Chapter 62: What a clever trick.
The afterglow of the setting sun falls on the courtyard, reflecting a beautiful picture.
Song Baoyuan looked around as she walked by and asked, "Where's the Sui Sui?"
"At the door." Qiao Yue replied.
Jiang Suisui squatted at her doorstep, with only one foot on the threshold. This way, she wouldn't be considered to have disobeyed her mother and left the house without permission.
Holding snacks in her hand, she tried to seduce the cat slave squatting on the doorstep of the neighbor's house to go home with her.
"Fubao?"
Xie Yuchao from next door couldn't call out to Fubao who was tilting his head at the door several times, so he had to go over to find out what was going on.
Seeing the cute little girl next door, he squatted down, looked her in the eye, and had a teasing thought in mind, "It doesn't eat that."
Jiang Suisui took back the candied fruit in her hand and asked sincerely, "So what does it like to eat?"
"It likes fresh fish, cut into small pieces and without bones."
Jiang Suisui pouted, "But we don't have fish today."
Xie Yuchao laughed, "It's okay. You don't have to feed it. You can come and play with it."
"Really?"
"Of course, uncle welcomes you anytime, okay?"
Jiang Suisui grinned innocently.
Song Baoyuan saw her laughing heartily from a distance, walked silently behind her, and suddenly leaned forward to see what she was looking at.
Suddenly I was stunned.
The afterglow of the setting sun dazzled her eyes.
The handsome man before me had a slight smile on his lips. Even though he was squatting, he still looked dignified. One wrist rested on his knee, his long, slender fingers hanging naturally. The other hand rested on his face, lazily.
In a trance, she seemed to see the person who remained in her memory.
Noticing her gaze, Xie Yuchao was slightly surprised and uncomfortably suppressed his smile, "Ahem."
"I..." Song Baoyuan came back to her senses, hastily looked away, and said, "Look, it's worthy of being your raccoon slave. It really looks like you."
The posture is lazy, exactly the same.
Xie Yuchao smiled, picked up the raccoon slave and stood up, "Of course."
Feeling a little embarrassed, Song Baoyuan took her daughter's hand and said, "Let's go. It's time to go home for dinner."
"Uncle!" Jiang Suisui pulled her mother back, "Can I come to your house to play after dinner?"
"Of course." Xie Yuchao lifted the raccoon's paw and shook it. "Uncle and Fubao welcome you."
Fubao?
What a name that doesn’t suit my temperament, Song Baoyuan thought.
Jiang Suisui turned around and asked, "Mom, can I go to my uncle's house to play later?"
"Let's play tomorrow, okay? It's too late today and you can't disturb others." Song Baoyuan coaxed softly.
Jiang Suisui lowered her head unhappily and twisted her body in resistance.
Although he doesn't speak, his stubbornness is visible to the naked eye.
Seeing the mother and daughter in a stalemate, Xie Yuchao hesitated for a while before saying, "It's okay, I won't disturb you. Fubao also needs someone to play with him. This way, he will use up his energy and stop running around."
"mother!"
Jiang Suisui pulled at the corner of her clothes and acted coquettishly.
Song Baoyuan was helpless, "Then you have to promise your mother that you will eat well later and go to bed on time after playing."
"Um!"
Jiang Suisui was immediately happy when she heard that and ran home, "I'll go eat now!"
Song Baoyuan remained where she was, looking at her neighbor who had also not left, and politely asked, "Sir, have you had dinner yet? If not, you can come and have a quick meal together."
"No need to bother." Xie Yuchao took a half step back, "The food is ready at home."
Song Baoyuan couldn't hide her surprise. "I saw only the young master and his attendants in the house. Is there anyone cooking?"
Xie Yuchao remained calm, "My follower is quite capable. I wanted to hire a few more people, but he wouldn't let me, saying he didn't have enough work to do and was afraid of being idle. So I had no choice but to oblige him."
"What a rare good servant." Song Baoyuan praised absentmindedly.
"Yes." Xie Yuchao turned his face away, "I'll go into the house first."
At home, there is a bowl of vegetarian noodles on the table.
Fubao jumped onto the table, sniffed the edge of the bowl, and walked away in disgust.
Xie Yuchao stared at him for a long time, "You're giving this to your young master to eat?"
"Isn't this good?" The servant ran over, picked up the chopsticks, and dug out a thin slice of meat from the bottom of the bowl. "Master, you want the best of everything. You want a big house, expensive pens, ink, paper, and inkstone. We've pawned everything we could, and with the remaining money, we can only eat this."
As he spoke, a look of grievance appeared on his face.
“Is this edible?”
"Why can't I eat it?" The servant picked up the bowl unconvinced, slurped the noodles, and then... "Ugh!"
Xie Yuchao: “…”
It was so indecent that he turned his face away, unable to bear to look at it.
"Master!" the servant cried, "I'm just a book boy who helps with writing. How can I do the work of a cook?"
Xie Yuchao held his forehead with his hand, "Have we fallen to this point?"
"That's right." The servant squatted on the ground dejectedly, "Sir, you should admit your mistake to the master of the house and let's go back."
"And then you'll never be able to stand up straight in front of that old man again?" Xie Yuchao said, shaking his head. "Impossible."
"What should we do?" The servant held his face with a worried look on his face.
Suddenly, an idea struck him, and he looked up and said, "While buying noodles this day, I passed by a teahouse filled with scholars and elegant guests. Most importantly, they've left a half-line of a poem in it, and for two months, no one has been able to finish it. If you could match it, young master, not only would you become famous without relying on the Xie family, but you'd also win a valuable prize!"
Xie Yuchao looked over suspiciously, "What teahouse?"
