Chapter 33: Cousin makes things difficult, sits on the mountain and watches the tigers fight
The Xie family has not split up. The second master, Xie Mingshou, who is also Xie Yao's second uncle, is the illegitimate son of the old uncle.
In the court, Second Uncle Xie served as the seventh-rank official in the Ministry of War. In the Xie family, he always relied on his eldest brother Xie Ming'an and followed his orders. He was a man who could not be more low-key.
However, his eldest son, Xie Chengyu, was a sixth-rank captain in the Jingji Camp at a young age.
The Xie family has been engaged in literature for generations, and Xie Chengyu is the only one who served in the military.
Compared with the young officials' sons in the capital who spent their days fighting cocks and walking dogs, he could already be considered a pillar of talent, and even surpassed the legitimate son of the Earl of Wenchang by a large margin.
Therefore, upon learning that Xie Chengyu had returned home, the second branch of the Xie family, who had always been timid, suddenly became arrogant, as if they were feeling proud and wanted to show off in front of Xie Yao.
The second house repeatedly invited Xie Yao to meet Xie Chengyu, also wanting to use her identity to raise Xie Chengyu's reputation and status.
As long as Xie Yao went to the door to meet Xie Chengyu, and the news got out, others would only know that the eldest son of the Xie family was a man of both military and literary talents, and that he was so respectable that the future princess of King Jingbei would personally welcome him, thus enhancing Xie Chengyu's reputation.
Of course she wouldn't go.
Seeing that Xie Yao was really not going to be invited, the maid stamped her feet and left helplessly.
By lunchtime, Xie Chengyu had already entered the mansion. This time, his wife Han, whom he had just married two years ago, came in person.
"Sister Yao'er, we are all family. It's not easy for us to be reunited. Your eldest brother hasn't seen you for many years. I hope you will do me the honor of coming over for a reunion dinner."
Han had an ordinary appearance and spoke very humbly, with a hint of displeasure in her eyes.
She didn't want to come at first. Although Xie Yao was her husband's cousin and would be the Princess of Jingbei in the future, she couldn't ask Xie Yao for anything, so she had no intention of making friends with her or currying favor with her.
I don’t know what her husband was thinking, but he insisted that she come in person to invite him.
Xie Yao saw Han and stood up: "Since my cousin said so, I will go."
Soon, the two came to the dining room.
My cousin Xie Chengyu was born with a handsome appearance, wearing a gilded armor, sitting like a bell, and had a handsome look.
He did not go to his father, but sat next to his uncle Xie Mingan.
Seeing Xie Yao appear with a knife in hand, Xie Chengyu immediately frowned and shouted, "How can you be so dignified? This is a family dinner that we have finally had, how can you bring a weapon with you?"
Xie Chengyu and Xie Yan had not seen each other for nine years, and the first time they spoke, they spoke in a cold and reproachful tone.
Xie Zhi sat on his right, wearing a light pink skirt, looking pretty and delicate.
She tugged at Xie Chengyu's sleeve and tried to smooth things over: "Brother, don't blame my second sister. She just returned to Beijing, so it's understandable that she doesn't know the etiquette here."
"Just returned to Beijing? You don't know how to learn? You have no rules."
Sure enough, just like in her previous life, Xie Zhi had already complained to Xie Chengyu, saying that Xie Yao had occupied her house.
So Xie Chengyu came up and acted like her cousin and scolded her. She couldn't help but retort a few words, but Xie Zhi pleaded for her and pretended to have a deep sisterly relationship with her.
Afterwards, everyone in the capital knew that the concubine of the Xie family was gentle and generous. Even though she was bullied by her younger sister because her house was taken away, she still pleaded for her younger sister without letting bygones be bygones.
On the contrary, Xie Yao is not only rude, but also disrespectful to her brother, arrogant and intolerant.
Seeing Xie Yao remain silent, Xie Chengyu looked at Han. "I asked you to invite her to dinner, but you're so slow, making the whole family wait for her? She grew up in the countryside and doesn't know the rules. Don't you know how to teach her some sense of propriety?"
Han was stunned. Considering that the Xie family was all there, she lowered her head and said, "It's my fault. Don't be angry, my husband."
Xie Yao narrowed her eyes. "Since this is a family dinner, why is my cousin wearing armor?"
Dayan was founded on military power and was tolerant and respectful towards military men.
In the north, the general led 200,000 border troops to confront the enemy and guard the border; in the southwest, the 100,000 Jingbei cavalry under the former command of King Jingbei were drinking water in the desert and intimidating the Western Rong.
Outside the capital, there is a 50,000-strong camp stationed to protect the capital.
So on weekdays, Xie Chengyu wished that the title of Captain of the Jingji Camp would be written on his face, and he would wear the uniform and armor of the Jingji Camp wherever he went.
"How dare you talk back?" Xie Chengyu's face was stern. "I am a sixth-rank captain of the Jingji Camp. This is the Jingji Camp armor. What does it matter if I wear it?"
Xie Yao raised her eyebrows: "I am also a soldier of the Great Yan, so what if I carry a sword?"
Xie Chengyu blurted out: "Ridiculous! I am a man, and you are just a woman from the Strong Woman Battalion. How can you compare with me!"
Xie Yao looked at her second uncle, Xie Chengyu's father.
"Uncle, did you hear that? Your son looks down on the Healthy Women Camp."
