Chapter 10: The past is dark and cannot be retrieved (2) “What should you call me…
Aunt Huaixiu couldn't bear to hear Xie Yun talk about the princess. The princess had been so kind to her. Yet, she hadn't even seen the princess for the last time. When Xie Yun mentioned the princess's death, she was filled with resentment and anger:
"If it weren't for your Xie family, how could the princess have been left with nowhere to turn and ultimately died of illness filled with hatred? And you still ask?"
"Died of illness?" Xie Yun was thinking, so his tone and expression were a little too calm.
If the princess died of illness, it would mean that she really escaped the assassination that night as she said.
If the princess had really died that night, Xie Yun would never forgive herself for the rest of her life.
But in Aunt Huaixiu's eyes, Xie Yun's calmness at the moment showed that she had no guilt at all. She would not allow Xie Yun to have such a mentality. Xie Yun was not qualified to judge the death of the princess!
She walked forward angrily and pushed hard, and Xie Yun was pushed to the ground. He was originally kneeling, and now his forehead hit the ground heavily.
Huaixiu said viciously, "Madam, you're kneeling without any remorse. It seems kneeling alone won't make you realize your sins. Then kowtow to the princess and the marquis! Kowtow a full ninety-nine and eighty-one times within one hour."
Han Zhen almost doubted his own ears!
"Aunt, the general didn't say to kowtow so many times. Aren't you going too far?" Han Zhen's heart trembled when he heard this number, and he felt scared for Xie Yun.
Huai Xiu: "Do I need the general's detailed instructions before I know what to do? If it's to atone for my sins, then kowtowing is essential. In the past, when offering sacrifices to ancestors, people always kowtowing, so why can't you? Do you think you are more noble than others?"
Xie Yun glanced at Huai Xiu calmly and stopped Han Zhen: "Han Zhen, shut up."
She kowtowed because they were the old marquis and the eldest princess.
She should have offered sacrifices, but she had no choice before. Now she is willing to make up for what she missed before.
The sudden fall had scraped Xie Yun's forehead, which was now bleeding. Han Zhen could only take a handkerchief and carefully wipe it away for her.
Xie Yun had always been stronger than other girls, stubborn and even a bit aggressive. This didn't bother her.
Even though Aunt Huaixiu stared at Xie Yun with a vicious and cunning look for an hour, she could not find any fault with the way Xie Yun kowtowed and knelt.
Whenever she wants to do something, she will do it to the best of her ability.
But when Xie Yun left the ancestral hall, her forehead was already broken and swollen, with blood scabs on the broken part, and she couldn't touch it at all. Her knees were also swollen like steamed buns.
She limped back to Quchuan Garden with Han Zhen's support. The other servants just watched, no one came to help.
Han Zhen was furious and shouted, "Are you all dead? You can only watch from the sidelines, don't you know to bring the sedan chair?"
But they just hated that Xie Yun was not punished severely enough, so how could they possibly come forward to help?
Aunt Huaixiu said coldly, "Madam, you can still walk. It would be more sincere if you walked back step by step."
Xie Yun endured the pain. She didn't want to show weakness in front of this group of people, so she forced a cold smile: "Look at me, I'm not the general's wife. The one who is in charge is Aunt Huaixiu. I'm sorry."
"I dare not. Madam is naturally the head of the family. But if Madam were to act so arrogantly in front of the Princess and the Marquis, it would be impolite. If the General knew about it, he would blame her."
Xie Yun wasn't one to complain. She didn't want to be told off, let alone whisper in someone's ear.
-
On the way back to Quchuan Garden, you will pass by the garden in the middle of the mansion, where there is an artificially dug landscape lake with a pavilion in the middle of the lake.
As she limped along the stone road lined with a row of forsythia, she looked up and saw Yan Huinan, Yu Xian and Li Wei sitting in the pavilion in the middle of the lake, drinking and chatting.
Logically, she should go and pay her respects.
But now Xie Yun's knees and forehead are very painful, and she hopes that she will never see Yan Huinan again. That would be great.
Instead, she quickened her pace and left.
But the speed she sped up caused her to break out in cold sweats due to the pain.
Han Zhen didn't know that Xie Yun hated Yan Huinan so much that her teeth were itching, so she reminded her to go and pay her respects.
"Master Yu and Master Li are here too, Madam... please don't leave!"
Xie Yun naturally recognized these two men; they had been Yan Huinan's close friends since childhood. One was the second legitimate son of Prince Yu, and the other was a bastard son of the Anxin Marquis's family. When Yan Huinan was a dandy and overbearing man, these two men were only slightly more restrained, but they were still well-known dandies in the capital.
"That's totally unnecessary." Xie Yun was furious and kept saying these words. "They are too noble. I, a sinner, don't want to see them. It would pollute their eyes."
"Madam, if you do this, the general will have another reason to punish you." Han Zhen chased after her and supported her.
Xie Yun knew that her character was too arrogant, and she even had to admit that part of her arrogant and unyielding character was cultivated by Yan Huinan.
Thinking of this, Xie Yun couldn't help but feel a little upset. She couldn't tell Han Zhen not to give in at any time.
Because if she was just a concubine of the Xie family when she was young, without Yan Huinan's support, she might have given in to those who bullied her in order to live a less painful life.
But once she had the best choice, she was no longer willing to lower her stance easily, even though she knew that her stubbornness at the moment was indeed a little ridiculous.
To put it simply, she didn't believe Yan Huinan would really hurt her because the memories of the past were still vivid in her mind.
"Madam, the general and the others seem to have seen us." Han Zhen didn't think the same as Xie Yun. She was really worried that Xie Yun would be punished by the general.
