As early winter approached, the temperature dropped day by day. Taking advantage of the good sunshine at noon, Xie Nanjia and Hualou and a few others took their children to play in the yard and bask in the sun.
The nanny said that children cannot be kept in the room all the time. They need to get more sun exposure so that they can grow fast and strong.
When Zhao Jingyu and Zhou Yuncheng came over, several people were surrounding the rabbit cage watching the young master feed the rabbits.
The child used his chubby little hands to pinch the green leaves and stuff them into the cage. When the little rabbit tried to grab them, he pulled his hand back. The little rabbit jumped around in the cage in a hurry, and he giggled.
The child, who was only a few months old, already knew how to be funny. Everyone was amazed and laughed along with him, so much so that even when Zhao Jingyu came up to him, no one noticed.
Zhao Jingyu didn't expect Xie Nanjia to be here. Looking at her beautiful smile, he was stunned for a moment.
In fact, Xie Nanjia was not restrained or reserved in front of him. She often spoke rudely to him, and even scolded and bit him, but she had never shown such a bright and relaxed smile in front of him.
This made him feel a little unhappy.
Wasn't he tolerant enough and doting enough towards her? Why did she always hold back from him and refuse to be honest with him
"Look, your little rabbit is still there. You don't have to worry now." Zhou Yuncheng said, putting his arm around his shoulders.
Everyone was startled by the sudden sound. Feng Lun jumped over immediately and stood in front of the two people.
Xie Nanjia quickly stood up holding the child.
When they saw clearly that it was Zhao Jingyu, everyone felt relieved.
"Hello, Second Young Master. Hello, First Young Master Zhou." Feng Lun greeted the two of them.
In the past, he followed the Marquis when he traveled outside and was familiar with all the important figures in the capital.
"No need to be polite." Zhao Jingyu waved his hand to let him back off, then looked at Xie Nanjia and took the initiative to explain, "Young Master Zhou just saw a rabbit in the garden. I thought it was the rabbit in my nephew's yard that ran away, so I came here to take a look."
Xie Nanjia didn't expect that she couldn't avoid him after dodging him. She nodded expressionlessly and replied, "Oh."
Zhao Jingyu: “…”
After explaining a lot, all she got in return was an "Oh". When did she become so frugal with words
Are you still angry about what happened that night
Thinking of that night, his eyes couldn't help but fall on Xie Nanjia's rosy lips, and ripples appeared in his heart.
Xie Nanjia felt uncomfortable being stared at by him and subconsciously wanted to step back, but unexpectedly her son suddenly opened his arms to Zhao Jingyu, giggling and asking Zhao Jingyu to hug him.
Zhao Jingyu smiled, reached out to take his little nephew, held him in his arms and kissed him: "Oh, my good nephew is still good to me, unlike some ungrateful people."
Xie Nanjia: “…”
As soon as Zhou Yuncheng entered the room, he saw that Xie Nanjia looked very familiar. After thinking carefully, he recognized her and said excitedly, "Hey, aren't you the girl pretending to be a servant in the enclosure? I was wondering why I didn't see you before, but I didn't expect to run into you here."
"Yes, I greet Mr. Zhou." Xie Nanjia said with a smile. Because it was inconvenient to perform a formal ceremony while holding the child, she bowed slightly.
Zhou Yuncheng didn't care and raised his hand and said, "You're welcome. I heard that you are very good at pitching pots. How about coming with me to the banquet to play a game?"
Xie Nanjia: “…”
These young masters are so casual and do whatever they want. She is just a little girl, how can she play with them so casually
"Thank you very much for your kindness, Young Master Zhou. As the mansion is busy today, I have been ordered to look after the young master here and dare not move around casually. Let's put the game of tossing pots another day. Just have fun, Young Master." Xie Nanjia declined politely.
"Is that so?" Zhou Yuncheng spread his hands with regret, "Then we'll have to do it another day."
Zhao Jingyu knew she was talking nonsense as soon as she heard it, but she didn't expose her. She held the child and showed it to Zhou Yuncheng: "Is my nephew cute?"
