Seeing his nominal fiancé appear so suddenly, Xiao Yanshi, even with his forewarning, was somewhat surprised. Furthermore, Xue You and Xie Kaiji theoretically had no common ground.
Thus, Xiao Yanshi’s first reaction was to frown. What is Xue You plotting?
Perhaps the suspicion in his eyes was too obvious. Xue You looked slightly embarrassed and couldn’t help but take a step forward to explain: “The Princess has had a poor appetite since the beginning of winter, and can only eat a bit more of these seasonal fruits and vegetables. I… heard from elsewhere that the Prince had planted some in his manor, so I made bold to visit. One thing led to another… and I learned the Prince was in need of more such manors.”
As he spoke, he glanced at Xiao Yanshi. “It is true that I had a request, but I truly did not know that the Prince and the Heir were close. If…”
“If what?” Xiao Yanshi stared fixedly at Xue You. “If you had known that I was close to him, would you not have sought to purchase these goods from him?” Xiao Yanshi curled his lips. “You are so wary of this; do you fear that I would stand in your way?”
It was nothing short of aggressive. This was the first time Xie Kaiji had witnessed this side of Xiao Yanshi. He stood to the side, finding it incredibly novel—he was practically itching to find some fruit and snacks so he could eat while he watched.
“Heir…” Xue You was momentarily at a loss for words, offering a wry smile. “The Heir knows that is not what I meant…”
“I do not know.” Xiao Yanshi, showing “no awareness of the mood,” did not give the other man a chance to breathe. Xie Kaiji tutted incessantly, just about to step in to mediate for fear that Xiao Yanshi would drive his business partner away, when he saw Xiao Yanshi suddenly step forward to Xue You…
And drag him away.
Xie Kaiji: “…Hey?”
“Don’t follow!” Xiao Yanshi said without looking back.
A gentleman as poised as Xue You was actually dragged into a stumble, but he didn’t struggle, allowing himself to be hauled into the adjacent courtyard.
Xie Kaiji stroked his chin: Running off into a guest room in broad daylight—so impatient! So impatient!
Thinking back to the rumors flying rampant in Jiangling over the past two days, he suddenly tasted a different, unusual flavor. Based on his understanding of Xiao Yanshi, even if he were concerned about Xiao Yanxun’s reputation, a cowardly approach of “swallowing his broken teeth and blood” was not his style.
Unless…
Xie Kaiji chuckled. Unless what wasn’t it already obvious!
Xiao Yanshi regretted it the moment he dragged the man into the guest room. Doing something so “ambiguous” in front of a fellow like Xie Kaiji meant he would likely be teased endlessly later.
The Heir, who was nearly tearing his hair out in frustration, maintained a blank expression on his face. He released the grip he had on Xue You’s lapel and retreated two steps. “My apologies.”
Sure enough, such a violent movement had nearly shredded the man’s clothes. Xue You awkwardly smoothed out his disheveled lapel, wanting to speak but afraid of accidentally violating some taboo of the Heir’s.
The two fell into a silent stalemate.
After a long while, Xue You couldn’t help himself. He spoke with extreme caution: “If the Heir fears I have ulterior motives, then the partnership with the Prince can be called off.”
Xiao Yanshi, whose thoughts had wandered off a while ago, was momentarily dazed. “What?”
He hadn’t even heard what the man had said.
Xue You did not grow impatient and repeated it.
Xiao Yanshi heard him clearly this time, but his reply caught Xue You completely off guard. “Why call it off? A mutually beneficial, high-profit business if you give up now, given the current situation of the Princess’s Estate, I fear the Third Young Master might not even be able to scrape together a dowry…”
Xiao Yanshi spoke openly and casually, his own face expressionless, while Xue You was stunned, his ears turning beet-red in an instant.
Xiao Yanshi caught a glimpse of this and couldn’t help but curl his lips.
“…Before entering the Princess’s Estate, I sold furs and spices in the Southwest; I do have some savings,” Xue You said, feeling awkward about the mention of a “dowry.” “Moreover, the Consort treats me well, and those manors were gifts from him. The Heir can rest assured; our marriage will not bring shame to the Marquis Estate.”
