The distinguished guest that the Marquis entertained was one of his former sworn brothers, the current emperor Song Wanji.
Before Xie Nanjia got married, the emperor would go out of the palace in disguise several times a year to the general's mansion to drink with her father. In her eyes, the emperor at that time was a kind uncle. Every time he came, he would bring some gifts from the palace for her and her brother.
Later, the emperor arranged her to marry Zhao Jingping, and she resented him from the bottom of her heart. After the wedding, she did not go to the palace to thank him, nor did she go to see him during the holidays. No matter what banquets there were in the palace, she would claim to be sick and not go. Until her death, she never saw the emperor again.
Now, the emperor with a kind face but a cruel heart was wearing a loose round-necked robe of an ordinary person. He sat cross-legged in front of a desk in a casual posture and had a heart-to-heart talk with Marquis Dingyuan. No one who had not seen him would associate him with the emperor.
I guess the servants in this yard don’t know his true identity.
Xie Nanjia could only pretend she didn't know and walked into the house. As she was holding a tray, it was inconvenient for her to kneel down, so she bowed and said, "Your servant greets the Marquis."
Dingyuan Hou raised his hand to signal her to put the food on the table, and said to Song Wanji with a smile: "The new cook here is very good at cooking, and the soup is also very authentic. Mr. Song, please try it."
Song Wanji originally thought that Xie Nanjia was just a little girl who served food. When he heard Dingyuan Hou say that she was a cook, he looked at her with a little surprise, then was slightly startled. He looked at her carefully from head to toe and said with a smile: "I have always heard that your second son loves beauty and is more strict in selecting beauties than the imperial palace. After seeing her today, it turns out that the rumors are true. Even the cook is one in a million in appearance."
Dingyuan Hou's face changed, and then he laughed: "Sir, you are joking. Those are just rumors outside. This little cook is an exception. The others are all old women."
Song Wanji didn't know whether he believed it or not, so he picked up the wine pot and poured himself a glass of wine: "Look how scared you are, I just said it casually."
"…" Marquis Dingyuan wiped the sweat off his forehead and told Xie Nanjia, "Go wash your hands and come and pour some wine for Mr. Song."
Xie Nanjia: “…Yes.”
She was absolutely unwilling to serve the man who indirectly caused her death, but due to her humble status, she had no choice but to do so.
She went out to wash her hands, and asked the servant to go to the kitchen and tell Aunt Cai so that she wouldn't worry.
It seemed that Song Wanji's visit today had nothing important to do. He just came out to get some fresh air, otherwise he would not have allowed her to stay and serve him.
After washing her hands, she knelt beside the table, holding a wine jug and pouring wine for the two people.
Song Wanji tasted several dishes one by one and nodded, "It's really delicious. It's rare for this girl to have such cooking skills at such a young age."
Dingyuan Hou smiled and said to Xie Nanjia, "Why don't you thank me quickly, sir?"
Xie Nanjia put down the wine jug, folded his hands and bowed: "Thank you for the compliment, sir."
Song Wanji stroked his beard and said, "Why should you be so reserved, my Lord? It's better to be more casual."
Dingyuan Hou nodded in agreement. Looking at his expression, Xie Nanjia probably thought he was thinking, who dares to act casually with you
Song Wanji probably saw that he couldn't be casual, so he smiled and said, "I heard that your second son is very interesting, why not call him to liven up the atmosphere."
Xie Nanjia almost laughed out loud. Zhao Jingyu was so arrogant all day long. In the eyes of the emperor, he was just a person who livened up the atmosphere. I wonder what he would think after hearing this.
"This..." Dingyuan Hou said in embarrassment, "The child is naughty, I'm afraid..."
"What are you afraid of? Just call him." Song Wanji said.
Marquis Dingyuan had no choice but to order someone outside to go to the west wing and call Zhao Jingyu over.
In fact, the emperor knew Zhao Jingyu. After all, Zhao Jingyu was the one who had fought with the prince. The reason he said this was just to conceal his identity.
The news from the front yard soon reached Qin's ears, and she hurriedly asked someone to find Zhao Jingping.
Zhao Jingping was playing in Lvliu's room.
Lvliu asked him, "My Lord, the young master has moved to another courtyard a few days ago. Have you gone to see him?"
