This irritability when waking up hasn't gone away for several days.
For several days, Xie Nanjia avoided Zhao Jingyu. She either stayed in the old lady's courtyard to accompany the fourth young lady who was ill, or went to the young master's courtyard to have secret conversations with Hualou. At night, when she went to deliver midnight snacks to the Marquis, she always asked Su He to go with her. In short, she never gave Zhao Jingyu the chance to meet her alone.
When they met in public, she would act as if she didn't want to talk to anyone. If Zhao Jingyu deliberately picked trouble to provoke her, she would kneel down without saying a word. Once she knelt down, he would lose his temper.
Zhao Jingyu felt very depressed about this, not knowing how he had offended her. That night he tried his best to control the little monster in his heart, gave his bed to her, and slept alone in the guest room.
It was the first time he slept in the guest room since he moved into the west wing, and he couldn't sleep most of the night because he was trying to choose a bed.
Such a gentleman's demeanor is not much worse than Liuxia Hui, right? Who knew that she not only did not appreciate it, but also got angry for no reason.
Caiyun said she was in a bad mood when she woke up, but this bad mood lasted too long.
Could it be that she was angry that he didn't send her back that night
He originally wanted to send her back, but then he changed his mind and thought that instead of letting people see her drunkenly in the west wing in the middle of the night and being carried back by him, it would be better for her to stay at his place for a night and leave in a swagger the next day. If someone saw her, he could say that she came early in the morning to deliver a message for the Fourth Young Lady.
He had never been so deliberate in making plans for anyone before. Even Wei Jun said that he had thought very carefully. The only thing he had not thought about was that he did not obtain her consent. But it was not his fault. She slept so deeply that he could not be woken up even if he called her. He had to wait until the next day to explain to her.
But she didn't even give him a chance to explain. She just walked away with a murderous look on her face without looking back. If you didn't know, you would think she had suffered a great injustice.
It is obviously me, the young master, who is wronged. This woman is really puzzling.
Zhao Jingyu was puzzled and went to Cheng Zhiye for help.
He was too embarrassed to say it was his own problem, so he lied and said it was a friend's trouble.
Cheng Zhiye said, "We have been friends since we were little, how come I don't know that you have friends that I don't know?"
Zhao Jingyu thought he was missing the point: "Why do you care whether she knows him or not? I asked you to help analyze why the girl was angry."
Cheng Zhiye said: "You call yourself the most passionate gentleman in the capital, but you can't analyze it yourself?"
Zhao Jingyu shook his head and sighed: "What can I do? Being affectionate is always hurt by being heartless!"
Cheng Zhiye felt something was wrong. While he was putting flowers in his hair in front of the mirror, he asked tentatively, "This friend, could it be you?"
"How is that possible?" Zhao Jingyu stiffened his neck and refused to admit it. "It has always been women who have fallen sick because of lovesickness for me. When have you ever seen me worry about a woman?"
Cheng Zhiye wanted to pursue the matter, but Zhao Jingyu was already furious: "You're going to tell me or not? If not, get out of here!"
"But this is my home," said Cheng Zhiye.
"..." Zhao Jingyu stood up and walked away, but Cheng Zhiye quickly stopped him, "No, no, no, I won't ask anymore. Is it okay if I don't ask anymore? The girl you mentioned, I think she is most likely jealous."
"Jealous? Jealous of what?" Zhao Jingyu slowly sat back down, "Tell me more details."
Cheng Zhiye said, "Think about it. A girl came to visit you in the middle of the night. She must have admired you for a long time and mustered up a lot of courage to go. But you did nothing but drink with her in the pavilion and got her drunk..."
"It's not me, it's my friend." Zhao Jingyu emphasized.
"Yes, yes, your friend." Cheng Zhiye was too lazy to expose him. "Your friend is so boring. It's ok to get someone drunk, but you did something else. You ended up leaving someone alone in the room all night, and the next day you got a bunch of beauties to watch him. What's the point? Are you showing off how many women you have?"
Zhao Jingyu: "... My friend didn't mean that. He just asked one of them to go and see if the person was awake. Who knew they both went..."
Cheng Zhiye: “Haha!”
