Chapter 70 - Rival in Love
C70: Rival in Love
After lying in bed all day, Xie Xun recovered her spirit and got out of bed.
It had only been a day, but she seemed to have lost weight. Her chin was pointed, and she was no longer as plump as she used to be.
Madam Leng let servants cook chicken soup with sea cucumber for nourishment in the kitchen. She drank it cleanly by herself. Even when she was sick, her appetite was surprisingly good.
Xie Zhen decided to stay the night and planed to return to the Sixth Prince’s estate until Xie Xun get well.
At night, the family dined in the central room. The Duke and the old lady sat at the head of the household, and only the second and fourth branches came. The wives of the first and the third branches, on the pretext of being sick, did not come over to eat together.
This was not surprising. Last time, they had been slapped by Yan Yu’s imperial bodyguards and lost all face. How could they still be willing to appear in front of them?
Thus, the meal was rather peaceful.
Gao Xun was present, because Xie Liqing let him stay. Xie Rong would take Xie Xun to the general’s mansion to thank them, so he could take him with him back to the army camp.
It was difficult for Gao Xun to refuse, so he had no choice but to agree.
Perhaps because Xie Xun just recovered from her illness, Xie Liqing was in a good mood, so he began to tell interesting stories about them when they were young.
They had quite a few memories in Qing Zhou. If he were to speak of it, he wouldn’t be able to finish even after three days and three nights.
Xie Liqing smiled and said, “Gao Xun had been in our family all day. One day, others asked about you, they thought you were my son …”
He then laughed and blurted out, “I thought you and …”
Before he could finish his words, he was glared at by Madam Leng and fell silent immediately.
Xie Liqing covered his lips and coughed, pretending to be calm. “I thought you would be like Rong’er and take the official road. I didn’t expect you to only be interested in military camps.”
Gao Xun sat next to Xie Rong, and on his other side was Yan Yu. He smiled and said, “I thought this was a shortcut, but I didn’t expect to take the wrong one. Now, it’s too late to go back on your words.”
There was something in his words that others didn’t understand, but Yan Yu, who was beside him, looked at him with a puzzled look. He frowned, then turned around and picked up something for Xie Zhen. “Eat more.”
Xie Zhen looked at the green vegetables in the bowl. She wanted to pick it out, but she couldn’t do it in front of everyone. “I…”
Gao Xun looked over and subconsciously said, ” Ah Zhen doesn’t like to eat asparagus.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Yan Yu’s expression darken.
After a moment of silence, Xie Liqing reacted quickly. Smiling to smooth things over, he said, ” Gao Xun’s better to have good memory. After eating a few meals with us, we’ve remembered everyone’s preferences.”
Do you remember what I can’t eat? ”
Gao Xun recovered his wits and forced a smile. “Uncle, you can’t eat spicy food. Once you eat it, you’ll get rashes all over your body.”
Xie Liqing was rather gratified. “You remember pretty well.”
Speaking of this, he had no choice but to mention the embarrassing incident of that year.
Madam Leng preferred sweet and spicy dishes. Xie Liqing had just married her and had barely managed to eat for a short period of time to match her taste. As a result, he was unable to get the rash to go down, so when Duke Dingguo found out, not only did he not pity him, he instead mocked him ruthlessly.
At that time, Madam Leng felt angry and funny, but at the same time, she was laughing at him, calling him a fool.
When he was young, he did a lot of stupid things for her, but he was happy.
The atmosphere at the dinner table became more harmonious after he told such a story. Everyone forgot about the little interlude just now.
Only Yan Yu’s face was taut from beginning to end.
As Xie Zhen sat beside him, she felt the atmosphere change. She looked at the asparagus in her bowl and wondered if she should eat it or not.
Yan Yu glanced at her, probably guessing what she was wondering about. He wordlessly took the asparagus out of her bowl and ate it himself with an expressionless face.
Fortunately, no one was paying attention to them at the dinner table, otherwise Xie Zhen would have been embarrassed.
She blushed. “Why do you eat my food?”
Yan Yu snorted lightly, “Don’t you like it?”
The conversation between the two was soft, because they didn’t want others to hear them. So Xie Zhen moved closer to him. If others without knowing what was going on looked over them, they would only think that it was the couple whispering to each other, and it was somewhat romantic.
She did not realize it herself, but Yan Yu liked it very much. His expression eased up a little.
Gao Xun’s gaze fell on the two of them. Their attitudes were intimate and natural, just like how it was many years ago. There was no room for others.
This meal was probably the most painful one he had ever eaten. The meal became tasteless in his mouth. Time passed slowly, and he didn’t know when it would come to an end.
After finishing his meal, he got up to bid farewell to the Duke and Xie Liqing, preparing to return to the guest room.
Coincidentally, the direction of the guest room was in the same direction as the Jade Yard. To go back to his room, he had to go along with Xie Zhen and Yan Yu.
Xie Liqing and Xie Rong stayed in the central room hall to discuss matters with the Duke. Therefore, there were the only the three of them on the way back to the Jade Yard.
Yan Yu and Xie Zhen walked in front, and when they reached the handpicked veranda, he suddenly held her hand.
Gao Xun, who was walking behind the two of them, saw this and his expression darkened. He pursed his lips and called out, “Ah Yu.”
Yan Yu’s footsteps did not stop. After a long while, he finally responded, “What’s the matter?”
