she happened to pass by Zhang Jingxuan. She paused, walked past him with a calm expression, and returned to the house clutching her small clothes.
Zhang Jingxuan lowered his eyes and smelled the faint aroma of soapberry wafting from above the rice bowl.
He put down his bowl and chopsticks, got up and went back to the house.
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As the saying goes, everything should be done in moderation.
Xue Yuanyin knew that Zhang Jingxuan would be cold to her for a long time. Sure enough, after breakfast, he went to work in the bookshop and calmly gave her the task of deciphering the map, without giving her any chance to get close.
Xue Yuanyin clutched the map, sitting at the table, lost in thought. Was he thinking she was too idle and planning to find something for her to do?
But we really can't push Zhang Jingxuan too hard, as he is definitely a person who won't respond to any pushback.
Xue Yuanyin regretfully stopped the messy thoughts in her mind and decided to endure them for a while until she found the next opportunity.
She looked intently at the map in her hand. It was the most important thing at the moment. She stole it from the county magistrate's study, but she didn't know where it pointed to. Could it be the location of the iron mine?
But it's unlikely. Anyone with a little effort can find out where the iron mine is. Such secrets are unlikely to be kept in a study, an ordinary place.
Xue Yuanyin suddenly thought of Luo Changfeng, who should know where the iron mine is.
When Zhang Jingxuan came back at noon, Xue Yuanyin stopped him before he left.
Zhang Jingxuan clutched the Danqing bundle in his hand and raised his eyes and said, "What's the matter? I need to go to the bookstore."
Xue Yuanyin looked at him with some admiration in her heart. Sometimes she admired his mentality. She was so ambiguous with him, but he could still remain so calm. She couldn't do that anyway.
She smiled and said, "Don't panic. I'm not planning anything. I just wanted to ask you where Luo Changfeng lives. Isn't he going to apply for a mining job? It's about time for him to apply. Let's go look for him. Maybe we can find out the location of the iron mine."
Zhang Jingxuan thought for a moment and said, "He's in the next town, not far from here. We can rent a cart and go back in an afternoon."
Xue Yuanyin said, "But I don't know the location."
"I'll draw a map for you." Zhang Jingxuan said, thought for a moment, and then said, "Never mind, I'll go with you. Wait for me for a moment."
He returned to the house, put down his bag, and took his money and belongings with him. He walked out of the house and said, "Let's go."
Xue Yuanyin was a little surprised and asked, "You're not hiding from me this time?"
Zhang Jingxuan glanced at her sideways and said calmly, "If it were any other woman, I wouldn't let her ride on the cart alone. Besides, what have I done that I feel guilty about that I need to hide from you?"
Xue Yuanyin drew out an "oh" and wanted to bring up the incident yesterday evening when his young master raised his head straight, but he finally held back.
But if she didn't provoke him, she would feel uncomfortable all over. After thinking for a moment, she said with a smile, "But I can dress as a man and travel, have you forgotten? What danger can there be for me?"
Zhang Jingxuan said coldly, "Xue Yuanyin, you'd better not be so ungrateful."
Xue Yuanyin curled her lips. Okay, the real culprit, she didn't deliberately provoke him again, and asked, "Then is it okay for you not to go to the bookstore?"
Zhang Jingxuan paused for a few seconds and said, "No problem."
The two of them made a special trip to look for Luo Changfeng. Just as they expected, he had just applied to be a miner a few days ago and had just learned the location of the mine from the manager. He happened to remember it clearly and gave them a rough description.
Xue Yuanyin carefully compared the location in his mind with that indicated by the map - it didn't match.
So the location pointed by the map in the county magistrate's study is not the iron mine, then what could it be?
After thanking Luo Changfeng and inviting him to dinner on the pretext of reminiscing about the past, Xue Yuanyin and Zhang Jingxuan went back.
It was already evening when they returned to Qingxi Town. After returning the cart, Xue Yuanyin asked Zhang Jingxuan as they walked home, "Where do you think the map points to?"
Zhang Jingxuan didn't answer immediately, but said thoughtfully, "Do you remember that we once met the Western Qiang people in the county town?"
Xue Yuanyin thought, "You mean that foreigner? The Western Qiang people?"
Zhang Jingxuan nodded and said in a slightly cold voice, "The place indicated by the map must be the place where ironware is illegally forged. It is also the stronghold of the Western Qiang people in Jingzhou, right next door in Chunyong County. We must sneak in and destroy it before we leave."
I just lack an opportunity to sneak in, and I have no idea at the moment.
