Chapter 353: Locking Xinghan

Deep in the Prince's Mansion, the courtyard was gloomy.

There were no maids shuttling back and forth, no servants waiting quietly, not even the most common cleaners were to be seen. There were only soldiers in armor, guarding strictly inside and outside the courtyard.

Those who were still were as stagnant as mountains, just standing at key points like the door, not making much sound; as for those who were moving, they patrolled back and forth, their steps constant. Every turn, every step taken, brought out the clanking sound of armor plates colliding, sound upon sound, echoing and vibrating.

Xie Xinghan sat on the bed with her eyes closed, her little face as white as pear blossoms covered in frost, her lips as pale as faded rouge, and her haggardness couldn't be hidden between her brows. But this haggardness didn't diminish her beauty in the slightest; instead, it was like mist covering white jade, and light clouds covering the bright moon.

The jade quality is warm, and the mist makes it soft and restrained, turning into a moist atmosphere;

The moon's brilliance is clear, and the clouds make the clear shadow vague, showing an even more ethereal posture.

She curled up there, her knees together in front of her chest, her cheeks buried in her crossed arms. This posture made her look even thinner and weaker, as if she could be pushed down with a light push. But her arms held tight and her tightly pursed corners of her mouth revealed a silent toughness, making people not dare to underestimate her easily.

Since Xie Xinghan was placed under house arrest, she hadn't slept well.

Especially on the first night, she didn't close her eyes all night. The footsteps and armor sounds of the soldiers outside the door were near and far, making her heart jump, always afraid that some terrible change would happen in the next moment. Even if reason told her that the Prince of Badong wouldn't do anything to her for the time being, she still couldn't help but be afraid. Her mind couldn't help but think of all kinds of worst possibilities, making her tremble all over, until the dawn was dim, when she could fall into a coma for a while due to extreme exhaustion.

Later, she confirmed that those soldiers wouldn't break in even if they walked to the door, which made her feel a little more settled, and she could barely fall asleep in the middle of the night, but she slept very lightly. Those cold clanking sounds always became suddenly clear when she was about to fall into a dream, pulling her back from the edge of chaos, and she was even more exhausted when she woke up than when she hadn't slept.

She couldn't leave the room, and even if she could, she wouldn't want to.

She didn't want to be stared at and sized up by those soldiers, and she didn't even want to open the door. Every time she saw the numb face of the servant woman who delivered food, or the mocking look of the occasional Manager Jia, it reminded her of her current situation.

It sounds a bit ridiculous, but this room was originally her prison, but now it has become the only place where she can draw a sense of security, even though she knows that this sense of security is just a self-deceiving illusion.

If the Prince of Badong really succeeded, then it would be a world-turning change, and her fate by then would be unpredictable. If he failed, then she, this hostage, would likely play the last, and also the most "useless" purpose...

"Bang bang bang!"

Xie Xinghan's eyes suddenly opened!

Almost instinctively, she reached under the pillow, her fingertips touching the broken porcelain piece she had hidden.

Originally, a hairpin was the best choice, but her Blue Ying hairpin had already been bribed away to exchange for the servant woman to clean the chamber pot in time and provide top-grade incense.

Of course, the so-called top-grade incense was just a requirement for better quality. As for the agarwood juice and armor-fried incense used for going to the toilet, don't even think about it. Besides, the steps for burning armor-fried incense are cumbersome, requiring a large stove and changing the fire. In the current situation, there is no way to ask for more.

"Who is it?" Xiao Ning asked loudly, making it look like she had plenty of confidence.

The person outside the door also had plenty of confidence:

"It's me, Jia Quan, here to deliver clothes for Miss Xie."

"Manager Jia, please wait."

Xiao Ning went into the inner room, exchanged a look with Xie Xinghan, and the two counted a few numbers together. Then Xie Xinghan nodded, Xiao Ning returned, took a deep breath, and opened the door.

Manager Jia carried a tray covered with cloth, looked at Xiao Ning and smiled:

"Xiao Ning is getting prettier day by day!"

Xiao Ning thought: You are getting uglier day by day. She smiled on her face:

"Manager Jia is joking, let's do the business first."

"Is the Fourth Young Xie Xie Niangzi okay? Let me pay my respects to the Fourth Young Xie Xie Niangzi!"

