Red Jade
In the new garden, bathed in the soft glow of the moon, the people in the front courtyard, their robes flowing in the wide sleeves, still held wine cups and chatted merrily. The farce of the day seemed never to have happened, vanished like smoke in the wind.
When Xie Lingxi rushed back to the banquet, she met Liu Xu's shifty gaze.
After they were seated, Xie Lingxi pressed down on Liu Xu's wrist, which was holding a wine cup. The two of them sat close together, their heads touching. Liu Xu lowered his eyes and heard his wife beside him say in a low voice, "What happened?"
"Just now, it seemed that there was some discord between Lord Cui and my father."
Xie Lingxi: "Because his elder brother hit his son."
"..."
Liu Xu had been chatting with his colleagues and was unaware of what had happened at the Hundred Flowers Garden during the day, so he asked, "How is Young Master Cui's injury?"
Xie Lingxi said, "His skin is torn and his flesh is ripped open; he is on the verge of death."
The bamboo shadows fell on Liu Xuru's jade-like face, with sparse moonlight filtering through. His voice was desolate: "Now that the two of us are sitting here, we must be annoying to others."
"It's hard to say," Xie Lingxi said, taking a sip of wine. "After all, I wasn't the one who injured Cui Jue."
"My brother beat him for three reasons: first, for the reputation of the Cui family; second, for the face of the Cui family; and third, to prevent the legitimate son and daughter of the Cui family from being humiliated. Uncle Cui... sigh..."
She shook her head. "That's too petty."
These were blasphemous words, but Liu Xu understood some of them. "Keep your voice down."
Xie Lingxi seemed a little drunk.
Since their wedding night, she had never drunk wine in front of Liu Xu again. At this moment, her face was flushed, and she leaned on Liu Xu's shoulder, breathing freely, like a lotus that was about to wither.
The moon shines brightly, and the waves are shrouded in mist.
After receiving a signal from Cui Wenying, Liu Xu bid farewell to the people around him and helped Xie Lingxi out.
As soon as they stepped out of the front courtyard, Xie Lingxi immediately pulled her head back from his shoulder, saying, "Alright."
The beautiful woman with her soft, warm skin suddenly left his side. Although Liu Xu was reluctant to part with her, he still got down to business. "Where is the red jade pendant you mentioned earlier?"
Xie Lingxi wanted Meng Jin to steal Cui Jue's red jade for a look.
During the fight, she only happened to glance at it a few times and thought it looked very familiar, but both Cui Yi and Cui Zhi's red jade pieces were engraved with wild geese, and were also decorated with splendid patterns on the back, which was completely different from Cui Jue's piece.
Liu Xu was puzzled: "Perhaps it's just a simple difference in taste? What's carved on the jade, whether they're the same or different, what secrets lie behind it all?"
“No,” Xie Lingxi sat down in the pavilion. “Ayi told me that this red jade was a tribute from a foreign country. It was given to the Cui family by the Emperor years ago, and the quality of the jade is quite rare.”
"Cui Jue was even more favored by Cui Wenying, and his jade was made entirely under Cui Wenying's supervision from start to finish..."
Recalling this, Xie Lingxi suddenly looked at Liu Xu, as if remembering something, and slapped her arm, "Tell me, why didn't I ask Qin Xiaofang?"
That's a good question. Xie Lingxi couldn't answer it either.
Her mind was in turmoil, a mountain of thoughts accumulating in her head, leading her to take such a clumsy and unnecessary approach. Seeing Liu Xu looking at her with a helpless expression, she pursed her lips and forced a smile.
As the two remained silent, someone approached from behind, calling urgently, "Wife! Husband!"
The visitor was none other than Mengjin.
He was dressed in all black, with the lower half of his face completely covered, leaving only his eyes visible, which gave him an inexplicably cold and stern look.
Xie Lingxi looked at Meng Jin's hands hanging by his side, but there was nothing there. Instead, she saw that Meng Jin's chest was bulging, as if he had stuffed a large object inside.
