Chapter 5 Chapter 5 "The Guest of Honor"
It was raining heavily outside, and the sound of rain was so loud that it was annoying.
Inside the library, it was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.
Zhang Jingxuan's face was tense and his expression was cold. He stared at her for a long time without saying a word.
Xue Yuanyin didn't want to argue with him, so she suppressed her anger and cleaned up the rainwater. Zhang Jingxuan had no intention of easing the atmosphere and was doing his own thing on the side.
The atmosphere was as stiff as if it was frozen.
During the conversation, Zhang Jingxuan suggested that he would take charge of both the Central and Western Pavilions, but Xue Yuanyin naturally disagreed. She was a dignified person who would divide the property equally, neither taking advantage nor being at a disadvantage.
After the areas were divided, the two sides had nothing to say and parted unhappily.
By the time Xue Yuanyin arrived at the Imperial College gate, she was soaking wet. The Xue family carriage had been waiting for her for a long time. Fuzhu quickly took a towel to wipe her face and body. Xue Yuanyin waved her hand, put a thin mat under her wet clothes and sat down. "Don't bother. I'm soaked anyway. I'll go home and take a shower and change clothes."
Fuzhu naturally didn't listen and wiped it anyway, saying distressedly, "Miss, why are you so wet? Don't you know to take shelter from the rain and wait for me to bring you a raincoat?"
Xue Yuanyin was furious when she heard this: "It's all Zhang Jingxuan's fault." Whenever things went wrong, it was always right to blame him. She didn't want to say anything more.
On the way, Xue Yuanyin couldn't help but think about the quarrel just now. She felt that she didn't win the argument. At the end, Zhang Jingxuan looked at her as if he was looking at an unreasonable little sister. She felt angry when she thought about it.
What was that condescending look? He was only three years older than her, so why was he trying to show off his authority with his eyes?
After returning to Xue's residence, Xue Yuanyin took a lot of effort to bathe and wash off the dust on her body. The more she bathed, the more suffocated she felt. She changed her clothes and locked herself in the room, then took out a cotton doll from under the bed.
She took a pen from the desk next to her and wrote "seal" on the doll's white clothes. She looked at it for a moment, nodded with satisfaction, put down the pen, and took the embroidery needle on the table. She secretly and viciously stabbed the doll's body. Seeing the doll's clothes were torn to shreds, the depression in her heart was finally relieved.
Xue Yuanyin was not afraid of being a vicious woman in front of Zhang Jingxuan. She would rather vent her anger viciously than die of anger in a cowardly way.
After she felt relieved, Xue Yuanyin took out the embroidery needles one by one and put them back into the box, stripped off the doll's clothes, shredded them and threw them away, and then threw the cotton doll back under the bed.
The doll with Zhang Qu's name on it is only fit to stay here.
Xue Yuanyin pushed open the doors and windows, and saw the lush greenery, which made her feel relaxed all over.
The spring rain had stopped. She looked out the window. It was almost summer now. The days were long and the nights were dark. The sky was just beginning to be dyed with sunset glow, but it was still bright.
At this time, Steward Wei came outside the courtyard, bowed slightly to her, and said, "I wonder if the young lady has rested well? The Marquis wants the young lady to go to the front yard."
"Uncle Wei, I understand. Let's go."
Xue Yuanyin followed Manager Wei to the front yard and saw a man sitting there with a big horse and a golden sword. He had thick eyebrows, a broad face, a curly beard and a chin. He looked fierce and intimidating without even being angry.
That was her father, Marquis Qing'an, head of the Xue Mansion, Xue Chang.
Xue Yuanyin stood straight and said, "Father."
"Well, it's raining today. I'll have the doctor prescribe some cold-relieving medicine for you. Don't let a cold keep you from doing your work." He was more of a formality than a concern. He continued, "You're sixteen now. Other heirs of noble families might arrange for a concubine or a knowledgeable maid. What do you think?"
Xue Yuanyin hummed, listened absentmindedly, and thought of a past event.
