Xie Yanlai tried to get up again: “That Miss Chu—”
So he was concerned about that Miss Chu. The maidservants exchanged glances.
“Young Master, Miss Chu has already left,” they quickly said.
She left? Xie Yanlai still tried to get up: “I’ll go see Young Master Xie the Third—”
He probably didn’t want to see Young Master the Third, but wanted to ask about Miss Chu. The maidservants held Xie Yanlai down, saying softly: “Young Master, when Young Master the Third doesn’t say he’ll see people, no one can see him.”
The young master was truly confused by concern—he’d even forgotten this.
Not really forgotten, but if he insisted on seeing him, if Young Master the Third refused, he would definitely force his way in, then would be beaten again by Du Qi—
“Young Master, you can’t provoke Young Master the Third anymore.”
“Young Master, for things Young Master the Third doesn’t want to say, you won’t get answers even if you ask.”
“Young Master, if you’re truly worried, why not go directly ask Miss Chu?”
Hearing this, Xie Yanlai stopped trying to force himself up, lying back down and snorting coldly: “Why would I ask her? Who wants to care about her affairs?”
Don’t care? The maidservants exchanged glances. They’d heard about what happened on the street, and they’d witnessed firsthand what happened at home—that suddenly appearing young lady standing gracefully in the courtyard—
“Young Master, you and Miss Chu—” they asked curiously.
“Miss Chu and I have nothing going on,” Xie Yanlai interrupted them.
The maidservants asked again: “Then why did she for you—”
“She did nothing for me,” Xie Yanlai interrupted again, saying coldly. “She only wanted to see Xie Yanfang.”
Even an idiot knew this. That girl wanting to achieve her goal of going to see her father—threatening and persuading Xie Yanfang was much more useful than threatening him.
As for what price she’d pay to achieve her goal, that was Chu Zhao’s own business. She would bear it herself. It had nothing to do with him, and he didn’t care!
After he turned his head inward, the maidservants stopped asking, and the room finally quieted down.
But the wound on his back suddenly throbbed with pain.
The maidservants began applying medicine to him again.
“Why apply medicine again?” Xie Yanlai gritted his teeth, suppressing his anger, then sneered. “The family’s medicine—it doesn’t matter whether you use it or not.”
“Young Master,” the maidservants said. “This isn’t the family’s medicine.”
Not the family’s?
Xie Yanlai turned his head to see a maidservant holding a porcelain bottle applying medicine to him, while two other maidservants each held medicine bottles, examining them.
“This is medicine specially delivered to us by Miss Chu’s maidservant,” one maidservant said. “She spoke so earnestly and in such detail, giving a thousand instructions on how to use it, when to use it—she spoke as if I were an idiot who couldn’t remember anything.”
Xie Yanlai looked at the medicine bottles, then at the maidservant: “Medicine sent by random people—you just use it on this young master? If you’re not idiots, what are you?”
The maidservants giggled, but the one sprinkling medicinal powder continued sprinkling. Another maidservant poured out a pill from a porcelain bottle, about to stuff it into Xie Yanlai’s mouth.
Xie Yanlai dodged backward, reaching out to snatch it: “Don’t randomly stuff things in—this pill can choke someone to death. I see you’re also trying to kill me.”
After speaking, he turned his head inward again, ignoring these maidservants.
The maidservants weren’t afraid of his anger and continued asking curiously.
“Young Master, is that A’Le the very capable maidservant you mentioned? The one who applies ointment to her young lady so it doesn’t hurt at all, whose young lady is a villain?”
“Young Master, I actually think her young lady isn’t fierce at all. Rather, this A’Le seems a bit fierce.”
“Ah, A’Le explained things in such detail—her young lady must have given her a thousand instructions and ten thousand reminders.”
So noisy! Why couldn’t women stop talking at any time?
Xie Yanlai faced inward, clenching his fist forcefully as if to crush the pill, but ultimately the pill remained intact, swelling and warming in his palm.
……
……
In the dim night, the Xie family residence was dotted with lamplight. Some places were completely quiet, while others bustled with song and dance.
Sitting in the water pavilion, Xie Yanfang finished writing the last stroke. Du Qi took the letter—today’s affairs were thus concluded.
Butler Cai came in from outside the water pavilion, saying: “Just received news—the two granaries gifted by the Wei clan have been handed over properly.”
Xie Yanfang nodded and said good, not paying much attention. This was a small matter to him.
He stood at the edge of the water pavilion and stretched lazily.
“It’s getting late,” he said. “Butler Cai, go rest.”
Butler Cai asked: “Young Master, is Miss Chu’s action General Chu’s response? Does this count as him befriending our Xie family?”
Because of the Third Prince’s difficulties toward Chu Zhao, did Chu Ling see that the Chu clan was weak and easily bullied, so decided to become friendly with the Xie clan?
“Miss Chu said it wasn’t,” Xie Yanfang smiled. “I took the initiative to reveal I framed her, and she took the initiative to reveal she willingly provoked the Third Prince.”
Butler Cai knew what that girl had said, but he didn’t believe it. Words were words, hearts were hearts.
“I’m not asking for her heart,” Xie Yanfang laughed. “Moreover, this can’t be considered forming friendship—it can only be considered making acquaintance.”
True friendship required back-and-forth exchanges of genuine sincerity, like the Xie family and the Wei clan.