Fang Zhiruo listened carefully, and heard that the person who came had a low voice and a sense of laziness in his casualness. He seemed to be a young man.
"A-Miao." There was uncontrollable curiosity on her face, "Who is outside the door? They came to the paper mill to find you?"
Xie Miao touched her earlobe, wanting to pretend not to hear, "Ahem, someone I know."
As soon as she finished speaking, the footsteps outside were approaching, and Zhou Niannan even smiled in his voice, "Xie Miao, I heard your voice, are you in there?"
Fang Zhiruo looked at Xie Miao meaningfully, tut tut, it turned out to be A-Miao's peach blossom~
Xie Miao shook her head at her and quickly clarified, "Don't get me wrong, I have nothing to do with him."
Fang Zhiruo's face was full of disbelief, "Really?"
Xie Miao still wanted to explain, but Zhou Niannan couldn't wait any longer and knocked on the door, "Xie Miao, I finally took a day off, why don't you come out to see me."
Fang Zhiruo pushed Xie Miao, "Go quickly, otherwise my door will be knocked down."
Xie Miao had no choice but to stand up, and slowly open the door. She ignored Zhou Niannan's eyes that suddenly lit up, and asked coldly: "Why are you looking for me?"
Zhou Niannan closed the fan, took half a step forward, and said enthusiastically: "Xie Miao, how about I take you to Dengyun Pavilion to enjoy the scenery? You can see the most beautiful scenery in the whole capital there."
Dengyun Pavilion?
Xie Miao flatly refused: "I won't go."
"Don't like Dengyun Pavilion? Then let's go to Dongyang to tour the lake or go horse riding. Whichever you like, go to whichever one you like." Zhou Niannan was not discouraged at all. He talked a lot more confidently and stretched out his hand to hold Xie Miao.
Xie Miao slapped him away with a palm, and reminded him with a smile: "Third Young Master Zhou, a gentleman talks but never touches."
Zhou Niannan puffed out his chest and said quite proudly: "I am a reckless man and do not pay attention to the way of a gentleman."
...
Xie Miao was once again deeply impressed by his shamelessness. What's the old saying? A tree without bark will die without a doubt; a man unconcerned about saving his face is invincible.
She was convinced, really.
Baili Sheng poked his head out from behind him and said with a narrow smile: "Miss Xie, just promise him. When he heard you are here, he wished that he could have wings on his back and fly over, and the wheels of the carriage to run like fiery stars. "
The two of them had a perfect tacit understanding, singing together and not giving Xie Miao a chance to speak at all.
Fang Zhiruo could barely recover from the surprise of seeing Zhou Niannan for the first time. It's not strange that she lost her soul. It was because the young master's appearance was too extraordinary. She stabilized her mind, moved two steps, and approached Fu Lu by the door. She asked in a low voice, "Who is this?"
Fu Lu also whispered: "The Third Young Master of the Dingyuan Marquis family."
Fang Zhiruo was stunned: Who? Dingyuan Marquis? Is it the Marquis Dingyuan she knows? After thinking about it for a while, she realized that A-Miao is a cousin of the Cui family. With the status of the Cui family, it was normal for her to have contact with the Marquis family. She just didn't expect that the Third Young Master of the Dingyuan Marquis family would actually treat A-Miao...
Tsk tsk tsk.
Fang Zhiruo shut her mouth tightly and shrank into the corner with Fu Lu, watching the show in silence.
Zhou Niannan was used to being domineering. Even though he was aware of the attention of countless people around him, he didn't care. He only tried his best to be courteous to Xie Miao, "Xie Miao, choose one, hurry up."
"Choose none."
"Okay, if you don't choose, I will choose. Then horse riding." He said, "Do you want to ride by yourself, or should I carry you?"
"..." Xie Miao said, "Third Young Master Zhou, please wake up."
Zhou Niannan looked around with consternation, and when he saw everyone tightening their necks, he retracted his gaze with satisfaction. When he turned to Xie Miao, he showed the familiar smile again, "Qingyang has left the capital. As long as I am here, no one will dare to move against you."
"You are wrong, that's not the issue." Xie Miao said, "With or without her, my attitude will not change."
She was about to leave with a toss of sleeves. Zhou Niannan subconsciously wanted to stop her, but was pinned to the spot by her light words, "Zhou Niannan, that's enough. Don't make me hate you again."
Zhou Niannan felt lost for a moment. He couldn't help but follow each step with his feet. He retreated and said, "Then I'll take you back to Cui Mansion."
The rest of the people looked at each other as if they had seen ghosts during the day: It is agreed that the capital's devil incarnate is not afraid of anything, but where is the dandy little overlord? He is simply a humble Third Young Master Zhou, trying hard to please second-in-command, Master Xie!
