Cheng Zhiye looked much better than before he left, and there was a smile on his face. When Xie Nanjia and Zhao Jingyu came to the Minister's Residence to see him, he excitedly introduced the girl to them, saying that the girl's name was Jiu Niang. On his way back to Beijing, he was attacked by a wild beast at night. Fortunately, a hunter rescued him, but the hunter was unfortunately seriously injured by the beast. Before he died, he entrusted his daughter Jiu Niang, who depended on him, to him. He was grateful for the old lady's life-saving grace, so he brought the girl back.
The Cheng family thought that Cheng Zhiye stayed behind to complete the secret mission assigned to him by Zhao Jingyu, so they did not doubt his statement of returning to Beijing alone. Seeing that the girl was gentle and pretty, and considering that her father risked his life to save Cheng Zhiye, they let her stay in the mansion and took good care of her.
However, Xie Nanjia questioned this story. Cheng Zhiye was so determined to find Eleven in the first place, how could he return to Beijing without finding Eleven? Moreover, he happened to encounter a ferocious beast. It sounded like a lie.
But why did he lie? Was it for the girl named Jiu Niang
This doesn't make sense. He clearly went to find Eleven, so why would he bring another girl back
Could it be that he changed his mind and fell in love with this girl again, and gave up looking for Eleven
But if he was such a person who easily changed his mind, he would not have been so heartbroken over Eleven.
So, what on earth is he doing
Xie Nanjia was puzzled, and when the Cheng family and Jiu Niang were not around, she quietly asked Cheng Zhiye why he didn't write to her to report his safety after being gone for so long, why he suddenly brought another girl back, and whether he found Eleven.
Cheng Zhiye seemed reluctant to say anything, and evaded the question by saying that he would tell her later and now was not the right time.
Xie Nanjia didn't understand whether he meant that she couldn't say it in his house or that the timing was not right, but since he didn't want to say it, she didn't force it. After sitting with Zhao Jingyu for a while, she stood up and said goodbye.
Another thing that made her feel strange was that Zhao Jingyu actually accepted Cheng Zhiye's statement very calmly without raising any questions throughout the process.
She suspected that Zhao Jingyu might know the inside story, and perhaps the two had already discussed it privately before Cheng Zhiye returned.
On the way, Xie Nanjia asked Zhao Jingyu about his doubts and asked him what he thought about Cheng Zhiye's affairs.
Zhao Jingyu said, "I promised that I would never lie to you again, but I really can't tell you about this right now. When the time is right, I will tell you, so don't ask me now."
Xie Nanjia was not the kind of person who liked to meddle in other people's affairs. In addition, these two people deliberately concealed the truth from her, which made her a little angry. She simply threw it aside out of spite and ignored it.
It has nothing to do with her anyway, so why should she worry about it.
Two days later, the news that Cheng Zhiye brought back a girl from outside the country gradually spread in the capital. Because Cheng Zhiye made the story touching, and with the addition of exaggeration by the spreaders, it became a widely circulated story in the capital.
However, when Cheng Zhiye proposed to marry the girl, he was strongly opposed by the whole family.
The first person to express opposition was Old Madam Cheng.
Old Madam Cheng said that gratitude is gratitude and feelings are feelings, which are two completely different things and must not be confused. The girl's father saved Cheng Zhiye's life. In order to repay the favor, the family can provide the girl with a life of food and clothing, and is willing to do their best to find a suitable in-law for her and give her a generous dowry. Even if Cheng Zhiye insists on being with her, considering her status and Cheng Zhiye's future, at best she can only be a concubine, and never his wife.
The opinions of other people in the mansion were basically the same as those of Old Lady Cheng. They all believed that the daughter of a hunter from another place was not qualified to marry into the Minister's mansion as his principal wife. Even though Cheng Zhiye was only a bastard, he was not worthy of her.
Moreover, considering their family's relationship with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, they will be successful sooner or later. If they marry a hunter's daughter, how can they take her out in the future
In contrast, Minister Cheng did not care much about his daughter-in-law's family background, but since both his mother and his wife were opposed, he had to persuade his son to give up the idea and let his mother choose a marriage for him that was of equal status.
Cheng Zhiye refused to agree no matter what, and had several arguments with his family members over this. It was very unpleasant, and he even threatened that if he was not allowed to marry Jiu Niang, he would become a monk.
He is now a favorite of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. His family can no longer discipline him violently as they did before, and kind words of persuasion have no effect on his heart. Minister Cheng is so anxious that his hair has turned white.
After hearing this, Zhao Jingyu specially called Minister Cheng to talk.
Zhao Jingyu said, Cheng Zhiye is my best brother. I have the final say in his future. It has nothing to do with who he marries. You don't have to link his future with a good marriage. With me around, even if he marries a beggar, he will still be one of the most prominent figures in the capital in the future. The fate between him and Jiu Niang is a good story. He married Jiu Niang, which was called gratitude and loyalty. If you force him to marry someone else, he will only be branded as ungrateful, which is not good.
After listening to what Zhao Jingyu said, Minister Cheng went back and told his mother and wife about it. They were all smart people, so how could they not understand what His Royal Highness the Crown Prince meant? Since His Royal Highness the Crown Prince wanted to make this decision for Zhiye, what else could they say except agree.
Anyway, Zhao Jingyu had already promised Cheng Zhiye a bright future in front of Minister Cheng, so they had nothing to worry about.
So, for Zhao Jingyu's sake, the Cheng family agreed to the marriage between Cheng Zhiye and Jiu Niang, and chose an auspicious day to hold a grand wedding for them.
