Chapter 14 [Smelling Green Plums] Whose child is this...
If people knew that she, an unmarried woman, was looking for a man so openly, she would definitely be hanged or beaten to death at home by her father.
But Xie Yan's words pierced Xie Shaohua's heart. She was more curious about the mysterious and noble Young Marquis Yan than the Crown Prince who was chasing after her. Last time at the Crown Prince's banquet, she hadn't had the chance to meet him. She only saw the gift he had sent to the Crown Prince: a pure black wolf cub.
Everyone else was comparing the value of their gifts for the Crown Prince, but the envoy sent by Yan Huinan said something that shocked everyone: "Congratulations, young master. Ahem, I'm giving His Highness the Crown Prince a wolf cub. May His Highness never be frightened to tears by a dog again."
It's really arrogant and interesting.
Xie Yun naturally wanted to refuse, and she was about to speak.
Xie Yan said with a smile, "I'm kidding. How could I really ask you to go look for that young master? He must have already left the city on his horse."
Xie Yun heaved a sigh of relief after hearing her say this. She was definitely not going to be able to find the young marquis.
But Xie Shaohua didn't intend to let her go just like that. She didn't like Xie Yun in the first place, and what's more, she had been pampered since she was born, enjoying the flattery of everyone in the mansion. How could she allow Xie Yun to mock her?
"Ah! I suddenly remembered that the daughter of Minister Liu from the Ministry of Revenue went to the Lantern Festival with me a few days ago. Let's go look for her." Xie Shaohua said to Xie Yan, and then said to Xie Yun with a compassionate look, "You can come too. I should take you to see the world."
Xie Yun rolled his eyes in his heart: "..."
There's no need to do that. She's still sick and doesn't want to see the world.
But I can only follow my two sisters.
Perhaps it was the cold wind that had blown outside all night, but Xie Yun, who was already ill, now felt a slight headache and a bit dizzy. Therefore, as he walked, he didn't pay much attention to the surrounding roads. Most of the lanterns were set up along the main road of Zhuque Street.
But I don’t know what road Xie Shaohua took us on. We walked around for a long time and there were always people around.
"I think my handkerchief fell on the road." Xie Shaohua handed the lantern to Xie Yun, "Yun'er, wait here for a while, I'll go back and look for it. It's all because of this lantern that I lost my favorite handkerchief. Here it is for you."
After saying that, he kicked the lamp unhappily.
Xie Yun was only eight years old at the time, and she was a child at heart. She hadn't been given a share when Xie Yan bought the lantern, and she didn't want to buy another one for herself in front of her two sisters; that would be too embarrassing. But she really liked the lantern.
Now that Xie Shaohua handed the lantern to her, she couldn't help but feel happy. She thought that after all, she was the elder sister, how could she really be mean to her younger sister? This fun little lantern was not given to other maids or servants, but to her younger sister.
Children are easily bribed. Xie Yun smiled a bit foolishly, her whole mind focused on the lantern her sister had given her.
"You guys, come with us to look for it." Xie Shaohua said to the servants behind him.
After the attendants followed the two sisters and left, Lusong, who was only nine years old, found a place to sit down by the wall to rest her feet. Lusong breathed a sigh of relief, "The two young ladies are finally gone. My feet are sore from walking. When they were here, I really didn't dare to breathe!"
Xie Yun laughed at her for being useless, "What are you afraid of? I'm here for you."
Lusong pouted, seeming to be hesitant to speak, which made Xie Yun laugh and angry. She couldn't help but pat Lusong's shoulder, "If you have something to say, say it quickly!"
Lu Song muttered softly, "Fifth Miss, you yourself are being bullied in front of the other two young ladies."
Xie Yun thought about how she was always embarrassed by her two sisters. She couldn't understand why, and she was often distressed by this. "But she just gave the lantern to me. My sister didn't give it to you or anyone else."
Lu Song also nodded, "Indeed, after all, young lady, you are her sister."
The two of them played with the small lantern for a long time, but Xie Shaohua and the others never came back.
