Chu Xinian successfully moved into Xie Jingyuan's yard.
He ignored the butler's surprise, Yun Que's worry, and the various looks from the others. He held Xie Jingyuan's cold hand, smiled warmly and charmingly, and whispered, "I will definitely take good care of the general."
Xie Jingyuan narrowed his eyes, with a sneer that only he knew, and said in an ambiguous way: "Really?"
Chu Xinian: "Naturally true."
Xie Jingyuan remained silent, but chuckled inwardly, hoping that the other party would not be frightened and suddenly change his mind at night.
The layout of the houses of princes and nobles is similar, some are extremely luxurious, and some are slightly simple.
But Xie Jingyuan had a title, so he couldn't live a simple life. He had incense burners with flowers and birds, carpets with round flowers, antique collections, and paintings and calligraphy by famous artists. The only difference was that there was a sharp sword on the shelf in his study.
Fall into the abyss.
When Chu Xinian saw the cold iron, these two words suddenly appeared in his mind.
Dayan was founded on military power, and the court and the martial arts world were closely related. In the martial arts world, there is a list called Qianqiu, which gathers the masters and saints from all over the world. It changes every ten years. Those who are on this list are all rare masters and talents in the world. Their reputation will be passed down for many years and will never fade away.
Back then, Xie Jingyuan held the Luoyuan Sword and killed dozens of masters from the Northern Territory in a battle at Cangling. Among them was He Qiusi, the Ghost Hand of Ten Thousand Skulls who was ranked sixth on the Qianqiu List. His skills were evident.
He achieved this feat when he was young, making his peers look dull and cramped.
Chu Xinian was like an archaeologist now, wanting to study everything he saw. He ignored the official documents and letters on the table and stared at the sheathed sword in fascination.
"What are you looking at?"
Xie Jingyuan's strange and cold voice suddenly sounded behind him. A timid person might have been frightened to the point of having a heart attack.
Chu Xinian was not in a hurry. He turned around and smiled at Xie Jingyuan who was recuperating on the bed. "Although the general's sword is sealed in the sheath, it is full of murderous aura. If you put it in the inner hall, it can suppress evil spirits."
This inevitably reminds people of the rumors that Xie Jingyuan was seriously ill and coughing up blood because he had committed too many sins and was haunted by tens of thousands of dead souls.
"There are tens of thousands of evil spirits, how can they be suppressed by just a sword?" Xie Jingyuan seemed to be dozing off, but in fact, his eyes were as sharp as an eagle, and he had been secretly watching Chu Xinian's every move.
Regardless of whether the other party was a spy or not, the four words "Quyang Marquis Mansion" made it difficult for him to deny the connection.
"Indeed, the general has a point."
Chu Xinian was certain that the secret letters and memorials in this room were of no value. The books on the carved shelf were brand new, and the letters piled on the table had old ink marks on their covers, from last year. The drawer was not locked, so naturally there was nothing important in it.
The only valuable thing is the Luoyuan Sword.
Chu Xinian simply gave up the idea of getting any information from this room and didn't even look at it again.
Xie Jingyuan didn't like being served. He kept coughing, frowned, and stood up with his hands. He was about to pour a glass of water, but someone had already done it before him: "General, drink some water."
Perhaps Xie Jingyuan was very thin, so Chu Xinian's hands looked stronger than his. His slender fingertips held a sky-blue teacup, with mist curling up, which was very beautiful.
Xie Jingyuan didn't answer.
Normal people who encountered this kind of marriage would not quarrel or make a scene, but they would never smile as Chu Xinian did. It was as if he was marrying not a ghost-faced devil, but a stunning beauty.
Xie Jingyuan suddenly grabbed Chu Xinian's wrist, his eyes were sinister and vicious, making people shudder: "Do you believe that I will kill you?"
There was no servant in the room, and Chu Xinian should have been scared and ran away, but he just lowered his eyes to look at his hand and reminded: "General, my hand hurts."
Xie Jingyuan was stunned and subconsciously loosened his strength.
Chu Xinian put the warm teacup into Xie Jingyuan's palm, still as gentle and elegant as ever: "Why are you angry, General? But what did I do wrong?"
