Zhao Jingyu looked down at the sleeve that Xie Nanjia was holding in his hand, a trace of embarrassment appeared on his face, and he smiled awkwardly, "What did you say?"
"Why did you let someone follow me?" Xie Nanjia asked directly.
For some things, since both parties know the truth, instead of continuing to pretend to be ignorant, being wary of each other, and being suspicious of each other, it is better to simply break the window paper and turn from being passive to active.
Zhao Jingyu slowly pulled his sleeve out of Xie Nanjia's hand, brushed it off to smooth out the wrinkles, and asked, "Why do you think so? Do you have any secrets that are worth sending someone to follow you?"
"Who doesn't have secrets?" Xie Nanjia also answered the question irrelevantly, "Doesn't the Second Young Master have any?"
"Oh?" Zhao Jingyu raised his eyebrows, pulled over a chair and sat down, then asked leisurely, "Could it be that you have caught me with something?"
"What about me? Has the Second Young Master caught any evidence against me?" Xie Nanjia asked, imitating his tone.
Zhao Jingyu couldn't help but laugh: "Is it interesting to go around in circles like this?"
"That's boring." Xie Nanjia suggested, "How about I count to three and we ask each other a question at the same time?"
"This is interesting." Zhao Jingyu nodded in agreement, with more and more interest in his eyes.
Xie Nanjia took a deep breath and counted to three slowly. They both spoke at the same time:
"Do you know that Hu Qianshan taught you, my Lord and Madam?"
"What is your relationship with the Crown Prince's wife?"
Xie Nanjia had anticipated Zhao Jingyu's question, but Xie Nanjia's question left Zhao Jingyu stunned.
"Are you spying on me?" He frowned slightly, and a murderous look flashed across his amorous peach blossom eyes.
"This is not the answer." Xie Nanjia noticed his emotional fluctuations. The more impatient he became, the calmer she became.
Zhao Jingyu clenched his fist, rubbed his chin twice, and said slowly: "They don't know."
Xie Nanjia was delighted, feeling that the chips in his hand had increased.
"It's your turn to answer." Zhao Jingyu stared closely at the changes in her expression and reminded her.
"I have nothing to do with the Crown Prince's wife." Xie Nanjia said.
"You're lying!" Zhao Jingyu slapped the armrest and said sternly, "It doesn't matter why you made the same soup as hers? It doesn't matter why you protected her son? It doesn't matter why you stopped her brother from killing the prince? And why did you kill for her and her maid?"
Xie Nanjia was still sitting on the floor, her heartbeat gradually quickening with Zhao Jingyu's series of questions. In her eyes, Zhao Jingyu at this moment was very different from any time before. His eyes were so sharp, his expression was so stern, and he exuded an intimidating majesty. His powerful aura even made the candles in the tent begin to jump uneasily.
This was not Zhao Jingyu, this was not the playboy Zhao Jingyu she was familiar with. She swallowed secretly and put her hands on her chest to force herself to calm down.
After Zhao Jingyu asked, he looked at her with burning eyes, waiting for her answer, like a leopard lurking in the jungle waiting for its prey.
Xie Nanjia pursed her lips, met his gaze and said calmly: "This is the second question, I don't have to answer it."
Zhao Jingyu stood up suddenly and looked down at her, with an undisguised murderous look on his face.
He could take extra care of her because of their childhood friendship, and he could tolerate her rudeness when he was in a good mood, but this did not mean that she could test his bottom line indefinitely.
He can kill anyone at any time, no matter who the person is.
Xie Nanjia knew that his patience had reached its limit, so he stood up and said, "Why don't we make a deal?"
Zhao Jingyu suddenly stopped, with suppressed anger in his tone: "What deal?"
Xie Nanjia stood opposite him and said what he had been thinking for a long time: "I know you are not willing to be just an idle young man. Compared with Zhao Jingping, you think you are more suitable to be the future master of the Marquis' Mansion. I think so too. Therefore, I am willing to lend you a helping hand."
