Chapter 59 p2
Xie Chunlan’s expression did not change. She was still smiling nobly, with a hint of condescending contempt, although she was much shorter than Xie Yao.
Xie Yao just looked at her calmly and continued, “The groom’s death made his mother afraid, and she no longer dared to abuse him. Two years later, one day his father came with pastries as usual. His mother tasted a piece first as usual. He had never eaten sweets. His father said a few words, urging him to eat. He closed his mouth tightly. He saw his mother spit blood and die not long after.”
“His father wanted to strangle him. He stabbed him with a prepared knife, left that residence, and joined the army.”
In his narration, it was just simple and direct, as if he had no feelings for the scene at that time.
But Song He remembered all the details. That day, two of his younger brothers who were greedy had also been poisoned to death. He had almost wanted to eat, but he had opened his hand, and the pastries had rolled to the ground, and the legal wife’s blood had also sprayed on the ground.
At the age of ten, he was already deep and at ease. He did not blink when he stabbed their father, and he had also considered the situation several years later when he had spared his life.
Then he had said to him, “To kill one is a crime, to kill a hundred is a general, to kill ten thousand is a king or a marquis.”
He was leaving. He was extremely scared and chose to follow him, and had followed him for twelve years.
Song He’s heart was surging, but Xie Yao had just brushed over his military experience. “Eight years later, I saw his father again. You know what happened after that.”
Xie Chunlan smiled faintly. “Of course. I didn’t expect Fourth Brother’s childhood to be so miserable. It really makes your sister feel a little heartbroken. Why didn’t you tell me earlier? I would have been doubly good to you, and we could have avoided the misunderstanding later.”
Xie Yao’s lips curled slightly. “Is that so?”
Seeing him smile, Xie Chunlan’s face finally changed.
Five years ago, when she had first met him, he was the legitimate son of the second uncle’s family who had appeared out of nowhere, the young general who was the talk of all the noble ladies in the capital.
The day she saw him, she had been amazed by his beauty. Such an outstanding and handsome young man was from the second uncle’s family. She felt it was a pity, but soon learned from her father that he was the son of a mistress the second uncle had kept outside. She finally understood.
The person before her had been in the residence for two years, and she had never seen him smile. He had a cold and fierce face to everyone. At his most gentle, he was expressionless.
Looking at his coldness, she knew in her heart that he must be a dark and boring person, whose heart was empty at night and only filled with killing.
He probably didn’t know what love was.
In the main Xie family, from the elders to her peers, all the brothers and sisters loved and protected her. She could control any of her brothers with her charm.
She thought he would be no exception.
She had wanted to win him over with warmth and care, to make him her own. Day after day, she would stick to him whenever she saw him, and was ignored by him with a gloomy face time and again. Finally, when he was injured in an assassination for the Crown Prince, she had arrived in time.
Although he was only slightly injured, she had acted very nervous, cried with heartache at his cold refusal, and was sad and sorrowful. Finally, she had made him let down his guard. She had applied medicine for him, and after that, she could finally get within three steps of him.
After that, she would cook him soup and medicine every day and treat him with the care of a real sister. During that period, she had pretended to be gentle and coquettish, and had asked about his past many times, trying to have a heart-to-heart with him, but had only received his cold treatment. He seemed to be extremely disgusted with her physical touch and had said the word “get lost.”
She knew he was a wild wolf that could not be tamed. The court struggle became more and more intense. The Crown Prince had the upper hand and began to secretly purge the unclean party members to clean the house for his future accession to the throne.
Coincidentally, he was one of them. Several assassination attempts had failed to get rid of him. She had finally come in handy. Her father had told her that the choice of the Crown Princess had fallen on the Xie family, and the Xie family had chosen her.
It was a matter of course, but she still needed to help the Crown Prince solve the trouble of the fourth Xie. She didn’t find it troublesome. She had repeatedly shown her goodwill but could not conquer him. Getting rid of him was the best.
She had pretended to be reluctant to leave before her marriage, had made him some pastries, and had put a slow-acting poison in them. She wanted to watch him die slowly, to see what he would look like before he died, whether a person like him would cry and beg for his life on his knees.
Although he was still cold, he had eaten it in the end.
