Chapter 93.3

Meanwhile, Mr. Xie was also in deep thought under the candlelight. Someone knocked on the door, came in, sat across from him, and asked him, “How’s it going?”

A smile spread on Mr. Xie’s round face, looking kind: “It’s all been arranged. Huo Mingshan will die in the Governor’s mansion.”

The man opposite him laughed, “I want to see Yao Kun’s expression when he sees Huo Mingshan’s corpse. He must not expect such a defense to go wrong.”

Mr. Xie also laughed as he thought about it, “Yao Kun will hold the royal decree of the inspector’s arrival in one hand and the news of Huo Mingshan’s death in the other. He hurriedly sent Huo Mingshan’s memorial to the capital. He also sent official documents to all the counties to pass the customs, calling out to the world that Huo Mingshan is at his place.”

“And then dies.”

The two men laughed together.

Mr. Xie said, “That guy Long Teng will be so angry that his face turns green.”

“In that case, I want to see Long Teng’s face when he hears about it.”

“They dug this hole for themselves, thinking they are smart. It’s simply laughable.”

“Isn’t that so?” The man on the opposite side sneered.

Mr. Xie looked at him and said, “You must be careful. I’ve heard that you’re reckless and uninhibited, and I thought that was an overstatement, but I didn’t realize that you’re really like that. You revealed the matter of An Ruofang, causing suspicion. This matter must be resolved. I would not dare to take An Ruochen lightly. Neither can you.”

“Then capture her.” The man laughed. “I will make her obedient and docile.”

Mr. Xie gave him a look.

The man sneered again, “See, how many things have you accomplished by relying on me, yet you always refuse to listen to my advice.”

Mr. Xie said, “Don’t be anxious. It’s not time yet.”

An Ruochen didn’t sleep well all night and always felt something was wrong. But after thinking about it, she couldn’t figure out where she could have gone wrong. In the end, she felt it was because the General was at the Si Xia River, a bit far away, and Mr. Huo had not yet arrived in the capital, which always leaves people hanging. She couldn’t help with anything else, so she got up and answered Mrs. Xue’s appointment first, then asked Lu Daniang to send a message to her second sister.

Yao Kun got up early to visit Huo Mingshan, who spent the night well. According to the plan, Yao Kun invited Huo Mingshan to have breakfast with him, and then just as he was supposed to return to his quarters, he already let the person who resembles Huo Mingshan live in Huo Mingshan’s room. Huo Mingshan’s attendant, Cao Yihan, still lived in the outer room, and everything was as usual. Only Huo Mingshan quietly moved to the opposite room in the same courtyard. Everything went smoothly without anyone noticing.

Yao Kun was satisfied and went to the local government office to deal with official business. Then, he heard the messenger arrive with a fast horse holding a holy decree.

Yao Kun rushed to pick him up. The decree said that Pingnan and Mao County have not been peaceful recently, drowned in constant conflict and shaken by repeated criminal cases. Due to significant cases remaining unsolved and the Governor’s heavy responsibility, Lieutenant Liang Dehao would come to Pingnan and Mao County as an inspector.

Yao Kun frowned and carefully asked the messenger. The messenger said another imperial decree had been delivered to the barracks to Long Teng.

Lord Liang Dehao has already departed from the capital for Mao County and should arrive in a few days. Lord Liang had ordered Mr. Bai to come to Pingnan County and should also arrive in a few days. The messenger respectfully asked Yo Kun to be prepared to receive the inspection.

Yao Kun had a number in his heart. The envoys’ death angered the Emperor. Shi Pingqing couldn’t solve the case and couldn’t give an explanation to East Ling, so the Emperor sent Liang Dehao to clean up this mess. Yao Kun complained again about Shi Pingqing. He really dragged him down. He had eradicated the forces of the spies and made accomplishments, but Shi Pingqing messed up. It seemed that his former achievement of solving the espionage case was of no use. But the good thing was that he still had Huo Mingshan.

Yao Kun began to calculate to let Huo Mingshan live here for a few more days so Bai Ying could meet him. To let them witness his achievements. It was not Pingnan’s fault. Pingnan had been dragged down but could provide a good solution to the problem. In this way, Bai Ying could help convey some good words, and when Huo Mingshan arrives at the capital, the meeting with the Emperor would be smoother.

Meanwhile, An Ruochen went to the Xixiu Hall according to the appointed time.

When An Ruochen arrived, Mrs. Xue personally came out to meet her. Lu Zheng was waiting outside the store while Tian Qing followed An Ruochen and Chun Xiao into the store to check it out.

Mrs. Xue didn’t care about An Ruochen’s caution. She courteously invited An Ruochen to the compartment at the back of the store.

Tian Qing glanced at the compartment, where a skinny fifteen or sixteen-year-old young male sat. An Ruochen signaled with him that it was fine. Tian Qing made a bow and retreated to wait at the door.