Xie Jingyuan was a beat late in landing his attack, and inevitably felt like he was punching cotton. The opponent didn't feel any pain, and he had no place to exert force.
"You are not wrong, I am just sick."
Xie Jingyuan was born with an evil nature, and he explained his behavior in a light-hearted way without even bothering to lift his eyelids. He seemed to be sure that Chu Xinian didn't have the courage to do anything, so he took the cup and drank it all.
Xie Jingyuan is a male wife, and according to the rules, he should serve Chu Xinian, but now the situation is reversed.
"It's cold today, General, take a good rest."
Chu Xinian did not do anything strange. He tucked the corner of Xie Jingyuan's quilt with concern, and left the room under the pretext of checking the lunch.
The red lanterns used on the wedding day were hung on the eaves of the corridor, swaying in the cold wind, looking pale red. The viewing lake in the distance was as quiet as a pool of stagnant water, with occasional ripples that quickly disappeared without a trace.
This mansion was filled with dead air, as if it was as sick as Xie Jingyuan. Even a living person could not avoid being tainted by the aura of death.
Yun Que had been standing guard outside the door. Seeing Chu Xinian come out safely, she finally put her mind at ease. She stepped forward and called out, "Young Master..."
The worry was evident in his eyes.
Chu Xinian said to comfort him: "It's okay, let's go to the kitchen and see how the lunch is prepared."
Jiuyong stood guard outside the door with a sword in hand, motionless and cold as an abyss. Hearing this, he glanced at Chu Xinian, then withdrew his gaze indifferently and continued to guard the door.
Yun Que really hated this black guy, with a dead face, like a door god. If it wasn't for protecting Chu Xinian, she wouldn't have stayed outside the door with such a person.
After they walked away, Yun Que complained to Chu Xinian in a low voice: "Master, it is really not suitable to stay here for long. The man guarding the gate just now was covered in blood. I am afraid he killed many people."
"Who?" Chu Xinian realized who she was talking about and smiled, "Are you referring to Jiuyong? Don't worry, he won't do anything."
This person is also a supporting role in "A Thousand Years of Marquisship". If Xie Jingyuan is the confidant of the prince, then Jiuyong is Xie Jingyuan's confidant. He was rescued by Xie Jingyuan on the battlefield, and then he recognized him as his master and was willing to be driven by him. Later, when he followed Xie Jingyuan in the rebellion, he died in the hands of the King of Jin.
Xie Jingyuan's wishes, in a sense, represented his wishes. As long as Xie Jingyuan didn't speak, Jiuyong would not do anything extra except guarding the gate and patrolling.
Yun Que had no choice but to swallow her words. However, when she saw Chu Xinian walking towards the kitchen, she couldn't help but say, "Sir, you are of noble status, why do you have to go to such a filthy place?"
Chu Xinian only replied with four words: "Just curious."
He was indeed very curious—about Xie Jingyuan's illness.
In the original novel of "Qianqiu Fenghou", he did write about Xie Jingyuan being seriously ill, but it was because of an old illness caused by fighting for his life on the battlefield, not because he was haunted by some wronged ghost.
But now Xie Jingyuan coughs up blood every day, his eyebrows are blue, his lips are purple, and his blood is black, which looks more like a symptom of poisoning.
When Chu Xi arrived, he had heard some gossip. It was said that Xie Jingyuan's illness had lasted for a year. At first, he was just dizzy, with chest tightness and shortness of breath. Later, he began to cough up blood and was afraid of cold. He had sought help from many doctors in the capital, but no one could help him.
One year, it becomes increasingly serious.
Chu Xinian could only come to the conclusion that it was chronic poisoning, and one of the easiest ways to poison someone was through food. After all, eating was something that people had to do every day in order to survive.
The fat cook was cooking in the kitchen. She had a cloth wrapped around her hair, and the iron pot and spoon weighing several kilograms seemed as light as a feather in her hands, so she could easily butcher pigs and cut meat.
Chu Xinian watched from outside the door for a long while, and suddenly began to believe Yun Que's words that all the people in this mansion were experts. He walked in, and his snow-white shirt was out of place with the surrounding smoke.
