As he was speaking, a figure flashed outside the door, and Zhao Jingyu walked in briskly with the scent of ambergris on his body.
"It is better to arrive at the right time than to arrive early. Since the young lady has to entertain distinguished guests, how can she be without companions? If you don't mind, I would like to accompany His Royal Highness the Crown Prince." He stood in the hall, side by side with Song Jingxing, bowed deeply, and said with a spring breeze and a smile.
"…" Who said I don't dislike you? I almost dislike you to death! Sheng Qingyun said in his heart, looking him up and down with a stern face.
Zhao Jingyu wore a fiery red brocade robe today, with a snow-white fox fur cloak on the outside. His jet-black hair was tied up with a white jade lotus crown, which complemented the mutton-fat jade pendant on his waist. The bright colors made his skin look whiter than snow, his lips sparkle, and his peach blossom eyes sparkle. He was indescribably charming and flamboyant. A bastard, he had outshined the favored son of heaven, Song Jingxing.
Women are all about looks. Facing this young man who looked like a banished immortal from a painting, Sheng Qingyun's impatience immediately vanished. A smile appeared on her expressionless face. She could no longer say the words to chase him away, and compromised, "Since you're here, please take a seat!"
"Thank you, Madam." Zhao Jingyu raised her eyebrows slightly and extended her hand to Song Jingxing, "Your Highness, please take a seat first."
Song Jingxing was so depressed that he almost vomited blood. He didn't understand how there could be such a shameless person in the world. When others came to visit his father-in-law, he wanted to join in the fun and even offered to accompany the guests. He really didn't consider himself an outsider at all.
In fact, the situation today is special. If it were any other time or place, he would definitely not give this arrogant guy a good face.
"Please come in, Mr. Zhao," he nodded slightly and said in a friendly manner.
The two of them politely sat down on Su Xian's left side. Two armchairs were placed side by side with a square table in the middle. The maid brought freshly brewed tea and placed a cup on the table for each person.
"Your Highness, please have some tea." Zhao Jingyu extended his hand again.
"Thank you, Second Young Master." Song Jingxing picked up the tea and took a sip, thinking that this person really treated himself as a guest.
None of the twelve young masters of the Su family liked Zhao Jingyu, especially after seeing the jade pendant hanging around his waist. They wanted to push him to the ground and snatch the jade pendant back on the spot, so that he would not wear it around in public every day and humiliate the innocence of their second sister.
Zhao Jingyu was completely unaware of this and was chatting and laughing with the Crown Prince and Su Xian. If one didn't know, one would think he was the host.
"Miss, this second young master is really shameless." Caidie whispered behind the screen, "He is so arrogant and rude, I don't know what the second young lady likes about him."
"Didn't she say that she only looks at faces?" Princess Jinping smiled disdainfully while peeking at the prince obsessively through the screen.
Xie Nanjia was unwilling to accompany her to peek behind the screen, but she finally couldn't resist the temptation and came with Caidie.
"So what if it's just about looks? Our Crown Prince is also a man of heaven, not inferior to the second young master Zhao at all." Caidie said.
"Are you sure?" Liusu appeared behind her quietly at some point and asked softly.
"Ah!" Caidie shuddered with fright and subconsciously tried to dodge. As she turned around, she knocked down the screen with a bang. She lost weight and fell on her back on the screen, and Princess Jinping and Liusu were completely exposed to everyone's sight.
Everyone was startled and looked towards them.
Princess Jinping's pretty face turned red with embarrassment and she quickly covered her face with her sleeves. Caidie ignored the pain and turned over with her butt sticking up and struggled to get up. Then she knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly to apologize.
Everyone in the Su family was dumbfounded.
Song Jingxing frowned unhappily, and at the same time secretly glanced back. In such occasions, there would usually be sisters from the family accompanying, and he wanted to see if Xie Nanjia was there.
But unfortunately, he didn't see anything and could only hope for the banquet at noon, maybe he could see her there.
Zhao Jingyu sat there calmly, picked up the tea and took a sip to hide the upturned corners of his lips.
Sheng Qingyun was so angry that his face turned blue, and he angrily scolded Caidie: "What's the point of kowtowing at this time? Hurry up and help your young lady down!"
“Yes, yes, yes…” Caidie agreed repeatedly, got up, supported Princess Jinping and walked back. Liusu and Zhao Jingyu looked at each other and followed.
Song Jingxing didn't know that Liusu was Xie Nanjia's maid, so he didn't know that Xie Nanjia was right behind him.
This scene was truly too embarrassing. All the efforts made by the mansion to welcome the prince were ruined. The entire Su family wished they could find a hole to crawl into.
Finally, Su Xian stood up and tried to smooth things over: "Your Highness, I am sorry for being rude and embarrassing you. I am really ashamed."
"It's okay. The county lady is young and innocent. Her curiosity is understandable." Song Jingxing stood up and said without saying anything, "I haven't met the old Duke and the old lady yet. Please lead the way."
When they were chatting just now, he called himself son-in-law and respected Su Xian as father-in-law, but he changed the address in an instant, which showed that he still cared a little.
Everyone in the Su family sighed in their hearts and silently accompanied him to meet the old duke and the old lady.
Everyone was preoccupied and no one noticed that Zhao Jingyu had fallen behind.
