Xie Wangzhi was shocked, but she understood. Since she was facing Xie Yunzhi, she didn't pretend anymore and just nodded: "Okay, then let's do as you say. But after all, he is a man I don't know, so I probably can't stay for long."
Hearing her say this, Xie Yunzhi breathed a sigh of relief, as if she had agreed. As usual, he wanted to touch his sister's head gently, but as soon as he raised his hand, he hesitated for a moment and put it down again.
This matter is difficult to talk about, but it is just like that. There are many marriages between noble families, and they are nothing more than unmarried men and women of marriageable age, hoping to get a good marriage. But after all, Xie Wangzhi was deceived. Xie Wangzhi did not agree with his father's thoughts, but he could not disobey his father's orders. He was caught in the middle, and his conscience and filial piety were like a saw torment. He could not be a good son, nor a good brother.
He felt even more ashamed and did not dare to look at Xie Wangzhi: "I know the person you are meeting this time. He is the young master of Cui family in Boling. He is the same age as you and is a gentleman. You don't have to be too reserved. He will not embarrass you. Just treat it as a consideration for the two elders and meet for the time being."
"I understand." Xie Wangzhi understood this logic, otherwise she would not have agreed. She asked Xie Yunzhi a few more questions about the young man, so as not to accidentally offend the other party when they met.
After asking, she gathered up her skirt and said, "I'll go downstairs now. Brother, you don't have to follow me upstairs."
The waiters in the restaurant had been arranged, and the private rooms were also reserved. Xie Yunzhi was not worried that Xie Wangzhi would get into any trouble. Seeing his sister getting off the carriage, he couldn't help but said: "Wangzhi, I..."
"No need to say, I understand." Xie Wangzhi knew that it was difficult for his brother, so he was not angry. Instead, he smiled and said, "Brother, remember to pick me up later."
“…Okay.” Xie Yunzhi was silent for a moment, and then he spoke again in his usual joking manner, “Don’t refuse to go home when the time comes because the food tastes so good.”
"Then let brother pay and take the food home to eat." Xie Wangzhi knew he was joking, so he said this, exhaled slowly, and let the waiter who came forward lead him into the building.
She didn't wear the veil that noble ladies wear when going out, revealing her figure openly, her slender body tucked into her cloak, and she disappeared after entering the restaurant and turning the corner. Xie Yunzhi stared at the door of the restaurant for a while, and suddenly punched the table, knocking over the teapot on the small table.
The accompanying servant was startled and quickly turned around to ask, "My dear, what's wrong with you?"
"It's okay." Xie Yunzhi answered indifferently and picked up the teapot that was rolling on the carpet.
The servant was puzzled, but he couldn't ask him, so he just said "Oh" and slowly retreated outside.
The car curtain fell, blocking out the light from outside again. The moment it fell, Xie Yunzhi suddenly closed his eyes.
Xie Yunzhi was being tortured there, but Xie Wangzhi was quite open-minded. She was a noble lady, born in the Xie family of Chang'an, and had responsibilities on her shoulders. Even if her father was determined to marry her to a man from a noble family, she had no choice but to hang herself with a rope, or else she would have to marry him and become a noble lady, so as to avoid any conflicts between the two families.
This time, I just need to meet him, and he didn't show any intention, so it seems that the rope won't be used for the time being. Xie Yunzhi wouldn't lie about this matter. If he said he was a gentleman, then it was true. Xie Wangzhi didn't need to be on guard, and he could just interact normally.
Even so, when he entered the private room and saw the young man, Xie Wangzhi was still a little surprised.
She had asked Xie Yunzhi before and knew that this young man was from the Cui family of Boling, with an elegant name, Yunqi, the same age as her, and was temporarily serving as the chief clerk in the Dali Temple. The seventeen-year-old lady and the young man were not the same after all. The ladies of the same age that Xie Wangzhi had seen were almost grown up, but the young man behind the table had a subtle childishness between his eyebrows and eyes, and looked younger than her.
