Xiao Jingyan rested outside for most of the day before returning home. Now that he was disturbed by the gang, he no longer had the mood to share the good news with his niece. He had originally intended to keep this embarrassing thing secret.
Unfortunately, things went against their wishes. Someone in the family was injured, even if it was just a servant. Tong Mingyu quickly got the news, and soon after, people from the government came to the house. Now Xiao Jingyan's father, brother, and sisters-in-law all knew that Xiao Jingyan had been drugged and rescued by King Jing.
General Xiao stared at his son for a long time with a look of disgust on his face, then said, "You're really embarrassing me. Can you be any more cowardly?" and walked away, leaving his younger son, who gave him a headache just by looking at him, to his older son, who was always trying to snatch his granddaughter from him, either openly or covertly.
General Xiao left in a leisurely and relaxed manner, with an undisguised gloating look in his relaxed manner.
As the eldest brother, Xiao Jingkang had to stay behind to help clean up the mess and deal with the people in the government office. After sending everyone away, he looked at his youngest brother and shook his head speechlessly.
This is a child who has not grown up. His ability to deal with things is even worse than Alang and Ayi. I don’t know how he managed to survive those two years away. It is a miracle that he was able to come back safely.
When I was his age, I was already the father of two children. But this guy doesn’t even know where his wife is now!
"Brother, can you have a little sympathy?" Xiao Jingyan was very depressed. Not only was he frightened outside, but after returning home, his father despised him and his brother was annoyed with him.
At this moment, he suddenly understood Xiao Rui's feelings. If what happened today happened to Ping An, his father would never have gone so easily, and his elder brother would not have been so calm. Ping An was their treasure, and he was just the little grass on the ground that no one cared about. Alas! What a miserable life!
The results of the interrogation at the yamen were soon presented to the Xiao family. The carriage was hired temporarily and was only responsible for picking up people and sending them out of the woods. Someone would come to pay, and the driver knew nothing about the rest.
The masked men were a group of skilled bandits who traded money for money. The people they met were filthy beggars whose appearance was completely unknown. In short, the investigation into this matter yielded nothing.
This result was already expected by the Xiao family. Who would leave such obvious traces for you to investigate? In the end, this matter had to end in nothing.
Xiao Jingyan was also very open-minded. He took advantage of his physical discomfort to take sick leave, as if he would not finish it until he had repaired it in a year or two.
I don't know what his motivation was, but he often asked Xiao Yao to come over and keep him company, using the excuse that he was a patient and needed care. He would read to her, pour tea, peel fruit... anything he thought a five or six-year-old could do, and he would let her do it. He even said it was for his niece's own good, so that she could learn how to take care of others from a young age.
General Xiao often warned his youngest son behind his wife's back, "Don't go too far. You want someone to serve you? Fine! Get married tomorrow!"
Xiao Jingyan had no choice but to restrain himself and only let Xiao Yao talk and read with him. He didn't dare let her do anything else.
Some people are relaxing and staying at home to recuperate, while others are worried that their crimes will be exposed.
Yu Xianrong sat at her dressing table with a gloomy expression, frowning and biting her lip. Vanilla stood quietly by the door, breathing slowly, trying to minimize her presence.
The room was eerily quiet, with only the occasional rustling sound of wind shaking the branches.
The hateful Xiao family actually dared to ignore his seven years of hard work. Could they find someone who liked Xiao Jingyan more than him? In terms of family background and appearance, he could be ranked among the best in Kyoto. How could he be worse than others?
She would be nineteen next year, and it was said that her mother had already chosen a man for her, and would probably propose marriage after the New Year. Even if she was extremely unhappy, it didn't matter. She was now becoming increasingly passive, and her hope of being with Xiao Jingyan was becoming increasingly slim.
Such a good thing was ruined by King Jing. Now Xiao Jingyan refused to even leave the door. He was completely helpless and couldn't do anything.
If I can't marry Xiao Jingyan, the Xiao family will be my biggest enemy in this life. I will never let them go as long as I have the chance in this life.
Just when she was feeling restless and blaming the world, Madam Yu came to her room surrounded by a group of maids and old women.
"All of you, please leave." Madam Yu, who had just entered the room, dismissed all the servants and sat down next to Yu Xianrong. Looking at her daughter, once her beloved daughter, now driven almost mad by a man, Madam Yu felt a mixture of emotions. She couldn't bear to blame her; she couldn't say anything, as she couldn't let her continue in this state of confusion.
"Rong'er, have you done anything secretly recently?" No one knows a daughter better than her mother. The daughter seems calm recently and stays at home quietly, but in fact, she is constantly making small moves.
The more she avoided others, the more worried Madam Yu became. She did not agree with her daughter's plan, but she could not bear to see her long-cherished wish come to nothing. She had wanted to secretly help her daughter so that she could get what she wanted, but who knew that King Jing, whom her family could not afford to offend, would show up and ruin her entire plan.
It seems that my daughter and that Xiao Jingyan are really not destined to be together!
"I don't understand what you mean. I haven't been anywhere recently." Yu Xianrong argued righteously.
"Don't think that your mother doesn't know what you have done. If I hadn't helped you erase all traces, do you think you can still sit here peacefully? You would have been in jail a long time ago." Mrs. Yu felt helpless about this daughter who would not cry until she saw the coffin and would not turn back even if she hit the wall.
"I, it's all because you didn't help me." Yu Xianrong still didn't seem to admit her fault at all.
"How else do you expect us to help you? Your father has become the laughing stock of the entire capital. The Xiao family avoids him whenever they see him. Why do I take you out again and again? It's because I hope you can gain a good reputation outside and have more opportunities to interact with the women in their family. But what happened? Rong'er, wake up! The Xiao family doesn't want a marriage with us at all."
"No, it's not what you said."
"Well, tell mother what the truth is." Mrs. Yu had made up her mind. She must wake her daughter up today and not let her continue to be stubborn.
Yu Xianrong...
After a moment's silence, Madam Yu took her daughter's cold hand, sighed deeply with pity, and said softly, "Xiao Silang isn't the only good man in the world. Mr. Huang's son is quite good too. He's a Jinshi, a fifth-rank official, and has a very good reputation..."
"What does he look like? Is he as handsome as Xiao Jingyan?"
Madam Yu almost choked to death on her daughter's words. "Handsomeness, can it be eaten? Handsomeness, can it be used as money? Besides, there are only a few people in Kyoto who look like Xiao Jiashilang! It's not that I don't know he's excellent, but the key is that he doesn't like you!"
"What's the point of being handsome? He doesn't even have a proper job. He just idles around all day, a dandy boy. How come I can't see what's good about him?"
"I don't care. I won't marry anyone who's not as pretty as him."
"You have no say in this matter. Since ancient times, marriages have always been decided by parents and matchmakers. From now on, you don't have to do anything. Just focus on embroidering your wedding dress. If there's any more trouble outside, I'll let you get married before the New Year. Believe it or not."
Mrs. Yu acted like she was in charge and gave orders. Before coming to her daughter's room, she wanted to be calm and give gentle advice, but unfortunately, no matter how much she said, good or bad, her daughter still wouldn't listen. In the end, she could only give orders directly.
"No, I won't marry anyone except Xiao Jingyan." Yu Xianrong resisted without showing any weakness.
Mrs. Yu slammed the door and left in anger. Before leaving, she certainly didn't forget to sternly warn her daughter and the maids and servants in the courtyard, "Keep a close eye on your young lady. If anything happens, none of you will survive."
The servants in the yard had no choice but to obey orders. Their fate had always been controlled by their masters, and they had no right to control it themselves.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
