Chapter 44 Chapter 44 "You've kept me waiting for a while."
Xue Yuanyin spent the entire first half of October doing the trivial chores for His Royal Highness Prince Yu, visiting the sons of court officials.
During this period, the most talked-about thing in the capital was the marriage proposal of the eldest grandson of the Zhang family.
All the noble families in the capital were paying attention to this major event. Although they didn't know what kind of daughter-in-law the Zhang family wanted for the eldest son, it didn't stop them from asking the Zhang family for some information for their daughters.
Therefore, this matter has become a hot topic of discussion in the capital.
But these have nothing to do with Xue Yuanyin.
It was ten days later before she had time to relax.
In October, winter clothes are sent to the emperor. Many aristocratic families like to visit graves and worship their ancestors in this month. The temples on the hills outside the city are very popular during this period, with pilgrims coming in an endless stream.
Xue Yuanyin was invited by Gao Songlin and Mrs. Gao to go to Nantang Temple to burn incense, and she put on a cloak before going out.
The weather in the capital suddenly turned cold. It was late autumn and early winter. The tung leaves turned yellow and the frost and dew were heavy. It seemed as if the weather had become more depressing overnight.
Xue Yuanyin got off the carriage and went up the mountain with Mrs. Gao and entered the temple.
Madam Gao was going to burn incense on the other side, which was not on her way, so when they agreed to leave together, Xue Yuanyin entered the hall alone.
The current emperor advocates Buddhism, and the people below also worship Buddhism. There are many Buddhist temples in the Great Zhou Dynasty.
In the main hall of Nantang Temple, the golden Buddha statue looks gorgeous and majestic. It sits high above, smiling at the pilgrims below, as if sincere bowing and earnest repentance will bring them the blessing of Buddha's light and help them overcome their suffering.
After offering incense, Xue Yuanyin walked out of the main hall. Seeing that it was still early, he walked towards the steps outside the temple, intending to stroll around Nantang Temple.
Nantang Temple is built on a hillside and is famous in Beijing for its unique scenery. Many seasonal trees are planted in the temple, including camphor, red maple, green pine, etc.
Even though the ground was covered with dead leaves, one could still see the fiery red maple forest stretching on the hillside ahead, as well as the evergreen pines and cypresses interspersed on the paths between the temples. These contrasted beautifully with the dead branches and yellow leaves, creating a breathtakingly beautiful scene.
Xue Yuanyin walked into the courtyard next to the main hall. He glanced up casually and saw two figures hidden between the green pine trees and the thorn bushes. His steps suddenly stopped.
One of the figures looked most familiar to her because she had unbuttoned the collar of the raven blue brocade robe with lotus patterns a while ago.
Unexpectedly, he ran into Zhang Jingxuan here. Xue Yuanyin looked across at him.
The woman had her back to her and her face could not be seen clearly from a distance, but she could vaguely see that she was wearing a jacket and skirt with yellow diamond-shaped satin, and a set of lotus head ornaments on her head. She looked about fifteen or sixteen years old, and she looked particularly pretty and beautiful just from her back.
I don’t know what Zhang Jingxuan said, but the little girl’s earlobes turned pink, as if she was shy.
There were two carriages parked in the palace courtyard farther away. The emblems could not be seen clearly, but the outer walls of the carriages were made of low-key and luxurious sandalwood, which clearly showed that they were from a prestigious and noble family.
Xue Yuanyin recalled the heated discussion in the capital about the Zhang family arranging a marriage for Zhang Jingxuan, and immediately guessed that she had stumbled upon a private meeting between the two families.
Usually in this situation, others who happen to pass by will tacitly avoid him and will not deliberately disturb him without any consideration.
Xue Yuanyin looked at the only way to the meeting point where she had agreed to meet Mrs. Gao, and stood there for a few seconds.
If it were in the past, she would definitely take a peek out of curiosity to find out which girl Zhang Jingxuan was looking at and what she looked like so that she could tease him later.
But he and she were in an awkward position now, and if she went over there rashly, it would only cause disturbance and affect other people's good things.
Xue Yuanyin lowered his eyes expressionlessly and prepared to leave. However, just as the two people in front of him finished talking, the girl turned around and walked out, staring at Xue Yuanyin.
Xue Yuanyin saw her face clearly this time. She was a very cute girl with nail polish on her fingertips. It was obvious that she was raised in a pampered family.
She probably felt that Xue Yuanyin looked familiar, but didn't recognize her, so she looked at her a few more times before leaving.
After being interrupted by her, Xue Yuanyin could no longer escape silently. Zhang Jingxuan followed her out and noticed her presence.
For a moment, the atmosphere became a little awkward.
Xue Yuanyin didn't know what to say and looked away first.
