Xie Nanjia left Yixinyuan and went straight to find Lvliu, telling her that she had obtained the lady's consent to go to the general's mansion, and asked her to get ready and set off the day after tomorrow morning.
Luliu had been counting the days and was planning to talk to Zhao Jingping about this matter, but she didn't expect that Xie Nanjia had already done it before her. She was surprised and asked Xie Nanjia how he convinced his wife.
Xie Nanjia then told her the whole story.
Lvliu's admiration for her increased a bit, and she joked, "You are the only one who can maneuver between the two most shrewd and powerful women in the mansion with ease."
Xie Nanjia said: "No matter how smart a person is, as long as he has an obsession, he will be blinded. Qin Wanru is the lady's obsession."
"What about you? What is your obsession?" asked Lu Liu.
Xie Nanjia was stunned for a moment, and said half-jokingly and half-seriously: "Obsession is a person's biggest weakness. How could I possibly tell you?"
"..." Luliu knew she had crossed the line, smiled sadly, and changed the subject, "Does Hualou know about this? Have you asked the lady if she can go with us?"
Xie Nanjia said, "She is the young master's housekeeper aunt, so naturally she should follow him. There is no need to ask Madam for her opinion on this."
"That's good." Lu Liu said, "I'll go tell her later. She will definitely be very happy."
"What are you so happy about? Tell me so I can be happy too." A voice came from outside. A figure flashed and Zhao Jingping walked in gracefully in moon-white clothes, smiling and looking very elegant.
Putting aside his character, his appearance is really one of the best in Beijing.
Otherwise, Qin Wanru wouldn't be so obsessed with him that she wouldn't even care about her dignity as a girl.
The two did not expect him to suddenly break in, and they both stood up in shock.
Zhao Jingping obviously didn't expect Xie Nanjia to be here. After a moment of hesitation, the smile on his face became even brighter.
"Xiu'er!" he called out in surprise, "Why are you here? It's been a long time since we last met. Are you okay?"
"Thank you for your concern, my lord. I'm fine." Xie Nanjia was so angry when she saw him being so mean that she didn't even bother to show politeness. She replied indifferently and said to Lvliu, "I have something else to do. I'll leave first."
"No!" Zhao Jingping quickly reached out to stop her, "Don't leave yet, I just have something to say to you two."
Lvliu stepped forward and slapped his hand away: "What can you do? I think you are up to something again!"
This was said rudely, not at all like the tone of an aunt, but Zhao Jingping seemed to have long been accustomed to being scolded and beaten by her, and didn't care at all. He smiled and said, "Look at what you said, am I that unbearable? I really have something important to do."
"If you have to fart, do it now!" Lvliu glared.
"Look at you, can you please give me some face when there are people around?" Zhao Jingping reached out to pinch her face.
Lvliu raised her hand and slapped him again: "Will you tell me or not?"
Zhao Jingping covered his hurt hand and took a few deep breaths with a grimace before finally calming down: "It's like this, I just came back from my mother's place. She said the day after tomorrow is my mother-in-law's birthday, and asked me to go with you to celebrate, and also bring Xiu'er and the little master."
Lvliu rolled her eyes at him and said, "I already knew about this. Why did you have to rush over to inform me?"
"You know, how did you know?" Zhao Jingping asked in surprise.
Lvliu said, "This was originally Xiu'er's idea. She saw that Madam and the old lady were worried about your marriage, so she suggested to Madam that you go to the General's Mansion to plead for mercy. Otherwise, do you think Madam would have thought of this method?"
Zhao Jingping was really surprised. He looked at Xie Nanjia with even more passion. He rubbed his hands and laughed, "So it was Xiu'er's idea. You are so smart. In that case, I will trouble you and Lvliu to help me talk to the general tomorrow. When the new wife comes in, there won't be so many headaches. I will thank you very much then."
He said the word "thank you" in a meaningful way, and Xie Nanjia almost couldn't help but slap him.
Luliu also felt ashamed. No matter whether her feelings for Zhao Jingping were true or not, they were husband and wife after all. She had asked Xie Nanjia for help many times for the position of the Crown Prince's wife. Now that Xie Nanjia saw such a despicable side of Zhao Jingping, she felt so embarrassed that she couldn't even put down her face.
"Don't listen to his nonsense, just go and do your own thing!" She pushed Xie Nanjia out awkwardly.
Xie Nanjia whispered, "Is this kind of person worth it?"
Lvliu's face suddenly turned red, and she said, "Let's talk about it later," and sent her away.
Zhao Jingping hadn't reacted yet. He stretched his neck to look outside, his eyes glued to Xie Nanjia.
Lvliu turned back and saw him like that. She was furious and grabbed his ear and scolded him, "Look at this. My eyes will fly away if you look at me again. Zhao Jingping, can you behave like a human being and stop flirting like a male dog all day long? You have made me lose face!"