At night, when the poison was about to take effect, she had followed him and found that he had secretly gone to his grandfather’s room, without even bringing his shadow guards. Hearing the commotion inside, she had rushed in and had seen him kneeling on the ground, with no strength to resist.
Seeing her, he had guessed that she had poisoned him, but had only looked at her coldly, not begging for mercy, nor showing any pain or disappointment.
It was as if he had no humanity. He was not a person at all and was not worthy of her efforts to win him over.
She had taken out a potion and had sprinkled it on his face, and had poured it into his mouth, wanting to see him scream in pain and pull at her skirt, begging for mercy.
But he had not made a sound. He really deserved to die a miserable death at her hands.
His shadow guards had taken him away, and all the assassins of the Xie family and the Crown Prince had gone to hunt him down. She had thought he was doomed to die, but a month later, he had appeared in his old unit in the northern border.
He had claimed that the Crown Prince had ordered him to go and guard the border, which had caught the Eastern Palace party off guard. His grandfather was gone, and there was an endless trouble. The Xie clan had fallen out of favor with the Eastern Palace, and her position as the Crown Princess had also flown away.
Two years later, he had led his army back to the capital. The capital was turned upside down. When she learned that he had appointed himself regent and was holding the emperor hostage to command the court, she had deeply regretted that she had not used a poison that would kill him instantly.
When she saw him again, he was still gloomy, and his whole body was filled with a grim, cold air. Only then did she feel a little better.
The seed of a lowly person, no matter how high his position was, could not learn to be human. She had wanted to have a good talk with him and get a way out. Although it had not worked, he had kept her and had tortured her. He must have hated her. Hating her proved that he had once cared about her.
He had cared about her feigned care, cared to the point that he could have crushed her with his hand, but he had kept her and had tortured her. The more she suffered, the more he had hated losing her care.
She was alive, living well, which was her revenge on him.
But his smile today had shattered her belief.
How could he smile like that? How could he smile like that!
Xie Chunlan tried her best to maintain a smile and asked, “Why are you telling me these things?”
Xie Yao looked at her somewhat strange expression, paused, and said calmly, “I wanted to give you a chance.”
*
The morning sun rose, and the room was brightly lit. Yuli opened her eyes, turned over, and slept in for a while before getting up.
Xie Yao had not come back last night. She had had the best sleep in a long time. Yuli was refreshed, her back was not sore, and her legs did not hurt. She went to the courtyard and took a few deep breaths.
In early summer, the grass and trees were about to flourish. The air was fresh and full of life. After breakfast, she took Xiyun and Jingyu for a walk in the residence.
The garden, which had been built last autumn, thanks to the deep attainments of the craftsmen and master builders, and the nourishment of nature, already had the effect of changing scenery with every step.
Yuli wandered until noon. When the sun was high, she returned to her room.
After her nap, someone came with a message, saying that the Young Master would be back before dusk.
He was finally coming back during the day. Yuli sorted out her mood and planned to make some arrangements.
Although she had sworn in her heart not to cook for him after he had gone crazy and had given her the cold shoulder, she had not said it out loud, and no one knew. It would not be a loss of face to do so.
Besides, life was not for him. She also had to make some delicious food to treat herself. It was just to give this dining companion of hers some benefits.
Yuli was in a good mood. When she went to the kitchen, she found that Uncle Hu was also there. Xiangfu Zhai’s business was very busy, and he had not been back to cook for a long time.
Uncle Hu had the best chemistry with her. With him there, Yuli was at ease in the kitchen.
On a whim, she made a self-created hot and sour pork rib dish. It looked like a devil’s dish. She didn’t want Xie Yao to be too proud. She secretly added a lethal amount of chili peppers, and then picked them all out, so that it looked like ordinary sweet and sour pork ribs.
The thought of him eating a dish that was clearly specially made for him, so spicy that his eyes saw stars, but he had to say it was delicious, made the corners of her mouth rise high.
Since the dish was made, she would reluctantly go and meet him.
It was said to be before dusk, so it should be earlier than usual. He had also listened to her words.
But who knew if he would suddenly pull some trick? Yuli still moved a chair, brought a storybook, and sat by the second gate, reading while waiting for him.
She would read a few pages and then look at the door.
She had just started the storybook, and the scholar and the beauty had not yet met, when she saw him return from the corner of her eye.
