Chapter 294

Twenty-three, Do Not Insult the Scholar

Craftsmanship, an hour and a half ago.

Xunyang Tower, fifth floor, one of the only two private rooms, in the luxurious private room with the sign "Taiyin".

Behind a private screen, there were vaguely two beautiful figures, one sitting and one standing in front of the dressing table.

The helpless voice of the noble lady with dangling hairpins came:

"Alright, alright, stop looking in the mirror. You're already beautiful enough. My Seventeen is as beautiful as a fairy; these rouges, ornaments, and gorgeous dresses are just icing on the cake, and they're even holding you back."

"Little Aunt is talking nonsense."

The crisp voice of the noble daughter of the Xie family, like an oriole, rang out, her tone sounding somewhat lacking in confidence, saying weakly:

"Just coaxing me."

She seemed to be worried about something.

Xie Lingjiang was only wearing a blue and pink bellyband and small underpants, sitting on an embroidered stool, her skin as white as snow, her long hair like a waterfall, looking left and right in the dressing mirror in front of her, examining her beautiful appearance from all angles.

"How could I be talking nonsense."

Xie Xuee stood behind Xie Lingjiang, put down the wooden comb, placed her hands gently on her smooth little shoulders, bent over and leaned forward, staring at the beloved niece in the mirror, the young woman's voice magnetic and seductive:

"With Seventeen's pretty face and this figure, even I, your aunt, am moved when I see it. Where it should be thin, it's thin; where it should be fat, it's fat. In this world, what man wouldn't like it?

"Seventeen, with a little powder, can fascinate those young talents downstairs. Why is there a need for so much trouble, and why are you lacking confidence?"

Xie Lingjiang expected: "Really?"

"Fake."

Xie Lingjiang called out: "Little Aunt!"

"You also know it's not fake? Then why ask."

For the beloved niece who lacked confidence, Xie Xuee had a headache and shook her head in confusion.

Xie Lingjiang suddenly said: "He doesn't seem to like the thin frame like Qin Xiaoniangzi."

Xie Xuee was stunned, tilted her head slightly, and thought for a moment:

"Qin Xiaoniangzi? The one selling art downstairs? The one you specifically pointed out tonight?"

"Hmm." Xie Lingjiang sat on the embroidered stool and nodded gently:

"She is also quite pitiful."

Xie Xuee shook her head, not caring about this small matter at all, with a helpless tone:

"But you are not thin either, hmm, only in one place, it's too 'fat'."

The noble lady with dangling hairpins standing behind the bellyband beauty suddenly reached out.

"Ah!"

Xie Lingjiang shrank her shoulders, afraid of being tickled, patted away her aunt's cool jade hand, and rolled her eyes:

"Little Aunt, stop making a scene."

She had been pinched in the trembling fat place, slippery and full in the hand, overflowing between the fingers.

"Tsk tsk." Xie Xuee gently stroked the young lady's long hair, envy in her eyes:

"Everyone says Seventeen is like me when I was young, but how is it the same?"

She pressed her lips close to Xie Lingjiang's ear, blew a breath, and said the private talk between aunt and niece:

"Seventeen is clearly more charming and moving, and has this kind of indescribable fat place. The blue is better than the blue, how is it like me? Those are just words of flattery from those people to me."

Xie Lingjiang's pretty face was incredibly charming and red. She turned her head to avoid the wind in her ear, and her plain hands acted as a comb, combing the long black hair hanging in front of her chest. Her movements vaguely revealed some shyness and tension, saying:

"At the banquet later, Little Aunt is not allowed to say these shameful words."

"Of course, tonight my Seventeen must be the most beautiful in the whole room, held high in the clouds, being that flower on the high ridge, making the young talents unreachable, itching to curry favor. This is what a direct daughter of the Xie family should look like."

Xie Xuee raised her chin slightly, her tone proud.

Xie Lingjiang did not deny it, tilted her head, looked at the mirror, and was in a daze for a while:

"However, I always feel that he only treats me as a simple junior sister. Sometimes, he treats me like a little girl, with no other meaning..."

Xie Xuee listened for a while and suddenly said:

"But the one Seventeen admires and likes, isn't it this mature back that leads the way like the morning star and takes you to experience growth?"

Xie Lingjiang was silent for a while.

