Xie Ming

On the 26th of September, just past the second quarter of the hour of Si (9-11 AM).

In response to the slave rebellion in Jiangnan, Xiao, Qiu, and Yao in the mansion conspired together, devised a plan, and after a lengthy explanation, finally came up with a reasonable solution.

At this moment, Ye Zhengji and Xiao Jingchuan finally opened up, as if a huge weight had been lifted from their hearts.

Suddenly, from the back courtyard, a curtain was lifted, and the maid Hongyu strode over, rushing to deliver a message.

"Oh, Qiu Zhongcheng is here too."

When the woman gracefully emerged from behind the curtain, she peeked out and saw that there were guests in the house. Not wanting to be negligent, she quickly offered a respectful greeting and then proceeded to greet them.

Seeing this intention, Qiu Zhizhong did not stand on ceremony, but returned the favor with a bow and said no more.

After finishing her work, without stopping, Hongyu walked a few steps to Xiao Qian.

Unexpectedly, and without any reason, his expression suddenly changed.

“Master, someone wants to see you. They’ve come several times already, and today is another one of them. You’re in such a rush, why did you leave so early? It’s not right to just send her away again.”

"Madam couldn't persuade me, so she told me to go ahead and ask if you're going to see me or not?"

He glanced at her, puffed out his cheeks, and didn't seem to be saying anything nice.

Hongyu suddenly threw a tantrum, spouting off a perfunctory remark that was neither serious nor meaningful, and seemed to have a rather unfriendly attitude.

Xiao Jingchuan's vision went black. He wondered what had gotten into this young lady that she had to cause such a scene. Confused, he frowned and retorted.

"Huh? What kind of message is this?"

"Without beginning or end."

"Who is it? Why does it sound like they've done something to upset you again?"

"This nose is neither a nose nor an eye."

"Only Feiyu and the master are considered family."

"Just because someone else is watching, you talk to me like this?"

"It's bound to make people laugh at us."

Xiao raised his eyebrows, awkwardly maintaining a composed demeanor, mainly because he felt embarrassed in front of others.

Unexpectedly, Hongyu, upon hearing these words, also became quite resentful.

"Hey, you—" The words were about to come out, but he quickly swallowed them back.

With a gritted teeth, he decided to kneel down immediately.

"Alright, this servant apologizes to the Duke."

Xiao Lang was truly helpless against the cunning and unruly behavior, finding no respite whatsoever.

Seeing him like this, and knowing he couldn't just ignore it in front of others.

He sighed, shook his head, reached out and grabbed something, realizing he still had to find a way to save face and make things sound more convincing.

"Okay, okay, that's enough."

"I didn't say anything, please forgive me."

"Quickly, get up."

He hurriedly helped the unwilling man to his feet, and then asked him a question.

"Tell me, who is it?"

"Since you are in the inner quarters, and Xiao'e asked you to come, you must be a female relative."

"Why must you meet with me?"

"But is there something wrong?"

"You should explain yourself more clearly," Xiao Yanhao asked.

However, Hongyu still looked extremely unwilling.

Kind words were not spoken politely; instead, she spoke sarcastically and complained bitterly about her appearance.

"What serious business could there possibly be?"

"Just trying to curry favor."

"It's the young lady, the second young lady, of the original owner of this house."

“I’ve been coming here several times lately, just wanting to catch a glimpse of you.”

"Sir, what kind of situation is this?"

"It's just that the lady is good-natured, and she actually agreed to it."

"If it were up to me, I would have chased him away with a broom several times over."

The woman, full of complaints and resentment, suddenly raised her voice two notches as she waved her handkerchief.

"Oh?"

"Yuan, you mean people from the Chen family?"

Xiao remained silent, only picking out the useful words to discern the truth.

"Yes, the second young lady of the Chen family, her name is something like Wan or Ying."

"Pretentious and putting on airs, acting like a spoiled young lady."

"Oh, Madam wants to say that someone said they want to talk to you about this house, and also, something about rewarding the troops."

