The Red Mansion Big Liar.

Chapter 479 Suspicion
Back in his cabin, Xing Zhong told his wife all the details he had found out and his guesses.

Unable to conceal his excitement, he said, "You must do a good job as a maid in the future. Whether he can enjoy a peaceful life in the second half of his life depends entirely on her. Don't lose your temper!"

"Isn't it too early? How about we discuss it with your elder sister after we get to Beijing?"

It's not that Xing's wife intended to shirk the responsibility, but she just believed everything she heard. It was really difficult for her to bring herself to persuade her daughter to become a concubine before anything even happened.

Xing Zhong nodded and said, "That's true. The girl from the Zhen family was just a maid who was bought by the Xue family and given to her as a gift. He treated her like a treasure and treated her father so well. Regardless of her character or appearance, how is our Xiuyan worse than others?"

He became more and more excited as he spoke, and said in a serious tone: "When we get to the capital, don't rush. Let me find out everything first. If she can be my legal wife, there's no need to wrong our girl!"

Xing's wife was not as confident as him, and said hesitantly: "It's hard to say. Haven't you seen the girl from the Xue family? Although she is still young and hasn't grown up yet, she is as delicate as a porcelain doll. In two years, I'm afraid she will be even better than Xiu Yan..."

Although the Xue family is not as prominent as the Xing family, Xue Baoqin has traveled extensively with her father since she was young and is not shy about showing up in public.

Hearing his wife's words, Xing Zhong couldn't help but frown and said suspiciously, "You know, the Xue family is not like us. They are almost unable to make ends meet, so why are they rushing to the capital? And they are bringing their families with them?"

"You mean?"

Xing Zhong narrowed his eyes and said, "Think about it, Mr. Zhen was taking stock of the Xue family's business, and Xue happened to go to Beijing with his family, and ran into him at the dock. If you say there is no trick in this, I won't believe it even if you kill me!"

"No...it can't be right?"

"It's better to believe it than not to believe it. The boy from the Xue family is not ignorant of the world, but the girl from the Xue family is not very old. Ask Xiuyan to ask her indirectly why they went to Beijing!"

Xing's wife responded quickly, "That girl and Xiuyan get along quite well, and now they live together. It's inconvenient to talk over there, I'll go call her down now."

……

at the same time.

In the cabin on the second floor, Xing Xiuyan and Xue Baoqin sat on the edge of the bed hand in hand.

"I was worried that I would be bored on the road, but I didn't expect to be able to travel with Sister Xing. Now I don't have to worry about having no one to talk to!"

"Yes! This world is like the saying goes, there is no coincidence in the world. It's not easy to be in the same business as you, and we are actually relatives!"

One of them was cheerful and lively, the other was as elegant as a chrysanthemum. Their personalities were quite compatible. In addition, their ages were not too far apart, so they quickly became familiar with each other and simply moved in together.

"Sister is the same age as the eldest sister from my uncle's family. I will introduce you to each other when we get to Beijing!"

"Yes!" Xing Xiuyan nodded and said, "Sister is going to Beijing to visit relatives?"

Xue Baoqin pursed her lips, a cunning look flashed in her eyes, and instead of answering, she asked, "Where's my sister?"

She had followed her father around the country since she was young and was familiar with the ways of the world. Although she got along quite well with Xing Xiuyan, she also knew that one must be wary of others and not talk too much with people she just met.

The reason why she went to Beijing was difficult to explain, but it was not because she disagreed with her mother and brother.

On the contrary, after wandering with her father for so many years, her heart has become wild and she is unwilling to get married blindly.

However, he didn't want to deceive Xing Xiuyan, so he deliberately avoided answering.

Xing Xiuyan was calm and indifferent. Although she noticed that Xue Baoqin was avoiding the question, she did not argue with her. Instead, she said calmly, "The south of the Yangtze River has suffered a disaster. There is still some harvest in the autumn, but the price of grain has not dropped but increased day by day. I am afraid it will be even higher in winter. My family has always been poor, so I can only go to the capital to live with my aunt."