Biting her lip: "But Ru Shixiong walks too fast, never looking back to see who is there, whose figure has been following..."

Xie Xuee looked at the dazed expression on Xie Lingjiang's face and smiled slightly:

"This Ouyang Lianghan is a person who does big things. Observing his actions, his goals are extremely clear, so naturally, he puts his career first, and his feelings for children are inevitably a bit dull."

Xie Lingjiang frowned: "It's not dull."

"Then what is it?"

"It's stupid, it's silly, it's a blockhead, it's a wooden head..."

Is there a difference?

Xie Xuee rubbed her eyebrows and sighed helplessly:

"Alright, alright, it's useless for you to scold him in front of me. You've been in Xunyang City for three days, and I don't know how many times I've heard you scold him. If you have the ability, scold him awake to his face."

Xie Lingjiang raised both hands to cover her small face, peeking through her fingers at the charming beauty in the mirror in front, and foolishly admitted: "I don't dare."

Xie Xuee smiled: "Alright, relax, after tonight, he will be enlightened and know that you are precious."

After speaking, as if recalling some memories, the noble lady with dangling hairpins grabbed the wooden comb, gently combed Xie Lingjiang's long hair, hummed, and her tone was proud:

"Humph, back then, wasn't your uncle also a blockhead? I remember that night was also my birthday banquet. He was knocked on the head by your father and grandmother, and suddenly he was enlightened. Later, I couldn't shake him off. Seventeen, you don't know how clingy men can be."

Xie Lingjiang turned her head blankly, looking at her aunt who was confident and in control, curious:

"Really or fake? Uncle looks so serious, even more proper than my father."

Xie Xuee didn't answer, just asked with a smile: "Silly niece, then you say, is your senior brother serious?"

Xie Lingjiang nodded immediately, paused, and under Xie Xuee's smiling gaze, shook her head with a red face.

"Isn't that right? According to my observation for many days, although Ouyang Lianghan does things in a proper and upright way and likes to take the straight path, he has constant clever tricks and wonderful plans, and is by no means that kind of pedantic Confucian scholar."

"Doing things is like this, and being a person is also like this." She shook her head and sighed: "Eh, it is precisely this kind of man who is both serious and not serious who is the most annoying, and can entangle Seventeen's heart like this."

"That makes sense..." Xie Lingjiang nodded while listening, and later, she suddenly frowned and asked curiously:

"How does Little Aunt know Ru Shixiong so well?"

Xie Xuee knocked on the forehead of the bellyband little beauty in front of her and laughed:

"Your father specifically asked me to come over to teach you how to handle this matter... How could I not go and understand for myself which stinky brat is coming to arch our Xie family's watery cabbage?

"I can't just sit there and listen to you, a lovesick girl, full of praise, right?"

Xie Lingjiang covered her head and shrank her neck.

Dong dong——

"My Xie Xiao Niangzi."

Just at this moment, a knock came from outside the door, followed by a respectful female voice calling into the room.

Xie Xuee's smile faded a bit, and she turned her head:

"Seventeen, go put on your formal dress first."

Before walking out of this private screen that blocked the spring scenery, she didn't forget to instruct:

"Tonight, wear that trailing skirt I specifically picked for you, brought from Yangzhou."

Xie Lingjiang stood up lightly and went to put on her formal dress.

"Come in."

The noble lady's dignified and lazy voice rang out.

With a creak, the door of the private room with the sign "Taiyin" was gently pushed open.

Qing Shu, who had returned from the twin peaks a step faster than Ouyang Rong, walked into the room and bowed respectfully:

"My Xie Xiao Niangzi, he has come and is already seated."

Xie Xuee walked out of the screen gracefully, stepped on the Persian carpet as soft as cat fur, walked to a pear-wood chair in front of the smokeless charcoal heater in the center of the room, and sat down with dignity.

The peach-blossom-eyed maid who managed the big clothing business for the lady lowered her head even lower, respectful and obedient, without the lightness she had in front of Manager Guo today.

Xie Xuee smiled: "No rush, tell me about today's events first. Also, the question I asked you to ask last night, how did he answer it during the day."

"Yes, My Xie Xiao Niangzi."

Qing Shu nodded and detailed the words and deeds of a certain person recorded during the day.