"Who knows if it's true or not?" "They said they came to pay their respects on behalf of their elders."

"Since you've said that, Madam, it's not appropriate to refuse any further."

"I just saw you come back and you came over so I could call out to you."

"Hmph, it's true what they say, 'He who eats another's food is bound to do his bidding.'"

"Sir, we might as well just not live in her house anymore. Moving out will at least give us some peace and quiet."

Hongyu, that girl, wears her heart on her sleeve. She has a sharp tongue and no sense of propriety, only caring about her own pleasure.

Especially when it came to Master Xiao Lang, the imposing manner was even more pronounced.

This nagging was so intense, the smell of jealousy practically wafted all the way to the alleyway.

"kindness?"

"Hey, what are you talking about?"

"The Chen family has sent people to reward the troops."

"This"

Xiao's ears were ringing from listening to her words.

He recalled what he had heard.

He was still pondering and unable to elaborate, but Zhizhong, who had overheard some clues, spoke up in his defense.

"The family of Haining in Zhejiang is a prominent family of the current dynasty and should not be underestimated."

"Their clan leader is named Chen Xuanli, who is over seventy years old and I heard he is quite a figure."

"A few years ago, he told the public that he was living in seclusion in his own mansion, claiming to be practicing Taoism, but... hehe."

"Whether he's in power or out of office, especially in the last month or so, he's been quite busy."

"Her eldest son and granddaughter, Chen Wanxuan, entered the palace during the Hongguang reign. Oh, that is, the current Empress Dowager. You must have met her."

"Well, as for the person who came to the manor today, judging from what Miss Hongyu said, it seems that she should be Chen Wanxuan's younger sister, Miss Chen Wanying, the second young lady."

Qiu Dao explained the Chen family's background, and these words were, to some extent, meant to remind Xiao Jingchuan.

If we actually bump into each other, it would be disrespectful in front of others, and it would be difficult to make amends later.

However, Xiao Lang was clearly uninterested in this, dismissively waving his hand and adding a few sarcastic remarks.

"Ha, what Chen family or Li family?"

"Second Miss, I don't care what rank she is."

"If there is really something wrong, let Chen Xuanli come to us in person."

"What's there to talk about when a mere maid comes to visit and beg for money?"

"That's where things go wrong in this world."

Xiao disliked the lace-up design of the dress and didn't care much about it.

Upon hearing this, Hongyu's icy expression softened, and she realized that the argument was quite reasonable. She quickly chimed in to agree.

"What you say is true. So, you don't plan to see him?"

His daughter couldn't wait to get rid of the matter as soon as possible and end it all.

Seeing her beauty and spirit, Xiao Ye sighed helplessly, a bitter smile on his face.

"I won't see you."

"Tell Xiao'e that you're discussing matters up front, and you can just have her handle it."

However, as the saying goes, an observer sees more clearly. At this moment, Qiu Zhizhong, who was sitting at the table, understood the situation and hurriedly stopped him from speaking.

"Hey, wait a minute, wait a minute."

"Hehehe, Lao Xiao, Lao Xiao, why are you in such a hurry?"

"Wouldn't such an arrangement offend some people?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao raised an eyebrow.

"Then tell me, what kind of mess is this?" He shrugged, not wanting to get involved in any trouble.

Judging from his posture, Zhizhong smiled wryly, unable to resist making a sarcastic remark.

"Hahaha"

"If you ask me, this is a good thing, isn't it?!"

"Lotus seeds are tossed across the water, the clear ripples scattering the moon's reflection."

"The boat moves, startling the egret's shadow; I laugh and ask, 'Have we met you?'"

"Old Xiao, whether you appreciate it or not, they really went all out for this."

"This is called 'testing the waters'."

"Oh my, Wan Ying, Wan, hehe, what a beautiful character, what a wonderful name."

"Presumably, she must be a beautiful woman."

"Truly, I have feelings for him, but he is indifferent; all that spring has been wasted."

(End of this chapter)