When she heard that Zhao Jingyu wanted to borrow someone, before Xie Nanjia and Zhao Lanzhi could react, the old lady became alert and looked at Xie Nanjia in confusion, with a hint of displeasure on her face.
She had heard some gossip about Xie Nanjia and Zhao Jingyu before, but she didn't take it to heart. First, Zhao Jingyu Cheng Tianye was homeless, and second, Xie Nanjia was steady and cautious in front of her, her behavior was measured, her words were appropriate, and she didn't look like a frivolous woman.
But now Zhao Jingyu suddenly came over and asked Zhao Lanzhi to borrow Xie Nanjia, which made her think about sensitive things.
The housewife of a wealthy family hates the maid seducing the male master the most. Zhao Jingyu is the old lady's most beloved grandson. She can allow her grandson to live a life of debauchery outside, but she will never allow any restless maid to hit on her grandson.
Therefore, even though it was Zhao Jingyu who suggested borrowing the person, her first reaction was to put the blame on Xie Nanjia.
Xie Nanjia understood what she was thinking and secretly resented Zhao Jingyu. She had worked so hard to win the old lady's favor, but it was ruined by his words. Maybe the old lady would even become dissatisfied with Zhao Lanzhi.
But at this moment, she had no way to defend herself and could only lower her head and remain silent.
Fortunately, the old lady did not directly blame her, but asked Zhao Jingyu unhappily: "Don't you have enough maids in your yard? Why are you borrowing your sister's maid? You don't act like a brother. If others tell you about it, people will laugh at you!"
Seeing that the old lady was unhappy, Zhao Jingyu stopped laughing and said seriously, "Grandma, it's like this. The emperor is going to go hunting in the West Mountain in a few days. Since he only has one son, the prince, he ordered the children of officials in the capital to accompany him. I was not interested at first, but the emperor specifically asked me to go. The prince and I have a grudge, as you know, grandma. I have a bad temper and I'm afraid that I can't control myself and I will fight with him again. So I thought of bringing a smart and adaptable girl to accompany me to remind me and urge me from time to time, so that I won't go crazy again."
"..." The old lady, Zhao Lanzhi and Xie Nanjia were all speechless.
Speaking of Qiuwei, Xie Nanjia remembered that on the night before she left Qingfengyuan, Zhao Jingyu had mentioned that he wanted to take her to Qiuwei and asked her to hunt more prey to make him proud.
From this, it can be seen that he had planned the matter of Qiu Wei in advance, and it was nonsense for him to tell the old lady that he was not interested in Qiu Wei.
Liar, he is a big liar!
The old lady didn't know her precious grandson was lying to her, and scolded him: "How dare you say that? Why did the prince have a grudge against you? It's because you don't know how high the sky is and how deep the earth is. You know he is the prince, but you can't control your fist. You can't control yourself, but you expect others to teach you. Even so, don't you still have Wei Jun? Why do you want to borrow Xiu'er?"
Zhao Jingyu smiled and said, "You count on Wei Jun to give me some advice. It's good enough that they don't help me beat people up."
Wei Jun, who was outside the door, heard it and secretly curled his lips, thinking: when did I help you beat the prince? It's obvious that I couldn't stop you.
The old lady didn't believe it either, and said, "Wei Jun is more sensible than you. Besides, how can you be sure that Xiu'er can take on this important task? Aren't those Yiyun, Yixue, and Yimeng in your courtyard not capable of this?"
Zhao Jingyu said: "They can do nothing but listen to me, unlike Xiu'er, who is righteous, impartial, and fearless."
Xie Nanjia: “…”
The old lady was so angry that she laughed: "What are you saying? If Xiu'er hadn't come up from the manor, what would you have done?"
"Then I'll take Nanny Hua with me," said Zhao Jingyu.
Nanny Hua was the most useful nanny around the old lady. She always liked to remind Zhao Jingyu of his words and deeds. When she heard Zhao Jingyu mention her name, she didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Second Master, please spare this old slave. I'm afraid my old bones will fall apart before I can reach the West Mountain."
The old lady was helpless with him, so she turned to ask Xie Nanjia: "Xiu'er, are you willing to go with the second young master?"
Of course Xie Nanjia was unwilling to do so. She had many important things to do and didn't have the time to follow Zhao Jingyu around. Besides, the old lady already suspected that she was having an affair with her master. If she agreed readily, it would only make the old lady more suspicious of her.
"Madam, I have only been in the mansion for a short time and I don't know many rules. I have no restraint in the mansion. It is all because of the generosity of the masters that I have been able to get to this day. The second young master is here to accompany the king. It is really inappropriate for Xiu'er to go. If I bump into the emperor, it will not be a joke."
She said that she didn't know the rules, but the old lady didn't think so. She just felt satisfied with her attitude. All the maids in the mansion coveted the second young master's beauty. If it were someone else who was more tactful, they would definitely agree happily. But she didn't agree, which meant that she still knew her limits.
The old lady loved her grandson very much and was afraid that Zhao Jingyu would really get into trouble and displease the emperor. After much deliberation, she decided to let Xie Nanjia go with Zhao Jingyu. Even if she couldn't stop him from getting into trouble, at least he was better than Wei Jun in taking care of people, and she could prevent him from suffering outside.