She was overjoyed and was about to speak when she saw the person in front of her suddenly pull out a dagger from his pocket, grab her, and stab her—
"Go to hell!"
In the swift motion of the wind and lightning, the gleaming blade sliced through the darkness, like a white ribbon, just a finger's width from Xie Lingxi's eyes. Liu Xu pulled Xie Lingxi close, shielding her behind him, and swiftly kicked the dagger out of Meng Jin's hand.
The metal hilt of the knife slammed heavily onto the ground with a dull thud. Xie Lingxi and Liu Xu, soaked by the night wind, looked disheveled. Liu Xu was clutching Xie Lingxi's sleeve, the flesh and bones inside the sleeve crumpled into a ball.
Suddenly, several bird calls rang out, drowning out the strange sound.
Liu Xu used all his strength in this kick, slamming Meng Jin to the ground. A crisp cracking sound came from his right wrist. "You—!"
This sudden turn of events caught everyone off guard. Xie Lingxi snapped out of her daze, took a deep breath, and stared coldly at him: "You are Meng Jin?"
Dew and cold sweat mingled beneath him. Meng Jin endured the pain and removed his mask. Knowing the assassination attempt had failed, he stared at her with bloodshot eyes, "Xiao Fang is dead."
"You killed him!"
"?"
How could this be?
When she left, Qin Xiaofang was perfectly fine, even whispering to her that she wanted to open a restaurant and live a good life someday. This vibrant girl, now suddenly dead, made Xie Lingxi's eyes narrow, her voice as cold as ice: "When did this happen?"
Meng Jin spat, "What are you pretending for! If you hadn't forced her to act in this play, ruining her reputation in front of everyone, why would she have suddenly committed suicide!"
With that utterance, the bitterness in his heart was like a dam bursting, swallowing and burying his once vibrant life—
"You people are high and mighty, how could you care about the lives of us insignificant weeds? I have lost all my relatives and friends in Mengjin, and my career has failed me. I can only work as a lowly craftsman in the Cui family... It's all thanks to you!"
"Now... now even Xiaofang has heartlessly abandoned me and left me! Tell me, don't you bastards who drink human blood and chew human flesh deserve to die? Huh?"
He gave me a good scolding!
Liu Xu couldn't help but stomp hard on his back, pressing him so hard he couldn't lift his head. Then, to make matters worse, he said a long speech, as if he were the reincarnation of the Poet Immortal. Meng Jin choked a few times, startling several birds roosting in the bamboo pavilion.
Seeing this, Xie Lingxi, fearing that someone would discover her, suddenly pulled out a handkerchief and stuffed it full into his mouth.
Meng Jin was now silenced, his face turning a deep purplish-red, his eyes glaring out like a demon, as if he wanted to tear Xie Lingxi's heart and liver out.
"Ugh, ugh—!"
He was about to curse again when he saw a pale face, backlit by the moonlight, looking down at him. "Xiao Fang is dead. How did she die? Did you kill her?"
"you--!"
Just now, this person was shouting about reputation and innocence, as if this thing were some kind of precious metal or jade, and that losing it would lead people to jump into a well or hang themselves.
Xie Lingxi was annoyed and felt even more resentful, so he said coldly, "She was fine when she left the Cui residence, but she's gone in less than half a day. As her elder brother, shouldn't you know the reason best?"
There was nothing in Meng Jin's clothes except for that dagger. Xie Lingxi was agitated with desire. Now that Qin Xiaofang was also dead, what exactly was carved on that jade tablet?
"no."
Xie Lingxi looked at Liu Xu's face, which was divided into light and shadow under the swaying bamboo shadows, and said, "Since things have come to this, I will go there myself."
The phrase "go on a trip" here is quite tactful. Liu Xu had been married to her for a year, so how could he not understand her meaning?
Although the Cui family's defenses were lax tonight, Meng Jue had at least practiced martial arts for a few years. If he were to accidentally injure Xie Lingxi, or if the matter were to be exposed, the consequences would be dire. He was really worried, so he knocked Meng Jin unconscious and pressed down on Xie Lingxi's hand, saying, "Lingxi, calm down."