Xue Yuanyin looked at him in shock, surprised that he figured it out so quickly, and also surprised by another thing:
"Since you guessed it, why did you come all the way with me? You're not such a good person."
Zhang Jingxuan frowned. Her words were too ambiguous. He hadn't come with her specifically for this trip; he had his own ideas that needed to be confirmed.
He opened his mouth to explain, but seeing her sly smile, he immediately stopped what he was about to say.
He nodded nonchalantly: "If you want to think so, then think so."
Xue Yuanyin: “…”
She paused for a few seconds, sighed, and quickly ran a few steps to catch up. She turned her head a little annoyed and a little innocently, looked closely at his expression, and said softly:
"Do you hate me that much?"
Zhang Jingxuan paused slightly and said, "No."
I was about to say something, but my words paused on my lips, and before I could finish, Xue Yuanyin took the initiative to change the subject. She pointed to the market ahead and asked curiously:
"What's that babbling noise in the market up ahead? Do you hear it?"
Zhang Jingxuan was silent for a second, then listened attentively and said, "It's the opera troupe singing."
"Yeah?"
Xue Yuanyin really enjoyed listening to opera troupes sing. After thinking about the price of ordering an opera, she gave up the idea and said angrily, "Forget it. I'll wait until I return to the capital and order an opera troupe to come to the mansion."
Zhang Jingxuan raised his eyebrows in surprise and asked, "Do you like listening to opera?"
Xue Yuanyin nodded: "Yeah, you don't know."
"I'm a little surprised." Zhang Jingxuan said slowly, "I never saw you have this hobby when you were a child."
Xue Yuanyin casually explained, "My brother died that year, and you stopped playing with me. I had no playmates, not even a concubine to talk to. The Xue Mansion was so empty all day long. The opera troupe was the most lively, and they could sing all day long. I always had to find something to do in my free time."
Until the whole mansion was filled with the sound of singing, and she slowly fell asleep listening to the fast or slow opera, she would not be too lonely during the long days when the sun rose in the east and set in the west.
Zhang Jingxuan was silent for a few seconds, then looked at her sideways, his Adam's apple moving, and he said softly, "I'm sorry."
Distancing himself from her was something he had to do, even if it wasn't his original intention. But now that he had done it, and even with no guarantee of what the future would hold, wouldn't a belated apology and explanation, with no guarantee of a future, now beggar her burden? It would seem ridiculous and unnecessary.
Xue Yuanyin looked at him in surprise: "Why are you apologizing? What does this have to do with you?"
At most, she could blame her brother for insisting on following Prince Yu to the battlefield; or blame her mother for leaving too early; or blame her father for not taking in more concubines who could at least have been there to talk to her.
No matter what, it cannot be blamed on Zhang Jingxuan, an outsider.
Zhang Jingxuan didn't know if he understood the implication of her words. His Adam's apple moved, and he finally lowered his eyes without saying anything more.
There was a turning ahead, and they would be almost home if they walked into the alley. Before turning in, Xue Yuanyin turned around and stopped Zhang Jingxuan in front of the corner, blocking his way.
She looked at him and said, "Zhang Jingxuan, do you feel guilty towards me?"
Zhang Jingxuan stepped back and said slowly, "I do feel a little guilty."
Xue Yuanyin's eyes curved slightly, and she said, "Aren't you going to make it up to me?"
Zhang Jingxuan said calmly, "What do you want me to make up for you?"
Xue Yuanyin thought about the scene yesterday evening and felt a little restless.
She just glanced down quickly at that time and caught a glimpse of the outline of his robe. Although he was thin, the size of the thing was astonishing, which frightened her a little. In panic, she did not dare to look closely and quickly looked away.
Now she feels a little regretful. If she had known that the opportunity was so rare, she would have taken a closer look, understood it clearly, and studied it thoroughly before she would stop!
When Xue Yuanyin thought about what she was going to say next, she felt a strong sense of shame all over her body. Her heartbeat began to speed up, and her cheeks, ears and even her neck became hot.
But the opportunity was rare, and she felt it was a shame not to speak out. If she did, there was a high probability that Zhang Jingxuan would give her the cold shoulder, but there was also a very small chance that she would die if she didn't succeed. Between the two options, she chose the latter without hesitation.
Xue Yuanyin had made up her mind, so she tiptoed closer to him, her hot breath caressing his face. She licked her lips and said with a smile, "If you let me touch your little master, I'll forgive you."
Perhaps her words once again exceeded Zhang Jingxuan's expectations. His eyes suddenly locked onto her, his pupils darkening and his careless expression disappearing, becoming inexplicably sharp and dangerous.