Zhao Jingping played with her hair and sighed, "I went there, but you don't know, the way she looked at me in that Hualou was like a poisoned knife, as if I was the enemy who killed her father."
"Ha!" Lvliu sneered, not knowing whether she was laughing at him or Hualou, "If you are afraid of her, why are you still a prince?"
Zhao Jingping smacked his lips and said, "I'm not afraid of her. I just thought that she is your young lady's confidant, so it's not a good idea to beat her up, right?"
"How dare you!" Lvliu raised her eyebrows and smiled charmingly, "She is now the housekeeper selected by the old lady for the young master. If you touch her, it's like slapping the old lady in the face. You don't even dare to mess with your mother, so how dare you mess with the old lady?"
"I dare not..." Zhao Jingping shook his head and sighed, "I dare not offend any of the women in this mansion, including you."
"Bah!" Green Willow spat at him, "What did I do to you? Am I not good enough to you?"
"Okay, okay, you're the best to me." Zhao Jingping approached her with a playful smile and held her slender waist. "You are my sweetheart!"
"Get lost, you scoundrel!" Lvliu gently kicked him away. "You only know how to coax people. Don't think I don't know that all the women in the East Courtyard are your sweethearts. You say this to everyone you go to."
"How is that possible? I only said this to you." Zhao Jingping raised his finger and swore to the sky, "If I lied to you, call me..."
"Alright, alright. I don't care about being struck by lightning. If you can do what I said the other day, I will believe you are serious."
"What happened the other day? Are you talking about the matter of you being promoted to be the Crown Prince's wife?" Zhao Jingping scratched his head in embarrassment, "You know, this matter is not that simple. My father doesn't even like Wanru..."
"Then get out of here and don't bother me anymore!" Lvliu immediately turned hostile.
Zhao Jingping quickly coaxed her: "Don't be angry, don't be angry, I'll think of a way, I'll think of a way, okay?"
Green Willow hummed: "That's good enough, go wash it!"
Zhao Jingping was overjoyed and hurriedly asked the little maid to prepare bath water for him.
Before the little girl could move, Yun Yan came and said that the Madam wanted to talk to the Prince.
Lvliu laughed wildly: "It's not my fault this time, it's your mother who ruined your happiness."
Yun Yan had never seen such a shameless woman before. She curled her lips secretly and cursed her for being shameless in her heart.
Zhao Jingping had no choice but to go to his mother with a sad face.
As soon as he entered the door, he was hit with a cup of tea. Qin scolded him with a dark face: "What do you do every day? Do you know that your father has called the second child to the front yard again?"
Zhao Jingping looked at the broken porcelain pieces on the ground and the water stains on his body, and was puzzled as to where his mother's anger came from.
"Let him go if he wants. My father asked him to go. What can I do?"
"You!" Qin was so angry that she was speechless and waved, "Come here."
Zhao Jingping walked up to her hesitantly.
Qin grabbed his ears and twisted them with gritted teeth: "Do you have any brains? When a distinguished guest came, your father didn't ask you, the prince, to accompany him, but asked the second son to accompany him. Don't you think about what he meant? Can you still sit firmly on the throne of the prince?"
"It hurts, it hurts..." Zhao Jingping grimaced in pain, struggling to free himself from his mother's hand, and said with a sad face, "Mother, why do you always care about this? My father promised in black and white in front of the emperor that the position of the crown prince will never be changed. Even if the second son is favored, he can only be a waste. I will have to support him in the future. Why are you so anxious?"
"..." Qin was almost pissed off by him, "Black and white words can guarantee your life. It would be fine if you were motivated, but you are leading an idle job in the military department like this, and you spend all day among women. Everyone knows that you are a loser. If your father wants to replace you, are you afraid that he won't find an excuse?"
Zhao Jingping was not convinced: "You said I was spending all my time with women, but the second brother is the same. Although he doesn't marry or take concubines, look at the beauties in his yard, piles of them, and he goes out every day to spend money on wine and women. Does that mean he has a future?"
"…" Qin Shi couldn't knock his stubborn head open. She was so angry that veins popped out of her forehead. She cursed, "Get out, get out of here!"
Zhao Jingping really left.
Qin held her chest and cried out in pain. Nanny Cao hurried forward to calm her down and advised, "Madam, you need to speak in a nice way and stop getting so anxious."
