Chapter 11

Never thought that his master would also have a day when the iron tree blossoms.

As the personal attendant of the eldest son of the Xie family, Jinglian naturally had a very high level of cultivation. Even though his heart was in turmoil, his face remained calm.

With a gentle expression, he stepped forward and stood in front of Xie Yun, respectfully reporting, “Young Master, Fifth Highness has already left.”

Sang Yao was standing by Xie Yun’s side, the young girl was bending over, patting the dust off her skirt. With each movement, a faint familiar fragrance seemed to drift over, reminding him of earlier.

Xie Yun frowned, becoming more and more annoyed.

“Stop moving,” he ordered in a low voice.

Sang Yao’s movements paused. Was he talking to her?

Confused, she raised her head, meeting the man’s impatient gaze. It turned out he really was talking to her.

She was displeased, her little face drooping. “Why?”

But at this moment, Sang Yao calmed down a bit. Her respect and fear of Xie Yun prevailed over her anger at being pinched on the buttocks. She couldn’t afford to insult this big shot in front of her like she did before.

Moreover, facing Xie Yun’s cold face that was unfriendly to strangers, she really couldn’t imagine that this man secretly admired her. Every time she saw him, she couldn’t help but feel afraid, her mind filled with thoughts of not offending him, as her father still needed to rely on him.

But that fragrance still lingered.

Xie Yun’s elbow rested on the table, forcibly suppressing his annoyance.

Sang Yao stood stiffly for a long time, the room silent with no one speaking. She couldn’t help but sneak a glance at Xie Yun.

And she just happened to meet the man’s scrutinizing gaze.

Sang Yao was frightened and quickly averted her gaze. How could he be sneaking a peek at her!

Jinglian stood by, his gaze shifting back and forth between his master and Sang Yao, feeling pleased. What are you two secretly communicating with your eyes?

After a while, Xie Yun finally spoke, “Did your father send you here?”

Top of Form

To be honest, Xie Yun really didn’t believe that Sang Yao’s appearance here was just a coincidence. If it were someone else, he could easily conclude that it was intentional, just a little trick she staged herself.

But now, looking at the girl in front of him with all her thoughts written on her face, he couldn’t convince himself that this silly and naive girl had such meticulous thoughts.

Sang Yao sighed, Xie Yun’s unclear question made her guess and answer, “…to attend the Qiansui Banquet? My sister asked me to come.”

Forget it, there’s no need to ask further.

Xie Yun ignored her.

Seeing the atmosphere turn silent, he spoke timely, asking, “Miss Sang suddenly visited, is there something you need?”

Sang Yao, not daring to say that she had just seen such a subversive scene, lowered her head nervously, “Nothing much…”

Xie Yun: “So, did you think climbing through the window was fun just now?”

Of course not, she’s not a child.

She denied, “I didn’t.”

She hmphed softly and muttered, “…how would I know you were inside? If I knew, I wouldn’t have run in this direction. I wouldn’t want to see you even if you wanted to see me.”

Xie Yun closed his eyes, not wanting to know what she was muttering. Today was definitely the day he spoke the most to women.

He said directly, “Shut up.”

“…” Sang Yao shut up.

He’s so fierce.

He’s really annoying.

Sang Yao tightened the red jade in her hand and glanced at the man sitting quietly there, silently thinking in her heart, with a man like this, if anyone marries him in the future, they’ll be unlucky for eight lifetimes.

He still secretly admires her like this?

Fortunately, he didn’t say it out loud. If he did, she would definitely reject him fiercely!

Sang Yao was angry.

After holding it in for a long time, she decided to throw a tantrum to make Xie Yun regret it.

So, she hmphed softly and then said stubbornly, “Then I’ll leave first.”

After speaking, without waiting for Xie Yun’s response, she lifted her skirt and swaggered out.

The room fell silent.

Xie Yun finally felt a little relaxed. He stood up and said lightly, “Back to the mansion.”

Jinglian followed behind Xie Yun, reminding him, “Master, Miss Sang seems to be angry.”

Xie Yun: “Oh, what does that have to do with me?”

Jinglian didn’t say anything.

He thought coldly, his master would end up lonely for the rest of his life, it was his own choice, no one should pity him.

The two walked out of the room together, the forest lush and green, rarely visited by people.

However, not far away, Sang Yao, who had already walked a distance, was walking back with her skirt held up.

The master and servant both stopped in their tracks at the same time.

After a while, the figure in lotus pink, who had just walked out aggressively, stopped in front of the two again.

The returning girl was slightly out of breath, a faint blush on her snow-white cheeks, the shawl draped over her shoulders had already fallen to her arms, her eyes showing a bit of enticement.

The atmosphere was somewhat awkward, Sang Yao suppressed her embarrassment and asked in a calm manner, “The… the way out of the palace, which way is it again?”

…

After a moment of silence in the atmosphere.

Observing Xie Yun’s expression, Jinglian smiled kindly and boldly spoke up:

“So, Miss Sang is leaving the palace. My young master is also returning to the mansion. Why don’t we go together?”