Years ago, the Zhang family had a romantic affair: a young maid in the outer courtyard did not know the rules, so she disguised herself as a servant and entered the courtyard of the eldest son of the Zhang family, Zhang Jingxuan, under the pretext of delivering books. She was so bold as to try to seduce him, and was immediately beaten out with sticks by the guards in the courtyard. She was then promptly sold to a human trafficker, and the guards warned the maids in the mansion that anyone who dared to set their sights on the eldest son of the Zhang family would be sold out.
Later, the maid died silently at the hands of a human trafficker. Rumors spread that it was the Zhang family's old master who personally ordered the killing. Such a harsh end shocked everyone.
It was at that time that the people of the capital city realized that the reason why the noble families headed by the Zhang family had been able to prosper for a long time was because they had abandoned old customs and adopted more upright and strict rules under the feet of the emperor:
They did not take concubines, nor did they have maids who knew everything. The only person who taught boys and girls basic knowledge was an old teacher. Some would even use prostitutes or geishas to test the younger generations of the family.
Those who are mentally unstable, who think of lust after eating, and who forget the clan rules will be punished with twenty lashes at the least and have their inheritance rights revoked at the worst.
Only by inheriting this family tradition can we cultivate outstanding gentlemen and educate excellent successors.
But the Xue family is not among them.
They are not a noble family. Their foothold in the court depends on their merits, disciples and in-laws. Generally, the men in the family are arranged to understand human affairs at the age of sixteen.
As a daughter who inherited the family business, she is only sixteen years old and should be able to understand things.
Xue Chang waited a long time for her to reply, and frowned slightly: "You don't want to? Then tell me, what kind of man do you want to be your lover and serve you closely?"
Xue Yuanyin finally came back to her senses. What kind of man? The most handsome man she had ever seen was Zhang Jingxuan. If she could have Zhang Jingxuan personally wipe her feet and pour her tea, and let her do whatever she wanted, she would definitely be delighted.
But this was just a thought. She lowered her eyes and said, "My daughter will listen to my father's arrangements."
Xue Chang nodded slightly, satisfied with her response. "I've ordered people to find some young men with outstanding looks and great talent. They all come from poor families, but they haven't been brought to your house yet. Take a look at their portraits. Do you find any that you like?"
A nanny came forward and handed her a stack of portraits, asking her to look at them. Xue Yuanyin then realized that this nanny looked unfamiliar, probably someone her father had sent to "enlighten" her.
Xue Yuanyin took the portrait, but didn't take it too seriously until she flipped through them one by one and found that each of the young men had his own unique qualities. Each body wrapped in a robe had smooth skin and looked very good. Only then did she realize that her father was serious!
Wait...are these all...!
Xue Yuanyin looked up in surprise. Xue Chang, seeing her like this, thought she was going to rebel against him, and his face showed suspicion, dissatisfied with her unstable appearance.
Xue Yuanyin felt wronged.
Oh my God! It wasn't that she was being hypocritical and unwilling, but she was really exhausted from dealing with Zhang Jingxuan recently and really didn't have the energy for this kind of thing.
She returned the portrait to the nanny and, before her father could get angry, said, "Father, I'm only sixteen years old. I'm already busy with my studies and have no time to worry about...being a guest official, so I don't have any urgent plans. We can discuss it slowly later...no, slowly select."
It is really difficult to say the phrase "guest in the curtain", so it is better to call it a guest official, which sounds better.
Xue Chang saw her serious expression and his frown slowly relaxed. After a moment of thought, he said in a deep voice, "If you are a guest official, you should choose something better. I will ask the staff in the palace to discuss this with you someday."
Seeing that he was no longer angry, Xue Yuanyin breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Yes."
After saying goodbye to her father, Xue Yuanyin walked to the door and heard her father calling her again. He said without hesitation, "That man has returned to the Imperial College. You continue to keep an eye on him."
That person was naturally Zhang Jingxuan. Xue Yuanyin pretended not to hear and walked away quickly.
-
Because he was caught in the rain, Xue Yuanyin was worried about catching a cold, so he brought some pills prepared by the doctor to school the next day.
