Chapter 87 He is willing to help her, as long as she asks
Wen Xingluo lowered his head, the scene of the night of Qiqiao Festival was still vivid in his mind.
——Wen Ningning, what are you testing?
The young man's tone was calm, but the dark light in his narrow eyes was teetering on the edge of danger.
It embarrassed her.
Being caught by him today only made her more embarrassed.
So she said nothing and walked around Xie Guanlan and left.
Xie Guanlan said coldly: "I haven't seen you for a few days. Have you even forgotten the rules?"
Wen Xingluo turned around and gave him a perfunctory bow, "Hello, brother."
Xie Guanlan's eyes swept across her bun.
She wore two elegant crabapple pearl flowers in her hair, and did not wear the gold hairpin he gave her.
He fiddled with the amulet on his waist with his fingertips, suppressing his anger. "How are you going to deal with your mother's matter?"
Wen Xingluo stared at the tip of the embroidered shoes and said, "I'll find a way to solve it myself."
After a pause, as if she was well aware of Xie Guanlan's principle of not involving the palace in anything, she added coldly: "You don't need to warn me. I know my limits. I won't let these rumors tarnish the Zhenbei Palace. Don't worry."
Xie Guanlan suppressed the gloom at the corners of his eyes, concealing the coldness in them.
He has been staying at the government office these days. Did he come back to see her today just to hear her say these words to distance herself from the matter?
He just wanted to tell her that if she needed it, as long as she asked, he would be willing to help her quell the rumors.
But looking at the stubborn girl in front of him and the unfamiliar pearl flowers on her bun, Xie Guanlan felt an inexplicable anger in his heart.
In the end, he said nothing and walked away with a cold face.
He walked a long way away before Wen Xingluo raised her eyes and looked at his back.
The delicate fingertips unconsciously tangled together in the sleeves.
A slight pain spreads in the heart.
It was as if Xizi from the night of Qiqiao Festival had silently crawled into her chest and bit her heart.
On the other side, Dongliuyuan.
Xie Jing gave Xie Shian a good scolding before kicking him out.
He stepped into the bedroom, "Sisi?"
There were ice jars placed in the room, and a hint of coolness permeated the space between the pearl curtains and green screens.
A beautiful woman in a pear blossom white chest-length skirt sits quietly against the window, her black hair half-tied up lazily, her profile looks cool and beautiful. The tip of her brush touches the rice paper, gradually outlining a picture of mountains and rivers in spring.
Xie Jing didn't understand calligraphy and painting, but he thought the landscape paintings by Wei Si were really beautiful, even more beautiful than those collected in Xie Guanlan's study.
He coughed lightly, spat into his palm, smoothed his messy hair and beard, and straightened his clothes in front of the bronze mirror on the side.
He carefully sat down opposite Wei Si, "Si Si, Ning Ning came to visit you just now."
Wei Si said nothing and continued to concentrate on painting.
"Those rumors out there are just made up by others out of jealousy of you." Xie Jing peeled the lychees himself, "Si Si, don't take them to heart."
He carefully removed the core of the lychee and brought the crystal clear lychee flesh to Wei Si's lips.
The Prince of Zhenbei, commanding three hundred thousand troops in the southwest, had fought for years, yet now his face was filled with servility and flattery. "These are lychees sent swiftly from Lingnan. What's it called... Gualü? Yes, Gualü! They're very expensive. In all of Chengdu, only your Dongliuyuan has a plate of them. Sisi, would you like to try them?"
Wei Si put down her brush and looked up at him, "You are annoying."
Her voice was very pleasant, like the sound of jade beads falling into a jade plate.
After being scolded like this, Xie Jing was not sad at all. Instead, he smiled shamelessly and said, "Si Si, I just want to cheer you up. These lychees are so expensive, can you at least try one?"
He sat down next to Wei Si and diligently brought the lychee flesh to her lips.
The rough fingertips accidentally touched the woman's skin.
Wei Si shuddered and suddenly pushed his hand away.
Xie Jing was caught off guard and the lychee flesh fell on the floor tiles.
Wei Si quickly stood up and distanced herself from him.
Xie Jing was stunned.
He just wanted her to taste the legendary Gualv lychees, he had no other ill intentions...
But the woman was like a frightened deer, and immediately hid to the other side of the bedroom, as if he were some kind of monster.
He clenched his hands.
Everyone else thought that Xie Jing had remarried and was now pregnant with a beautiful woman.
But he didn't know that he and Si Si had never been husband and wife in the past year.
They even...
Not familiar.
Si Si was extremely afraid of being touched by men.
She didn't want to be his princess from the beginning. It was he who promised not to touch her, promised to give her absolute safety, promised not to force her to be included in the Xie family tree, and promised that she could leave the Zhenbei Palace anytime she wanted.
Rather than saying she was his second wife, it would be better to say...
They were just faking marriage.
But even if it was just a fake marriage, even if meeting her was just a short-lived illusion, Xie Jing was still happy with it.
He held up his hands to show that he posed no threat to her.
He tried to comfort her, "Sisi, don't be afraid. I remember when you were little you only ate expensive fruits, so I went to great lengths to get this plate of Gualv back. I went to so much trouble just to let you taste it."
He knew Si Si.
He knew how noble Si Si had been in the past.
He felt sorry for Si Si's current situation, so he wanted to give her the most expensive things.
So he paid out of his own pocket to decorate Dongliuyuan with utmost luxury, and invited famous chefs from counties and prefectures all over the country to prepare delicious food and drinks for her in different ways every day.
When pursuing a woman you like, shouldn't you take the initiative to give?
He was thankful that he was powerful and wealthy enough to satisfy all her requests and to hide her safely in his house without being seen by anyone.
Even his trusted subordinates had expressed their complaints.
But he thought, Si Si was born to be pampered like this.
They don't have the ability to give the best things to the women they love, but he does.
He dotes on Si Si and he is proud!
In the bedroom, with Xie Jing's patient comfort, Wei Si gradually became less resistant.
She sat down again opposite Xie Jing and hesitated for a long time before taking the freshly peeled lychee that the man carefully handed to her.
The taste of Gualü lychee is more tender, fresh and sweet than ordinary lychee.
Xie Jing couldn't bear to eat it himself, and just looked at her happily, "Si Si, is it delicious?"
Wei Si slowly pressed the corners of her lips with a handkerchief.
She seemed to be answering him, or perhaps she was muttering to herself, "This year's Gualv isn't as sweet as it was last year..."
She raised her eyes and glanced at Xie Jing, then slowly lowered her eyelashes, like a butterfly folding its wings wearily.
She said softly, "I know people outside are scolding me. The prince is a good man, and I don't want to ruin your reputation because of me. I want to take Xingluo and leave the Zhenbei Palace."
Under the eaves.
Xie Guanlan stood with his hands behind his back and heard Wei Si's words clearly.
He lowered his eyes and looked at a crabapple tree in the yard, his face expressionless.
Xie Jing was shocked, "Si Si, you... you want to... leave?"
Wei Si didn't want to say more and signaled the maid to put away the teacup in front of Xie Jing.
This means to expel the guest.
Xie Jing left the house in a daze, and didn't even notice Xie Guanlan under the eaves when he left.
Xie Guanlan watched him disappear sadly at the end of the corridor before walking towards Wei Si's room.
The maid hurried over to stop him.
But he was not Xie Shi'an. Just a cold look from him was enough to scare the maid's face pale. She retreated to the side in fear, not daring to make any unnecessary movements.
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