Zhao Jingping gasped in pain and kept saying, "It hurts, it hurts, please spare me, please spare me..."
Green Willow glared: "Shut up, I have something to tell you."
Zhao Jingping shut up obediently.
Lvliu said, "Xiu'er is not someone you can covet. You'd better give up your dirty thoughts. If I see you disrespecting her again, not only will I not help you persuade the lady, but I will also instigate the general and Master Nanfeng to cause trouble for you, so that your cousin will never be able to enter the Marquis' Mansion in her life. Do you hear me?"
Zhao Jingping immediately became timid and nodded repeatedly in response: "I heard it, I heard it. I just teased her verbally and never had any desire for her. Since I had you, I don't care much about other women. It's really because my cousin is pregnant with my child, otherwise I wouldn't even want to marry her."
"Pah!" Green Willow spat, "You can fool a fool. I'd rather believe in a ghost than in your mouth!"
"You can't say that. How can ghosts be better than me?" Zhao Jingping smiled and hugged her.
…
On the birthday of the general's wife, Qin got up early in the morning and prepared a cart full of generous gifts. She sent Zhao Jingping and his party away with many instructions and warnings.
Zhao Jingping rode a horse in front to lead the way, Xie Nanjia and Lvliu Hualou followed him in a carriage with their children, the wet nurse and Jixiang sat in the second carriage, and behind them was the carriage carrying the birthday gifts. Xiaofu and Xiaoxi were in charge of escorting the carriages, and Feng Lun rode at the end.
A group of people marched straight to the general's mansion, attracting the attention of passers-by.
Xie Nanjia held the sleeping child in her arms, listening to the hustle and bustle of the city outside, occasionally lifting the curtain to take a look, but her heart had already flown to the general's mansion.
If she had not been murdered, she should have returned to her parents' home with her son to celebrate her mother's birthday. Regardless of whether her marriage was happy or not, at least it was legitimate and she could have been free and unrestrained. But now she can only return as a slave, not even qualified to call her "mother".
Just like her son, he can never call her "Mother".
Hualou and Lvliu were equally sad, but not as complicated as Xie Nanjia's mood. They recalled every detail of their past time in the General's Mansion. Every sentence they spoke was about their young lady, and they couldn't help crying when they mentioned her.
Xie Nanjia was listening nearby. Those familiar moments and happy times were all experiences she had personally experienced, but she could not join in their memories. She could only pretend to hear them for the first time and sigh along.
As he sighed, the carriage stopped in front of the general's mansion.
Zhao Jingping got off his horse, greeted the guard at the door, and asked him to go in and report.
"Listen, that's Brother Xue's voice!" Hualou pushed Lvliu excitedly.
Lvliu was also very excited: "I heard it, it was Brother Xue."
The guards of the General's Mansion do not have a high turnover rate like the guards of other mansions. They are all carefully selected by Xie Zhanting from his trusted subordinates, and will not be replaced without special circumstances. After spending a long time together, everyone is very familiar with each other, like family, and can recognize who is who by a word or a footstep.
Xie Nanjia could naturally hear it. Compared with the two girls, she was more excited, but she couldn't show it.
The guard went in to pass the message, and soon Madam Xie came out of the house in person to greet them, accompanied by Nanny Yao and the chief steward Xie Donglai.
Mrs. Xie's birthday this year happened to coincide with the Autumn Market in Xishan. Her husband and son were not at home, and her daughter had gone to another world, leaving her alone at home feeling very lonely. Suddenly, she heard that her son-in-law and grandson were coming to celebrate her birthday, which made her very surprised and happy. She didn't even have time to put on her makeup and hurried out to greet them.
It wasn't that she was particularly interested in Zhao Jingping as a son-in-law; she just wanted to see her little grandson as soon as possible.
After her daughter left, she was so heartbroken that she didn't dare to go to see the child when she arrived at the marquis's mansion, for fear that she would completely collapse when she saw the child and would not be able to stay rational and stop her husband and son from massacring the mansion.
Later, she slowly accepted the fact that her daughter was no longer around, but she still couldn't muster up the courage to see the child, because Nanfeng said that the child had the same eyes as Xiu'er, and she was afraid that the scene would bring back memories.
Just like now, she rushed out impatiently, but when she reached the door, her feet seemed to be rooted, and she looked at the carriage and dared not move forward.
Nanny Yao understood her thoughts and ordered the maids to go and greet her.
The curtain of the carriage was opened, and Lvliu and Hualou got off the carriage one after another. Then a pair of hands stretched out and handed a baby wrapped in a swaddling cloth to Hualou.
Mrs. Xie's throat choked before she even saw the child's face.
Hualou took the child and walked towards her with Lvliu. They both called her "Madam" at the same time and then knelt in front of her and cried.