Princess Jinping was so angry that she dared not cry or curse. She waited until everyone had left, then she grabbed Caidie by the collar and slapped her twice, shouting angrily, "Bitch, you've killed me!"
Caidie knew she had gotten into trouble, and she was so scared that she trembled and knelt on the ground begging for mercy: "Miss, I was wrong, I didn't mean it, please forgive me this time!"
"I'll spare you. If the prince dislikes me because of this, killing you will be the least of my worries!" Princess Jinping gritted her teeth. Her disguised elegance and grace were completely gone due to her anger, and she looked no different from a shrew in the market.
Xie Nanjia watched coldly for a while, then stood up and called Liusu indifferently: "Let's go!"
"You can't leave. It's all your fault, you slut!" Caidie hugged Liusu's feet.
"What have I done to you?" Liusu kicked her away. "It was you who instigated Princess Jinping to peek at the prince, and you also spoke ill of the second young lady while the second young lady and I were away. How dare you frame me? I will tell my wife right now, and ask her to seek justice for me."
Caidie was speechless, and Princess Jinping had nothing to say either. She watched the master and servant walk away.
After leaving the main courtyard, I "accidentally" ran into Zhao Jingyu outside the door as expected. He was leaning against a tree not far away, looking at this side eagerly.
Xie Nanjia looked around, walked up to him, saluted him formally, and asked in a low voice: "Why did you come here suddenly?"
Zhao Jingyu also returned the greeting seriously, and said with a low smile: "Come and wish a happy new year to my father-in-law!"
"Speak properly." Xie Nanjia glared at him.
Zhao Jingyu stopped laughing obediently. "I'm afraid Song Jingxing will take the opportunity to harass you, so I shamelessly stare at him. I know your mother doesn't welcome me, but I can't care so much. I have to blame him to the end. When Song Jingxing leaves, I will leave. I will never give him the slightest chance."
"…" Xie Nanjia couldn't help but laugh, "No wonder my mother said you were a dog-skin plaster."
"What? She actually said that to me?" Zhao Jingyu immediately said, "No, I have to ask her if she has ever seen such a beautiful dog-skin plaster?"
"That's enough!" Xie Nanjia said helplessly, "I beg you to be quiet and stop causing me trouble."
"Well, for your sake, I'll let her go," said Zhao Jingyu.
Xie Nanjia: “…”
You have the nerve to say that.
"Your jade pendant is quite useful. Now everyone in the city knows that we are a couple." Zhao Jingyu said, "Can I come and propose marriage next?"
"Who is your match?" Xie Nanjia blushed slightly. "If you don't want to be beaten out by my mother, just come and ask."
"What do you mean? Even after all this, she still won't give in. Everyone knows about us, and no one will come to propose to you anymore. Does she want you to be an old maid for the rest of your life?" Zhao Jingyu asked.
"Yes, my mother said that even if she raised me for the rest of my life, she would never let you get away with it." Xie Nanjia said with a smile.
"How can you say it's a bargain for me? Hey, I'm such a romantic, suave, talented and handsome man, does she know how many girls are crying and shouting to marry me?" Zhao Jingyu covered his chest, frowned, and said repeatedly, "Oh, I'm so angry, I'm so angry that my heart hurts, ah, it hurts so much, I can't breathe, please rub it for me..."
"Pfft!" Xie Nanjia laughed out loud and rubbed his chest twice in annoyance. "Don't worry. The palace has already known about the chaos caused by Jinping County Lady on the street last time. In addition, her frivolous behavior today, the prince will definitely tell the queen when he returns. If the queen is dissatisfied with Jinping, she will probably ask me to enter the palace again. My mother doesn't want me to enter the palace. As long as there is any movement from the queen, she will be anxious to arrange a marriage for me. Then you can just stay at home and wait for the matchmaker to come."
"Really?" Zhao Jingyu's eyes instantly lit up like stars. "I've been humiliated so much in your house. If that's the case, can I take this opportunity to get some face back?"
"..." Xie Nanjia said angrily, "You really think I can't get married, right? If you take it too far, don't blame me for not warning you."
Zhao Jingyu chuckled: "Don't be upset, I'm just talking nonsense. If your mother really agrees, I can kowtow to her eighteen times in one breath."
"Okay, you said it yourself. I won't marry you unless you kowtow to me first!" Xie Nanjia said.
Zhao Jingyu: "... Ouch, my heart hurts again, rub it for me again..."
"Miss, Second Young Master, the Madam is here!" Liusu, who was watching from the corner gate, shouted in a low voice.
Zhao Jingyu was startled, but the pain in his heart stopped. He looked around and saw that there was nowhere to hide, so he jumped onto the big tree behind him in desperation.
Unfortunately, he forgot that there were no leaves on the trees in winter, and his flamboyant clothes were blown by the wind high up, like a fluttering war flag.
When Sheng Qingyun came over, he saw the silly boy hiding in the tree, trying to cover his ears and steal the bell. Then he looked at Xie Nanjia who hadn't had time to run away under the tree, and said unhappily, "I was wondering why the dog-skin plaster suddenly disappeared. It turned out to be hung on the tree."
Zhao Jingyu: “…”
Mother-in-law, you know that this is really bad
(End of this chapter)