He was too tired from moving books yesterday, and he had a lot of messy dreams at night and didn't sleep well. Xue Yuanyin was a little listless during the morning recitation. He didn't even want to listen to Su Mian and Guan Bai's apologies, and just waved his hand to dismiss them.
Gao Songlin, as a close friend, came to express his condolences as soon as the class was over in the morning. Xue Yuanyin remembered that the family tradition of the Gao family was similar to that of the Xue family, so he whispered the matter of the guest official in a tactful way and asked for his opinion.
"What??? Uncle Xue wants to find you a lover? What kind of heaven-sent fortune is this? Why can't I have it?! My father insisted that I wait until I was eighteen before arranging a maid who knows how to do things!"
Xue Yuanyin regretted it as soon as she finished speaking. Gao Songlin's loud voice made her want to slap him in the mouth. He continued to speak excitedly:
"My dad said that all the noble families in the capital are like this now. I've never even held a girl's hand in my life! Oh, of course you don't count."
Xue Yuanyin wanted to roll her eyes, but she held back: "Arm wrestling is nothing compared to hand-holding. Don't smear my innocence."
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Gao Songlin said ashamedly, "I'm used to it. I forgot you're a girl."
As soon as they finished speaking, everyone gathered around, and thanks to Gao Songlin's shout, everyone heard everything they had just said. But since it wasn't something that couldn't be said, Xue Yuanyin didn't care.
Everyone had an inexplicable unanimous attitude towards this damn rule that had arisen out of nowhere. Regardless of their party or faction, they were all heartbroken at this moment. Even those who were close to Zhang Jingxuan gathered around and looked at Xue Yuanyin with envy.
"Xue Ling, although your father is strict, he never hesitates in his actions. I really envy him."
"That's a good thing, why are you hesitating? Xue Ling, what do you think?"
"Yeah, how come a girl like you can find a lover, but I can't even take a roommate!"
"Don't ask, the question is who took the lead."
After saying that, everyone paused and looked at "that person" - Zhang Jingxuan, who was usually either stopped by this teacher or pulled away by that teacher, was sitting upright in the classroom at this time, holding his forehead, closing his eyes for a nap, and ignoring their discussion.
Xue Yuanyin knew him better than anyone else. She always felt that his complexion was not very good, his lips were abnormally red, and he looked listless.
She suddenly thought of the rain yesterday.
No way! Could it be that he caught a cold just from getting caught in the rain?
Gao Songlin noticed Xue Yuanyin's gaze, and for some reason, he blurted out, "If you really want to find a lover to serve you, you might as well look for someone like Zhang Jingxuan. It would definitely be a humiliation for him, but he can use it to relieve your hatred and serve you happily."
He thought he spoke quietly, but in fact, everyone was not far away and heard what he said. They all looked at him in horror.
Xue Yuanyin widened her eyes in surprise, unable to believe what she heard.
Zhang Jingxuan, who had been unresponsive, finally looked over here, his gaze fixed on Xue Yuanyin for a moment. His face was paler than before, and he didn't smile much, his expression even more dull than usual.
He moved his lips and wanted to say something, but the words came out of his mouth with a few coughs. He tilted his head to cover his lips, his voice a little hoarse, and coughed several times before raising his head.
Xue Yuanyin looked at him with a frown on her face.
How could this be possible! If he were to take leave and return home due to a cold, who would be responsible for the punishment in the library?
Leave it all to her alone? He'll use this opportunity to escape punishment? Absolutely impossible! No way!!!
Seeing Zhang Jingxuan about to get up and walk out, Xue Yuanyin was worried that he would go to the principal to ask for leave, so she quickly walked over to block him and said in a crisp voice:
"Zhang Jingxuan, stop!"
Zhang Jingxuan stopped and looked at her. His clear eyes made his pale face look a bit gloomy, as if he was asking her what she thought.
I don’t know if it’s because he heard me talking about finding a partner based on his appearance, but his eyes seemed to be a little colder than before.
The atmosphere was somewhat tense.
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