"It's been so long, and you still haven't found it?" Lusong looked around worriedly. The long street that was bustling before had now become deserted because it was a very unfamiliar place, even a little scary.
Xie Yun also became alert. After being blown by the cold wind for a long time, her original trust had dissipated and she suddenly became clear-headed.
Maybe it wasn’t that it wasn’t found. No, maybe the handkerchief wasn’t lost at all.
"Lusong, did you remember the way when you came here?" Xie Yunxin, who had seen through the reality at this time, was extremely cold. She asked Lusong a little desperately.
As expected, Lusong shook her head blankly. She didn't remember the way either.
Xie Shaohua brought her out. This was something Mrs. Zhao knew. She couldn't just let a young lady get lost like this. So they never thought that they would really be left outside.
She had been brought here so haphazardly that Xie Shaohua hadn't even left her a servant. Neither she nor Lusong knew the way back. If Xie Shaohua had truly gone back to look for something, then she might come back. She couldn't leave rashly.
But as the long street gradually became deserted, it was getting late.
Lusong also reacted at this time and exclaimed: "Second Miss is going to leave us here?!"
Xie Yun remained silent. Her heart was filled with despair, her hands and feet felt cold, and fear spread in her heart.
"Go and ask if anyone knows how to get to Xie's house." Xie Yun couldn't help but hold Lusong's hand tightly as he spoke.
Lu Song nodded and asked several people on the street for directions, but all he got was a shake of the head. Zhuque Street was the main street, and Xie Mansion was quite far from here, so it was normal that he didn't know the way.
Lu Song asked several people in succession and then came back and said, "Miss, do you know what official position the master has been promoted to? I only said thank you to the master and the family, but they don't know who it is."
Xie Yun had forgotten about this in his haste. Back in Baixia, he'd just called it the Xie Mansion, and everyone knew it. But now that his father had come to the capital, under the Emperor's tutelage, who knew what high-ranking official he was?
Looking at the gradually darkening sky, Xie Yun frustratedly kicked the lantern, completely destroying it with this kick.
She was desperate and frightened, and finally couldn't help crying.
"It's all this lantern's fault. How could I have been fooled so easily?" Xie Yun had been trying to suppress her tears, but as soon as the words came out, she burst into tears. "Lusong, what should we do? We can't go back."
Lu Song was only a year older than Xie Yun. She was a child born at home and had never worked outside the home, so she was completely lost. Seeing Xie Yun cry, she felt terrified and started crying too. "I don't know, Miss. I heard from Sister Canxi a few days ago that there are a few desperate criminals in the capital who haven't been apprehended yet. Will we run into any of them?"
After hearing these words, the two little girls became even more frightened and couldn't help but hug each other and cry.
Xie Yun tried her best to hold back her tears, "Don't cry, Lu Song. If people find out we're lost, they'll definitely kidnap us."
"Ah?" Lu Song's eyes were red from crying, like two little red fruits. "Really?"
Xie Yun wiped away her tears and said, "Yeah, really. Let's pretend we're not lost and just walk along the bright places to find the way back."
Lu Song followed Xie Yun and tried hard to hold back his tears. As they walked, Lu Song suddenly asked, "But Miss, can we find the way back home? Will we get further and further away?"
Xie Yun was also afraid of this. She really couldn't pretend to be brave anymore. She couldn't help crying again, "Wow, Lusong, I can't remember the way at all. What should I do?"
The two of them wiped away tears as they walked.
Xie Yun was still trying hard to find the way back. While looking around, he suddenly bumped into a masked man. The man was running so fast and didn't even look at the road, so he bumped straight into him.
Xie Yun was small in stature and was knocked to the ground, but the man stood as steady as a wooden stake.
Lusong immediately ran over to help her up. The collision didn't hurt, but Xie Yun was even more sad. The tears that she had been unable to hold back now flowed like a spring and she cried out loudly.
It actually scared the person on the opposite side.
Seeing this, the man took off his mask and frantically stepped forward to comfort her, but his coaxing was pointless and ineffective. Xie Yun was not listening at all. She didn't dare tell anyone that she was lost. She just pretended to be hurt and cried desperately.