Zhang Jingxuan spoke slowly, "Xue Yuanyin, you've only recently let me know how courageous you are."
Xue Yuanyin smiled at him and said:
"If you don't dare to try, you will definitely get nothing. If you dare to try, you may be able to make a fortune."
Zhang Jingxuan rejected it outright: "You are just daydreaming."
After saying that, he walked around her and prepared to go to the yard. This attitude that left no room for negotiation made Xue Yuanyin very angry, but this was also within her expectations.
A chaste and heroic man is nothing more than this.
Xue Yuanyin nimbly moved to the other side and continued to block the road ahead. Her cheeks were clearly beginning to burn, but she still boldly teased him:
"You've already looked up at me, why are you being so pretentious! I didn't see it clearly last night, and you didn't let me touch it, so can you describe to me what the young master looks like? I haven't been in bed yet, and I haven't seen or touched him. I'm really curious."
She looked at him with an innocent face, as if she was a dead pig that was not afraid of boiling water.
Anyway, she had made up her mind and asked the question, what could he do to her!
Zhang Jingxuan took a detour from the other side, and Xue Yuanyin followed him. This happened several times, and she always blocked his way like a bandit occupying the mountain.
He simply stopped where he was, without saying a word, only staring at her with a pair of light brown eyes.
Xue Yuanyin became more and more excited when she saw him like this, and asked excitedly:
"If you're feeling up, little sir, feel it. How high is it? How wide? How firm is it?"
Zhang Jingxuan looked at her solemnly for a few seconds, then suddenly hooked his finger and said, "Come here."
Xue Yuanyin walked up to him and stood in front of him. He stretched out his hand to her. Xue Yuanyin thought he agreed to her outrageous request and handed it to him in surprise.
Who knew that Zhang Jingxuan would grab her wrist, and with a sudden force, he turned around and pressed her against the wall, and their positions changed instantly. He grabbed her wrist tightly, restrained her, and said coldly:
"How dare you challenge me so boldly? What do you think I can do to you?"
Xue Yuanyin blinked lightly and said pleadingly, "Are you angry already? It's all my fault for being rude. Please don't be angry."
Zhang Jingxuan was not moved by her brief show of weakness. He lowered his eyes to look at her, his face calm and composed, but his words were blunt and blunt, almost vulgar:
"If I return to you exactly what you said to me—what does your little sister look like? How does she feel to the touch? Does she spit? How much can she spit? Does she like to eat chicken necks and radishes? How big can she eat them—"
Xue Yuanyin listened calmly at first, but by the end she felt increasingly embarrassed, her cheeks burning as she couldn't help but interrupt him:
"Stop talking! How can you ask such rude questions? You are a humble young master from an aristocratic family!"
She simply couldn't believe that Zhang Jingxuan, with his reserved and cold handsome face, could ask such a straightforward question!
He, he, he, does he even know what he is talking about!
Zhang Jingxuan looked at her and said coldly:
"You can't stand it? It's all my fault for being rude. Don't be ashamed."
Xue Yuanyin glared at her and kept saying "you" for a long time but couldn't think of a suitable rebuttal. Her wrist was still tightly held by him and she couldn't break free at all.
It was rare for him to be so strong, which made her very uncomfortable and even a little ashamed, so she simply turned her head away.
Zhang Jingxuan took a glance and saw that the girl's earlobes were white and small, but now they were flushed all over, and her whole face was a little pink, like a ripe peach, attractive and cute.
He loosened his hand and looked at her rubbing her wrist angrily with a puffed-up face. He pulled the corner of his lip and sneered:
"I'm not the gentleman that outsiders think I am. I'm mean and arrogant. Didn't you already know that? Since you can't afford the price, then don't provoke me. Do you understand?"
The sun had already set and it was getting late. Zhang Jingxuan walked forward without caring whether she was following him or not.
Xue Yuanyin stared at his handsome and tall back and rubbed her hot face.
I didn't expect Zhang Jingxuan to behave like this in private. It's really shocking. Where did he learn this...
Thinking of his warning tone just now, she curled her lips.
Was he deliberately giving her the cold shoulder? Humph, we'll see. Between her and him, he was the prey.
Xue Yuanyin suddenly thought of something and laughed again.
She will definitely make Zhang Jingxuan lose his composure, she will.
She had a feeling that day wouldn't be far off. Didn't she see that even a gentleman from an aristocratic family like Zhang Jingxuan was starting to spew obscenities?
Xue Yuanyin hummed a tune and followed with brisk steps.
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The author has something to say: I translated it myself, I translated it myself [heart]
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