Every word Xue You spoke, his earnest and serious expression, was quite pleasing to the eye.
Xiao Yanshi, however, remained insensitive to romance, reminding him, “The bandits who intercepted the carriages last time—was that what the Third Young Master calls ‘selling furs and spices’?”
This matter had always been a thorn in Xiao Yanshi’s side. He could disregard Xue You’s awkward origins and could temporarily forget the old grudges between the Marquis Estate and the Princess’s Estate. But he could not reconcile the swift, decisive man who had wielded a blade against him in that heavy snow with the handsome, mild-mannered gentleman currently standing before him.
Xiao Yanshi hadn’t had time to inspect the contents of those carriages. As for the fate of those dozen bandits… Xiao Yanshi did not wish to, nor did he want to, investigate.
Xue You froze slightly after hearing this, then curled his lips slightly before pressing them back down. “Those carriages were loaded with blades.”
Xiao Yanshi was stunned. “Blades?”
“Someone wanted me to transport six carriages from Qujing River to Jiangling. They dispatched eight skilled men and one thousand taels of gold to me,” Xue You continued, without covering anything up. “The other party demanded I reach Jiangling within ten days, but heaven did not grant my wish; heavy snow blocked the roads, and even with night-and-day travel, we couldn’t make it on time. Thus, I took a gamble and avoided the official roads, taking the small paths.”
“…Bandits blocked the path ahead, killed five of my men, and three escaped. I was also injured. With no other choice, I had to hand over the thousand taels of gold and promised them two carriages worth of blades, agreeing to part ways ten miles outside of Jiangling. But I never imagined… I would meet the Heir.”
Having finished saying all this, Xue You seemed to exhale in relief.
Xiao Yanshi was silent for a while, neither saying he believed him nor that he didn’t. He only asked one final question: “Are you truly willing to marry me?”
Xue You was not as decisive this time, waiting a long while before saying, “Does the Heir think I have a choice?”
The Princess’s Estate was like a prison, and he was the only one trapped inside.
“I will believe you once.” Xiao Yanshi finished speaking, then as if remembering something, said, “Xie Kaiji is an upright and open-minded person; you will not lose out by cooperating with him.” With that, he turned and walked away.
Unexpectedly, a series of footsteps sounded behind him. Before Xiao Yanshi could stop, he was grabbed by the arm. “What about the Heir?”
Xiao Yanshi turned around. “Hm?”
“The Heir asked me twice if I was willing to marry.” Xue You’s gaze was burning. “But I have never asked the Heir if the Heir is willing to wed.”
Even if Xue You were a fool, he would never have believed that Xiao Yanshi’s request to the Emperor for a marriage edict that day was genuine. There were so many court officials; within a single day, more than ten versions of the scene where the Heir Xiao proposed in court had surfaced. Xue You had listened to every one of them, but he couldn’t feel that any of them were what truly happened.
He had struggled with this question for a long time. Asking it suddenly today actually made him feel much more relaxed.
But he never expected the answer.
While Xue You was still anxious, Xiao Yanshi suddenly grabbed Xue You’s lapel, pressed him against the door, and kissed him fiercely.
“Mmph…”
“…Tell me, am I willing?”
Xie Kaiji circled the hot spring pool forty-nine times before seeing the two emerge, one after the other.
The moment he saw Xiao Yanshi, his eyelids twitched.
What is going on?!
Someone as thick-skinned as Xiao Yanshi, and his lip was busted?
Who did it!
The culprit was obvious, but when Xie Kaiji’s gaze fell on Xue You, his eyelids almost cramped from twitching.
How could Xiao Yanshi be so unrestrained! Not only did he shred the man’s clothes, he even gnawed on his lips until they were still bleeding.
Too brutal!
Xie Kaiji’s eyes darted back and forth. Xiao Yanshi frowned, shielding Xue You from Xie Kaiji’s view as he walked over and kicked out.
