"Otherwise I will call the guards in to beat you with a stick!" said Xie Nanjia.
"How dare you!" Zhao Jingyu raised his eyebrows and said, "You are rebelling!"
Thank God, he finally spoke.
Xie Nanjia suppressed her laughter and said aggrievedly, "Of course I dare not. The Second Young Master is the master and I am the servant. Even if the Marquis has instructed me, I dare not do anything to the Second Young Master. If the Second Young Master continues to ignore me, there is no point for me to stay here. I have no choice but to go back alone."
"..." Zhao Jingyu looked at her clumsy performance coldly, realizing that he had been fooled by her again. He was very annoyed, snorted coldly, turned over and went to sleep.
Xie Nanjia smiled and continued to act pitiful: "Second Master, you are tacitly allowing me to go back. I can't ride a horse, and I have no one to escort me. I might be eaten by wild beasts or kidnapped by criminals before I can even get home. I am so pretty. If I really fall into the hands of criminals, I can only die to preserve my innocence. Second Master, I have served you for so long, can you really bear it?"
Zhao Jingyu: “…”
You are so shameless that you actually say that you are good-looking. You are as thin as a stick of firewood. Only I am blind and like you. If it were anyone else, they would have been scared away long ago.
You silly girl, you made me so angry that I had a heart attack. Do you think that just saying a few nice words and pretending to be pitiful will be enough
You wish!
Aren't you usually arrogant and look down on others? Why are you stooping so low now
Last time I was kind enough to let you stay in the west wing for one night and I even gave you my bed, but you got angry and haven’t been nice to me for more than half a month. A gentleman’s revenge is never too late. Today is finally your turn. I’ll show you how it feels to try so hard to please someone and still not be able to do anything. Humph!
He was determined to leave Xie Nanjia alone and refused to speak no matter what Xie Nanjia said. Xie Nanjia had no choice but to tuck in the quilt for him, then got up and walked out of the tent.
Zhao Jingyu was startled when she heard her footsteps sound wrong. She turned her head quietly to observe and found that she was gone. Then she heard Wei Jun outside asking, "Where are you going so late?"
Xie Nanjia said, "The Second Young Master refuses to forgive me and wants to send me back to the capital, so I'm leaving now."
Zhao Jingyu: “…”
Who drove you away? Did I say a word? You are telling lies all the time.
Wei Jun thought Xie Nanjia was really going to leave, and subconsciously wanted to stop her. Xie Nanjia quickly raised her index finger at him and blinked.
Huangfu was smarter and understood Xie Nanjia's meaning before Wei Jun. He cleared his throat and said loudly, "Even if you want to leave, you have to wait until dawn. It's so dangerous in the middle of the night!"
Wei Jun finally came to his senses and agreed, "Yes, yes, let's go tomorrow. There are many wolves in the mountains. It's not safe."
"No." Xie Nanjia said, "I pissed off the Second Young Master, so I deserved to be eaten by the wolf. I'd better leave early, so that the Second Young Master won't be upset by looking at me."
Wei Jun and Huangfu stopped trying to dissuade her and let her go.
Zhao Jingyu curled his lips and turned his head back, thinking to himself, don't think I don't know that you are working together to deceive me. Do you think I am stupid or do you think the sentry at the door is blind? How could he let anyone out in the middle of the night
Thinking of this, he ignored it and wondered in his mind how to punish the two traitors Wei Jun and Huangfu tomorrow.
You have really become so capable that you dare to join forces to deceive the master. I will break your legs!
He was very sure that Xie Nanjia would just walk around and come back soon. However, he thought about it for a long time, but there was no movement outside and Xie Nanjia did not come back.
You silly girl, where have you been? It’s already so late and you haven’t come back to sleep yet. Do you want me to come find you
Don’t even think about it. I wouldn’t come to find you even if I had nothing better to do!
After a while, seeing that there was still no movement outside, he couldn't help but wonder, could it be that the dead girl was caught as a thief by the patrolling soldiers again
When he thought of being caught by the soldiers, the scene of Xie Nanjia being hugged by a man automatically popped up in his mind. He sat up from the bed, put on his clothes, and walked out of the tent in his wooden clogs.
Wei Jun and Huangfu were both waiting outside the door. When they saw him come out, they bowed and asked, "Second Young Master, why did you come out?"
Zhao Jingyu put his hands behind his back and said nonchalantly, "I can't sleep, so I'm walking around."
Wei Jun said: "I will accompany you..."
"No, I want to take a walk alone." Zhao Jingyu stopped him immediately.
"…" Wei Jun did not insist. After Huangfu walked away with his clogs clacking, he pushed Huangfu and said, "You follow him."
Huangfu is good at Qinggong and is best at tracking.
Zhao Jingyu walked so fast that he didn't notice anyone following him. He was concentrating on looking for Xie Nanjia.
The moonlight was cold and the stars were twinkling. Apart from the patrolling soldiers, there was no one in the camp, not even a wild cat.
"You silly girl, you're not really gone, are you?" A cool breeze blew by, Zhao Jingyu wrapped his clothes tightly, and muttered softly.
Of course Xie Nanjia wouldn't really leave, she went to her father's tent.
Tonight she deliberately used her unique skill of pitching pots, firstly to defeat the prince, and secondly to give some hints to her father and brother, so that they would associate this incident with her and feel close to her.
She has been back for several months, but has not been able to see her mother. Her mother never leaves the house, so if she wants to see her, she can only go to the general's mansion, so she must find a way to get her father to accept her, so that she may be allowed to enter the general's mansion.
She missed her mother so much that she took the risk even though she knew doing so would attract everyone's attention and suspicion, even if it meant offending the crown prince.
But she didn't expect that doing so would not only offend the prince, but also inadvertently hurt Zhao Jingyu's self-esteem.