"Cute, cute." Zhou Yuncheng pinched the child's rosy face and said, "As expected of Miss Nanjia's flesh and blood, she is so pretty. Look at her phoenix eyes, they are exactly the same as Miss Nanjia's."
Zhao Jingyu glanced at him: "Are you familiar with her?"
"Of course I am familiar with him. We have even ridden horses and walked around the countryside together!" Zhou Yuncheng said proudly.
Is there? Xie Nanjia was stunned for a moment, thinking, why don’t I remember
Zhao Jingyu asked again: "Is she a good rider? How is she compared to Xiu'er?"
Xie Nanjia: “…”
How can I compare myself to myself
"Of course, she is the daughter of a general, and has inherited the true teachings of General Wu'an." Zhou Yuncheng said, "But Xiu'er's riding skills are also quite good. The skills she showed in the paddock are not comparable to those of ordinary girls."
Xie Nanjia: “…”
It wasn't that Zhao Jingyu was particularly curious about Miss Nan Jia. He just didn't want to leave so soon, so he made small talk.
As they were chatting, Zhen'er suddenly came running to Xie Nanjia in a panic, saying that something had happened to the fourth young lady and asked her to go and see her quickly.
Xie Nanjia was shocked and wanted to ask the reason, but since Zhou Yuncheng was there, she was afraid of involving the privacy that girls were too embarrassed to talk about, so she did not dare to ask in detail. She and Zhen'er hurriedly left Sijinyuan.
When Zhao Jingyu heard that Zhao Lanzhi was in trouble, she handed the child to Hualou and followed them.
Because there were many guests today, the mansion specially set up a special dressing room for female guests in the courtyard behind Zhiwei Garden. When Xie Nanjia arrived there, he heard the noisy sounds coming from inside before he even entered the door.
She was not familiar with the other people's voices, but she recognized Su He's voice right away. This hot-tempered girl, no one knew who had irritated her, and was swearing at someone in there.
All the ladies who came today were from respectable families. No matter any one of them, they were no match for Zhao Lanzhi. After Su He scolded her like that, no matter what the reason was, no matter who was right or wrong, Zhao Lanzhi was the one who was harmed in the end.
Xie Nanjia was anxious and hurried into the yard and rushed into the house.
Because it was a courtyard reserved for female guests, Zhao Jingyu and Zhou Yuncheng could only stop outside the gate, and it was of no use no matter how anxious they were.
Zhou Yuncheng panted and asked, "You ran so fast, are you worried about your fourth sister or Xiu'er?"
"..." Zhao Jingyu paused, "Of course I'm worried about my fourth sister."
"It's not the first day you have a sister. Why haven't I seen you care so much about her before?" Zhou Yuncheng teased.
Zhao Jingyu: "Are you a crab? Why are you so nosy?"
Zhou Yuncheng laughed: "Okay, okay, I don't care. I don't care."
Zhao Jingyu glared at him and ordered without turning his head: "Wei Jun, go call Yiyun over and ask her to come in and find out what's going on."
"Yes!" Wei Jun appeared like a ghost and disappeared like a ghost.
Zhou Yuncheng was shocked and said, "Where did you find this guard? He is too mysterious."
Zhao Jingyu rolled his eyes and ignored him.
Zhou Yuncheng looked around and lowered his voice and said, "Don't blame me for not reminding you. It seems that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is targeting your guards."
Zhao Jingyu was stunned and immediately narrowed his eyes: "What do you mean?"
"I overheard it accidentally in the enclosure. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said that you are a bastard, but you are surrounded by many experts. There must be something fishy about this. He ordered his men to secretly investigate the backgrounds of your guards."
Zhao Jingyu was silent for a moment, then smiled nonchalantly: "It's rare that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is interested, let him check it out!"
Yiyun was hurriedly brought by Wei Jun and slipped into the locker room during the chaos. After a while, she came out and reported to Zhao Jingyu that the quarrel inside was about Young Master Zhou.
Zhou Yuncheng didn't react for a moment and asked in confusion: "Which Mr. Zhou is it? It can't be me, right?"