Xie Yun did not voice any opposition.

Sang Yao really didn’t know the way, she had never been here before. With a slightly awkward expression, she muttered a response.

Then she went around Xie Yun and followed behind Jinglian.

But her actions seemed a bit deliberate.

Trying to cover up.

Xie Yun glanced at her without a trace, too lazy to bother with her.

The three of them walked in silence, initially it was normal, until they left the imperial garden, where more palace attendants could be seen.

Especially today, the Qiansui Banquet, many ministers were staying in the palace. As Sang Yao walked, she felt more eyes on her.

Xie Yun had always stayed away from women. Everyone was used to his cold demeanor, but today, he was accompanied by a charming and beautiful young lady.

What was even more surprising was that Xie Yun seemed to be in a tacit agreement, showing no signs of displeasure.

Sang Yao felt extremely uncomfortable. She could even hear some people whispering about them.

But Xie Yun seemed to have no reaction at all. Feeling more and more uncomfortable, after stealing countless glances at Xie Yun, the man finally couldn’t help but speak, “Speak.”

Sang Yao kept pace with him and whispered, “…did you notice, a lot of people are watching us.”

Xie Yun: “It’s all because of you.”

Sang Yao pouted, feeling unhappy again, “What does it have to do with me?”

Of course, it had something to do with her. Who asked her to stand so close to him, and he could smell that fragrance again.

Just as Xie Yun was about to speak, a young eunuch hurried over. His gaze quickly swept over Sang Yao’s face and then stopped at Xie Yun’s side, saying, “Lord Xie, Minister Li invites you to the Wen Yuan Pavilion for a chat.” He paused and added, “Elder Xie is also there.”

If I remember correctly, the Wen Yuan Pavilion seems to be in the palace.

It seemed that Xie Yun couldn’t take her out of the palace.

She stood behind Xie Yun, and suddenly realized that this Minister Li was the father of Li Yao Ge.

She glanced around. There were plenty of palace maids and eunuchs here. She could just ask one of them for directions and it would be fine.

Xie Yun followed the young eunuch out, but after a few steps, he stopped.

The young eunuch said, “Lord Xie?”

Xie Yun pursed his lips and glanced back at Sang Yao. Sang Yao felt that his gaze was disdainful, as if he thought she was stupid.

Then she heard Xie Yun say, “You, take her out of the palace.”

The young eunuch was stunned for a moment, then respectfully replied, “Yes.”

After Xie Yun left, only Sang Yao and the young eunuch were left.

Sang Yao said, “It’s okay, just point me in the right direction, and I’ll find my own way out.”

Sang Yao had a beautiful oval face, different from the current trend of slimness. She was relatively plump and graceful, making her look very soft and cute, softening the aggressiveness that came with such a beautiful appearance.

Because of this, her beauty became even more captivating, but those who wanted to avoid desire would also avoid anything related to beauty and desire.

The young eunuch often served by Minister Li’s side and knew about Xie Yun and Li Yao Ge, so he didn’t like Sang Yao.

He thought to himself, maybe she attracted Xie Yun’s attention with her unique beauty.

Using beauty to manipulate others is truly shameless.

He felt a bit of contempt in his heart and asked, “Miss, are you…”

Sang Yao honestly replied, “My name is Sang Yao.” Afraid that the young eunuch wouldn’t know, she added, “My father works in the Ministry of Justice.”

The young eunuch nodded, not very interested. He then asked, “Are you good friends with Lord Xie?”

Sang Yao said, “No, I just got lost in the palace, and Lord Xie kindly showed me the way.”

So, she used this trick. No wonder Xie Yun couldn’t refuse. If she insisted on following him, there was nothing he could do.

He chuckled and said, “Miss is indeed clever.”

Sang Yao frowned slightly, not understanding what he meant, but that didn’t stop her from disliking the tone of the young eunuch talking to her.

“…Just point me in the right direction.”

After getting a general idea and confirming that there was no connection between Sang Yao and Xie Yun, the young eunuch didn’t want to waste any more time on Sang Yao. He stopped and roughly pointed in a direction, saying, “Just go straight, Miss.”

Sang Yao softly thanked him.

Luckily, the palace gate wasn’t far from here, and she didn’t walk for long.

Her mind was in a mess, thinking about a bunch of things.

She couldn’t understand why Xie Yun, who clearly liked her, had to pretend to be so cold. Although the manual said it was because he was afraid his feelings would be noticed, he seemed to be pretending too much.

After a while, she thought again, today seemed to be the day she talked the most with Xie Yun.

The Sang family’s carriage was parked outside the palace gate. Sang Yao walked for about the time it takes to burn an incense stick before she walked out of the palace gate. She saw her family’s carriage parked in the distance and couldn’t help but quicken her pace.

She wanted to get home quickly, so her movements were a bit urgent. After getting on the carriage, she reached out to pull open the curtain, about to bend over and go in–

A warm and smiling face appeared inside. He stared at her face and said gently, “Miss Sang, we meet again.”

Sang Yao silently tightened the red jade in her hand.