Xie Nanjia was very surprised. She thought the old lady would strongly oppose it, but she didn't expect that the old lady was persuaded by Zhao Jingyu's few words. It seems that this relationship between generations is the same for everyone.
Seeing that the old lady had agreed, Zhao Jingyu was overjoyed and replaced Zhao Lanzhi's position. He personally served the old lady the food and soup. He was extremely attentive and said sweet words to her, which made the old lady dizzy.
Because he was afraid of causing trouble for Xie Nanjia, he didn't rush to talk to Xie Nanjia. He waited until the old lady finished her meal and said goodbye to Zhao Lanzhi and walked a long way out of the yard before he asked Xie Nanjia excitedly: "Xiu'er, are you happy to go out and play?"
Xie Nanjia was unhappy and kept a straight face without saying anything.
Zhao Jingyu leaned over to look at her, his face almost under her eyelids: "Why, are you still angry about what happened last time?"
"I dare not!" Xie Nanjia dodged to the side, avoiding his charming face and alluring fragrance.
"Then why are you ignoring me?" Zhao Jingyu asked again, "You don't really want to go to Xishan, do you?"
Xie Nanjia said unhappily: "I really don't want to go."
"What should we do?" Zhao Jingyu spread his hands. "I thought you were too embarrassed to admit it in front of the old lady, so you deliberately said the opposite. Now that the old lady has agreed, it's too late for you not to go."
This is what made Xie Nanjia angry. She was clearly the person involved, but no one took her seriously. It was like buying vegetables, and she was sold off after some bargaining.
But what can she do? She is a maid now. Where she goes and what she does depends entirely on her master's words.
She sighed, accepted her fate for the time being, and asked Zhao Jingyu when they would set off.
The Shangshu's wife will come the day after tomorrow. She doesn't want to miss the opportunity to meet her future mother-in-law. She has to try her best to arrange this marriage for her son and make her son's existence in the Marquis' Mansion more valuable. This way, he will be more valued by the Marquis and Qin, and his personal safety will be better guaranteed.
Zhao Jingyu sensed her compromise and smiled brilliantly: "We will set off in five days. Tell me what you need and I will ask Wei Jun to prepare it."
Xie Nanjia said: "Thank you, Second Young Master. If I need anything, I can just look for Wei Jun directly."
“…” Zhao Jingyu glared at Wei Jun unhappily.
Wei Jun was startled and subconsciously stepped aside, thinking to himself, this is none of my business, why are you gouging me
Zhao Lanzhi silently observed the interaction between the three of them, feeling inexplicably envious, and at the same time noticed something very subtle.
She couldn't tell what kind of feelings Wei Jun had for Xiu'er, but her second brother definitely had special feelings for her. As for Xiu'er, she seemed closer to Wei Jun and felt a little disgusted with her second brother. This disgust was like the helplessness of an adult who was disappointed in a child. It was a very strange feeling.
In short, the relationship between the three of them is by no means as simple as it seems.
…
That night, when Xie Nanjia went to deliver midnight snack to Marquis Dingyuan, she told Marquis Dingyuan that Zhao Jingyu was going to take her to hunt in the Western Hills.
Dingyuan Hou was a little surprised, but he was a military commander, and he didn't want to go around in circles like the old lady, so he didn't think there was anything wrong with it. He just smiled and said to Xie Nanjia, "Since the old lady has agreed, you can go with her to broaden your horizons!"
Xie Nanjia agreed, and then mentioned that the Shangshu's wife was coming to visit.
Marquis Dingyuan had heard Qin say this during dinner, and he praised Xie Nanjia just as Qin did, and asked her to help Qin entertain the Shangshu's wife the day after tomorrow.
Xie Nanjia also agreed.
She was not trying to take credit from Marquis Dingyuan, but was using this method to establish a close relationship with him and gain his trust.
Every time she came to deliver food, she would tell Marquis Dingyuan one or two things she found in the mansion. If there was nothing to do that day, she would tell him interesting stories about the young master so that Marquis Dingyuan could get a moment of relaxation in the busy official duties.
As time went by, Marquis Dingyuan developed a habit. If she didn't say anything, he would take the initiative to ask her what happened in the mansion and how the young master was doing today.
This subtle influence made her and Marquis Dingyuan more and more in tune with each other. Marquis Dingyuan also became more and more accustomed to her brief daily company. He often sighed: "I have five daughters, and none of them suits my heart as much as you. Your temperament and cooking skills are very similar to those of the deceased prince's wife. I feel sorry for my old brother for not taking good care of his precious daughter. Why don't I just take you in as my goddaughter?"
Xie Nanjia was quite touched to hear that he still missed his former self, but she decided to forget about being a goddaughter. She didn't want to become a thorn in the eyes of Qin and the two legitimate daughters.
Her purpose of returning to the Marquis' Mansion was to avenge herself and then protect her son as he grew up. It would not be good for her to make too many enemies. What she had to do was to win over as many people as possible and let more people work for her and her son.
Speaking of revenge, she and Luliu have planned a good show. If things go as expected, they can find out whether Aunt Xue and Aunt Hong are the murderers before going to Xishan Paddock.
She couldn't wait any longer.
(End of this chapter)