She was stunned, and the thought in her mind blurted out: "When is my husband's birthday?"
Cui Yunqi was slightly startled. He didn't ask any more questions or give any more answers. He just vaguely said the month: "In December."
He is indeed younger than her. Thinking of this, Xie Wangzhi felt even more embarrassed.
To be fair, Cui Yunqi's face was indeed beautiful, like a jade carving, but it was different from Li Qishen's beauty. Li Qishen was cold and beautiful when he wasn't smiling, but he was full of vigor and vitality when he smiled, and the whole person was lively, while Cui Yunqi just lowered his eyebrows, and his dense eyelashes covered half of his pupils. He looked very proper, not like a person, but more like a doll.
Besides, he was younger than Xie Wangzhi, and his birthday was in December, so if it was later, he would be one year younger. She felt even more awkward, so she sat down opposite him and asked, "Do you know what you are going to do on this trip, my dear?"
Cui Yunqi didn't answer, but asked another question: "My lady, since you asked this, I guess you have someone in your heart, right?"
Xie Wang was stunned: "What do you mean?"
"My lady asked me about my birthday when she came in. Maybe she is not very satisfied with me." Cui Yunqi did not mind. He did not like Xie Wangzhi's look anyway. "She asked this again. Are you afraid that I might have some thoughts?"
"That's not the case. I mentioned this to my brother before, and he said that you are a gentleman. Now that I see you, I have no dissatisfaction with you." Xie Wangzhi considered, "It's just that my family members are thinking about it, and I think you understand, but I don't want to think about it for now... Please forgive me."
She thought about it again, not quite sure. She felt that the Li Qishen that popped up in her mind the moment she saw Cui Yunqi just now was a little strange, but she didn't quite understand where to put Li Qishen. She was tangled in her heart, and her brows unconsciously frowned slightly. "As for the person in my heart... I don't think there is anyone for the time being, my dear, you don't need to care."
Cui Yunqi didn't bother to care about romantic matters, so he nodded and said, "There's no need to be so distant. If you're willing, just call me Shi Xi."
"Then I won't be shy and just call you by your name."
The man was heartless and the woman was not interested. They both came here just to have dinner. They talked for two or three sentences at the beginning. Then the waitresses in the restaurant started to serve the dishes, and Xie Wangzhi's attention shifted to the dishes.
August is a good time to eat crabs. Since it is the restaurant's signature banquet, the main dish is naturally crab. The whole crab does not look good to eat, but the chef has a clever idea. The crab meat and crab roe are scooped out and made into different dishes. The main dish is served in the crab shell as it is, and you only need to use chopsticks to eat it.
It certainly looked good to eat like this, but without the fun of peeling the crabs himself, Xie Wangzhi felt that it was lacking in interest and took a few bites casually. Cui Yunqi sitting opposite him obviously didn't like this either. Compared to the crabs cooked in various ways, he spent more time eating vegetarian dishes.
The atmosphere in the private room was dull. Someone knocked on the door. Xie Wangzhi heaved a sigh of relief and quickly said, "Come in."
"Excuse me, both of you." A waiter came in, bowed first, and fixed his eyes on the ground. "A distinguished guest has come downstairs and asked for this room. Can you two move and change seats?"
We had arranged to eat here beforehand. If the waiter could say something like that, he must not be from a noble family. The only guess was that he was from the royal family. Cui Yunqi thought for a moment and guessed who it was: "No, there's no reason to change places in the middle of a meal."
"This..." The waiter looked embarrassed, "That distinguished guest..."
"Then I'll go out and talk to her." Cui Yunqi stood up, thought for a moment, and said to Xie Wangzhi, "Please wait a moment, I'll be back soon, please forgive me."
Xie Wangzhi was happy to be free, so of course he would not refuse, and nodded with a smile.
Cui Yunqi also nodded, turned around and followed the waiter out.
As soon as he left, the bamboo curtain fell down as it was. Xie Wangzhi felt much more relaxed and scooped a small spoonful of tofu cooked with crab roe into his mouth. The tofu was soft and tender, and could be crushed with the tip of the tongue. It was mixed with distinct crab roe, which added a lot of freshness.