Zhao Jingyu: “…”
Well, after Cheng's analysis, he felt that he had indeed done something wrong. But then again, if he didn't let Xiu'er sleep alone, did he have to sleep with her? Cheng Zhiye didn't understand Xiu'er at all. Xiu'er was not the kind of woman who would throw herself into his arms. If he really slept with her, he would be stirring up a hornet's nest.
He thought about it and thought that the bad things were caused by Caiyun and the others. Xiu'er must have gotten angry when she woke up and saw so many women in his room.
His eyes lit up and a smile appeared on the corner of his lips. Cheng Zhiye was right, Xiu'er was jealous.
Ha ha!
Ha ha!
He laughed a few times, rushed out the door, and couldn't wait to go back to see Xiu'er. He didn't know that she was jealous before, and didn't pay attention to her expression. He wanted to go back quickly to see what she looked like when she was jealous.
I said it, how could there be a girl who doesn’t like me? If there is, she must be pretending.
Xiu'er was just pretending, but unfortunately, now I've seen through you. Little girl, where can you escape to
The more he thought about it, the happier he felt. He rode his horse at the top of his lungs, looking very proud and triumphant. His bright red clothes fluttered in the wind like a flag of victory, attracting the glances of the girls on the street. The clatter of his horse's hooves seemed to step on every girl's heart.
After returning to the mansion, he went to the fourth young lady's yard first, but Xie Nanjia was not there. He then went to the old lady's yard, but Xie Nanjia was not there either. He thought she must be in his nephew's yard, but when he got there, he saw that everyone was in the yard playing with his nephew, except the person he was looking for.
He always talked about everything in one go, and after searching three places without success, his enthusiasm dried up. However, the young master was attracted by his bright clothes and opened his arms to ask him to hold him.
Zhao Jingyu sighed, took the child from Hualou, picked him up and tossed him a few times, making the child giggle.
"You look happy." Zhao Jingyu reached out to wipe the saliva from his laughter, but he bit her finger again.
"Hiss!" Zhao Jingyu gasped in pain, feeling as if his skin and flesh had been bitten by him.
Everyone rushed over, but no matter what they tried, the child just wouldn't let go. In the end, Hualou pinched his nose to prevent him from breathing, and he had no choice but to let go.
This method is effective, but due to the young master's status, no one dares to use it, only Hualou dares to use it.
Zhao Jingyu's fingers were really bitten, and blood oozed out from the two small tooth marks. Everyone in the yard was so scared that they knelt down and apologized.
The nurse held the little boy in her arms and explained in a trembling voice, "Second Young Master, calm down. The little boy is just teething and it itches, so he bites whatever he grabs. He didn't mean to bite you."
Zhao Jingyu naturally couldn't argue with a child, so he could only consider himself unlucky. He asked someone to apply some medicine powder, wrapped it up with cloth, and left the yard.
After being bitten by the child, he came to his senses. He no longer thought about looking for Xie Nanjia and went back to the west wing.
He is the second young master, he has his dignity. Why is he in such a hurry to find a maid
Anyway, Xiu'er has fallen in love with him, and he is the one taking the initiative now. He should wait for Xiu'er to come to him.
snort!
However, the arrogant second young master did not remain arrogant for long. Not long after, Wei Jun came to tell him that the reason why he couldn't find Xiu'er anywhere was because Xiu'er was entangled by Zhao Jingping in the garden.
Zhao Jingping is a pervert who is good at using sweet words, poetry and songs to deceive women. Xiu'er must not be fooled by him.
Zhao Jingyu could no longer sit still, and took Wei Jun to the garden to kill.
Xie Nanjia didn't go to the garden out of boredom, but was invited by Lu Liu.
Luliu was still thinking about what happened last time, so while Xie Nanjia, the fourth young lady's patient, was free, she sent someone to call Xie Nanjia to the garden to meet her.
In order to avoid being eavesdropped, the two chose to talk in the pavilion in the lotus pond.
Luliu asked Xie Nanjia what he thought about the last incident and whether he was willing to help her become the Crown Prince's wife.
Xie Nanjia was of course unwilling in her heart. If Lvliu was really the murderer, helping her would be equivalent to giving bargaining chips to her enemies. If Lvliu was not the murderer, she would be even more reluctant to marry the bastard Zhao Jingping.