The girl walked to the gate of the courtyard, looked back shyly, bit her lip, and left with her head down.
Xue Yuanyin and Zhang Jingxuan were the only ones left here, so she didn't say anything.
Zhang Jingxuan's light-colored eyes passed over the grass and trees in the courtyard and fell directly on her.
Xue Yuanyin didn't know what his eyes meant. Did he think she shouldn't peek? Or did he think she was ruining his plan?
She felt that she should be more decent and appear calm, otherwise she would lose her momentum.
Then, she nodded gently: "What a coincidence, I am here to burn incense as well. Madam Gao is still waiting for me, so I won't reminisce with you."
Seeing Zhang Jingxuan's slight silence, Xue Yuanyin secretly let out a sigh of relief and felt satisfied with her performance and answer.
This revealed that she was not following, but had already planned to burn incense, so she happened to see it.
She also expressed that she had no intention of disturbing the two of them and just wanted to pass by.
Xue Yuanyin walked past him at a moderate pace and smiled friendly.
Zhang Jingxuan dodged to the side, but did not look at her. Instead, he looked up at the entrance of the courtyard and looked at Zhang Zimo who was coming towards them.
He silently glanced at Zhang Zimo.
Zhang Zimo wanted to ask his cousin to leave, but when he received his cousin's signal, he was stunned for a moment, then stood at the gate of the courtyard with understanding.
Xue Yuanyin noticed Zhang Jingxuan looking up, and also saw Zhang Zimo. She lowered her head and calmly brushed the hair beside her ear.
He was probably going to talk to Zhang Zimo.
She laughed at herself a little. She and him had a shameful relationship in private, but in public, they didn't even have anything to say to each other.
As Xue Yuanyin passed by, she suddenly heard a faint voice from her side:
"It wasn't a planned private meeting; we just happened to meet while burning incense at the temple. My mother was friends with the lady of that family, and she was so welcoming that my mother couldn't refuse, so I had to come over to deal with it."
Xue Yuanyin looked up in surprise and saw that Zhang Jingxuan was still staring at the courtyard, not looking at her.
But his voice was so low, he could only be explaining to her.
Xue Yuanyin felt her heartbeat suddenly speed up for a few seconds.
To be honest, she hadn't originally intended to ask him this question. He had reached adulthood, and she was almost seventeen. It was normal for men and women to get married.
The only thing that bothered her was that since he was getting engaged, should she end this ambiguous relationship with him so as not to disappoint the girl who was engaged to Zhang Jingxuan?
But he would take the initiative to explain, which was beyond her expectations.
Xue Yuanyin didn't know what to say. She stopped where she was and a faint shadow covered her face.
She thought, he shouldn't explain. He couldn't do anything, he shouldn't expose this relationship.
"Zhang Jingxuan, why are you explaining all this to me?"
She curled her lips slightly, "Childhood sweethearts, siblings, or rivals need to know this?"
Zhang Jingxuan looked at her, this time his sight fell clearly on her, his eyes darkened a little, and he said:
"Do you think there is no other relationship between us besides this?"
Xue Yuanyin felt inexplicably annoyed and said, "What are you referring to? Are you referring to those unclear things..."
Zhang Jingxuan suddenly stopped what she was going to say and turned back to look at Zhang Zimo's gesture. He had a bit of anxiety in his eyes and was mouthing:
"Cousin, my aunt will be here soon."
Zhang Zimo's great aunt is Zhang Jingxuan's mother, the current eldest lady of the Zhang family.
Zhang Jingxuan nodded at him to show that he understood.
Xue Yuanyin lost the desire to speak after being interrupted. She glanced at him, nodded her head to say goodbye, and turned and left without waiting for him to speak.
Zhang Jingxuan looked at her back for a few moments before looking away and walking towards the main hall with Zhang Zimo.
Zhang Zimo walked beside him, looking as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.
Zhang Jingxuan noticed his expression, but had no intention of explaining. Instead, he thought of something else and said calmly:
"Did you reveal the thing I told you when you left Qingxi Town?"
A trace of guilt appeared in Zhang Zimo's eyes, and he said:
"Cousin, I didn't reveal it willingly. It was my grandfather who noticed something and warned me to tell the truth."
Zhang Jingxuan's expression was somewhat dull. "You need to explain this to me. I'm not in the capital, so how could Grandfather have noticed anything?"
Zhang Zimo said helplessly, "Cousin, we just don't think there's anything wrong. Since you've delivered the letter, it can't be flawless. Not actively revealing her information is a form of partiality. This bit of partiality is impossible to conceal between the lines. Truth will always be suspected."
This was indeed an angle he had not considered. Zhang Jingxuan was silent for a moment and said:
"I see."