She didn't expect that Zhao Jingyu valued her so much. He was forced into a dilemma by the prince and was unwilling to use her as a bet. She was not only surprised, but also very moved.
The reason why she was willing to humble herself and coax Zhao Jingyu, and even wash his feet, was because of this feeling of being touched.
Zhao Jingyu was so angry about her that he fainted, so it was only natural for her to accommodate him.
But then she remembered what Yiyun said to her in the west wing that day, and she felt very uneasy. Although Zhao Jingyu's feelings for her might not be as Yiyun said, she couldn't let it develop even if there was the slightest possibility.
She returned to the Marquis' Mansion for her son. Her whole heart was devoted to her son. She had no extra money to give to others, and she didn't intend to give it to others.
As for men, love, and marriage, they are not worth mentioning to her now. Even though she would occasionally blush and her heart would beat fast because of Zhao Jingyu's teasing, that was just a natural reaction of the body and did not mean that she would be attracted to him.
Not only does she not know how to do it, she cannot do it. Although she is no longer the same person she used to be, Zhao Jingyu is still her former brother-in-law. How can she be attracted to her own brother-in-law
Just now in the tent, it was based on this idea that she decided to stop coaxing Zhao Jingyu.
Let him be angry if he wants to. If he gets too angry, he will naturally stop liking her. This will be good for both of them.
But after she left the tent and walked in the moon field for a while, she came to her senses again when she was blown by the cold wind. She remembered that she had just made up her mind to coax Zhao Jingyu and influence him with her tenderness so that he would help her son in the future.
After thinking about it, she became conflicted and didn't know what to do with Zhao Jingyu.
She had never been so entangled with anyone in her two lifetimes, and she felt like she was going crazy because of Zhao Jingyu.
Just like now, she was hiding in the shadow outside her father's tent, listening to the conversation between her father and brother, but her heart was still thinking about Zhao Jingyu.
It was not until later when she heard her father and brother talk about how much she looked like Nan Jia, and even suspected that she was Nan Jia's reincarnation, that she became excited and temporarily put Zhao Jingyu aside.
She was surprised that her father would think about reincarnation. If her father really believed in this, did it mean that she could tell him the truth directly
Will her father believe her, acknowledge her, and love her unconditionally as before
She really wanted to rush into the tent regardless of everything, tell her father the truth, cry in her father's broad arms, and confide her bitterness and grievances to her father.
But she had not lost her mind yet. It would be too abrupt to rush in like this. She could not guarantee that her father would really accept such absurd words. What if her father thought that she had ulterior motives and arrested her? Then it would alarm Zhao Jingyu and inevitably arouse his suspicion again.
She decided to wait a little longer and not act too hastily. There would be many opportunities to see her father in the future. She wanted to slowly and step by step let her father accept her existence.
Thinking of this, she tiptoed out of her father's tent and walked back, avoiding the patrolling soldiers.
She didn’t know if it was a coincidence or something, but not long after she walked away, she ran into Song Huai again.
Song Huai, dressed in a white shirt, emerged silently from between the two tents like a ghost, startling Xie Nanjia. Before she could even scream, Song Huai covered her mouth and dragged her into the shadows.
"Don't scream, or I'll kill you!" Song Huai didn't recognize her and threatened her in a low voice.
Xie Nanjia leaned obediently in his arms, not moving.
After a while, there was the sound of clothes tearing through the air, and two dark shadows flashed past their eyes.
Song Huai was obviously relieved and whispered, "I'll let you go now, but if you dare to scream, I'll kill you immediately. Do you hear me?"
Xie Nanjia nodded to indicate that she heard it.
Song Huai was surprised at her well-behaved character, and later realized that she was not a eunuch but a girl.
"Sorry!" He quickly let go of her hand and stood opposite Xie Nanjia, keeping a distance. "I didn't mean to offend you... Hey, is that you?"
Xie Nanjia laughed: "You should say, it's you again."
Song Huai also laughed: "Yes, why is it you again? Why are you still out so late?"
"What about you?" Xie Nanjia asked back, "Do you have a lot of enemies? Why are you always being chased by people?"
Song Huai was silent for a moment, then said vaguely, "Who knows? Maybe I'm just too good."
Xie Nanjia smiled slightly and didn't ask any further questions.
Song Huai said: "You showed off your skills tonight which were really amazing. I'm very surprised. Are you really just a little girl?"
"How else could he be a little boy?" Xie Nanjia also imitated him in being vague.
Song Huai smiled and stopped asking questions tacitly.
Everyone has secrets that are unknown to others. It is better to know less about those that have nothing to do with you.
However, they both had a common secret. Xie Nanjia remembered the lie she had told Zhao Jingyu last time, so she told him briefly about it to avoid saying something wrong if someone asked her about it.
Song Huai didn't expect that Xie Nanjia, a little girl, was so loyal that she would actually deceive her master in order to help him keep a secret.
"Song Huai is so grateful for the young lady's kindness, I don't know how to repay her."
Xie Nanjia said: "Didn't you give me the jade pendant? When I need it, I won't be polite to you."
"That's right." Song Huai clasped his fists and said, "I still say the same thing. If you have any difficulties in the future, you can go to Nanzhao Palace with the jade pendant to find me, and I will definitely help you with all my strength."
"Thank you, little prince!" Xie Nanjia said, "It's not easy to stay here for long. Please take care of yourself. I'm leaving first."
"Go!" Song Huai nodded.
Xie Nanjia bowed and took her leave.
"Hey!" Song Huai took two quick steps to catch up with her, "I don't even know your name."
"My name is Xiu'er..." Before Xie Nanjia finished speaking, she suddenly heard a clicking sound behind her. When she turned around, she saw Zhao Jingyu striding towards her.
(End of this chapter)