Qin said, "How can I not be anxious? Look at his attitude. It's all my fault. I planned too carefully for him, so he didn't even have a sense of crisis. He just thought his mother would stand behind him and plan for him all his life, but he didn't know that his mother would be pissed off by him sooner or later!"
Madam Cao was helpless and could only advise softly, "The prince has not yet come to his senses. He will get better when he grows up."
"Grow up, his son is almost grown up." Qin sneered.
Madam Cao's eyes lit up: "Yes, there is also the young master. What is there for Madam to be afraid of? People say that the next generation is close. Madam, as long as you train the young master well, the Marquis will not change the prince for the sake of the young master."
Qin sighed, "Do you think the old lady intends to let me train her?"
“…” Madam Cao also fell silent.
***
Xie Nanjia was pouring wine when a figure flashed outside the door. A bright red dress and the scent of ambergris wafted in at the same time.
With the Marquis and the Emperor present, she couldn't be rude, so she put down the wine pot and saluted Zhao Jingyu: "This servant greets the Second Young Master."
"Huh?" Zhao Jingyu didn't know she was there and was slightly surprised. "Why are you here?"
Xie Nanjia said, "The Marquis ordered me to cook a few side dishes for the distinguished guests."
"The food has been delivered, why aren't you leaving yet?" Zhao Jingyu said.
He just saw Xie Nanjia pouring wine with a wine jug in his hand, and he felt very unhappy. Even if he was pouring wine for his father, he would still be unhappy.
Dingyuan Hou called him, "Why are you talking so much nonsense? I asked her to stay and pour the wine. Why don't you come and meet the guests?"
Zhao Jingyu temporarily left Xie Nanjia behind and strode to the table. He looked at the emperor with a half-smile in his peach blossom eyes, pretending not to know him: "Dad, where did this distinguished guest come from? Why have I never seen him before?"
He looked so serious that even the emperor couldn't help laughing.
Dingyuan Hou said, "This is my old friend, Mr. Song. He heard that you are very naughty, so he wants to call you here to teach you a lesson."
Zhao Jingyu's face suddenly fell and he made a gesture to leave.
"Hey, where are you going?" Dingyuan Hou hurriedly called him, "Don't be rude in front of the master."
Zhao Jingyu waved his folding fan gently: "If you want me to drink, I will stay. If you want to teach me a lesson, I will not accompany you."
Marquis Dingyuan wanted to stand up and slap him twice, but he couldn't do it in front of the emperor, and his eyes almost popped out.
Zhao Jingyu chuckled: "Dad, you better be careful with your eyes."
Dingyuan Hou: “…”
Song Wanji laughed and waved to him, "Come on, come on, sit here with me. If you sit with your father, you will be beaten."
Zhao Jingyu didn't hesitate and sat down beside him.
Xie Nanjia stepped forward and picked up the wine jug to pour wine for Zhao Jingyu, but he grabbed her wrist.
Xie Nanjia was startled and subconsciously stepped back, but she didn't expect that Zhao Jingyu just snatched the wine jug from her hand.
"You can go back now. We don't need your service here anymore." Zhao Jingyu said.
Xie Nanjia was stunned.
Zhao Jingyu leaned over to her ear and whispered, "From now on, you can only pour wine for me."
The warm breath brushed past his ears, and Xie Nanjia shuddered, his heart pounding.
Zhao Jingyu chuckled and said, "Be good and listen to me. Go back quickly."
Xie Nanjia felt her face slowly getting hot, and she quickly knelt on the ground, saying "I'm leaving now", and without waiting for the Marquis or the Emperor to agree, she retreated in a panic.
Zhao Jingyu watched her running away like a frightened deer, a deep smile forming on his face.
Song Wanji looked at him playfully and laughed, "Do you like that girl?"
Zhao Jingyu shrugged, didn't answer, and poured himself a glass of wine.
Song Wanji asked him again: "You are already an adult, do you want to get married? If you like a girl, I can arrange a marriage for you."
Zhao Jingyu tilted her head slightly and looked at him: "Anyone will do?"
"Of course, as long as you like it." Song Wanji said.
Zhao Jingyu glanced at the door and said, "Even if it's that little girl, is it okay?"
Song Wanji's smile disappeared: "Of course, no!"
(End of this chapter)