Xie Wangzhi suddenly thought that maybe he could go to the East Market to pick some fresh crabs, imitate the taste, and make a dish of crab roe tofu for Li Qishen.
**
Prince's Mansion.
“… I won’t go. If I say I won’t go, then I won’t go.” Li Qishen turned over and lay on the low couch with his back facing Cui Shi.
The weather was fine today, with the sun shining brightly. Li Qishen had someone move a couch under the eaves, and he lay there all afternoon. Cui Shi came to call him three times, from hunting to banquets, but he just refused to go.
Cui Shi was at a loss and could only say, "This is Changning's invitation. He said we were going to a crab feast. Why aren't you going?"
"Since Changning is the host, what are you afraid of? If you want to go, just go by yourself." Li Qishen was a little annoyed, "Why do you want me to do anything?"
"Because Changning only called the two of us." Cui Shi was anxious, "If you don't go, do you want me to go alone and stare at her?"
"Why not?"
"Changning hasn't married yet!" Cui Shi was even more anxious, "A man and a woman alone, this..."
Li Qishen couldn't help but sneered: "Don't worry, Changning has someone in his heart and he's in the restaurant, so he won't do anything to ruin your innocence."
The teasing meaning in this sentence was too strong, almost mocking. Cui Shi choked. He wanted to fight but couldn't beat Li Qishen. After holding it in for a long time, he could only say: "Then you go to sleep. I think it's going to rain soon. Why don't you get up?"
"Don't even mention raining. Even if it's raining knives, I won't get up." Li Qishen sneered and ignored Cui Shi. He hugged the soft pillow and buried his face in it.
He was determined not to get up, and Cui Shi could do nothing about it. He sat at the stone table, chewing nuts one by one, making a crunching sound, like an angry squirrel.
After being a squirrel for a while, a man suddenly rushed in from outside. As soon as he entered the door, he shouted at Li Qishen: "Hurry up, hurry up, something big is wrong!"
"No thanks." Li Qishen spoke lazily and nonchalantly, with a hint of a smile in his tone, "What's the matter? Why are you in such a hurry?"
The one who came in was Chang Ning, dressed in a Hu costume, with a whip tied around her waist, obviously she had just come back from riding a horse. She wiped her face, panting slightly, "I went to Deyue Tower earlier, and wanted to book a private room to treat you guys to a crab feast, but the one I liked was booked. I asked the waiter to ask if the people inside could move to another seat, and the one who came out to tell me was Cui Shixi."
Li Qishen knew the person mentioned. He looked at Wen Ya, but he couldn't figure out what was hidden in her. Li Qishen always felt that he could smell the same bloody smell from Cui Yunqi, and he became alert instinctively, but his tone was still indifferent: "Then you change to another room."
"What do you want to change?" Chang Ning was annoyed. "I asked him what he was doing, and he said he was having dinner with Madam Xie!"
Li Qishen's heart tightened, and he rolled over from the low couch to the ground. When he looked up at Changning, his eyebrows were grim and murderous: "Really?"
The author has something to say: Q: Hey, aren’t you the one who can’t get up even if you’re stabbed
Changsheng: Stop talking nonsense, I’m stressed (…)
The second male lead can't be the second male lead, and the one with small words can't be the second male lead (knock on the table.jpg)
Q: Then let me ask Mr. Cui, what do you think
He Yu: I understand, I am just a tool, you can persecute me at will (peaceful)
—Thanks to the little angels who cast their votes or irrigated me with nutrient solution~
Thanks to the little angels who cast [mines]: Wei Wei 153, 1 Wangzai milk;
Thanks to the little angel who irrigated [nutrient solution]:
Fei Fei Fei Fei 126 bottles; Tang Shao° 47 bottles; Jiu Mu 26 bottles; Wei Wei 153 2 bottles; Wang Zai Milk, Han Han Lost, Sky Sauce, Windsky 1 bottle;
Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!