Mrs. Xie's eyes suddenly blurred, and she choked up and said, "Get up quickly," then bent down to hug the child, and her tears dripped onto the child's face.
The child looked at her with his dark eyes, and indeed, he had the same almond-shaped eyes as Xiu'er.
Mrs. Xie lost control of her emotions instantly, hugged the child in her arms, and burst into tears.
Xie Nanjia got off the carriage and stood beside it, staring at his mother's thin figure and crying. His throat was choked with pain, but he had to hold back his tears and the urge to throw himself into his mother's arms.
The wet nurse, Jixiang, Xiaofu, Xiaoxi and Feng Lun all came over and stood quietly beside her. She couldn't feel sad anymore and gritted her teeth to swallow her tears.
At this moment, she envied Lvliu and Hualou extremely, because the two of them could hug their mother's legs and cry without restraint, while even if she missed her mother so much that her heart was broken, even if she was very close to her mother, she could only stare at her and could not get close.
The child seemed to sense the adults' sadness and cried loudly in Mrs. Xie's arms.
His crying stopped the adults' tears. Hualou and Lvliu came to see him. Madam Xie also hugged him and patted him softly. Madam Yao advised, "Madam, it's windy outside. Don't let the wind blow on the child. Let's go inside first!"
Mrs. Xie nodded, calmed down, called Lvliu and Hualou, and walked inside first with her grandson in her arms, without even saying hello to Zhao Jingping.
The son-in-law of an ordinary family would also enjoy the highest treatment when he came to the house. Zhao Jingping, a prince, was not even as good as two maids and could only follow behind in disappointment.
The chief steward was busy putting the carriage full of birthday gifts in order. The servants in the mansion didn't have a good impression of him, so no one paid any attention to him along the way.
As Xie Nanjia walked, she looked around almost greedily. The people here were the same as before. The flowers and plants, every corner, were all the same as she was most familiar with. Even the water flowing from the rockery and the magpie's nest on the tree branches seemed to be exactly the same as before. The only difference was herself.
At this time, if someone paid attention to her, they would definitely notice that she was abnormal. However, the wet nurse and Jixiang were busy looking at the scenery, Feng Lun, Xiaofu and Xiaoxi could not enter the backyard, and Hualou and Lvliu accompanied Madam Xie all the way, so no one noticed her.
The child cried for a while at first, but was coaxed by Mrs. Xie's gentle voice, and attracted by the various sights, he gradually became happy and babbled at everything he saw.
Mrs. Xie patiently told him that this was a rockery and that was a small bridge, as if he really understood.
The two of them were talking animatedly, and Aunt Yao said with emotion, "This child has the same temper as the south wind. No matter how hard he cries, he will stop crying as soon as he sees something new."
"That's why they say the nephew looks like his uncle!" Hua Lou said, "When I first saw the young master, I felt that except for his eyes, he looked like Young Master Nan Feng in every other way."
"Don't you look like me?" Zhao Jingping felt a little unhappy after hearing this and asked weakly.
"You are so useless, why should I be like you?" Luliu retorted.
Zhao Jingping: “…”
Mrs. Xie's eyes moved slightly, and she glanced at the two of them sideways, but quickly retracted her gaze and continued talking to her grandson.
The grandparents and grandchildren walked into the reception room in a lively manner. Mrs. Xie was still holding her grandson in her arms and was reluctant to let go. She ordered the maid to give everyone a seat and serve tea.
Jixiang and the nurse didn't dare to sit down, and Madam Xie said, "You were servants in the Marquis's mansion, but here you are guests. You are the great contributors who took care of my grandson, so you should sit down and have a cup of tea."
Having said that, the two were still a little hesitant.
Zhao Jingping said: "Madam is so kind, please take a seat!"
The two of them then sat down.
Xie Nanjia was not so reserved. This was her home. Even though she couldn't show her true face to anyone now, she still felt extremely relaxed here.
She sat there, her eyes always on her mother and son. The maid Lvying brought her some tea, and she took it and said casually, "Thank you, Sister Lvying."
Green Shadow was startled and asked curiously: "How do you know my name is Green Shadow?"
Everyone looked towards them.
Mrs. Xie, who was teasing the child, also stopped.
Xie Nanjia was startled and pointed at her forehead: "I heard from Hualou that people with a beauty mole between their eyebrows are called Luying."
"Is that so?" Lu Ying smiled and turned to look at Hualou. "It turns out that you still think about me often in the Marquis' Mansion!"
Hualou did talk about the General's Mansion during their casual conversation, but she didn't remember whether she mentioned Luying at all, so she smiled and said, "Yes, I missed you guys."
After Luying went downstairs with the tea tray, Mrs. Xie's attention was attracted by Xie Nanjia. Looking at her cute and charming face, sweet voice and pleasing smile, she suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity, as if she had seen her somewhere before.