Zhang Jingxuan did not speak again. Instead, Zhang Zimo said with some emotion:
"Xue Ling is also a very intelligent woman, with some of her brother's influence. Thanks to her outstanding abilities, she is able to support the Xue family."
Zhang Jingxuan lowered his eyes, but suddenly remembered the scene when he first met her.
A short little girl looked up at him curiously and called out "Brother" in a crisp voice. She had a spoiled little temper and loved to laugh. She was a pampered young lady, and I had never seen her worry about anything.
Then I thought of her back as she wandered alone in Nantang Temple today. I can’t say she looked pitiful, but I always felt a bit lonely.
Zhang Zimo went to meet up with Madam Zhang, but Zhang Jingxuan walked slowly and fell behind. He glanced sideways, but Xue Yuanyin was gone.
Zhang Jingxuan took a long time to look away, not knowing whether he was answering Zhang Zimo or talking to himself, he said slowly:
"I personally prefer her to be mediocre."
-
After returning from Nantang Temple, Xue Yuanyin had been in a bad mood. When she saw His Royal Highness Prince Yu send in another letter asking her to visit the legitimate son of the Minister of Revenue, her mood became even worse.
She crumpled up the paper ball and burned it, then told Uncle Wei to prepare a gift.
Before leaving, Xue Chang called her to the front yard again, mentioned the guest official matter, handed her a stack of portraits, and said:
"You've returned from Quanyang County. You can start preparing for your guest position. Take a look at these portraits first."
Xue Yuanyin took it and took a look. They were all young men with similar styles, fair-skinned, reserved, weak, and looking very weak. She had not been so averse to this before, but after seeing Zhang Jingxuan's figure, she no longer liked these portraits.
As a fellow scholar, Zhang Jingxuan had perfectly thin muscles and great power in his palms, which even she could not easily shake. He was unlike these young men who looked weak and fragile like delicate flowers and could not withstand any tossing.
Xue Yuanyin was not interested at all. She glanced at a few pictures and then returned the scroll. Before Xue Chang could give her a cold shoulder, she argued:
"Father, I am now busy with the tasks assigned by His Royal Highness Prince Yu. I am too busy to indulge in matters in the bedroom. Besides, the Winter Sacrifice Ceremony is about to begin. How can I be distracted by other things? I believe you can tell which is more important between the two. Why not ask Nanny Knows Things to be responsible for my daughter's enlightenment so as not to waste your energy? What do you think, father?" She made her point in a way that was irrefutable. Xue Chang did not like others to disobey him, but as she said, all the trivial matters at the moment were not as important as His Royal Highness Prince Yu's fight for the throne.
Therefore, he was only slightly angry, but after considering it for a moment, he said in a deep voice: "You are right. Let's put this matter aside for now and discuss it after the winter sacrifice is over."
Xue Yuanyin breathed a sigh of relief and responded, "Yes."
After the winter sacrifice, it will be clear whether she succeeds in taking the throne. She may not be able to protect herself, and I believe her father will not have the energy to deal with this matter by then.
…
Half an hour later, Uncle Wei prepared the generous gift, and Xue Yuanyin took the gift box and left.
This time she did not walk there, but took a carriage - the gift prepared for the Minister of Revenue was too generous for her to carry on foot.
Because of the location of the alley, the nearest route to the Minister of Revenue's home also passed through Chungui Alley. Xue Yuanyin wanted to ask the driver to take a detour, but she thought that would make her look guilty. So she simply ignored it and continued along the same route.
She had no hope of winning him over this time because the Ministry of Revenue had never been close to His Royal Highness the Prince of Yu.
The simplest reason was that Prince Yu loved to fight wars, which was too costly, while His Royal Highness the Crown Prince spent years in the Eastern Palace researching how to enrich the treasury and diligently raising money for the Ministry of Revenue. Consequently, the Ministry of Revenue had always been close to the Eastern Palace.
When they reached Chungui Alley, by coincidence or some other means, there was a pothole on the road and the carriage veered into it. Xue Yuanyin and the driver got out to see what was happening, and then, as if sensing something, someone hit her back with a stone.
She tilted her head and didn't see anyone behind her.
Xue Yuanyin frowned, thinking that it couldn't be such a coincidence. Zhang Jingxuan and she came back from Nantang Temple one after the other, so it could only be someone else.
She said to the driver, "Uncle Zhang, please fix the carriage first. I'll be back soon."
After saying that, she went around to the other side of the yard wall to check the situation. After taking a few steps, her arm was suddenly grabbed by someone. She staggered and almost fell into the person's arms.
She was startled and looked up to see Zhang Jingxuan hiding in the corner, revealing a half-bright and half-dark handsome face.
He cornered her, leaned over her ear, and whispered softly:
"Qiaoqiao came back from the temple first, but how come she's slower than me? I kept waiting for you for a while."
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