Xie Xuee listened with interest, and after Qing Shu finished repeating, she nodded slowly:

"He is a person who is self-disciplined and dedicated to public service, with high talent and clean conduct, and also has principles and bottom lines."

Qing Shu nodded: "This slave also thinks so. After a few days of getting along, Young Master Ouyang's behavior is upright, and his words and deeds are impressive."

After a pause, she said again: "My Xie Xiao Niangzi, the money we invested with Wang Caozhi this time should be able to be earned back very quickly..."

"Alright, don't talk to me about these things. Whether it's profit or loss, you take the people below and follow the investment. At critical moments, stand unconditionally on Ouyang Lianghan's side. How much silver is needed, just report the account when you go back."

Mentioning business, Xie Xuee waved her hand in boredom, stood up, and before leaving, turned her head and said meaningfully to Qing Shu:

"The affairs of my brother and Seventeen here in Xunyang City, the Xie family cannot help much, but I, in my personal capacity, can slightly assist, and no one can object."

"Understood, My Xie Xiao Niangzi."

Qing Shu took the order and retreated. Xie Xuee lowered her eyes to organize her appearance, and returned to the back of the screen as if nothing had happened, meeting Xie Lingjiang who had changed her clothes.

I saw the stunning young lady walking out of the inner room in full dress, organizing the ribbon around her slender waist while asking curiously:

"Little Aunt, what were you chatting about?"

"Small matter." Xie Xuee blinked, walked over, and took Xie Lingjiang's arm.

She turned her head to examine her, straightened her face, and poked her niece's white forehead:

"Alright, you girl, don't tighten it anymore, your waist is already thin enough, if you tighten it any further, won't it make the top look even fatter?"

"..." Xie Lingjiang.

Before she could glare, Xie Xuee burst into a smile and pulled Xie Lingjiang out of the door:

"Let's go, let's go take a look at the unlucky guy chosen tonight."

Xie Lingjiang's pretty face became nervous.

"He's here?"

Xie Xuee nodded with a smile.

At this moment downstairs, a certain young man in a white fur coat had just been led into the first-floor hall by a welcoming maid and seated not long ago.

He didn't notice that the door of a private room on the fifth floor above his head opened from the inside, and two beautiful figures, one big and one small, walked out gracefully.

The noble lady with dangling hairpins leaned on the railing and looked into the distance, asking with a smile:

"He is Ouyang Lianghan?"

Xie Lingjiang lowered her head, whispering:

"Didn't Aunt see his portrait? Asking when you know."

Xie Xuee looked at the young man in the white fur coat in the hall downstairs a few more times, her gaze lingering on that handsome face for a while:

"I just didn't expect him to be even more handsome than in the portrait. I thought the portrait Qing Shu sent had been exaggerated. Not bad, talented and good-looking, not losing to your uncle back then."

She smiled and nodded gently, seemingly satisfied:

"Our Xie family girls have an eye for picking husbands, and he is a person of character."

Xie Lingjiang frowned, looking at her aunt who hadn't been in Xunyang City for long, her tone earnest:

"Ru Shixiong is not a flowery pillow, why does Little Aunt just say some nonsense."

Xie Xuee hummed: "Not a flowery pillow? That might not be certain."

She paused, and before her little niece could stand up for herself, she blinked and said something that only married women could understand in seconds:

"You have to try it to know."

Xie Lingjiang, who was preparing to argue, was stunned. After a while, a blush quickly climbed up her white and pretty face that had just been washed clean.

"Little Aunt is unreasonable!"

Xie Lingjiang glared at the smiling noble lady with dangling hairpins, snorted, and turned her head away, not wanting to pay attention to her.

Just raising her chin, she was angry for a while, and retorted without turning her head:

"Ru Shixiong is not a flowery pillow." Emphasizing it.

Xie Xuee smiled.

"Hmm, I also feel it doesn't look like one." She nodded.

Xie Lingjiang gritted her teeth: "Little Aunt, stop talking."

Xie Xuee smiled and stopped teasing her.

"Oh no." Xie Lingjiang suddenly shrank back.

Xie Xuee also quickly took a step back. It turned out that below, Ouyang Rong suddenly raised his head, as if sensing something, looking around in confusion.

Xie Xuee and Xie Lingjiang looked at each other and tacitly returned to the "Taiyin" private room.

