C76: Honesty(part 2)
A man and a horse stopped in front of the Duke Dingguo’s Mansion. The road was too fast for the horse to move as soon as it reached the entrance.
Yan Yu didn’t have the time to care about it. He handed the reins to the servants and walked towards the Yu Tang Court like a gust of wind.
It was already late at night, and the sky was dark. When the servants heard of the Sixth Prince’s arrival, they hurriedly went to report to the Duke of Dingguo.
Yan Yu came to the Yu Tang Court and asked the maidservants who were sweeping the yard, “Is Xie Zhen back?”
The maidservant was shocked and replied hesitantly, “She, she’s back … Fifth Miss …”
Before he could finish listening, he headed straight for the living room.
It just happened that Madam Leng came out of the house and wasn’t surprised to see him. He opened his mouth and called out to his mother-in-law, feeling inexplicably nervous. “I’m looking for Xie Zhen.”
Madam Leng did not move aside. Instead, she smiled and said, “The little Lamb has fallen asleep inside.”
He subconsciously looked into the room, but unfortunately, everything was blocked by the screen, so he couldn’t see anything.
Madam Leng knew that he was anxious, but still wanted to say to him: “Let her sleep a little more. Come with me to the side room, I will have a word with you.”
Perhaps it was because he had known her since he was a child, and because she was Xie Zhen’s mother, he had always respected her. Though he was anxious to see her, he still followed her to the side room. As he left, he kept looking back, as if he was afraid that she would wake up.
The side room had a low table, the floor was covered with a picture, Madam Leng and Yan Yu sat on either side of the room.
The room was warm. When the maidservant brought the tea, Yan Yu came with a stomach full of cold air. Only then did he feel thirsty. He picked up a cup of the tea and drink it in one gulp.
Madam Leng waited for him to finish before waving away the maidservants in the room. She said, “These words are a little disrespectful. If Your Highness is unhappy to hear them, then tell me. I won’t say any more.”
Yan Yu retracted his gaze, “Please speak.”
Madam Leng thought for a moment, then said with a smile, “Although you are the Sixth Prince now, in my heart, you are still that awkward Yu’er of the past.”
She didn’t know why he’d changed his identity, but she’d taken him for a junior, and that was why she’d invited him to sit here and talk openly.
Not wanting to quench his thirst, Yan Yu poured himself another cup of tea.
“Do you know why the Lamb came back today?”
He stopped and looked away, saying, “It was my thoughtlessness that caused her to suffer.”
Knowing what you was wrong in, you wasn’t that stupid. Madam Leng smiled. She was not a person who liked to beat around the bush, so she went straight to the point. “Then tell me, do you have feelings for my little Lamb?”
He had just taken a sip of water and was choking it all down his throat.
When he finally stopped, he pretended to wipe his face with his sleeve. He blocked his red cheeks and nodded.
If not, why rush back to her?
Although he had already said it in front of Xie Zhen, it was still a bit difficult for him to confess in front of his elders.
Hearing him say that, Madam Leng felt relieved instead. She handed him a handkerchief to wipe his face. “I know you’re not good at expressing yourself …When you were a child, you were pestered by a little Lamb. You must have been annoyed by her.”
He said no, wiped his face, and said sheepishly, “No trouble.”
It really wasn’t easy for him to confess …
Madam Leng giggled, her face full of love. “When the little kid was young, she really liked you. I’ve never seen her so persistent towards anyone. At that time, she often said that she wanted to find big brother Xiao Yu and even forgot about Rong’er. For this reason, Rong’er has never treated you well.”
Yan Yu pursed his lips, “…I know.”
She thought of something and thought about it. “When you left that year, she was sad for a long time. When we visited the Li family, the courtyard was already empty. When the Lamb met your cousin in the yard, they had a fight in the yard, and when she came back she cried even harder. Do you know why she cried? ‘
Yan Yu was a little taken aback. He did not know that there was such a thing. “Why?”
“Ouyang Yi said that you moved away because you hated Lambs.” She smiled and added, “You still hate her the most.”
Yan Yu finally understood why she had asked him to “wheater hate her or not”. It turned out that Ouyang Yi had lied to her in this manner when he didn’t know.
He hurriedly explained, “I don’t …”
“You left without a word,” interrupted Madam Leng, “and she suffered such a blow. Master and I are afraid that she will not be able to recover. Fortunately, Gao Xun came to stay with her every day, so she slowly recovered.”
Yan Yu remained silent.
“Later, when I returned to the capital, you became the esteemed Sixth Prince. She was probably afraid of you, so she was muddledly married back to you. Perhaps it’s because of this that she’s wary of you. She can’t get warm at all.”
Yan Yu let out a slow grunt of agreement after being stabbed in the chest.
Leng smiled. “You two are both dishonest. If you could be more honest … I’m afraid it will be much better than now.”
Seeing that Yan Yu didn’t say anything, she tilted her head and looked at the sky outside. It was already late, and Xie Zhen was probably about to wake up. She stood up and said, “The Lamb is the best person to coax. You can talk to her a bit more. Be more considerate with her and her anger will dissipate.”
Finally, she walked out of the side room.
Yan Yu didn’t leave. He sat in the room for a while longer, thinking about what Madam Leng had said to him. It was like he was enlightened, and everything became clear.
When Yan Yu came into the room, Xie Zhen had just woken up and was sitting on the bed talking to Xie Xun.
Her smile was beautiful, her cheeks dimpled, and she smiled sweetly.
