Again, unedited by prisma. I’m just too tired after work to do much, and I want to enjoy my weekends!
Chapter 30: Persistent? Give Up?
Bai Xi was wondering how this man"s chest seemed to be made of iron. Why was it that after every instance where she encountered him, she was the one who got hurt? And that man not only made no sound, he stood in the same place fully composed. A moment later, she raised her head to meet a familiar pair of gold eyes. What did he say? She had to wait for him here every day?
Feng Ming didn"t give Bai Xi the opportunity to speak, handing over some books from goodness knows where. "Memorise it today."
Bai Xi had been astounded by his words time and time again. She took the book and flipped it over. Fortunately, it didn"t look very thick or difficult, so memorising the book in one day shouldn"t be hard. Only, why was she listening to him?
When she was about to raise her head to speak, she felt a breeze above her head, followed closely by the jingling of a pearl hairpin. An indifferent voice again muttered into Bai Xi"s ear, "Unsightly."
Just before Bai Xi could erupt, Feng Ming had already turned to leave. She had nowhere to vent her anger.
"Young Miss… This… Are you okay?" Mu Qiu, who was standing 100 metres away, saw that her family"s young miss"s hairpin hairpin had fallen to the ground. With her young miss"s beautiful hair getting loose, she quickly ran over to her side, worried.
"Young Miss Bai Xi, I think master said that the hairpin that fell to the ground is unsightly," Qing Wu carefully explained. He was deeply afraid that Bai Xi would no longer care for is family"s master.
Bai Xi looked down at the hairpin at her feet. Her eyes finally focussed on the broken hairpin. Her anger gradually faded away and her expression calmed down.
"Mu Qiu, we"re returning to the residence." It seems that in this age of imperial power, it was still the era of the weak are the prey of the strong. If you wanted to survive, you had to be strong. If she wanted to become stronger, she first needed to train herself. For now, she had to admit that Feng Ming was indeed a strong person. She believed that she could certainly learn a lot from him and then she could gradually get stronger.
Qing Wu saw that Bai Xi had turned to leave and he wanted to say something, but a faint voice from the courtyard interrupted him. "Climb the left wall to return. Furthermore, if you wish to return later on, you will have to climb the wall. The main door will not open for you."
These words not only surprised Bai Xi, but even Qing Wu was dumbfounded. What happened to master today? Why did he feel that this was a bit odd?
"Young Miss…" Mu Qiu glanced at the five-person tall wall and immediately took back her thoughts. His Excellency, The Ice Lord originally didn"t like the young miss, or else why would he ask the young miss to climb the wall to go over? To only be able to climb the wall to go over… This is clearly…"
"Go." Hmph. The wall wasn"t even 6 metres high. This kind of height was not something that would deter her.
Mu Qiu was dumbfounded. Why was the young miss listening to His Excellency, The Ice Lord"s words? While she was surprised, Bai Xi had already jumped and sat on the wall.
"Young Miss Bai Xi, I will help Little Qiu Qiu." Qing Wu smiled. He finally understood that his master"s initial impression of Young Miss Bai Xi was correct and that this wall would not pose a problem for her.
Bai Xi nodded her head. After she turned to jump down, Mu Qiu had already been safely delivered to her side by Qing Wu.
"Young Miss, this wall should be next to Young Miss"s courtyard."
Xi Yuan? Bai Xi was shocked. In half a day, they had not only become neighbours, but neighbours separated by a wall. That explains why he said she could only climb the wall in the future. This method was not only faster and more convenient when compared to entering through the main door, but also would decrease the rumours. However, she doesn"t know what that man is thinking. It must be for his own benefit.
In another side room
After Bai Yu Jie returned from the imperial palace, although his expression was gentle, he was emitting a cold aura. Actually, this cold aura is a result of him seeing the two words "Feng Residence". Additionally, while he was returning, he heard rumours concerning Bai Xi and Feng Ming and his heart constricted, causing him to feel uncomfortable.
Is it that the more afraid he was of it happening, the more likely it will happen? Even though he didn"t believe the rumours, but he was still a little afraid. In fact, when it comes to fear, this sort of feeling had existed long before. After Bai Xi was attacked by an a.s.sa.s.sin, he never felt relaxed.
As he thought about it, he walked towards Xi Yuan. However, he was only halfway there when someone blocked him and said in a loud voice, "Jie"r, can dad talk to you?"
Bai Yu Jie nodded his head and the two people walked away from Xi Yuan. Along the way, the two of them didn"t speak, not wanting to be the first to open their mouth. It was only when they reached the octagonal pavilion did Bai Jin Hang finally say, "Jie"r, are you going to get married and establish a courtyard?"
"Why is dad asking this?" Bai Yu Jie didn"t look at Bai Jin Hang, rather focussing his attention on the scenery outside the pavilion.
"Grandfather has already chosen a woman for you. Dad has also already seen her. In terms of her family background and how she conducts herself, she is very suitable for you. Your mum also likes her very much. This woman is the daughter of General Rong."
"Dad, how do you know she suits me1?" While Bai Yu Jie spoke, he had already retracted his gaze and looked at Bai Jin Hang, who was sitting across from him.
"You ought to have faith in grandfather"s eyes."
"If I say that I already have a woman who I admire?"
Bai Jin Hang looked away and said faintly, "If you want to say that person is Xi"r, then dad advises you to abandon that idea."
Bai Yu Jie glared slightly but then quickly composed himself. "Since dad already knows my thoughts, why would you want to force me to marry that woman? Doesn"t dad wish that Xi"r can stay at the Bai residence forever? Yet, was the way dad treated Xi"r in recent years a lie? Does grandfather also think like this?"
"Nonsense! Xi"r is dad"s most beloved daughter and father"s most beloved granddaughter. She is also your younger sister. This fact will never change," Bai Jin Hang angrily rebuked.
"But she isn"t dad"s biological daughter, right? And she is not my younger sister." From the moment he knew her ident.i.ty, he controlled his heart. Even though he knew of their real relationship, the fact that she was his younger sister was already established, and so he could only hide his thoughts deep in his heart.
"Yes and no, but this is not important. What is important is that Xi"r is dad"s daughter, grandfather"s granddaughter, and your younger sister. Furthermore, you shouldn"t forget that the blood flowing through Xi"r is the blood of the Bai family. This will never change. Dad urges you to forget about those thoughts. You ought to know that those people have already started to doubt Xi"r"s ident.i.ty. If you want Xi"r to live safely, you should forget that Xi"r is not your biological younger sister."
After Bai Jin Hang finished speaking, he looked at his son, who was lost in thought. He inwardly sighed and left. He didn"t want the two children to be together. If so, then Xi"r"s ident.i.ty would be revealed and would be a disaster for Xi"r. Compared to this, he hopes that Xi"r can live a happy and safe life, which is also what his father wishes.
1.Here he addresses himself as "son/child", so it"d be more like "how do you know she suits son?" but "me" flows better.↩