Except for Xie Chengyu, all the Xie family members present showed a toothache expression when they heard this familiar sentence.
Second Uncle sneered, "Cheng Yu, Yao'er is your biological cousin. Let's have a peaceful meal as a family. Don't get angry."
Then he said to Xie Yao, "Yao'er, Cheng Yu didn't mean that."
"Oh, what do you mean? Uncle, tell me about it." Xie Yao showed an expression of "humbly asking for advice".
Second Uncle chuckled awkwardly: "Cheng Yu...he's worried about you. As a woman, what if you get hurt by your sword?"
Xie Chengyu, however, didn't care about his father, his face still full of anger: "Does she still consider herself a member of the Xie family? Does she still have the Xie family in her eyes? I'm afraid she has already considered herself the Princess of Jingbei, marrying up to the King of Jingbei, and even forgotten her ancestors' surnames!"
Seeing that he was gloomy and angry, Xie Yao looked at Han.
My cousin’s wife, Ms. Han, is the younger sister of Han Shilang, the Minister of War.
After Xie Chengyu married Han, he was arranged to stay in the Jingji camp.
He relied on his wife to get to the top, so when he saw that she was going to marry the King of Jingbei, who was second only to the emperor, he lost his composure.
She casually picked up the food on the table and ate while asking slowly, "So, my cousin just looks down on the Healthy Women Camp."
Xie Chengyu's forehead was bulging with veins. "Don't think I'll be scared just because you bring up some nonsense about the Strong Women's Camp. In the Xie family, I will always be your eldest brother. Today, I will discipline you on behalf of my uncle!"
Xie Yao's gaze fell on Xie Mingan.
It seemed that her father had been in too much trouble before and didn't dare to do it again in the short term. At this moment, he was still watching the show.
Of course, Xie Yao would not let Xie Mingan just sit there and watch his nephew speak his mind.
She is the only one who sits on the mountain and watches the fight between tigers.
"Like son, like father. It seems my second uncle also looks down on the Jianfu Camp. Like nephew, like uncle. It seems my father and the Marquis's Mansion also look down on the Jianfu Camp," she said with a narrowed eyelid. "Oh, so it turns out that my cousin is the owner of the Wenchang Marquis' Mansion and can even take care of me on my father's behalf."
When the brothers Xie Mingan and Xie Mingshou heard these words, especially the second half, their expressions changed at the same time.
If it was just two children arguing before, now Xie Yao brought up the Earl's Mansion and said that Xie Chengyu became the master of the Earl's Mansion, the nature of the situation was different.
The second uncle winked at him and said, "Are you drunk? Why are you talking nonsense?"
Xie Mingan was furious: "You bastard, no matter what, Xie Yao is still my uncle's legitimate daughter, your cousin, and the Jianfu Battalion has made great contributions. You are disrespecting the Jianfu Battalion, are you trying to tarnish the reputation of my uncle's mansion?"
What Xie Ming'an cared about most, besides his reputation and career, was his status as the Earl of Wenchang.
Even though Xie Yao was arrogant and domineering before, he tolerated it.
However, he could not sit idly by and watch his nephew look down on the Healthy Women Camp and let the news get out and implicate him.
He would not allow his nephew's prestige in the Xie family to surpass his own!
Xie Chengyu: "Aren't the Strong Women's Battalion just a bunch of women? They can't lift anything with their hands or shoulders. Can we expect 800 of them to fight in the war? The Great Yan State's dominance over the world is due to the men of our Yan State. Why should father and uncle be so afraid—"
"Shut up! You still don't know you're wrong!" Xie Ming'an slammed the table. "Do you think that just because you're a lieutenant in the Jingji Camp, you can have the final say in the Bo Mansion?"
As he said that, he kicked him.
Xie Chengyu didn't dare to dodge and was kicked hard.
Fortunately, he was wearing armor, so it didn't hurt much.
I didn't expect my uncle to be so disrespectful to me. It's all because of that bitch Xie Yao...
He knelt on the ground, his eyes drooping coldly: "Uncle, calm down."
Xie Mingan was about to kick again, but this time, Aunt Sun stopped him at the right time: "Master, calm down. Be careful not to get too angry and hurt yourself."
She originally wanted to keep a low profile, but when she saw the uncle getting angry on behalf of the second wife's family, she felt even happier.
After all, the second branch of the Xie family has always had more children than the first branch, which is a thorn in the uncle's heart.
But after I got pregnant, things were different.
However, she still had to persuade him, because she was usually kind to others and seemed to be as close as sisters with the second wife.
Second Uncle didn't dare to plead for Xie Chengyu. He relied entirely on his son and eldest brother in the uncle's mansion. If his eldest brother attacked his son, he could only endure it.
The second aunt could only look at her son with heartache, her face not looking very good.
She was clearly the second wife, but her status was lower than that of the concubine Aunt Sun. This was because her husband was a bastard, and their family could only rely on the first wife's mood to survive.
"Dad, don't be angry. I just made a slip of the tongue and had no intention of disobeying you." Only Xie Zhi dared to speak out and persuade him at this time.
She bent down again to support Xie Chengyu: "Brother, the second sister has such a hot temper, don't be angry with her."
Xie Chengyu's eyes turned red, and he sighed, "Zhizhi, you are such a good person. It's my fault that I made you suffer."
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