In the 20th year of Yuan Guan, on December 15, the rain and snow in Kyoto stopped for many days, and the sun shone warmly on the ground.
After Xi Jin took care of the affairs in the palace, it was already the afternoon of the second day when he returned to Xie's Mansion.
At this moment, although Xi Jin felt physically exhausted, his heart had never felt more relaxed.
Although he almost offended Long Yan when he entered the palace this time, fortunately, the ending was good. Xie Luo didn't have to die, and he could go to Yazhou justifiably.
Although he knew that this trip would be extremely difficult and dangerous, Xi Jin had no regrets at all.
"Young Madam, are you back?" The boy at the door of Xie's Mansion looked at Xi Jin in shock and hurried inside to report the news.
Not long after, Madam Xie walked out quickly with the support of Grandma Xie.
The moment she saw Xi Jin, Mrs. Xie's old face showed unprecedented vulnerability. Her lips hesitated for a long time and said: "It'll be good to come back."
Seeing the old lady's expression and the whispers of her servants, Xi Jin suddenly understood something.
Mrs. Xie probably thought she had escaped.
But even so, she was willing to come back, and Mrs. Xie tolerated her unconditionally.
When Xi Jin understood, tears welled up in his eyelashes for a moment. He took a few steps forward, knelt in front of Mrs. Xie, and said in a hoarse voice: "Grandma, Jin'er..."
"Let us in quickly. I'll see who of you dares to stop me." A vulgar voice came from outside the gate.
Xi Jin turned around and saw a middle-aged man wearing coarse clothes rushing to the door noisily.
Xi Jin's first reaction was to stand up and protect Mrs. Xie behind her.
"Old Madam, they are here again." Grandma Xie held the old Madam's arm, her voice full of panic.
"Who are they?" Xi Jin was puzzled. He thanked the government dignifiedly. Even if he was defeated, he still had to be afraid of a few civilians.
Mrs. Xie sighed: "Invite them in." Mrs. Xie said, then turned around to comfort Xi Jin, "Grandma will handle this matter, Jin'er, you go and have a rest."
"Grandma, Jin'er is from the Xie family." Xi Jin said firmly, without any hesitation in retreating.
Seeing this, Mrs. Xie nodded emotionally and ordered her servants: "Bring them to the front hall."
In the front hall, a few rough guys sat down on the chairs and said, "Why, the uncle is here and I won't serve him tea."
Mrs. Xie sat at the top and nodded to the people below.
Soon, the servants brought tea and snacks. The leading man took a sip of tea and spat out the tea leaves: "If you ask me, the tea of this wealthy family is nothing more than this."
The man raised his eyebrows. The mole on the corner of his eyebrow was obviously a bit frivolous. He looked at Xi Jin unscrupulously: "This little girl is pretty good-looking."
"How dare you be rude to our young lady." Grandma Xie stood up to defend her.
"It turns out to be the young madam. His Xie Luo's life is still in my hands. If you are not willing to pay, why not give this girl to me? I can consider whether to save his Xie Luo's life." The man was leaning on the high pear chair, picking his teeth and making requests.
"Stop talking nonsense!" Mrs. Xie slammed the table hard and said sternly, "Hu Da, what do you want to do here this time? Haven't we already reached an agreement?"
"I am short of money." Hu Da said with a ferocious face, "Why, does the old lady think that a few thousand taels can buy the life of your precious grandson?"
"You... tell me, how much more money do you need?" Mrs. Xie stroked her forehead and had no choice but to compromise.
"Ten thousand taels at least." Hu Da stroked his beard and said greedily.
I heard Nanny Xie exclaim in surprise: "You are really a lion. We have already given you five thousand taels, and your brother's time is running out."
"Then I have nothing to say. Let my poor brother die at home." Hu Da said, standing up slowly, as if he was about to leave.
The old lady loved Sun very much and hurriedly stopped Hu Da: "Please give me some time and let me sell Zhuangzi..."
Xi Jin was listening on the sidelines, vaguely guessing the whole story, and couldn't help but interrupt loudly: "Hu Da, right? Please drink tea and eat something here first, and let me and my grandmother go into the inner hall to discuss something."
Hu Da glanced at Xi Jin maliciously: "Okay, I'll wait for you for a while."
Xijin stepped forward and helped Mrs. Xie into the inner hall.