Zhao Jingyu listened quietly and suddenly laughed. The solemn atmosphere was broken by this mocking and disdainful chuckle, and his anger disappeared.
He has seen many sides of this girl, and today he saw her arrogant side. She even said shamelessly that she would lend him a helping hand. He was really curious, where did she get her confidence from
He didn't say he accepted or rejected it. He sat back in his chair and asked calmly, "What are your conditions?"
Xie Nanjia breathed a sigh of relief, and then he felt a layer of cold sweat on his back and his hands and feet were weak.
"My conditions are simple." She tried her best to straighten her back and stay calm. "I promise not to do anything harmful to the Marquis' Mansion, so you just need to turn a blind eye to my actions."
She originally wanted to ask him to take better care of the young master, but she was afraid that saying so would cause Zhao Jingyu to revisit the previous issue. She could only calm him down for the time being and make plans after reaching an alliance with him.
"Even if you kill someone, are you going to turn a blind eye?" Zhao Jingyu said sarcastically.
Xie Nanjia: "… I killed people who deserved to die."
"In my opinion, you deserve to die too." Zhao Jingyu sneered, "Do you think this handle can threaten me? If I kill you now, you know that everything I do will be in vain."
Xie Nanjia smiled slightly, confident in her mind: "Since I dare to negotiate with you, I naturally have a way to protect myself. I have made arrangements before coming here. If I can't return alive, your secret will be made public. If you don't care, just do it!"
Zhao Jingyu was stunned for a moment, then clapped his hands and said, "Interesting, you are really the most interesting girl I have ever seen!"
"Thank you for the compliment, Second Young Master." Xie Nanjia said modestly.
"No, I didn't flatter you. I underestimated you." Zhao Jingyu strode to the table, poured two glasses of wine himself, and handed one to Xie Nanjia. "Happy cooperation!"
"Cheers to the Second Young Master!" Xie Nanjia took the wine glass, raised both hands above his brows respectfully, and then drank it all in one gulp. The heart that had been hanging in the air for a long time finally slowly settled down in his stomach.
She didn't have any foresight to make arrangements for a retreat in advance, but she just lied to Zhao Jingyu in a desperate situation. She didn't expect that Zhao Jingyu actually believed it.
This move was really too risky.
Zhao Jingyu looked at her relieved expression and a meaningful smile appeared on the corner of his lips.
At night, Xie Nanjia, as a personal attendant, slept in the same tent with Zhao Jingyu.
This was the first time in Xie Nanjia's life that she shared a room with a man other than her husband. Although their beds were far apart, she still felt awkward. She didn't even dare to take off her clothes and fell asleep in a hurry.
The battle of wits and courage with Zhao Jingyu left her exhausted, but her brain was surprisingly excited. She tossed and turned for half the night before falling asleep.
Zhao Jingyu, however, acted as if nothing had happened. He let Xie Nanjia help him undress and wash up. Not long after he lay down, he began to breathe evenly and slept soundly.
…
The Xishan hunting ground is nearly 500 miles in radius and is located at the confluence of the remnants of Yanshan Mountain and Anshan Mountain. It has complex terrain, a vast area, and a wide variety of animals, making it suitable for large-scale hunting.
At five o'clock in the morning, each general led his soldiers to encircle the enclosure from far to near, forming a tight iron barrel-like encirclement, trapping all kinds of prey inside, and then gradually narrowing the scope.
The emperor, surrounded by princes, ministers and guards, came out of the tent to review the troops. After the ceremony, he ordered the hunting to begin.
Zhao Jingyu was wearing silver armor, a bright red cloak, holding a bow, carrying feather arrows on his back, riding a fat and strong chestnut horse with shiny fur, and came to the hunting ground with eight guards. He was very dazzling and eye-catching among the crowd of princes and sons of the royal family.