"What's it called? Qianqian Teahouse."
*
Because she had been busy outside during the day, Song Baoyuan took a shower and changed clothes early in the morning, preparing to rest early.
She was wearing a white nightgown and sitting in front of the dressing table with her hair loose. Qiao Yin was combing her hair and massaging her shoulders.
"Miss, you must be tired these past two days."
"Not bad." Song Baoyuan rubbed her brows. "Now that the site issue is settled, I don't have to run around. Doctor Liu and the others are in charge of supervising the construction. I only need to check in occasionally. There's no place for me in the Ministry of Revenue. I'll go back to the teahouse tomorrow. It's close to the Ministry of Revenue, and the atmosphere there makes it easier to concentrate on my work."
"Yes." Qiao Yin agreed.
There was a sound of "thump thump" footsteps outside. Song Baoyuan glanced sideways and saw Jiang Chengyou running in.
He asked, "My sister went to the neighbor's house to play with the raccoon. Can I go too?"
Song Baoyuan thought for a moment and said, "If you go, bring your sister back with you. You must be home within 25 minutes. Got it?"
"good!"
"etc."
Jiang Chengyou was stopped as soon as he took a step.
"Don't go to someone's house empty-handed. Take the red dates on the table with you."
"good."
Jiang Chengyou turned back obediently and picked up a plate of excellent red dates on the table.
But as he moved, the round red dates easily slipped out of the plate.
He thought for a moment, picked up a handkerchief on the table, spread it on the red dates, and then pulled the two corners to press down the red dates.
"I'm leaving!"
He ran out the door holding the plate of red dates.
Song Baoyuan sat in the house and could still vaguely hear his loud voice calling out, "Neighbor uncle!"
This neighbor uncle is talented and easy-going. He can take good care of his cat, which shows that he has patience. There should be no problem if the child interacts with him more.
Xie Yuchao, who was in the study, was called out. He walked to the door and saw Little Radish Head running towards him, so he squatted down to greet him.
Jiang Chengyou hurriedly stopped in front of him and raised the plate above his head, "Uncle, Mom asked me to share this with you. My sister and I love it, it's delicious!"
"Thank you, and thank you mother."
Xie Yuchao took the plate with a smile, and his attention was first attracted by the handkerchief embroidered with orchids.
He was stunned for a moment, looking at the red dates and then at the handkerchief, "This, are all given to me by your mother?"
"Yes, yes!" Jiang Chengyou no longer looked at him. Instead, he stared at the raccoon slave and his sister in the yard and asked anxiously, "Can I go play now?"
"Go ahead."
Xie Yuchao stood at the door and looked at the two children for a while, then finally turned around and went back into the house, holding the handkerchief.
He sat back at the desk, put down the plate full of red dates, and spread the handkerchief in his palm.
Although only two orchids are embroidered, the craftsmanship is exquisite. The handkerchief's material is also unique, soft and smooth to the touch. Furthermore, it exudes a subtle fragrance.
It is obviously a precious personal item for women.
Staring at him, inviting him in, and now giving him this...
He remembered that she appeared at the door this morning with a smile so eye-catching that he mistakenly thought Fubao had turned into a human form.
"Master!" The servant came in with freshly made noodles. "Try it, it's definitely edible this time!"
His voice interrupted Xie Yuchao's thoughts.
"Where did this come from?" The servant stared at the red dates on the table and swallowed his saliva.
"The kid next door sent it to me." Xie Yuchao explained nonchalantly.
Seeing his appearance, he showed great compassion and said, "Eat if you want."
"Thank you, young master!" The servant grabbed a handful of red dates, his eyes drawn to the handkerchief again. "Was that also sent by the neighbor?"
Without waiting for Xie Yuchao's answer, he exclaimed again: "It's confirmed, it's obviously a girl's thing! She really made a move!"
"Eating can't stop you from talking." Xie Yuchao said indifferently, "What nonsense are you talking about?"
The servant was anxious. "I'm not talking nonsense. This kind of rich and beautiful widow is the most terrifying. She's as fierce as a wolf and a tiger. She has everything except a strong man to warm her bed!"
"Young Master, you have little contact with women, but you must not take it lightly. If you are not careful, it will be too late! You want to pass the imperial examination, become a high-ranking official, and become the head of the Xie family. You must not fall into the hands of a widow!"
Xie Yuchao snorted, "In your eyes, is your young master someone who can be seduced by beauty and has no self-control?"
The servant was silent.
After a long while, he suddenly said, "Then why do you keep holding that handkerchief?"
“…”
His palms suddenly felt hot, and Xie Yuchao quickly threw away the handkerchief.
He was shocked that he had clearly remembered the appearance of the woman next door without realizing it, and he had no resistance at all. He even... still felt that she was innocent and harmless, and posed no threat at all.
Hiss, what a clever trick.
*
"Where's my handkerchief?"
Song Baoyuan wanted to wipe the hairpin stained with powder, and when she looked for it, the handkerchief that was originally on the table was missing.
Qiao Yin looked around, then bent down and searched under the table. "No, Miss, are you sure you put it there?"
When asked this question, Song Baoyuan felt a little self-doubtful. She just put it aside casually at that time.
"Probably." She said uncertainly.
Coincidentally, Yin looked around but couldn't find it.
"Forget it, let's get a new one." Song Baoyuan was too lazy to waste time.
"Yes." Qiao Yin took out dozens of similar handkerchiefs from the cabinet. "I'll embroider a new one for you tomorrow. What style would you like?"
Song Baoyuan didn't care, "It's all right, whatever you want."
"Then it should be orchids. This servant is good at that."
"Um."
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