"Who is this little girl?" she asked Hualou softly.
Hualou wanted to tell the lady what Xie Nanjia had done for the young master, but seeing that there were people in the room, including Zhao Jingping, he said nothing and simply introduced her: "Her name is Xiu'er, and she is a maid in the mansion."
"Xiu'er?" Madam Xie's face changed, her heart throbbed, and she handed the child to Madam Yao, asking anxiously, "Which word is it?"
Her mother finally spoke to her. Xie Nanjia's heart began to beat rapidly. She stood up and said respectfully, "Madam, it's the sleeve of the sleeve."
Mrs. Xie's eyes suddenly turned red, and she asked again, "Why do you call her Xiu'er?"
Xie Nanjia said: "My mother said that when I was a child, I was timid and always grabbed her sleeves, so she called me Xiu'er."
Mrs. Xie shook her body, took out a handkerchief to wipe her tears, and murmured, "What a coincidence, you are also called Xiu'er..."
Hualou was afraid that she would mind, so he explained, "Madam, Master Nanfeng knows the name Xiu'er. Although he had a quarrel with Madam Hou over it at the time, he later agreed that Xiu'er didn't need to change her name."
Madam Xie was very smart and she quickly thought of the girl who stopped Nanfeng during the seventh day of the seventh lunar month. She quickly exchanged a glance with Madam Yao.
Nanny Yao nodded and guessed in her heart that it must be this girl.
Lvliu watched them flirting with each other, but mistakenly thought that the lady had guessed that Xiu'er was the general's man in the Marquis's mansion. She was afraid that they would let the cat out of the bag in front of Zhao Jingping, so she quickly changed the subject and said, "Madam, it's time for the little boy to feed. Let the wet nurse take him to the back to feed him!"
Mrs. Xie had to suppress her doubts for the time being and asked Madam Yao to take the wet nurse and the child to the back.
Lvliu said again: "Madam, Hualou and I haven't been home for a long time. We want to go around. Let's go together!"
Mrs. Xie looked at her and felt that she had something to say, so she nodded and agreed: "Okay, I think this Xiu'er girl is quite interesting, let her come along!"
Zhao Jingping had been thinking about the purpose of his visit today. When he saw Lvliu calling his wife away alone, he knew she was going to talk about this matter, so he stood up and said, "I'll go with you. My father-in-law and brother-in-law are not at home. I'll talk to my mother-in-law on their behalf."
Green Willow said, "We women are just strolling around the garden, why are you, a grown man, following us? Everyone else has left, it would be boring for Jixiang to be here alone, why don't you stay and keep Jixiang company!"
Zhao Jingping: “…”
He is the son of the Marquis Dingyuan, and when he comes to visit his father-in-law's house, no one takes him seriously, but now he is asked to entertain the maid. What kind of thing is this
Jixiang was trained by the old lady after all. When he saw Lvliu's attitude, he knew that there was something she didn't want the prince to know, so he smiled and said to Zhao Jingping, "Yes, prince, the backyard is where the women live. Because the general and Master Nanfeng are not here, the lady asked you to come here. It's really not right to walk around. Why don't you just sit down and drink some tea!"
Zhao Jingping: “…”
He was depressed to find that although he was a prince, he was always a punching bag whether in his own house or outside, and he had no say at all. Even a maid could control him at will.
Having said that, my second brother doesn't seem to be like that. He has no status, no job, and no education, but everyone seems to be in awe of him, and no one dares to talk to him like that.
what is this
Am I too gentle and easy to talk to
Do I have to learn to be more arrogant and aggressive in the future
Watching several people leave the reception room, he sat back dejectedly, picked up the tea, took a sip, and then spat it out.
Jixiang was startled and asked hurriedly, "My Lord, what's wrong with you?"
Zhao Jingping's face flushed, and he gasped: "This tea is so spicy, so spicy..."
"Why is it spicy?" Jixiang picked up his tea and tasted it. "It's not spicy, it's quite fragrant."
A few girls hid behind the screen and laughed so hard that their stomachs hurt.
"It would be better if he dies of the spiciness. Then wait until dinner time, wait and see how I deal with him!" said a maid.
"It would be great if our young master was at home. We could give him a good beating!" a maid continued.
Before he finished speaking, a voice came from outside the door: "Mother, mother, I'm back!"
"Hey, the young master is back, the young master is really back!"
The maids ran out happily to greet them. Xie Nanfeng had already walked in exhausted. In order to come back to spend their mother's birthday with her, he had traveled all night and his horse was almost dying of exhaustion. Unexpectedly, the first person he saw when he entered the house was not his mother, but Zhao Jingping, who was fanning himself with his hands and panting like a dog.
"What are you doing here?" he asked with a frown and disgust, walking up and grabbing Zhao Jingping's collar.
(End of this chapter)