Jiu Niang had no home and no relatives, so they were spared a series of tedious procedures such as the marriage proposal and the name-asking ceremony, which made them feel less worried.
On the wedding day, all the important figures in the capital were there. Because of Zhao Jingyu's face, the gifts were exceptionally generous. After all, everyone knew that Cheng Zhiye and Zhou Yuncheng would be the Crown Prince's right-hand men and women in the future, and would become influential figures in the court.
Xie Nanjia attended Cheng Zhiye's wedding with Sheng Qingyun. Seeing Cheng Zhiye bowing to heaven and earth with Jiu Niang with a happy face, she could not believe that he was the same Cheng Zhiye who was willing to die for Eleven.
Jiu Niang was wearing a gorgeous wedding dress and a red veil on her head. Xie Nanjia couldn't see her face, nor could she judge what kind of feelings she had for Cheng Zhiye. She didn't know if it was a psychological effect, but she always felt that there was something strange about this girl, but she couldn't tell exactly what it was.
After a few days, she still couldn't let go of the matter. She was always worried that Cheng Zhiye had been fooled by someone else again, so she went to find Zhao Jingyu and insisted on asking him for clarification.
Zhao Jingyu couldn't get enough of her pestering, so he had to tell her the truth: Jiu Niang was Eleven.
Xie Nanjia was greatly shocked and could hardly believe her ears. How could Jiu Niang be Eleven? The two looked completely different.
Zhao Jingyu said that when Eleven pretended to be Yunshu, she was disguised, so the Eleven they had seen all along was not her true face. The current Jiu Niang is Eleven's true face. After Cheng Zhiye found her, it took him a long time to impress her and convince her to come back with him. In order to prevent the Cheng family from objecting, he changed Eleven's name and deliberately concealed her past. The reason why he didn't tell Xie Nanjia before was because he was worried that the news would leak out, and he wanted to wait until the dust settled before telling her.
Xie Nanjia was so shocked that she was completely stunned. It took her a long time to come back to her senses. She was surprised and said, "How did she do it? I didn't even notice it. Also, she said she was so heartless and ruthless at the beginning, so why would she be willing to lower herself and follow Cheng Zhiye back? How did Cheng Zhiye convince her? It's amazing..."
"It's not that magical, it can be simply described in eight words: sincerity can move mountains and rocks." Zhao Jingyu said leisurely, "Didn't I move you in the same way?"
"You? Tsk!" Xie Nanjia rolled her eyes at him, "You overestimate yourself. Am I such an easily impressed person? I just wanted to use you..."
Halfway through his words, he suddenly realized that he had let the cat out of the bag and quickly swallowed the rest of the sentence.
Zhao Jingyu had already become suspicious. He said "hmm" and sat up straight. He stared at her with burning eyes and asked, "What are you using me for?"
"It's nothing, I was just talking nonsense." Xie Nanjia said in a panic.
Zhao Jingyu didn't want to believe it. He stood up and walked to her. He bent down, put his hands on the armrests on both sides of the chair, and circled her in it. He said coldly: "Speak!"
Xie Nanjia felt an invisible sense of oppression and held her breath unconsciously. She was too guilty to dare to look him in the eye: "What are you doing? I really just said it casually."
"I'll give you one last chance!" Zhao Jingyu's voice became colder.
Xie Nanjia bit her lip and told the truth: "Yes, I did want to use you to marry into the Marquis' Mansion so that I could take care of the young master, so I had to tolerate your harassment of me and try to please you against my will. After learning your true identity, I hesitated whether to follow you into the palace. After all, if I entered the palace, I would not be able to be with the young master, but..."
She wanted to say, "But later I really fell in love with you." However, Zhao Jingyu did not give her a chance. After glaring at her hatefully, he turned and left the room.
"..." Xie Nanjia stared blankly at his red figure disappearing outside the door. She couldn't help but raise her hand and slap herself. She jumped up in panic and chased after him, "Zhao Jingyu, listen to me..."
Not only did Zhao Jingyu not listen, he walked away without even looking back, and Xie Nanjia couldn't catch up with him even at a jog.
The servants in the west wing stopped what they were doing and looked at them in surprise.
The Second Young Master has always treated Miss Xiu'er like a treasure. What happened today? How dare he give Miss Xiu'er the cold shoulder
Zhao Jingyu walked into the garden regardless of anything. Xie Nanjia took great effort to catch up with him. She grabbed his arm, pulled him into the pavilion in the garden, and pressed him against the pillar of the pavilion.
"I haven't finished talking yet, why are you running away!" Xie Nanjia raised one hand to support herself on the pillar with great arrogance, like a street scoundrel flirting with a decent woman. With the other hand, she pinched his chin hard, put her face close to his and said viciously, "I hate misunderstandings between two people, so I must explain it to you clearly. What I just said is all in the past. Now I like you. Do you understand?"
"..." Zhao Jingyu shrank back like a frightened little white flower, blinking pitifully, "No, I didn't understand..."
"Why are you so stupid?" Xie Nanjia said in a rough voice, "If you don't understand, I'll say it again. I like you and am willing to put aside everything to be with you. Do you understand?"
"I understand..." Zhao Jingyu continued to blink, "But I don't believe it, because you always lie."
"Then what do you want to believe?" Xie Nanjia asked angrily.
Zhao Jingyu could no longer control the smile on his lips, and said with a straight face, "Unless you kiss me."
"..." Xie Nanjia vaguely realized that she seemed to have been fooled by him. She turned around and looked at the servants who were peeking around. She couldn't help but feel worried. Should they be relatives or not
(End of this chapter)