He suddenly realized that she hadn’t smiled at him like that in the past few days. If only he had discovered it long ago. If he had discovered that she was unhappy and didn’t like Ouyang Yi, he wouldn’t have made her suffer all these grievances alone.
The sisters sat on Arhat Bed, one on either side of the other, because Xie Zhen’s left foot hurts, Xie Xun put a small pillow under her foot and let her step on it. Xie Xun held her hands together, and for a moment, she pondered, carefully stringing up the ropes on either side of her to form the shape of an arch bridge.
She smiled. “Ah Xun, you’re so stupid,” she said. “I taught you last time.”
Before she could finish her words, she looked up and saw Yan Yu standing outside the door.
The smile stopped on her face, and she slowly withdrew it.
Xie Xun turned around and called out in a crisp voice, “Brother-in-law.”
Yan Yu stepped forward and stopped in front of the two of them. Because Xie Xun was there, he acted rather restrained. His gaze fell on her stockinged feet before returning to her face. “You …” After a long time, clumsily asked, “Does your foot hurt?”
“What are you doing here?”
It was fine if she didn’t ask, but when she did, he was so angry that his expression turned ugly. “You’re back, how can I not come? You actually …”
When he turned his head and saw that Xie Xun had not left, he swallowed the latter part of his sentence.
“What did I do?”
Many things were inconvenient to say, in the presence of Xie Xun.
Fortunately, Madam Leng arrived in time to make an excuse for the snow to call Xie Xun away. Before she left, Xie Xun was still a bit reluctant to apart with her. “I want to play ropes with sister …”
Madam Leng tapped her forehead and said, “Little fool.”
What’s more, she couldn’t hear any more of it, because Madam Leng and Xie Xun were already far away. Yan Yu sat on a rosewood embroidery stool at the side, placing her feet on his leg. “Does it still hurt?”
She ignored him and put the rope away.
Who would have thought that Yan Yu would take off her socks without warning to check her wounds.
He held her feet in his hands, and if she hadn’t been sprained, she would have kicked him. However, she was afraid of the pain and didn’t even dare to move. “Let me go!”
Her small, fair, delicate feet moved uneasily like jade lotuses, and he pressed his thumb against the center of her foot, carefully inspecting her swollen ankles. “I heard something happened on the carriage?”
He pressed his slightly rough thumb against the soles of her feet, her eyes were red enough and she almost laugh. “I don’t want you to care!”
However, he did not let her go. Lowering his eyes, he asked, “If you don’t want me to care, then who do you want to care? Gao Xun?”
She gritted her teeth. “Let me go!”
If this carried on, the little Lamb would really get angry and would no longer pay attention to him. He stopped and put her socks back on, but he couldn’t resist the jealousy in his heart. She sat on Arhat Bed and he looked up at her. “He saved you?”
Her eyes were red. She rubbed her head and turned away from him.
He said pitifully, “Lamb…”
She still doesn’t look at him.
He sat forward and took her hand on the bed. “What did you say?”
“Nothing.”
He didn’t believe, Gao Xun got along with her, and it was during the time when he and she were arguing … He wanted to ask, but he didn’t dare to.
Madam Leng had asked him to be honest. For her sake, he didn’t mind keeping a straight face.
He slowly parted her hands and clasped her fingers. “Are you unhappy these days?”
She said no, but her face said “Yes, I’m not happy.”
She tried to free her hand from his, but he held tight. He said, ” I don’t know. If I knew you didn’t like Ouyang Yi, I wouldn’t have let her live here.”
She looked at him.
His throat tightened, and he met her eyes with an involuntary tension: “I’m sorry.”
For the first time in his life, he apologized to someone. He was not skilled at it, but for her, everything was worth it.
“But you already let her live in here.”
He said, ” I’ll put her out so you won’t see her. ”
She said no more.
He asked anxiously, “Do you forgive me?”
“No.”
He stood up, his emotions unawares. “Why?”
“Get out of here,” she said, pointing to the door. “Get out of here.”
After a moment of realization, regret appeared on his face. He stood on the spot, unwilling to leave. He quickly explained, “I did not give her clothes, nor did I give her a hairpin. She was prepared by the steward and has nothing to do with me. If she marries another day, that will be her dowry. ”
The two of them talked for a long time in the room, until the sky was completely dark. This was the Madam Leng’s room, and the Madam Leng had been sitting in the side room with Xie Xun to make room for them.
It was getting late, so Madam Leng asked the maid to clean up the room where Xie Zhen used to live and let the two of them stay there temporarily.
It should be biddy to carry Xie Zhen on back, but Yan Yu said he didn’t want to, so he carried her on back by himself.
He carried her back to the room as the porch lights were dim and Shuang Yu and Shuang Yan lit lanterns in front of them.
Yan Yu explained to her for a long time, but he did not know if she heard him.
After a long pause, he asked her, “Will you come back with me tomorrow?”
“Not good.”
He lifted her up, helpless against her, afraid to speak aloud. “Why, are you still angry?”
She said, “Yeah.”
Carrying her on his back, he felt more at ease than he had ever felt before. He only felt that this stretch of road was not long enough. The bright moon hung high in the sky, shining on the two of them. It created a long shadow as they slowly walked forward.
As she approached the room, he called out to her, “Xie Zhen”
She didn’t reply.
He called again: “Lamb?”
“What is it?”
He said, “I don’t hate you.”
“… I like you.”
The moon was misty and his face could not be seen clearly. If they could see him, they would notice that his face was even redder than the sunset.
“Don’t get angry, okay?”
She rubbed his shoulder. “Not good.”
He said it so late that she would not forgive him easily.