Yan Huinan's calm demeanor gave people a strong sense of oppression. The other two adults also looked unhappy.
Han Zhen was feeling very nervous.
Xie Yun said, "Nothing, let's go."
-
"Don't you want to go and take a look? The new wife is lame." Yu Xian has always been the most venomous of the three, even more cold-blooded and ruthless than Yan Huinan.
The development of his personality is not difficult to understand. Yu Xian has an older brother who is a few years older than him. His brother has been a favored child since childhood. Yu Xian has always lived under the aura of his brother.
Moreover, they lost their mother at a young age, and their father remarried a vulgar and greedy stepmother. Not long after, his father also passed away. Although the burden of the Marquisate did not fall on Yu Xian, he saw his brother lose his love forever for the sake of the Marquisate.
All of this has made his character more mature and complex than his peers.
But his noble status gave him immense influence. He was known for his blunt, sharp words and sarcastic remarks. After serving as the Minister of Justice for several years, his words became even more vicious and sharp than before.
Yan Huinan looked up at him with a cold face, too lazy to pay attention to him.
Li Wei had always been gentle and kind since childhood, and was used to being the peacemaker between them. He smiled and asked, "How did Xie Yun do this?"
Yan Huinan: "Kneel in the ancestral hall."
Yu Xian originally thought Yan Huinan was truly heartless, actually sending Xie Yun to the Dali Temple. Unexpectedly, he was still such a loser. "Hey, you don't think marrying her and kneeling in the ancestral hall is revenge?"
Yan Huinan said impatiently, "If you don't want to drink, then get out of here."
"You shouldn't have married her," Yu Xianyu said sternly. "Now, everyone in the court who knows what happened wants to kill Xie Yun to set an example. But you chose to marry her. Have you forgotten how Lord Yan rehabilitated her? Now that you've married Xie Yun, how will you cope? Someone has already impeached you for colluding with the rebels and planning a rebellion."
Yan Huinan sneered, "So what? Seeking revenge on an unarmed woman is nothing. I'm not seeking revenge on her."
Yu Xian snorted coldly, "Why, are you courting me?"
Yan Huinan: "Are you crazy?"
Li Wei shook his head helplessly, then smiled and said, "Enough, enough, brothers, stop arguing. Do you want to consider that I'm sick and can't stand the noise?"
"Did Lu Lingyu cause trouble for him when I was away a few months ago? He's so rude." Yan Huinan asked Li Wei sincerely.
Li Wei also liked to tease Yu Xian about this, mainly because there was nothing else for them to tease about Yu Xian. "I didn't notice, maybe. I'll go to the National Academy and ask the Third Prince when I have time."
"Are you crazy?" Yu Xian had the darkest face at this time.
"By the way, Ziyou, this is the wedding gift Qiuniang picked for you." Li Wei took out a wooden box. "It's a pair of jade pendants. She painted the patterns on them herself and asked Lang Feichen to carve them."
Lang Feichen was a jade sculptor employed by the imperial court. His jade carvings preserved the material's original characteristics to the greatest extent possible, bringing each piece of jade to life with breathtaking beauty. His most famous work is a pink jade water lily vase, which still stands in the Hall of Mental Cultivation. The mouth of the vase is adorned with delicate water lilies, extending all the way to the body.
Si Wu took the jade pendant.
"I won't go into the twists and turns of the story, but this is you getting married after all. A wedding gift is indispensable," Li Wei continued.
Although Yu Xian cursed the most harshly, he was also so arrogant that he had someone bring in a box of gifts, which contained pairs of ornamental porcelain vases.
-
As the sun sets in the west, a gentle spring breeze drifts through Quchuan Garden, carrying the fragrance of plants and trees through the windows and onto people's faces.
Xie Yun didn't know whether to be happy or sad. She originally studied medicine just because she thought it was interesting, but later when she saw that studying medicine could cure diseases and save lives, she worked even harder.
Now I treat myself every day.
Xie Yun applied medicine on her forehead, and Han Zhen squatted on the ground and rubbed her swollen knees with warm eggs bit by bit.
Xie Yun gasped in pain.
"Madam, you'd better not act like you did today. If you really anger the general, your life will be difficult." Han Zhen could be said to be giving advice with great sincerity. "You are always injured here and there. How can you withstand any other injuries? I thought you were a beautiful and delicate porcelain vase that could not be touched or dropped. Now I realize that you are a knife. You are not afraid of being dropped and can still hit people."
Han Zhen made Xie Yun laugh, "Why, are you disappointed? I'm not a weak and delicate lady from a wealthy family."
"How dare I? A woman should be like you, young lady. That's what I admire!" Han Zhen said with a smile.
Xie Yun felt warm in her heart, and felt pity for Han Zhen's sore hands: "You should take a break, it's enough to apply it for so long."
While the master and servant were chatting, Xie Yun heard footsteps outside.
Her heart suddenly felt uneasy. Yan Huinan actually made her feel scared. She suddenly regretted her anger that afternoon.
"General." Han Zhen stood up and bowed.
Even though Xie Yun was extremely reluctant, she still supported herself on the dressing table and stood up with Han Zhen's help, and called out softly, "General..."
Yan Huinan raised his sword-like eyebrows slightly, and opened his thin lips lightly, "Come here. Madam is neglecting a distinguished guest, and Han Zhen, as her personal maid, did not remind her. Drag her to the courtyard and give her forty lashes."
Han Zhen was so frightened that she immediately knelt down, her voice trembling: "I know I was wrong! Please forgive me, General!"
Xie Yun also limped forward and grabbed Yan Huinan's hand in a panic: "General, it's my fault. Han Zhen reminded me, but I didn't listen."
Yan Huinan slowly withdrew his hand, "What should you call me?"
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