Xie Kaiji dodged narrowly. “Hey, why are you kicking me again?! The Third Young Master Xue is right there; can’t you save me some face?”
Xiao Yanshi snorted coldly and dragged the man toward the exit.
Xie Kaiji was immediately dissatisfied. “You don’t even let people get a good look, and leaving a guest aside is truly ill-mannered.”
No sooner had the words left his mouth than he saw Xiao Yanshi reach out. Xie Kaiji dodged instinctively, but it turned out to be a feint. He ground his teeth in frustration. “Xiao the Second, you’ve gone too far!”
“This is going too far?” Xiao Yanshi slanted a look at him. “You invited someone to the manor without even saying hello; why didn’t you say you were going too far then?”
This was settling scores after the fact. Xie Kaiji knew he hadn’t played it quite right this time. While he had been braying with dissatisfaction moments ago, he now felt guilty and remorseful. “My mind went blank; I was blinded by the silver. Won’t you forgive me this once?”
Xiao Yanshi didn’t respond to force, but responded well to softness, Xie Kaiji knew this perfectly.
Sure enough, Xiao Yanshi’s expression softened, and he slapped Xie Kaiji on the shoulder. “I’ll let it pass this time. Continue your plan to cooperate with him, but you should also know… these imported goods are only in vogue for a year or two. After a while, others will figure it out, and perhaps even better than yours.”
“When the time comes, withdraw in time; don’t let yourself get entangled by this…”
“I know.” Xie Kaiji’s expression turned serious. “When there’s too much of a high-demand item, it becomes worthless. You can rest assured; the moment things look bad, I will pull out with Xue You. As for the shipping, I need to borrow one of your men.”
“Xiao Yue?” Xiao Yanshi realized instantly.
“Mm.” Xie Kaiji was full of excitement. “The men Xiao Yue manages are all clever; once he takes action, things will be much easier for me. When the time comes, even if someone wants to follow the trail, they won’t be able to reach me…”
Xiao Yanshi watched his exuberant behavior and couldn’t help but rub his forehead. “You haven’t seemed short of money for years; why are you so obsessed with it, as if you’re dying to crawl into a money pit!”
“Sigh, you don’t understand. Between ‘money’ and ‘beauty,’ only ‘money’ gives one true peace of mind.” Xie Kaiji wagged his head. “Looking at your current state, where you think money is something outside yourself, who’s to say you won’t be relying on my support one of these days!”
Xiao Yanshi took it as a joke and didn’t mind.
The two chatted a bit more. Xiao Yanshi hesitated, then couldn’t help but ask, “I haven’t been back from the Northern Frontier for long, and there’s something I’m not quite sure about. I don’t know if you’ve heard any rumors.”
“What?” Xie Kaiji pricked up his ears.
“Qujing River.” Xiao Yanshi frowned slightly. Whether it was the intense debate among court officials that day or the weapons mentioned by Xue You and the mysterious person’s commission, these two matters linked Guo You, Liang Yan, Liu Zhiru, Su Sanshi, and Xue You…
Xiao Yanshi felt like he was chasing a voice that kept drifting away in the fog. He knew he shouldn’t get close, but before he knew it, he had stepped right into the middle of it.
“Why are you asking about this?” Xie Kaiji frowned deeply. “Qujing River is a tangled mess right now. You are a frontier-guarding general; why are you managing such things?!”
Xie Kaiji’s reaction was also intriguing, making Xiao Yanshi all the more curious. “Do you know something of the inside story?”
“Xiao the Second!” Xie Kaiji wrapped his arm around Xiao Yanshi’s shoulder. “Listen to your brother: do not ask about Qujing River anymore. The water runs deep here; you are a general who leads armies into battle, you have no business here.”
“…Fine, I hear you. I won’t ask.” Xiao Yanshi complied readily. Xie Kaiji looked at him with skepticism. “Truly?” He knew his brother’s disposition all too well.
He was mostly bluffing when he was straightforward.
But Xiao Yanshi nodded again. “I won’t lie to you.”
Xie Kaiji’s gaze was piercing. “I hope so.”
Xiao Yanshi: “…”