“I don’t give a damn who she is!”
“She’d better not cross my path in the future!” Pei Lie fumed angrily. “Otherwise, I’ll teach her a proper lesson on how to behave.”
“Tsk tsk…” Zhao Yi shook his head, utterly speechless. “Such a beauty, and you’d still lay hands on her. You really are a brute who doesn’t know how to cherish delicate things…”
Pei Lie plopped down carelessly on the chair beside him, his chest heaving violently. He looked so furious that he had to down several cups of cold tea in a row before his temper finally cooled.
Seeing this, Zhao Yi chuckled with a hint of schadenfreude. “Look at you, getting worked up over a woman. What kind of man does that?”
As he spoke, his gaze drifted toward the tall, motionless figure standing before the carved window sill. With a teasing tone, he added, “Look, even our Dali Siqing Lord Xie—who can’t stand the slightest speck of dust in his eyes—hasn’t said a word.”
Hearing this, Pei Lie glanced over and indeed saw Xie Zhiyan standing by the window sill, dressed in a dark purple robe, his face as flawless as jade, exuding unparalleled elegance. He stood there calmly, gazing down at the scene below.
Thanks to the unique architectural design of the fifth floor, everything happening on the other four floors outside was clearly visible.
Thus, the commotion that had just taken place in the first-floor hall could be seen perfectly from here.
“Lord Xie, you’re here quite early today!” Pei Lie’s eyes lit up, his earlier displeasure seemingly vanishing like smoke.
“I’ve heard the capital has been rather unsettled lately, with quite a few cases popping up one after another.”
“Exactly. The prisoners in Lord Xie’s Dali Temple are almost overflowing,” Zhao Yi remarked lazily, leaning back in his chair with a casual demeanor.
“But…” he continued, shifting the topic, “the incidents in the capital recently have indeed been rather frequent…”
For instance, the return of the Jiang Family’s Legitimate Daughter had caused quite a stir in the capital.
And the person downstairs just now…
What a coincidence, wasn’t it?
It seemed the capital was in for some interesting drama soon!
With this thought, Zhao Yi flicked open the folding fan in his hand, a playful and unrestrained smile reappearing on his face.
Pei Lie nodded, his expression thoughtful. “His Majesty has just returned from Foguang Temple and announced a large-scale Imperial Selection. Does this mean he’s planning something big?”
“I can’t guess my cousin’s intentions. We’ll know when he arrives,” Zhao Yi replied indifferently.
Pei Lie nodded in agreement. “That’s true.”
Afterward, the two chatted and laughed, moving on to other topics.
Meanwhile, Xie Zhiyan, with his back to them, remained silent, his expression calm as he continued to gaze downstairs.
After a long while, Zhao Yi finally couldn’t hold back and spoke up, “Hey, Ah Yan!”
“I invited you here as a friend, not to have you stand there daydreaming alone.”
Xie Zhiyan scoffed, his tone arrogant. “What else is there to do in a place like this?”
Zhao Yi’s lips curled into a somewhat roguish smile.
“Fine wine in hand, beautiful women aplenty. If you’ve been holding back for too long, just head downstairs and explore. I guarantee you’ll be amazed…”
Xie Zhiyan remained silent, showing no intention of engaging with him.
Zhao Yi didn’t mind. The ever-aloof and principled Dali Siqing was bound to look down on such women of the pleasure quarters.
However, he found it curious that Xie Zhiyan kept staring downstairs so intently, not even turning his head.
Out of curiosity, Zhao Yi stood up and walked over, with Pei Lie following suit.
The three men stood before the carved windowsill, just in time to see Jiang Wantang in her red dress and Xingyun Gongzi, the top courtesan of the brothel, walk into a private room on the second floor and close the door.
Zhao Yi fanned himself with a folding fan and remarked with a sigh, “That woman downstairs may be crazy, but her face…”
“Tsk, tsk…” He paused, his tone filled with admiration. “Even though she wore a veil, her beauty is truly breathtaking!”
Despite having seen countless women in Xunhuan Lou, Zhao Yi had never encountered such unparalleled beauty.
No wonder Xingyun Gongzi, who rarely entertained guests casually, was drawn to her.
However, thinking of the woman’s identity and her bold, absurd behavior earlier, Zhao Yi shook his head.
Meanwhile, Pei Lie, witnessing the two of them walking into the private room with “loving glances,” felt a surge of anger.
He snorted coldly and said indignantly, “Where did that crazy woman come from? She’s utterly disgraceful!”
“No matter how beautiful she is, how could she compare to the Jiang Family’s eldest daughter, the most stunning beauty in Jingcheng?”
Hearing this, Zhao Yi couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. Such words coming from the rough-and-tumble Pei Lie were rather amusing.
“She actually can…”
Pei Lie looked at Zhao Yi in surprise.