"It was you, young master." Yiyun said, "It is said that several young ladies were discussing the young master who came today in the dressing room. The second young lady of the Ning'an Marquis family said that she had a crush on you, and then the second young lady of our mansion said that she saw the fourth young lady secretly flirting with you. The second young lady of the Ning'an Marquis family was not happy about it, saying that the fourth young lady, a concubine's daughter, dared to covet the eldest son of the princess's family. She was really a toad wanting to eat swan meat. So she joined forces with a few young ladies to cause trouble for the fourth young lady."
Zhou Yuncheng: “…”
"Your Second Miss is obviously talking nonsense. I have never even met your Fourth Miss, and she has never been secretly seduced by anyone. How can she be so wronged?"
Yiyun spread her hands: "I don't know about this."
"What's the situation inside now?" Zhao Jingyu asked.
"The situation..." Yiyun said with a chuckle, "The situation has been controlled by Xiu'er."
"Xiu'er, can a maid like her control those arrogant young ladies?" Zhou Yuncheng expressed his doubt.
In the room, Xie Nanjia was protecting the Fourth Young Lady like a hen protecting her chicks. She said with a gloomy face, "Today is the wedding day of my son. So many famous families, princes and sons of noble families have come. All the young ladies are unmarried. Their reputation is more precious than gold. My Fourth Young Lady is like a weed. There is no hope for her. It doesn't matter if she has a good reputation or not. If you keep pestering me like this, I will expose this matter at the banquet in front. Let's see whose face will be lost and whose good marriage will be hindered!"
"you dare!"
The other young ladies were all intimidated by Xie Nanjia, except the second young lady, Zhao Lanshu, who refused to fall for it and stepped forward to slap Xie Nanjia in the face.
"You silly girl, who do you think you are? You're keeping a concubine and going out with the Second Young Master, and you think you've reached the sky. Today I must let you know how high the sky is and how thick the earth is!"
Xie Nanjia certainly would not let her hit her. She grabbed her wrist and said coldly, "I don't know how high the sky is or how thick the earth is, but I know that the Second Miss has already knelt in the ancestral hall twice for this sentence. If she is locked up again in public today, this shame will be known to the whole capital."
"You..." No one else knew about Zhao Lanshu kneeling in the ancestral hall. Now that Xie Nanjia had exposed it, she was so angry that she was jumping up and down. However, she was afraid that she would be locked up in the ancestral hall by her father again, so she had to swallow her anger.
A group of young ladies were intimidated by a little maid and were all very angry, but seeing that she looked like a rogue who was not afraid of those wearing shoes even though she was barefoot, no one dared to provoke her.
Her reputation is not important, but their reputations are very important. As the old saying goes, it is better to offend a gentleman than a villain. This girl is obviously a villain among villains. It is better not to confront her head-on.
Some people could not swallow this breath. Seeing Xie Nanjia helping the fourth lady out of the dressing room, they quietly suggested to the eldest lady Zhao Lanya: "A girl like this will only bring trouble if we keep her. It is better to find an excuse to deal with her so as to prevent future troubles."
Zhao Lanya smiled bitterly: "She is not an ordinary girl. My mother trusts her, my grandmother protects her, my father appreciates her, and my second brother likes her. If I want to deal with her, it is harder than climbing to the sky."
"How could there be such a versatile person?" the young ladies were surprised. "She is no longer a girl, but a living ancestor!"
Zhao Lanya secretly clenched her fists.
She has always been serious and never reveals her thoughts. It's not that she really can't do anything about it, but today is her brother's wedding day, and it's not appropriate to see blood. So let the girl live one more night.
She saw with her own eyes how the fourth girl deliberately ran into Mr. Zhou, and she also told her second sister about it. She knew that her second sister was quick-witted, so she wanted to let the second young lady of Earl Ning'an know through her mouth so that the second young lady of Earl Ning'an would have a quarrel with the fourth girl, and she could benefit from it this way.
Young Master Zhou is the one she has her eyes on. No one, whether it is the second lady of Earl Ning'an or the fourth girl, can compete with her!
(End of this chapter)