"Xin'er." As soon as Fu entered the inner hall, the old lady's strength seemed to have dissipated, and she leaned slantly on Xi Jin, "Grandma can't help you, I'm afraid this Zhuangzi can't be saved either."
"Grandma, please tell Jin'er truthfully, what kind of deal do you have with Hu Da?"
Mrs. Xie burst into tears for a while and was speechless.
Nanny Xie explained: "Young Madam doesn't know something. The Young Master is the only male in our Xie family. The Old Madam couldn't bear to let the Young Master be beheaded, so she secretly asked someone to find Hu Da's brother. His brother was tall and young. Similar to the young master, she also suffered from tuberculosis, and her time was running out, so the old lady thought of spending money to buy his life in exchange for the young master's safety."
"Grandma, let me ask you this, do you want your husband to live an upright life, or do you want your husband to live this miserable life in secret?"
"Of course..." Mrs. Xie raised her head, a glimmer of light suddenly flashed in her eyes full of tears, "Jin'er, what do you have in mind?"
"Grandma, we don't have much time. Rong Jin'er will explain to you later. Next, please listen to Jin'er." Xi Jin's face was firm, and there was an undeniable demeanor on his face.
"Okay." Mrs. Xie nodded and decided to believe Xi Jin for once.
With the old lady's approval, Xi Jin called the servant to the mansion: "You should go to the Shuntian Mansion Yamen immediately to report the case, saying that someone is blackmailing the Xie Mansion."
"Jin'er..." The old lady was still trembling a little.
"Grandma." Xi Jin patted Old Madam Xie's hand, "Believe me, I, like you, hope that your husband is alive. You can have a good rest in the inner hall and let me deal with him. The century-old reputation of Xie Mansion cannot be ruined. In Hu Da’s hands.”
Xi Jin said, stroking the hairpin on her bun, calming her expression, and moved to the front hall.
In the front hall, Xi Jin slowly sat down. The maid on the side offered him a cup of tea. Xi Jin picked up the tea cup and took a slight sip. His posture was elegant and calm, and he remained silent for a long time.
Hu Dayi was still coveting Xi Jin's beauty at first, thinking that if this little lady was willing to follow him, she wouldn't need as much as ten thousand taels.
But after a long time, he saw that Xi Jin was just sipping tea and did not see her talking to him. He lost the good mood at the beginning and couldn't help but cursed: "You bitch, what do you mean? I'm still waiting for you. Reply."
Xi Jin put down the tea cup in his hand gracefully and slowly raised his eyes to glance at Hu Da: "Hu Da, can you take a look at the courtyard of Xie Mansion?"
"What do you mean?" Hu Da said roughly.
"You tell me, I'm guarding the Xie family's huge property, and I'm fine with fine clothes and food. Wouldn't it be nice for me? What should I do if that man comes back?" Xi Jin smiled lightly, as if he didn't notice Hu Da's angry eyes.
"What do you mean? You want to regret it." Hu was so angry that his beard stood up, "You call that old godly woman out, I want to talk to her."
"You have no chance." Xi Jin raised his eyes and signaled to the boys waiting outside. The boys came in with sticks and took Hu Da down.
Xi Jin stepped forward slowly, and a pair of embroidered shoes landed a step away from Hu Da. The embroidered shoes were embroidered with exquisite butterfly embroidery patterns. The butterfly wings seemed to vibrate, shaking Hu Da's heart and making him uneasy.
Xi Jin leaned over and looked at Hu Da: "Not only do I want to regret it, I also want you to spit out the five thousand taels that you took away earlier."
"You bitch, you have a beautiful idea." Hu Datu said arrogantly, taking a sip of phlegm.
Xi Jin avoided it in time, sat back on the high pear chair in front of the hall, and lightly opened his red lips: "I have sent someone to the Shuntian Mansion Yamen to sue you for defrauding the Xie Mansion of money. If you are willing to mention your brother's impersonation of a death row prisoner, I will I’m not afraid to talk to the yamen master. Anyway, it didn’t happen. Do you think the yamen master believes in you or me?”
Hu Da's heart trembled, his eyes kept swaying from side to side, and finally he breathed out bitterly: "You stinky bitch, you are so cruel, you don't even care about your husband."
"What does it have to do with you?" Xi Jin smiled contemptuously, looked at the Yamen servants rushing in from outside the house, and said to Hu Dadao, "You'd better think carefully about how to explain to the Yamen master."
…