So she told Lu Liu bluntly: "I will not help a murderer who killed the Crown Prince's wife to become the Crown Prince's wife, unless you can prove that you are not the murderer."
"I can't prove it, but I'm really not." Lu Liu said, "My lady treats me like a sister. I have no reason to kill her."
Xie Nanjia sneered: "What's the point of being as close as sisters? Even if they are real sisters, there are many who turn against each other for men. You don't have evidence, so I can't do anything."
Luliu was helpless against her stubbornness, but this made her even more convinced that she was the one sent by the General's Mansion.
"Although I cannot prove my innocence, I can tell you who I suspect. Since we are both from the General's Mansion, please help me. As long as the real culprit is found, I can be cleared of suspicion."
Xie Nanjia thought about it, nodded and said, "Tell me what you have to say first, and then I'll decide whether to help you or not."
The two of them sat down at the stone table, and Lvliu immediately told her all her suspicions.
Luliu suspected four people, Aunt Hong, Aunt Xue and Qin's aunt and nephew.
Xie Nanjia had no impression of these two concubines, so she asked Luliu to explain in detail why she suspected them.
Lvliu said, "Hong Yi Niang was a concubine that the prince loved very much before he got married, and she was pregnant. Seeing that the prince's wedding was approaching, the lady was worried that the general's mansion would be unhappy if they knew about it, so she ordered people to hide her. Unexpectedly, on the day of the wedding, she suddenly had an unbearable abdominal pain. Everyone was busy preparing for the wedding, and no one paid attention to her, resulting in her losing the child. She was not found until the day after the wedding."
After she said that, Xie Nanjia remembered that there was such a person. On the second day of the wedding, all of Zhao Jingping's concubines went to offer her tea. Among them was Aunt Hong. Because she was not feeling well, she was forcibly taken to pay her respects and fainted on the spot.
It is said that after she woke up, she had many complaints about the Crown Prince's wife, saying that it was because of the Crown Prince's wife's intention to marry into the family that she lost her child, and that she would avenge her child one day.
At that time, Xie Nanjia didn't care at all. In her opinion, it was not her fault. If anyone was to be blamed, it should be Qin, because it was Qin who locked the person up.
She didn't think that Aunt Hong had the ability to take revenge at that time, and she still doesn't think so now, because those concubines usually have no chance to enter her yard, let alone when she is giving birth.
"What's going on with Aunt Xue?" she asked.
"Mrs. Xue was redeemed by the Crown Prince from a brothel last winter. Relying on her beauty and talent, she wanted to compete with the Crown Prince's wife. The Crown Prince's wife hated this kind of woman and didn't even let her serve tea. She also ordered her not to set foot in the courtyard. She insisted on kneeling outside the courtyard and threatened that she would keep kneeling if the Crown Prince's wife didn't see her.
It happened to be snowing heavily that day, and she knelt in the snow for two hours until she was frozen stiff. After being carried back home, the imperial physician diagnosed her and said that she might not be able to have children in the future. She drank medicine for a long time but still couldn't get pregnant. From then on, she held a grudge against the Crown Prince's wife."
"..." Xie Nanjia was speechless, "She brought this upon herself, how can she blame me... the wife of the prince?"
Green Willow smiled sarcastically: "Isn't that what people are like? When something goes wrong, they only blame others. How can they hate themselves?"
"Did you see these two concubines or their maids enter the delivery room that day?" Xie Nanjia asked.
"No, but we can't rule out the possibility that they would bribe other people." Lu Liu said.
"What about Madam? Why do you suspect her and Qin Wanru?" Xie Nanjia asked again.
Lvliu said bitterly, "Everyone in the mansion knows that Qin Wanru is crazy about marrying the prince. I am not the only one who suspects her, but she is the lady's niece, so no one dares to say it openly. As for the lady, I know a secret that even my young lady doesn't know. Because of this secret, I have every reason to suspect her."
Xie Nanjia looked at her in surprise, and found it incredible that she was hiding a secret from him.
"Does anyone know about this secret painting building?" she asked.
If even Hualou knew about it, she would be really angry.