The young man's hands were large and warm, bathed in the gentle autumn sunlight. At that moment, the cold, white moon hung overhead, and a beam of light suddenly flashed before their eyes.
Xie Lingxi vaguely glimpsed something in the flying light and started walking away, saying, "I can't calm down."
Liu Xu wanted to persuade him further: "Stealing jade is no child's play."
Whether it's child's play or not, you'll only know after you do it.
Xie Lingxi clenched her sleeve, pinching her fingertips until they left several red marks, then brushed his hand away. "Don't try to persuade me. If we take everything too long to plan, when will we ever get around to it?"
After saying that, she realized she had spoken too harshly and said in a curt tone, "I'm sorry."
Then he said, "Come with me."
...
The two of them climbed over the low fence in the backyard.
It was late at night. Cui Jue had been beaten up by Xie Heng today, leaving him covered in bruises and bruises, and he had also lost face.
However, given his arrogant nature, he didn't care much and even took pride in it. While applying the medicine, he said to the servant with a smug look, "I knew Xie Heng was a gentleman in public, but who knows what kind of monster he is in private. He beat me so badly... Hey! Go easy on me!"
The servant naturally chimed in with a few words.
Cui Jue added, "But those brother and sister are just standing around in the mansion, which is quite unpleasant."
At this point, he lay on the bed, carefully changed his position, and picked up the bronze mirror to see his bruised and swollen face. He was seething with anger. "I should have told Mother to sell them to the slave traders back then! They really think they're some kind of precious princess, hiding behind Xie Lingjun all day long, thinking I'm afraid of them!"
Xie Lingxi tiptoed closer to the window and heard this sentence.
"He certainly has guts."
Like a newborn calf unafraid of a tiger, Cui Jue didn't think he had done anything wrong at the moment, and was about to curse, "Pah! Pah! Pah! It's late at night, and you're still saying disgusting things."
A few figures could be vaguely seen outside the glazed tiles, among which a gentle and refined voice rang out, "Young master, rest assured, as long as Lord Cui is on your side, what does it matter how capable you are, Second Young Master?"
“Sir, you are right.”
Cui Jue paused for a moment, as if recalling something, and said with satisfaction, "Father is naturally my best accomplice."
"clang!"
Xie Lingxi pressed her ear close to the window frame, wanting to find out more information, but unexpectedly, Cui Jue's glass was so fragile that it trembled and cracked open, and the broken glass fell into the corridor, making a crisp sound.
The person inside exclaimed alertly, "Someone's here?!"
"Meow--"
Xie Lingxi had no choice but to squint and pretend to meow like a cat, then raised her hand to gesture as a dark shadow flashed past the window.
Cui Jue also looked out the window.
Seeing the cat dart past, and then arrogantly smash a pot of flowers, he turned and fiddled with the pearls and agates hanging from the red curtain, saying, "Sir, why are you making such a fuss? You are just too serious, always paying attention to everything, which is quite boring."
"Yes, my lord is right."
Seeing that he was about to say something, Cui Jue said meaningfully, "It's just a kitten, what trouble can it cause?"
"This trivial matter is nothing to worry about, but Cui Zhi found a reason to punch me. I'm not happy about it. Once I'm healed, I'll definitely invite you to have a drink with me to vent my anger!"
The man bowed and said, "Then I'll be waiting for you anytime."
"Hahahaha..." Cui Jue laughed heartily, but the next moment, he pulled at the wound on his face, wincing in pain. He smashed the bronze mirror hard against the floor tiles, shattering it into pieces. "Xie Heng, Xie Heng... you really are something else!"
The next sentence sent a chill down Xie Lingxi's spine—
"Aren't you skilled in martial arts? Don't you love to stand up for others? In a few months, I'll send you to the northern border to fight those barbarian slaves to your heart's content—where will your head be thrown after that?"
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