*
Before taking two steps, Xie Miao suddenly stopped and looked at him sideways, "Did you mess up the paper mill's orders?"
Baili Sheng, who was flirting with Fang Zhiruo, immediately raised his hand to answer: "Miss Xie, Niannan ordered me to handle this matter!" So if you want to thank two people, you can't miss one!
Unexpectedly, these words backfired.
Fang Zhiruo's expression suddenly changed, and she said coldly: "In that case, I will return all the relevant orders. Our Shuxiang Papermaking Workshop cannot bear your kindness."
Baili Sheng scratched his head in confusion, wondering why she refused the kindness.
Zhou Niannan grinded his back molars, cursed an idiot in his mind, and chased Xie Miao to explain: "They are going to buy paper. There is no difference between buying it elsewhere and buying it here, so why should you go against the business?"
Xie Miao said: "I respect the mill master's decision."
Yes, this matter is finalized.
Zhou Niannan gave Baili Sheng a sideways glance and followed Xie Miao out of the small courtyard. Unexpectedly, as soon as she entered the corridor, Xie Miao paused and looked ahead silently.
Zhou Niannan looked around and saw Cui Xijun standing in the corridor. He didn't know how long she had been listening.
Cui Xijun held the other cuff with her left hand, which was deeply wrinkled, showing that she was trying her best to endure her emotions.
"Third Young Master Zhou." She forced out a smile, "Why are you with Xie Miao?"
After what happened at the Flower Festival Banquet, how could Zhou Niannan not understand Cui Xijun's charming thoughts towards him? Although he was surprised, he didn't care. There are so many people who like him, does he have to respond to them all? To put it bluntly, if it weren't for Cui Er's sake, he wouldn't bother to answer her question.
He didn't bother to hide his thoughts, "Because I want to."
Cui Xijun's figure swayed slightly, and she took half a step back as if she couldn't bear it. She said in disbelief: "You want?" Want to be with Xie Miao?
Zhou Niannan said: "Yes, is there a problem?"
Of course there is a problem!
Cui Xijun could not accept his sudden alienation. Although she knew in her heart that his amiability in the past was due to his friendship with her second brother, no matter what, the two of them had known each other since childhood and could be called childhood friends.
Is the friendship between childhood friends not as good as Xie Miao, an outsider who interferes with her?
Cui Xijun was aggrieved and angry, but she did not dare to act wildly against Zhou Niannan. She habitually vented her anger on Xie Miao, "Xie Miao, you have no shame!"
The person involved, Xie Miao, was in a calm mood, but Zhou Niannan frowned and said displeasedly: "Third Miss Cui, where is your etiquette?"
Cui Xijun was so angry that she spoke volubly, "After she came to Cui Mansion, she only wanted to curry favour with my second brother, and pretended in front of him every day. Have you forgotten? You were also disgusted with her pretentiousness at the beginning, and you often ridiculed her for wanting to climb high. Laughing at her for overestimating her abilities——"
"Cui Xijun!" Zhou Niannan wanted to cover her mouth with a cloth, "Shut up!" He hurriedly said to Xie Miao: "I have changed my mind and become a new person. We have agreed that the previous things will be wiped out. We're not allowed to settle old scores."
In the chaos, Xie Miao just wanted to find a place to sit down and watch the show, and even wanted to crack some melon seeds.
Young people have so much drama.
Her inconsequential attitude made Cui Xijun even more depressed. The petite Third Young Lady stomped her feet three times - pointed at her - and said reluctantly: "Xie Miao, you must give me an explanation, otherwise you don't even think about stepping into the door of Cui's house!"
When Zhou Niannan heard this, he clapped his hands and said, "It would be better not to go back to Cui's house, but to enter my Dingyuan Marquis Mansion in advance."
Xie Miao glared at him warningly, "Zhou Niannan." You shut up, you!
Zhou Niannan shrugged resentfully and spread his hands, "Okay, I'll shut up."
Seeing Zhou Niannan listening to Xie Miao's words so much, Cui Xijun's head almost smoked, "Third Young Master Zhou, your father is the Marquis of Dingyuan and your aunt is the Empress. Why do you have to get involved with her! Don't you know that she comes from a humble background!"
Xie Miao finally reacted. She smiled and shook her head at Cui Xijun, "Cui Xijun, it seems the Princess Qingyang affair hasn't taught you a lesson yet."
Cui Xijun realized that she had made a mistake and hurriedly covered her mouth. Guilt replaced anger and rushed over her.
She didn't...she is quick to talk...