"Hua Lou doesn't know. This secret was told to me by my wife the day before my young lady got married."
"What? It was me... the Crown Prince's wife's mother who told you?" Xie Nanjia was so excited that she almost let the cat out of the bag again. "Why didn't she tell her own daughter, but told you instead?"
Seeing her emotions were obviously more intense than before, Lvliu felt a little doubtful: "I can't tell you. I promised my wife to keep it a secret."
"Is it because of this secret that the general's wife saved your life when you were questioned by your wife?" Xie Nanjia asked.
"Not all of them." Lvliu shook her head and suddenly became alert, "How do you know that my wife is making excuses for me?"
"Hualou told me." Xie Nanjia said.
"Why did she tell you this?" asked Green Willow.
"Because she has a request for me, just like you, and wants me to help find the real murderer." Xie Nanjia said, "She is not like you, who is secretive when asking others to do things for her. She is willing to tell me everything, so I think she is more reliable than you."
Luliu was embarrassed, but obviously had no intention of sharing the secret with her.
She used to be the most secretive of all the girls, and no one could make her speak if she didn't want to.
"In that case, go ahead!" Xie Nanjia said, "I won't help someone who has reservations about me."
Lvliu pursed her lips, looked down, and clasped her hands together, as if she was having an ideological struggle.
Xie Nanjia looked at her quietly, and stood up the moment she raised her eyes: "I still have to go back to serve the Fourth Miss, I'm sorry I can't keep you company!"
"Don't go, I tell you!" Lvliu grabbed her hand across the table.
Xie Nanjia raised her eyebrows imperceptibly and sat back down: "Hurry up, I can't stay here for too long."
Luliu took a deep breath and said, "You have to promise me not to tell anyone else."
"I promise you." Xie Nanjia assured her.
Lvliu looked around and whispered, "Eighteen years ago, Qin and my wife were very good friends, and they both fell in love with my general at the same time..."
"What?" Xie Nanjia exclaimed with eyes wide open.
"Keep your voice down!" Lvliu frowned and reminded her.
"I'm sorry, I lost my composure. Please continue." Xie Nanjia also had to take a deep breath to calm herself down. This news was too shocking for her.
Green Willow continued, "The general did not like Qin, he liked my wife, but Qin was unwilling to give in, so she wrote a letter to the general in my wife's name, asking him to meet her in the peach forest outside the city. The general went as promised, but was deceived by Qin, who was wearing a veil, and secretly got engaged to her under the peach tree. Qin returned home, showed the general's token to Prime Minister Qin, and asked him to fulfill her wish.
However, Prime Minister Qin looked down on the general. He fell in love with the marquis. The next day after he learned of Qin's thoughts, he decided to marry her to the marquis. Qin refused and tried to commit suicide, but she could not change Prime Minister Qin's decision.
The general took the handkerchief given to him by Qin to the Bo's house to propose marriage. My wife recognized it as Qin's handkerchief and was angry that Qin had impersonated her and ruined her reputation, so she went to question her. The two best friends broke up from then on.
But Qin Shi still did not give up. She sneaked out of the mansion and blocked the general on the road he had to pass. She also went to the general's house to pester him. When she didn't get a response from the general, she transferred her anger to my wife and frantically found a pervert to destroy my wife's innocence. After the matter was exposed, Prime Minister Qin was afraid that she would do something more extreme, so he quickly married her off to stop her from thinking about it. "
After Luliu finished speaking, Xie Nanjia took a long time to recover. He sat there like a wooden man, but his heart was in turmoil.
She never knew that her parents and Qin had such a secret past. No wonder her father and mother reacted so strongly when the emperor granted her and Zhao Jingping a marriage. Her mother was so angry at the time. If her father had not stopped her, she would have gone to the Golden Palace alone to ask the emperor to revoke his order.
That was the first time she saw her mother get angry since she was a child. She thought her mother looked down on Zhao Jingping just like she did, and never thought that there were deeper reasons behind it.