The Xixiu Hall was the biggest jewelry store in Zhonglan City. There were several compartments for the rich and noble ladies to enjoy tea and pick jewelry. There were also rooms in the courtyard behind the store for measuring clothes, changing, resting, etc. Today, there were not many customers in the store. Now that the New Year’s festival was over, only fewer customers visited the store. Mrs. Xue called the shopkeeper to give An Ruochen’s guards and maids hot tea and snacks, reminding him not to be slow.

As An Ruochen entered the room, Xue Xuran got up and saluted her.

An Ruochen returned the salute, and Mrs. Xue greeted her with a smile.

An Ruochen sized up Xue Xuran, looking sick and weak, thin, with pale complexion. It was because he had been in bed for a long time. The whole person looked a little younger than the actual age. He looked elegant with his straight nose, looked young and sophisticated. His eyes were bright and carried the scholar’s arrogance.

After Xue Xuran bowed, he did not speak but politely listened to Mrs. Xue and An Ruochen. When Mrs. Xue talked about him, he would smile and nod to show his agreement. An Ruochen noticed that his attitude was polite but distant. She guessed this marriage was not something Young Master Xue was happy about.

After chatting for a long time, the shopkeeper led An Ruoxi over. An Ruoxi was alone, without a maid, and looked a little nervous.

When Mrs. Xue saw An Ruoxi, smiles filled her face. She took her hand and led her into the room. She had heard of An Ruoxi’s name but had never seen her before. Now, when she looked at her, she felt An Ruoxi was dignified, not tricky as she had imagined before. Her heart became satisfied. Of course, the most important thing was that this girl’s eight-character could help her son’s destiny.

Xue Xuran stood up and saluted. An Ruochen could see that his attitude toward An Ruoxi was the same as toward her. He did not treat An Ruoxi unusually. On the contrary, An Ruoxi was so nervous that her face turned red, and she saluted and greeted with extra seriousness.

Everyone sat down. Mrs. Xue said a few words of courtesy and asked about An Ruoxi’s maid’s whereabouts so that she could let people deliver refreshments.

An Ruoxi glanced at An Ruochen and said, “Well, I asked her to help me buy some trinkets. She’ll come back to the store to look for me later.”

Mrs. Xue smiled, “That’s good. I’ll tell the shopkeeper. By the way, I have hairpins with new patterns. Would you be interested in taking a look?”

This is to leave a place for Xue Xuran and An Ruoxi to talk. An Ruochen smiled and went out with Mrs. Xue.

An Ruoxi and Xue Xuran left in the room. An Ruoxi was so nervous and twisted her fingers. After a moment of silence, An Ruoxi initiated to speak, “Would you like some tea?”

As she said this, she stood up to pour Xue Xuran a cup of tea. Mrs. Xue hadn’t asked her servants to wait in the room to facilitate their conversation. It was out of order, but An Ruoxi didn’t mind. She knew that this meeting was the key to whether she could marry into the Xue family.

But when she took the initiative to get close, Xue Xuran said indifferently, “I can’t drink tea. I can only drink medicinal tea.”

An Ruoxi froze, awkwardly withdrew her hand from holding the teapot, and sat down. After a while, she smiled again and asked, “Is it cold? Should I add more charcoal?”

A small charcoal stove burned in the room, but Xue Xuran was wrapped in a cloak thicker than she was wearing. It was already spring, but he still had to ignite the fire in the room. She could see how afraid of the cold he was.

Xue Xuran did not respond to her words but said: ”My body is not well. Going out is extremely inconvenient. I rarely go out.”

An Ruoxi lowered her head, secretly speculating on the meaning of these words. Is it complaining or expressing willingness to meet her? She forced herself to find a topic and said, “Then what does Young Master usually do?”

“Recuperate, drink medicine, and study.” Xue Xuran answered without enthusiasm.

An Ruoxi said again, “I usually embroider and read books.” Read books, these words she said weakly. She didn’t like to read books. It wasn’t good for a daughter to reads books. But it seemed that was the only thing that could please him.

An Ruoxi carefully glanced at Xue Xuran. His young face didn’t show any emotions. When he heard her words, he looked up at her.

Their gazes met. An Ruoxi quickly lowered her head and stared at her fingertips.

The room was quiet before Xue Xuran said, “I won’t live past twenty-five. Many doctors said that I won’t live past twenty. Twenty-five is an extremely optimistic foresight. I guess it’s coaxing my parents. I don’t want to marry a wife. This ‘Chongxi’ is no different than harming a girl. To marry a woman and take her home but remind her that she would be a widow, how can one live like this?” This tone does not look like what a sixteen-year-old boy should have.

T/N : Chongxi is marriage to get rid of bad luck or diseases.

An Ruoxi’s heart jumped, hurriedly saying, “I ……” She wanted to say that she didn’t mind and was willing to marry. But these words were too shameless, and she couldn’t speak it out. But she was really keen to marry him. He was better than she imagined. She thought he had a wax face and yellow skin, but he was actually handsome. He said he didn’t want to harm the girl, so he was a decent man. Among the people she had met, not many were honorable. She has thought a lot about being a widow, and it was better to live a peaceful life as a widow than to be bullied. In any case, it was a hundred times better than Qian Pei.

“Miss An, I don’t want to take a wife. You’d better choose another good husband.”