Behind him, two masked men slowly came over. The masks on the three of them were different. Then came several tall and strong servants in black, leading horses in their hands.
The man wearing the bone wolf mask asked nonchalantly, "Zhaobai, what bad things have you done again?"
Yu Xian hated little girls crying the most. He frowned and said unhappily, "I was just walking along and bumped into her by accident, and she started crying like this. Yunsong, you're so nice to talk to, come and comfort her for me."
After saying that, he waved his hand, walked aside and left the job alone.
Li Wei, who was wearing a black and gold fox mask, took off the mask and walked forward gently to help Yu Xian solve the problem.
He was the gentlest and most refined of the three. Whenever the three got into trouble, Li Wei would offer his counsel and Yu Xian would seek his brother's protection. If the two previous lines of defense couldn't solve a major problem, Yan Huinan would step in to cover the damage. But whenever Marquis Yan found out about his misdeeds, he'd be hung up and given a beating. Yan Huinan had become tough after all those beatings.
However, Li Wei looked at the girl in front of him. She was dressed in exquisite clothes and had a maid by her side. She couldn't be the daughter of an ordinary family, but he had never seen one in the capital before. If he rashly came up to her and said something coaxing, it would seem frivolous.
Yan Huinan and the other two were much taller than Xie Yun, who only reached their shoulders. Li Wei lowered his head and asked, "Miss, may I ask which family you are from?"
Xie Yun and Lusong couldn't express themselves, so they cried more and more as if a dam had burst.
Lu Song was furious. "He lied. It was clearly because he ran too fast and didn't look where he was going that he bumped into my young lady. Now he's trying to clear himself."
Yu Xian, having been exposed and tired of crying, simply ordered someone to bring two money bags over impatiently, saying coldly, "Hmph, she doesn't look like she's in trouble. I'm afraid it's a common trick used by scoundrels in Beijing these days, sending children out to blackmail people. Just send her away and don't delay her from attending the banquet."
Li Wei was helpless: "This is not a good idea. If she is really the daughter of some rich family, we will inevitably get into trouble if we act so recklessly."
Yu Xian curled her lips: "I don't care about coaxing, I don't want money, what else can I do? Do I have to marry this little kid just by bumping into him?"
Li Wei: "This..."
Yan Huinan, who was used to laughing at Yu Xian, saw this and stepped forward to take a closer look. The little girl was very cute, with a bun like rabbit ears. Her thin hair was blown by the wind, and two braids hung in front of her body. Two red silk ribbons were tied in the middle of the braids, which made her look innocent and cute. Her round almond eyes looked pitiful as if she was crying.
It doesn't look like a scam.
He had an idea: girls just like new things and delicious food. If he took her to buy some delicious and fun things, and then took her to the lantern festival, she should be coaxed.
Moreover, Yan Huinan also had his own selfish motives. It was the first time he had seen such a lovely sister, and he wanted to stay with her for a while longer.
He pretended to shout twice: "Whose child is this? Whose child is missing?"
Passersby on the street all glanced at Yan Huinan, but no one responded. He was already used to being looked at by these strange eyes, so he didn't care.
Li Wei and Yu Xian looked at Yan Huinan in confusion, "Ziyou, what are you doing?"
Yan Huinan ignored them and deliberately shouted, "If no one leads me, I can take it away!"
Yu Xian: "...He's the scoundrel, right?"
Li Wei: "...Don't laugh at others for taking fifty steps."
That year, Yan Huinan was ten years old.
The author has something to say:
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Author: Some people found wives at the age of ten. Yu Xian, what about you? You're almost twenty and still haven't found a wife! Take a moment to reflect on yourself.
Yan Huinan (smiling faintly, full of sarcasm): That’s right, reflect on yourself.
Li Wei (raises his hand): Let me first state that I am married.
Yu Xian: ...Don’t make noise, I have my own rhythm.
Xie Yun: What wife? Don't bother. I didn't like him at that time. He almost killed me.
Xie Run (indifferent): That’s right, there is endless energy in the day.
Everyone: ??? Children who haven't officially appeared yet, please leave for now.
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