Jia Quan couldn't stop his eyes from glancing into the room.

Xiao Ning blocked Jia Quan's sight and said coldly:

"No need to pay respects, my young lady has already rested. Manager Jia, you've worked hard, just give the clothes to me."

Xiao Ning reached out to take the tray.

Jia Quan pulled the tray back:

"Hey! Xiao Ning, don't be in such a hurry! Did you forget something?"

Xiao Ning resisted the urge to slap him, took a blue Ying earring from her sleeve, and threw it on the tray.

Jia Quan picked it up immediately. This time he started to find the tray a hindrance, so he quickly pushed it to Xiao Ning, looking at the blue Ying earring in his hand, he was overjoyed!

And when Xiao Ning uncovered the cover cloth, she was so angry that her face turned red!

"Manager Jia! What do you mean by this?! My young lady asked you to go to the Xie Fu to get clothes, and you took this to fool people?!"

Xiao Ning threw the tray! Her voice rose sharply. She picked up the clothes and shook them—

It was actually a maid's uniform from the Prince's Mansion!

An autumn-fragrant colored silk cross-collared jacket and skirt!

Jia Quan was startled by Xiao Ning's sudden explosion, but soon calmed down, straightened his waist, and sneered:

"Xiao Ning, you are wrong! The Prince had strict orders long ago, strictly forbidding this courtyard from communicating with the outside world. Go to the Xie Fu? Who dares to go? What if you bring something you shouldn't, or leak some wind? Who will bear this great responsibility, you or me? Besides, this dress is a decent dress worn by first-class maids in the Prince's Mansion! Many people want to wear it but can't! I also thought the Fourth Young Xie Xie Niangzi really needed it, so I went through a lot of trouble to get this dress, and it's new! I measured the size according to your figure! How can you say it's fooling you..."

Xiao Ning was furious, wishing she could pick up the tray and smash it over!

"My young lady is from the Chen Jun Xie family! The legitimate daughter of the Secretariat Order! How can she wear a maid's clothes?!"

This is humiliation!!!

Extremely vicious humiliation!!!

Jia Quan sneered and deliberately raised his voice to mock:

"What time is it, and you're still putting on airs! Do you really think this is the Xie family's back garden? Stop dreaming! Open your eyes and see what the situation is now. It's not bad to have something to wear!"

"You!"

Xiao Ning was so dizzy with anger, and just as she was about to make a scene, she heard Xie Xinghan calling for tea inside. Xiao Ning knew this was her young lady's hint, so she had to swallow her anger and close the door with a bang.

Jia Quan was very proud, laughed at the door and said:

"That's right! Recognize the situation, and everyone will be better off!"

Then he hummed a tune that wasn't a tune and left with satisfaction, as if he had fought a great victory.

"This wicked slave! He did it on purpose, he definitely did it on purpose!"

Facing Xie Xinghan, Xiao Ning's tears fell down like rain.

Xie Xinghan naturally knew that Jia Quan did it on purpose. When he brought her back to the Prince's Mansion on the Prince of Badong's orders, she used her status to suppress him, which made him lose face. Later, Kong Zhangyu smoothed things over, gave him a slap, and whipped him twenty times. It seems he recorded all these accounts on her.

Actually, Jia Quan was very wary at first and didn't dare to be too presumptuous. Later, seeing that the Prince of Badong didn't care about this place at all, and even Kong Zhangyu was too lazy to ask, his courage grew. He also figured it out. Although Xie Xinghan's status was high, for the Prince, her use was not as great as those high-ranking Jing local gentry, especially those sons of high officials. If their fathers and grandfathers surrendered, they would definitely be released immediately and continue to be their noble sons. But Xie Xinghan basically didn't exist as a release, probably being locked up until the end.

However, she was from the Chen Jun Xie family, and could talk to the Prince, so he didn't dare to be too much. Everything was done according to the requirements above, but the five words "do things according to requirements" have a lot of knowledge. The rules are dead, and people are alive; the orders are hard, and the means are soft. If things in the world could be done well by "doing things according to requirements," then there would be no bad things in the world.

It was precisely because no matter how picky and mean Jia Quan was, he never crossed the line, not to mention anything else, just this room, Jia Quan never dared to step in, so Xie Xinghan had been enduring it.

