Chapter 898: w.a.n.g Shengxue Must Have Ulterior Motives!
When there was no sound at the door, Yan Xi opened it with a frown. Seeing a young servant standing there, he was on alert immediately.
The servant took one step forward and said respectfully, "Childe Yan, my master invites you for a meeting!"
"Who is your master?" Yan Xi asked. He looked the servant up and down and became more cautious when he found he did not know this servant.
"Our master was the Fifth Miss Shao and is Princess Chen now. She wants to ask you something. Childe Yan, please come with me!" the servant replied. He was w.a.n.g Feng, Nanny Yu"s son. As Shao Wanru returned to Marquis Xing"s Mansion, w.a.n.g Feng came with her. He usually worked in the outer court and inquired about some news there.
"Fifth Miss Shao?" Yan Xi frowned and said, "I think it"s improper for a man and a woman to talk privately!"
"Don"t worry, Childe Yan. You will just exchange a few words. No one will criticize that!" w.a.n.g Feng explained with a smile.
"So we will pretend to meet by chance?
"Indeed, this will not arouse suspicion. Moreover, she has a servant girl accompanying her. It is because of this Fifth Miss Shao that I could find out about the affair between Miss Zhao and w.a.n.g Shengxue. Could it be that the Fifth Miss Shao wants to give me some advice again? Inexplicably, I think she is trustworthy."
Thinking of this, he nodded and followed w.a.n.g Feng to the garden of Marquis Xing"s Mansion.
The garden of Marquis Xing"s Mansion was in the inner court, and men outside were not allowed to enter. But Yan Xi was different. He had been living in Marquis Xing"s Mansion. Old Madam had once said that if he was tired of learning, he could go for a walk in the garden. Therefore, it was not abrupt for him to go there. The old maid at Chuihua Gate smiled and let him enter.
w.a.n.g Feng did not enter the inner court. He only showed Yan Xi the way and then returned to the outer court.
It was normal for Yan Xi to enter the garden alone, but if he was accompanied by w.a.n.g Feng, servant of the Mansion, that would be strange.
Yan Xi entered the garden and walked forward casually. Not long after, he met Shao Wanru also strolling in the garden. He bowed to her respectfully.
He was indeed grateful to this Fifth Miss Shao.
"Childe Yan, you are too polite. Is there any reason that makes others plot against you?" Shao Wanru smiled and asked directly because they did not have much time together.
"When w.a.n.g Shengxue takes action, he must have ulterior motives!"
"I"m just an ordinary scholar and I don"t think I have anything coveted by others!" Yan Xi shook his head and blurted out. In fact, he had been thinking about this question these days. He thought that he had nothing coveted by w.a.n.g Shengxue. Why did w.a.n.g Shengxue target him?
"Since it is not because of Childe Yan yourself, it must be your family. w.a.n.g Shengxue used to have a very bad relations.h.i.+p with my Second Uncle. Originally, w.a.n.g was not allowed to enter Marquis Xing"s Mansion, but that day, I saw him enter the Mansion with no servant coming to stop him."
Shao Wanru told Yan Xi calmly and looked at his face. She could tell that Yan Xi was not the same kind of person as w.a.n.g Shengxue. When they met, Yan Xi did not look at her casually. He just glanced at her when bowing just now. He was well-behaved.
Shao Wanru could tell whether he was truly well-mannered or not at a glance.
"My family?" Yan Xi"s heart skipped a beat but he was also thinking about another thing. "Does Marquis Xing know what w.a.n.g Shengxue has done?"
Since w.a.n.g Shengxue had quarreled with Marquis Xing before, he should not be allowed to enter Marquis Xing"s Mansion anymore. However, no one stopped him now. Even though sometimes Yan Xi could tell that the servants in the Mansion looked down upon w.a.n.g, no one drove him away. He could come and go freely in Marquis Xing"s Mansion.
His heart twitched and his eyes widened suddenly. "Could it be possible that the affair between w.a.n.g Shengxue and Miss Zhao has something to do with Marquis Xing?"
Thinking that Marquis Xing, who had always been kind to him, was plotting against him in secret, Yan Xi felt inexplicably uncomfortable and could not believe it. "How could Marquis Xing be such kind of person? I must be wrong!"
However, things that he had never doubted in the past now became suspicious.
"Childe Yan, think about it carefully. Is there anyone who wants to plot against you or your family? Otherwise, w.a.n.g Shengxue will not target you. As for other things, you"d better check them out. The Palace Examination is incoming. At this time, you can"t make any mistakes. It"s very easy for imperial censors of the Censorate to hear some news, especially about reputation!"
Seeing that Yan Xi was deep in thought, Shao Wanru knew that it was enough. She gave him another suggestion, and then bowed slightly and turned to leave.
Yan Xi stepped aside and looked at Shao Wanru"s back. His face darkened. Had he really forgotten something?
"What makes w.a.n.g Shengxue plot against me?"