Xie Miao looked distant and looked at her with a strange look, "People are divided into three, six or nine grades, so can those in high positions be arrogant and treat the common people as ants? Not to mention that the peace, honour, and glory of Cui Mansion was accumulated by your ancestors for generations. As for old Taifu Cui, as the Emperor's Taifu, he was a great scholar in the dynasty, a person of high moral standards yet humble and open-minded. But you have no fame and achievement, yet you have humiliated me time and time again because of my humble background."
"Cui Xijun, without the halo of family status, you are no different from me, but with the halo of family status, you are nothing more than that." Her face had light ridicule and she was adept at using expressions to counterattack, "That day I shouldn't have stopped Princess Qingyang from slapping you in the face. After all, she is a member of the royal family, and in terms of status, she is much more noble than you. "
Cui Xijun was scolded stupidly. Since entering Cui Mansion, Xie Miao has been swallowing her anger. How has she ever been so sharp-tongued?
She finally got a taste of what Princess Qingyang felt like during the Flower Festival Banquet. She was embarrassed, ashamed, and angry, but couldn't refute. She looked at Zhou Niannan as if asking for help, but saw him tilting his head, looking even more guilty than she did.
...That's right. Fundamentally, there is not much difference between them.
Everyone in the paper mill hid in the dark and watched the show with bated breath. Xie Miao glanced sideways, and they immediately turned their heads, pretending to be busy as if nothing had happened, except for a pair of ears standing high.
Is the quarrel not noisy?
Xie Miao had no intention of being watched, so before leaving she said: "Zhou Niannan, don't waste your time on me."
Thin tree roots seemed to grow under Zhou Niannan's feet, breaking through the hard floor tiles and digging firmly into the soil, making it difficult for him to move forward.
Cui Xijun's words instantly brought him back to his original form. He was disgusted with her contempt for Xie Miao, but a closer look at the past revealed that he had simply gone too far, even asking for marriage with a condescending charity. His mother scolded him for being stupid, saying that those who are rich should be benevolent and those in power should respect the people. Even if you are born noble, it does not mean you can trample on others' self-esteem at will.
What did he do? From the first time they met, he abruptly asked her for personal belongings, to later, maliciously targeting her. He slandered her indiscriminately, and self-righteously asked her to marry...
He looked at a locust tree planted outside the corridor, feeling in a trance, not knowing what to do with himself.
After Xie Miao left, Cui Xijun could finally breathe freely. She ignored the shame, and with some uneasy joy, she mustered up the courage to say: "Third Young Master Zhou, I have no other meaning in saying those words. I just, just think that you deserve a better woman."
"A better woman?"
The light and shadow in the corridor were clear, showing a layer of impatience on his face, "Third Miss Cui, you made a mistake. It's not that whoever is good can be liked by me, but whoever I like is the best."
In his heart, Xie Miao is the best, incomparably better.
*
The first thing Cui Xijun did after returning home was to rush to find someone to complain.
Cui Muli had just returned from the Ministry of Justice, and he was forced to listen to Cui Xijun's crying without even changing out of his official uniform. He took off his official hat and put it on the desk. He took a cup of tea at a suitable temperature, and used the tea lid to skim off the foam. After taking a break from his thoughts that had been running all day, he relaxed his shoulders a little.
The news has spread, just waiting for someone to take the bait.
Cui Xijun was sobbing next to his ears. He listened absently and was distracted by thinking about the details.
Cui Xijun cried and talked a lot, half of her handkerchief was stained, without hearing Cui Muli's comfort. She quietly raised her eyes and saw that he was holding his forehead with one hand, his long eyelashes covering his eyes, and his mind was wandering around the world long ago.
"..." Cui Xijun stood up with a slap on the table, "Second Brother, are you listening to me?"
Cui Muli responded: "En, I'm listening."
Cui Muli's perfunctory attitude made Cui Xijun furious and she circled around him, "Second Brother, Xie Miao and I really can't get along, aren't you going to do something?"
Cui Muli asked: "What do you want me to do?"
Cui Xijun dug her fingernails into her palms, and pondered for a long time. Then she clapped her hands and said, "Can you send her back to Pingjiang? Her surname is Xie, and she has nothing to do with our Cui family. We gave her four years of fine clothes and jade. She is sixteen years old, which is a good age to get married. Tell father to go to Pingjiang to find a decent marriage for her..."
Cui Muli said: "Xijun, she is mother's niece."
"Mother is going to have her own child soon, how can she care about her?" The more Cui Xijun thought about it, the more reliable it was. Her mood turned from rainy to sunny, "Second Brother, that's it. You go find father tomorrow -"
Cui Muli interrupted her, "I'm afraid it won't be what you want."
Cui Xijun was stunned, "Ah? Why not?"
Cui Muli said: "Because I yearn for Xie Miao and want to marry her."