The servants busy in the kitchen were stunned for a moment when they saw this. When they realized what was happening, they were about to kneel down to pay their respects, but Chu Xinian stopped them: "It's okay, you guys go about your business, I just came over to take a look."
He was gentle and polite, and his smile was like a spring breeze. After he finished speaking, he really stood there watching the cook cooking, as if he really just came to "take a look".
The kitchen manager was embarrassed and said, "Sir, you are a noble man. Why do you have to set foot on this dirty place? What if your clothes are ruined?"
The King of Jin and the Crown Prince were mortal enemies, and strictly speaking Chu Xinian was also on the King of Jin's side. He came to such a sensitive place as the kitchen for no reason, and if he secretly poisoned or did something, no one could afford it.
Chu Xinian ignored him and asked an irrelevant question instead: "Do you also cook your meals here?"
The steward was stunned for a moment, then he came to his senses and nodded, "Sir, of course."
Chu Xinian asked, "What are you going to do with the general's leftovers?"
The steward didn't understand why he asked that, but he answered truthfully and laughed, "The general's food is all precious, it would be a pity to throw it away. If the master can't finish it, the rest will naturally be rewarded to us servants."
Chu Xinian knew all this, but he just came to confirm it for safety. He saw some dried chilies in the basket next to him, so he took a few and said casually, "The general has a poor appetite, so you can just make some light side dishes."
The steward nodded repeatedly and escorted him out the door like a Buddha.
Chu Xinian took a small bite of the dried chili in his hand and found that there was not much difference between ancient chili and modern chili. He stuffed the rest into the sachet around his waist.
Seeing this, Yun Que asked cautiously, "Sir, are you hungry? I'll go get you some snacks."
No matter how hungry you are, you can't eat chili peppers, they are still dry.
Chu Xinian said, "It's okay, let's go back to the room."
He has now been able to rule out the possibility of food poisoning.
According to certain ancient rules, the food that the master could not finish would be directly rewarded to the servants. If Xie Jingyuan was poisoned by the food, then the servants under him would have more or less similar symptoms as him.
But Chu Xinian just asked, everyone in the kitchen is healthy and has no problems. The shortest one has been in the job for five years, and the longest one has been in the job for ten years. They are all confidants who are unlikely to betray.
Then, the poison will only be placed in a place where only Xie Jingyuan can touch it, so as to avoid the possibility of accidentally poisoning others.
He didn't want this place to be used as anything other than a bedroom.
So just as Xie Jingyuan lay down and had no time to rest, he saw Chu Xinian come back and push the door open. He didn't think that this rich young man who was as white as a handful of snow could stir up any earth-shaking storms, so although he was on guard, he was not afraid.
Xie Jingyuan stared at Chu Xinian with hidden interest in his eyes, intending to see what he was going to do.
However, Chu Xinian just found a place to sit on the low couch in the outer room, patted the pillow, lay down, and fell asleep.
Xie Jingyuan: “…”
Chu Xinian put his hands behind his head. Although he closed his eyes, it was as if he had another pair of eyes behind him. He knew that Xie Jingyuan was staring at him, so he said to himself, "Lunch will take a while. General, you can rest first."
As for him, of course he also needs to sleep for a while, just like a nap.
Chu Xinian slept very seriously, as if he was doing some experiment. He tried his best to slow down his breathing and forced himself to fall asleep. However, within an hour, he woke up because of palpitations. It felt like a heavy stone was pressing on his chest, and he couldn't breathe.
"… "
Chu Xinian slowly opened his eyes and keenly sensed something was wrong. He pinched his pulse, silently counted sixty seconds, and then wrote down the number of heartbeats. He repeated this ten times, and finally found that his heartbeat speed was speeding up unnoticeably, and a cold light flashed in his eyes.
There is something strange about this room!
Chu Xinian sat up from the couch with a bang. He turned around and saw Xie Jingyuan staring at him. He paused and chuckled, "General, why are you staring at me?"
He was born to be a disaster.
Xie Jingyuan was just idle and wanted to see what tricks Chu Xinian was playing. However, the other party slept for an hour, so he stared at him for an hour. Now that he was caught, he didn't feel embarrassed.
