Chapter 10: Confession

  "What? Sister." Xie Ling raised her head, the light outside the door shone on her sister's jade-like face, perhaps because of too much worry, at a young age she had already gained a few years of old age, unlike her, who was always carefree and at ease...

  Transcendent girls always have golden fingers, Xie Ling deeply believed that as long as her own brilliance continued to envelop her sister, her sister would solve all her problems for her - wasn't the calamity that had befallen them today also resolved by her sister?

  "You... you..." Xie Yan struggled to find the right words, but couldn't think of any suitable ones, and her face flushed with a red glow.

  Xie Ling chuckled and said: "What's wrong? Are you going to confess to me, sister?"

  "Not... " Xie Yan raised her head to glance at the sky outside the door, biting her lip, and finally said: "Ling'er, what's going on with that commander?"

  "Commander?" Xie Ling blinked, then understood that Xie Yan was referring to the handsome guy. Her face turned red with embarrassment, and she leaned in close to Xie Yan's ear, saying: "He's so handsome, sis! I don't want to marry that cousin of ours who's a scholar-official anymore. Can you think of a way for me to marry him instead?"

  "Ah?" Xie Yan heard this and was shocked, her eyes wide with astonishment.

  "Is it okay? Sister, I'm begging you, I don't want that cousin anymore. He may look good, but he's not flavorful enough. I want this one... sister, I'm begging you..." Xie Ling pulled on Xie Wan's sleeve, pouting like she did when she was little, her eyebrows curving into a pleading expression - as long as she acted cute, no matter how difficult the task, her sister would help her out.

  Xie Yan fell silent for a long time, her slender eyebrows slightly furrowed, and she lightly scolded: "Don't be ridiculous, the Brocade Guard is our family's arch-nemesis. Neither Grandma nor Father would agree to it. Moreover, this person has a sinister heart and is by no means a good person. I absolutely won't permit it."

  "Sister..." Xie Ling bit her lip, her eyes brimming with tears as she said: "I knew Grandma and Father wouldn't agree, that's why I'm asking you... this is my greatest wish, can you help me?"

  Xie Yan's face sank, and she shook her head decisively: "Absolutely impossible!" After a pause, feeling that her tone was too heavy, she softened her voice to persuade: "Ling'er, your brother-in-law is of good character and has a bright future, he's the perfect husband for you, don't be foolish, this is..."

  Such a fierce man came to take her home, after just going through such a thrilling night, and then her sister suddenly told her that she was going to marry him????

  Xie Yan can no longer understand this collapsing logic...

  "Actually, your brother likes you." Xie Ling rolled her eyes and said, "Do I look like an idiot who can't see that?" She huffed and turned her face away, but her sister still wouldn't admit it to herself. Her golden fingers were twisted in frustration, what a spoiler!

  "Don't worry, sister, Big Brother is a decent person, and I didn't exchange any private words with him." Xie Yan explained seriously.

  "Of course, you're serious about him, and he's serious about you, I won't suspect that there's anything between you two. But the way he looks at you is different from how he looks at me, sis. He likes you, not me. Didn't you see his expression? It was like he'd lost his soul, almost as if he was mourning... I'm going..." Xie Ling saw that her sister wasn't willing to play matchmaker, so she just spoke her mind directly. Actually, if she hadn't met Chang Qing, that scholar cousin wouldn't be bad either. But now that she had a new love interest, the cousin wasn't good enough anymore.

  "Don't talk nonsense..." Xie Yun saw her sister speaking so shamelessly and angrily said: "We've grown up together since childhood, we know each other inside out. What kind of person is our brother-in-law? You still don't know? Don't even mention it, I absolutely won't help you with this matter, it's simply... absurd!" Before she finished speaking, suddenly someone at the door said "Young Miss..."

  She raised her head and saw several aunts walking in. Xie Xian glared at Xie Ling, then walked forward...

  Xie Ling gazed at her sister's back, sighed, and knew that her mother and those old-fashioned people would not agree. But as for her sister... of course, with that stubborn personality, she wouldn't agree at first either. However, it didn't matter; she could slowly wear her down until her sister's heart softened - after all, Xie Ling had never lost in this aspect!

  Thinking of this, her heart calmed down again. Seeing Xie Yan busy arranging the wet nurses, she felt a bit bored and walked to the corner of the wall, sat in front of the low table, and yawned. She hadn't slept well last night because she was worried about her sister, so why not go take a nap? She stood up, but suddenly remembered Sun Shi's detestable face and scrunched up her nose before sitting back down again.

  White Lotus!

  Detestable White Lotus, why doesn't she just die? My sister shouldn't have saved her, let her be... dead and done with it.

  Just then, I saw Sister Xu carrying a lunch box from outside and walking in. She said loudly: "Miss, this is breakfast." As she spoke, she walked to the middle of the main hall and put it on the offering table, saying: "I'm afraid it's not enough, I'll go get some more."

  "Ah..." Xie Xian hastily called out to her and asked: "Those Brocade Guards..."

  "I've already coaxed them into the kitchen, and the cooks are all elderly women, so it should be fine. Fortunately, we had prepared for the Empress Dowager's birthday a few days ago, so there is enough food. The breakfast was made with great care, and they ate happily, saying that the food here is good." Xu replied softly.

  "That's good." Xie Xian let out a sigh of relief, looked up but didn't see the two ayis who were looking for Ya Tou, and then asked with her head lowered: "Have they finished eating?"

  "Shouldn't be, I left when they were still eating. Tsk, tsk, these men's appetites are huge, they can eat a whole pig... Miss, the amount of food I brought isn't enough, let me go get some more..."

  Xie Xuan murmured a response, saying: "Later we'll find another nanny to accompany you..." Before she could finish speaking, her senior maid, Yan Fu, walked over, carrying a bowl of Job's tears and jujube porridge, saying: "Miss, it's time to eat."

  Xie Wan waved her hand and said, "First pick the good dishes for Old Lady and Mother, and send a portion to Er Jiu over there. I'll eat later." Seeing Luan Fu responding with a sound and turning around, she hurriedly called out to stop her, "Take this to Er Xiang's place and let her go to the main hall to have dinner."

  "I won't go!" Xie Ling jumped up from the corner of the wall and said, "Sister, I want to be with you, I don't want to go to the pavilion to see that white lotus flower."

  "Alright..." Xie Yan saw her sister still holding a grudge at a time like this, frowned and was about to scold her, but suddenly remembered that she had just taught her a lesson, so she softened in her heart and said gently: "Then you stay here, I'll watch you eat."

  Xie Ling saw her sister let herself eat first, and the resentment had dissipated a lot. She raised her head to see that the courtyard was empty and deserted, and she felt a sudden movement in her heart. She asked: "Sister, where are those brocade guards?"

  "She's gone to eat." Xie Yun directed Fan Fu to arrange Xie Ling's meal, when suddenly Xi Fu rushed out of the main hall and said: "Eldest young miss, old madam is not feeling well..."

  Xie Wan busily put down what she was doing and walked towards the outer building, followed by the others. Xie Ling saw that Luan Fu didn't care about her, so she pouted, looked up at the empty space outside, and stood there for a moment in a daze. Suddenly remembering something, she smiled slyly, picked up her skirt, and slipped out of the courtyard...