But why did her mother tell such a secret to Lvliu instead of telling her
She asked Lvliu, and Lvliu said, "My mistress doesn't want the young lady to have too deep a prejudice against her husband's family. An uneducated husband is already enough to make the young lady upset, and she is afraid that she can't stand such a mother-in-law. However, she is also worried that Qin's bad habits will be hard to change, and she will do something to hurt the young lady for Qin Wanru. That's why she told me this secret and asked me to be careful not to let the young lady fall into her trap. After all, in Qin's view, the mistress robbed her marriage back then, and now the young lady has robbed her niece's marriage. With her temper, it is impossible for her not to resent it."
Xie Nanjia was stunned again. She couldn't tell what she felt in her heart. If she wanted to blame someone, there was no one to blame. If she wanted to hate someone, there was no one to hate. The only person she should blame was the high and mighty person in power who sacrificed the happiness of others to consolidate his own kingdom.
"Go away. I will help you do what I promised you." She said to Lvliu Youyou. Now, she just wanted to sit alone quietly for a while.
Lvliu didn't expect her to change her mind so quickly. She was delighted but reminded her, "You promised me not to tell this secret to anyone."
"I know, I won't tell anyone." Xie Nanjia waved her hand, signaling Lvliu not to say anything more. She didn't want to hear anything now.
Lvliu nodded and left alone. After walking a long way, she suddenly looked back at Xie Nanjia. She felt that her waving gesture was like that of a young lady. Every time a young lady made this gesture, it meant that she was very tired and wanted to be quiet, so she subconsciously left the pavilion just now.
Yes, that's right, she did withdraw. At that moment, she forgot that she was the master and Xiu'er was just a maid.
She took another deep look at the thin figure in front of the stone table, then left quietly with a heart full of doubts.
Xie Nanjia sat there motionless, completely unaware of her gaze.
I don't know how long I sat there, but a graceful figure in white stepped into the pavilion, walked behind Xie Nanjia, and gently patted her shoulder: "Xiu'er, what are you doing here?"
Xie Nanjia was shocked and jumped away, only to find that the person was Zhao Jingping.
"Why is it you?" She was immersed in the emotion just now, forgetting her identity for a moment, and glanced at Zhao Jingping coldly, saying, "Go away, I don't want to see you!"
Zhao Jingping didn't get angry but laughed instead. As a prince, he had never been treated coldly by any maid and he found it very interesting.
"Xiu'er, who made you angry?" he asked with a smile.
Another sound of the sleeves woke Xie Nanjia up, but she didn't intend to pay attention to Zhao Jingping and turned to leave the pavilion.
"Xiu'er, why did you leave?" Zhao Jingping followed from behind. He had been thinking about Xiu'er for a long time, and today he finally had the chance to meet her alone, so naturally he was not willing to let it go easily.
Xie Nanjia turned a deaf ear to his words, lowered her head and walked quickly.
Zhao Jingping trotted after her and stretched out his arms to block her way: "Xiu'er, why are you ignoring me?"
"Your Highness, please respect yourself," Xie Nanjia said coldly, "Your Highness is well-read, but you don't know the principle of sex not being able to touch each other. How will it look to others if you openly block my way like this?"
Zhao Jingping put down his arms and said softly, "Xiu'er, don't be afraid. I just want to talk to you. Have you forgotten that we met in the lady's room on the first day you entered the mansion? At that time, I thought I saw a fairy from heaven..."
Xie Nanjia felt sick after hearing this and walked straight past him.
Zhao Jingping didn't give up and chased her again.
It was almost noon and there was no one in the garden. She was worried that Zhao Jingping would do something out of line, but she did not dare to expose her skills in front of Zhao Jingping, so she had to speed up and run.
However, Zhao Jingping quickly caught up with her and grabbed her clothes from behind.
Xie Nanjia was frightened and didn't care about anything else. She pulled out the hairpin and was about to turn around to stab him. As soon as her hand touched his hair, she heard Zhao Jingping let out a strange cry and the force that was holding her clothes disappeared.
Xie Nanjia was stunned and looked back quickly, only to see Zhao Jingping's body being thrown into the air, followed by a splash, water splashing everywhere, startling a pool of water birds.
The red-clothed man who threw the person clapped his hands without changing his expression and gave her a charming smile: "Xiu'er, don't be afraid. I threw that pervert away."
Xie Nanjia: "…That's your brother!"
(End of this chapter)