Yuli deliberately pretended not to see and continued to read with her head bowed.
It wasn’t until he had walked up to her and had completely blocked the setting sun that she looked up, as if she had just seen him, and said calmly, “Husband is back.”
Yuli thought her expression was well-maintained, and in her imagination, it should have been like a cold and noble older sister.
But Xie Yao saw that the corners of her mouth were pursed tightly, and her eyes were also sparkling, and her ears were slightly red. She had moved a chair, so she must have been planning to wait for him for a long time.
Xie Yao pursed his lips and hummed in agreement, and reached out his hand to her. “In the daytime, and there’s still sun.”
Yuli thought of the letter she had written and was a little embarrassed. But seeing that he was probably not angry, and his expression was calm, perhaps he had also thought it through.
Yuli took his outstretched hand, and a smile immediately bloomed.
Xie Yao’s lips also curled up slightly.
When they reached Mingyue Residence, she only saw Jingyu arranging the meal. Xiyun was nowhere to be seen.
In the past, when Xie Yao was not there, Xiyun would occasionally mention how the Young Master was. Since she had known his identity, she had never mentioned it again, probably because she was really scared.
Yuli also didn’t know how to face his identity as the regent. She hadn’t been able to comfort Xiyun. She naturally didn’t want to change the current situation, but if he wanted her to move into the palace or something, even if she was unwilling, she would have to accommodate him a little. She had no bottom line as to how much she would accommodate him.
Fortunately, it hadn’t come to that for the time being. Seizing the present was the most important thing.
Today, the dishes Uncle Hu had made were very to her taste. Yuli ate a few bites and, seeing that Xie Yao had not touched her specially made pork ribs, she served him a piece.
She smiled at him as if it were normal, and Xie Yao also returned a gentle expression.
Yuli watched him put it in his mouth, take a bite, and smiled even more brightly.
Xie Yao looked at her. “Delicious,” he said, and finished the whole piece of pork rib, his face unchanged.
Yuli had not tasted it, but she was sure it was very, very spicy. Seeing his reaction, she felt that she had made it for nothing.
She wanted to taste a bite, but then she served him another piece. He ate it as usual.
She didn’t believe it and finally took a bite.
After chewing for a few times, tears almost came out of her eyes.
She drank a lot of tea to suppress it.
She turned to see Xie Yao’s eyes were moist. He smiled, staring at her sorry state, and also picked up a teacup and drank all the water in it in one gulp.
It seemed that it had also been spicy for him. Yuli was proud in her heart. She stared at him and asked, “Is it delicious?”
But she saw him put down his teacup, eat the last remaining piece, and nod in response. “Delicious.”
Yuli saw that the tip of his nose was also beaded with fine sweat, and the joy of having played a trick on him quickly faded.
She poured him a cup of tea. “I put too much chili. I won’t do it next time.”
Xie Yao: “As long as you make it, it’s all delicious.”
Yuli looked at him. His eyes were moist, and he looked so gentle that he was unlike him. His lips were also rosy, looking soft and hot.
“Concentrate on your meal,” Xie Yao suddenly said.
Yuli cleared her throat and turned her gaze back to her own bowl.
Before nightfall, Xie Yao took the initiative to suggest a walk in the residence. Yuli was very happy and took him for a slow walk, explaining the mysteries of the landscaping, telling him in detail how a certain tree in a certain place was when it was planted, how well it was growing now, and imagining how quiet it would be after it had flourished.
Xie Yao listened quietly, occasionally giving a necessary response, and always holding her hand.
After dark, they returned to Mingyue Residence. It was still early. Xie Yao had her take a bath first and casually said to her, “I have something to say to you.”
Yuli’s heart rose. After her bath, she sat by the bed and waited for him.
Xie Yao came out of the bathroom, wearing nothing.
Yuli was stunned for a moment, then looked away.
Xie Yao walked to her side, and a piece of paper filled with writing suddenly appeared before her eyes.
The messy but clear words “Xie Mingyan, do you have any balls?” were particularly eye-catching.
Yuli’s scalp tingled.
Xie Yao lowered his eyes to look at her. “It’s a good thing you still know how to use a wax seal.” He had also thought of only having Song He deliver it.
Otherwise, all the people who had handled this letter would not have been able to be kept.