He thought he was going to ask some unfathomable question, but instead he said, “Are you still the same Ah Yu that I know?”
Yan Yu suddenly stopped and turned around to look at him. “What do you mean?”
Gao Xun learned from others that his name was not Li Yu, but Yan Yu, Emperor Yuan Hui had changed his surname from Li to Yan.
He was so strange, so different from when he was a kid, that he only showed a little childishness in front of Xie Zhen.
Following behind them were two servant maids. Seeing that there was something wrong, they lowered their heads and didn’t even dare to breathe heavily.
Gao Xun laughed softly. “You left without saying anything, but now you are back with your identity changed. Don’t you want to explain yourself?”
Yan Yu looked away with a casual attitude, “There is nothing to explain.”
In old days, Xie Zhen would have thought he was arrogant, but since she knew why he’d left, now she understood him.
No matter who it was, it was a scar that could not be touched. His parents, who had raised him for many years, were killed and he was brought back to the palace by a stranger. He suddenly became the current sixth prince. In the past years, he lived in the palace as if treading on thin ice, and no one knew how much he suffered.
This was not something that could be explained with just a few words. Furthermore, his temper was extremely strange. If he hadn’t told her, she wouldn’t have been able to think of how many unforeseen events would have occurred.
Gao Xun felt angry and helpless. He stepped forward and grabbed onto his collar. With a single sentence filled with many meanings, he asked, “Do you really think I’m your brother?”
Gao Xun was two years older than Yan Yu, and he was half a head taller. If the two were to fight, Yan Yu would definitely be at a disadvantage.
Xie Zhen blurted out, “Brother Gao Xun, don’t beat him!”
As she spoke, she separated Yan Yu from Gao Xun and had to push Gao Xun a few times.
She held Yan Yu behind her, as she had done when she was a child, and her small body seemed to shield him from the wind and rain.
“He’s a prince. If you beat him up, you’ll be sent to prison.”
It was already such a critical moment, yet she was still considering others.
Yan Yu was touched at first, but he couldn’t help gritting his teeth in hatred when he heard these words. He stretched out his arm and scooped her into his arms, “Who on earth do you care about?”
When Xie Zhen saw the wounding look in Gao Xun’s eyes, she didn’t have time to say anything. And she heard, “Ah Zhen, when he left without saying goodbye, I said I was going to punch him a few times. Do you remember what you said?”
“I don’t remember.”
Gao Xun had to tell her. “You said you’d be watching.”
Yan Yu twisted his brow.
He asked, “Can you still watch from the sidelines with a calm heart?”
Xie Zhen couldn’t answer it. She couldn’t do it, not just because she was married to Yan Yu.
But she could not say it, for fear of hurting Gao Xun’s heart, so she stood silently in front of Yan Yu, avoiding his gaze.
Gao Xun might have understood something, so he had no choice but to smile. “Do you really think I would hit him?”
Xie Zhen looked up uncomprehendingly.
His face was unreadable, a mixture of laughter and tears, but he said nothing as he walked past the two of them and headed in the direction of the guest room.
When Xie Zhen got back to the house, she was not in high spirits.
It was even a little depressing.
The servant maids served the tea and refreshments, and she didn’t eat them at all. She didn’t even bother to look at Xie Xun. She was alone with her hands behind her head as she stared out the window. It was unknown what she was thinking.
Yan Yu, who was standing behind her, asked with a bad expression, “What did you call Gao Xun just now?”
Xie Zhen blinked and asked uncomprehendingly, “Brother Gao Xun?”
He did mind it. He put his arms around her and bit her earlobes. “I thought you used to call him Gao Xun.”
She didn’t realize his jealousy. Instead, she said stupidly, “He’s two years older than me.”
“Mother said I should call him brother.”
Although Madam Leng had told to her, she rarely called him brother Gao Xun. She just now was too anxious. Before her brain could react, her mouth had already cried out.
Yan Yu pursed his lips. He wanted to say something, but in the end, he could not say it.
He couldn’t ask her to just call him brother from now on.
Then what about Xie Rong?
He was quite conflicted and felt depressed, but he couldn’t tell her. He could only slowly digest it by himself.
At that night, they had dinner in their room. Yan Yu had several dozen dishes prepared. The tables was not big enough to contain all the dishes and two small square tables were placed beside it.
When Xie Zhen walked over to take a look, she was almost scared out of his wits. She turned around and asked, “Are you having a feast?”
“How can the two of us finish so many dishes? ”
Yan Yu told her not to mind and just sit down and eat.
She sat down in a panic, feeling that something was wrong.
Who would have thought that in the whole meal time, he wouldn’t even need her to move her chopsticks? He would always give her a bit of each dishes and then ask her if it was good.
If she replied that it was good, he would have people write it down. If she replied that it wasn’t good, he would have people take that dish away.
She ate a little bit for each dish, and after a full thirty courses, Xie Zhen was full, and finally understood his intention.
She suddenly came to a realization and let out a long “oh”. She looked at him with a faint smile, ” Brother Xiao Yu, you want to know what I like to eat? Why didn’t you ask me directly?”
He pretended to be calm as he took the sheet of paper from the servant, folded it, and slipped it into his sleeve.
“No need to ask, I still get to know as well.”
Gao Xun didn’t even need to ask, why should he?
One day he would know more about her than Gao Xun did.