C64: Be Honest

Although Zhanyue Court and Pavilion Changqing were separated only by a long corridor and a small path, the layout of the two places was completely different.

As soon as she entered Zhanyue Court, she saw a screen that was carved with the images of a crane and a deer in the spring. Behind the screen was an exquisite courtyard.

It was wide, with a pavilion to the east. A few plums and osmanthus trees had been planted in the west, and now that the osmanthus flowers had bloomed, and the whole courtyard was filled with a fresh and elegant fragrance.

There were more than ten maidservants in the courtyard, and they were orderly. As soon as she entered the courtyard, someone came in the room for informing. Another person led her to the main room.

The main room was even more intricate, with two chairs placed in the middle. With just one look, one could tell that they were not ordinary wood.

Ouyang Yi’s gaze roamed the room. Upon entering her eyes, there were precious jade artifacts. Even the white glazed vases casually placed on the table were something she had never dared to think about before.

Behind the screen with flower and bird patterns, there should be an inner room.

Ouyang Yi could vaguely see the red curtains and the murals on the wall. She couldn’t tell what kind of exquisite it was.

The dissatisfaction in her heart was rising. What could Xie Zhen possibly be so good to live in such a room?

When she and her mother were out on the street, was Xie Zhen living so well?

Wasn’t it because she married her cousin?

The maid invited her to take a seat, and after a moment’s thought, she sat unceremoniously in the rose chair in the middle and waited for Xie Zhen to come out.

Shuang Yan was serving outside. Upon seeing this, she was stunned for a moment before reminding her, “Young lady cousin, you should sit here …”

She pointed to the chair in distance.

Ouyang Yi pretended not to understand and asked, “Why can’t I sit here?”

Shuang Yan said straightly, “This is my Empress’s seat.”

She pointed to the other side in confusion, not intending to move, “Can’t she sit there as well?”

After a long silence, Shuang Yan came to understand what kind of person she was. To put it nicely, she was the cousin of the sixth prince. Frankly speaking, wasn’t she just an ordinary commoner?

What qualifications did she have to act so arrogantly in front of the prince’s wife?

Shuang Yan’s attitude changed, and her tone became less courteous. “That is His Highness’s seat.”

Only then did Ouyang Yi have nothing to say, but she was still unwilling to move.

Xie Zhen was about to enter the room, Hong Mei came in with the tea in her hands. Shuang Yan directly received the tea and placed it on the table below. She said to her, “Please sit here, young lady.”

Only then did Ouyang Yi reluctantly stand up and sat down.

Behind her, Shuang Yan rolled her eyes.

This was the cousin of the sixth prince?

When she heard about her yesterday, she thought it was some kind of girl. It made them curious for a while.

Who would have thought she was such a person! She was really an eye-opener.

She was like an uncultured, undisciplined mountain village girl!

Putting aside the fact that the other party’s identity was much more prestigious than hers, even if she were to be a guest at someone else’s house, how could she sit on the main seat so easily?

Wasn’t this a joke!

Shuang Yan felt helpless. She just hoped that when Xie Zhen came out, she would not do anything unexpected.

About a quarter of an hour later, Xie Zhen came out after finishing dressing.

It was cooler, and Xie Zhen wore an extra cloak of gold-and-red knotted peonies patterns, more resplendent and richer than the one she’d worn the day before.

She was a beauty who could hold all these clothes. Not only did she not look vulgar when she wore them, she looked even more delicate and imposing.

She walked in, like a bright lamp, lighting up the room in an instant.

Ouyang Yi stared intently at her as she walked past without even looking sideways and into the main seat. During this time, she didn’t even look at her.

Behind her, Shuang Yan reminded her, “Young lady cousin, you need bow.”

Ouyang Yi remained motionless.

Xie Zhen took a seat and waited for Hong Mei to serve her the tea before looking at Ouyang Yi. After a while, she said, “the cousin girl just come in the house. Since she doesn’t know the rules, forget it today.”

The meaning behind her words was that when she met her in the future, she would have to bow.

Furthermore, Ouyang Yi could tell what she meant by her words. She said that she was an outsider and didn’t understand the rules, so she didn’t care about it as much as she did.

Ouyang Yi stared at Xie Zhen, too unconvinced to say words of gratitude.

It was still early in the morning, and Xie Zhen just got up when she was led here by Shang Yu before breakfast.

Shang Yu said that the cousin girl was here, and it took her a long time to remember who she was.

After dawdling in bed for a while, she got up to wash up and change her clothes.