The latter smiled and said, “The ‘crazy woman’ you speak of is no ordinary lady. She is the Jiang Family’s second daughter, recently brought back from the countryside—the younger sister of the eldest daughter!”
Pei Lie’s eyes widened in shock. “She’s the Jiang Family’s second daughter who has caused a stir all over Jingcheng these past few days?!”
Zhao Yi nodded as he fanned himself.
Pei Lie’s expression immediately turned disdainful. “Hmph, and here I thought she was some delicate, pitiful, kind-hearted, and simple girl. Who knew she’d be such a shameless, crazy woman!”
“So young, yet so wild!” Pei Lie sneered. “She must have grown accustomed to such recklessness in the countryside.”
“Compared to her elder sister, the dignified and elegant Jiang Family’s eldest daughter, she falls far short!”
“General Pei, watch your words!”
Before Zhao Yi could speak, Xie Zhiyan, who had remained silent and unsmiling the entire time, suddenly spoke up, his tone stern. “Slandering a woman’s reputation behind her back is not the conduct of a gentleman.”
“You should understand that in the eyes of the world, a woman’s reputation is more important than her life.”
Pei Lie, realizing he had lost his gentlemanly demeanor, said with shame, “You are right, sir. I spoke out of turn.”
Xie Zhiyan said nothing more, but the usual warmth in his expression vanished entirely, replaced by a cold sternness.
In contrast, Zhao Yi’s face showed clear surprise, and his gaze toward Xie Zhiyan held a deeper meaning.
“Ah Yan, your reaction today is rather unusual!”
“Could it be that you’ve taken a liking to this Jiang Family’s second daughter?”
Based on Zhao Yi’s years of understanding of him, the always proper and upright Xie Zhiyan should be the last person to admire a frivolous, empty-headed woman like the Jiang Family’s second daughter.
No matter how beautiful she was, she would never catch his eye.
Downstairs, the lively and joyous atmosphere had returned. Xie Zhiyan withdrew his gaze, his expression indifferent. “Not at all.”
“You know I have no interest in romance, and I detest the scent of cosmetics the most.”
“I simply believe that one should not slander a woman’s reputation out of momentary anger.”
With that, he turned and walked toward the long table in the private room.
Zhao Yi pursed his lips and said with a hint of exasperation, “Well, here’s another one who knows nothing of the pleasures of romance.”
“However…” As he spoke, he shifted his tone, watching Xie Zhiyan sit down at the table, and asked with rare seriousness, “I’m genuinely curious—what kind of woman in this world could possibly catch your eye?”
The latter didn’t even bother to glance at him, replying coolly, “Certainly not the ones in your establishment.”
Zhao Yi immediately felt provoked: “Yes, yes, you’re so noble, so unattainable like a flower on a high peak!”
“It’s me who’s shallow—I just love the beauties in my establishment.”
“Plump or slender, I adore them all!”
With that, Zhao Yi rolled his eyes and walked over to sit on the golden nanmu chair by the table, feeling utterly bored.
Yet, as Xie Zhiyan picked up a cup of light tea, watching the tea leaves float, he casually brushed them aside with the rim of the cup and said softly, “The future mistress of my Xie Mansion must naturally be a dignified, proper, and capable young lady from a noble family, skilled in managing a household.”
“There are plenty of dignified and virtuous noble ladies in the capital, but I haven’t seen any catch your eye?” Zhao Yi grumbled discontentedly.
Xie Zhiyan remained silent. At this moment, Pei Lie, sitting nearby, sighed with emotion and said, “In my humble opinion, the only one in the capital worthy of Lord Xie is the eldest daughter of the Jiang Family, Jiang Wanfu. It’s just a pity… she is already engaged to Young Marquis Xiao and will be married soon.”
“Is it because you fancy the eldest daughter of the Jiang Family and feel regretful?” Zhao Yi mercilessly exposed his thoughts.
Hearing this, Pei Lie’s face flushed with embarrassment, and he could only cough a few times to cover his awkwardness.
“Who are you talking about? Which eldest daughter of the Jiang Family?”
Suddenly, a familiar, clear voice came from outside the private room…
Everyone turned to look.
The newcomer was dressed in black robes, wearing a golden jade crown, with a dragon-patterned long hairpin holding up his jet-black hair. He was supremely noble, with a handsome face like an immortal descended to earth, yet his entire demeanor exuded an icy and aloof pride.
It was the current new emperor, Ji Wuyuan.
He walked in with a smile and sat down beside Xie Zhiyan, casually placing a hand on his shoulder in a familiar and natural gesture, as if it were a long-standing habit.
The other two present were not surprised by this.
The title of Emperor’s close minister was not earned for nothing.
“I just heard you discussing some eldest daughter of the Jiang Family. Has one of you taken a fancy to her? Would you like me to issue an imperial decree for a marriage?” Ji Wuyuan asked with a smile.