One is that her chips are too few, and she must use them at the critical moment. Second, she also intended to indulge Jia Quan. This is the "nurturing evil" strategy of the first article of the *Zuo Zhuan*, "Zheng Bo Ke Duan Yu Yan." Either don't make a move, or once you make a move, you must make him have no chance to turn over!

Of course, there is another point, she is also a little unsure, is this person purely taking revenge on her, or was he secretly instructed by someone? Let's see.

Xie Xinghan used a handkerchief to wipe away Xiao Ning's tears, her fingertips brushed over the autumn-fragrant silk skirt, her eyes had no embarrassment of being humiliated, and she nodded:

"The material is okay, the pattern is quite delicate, and the rolled edges are passable. It can be worn."

Xiao Ning's heart was aching!

"Young lady's status is noble! How can she wear this kind of clothes!"

"Why can't she wear it? Some people even wear fake Yulin clothes!"

After Xie Xinghan finished speaking, she couldn't help laughing, her star-like eyes smiling.

Xiao Ning's heart ached, and she didn't think about who Xie Xinghan was using as an example, and said with tears:

"But this is a maid's clothes!"

Xie Xinghan sat on a small stool, tilted her face and lay on the head of the bed, wrinkled her nose, and sighed faintly:

"Then what can I do? I'm already smelly..."

Xiao Ning was really angry at being tricked by Jia Quan, and cried:

"Then it's better to give my clothes to the young lady..."

Xie Xinghan stuck to Xiao Ning like a kitten, sniffed lightly, her long eyelashes fluttered, and a layer of sympathy and helplessness appeared in her star-like eyes, and she sighed in a muffled voice:

"You are also smelly..."

——————

Note: ① *Zheng Lei Ben Cao* quotes *Chuan Xin Fang*: "Whenever burning this incense, you must use a large stove, put in a lot of hot ash and charcoal, and when it is time to turn it, you must change the fire, burn it fiercely until it is finished, then remove it, put fire next to the stove, and warm the water so the incense does not disperse."

② The physical book of the first part of the second volume is being edited. Take this opportunity to say a few more words. (I add notes after writing a chapter, so whether there are any or not will not crowd the main text...)

Writing is a hobby. In this matter of hobby, I am a very simple person. I don't want to manage things outside of writing, so I haven't done any fan groups or peak list rankings. Except for the interview with *The Beijing News*, I have rejected other interviews. I don't pay much attention to information about the book. First, I don't have time, and second, it is intentional, because this saves time and makes writing free. But the drawback is that I have become ignorant. However, thanks to a few enthusiastic friends, they will come to tell me some information from time to time.

Some are "reporting news" to me, and some are "seeking verification" from me. Generally, those involving verification are basically fake. There are too many fake messages. Today a says I am a historical guide for some drama, tomorrow b says I am preparing to open two books at the same time, and the account has been registered, the day after tomorrow c says I am writing a script, the day after that d says I registered an account and started a live broadcast, f says I have already started a live broadcast... There are too many rumors. I don't know all of them, and I can't respond to them one by one. Some are not worth responding to, and some involve human relationships, which is not easy to dismantle. Fortunately, my readers are very smart except for the little fools who are easily deceived, and they will not be deceived. If it is really difficult to judge, then take my words as the standard. For example, if I say I participated in a meeting, then I participated. Anyone else saying I didn't participate, including the meeting chairman, doesn't count. Conversely, the same. Other examples, the same.

As for the problem of slow updates, I am also very sad, but there is no way, unless there is some magic that multiplies time by two. (If there is, please multiply by three). But fortunately, the theme of this book is "Living in the Northern and Southern Dynasties." The word "living" is one for "survival" and one for "life." No matter which one, it requires the heart to slow down to step into the vast smoke and waves of that era, pick up clothes and climb the ancient shore, with clouds filling the sleeves. Here, please allow me to slightly change a line of poetry from Miłosz's *Ode to Birds* to express my intention:

"You slow down your steps because of appreciation, stretch out your arms, the place where you stand is shaking, and I, in the texture of the crystal, raise my warm, beating heart to you."

③ Regarding Jia Quan, see Chapter 302 "Drawing the Sword" and Chapter 303 "Sun Jingrong". ===== CHAPTER 354 =====