The distance between the inside and outside of the house wasn’t far. Coupled with Ouyang Yi’s loud voice, she was able to clearly hear the conversation from inside.

She should have been angry, but she thought it was funny.

After all these years, Ouyang Yi’s nature hadn’t changed at all.

Back then, when she lived in the Li family, she had a condescending attitude. She didn’t feel like she was depending on others at all.

It was probably due to where she grew up. Her father had died, and her mother was weak. No one taught her how to behave, so she had developed such a character.

What did she have to do with her?

Xie Zhen thought, it wasn’t worth getting angry about.

After the Lee family moved out, they had an argument in the yard. Ouyang Yi said that Yan Yu moved out because he hated her. She was very sad at that time. Now that she thought about it, she wondered if it was true.

She had asked Yan Yu about it, but he had said that he had never told her about it. Was Ouyang Yi lying to her?

Why did he lie to her?

Xie Zhen was lost in her memories. She tilted her head and thought for a while. It wasn’t until Ouyang Yi called out to her that she came back to her senses.

Ouyang Yi looked around and coughed, “I have something to say to you alone.”

Xie Zhen didn’t know what she was going to ask, so she sent the servant maids outside to wait for her.

Shuang Yan was worried. Before she left, she had a lingering expression on her face, as if she wanted to say something but couldn’t at the same time. “Empress …”

She probably wanted to remind her not to be bullied.

Xie Zhen smiled. “Don’t go too far, in case I need to call you guys.”

Shuang Yan answered “yes” and stood shoulder to shoulder with Hong Mei in the porch.

Only after the servant maids left did Ouyang Yi relax a bit. Her attitude towards Xie Zhen became a lot more casual.

In Ouyang Yi’s mind, Xie Zhen was still the former Xie Zhen, and it was all because of Yan Yu that she could have today’s identity.

“How did you find my cousin?”

Xie Zhen said, “He found me.”

“My cousin found you?”

She clearly did not believe Xie Zhen and looked at her with doubt, “You are in Qing Zhou, does he specifically go back to find you?”

Xie Zhen told her:“My family is not in Qing Zhou. We moved to capital.”

“You are only the daughter of the governor of Qing Zhou. My cousin is the sixth prince. If he wants to marry you, can His Majesty promise?”

“Oh,” Xie Zhe thoughtfully replied, without a hint of emotion in her voice. “His Majesty personally granted us the marriage.”

After the end of the talk, Ouyang Yi suddenly fell silent.

She acted as if she was dumbfounded, perhaps too shocked to talk properly. “His, His Majesty …”

“Why would His Majesty granted you the marriage? Aren’t you …”

Xie Zhen sipped his tea and waited patiently for her to finish.

She then said, “Your father is only a prefect of Qing Zhou, how is he worthy …”

Xie Zhen restrained eyesign and stopped her. “My father is the Governor of Qing Zhou, not comparable to the royal family, but he is also a fourth rank official with a reserved career. When he is in Qing Zhou office, his heart is on behalf of the citizens of Qingzhou. In front of me, it is best not to speak of my father like that.”

When Ouyang Yi saw her expression turn pale, she finally realized that she was living in someone else’s house. She restrained herself a little and no longer said anything.

Neither of them spoke, and the room was quiet for a moment.

Ouyang Yi was simply too shocked. She hadn’t expected His Majesty to personally granted their marriage, so why did His Majesty grant them the marriage?

She wanted to ask Xie Zhen, but seeing that Xie Zhen was not looking well, she tactfully didn’t say anything more.

After sitting for a while, Shuang Yan came in from outside and said to Xie Zhen, “Miss, a person from Duke Dingguo’s Mansion was here to send a message.”

Xie Zhen got up. “Where is he?”

“Who’s here?”

Shuang Yan led her outside. “She’s in the central room. I heard she’s Senior Servant Chen from Madam’s side.”

He didn’t say what it was. As Xie Zhen was about to leave, she remembered that there was someone else in the room, so he said to Hong Mei, “You take the cousin girl back later, I’ll take a look at the front first.”

Hong Mei agreed.

Then she left without turning back, only leaving Ouyang Yi with her back.

When Ouyang Yi heard the servant maids say the words’ Duke Dingguo’s Mansion ‘, she couldn’t figure out why Xie Zhen was involved with the Duke Dingguo’s Mansion.

Which Duke Dingguo’s Mansion?

Or did she hear wrong?

As Xie Zhen left, Yan Yu came back from the morning court.

He wanted to call Xie Zhen to go to the front with him, but he didn’t expect that she had already left. He stood in the porch and encountered Ouyang Yi, who was about to go back.

