All Hail Cousin Brother

176 How Arrogant

He did not say it clearly, but Xie Jingliu already understood that this was as he had guessed. “Once King Ping and the Crown Prince enter the capital, the imperial court will be in chaos. Even the cabinet ministers led by Xia Yansheng might not be able to suppress the arrogance of the Marquis of Weining. I’m afraid the vassal lords will not be able to live in peace.”

Zhou Linghuai agreed deeply and changed the topic. “Are you planning to tell the Yu Residence about this?”

Xie Jingliu shook his head. “Just give them a few reminders. It’s a huge matter for King Ping to bring the crown prince into the capital. It’s not much different from King You’s rebellion. It’s supposed to be kept a secret. It’s not easy to publicize it at this time, and it shouldn’t spread from the Xie Residence.”

Zhou Linghuai’s eyes flickered slightly, but he did not say anything.

A gentleman did not stand under a dangerous wall. The Xie family probably had to make some arrangements when they entered the capital this time. In order to prevent chaos in the capital from affecting the Xie family, it was no wonder that Xie Jingliu had personally entered the capital.

With Xie Jingliu’s achievements, it was much more convenient for him to do things in the capital.

Xie Jingliu lowered his eyes and looked at the tea in his cup. His voice became more sincere. “Before the New Year, Grandfather and Cousin Xin had suggested that she should stay in Quanzhou for a while, but Cousin had rejected them.”

At this point, there was a hint of regret in his tone.

Zhou Linghuai said calmly, “Even if Yao Yao doesn’t refuse, the Yu Residence won’t agree.”

Everyone knew this very well. Otherwise, after his aunt’s death, the Xie family would have brought his cousin back to Quanzhou. However, his grandfather refused to give up.

At the thought of this, Xie Jingliu looked at Zhou Linghuai with a faint smile. “I heard that there’s a son in the Zhou family of Youzhou. He can read at the age of three, recite at the age of five, and study at the age of seven. Unfortunately, the heavens are jealous of geniuses, and extreme wisdom will come at a price. He’s originally a peerless genius, but he’s innately lacking and has suffered from a weak illness since he was young. That’s why he’s always been in seclusion and rarely shows his face. The world only knows that the heir of the You King, Yin Huaixi, is outstanding. He’s the best in the world, but they don’t know that this Young Master Zhou is also the best in the world.”

Zhou Linghuai remained calm. “You investigated me?”

Xie Jingliu did not deny it. “A cousin from Youzhou suddenly joined the Yu Residence, and this cousin is on good terms with my cousin. You don’t know this, but my cousin mentioned a lot about you in her letter last time. I had to investigate it before I can feel at ease.”

Zhou Linghuai looked up at him, his eyes deep.

The smile on Xie Jingliu’s lips disappeared, and he did not avoid him at all. When he looked at him, there was a piercing cold light in his eyes, as sharp as a sword being unsheathed.

This was no longer just a test, but a confrontation.

After a while, Zhou Linghuai calmly picked up his teacup.

Xie Jingliu’s gaze shifted slightly, and a smile appeared on his lips. “Young Master Zhou is a heavenly person. Even if Youzhou is a dragon’s den or a tiger’s den, it’s not necessarily impossible for him to establish himself. I’m afraid he has other motives for suddenly coming to the capital. According to what I know, Old Master Zhou didn’t just die of illness…”

Towards the end, there was a smile on his lips, but his eyes were cold.

Although it was far from the truth, the meaning behind it was not vague at all. Zhou Linghuai did not deny it. He lowered his head and took a sip of tea. Only the fragrance of the tea that came from his cousin could appease the ruthlessness in his heart. “It’s not simple for the Xie family to be able to find out about this.”

Xie Jingliu thought more highly of him and changed the topic. “No matter what your motive for entering the capital is, it has nothing to do with the Xie family. I can tell that you still treat Cousin with some sincerity. Quanzhou is a little far from the capital. Even if you can take care of Cousin a little, it won’t help much. Once the capital is in chaos, I hope you can take care of Cousin more. Take it that the Xie family owes you a favor. As long as it’s within your ability, the Xie family won’t decline.”

He did not trust anyone in the entire Yu Residence.

He might not have much trust in Zhou Linghuai, but he had no choice. Since Zhou Linghuai had a scheme, he had to have a bargaining chip. No one in the world could refuse the Xie family’s favor.

As such, the Xie Residence did not care about the price and tried their best to take care of Yu Youyao. However, Zhou Linghuai did not buy it. He said calmly, “Yao Yao? I’ll take care of her.”

Even though his tone was indifferent, and it was not difficult to hear the unquestionable arrogance in it. It was as if everything that Yu Youyao did was Zhou Linghuai’s own business and had nothing to do with the Xie Residence in Quanzhou.

His request was futile and ridiculous. Xie Jingliu was not surprised. His smile became more genuine. “How arrogant.”

Even the Xie family did not dare to say that they could protect themselves in this chaotic world. Where did Zhou Linghuai’s confidence come from? How dare he be so arrogant?

He did not even care about the benefits that were readily available.

Zhou Linghuai said nothing.

At this moment, Yu Youyao led Xia Tao over and said happily, “Third Cousin and Cousin, there’s no good banquet food. The dishes at the banquet look sumptuous, but they don’t feel good when you eat them. I’ve prepared medicinal cuisine early in the morning. Have some medicinal cuisine to nourish your stomach first, lest your stomach suffers during the banquet.”

Zhou Linghuai and Xie Jingliu looked at each other and stopped talking.

The little girl had made sea cucumber soup, which was nourishing and gentle.

Third Cousin was a guest, so naturally, she had to give it to him first. Then, she scooped another bowl and handed it to her cousin. Finally, she scooped hers.

Xie Jingliu knew that his younger cousin liked to eat seafood, so he smiled and said, “I brought you a lot of seafood this time. There are more than a hundred white jade sea cucumbers alone. I also brought a lot of red sea cucumbers, yellow jade sea cucumbers, and blue jade sea cucumbers. It’s enough for you to eat for a long time.”

Yu Youyao smiled. “Thank you, Third Cousin.”

After eating the medicinal cuisine, Zhou Linghuai said that he was a little tired and asked Chang An to push him back to the Green House.

Although he did not want to leave at all, they were still biological siblings after all. It was inevitable that they would say something personal when they saw each other. It was not appropriate for him to be present.

As soon as Zhou Linghuai left, Xie Jingliu said, “Let’s go. I’ll bring you to see the good things I’ve brought you this time.”

Yu Youyao agreed crisply, her face filled with joy and anticipation.

Xie Jingliu knocked on his little cousin’s forehead. “That’s more like it.”

When they arrived at the hall, there were already mountains of gift boxes inside.

She had long known from Xia Tao that her third cousin had brought over three large carriages of things for her this time. Tea leaves, cloth, spices, jewelry, and so on were all customary. There was no lack of them every time, and there were also many new things.

Xie Jingliu picked out an exquisite sandalwood box and handed it to Yu Youyao. “This is a new item from overseas. It’s called a clock. It’s a little bigger and can tell the time.”

When Yu Youyao heard this, she was surprised and couldn’t wait to open it.

The clock was less than the size of a baby’s palm. It was made of glass, and it was thin and bright. There was also a kind of red stone inlaid on the side of the watch, looking dazzling and resplendent.

Xie Jingliu leaned over. “The red gem on it is called a diamond. It’s actually the same as our diamond. It’s just that we don’t use it often. The diamonds are made into objects used by craftsmen. The Kunwu Knife used for carving is made of diamonds.”