After that, Xing Xiuyan changed the subject very considerately and said, "I have lived in Gusu since I was a child. This is my first time traveling far away. I am not like my sister. She is so young but has been to so many places. Why don't you tell me about the local customs and practices of different places?"

Xue Baoqin smiled and said, "The customs and habits of our Daxia are pretty much the same. Even if there are some differences, they are recorded in the books, but there's nothing interesting to talk about."

At this point, she blinked her big black eyes and changed the subject, "When I was eight years old, I went to the coast of the West Sea with my father to buy foreign goods and met a girl from Zhenzhen Country. That was interesting."

"What is the Real Country?"

"Then I don't know. The girl is only fifteen years old. Her face is just like the beauties in Western paintings. She also has yellow hair and a fringe. Her hair is covered with gems such as coral, cat's eye, and emerald... Some people say that she is well versed in Chinese poetry and literature, can recite the Five Classics, and can write poems and lyrics!"

Xing Xiuyan couldn't help but marvel: "The Four Books and Five Classics, poetry and lyrics are not something that even in our Great Xia, not to mention a foreign woman who can actually understand poetry and literature, it's really rare." "Not only that! My sister also has a poem she wrote!"

"Oh?"

Xing Xiuyan was about to ask about the content when she heard a knock on the door and her mother's voice.

"Xiu Yan! Come out for a moment, your father is looking for you."

"I'm coming!" Xing Xiuyan agreed, "Sister..."

Xue Baoqin waved her hand and said, "Go ahead, sister! The journey will take at least half a month!"

After that, he opened the door, bowed to Xing Xiuyan's mother, and said crisply, "Auntie!"

Looking at Xue Baoqin, who looked like a porcelain doll in front of her, Xing's wife couldn't be happy at all.

She forced a smile and said, "As expected of a lady from a noble family!"

After saying that, he pulled Xing Xiuyan downstairs.

After leading his daughter back to his cabin, Xing Zhong couldn't wait for his daughter to bow, so he asked, "My dear daughter, how are you getting along with the girl from the Xue family?"

"Sister Xue is lively and straightforward, and gets along well with my daughter."

"That's good!" Xing Zhong said with a smile, "Go back and ask around to find out what she is doing in Beijing!"

"This……"

Xing Xiuyan frowned slightly, thought for a moment and said, "My daughter mentioned it when we were chatting casually earlier. She seemed to have something to hide. Daddy should not ask about it."

She just thought that Xing Zhong was curious and was worried that he would ask too many questions and bring bad luck to the Xue family, so she spoke up to remind him.

Xing Zhong and his wife exchanged a glance, and the latter immediately said unhappily, "Girl, your father is doing this for your own good. What's the matter?"

Xing Xiuyan refused to give in and said, "A gentleman does not force others to do things that are difficult for them. Since Sister Xue is unwilling to speak, why force her?"

Mrs. Xing wanted to say more, but Xing Zhong pulled her back and said, "If our daughter doesn't want to, we shouldn't force her."

He then waved his hand at Xing Xiuyan and said, "Alright! I just saw that the Xue family was also traveling with their entire family and brought a lot of luggage, so I was curious. If you don't want to ask, then don't ask."

Xing Xiuyan looked at the abnormal Xing Zhong in surprise and said tentatively, "Dad, if you have nothing else to say, I will take my leave first."

"go Go!"

After Xing Xiuyan left, he complained to his wife, "Good steel should be used on the blade. If she doesn't want to ask, we should just ask. Why force it now? Because of such a small matter, our daughter has become estranged from us!"

"Our Xiuyan is the most filial, how could she..."

"That depends on what it is!"

After he said this, Xing's wife remained silent.

"Okay! Anyway, there is still a long time. I will go find the Xue family boy, and you go find Mrs. Xue. Let's ask around separately."

He had a good plan, but the Xue family had their own difficulties and were very secretive about the reason for their trip to Beijing.

But the more this happened, the more strange it seemed to Xing Zhong and his wife, and the more they suspected that their guess was correct.

……

(End of this chapter)