Back in the room, Xie Lingjiang walked to the heater, staring at the charcoal, her pretty face dazed:

"Little Aunt, doing this tonight, will it be not so good?"

"What's not good? Tonight, he must know how honorable the direct daughter of the Xie family is. Most men in the world are like this; if they get it too easily, it's hard to cherish.

"Only by letting him see how many people pet you, curry favor with you, that you are not short of pursuers, and that you are surrounded by excellent young men, and knowing how noble your status is, will he start to know how to cherish."

Xie Lingjiang muttered: "Is Ru Shixiong also like this..."

"As long as they are human, everyone is afraid of losing, especially what they once had." Xie Xuee sighed: "These things actually shouldn't be done by me, but your mother left early, and your father likes this disciple too much to be strict, so I, the aunt, have to do it."

"By the way." The noble lady with dangling hairpins turned back and asked: "Does the Xunyang Prince's mansion come tonight?"

"No." Xie Lingjiang shook her head: "But this morning, Uncle Li and the others already celebrated my birthday, and Aunt Wei and Little Sister Guoer even made a bowl of longevity noodles."

Xie Xuee pulled the corners of her mouth and nodded: "This master is indeed much more sensible than before."

Xie Lingjiang raised her head and said earnestly: "I haven't asked Little Aunt, do you mind Ru Shixiong's family background?"

Xie Xuee glanced sideways: "What if I mind, what if I don't mind? The Xie family is prominent, and the martyrs add light. Isn't this just giving the descendants the opportunity to choose willfully?

"The Xie family's attitude toward your marriage is like the relationship between my brother and the Xunyang Prince's mansion."

Xie Lingjiang was a bit worried: "But many clansmen in Jin Ling are close to the Wei family, and they often blame my father, and the relationship is getting stiffer."

"Seventeen, remember, at this moment, the stiffer the relationship between my brother and them, the better."

Xie Xuee praised and explained:

"The Xie family of Chen Jun has been able to stand in Jiang Nan for hundreds of years, not by betting correctly every time, but by never blocking the Xie family descendants from seeking their own masters, even if they are hostile to each other.

"From Wei and Jin to now, what storms hasn't the Xie family seen? Everyone says the struggle between Li and Wei is dangerous, but can it be as dangerous as the Sui Dynasty unifying the north and south, the mad emperor's iron cavalry trampling the thresholds of the Jiangzuo noble families, slaughtering the noble family cultivators everywhere, and searching for the secret treasures of the Dingjian?"

Xie Xuee smiled: "Coincidentally, that Cavalry General who was loyal to the mad emperor and took the lead in digging three feet into the ground was a 'rebellious son of the Xie family' who fled to the northern dynasty early and changed his surname to cut ties."

Xie Lingjiang nodded gently.

Xie Xuee suddenly asked: "Seventeen shouldn't have tipped him off, right?"

Xie Lingjiang looked straight ahead: "No."

Seeing her serious appearance, Xie Xuee was suspicious: "Gifts or something, no extra reminders prepared?"

"No, none."

"That's good." Xie Xuee nodded: "Preparing in advance is meaningless; it's about catching him off guard, deepening his guilt and self-reproach, and letting him see Seventeen's brilliance. After tonight, Seventeen only needs to take a step closer, and he will be pleasantly surprised and cherish you in every way?"

Xie Lingjiang lowered her head and thought for a while, bit her silver teeth, and instructed: "Then Aunt promised me, don't be excessive tonight, and don't do anything to insult him."

Xie Xuee laughed and shook her head: "First, if there is no accident tonight, I will only chat a few words, and then let him sit closer, so he can see Seventeen being pursued by young talents, know how noble the daughter of the five surnames is, and knock on his wooden head. If it is not necessary, I will not deliberately insult him."

She laughed softly:

"Second, all the noble families in the world know.

"Our Xie family of Chen Jun has never insulted the Jiangzuo scholars for six hundred years."

After a pause, the woman said flatly:

"Except for our own son-in-law."

Xie Lingjiang laughed happily.

A moment later, a clever maid knocked on the door and walked in to remind them of the time.

The aunt and niece looked at each other, stood up gracefully, and walked downstairs.

Officially appearing, everyone was amazed...

(End of chapter)