Money? It was impossible. Although he had given Miss Zhao some money, it was not that much. He didn"t bring a lot of money when he came to the capital city, so he didn"t have much spare money.
But if it wasn"t because of money, then what was the reason? Did it have anything to do with his incoming Palace Examination?
Yan Xi wanted to stop Fifth Miss Shao from leaving, but inexplicably he couldn"t open his mouth and could only see her back disappearing from view.
This matter was very strange. He had to find out more about it.
He turned around and decisively went to the outer court. Originally, he didn"t care about w.a.n.g Shengxue and Miss Zhao and didn"t want to inquire about anything. But now he felt that it was better to check it out; otherwise, the consequences would be grave.
Since Shao Wanru had given him suggestions before, he believed in her now.
The old maid guarding Chuihua Gate saw he left very soon, but she didn"t pay much attention to him and just bowed slightly. "The scholar is strange. As soon as he has inspiration, he must go back to study."
The old maid was not a scholar. She did not understand where the inspiration came from and why it could happen at any time.
Arriving at the outer court, Yan Xi called his servant and a carriage from Marquis Xing"s Mansion. He asked the coachman to head to Miss Zhao"s courtyard situated at the city gate. This time, he must find out what was going on and what they were after.
The carriage forged ahead. After making a few turns, it arrived at the back door of Miss Zhao"s courtyard.
Yan Xi and his servant jumped out of the carriage. He asked the carriage to return first and didn"t need to wait for him since he still had something to do later.
The coachman just nodded and drove the carriage away. He didn"t find anything strange.
Yan Xi looked around and saw the tree beside Shao Wanru"s carriage that day. He immediately climbed up the tree and climbed over the wall with his servant.
He was born in a family of military officers. Therefore, although he didn"t learn about kung fu, his physical fitness was much better than that of ordinary people.
The servant was also a nimble person. After entering, he lent Yan Xi a hand. The two sneaked in the courtyard quietly.
The yard was empty, and there were no outsiders. Only Miss Zhao and her servant girls lived here. In fact, this place was rented temporarily by Yan Xi because he pitied this Miss Zhao before.
The door of the main room was ajar. He heard voices coming from inside, not only a woman"s voice but also a man"s voice.
After getting closer, he could hear the man"s voice clearly. That was w.a.n.g Shengxue. As expected, he came to Miss Zhao after leaving Marquis Xing"s Mansion.
Yan Xi and his servant crept to the window and stood by it, listening to what was happening inside.
It was already Spring and the flowers were blooming. Two windows of the room were wide open and happened to block Yan Xi and his servant hiding by each side. They could listen to what was happening without being noticed by people inside.
The sobbing voice of the woman inside sounded quite touching and pitiful. It was Miss Zhao"s voice. Normally, her voice sounded more graceful, but now it was delicate and sweet.
"Okay, okay, don"t cry. My sweetie, don"t be upset. Everything"s gonna be okay!" w.a.n.g Shengxue comforted Miss Zhao. Yan Xi and the servant couldn"t see what was happening inside, but judging from the sound, they could tell that the two must act improperly.
w.a.n.g Shengxue once said that he already had two concubines, but now he had an affair with Miss Zhao.
"What should we do now? If he doesn"t take the bait… and doesn"t come now, how can we continue our plan?" Miss Zhao sobbed. Her eyes were slightly red, which made w.a.n.g Shengxue"s heart itch even more. He couldn"t help kissing her fair face and red lips.
They moaned and whimpered. Even though Yan Xi didn"t see it, he could imagine such a scene in his mind. He was so angry that his face turned pale. Of course, it was not because he cared about Miss Zhao, but because he heard what they said and knew that they joined forces to plot against him. He was in a rage.
If it weren"t for hearing what they were talking about more clearly, he would have rushed in and beaten them.
After a while, they stopped kissing. Miss Zhao leaned against w.a.n.g Shengxue"s arms as if she had no bones. She was breathless and her clothes became messy.
"This… this is not good. My sister will be angry!" Miss Zhao said gently with a hint of affection and anger in her watery eyes, which fl.u.s.tered w.a.n.g Shengxue. He reached into her clothes and said, "What"s wrong with this? After this matter is over, you should also marry me. It"s a good thing for both of you sisters to become my women!"
"But, my sister… won"t agree. She… she will hit me…" Miss Zhao said softly with tears in her eyes.
"It doesn"t matter if she disagrees. She is just a concubine. If she doesn"t agree, I will let her go home. Now, I only like you, and I care about you the most!" w.a.n.g Shengxue coaxed her, which made Miss Zhao feel happy. She didn"t stop his moving hands in her clothes. She just made eyes at and leaned against him shyly.
"But… but what should we do now? Yan Xi is not easy to be fooled!" Miss Zhao said worriedly.
Speaking of this matter, w.a.n.g Shengxue was no longer in the mood. He pulled his hand back and said angrily, "This Yan Xi doesn"t know how to appreciate my kindness. He even didn"t care about such a great beauty as you. Does he want a princess or a queen?"