Today was the first day of the hunting trip, and the emperor was leading the team. It was inconvenient for him to bring Xie Nanjia with him, so he asked her to stay in the tent to rest. Before leaving, he told her, "Stay at home. It's getting cold. Wait for me to hunt some good skins for you to make clothes."
The tone was casual, as if nothing had happened last night.
Xie Nanjia was equally calm. She thanked him with a smile, tidied his clothes herself, walked him out of the tent, and watched him ride away on his horse.
Looking at Zhao Jingyu's bright red cloak fluttering like flames in the autumn morning breeze, Xie Nanjia was in a trance for a moment, feeling that he was no longer a dissolute dandy, but the commander of thousands of troops, full of vigor and vitality, and in charge of all directions, quite like the spirit of Dingyuan Hou who shook the nine states with his iron cavalry in the past.
This is what the bloodline of Marquis Dingyuan should look like! Xie Nanjia thought that just for this reason, he was more suitable than Zhao Jingping to be the future head of the Marquis's mansion.
But then again, if he really became the head of the family, it might not be a good thing for his son and Lvliu, so whether to help him or oppose him requires long-term consideration.
After the large group of people left, the noisy camp became quiet. Xie Nanjia had nothing to do, so she took a nap in the tent. Perhaps because Zhao Jingyu was not there, she felt completely relaxed and slept until the sun was setting.
I was sleeping soundly when I heard the sound of horse hooves shaking the earth. The hunters were returning to the camp.
Xie Nanjia got up quickly, made the bed, tidied her clothes and hair, and planned to go out to greet Zhao Jingyu.
Just as I reached the door of the tent, I saw Zhao Jingyu walking towards me with big strides, holding a piece of snow-white fur that had just been peeled off in his hand, with two pheasants hanging around his waist. A group of guards followed closely behind him, each holding a prey in their hands. They were all dusty and full of wildness, just like a group of mountain hunters.
Seeing Xie Nanjia standing at the door of the tent, Zhao Jingyu's slightly tired face showed a bright smile, shook the fur in his hand, and shouted to her proudly: "See, I keep my word, right?"
As he spoke, he came up to Xie Nanjia, took off the pheasant hanging from his waist and threw it at her feet, laughing loudly, "Go and stew it for me!"
Xie Nanjia looked at him in a daze. It seemed that he had become a different person after going out hunting. He no longer had the refinement and dignity of the past, but was now full of a rough aura.
"See? I hunted all those." Zhao Jingyu pointed at the prey in the guards' hands and showed them to her. "What do you think? Am I awesome? I also hunted a deer and a wild sheep. If I hadn't had to present them to His Majesty, I would have brought them back to you to open your eyes!"
He said a lot of things excitedly, but when he saw that Xie Nanjia didn't respond at all, the smile on his face faded a little, and he frowned and said, "You don't believe me? If you don't believe me, ask Wei Jun. Wei Jun, you go tell her!"
Being so eager to take credit is like a child who asks an adult for candy after doing something good.
"..." Wei Jun felt embarrassed for him. He coughed dryly and said to Xie Nanjia, "Yes, the second young master was very brave today. He hunted the first deer and presented it to the emperor. The emperor was very pleased and asked people to record his great merit. There will be rewards in the future..."
"Okay, I understand." Xie Nanjia nodded, "Who of you can help clean up these two chickens? I'll make chicken soup for the second young master."
Zhao Jingyu: “…”
"That's all?" He pulled Xie Nanjia in dissatisfaction, "Don't you have anything else to say?"
Xie Nanjia looked at him, took out a handkerchief and wiped the dust off his face that had gotten there from somewhere, and scolded him like a loving mother, "Look at all the dirt on your face. You look like a big cat."
Zhao Jingyu fell silent and stood motionless, feeling her gentle movements and the faint fragrance on the handkerchief. All the fatigue of the day suddenly disappeared.
Xie Nanjia also had a sudden impulse and wanted to test whether he would eat it. Judging from his dazed look, he should eat it.
How about I try to be gentle and considerate to him and see if I can influence him
(End of this chapter)