"I was looking at your face, of course."
Xie Jingyuan once again showed that unpredictable cold expression. He casually touched the mask on his face, curled his lips and smiled at Chu Xinian, "You are flawless like jade and bright like the moon. If you fall asleep one day and someone accidentally cuts you, what will happen?"
His tone was worried, as if he was really worried about Chu Xinian.
Chu Xinian didn't care at all. He discovered that Xie Jingyuan liked to intimidate people. Hearing this, he raised his eyebrows slightly and said with a smile, "This way, the general and I are a better match, isn't it better?"
Xie Jingyuan was choked by him again and was speechless.
The system also discovered that Chu Xinian always liked to flirt, and flirt without being noticed. It lay on Chu Xinian's shoulder and quietly reminded him: Dear host, do not develop feelings for the target of the mission.
Chu Xinian was stunned: "Feelings? What do you mean?"
Love system says, don't have that kind of...
It barely organized the language to express the complex meaning of the sentence.
A relationship where you can't live without the other person...
Otherwise, when the host completes the mission and leaves this world, it will cause a lot of unnecessary trouble.
Chu Xinian was not worried about this. He glanced at the three-legged incense tripod with golden and silver dragon patterns in the center of the room thoughtfully, and replied casually: "Don't worry, it won't happen."
There is no love in his heart.
People like Xie Jingyuan obviously don't have this idea either.
Chu Xinian's goal is to save Xie Jingyuan and study the history of this world. Just like his previous works, the protagonist only has a career line.
What is the love line? Can it be eaten
The system sounded relieved, and rubbed against his shoulder: Oh, I feel relieved now~
Chu Xinian gently waved it away and said the most ruthless words in the gentlest tone: "Don't touch me, thank you."
It hurts.
system:…
While Chu Xinian was investigating the abnormality in the room, Mei had already handed in a sign to the palace, asking to see Concubine Mei.
"... Xi'er has always been naughty, how can she be worthy of General Xie? Qi Da is not a match, please help her, Your Majesty, and give advice to His Majesty."
Mei had been a close friend of the imperial concubine when she was still a boudoir girl in the past, but due to the difference in their status today, she couldn't help but weigh her words carefully and be sincere.
A gentle-looking lady in palace dress sat at the head. Her complexion was not necessarily the best, but it was pleasing to the eye. Her whole set of oriental pearl head ornaments made her skin look even more radiant. Hearing the intention of Mei's visit, she frowned: "I already know about this matter, but the imperial decree has been issued, how can it be changed? The emperor's words are golden, and there is no etiquette to take them back. I just hope that the two of them can live in harmony and respect each other like guests."
What Concubine Mei said was the same as if she hadn't said anything.
Mei clenched the handkerchief in her hand silently: "When the emperor granted the marriage, I disagreed, but I couldn't resist your repeated persuasion, so I agreed. General Xie has a violent temper, how can Xi'er subdue him?"
She stood up and knelt heavily on the ground. "I hope that Your Majesty will think of a solution for the sake of our common clan. Jiao Ping is loyal to His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin, and I also respect Your Majesty. If it weren't for the last resort, I would not have the audacity to come to the palace."
She has moved Chu Jiaoping out, so Concubine Mei naturally cannot sit idly by. Chu Jiaoping is now the most capable man under Prince Jin, so she can only win him over, not alienate him.
"What are you talking about, ma'am?"
Concubine Mei gave a look, and the personal female historian immediately went down to help Mei up: "Xi Nian is also my nephew, so I will not sit idly by and do nothing..."
She thought for a moment and said, "How about this, let Madam Ge take my order to the general's mansion and let her teach General Xie how to be a male wife and tame him a little."
The status of a man's wife is no different from that of a woman, and they must also observe the Three Obediences and Four Virtues.
This was obviously not the answer Mei wanted: "I don't mean that."
Imperial Concubine Mei sighed and consoled her, "Madam Ge is my servant. If anything happens to Xinian, she will report it to me immediately. Madam, don't worry. General Xie doesn't care about the monk's feelings, but the Buddha's. He will have some concerns to some extent."
…
So the general's mansion welcomed an uninvited guest in the evening.