As soon as Ouyang Yi saw him, she called him “Cousin” from afar.

Yan Yu slightly twisted his brow, and when she walked up to him, he asked: “What are you doing here?”

She smiled unconcernedly. “What can I do?”

“I’m here to talk to Prince’s wife.”

Although she said that Xie Zhen was a prince’s wife, her expression did not have the slightest bit of respect towards Prince’s wife.

Yan Yu asked Hong Mei, “Where’s Xie Zhen?”

Hong Mei bowed. “Reporting to Your Highness, the Empress has already left for the front courtyard.”

He pursed his lips in disappointment. It seemed they had missed each other on the road. Without wasting any time, he turned around and walked out of the courtyard.

Ouyang Yi caught up to him and asked without any scruples, “Cousin, I heard her say that His Majesty personally granted your marriage?”

Yan Yu walked forward with big strides. She was struggling to keep up with him, but he didn’t show any signs of slowing down.

Ouyang Yi did not hear his reply. She did not give up and asked, “Cousin, is it true?”

He made a sound of agreement.

Ouyang Yi could not figure it out. She grabbed his sleeve to make him walk slower, but he simply raised his arm, pulled out his clothes and continued walking in big strides.

“Cousin!”

She huffed in displeasure, but seeing that he didn’t react, she asked directly, “Why does His Majesty grant your marriage?”

“Did she pester you, corrupt your reputation, and cause a ruckus that you had no choice but to marry her?”

Yan Yu, who was in front, suddenly stopped.

Hong Mei could not bear to listen any longer. She frowned and reminded her, ” cousin girl, you can’t say that …”

Yan Yu turned around, but his face was terrifyingly dark.

His eyes were sharp as he asked word by word, “What did you say?”

Ouyang Yi felt a little guilty under such a gaze. For some reason, she felt afraid and her momentum weakened. “Otherwise, with her status, how could she be worthy of marrying you …”

Yan Yu looked at her quietly for a while, with only indifference in his dark eyes, “What happened to her identity?”

Ouyang Yi stammered, “She is the daughter of the Prefect …”

Yan Yu doesn’t like to use his identity to pressure others. It is the second time he had done this for Xie Zhen. “Not only is she the daughter of the Prefect, she is also the the fifth girl of the Duke Dingguo’s Mansion.”

After saying that, he continued, “Whether she marries me or not, she is still an honorable Jade Leafpool.”

Ouyang Yi was stunned. She opened her mouth but was unable to say anything.

Xie Zhen was a girl from the Duke Dingguo’s Mansion?

Although she had never heard of Duke Dingguo’s Mansion, she knew that those who had the word “Duke” in their names were not ordinary families. In fact, their status was even higher than that of the government officials …

Was Xie Zhen’s identity like this?

Why did she never know?

Yan Yu lowered his eyes. He had grown a little taller in the past few months. When he looked at people, he seemed to be looking down on them with disdain, “Besides, she’s not pestering me.”

Ouyang Yi raised her head, still in a daze from the impact just now.

Yan Yu’s thin lips parted slightly and he looked away, “It is me who want to marry her. I like her, and I adore her.”

This time, not only Ouyang Yi froze, even Hong Mei were dumbfounded.

When had she ever heard the sixth prince be so honest?

His temper was eccentric, and he always played duplicity. He seemed to love Xie Zhen into the bone, but still kept the love in his heart, wouldn’t say it even if he was beaten to death.

If he hadn’t been pressured by this cousin girl, he probably wouldn’t have said such words.

After finishing his words, he was stunned for a long time. Then, he pursed his lips. Feeling embarrassed, he turned around and continued forward without caring about Ouyang Yi.

However, as soon as he turned around, he suddenly stopped.

Xie Zhen was standing a few feet away in trance. He didn’t know how long she stood there and how much she had learned, her face flushed as she met his gaze.

She felt the heat, and her heart swelled. Something was about to spill out. She frantically covered her face as she looked at the big tree at the side. “I forgot to change my shoes …”

“I want to go back and change my shoes…”

Yan Yu looked down and saw that she was indeed wearing the silk shoes she wore in the house.

Feeling embarrassed, he only managed to say one word after a long moment, “…”

“Oh.”

There was probably nothing more shameful in the world than this. He had clearly said before that there was no one he liked, and that was why he had forced himself to marry her.

Well, how would he explain it?

If he knew she was right behind, he would never have said that.

While Yan Yu was still regretting his decision, Xie Zhen hurried past him and returned to the house to change her shoes.