Pink 90+
Ren Yaoqi heard this voice and quickly turned her head to look.
She saw Xiao Jingxi striding swiftly towards them. Meeting her gaze, Xiao Jingxi gave her a faint smile. Though it was the slightest of smiles, for some reason, it made Ren Yaoqi breathe a sigh of relief.
The two young eunuchs turned and saw Xiao Jingxi. They recognized the Second Young Master Xiao and instinctively halted their steps.
Eunuch Lu was in a rage and hadn’t noticed who had arrived. He merely waved his hand and said, “Wait until I catch this little wretch first!”
Xiao Jingxi walked between Eunuch Lu and Ren Yaoqi, seemingly oblivious to Eunuch Lu’s disheveled appearance and the tense atmosphere. With a light smile, he said, “Eunuch Lu, surely you don’t plan to deliver the imperial edict in this state? Second Uncle, please take Eunuch Lu to freshen up and change his clothes before heading to Chengde Hall.”
Only then did Eunuch Lu see that it was Xiao Jingxi speaking. He naturally recognized the Second Young Master Xiao and was somewhat wary of him. However, before he could say anything, Xiao Jingxi gently interrupted, “The incense altar has already been prepared. If you don’t hurry, the three sticks of incense will burn out, and failing to deliver the edict in time would be a grave disrespect to His Majesty.”
Generally, delivering an imperial edict was a highly ceremonial affair. After the advance eunuchs arrived, those receiving the edict were to prepare an incense altar and light incense, awaiting the arrival of the edict-bearing eunuch. The eunuch delivering the edict had to finish reading it before the incense burned out; otherwise, it would be considered a great disrespect to the emperor.
Eunuch Lu looked down at himself. His outer robe was already soiled, and he certainly couldn’t deliver the edict in such a state. He had to freshen up and change his clothes first. If he lingered here any longer, he might indeed miss the appointed time for delivering the edict.
So, leaning on his apprentice’s hand, he stood up and tried moving his foot. Fortunately, he had only twisted a tendon earlier—it hurt but hadn’t actually injured the bone.
Gradually, he regained the demeanor of the chief eunuch by the Empress Dowager’s side. He bowed to Xiao Jingxi and said, “Second Young Master Xiao, I apologize for my rudeness, my rudeness.”
Xiao Jingxi nodded with a smile and said to Xiao Heng, “Second Uncle, I’ll trouble you to accompany Eunuch Lu to freshen up.”
Xiao Heng agreed, “Eunuch, this way, please.” Xiao Heng also didn’t want the matter to escalate at this moment. After all, as the host and being present at the scene, it would reflect poorly on him if word got out.
Xiao Jingyue, however, winked at Xiao Jingxi and said, “Eunuch Lu merely thought Fifth Miss Ren was beautiful and wanted to take a closer look, which led to a misunderstanding.”
Xiao Jingyue was secretly mocking Eunuch Lu for being a eunuch yet still so lustful.
Unfortunately, Xiao Jingxi had little in common with him.
Eunuch Lu suddenly felt a chill at the back of his neck. A spine-tingling shudder instinctively crept into his heart. He subconsciously touched his neck but found nothing. Assuming he had caught a chill from sleeping at the courier station the previous night, he paid it no mind.
Before being helped away, Eunuch Lu shot a malicious glance at Rong Shi and the others, especially at Ren Yaohua. His eyes clearly conveyed the message, “This isn’t over.”Since they had already torn up all pretense, Ren Yaohua was not afraid of him and glared back coldly.
Xiao Jingxi watched as Eunuch Lu and his group walked away into the distance before turning back to glance at Ren Yaoqi. He then smiled at Rong Shi and said, "It's my fault for not hosting well enough, letting you be frightened."
Rong Shi sighed, "Trouble cannot be avoided. He came for me in the first place. This time, I must thank Second Young Master Xiao for stepping in to help." As she spoke, she looked at Ren Yaoqi and Ren Yaohua, her eyes filled with obvious worry.
Rong Shi understood very well what Eunuch Lu was thinking. She wasn’t afraid of these people openly humiliating her; what she feared was that Madam Li and her two granddaughters would be implicated because of her.
Rong Shi knew that for someone like Eunuch Lu, his sole purpose was to exhaust all means to please Empress Dowager Yan. And what could bring the Empress Dowager more joy than humiliating the descendants who shared blood ties with Consort Wan?
Ren Yaoqi also frowned and glanced at Ren Yaohua. Because of Ren Yaohua’s push, Eunuch Lu’s attention had now shifted to Ren Yaohua. Ren Yaoqi worried that he might take action against Ren Yaohua.
Eunuch Lu was a twisted and obsessive person. Anyone who offended him or displeased him would be etched into his mind, and he would seize any opportunity for revenge. In this regard, Eunuch Lu and Zeng Pu were truly birds of a feather.
Xiao Jingxi said, "Since this happened in the Prince's Mansion, let the Prince's Mansion handle it. You don’t need to worry too much. After all, this is Yanbei."
With Xiao Jingxi willing to take responsibility, Rong Shi breathed a sigh of relief.
Xiao Jingxi was right. This was Yanbei, not the capital. No matter how favored Eunuch Lu was by Empress Dowager Yan, his influence could not reach Yanbei. With the Xiao Family involved, as long as they remained cautious, there shouldn’t be any major trouble.
Rong Shi wasn’t truly afraid of Eunuch Lu. After all, the true strength of Xianwang Residence was something the Yanbei Prince's Mansion was already well aware of. If Eunuch Lu truly went too far, it wouldn’t be difficult for Xianwang Residence to send someone to deal with him. However, Eunuch Lu was currently in Yanbei to deliver an imperial decree and likely carried some orders from Empress Dowager Yan, making him a sort of half-imperial envoy. If something happened to him in Yanbei, the Yanbei Prince's Mansion would have a hard time explaining it to the court and could easily give the court an excuse to attack. Since Xianwang Residence had already formed an alliance with the Yanbei Prince's Mansion, they had to consider the interests of the Yanbei Prince's Mansion.
Rong Shi simply felt that petty people were troublesome and feared they might resort to underhanded tricks.
Xiao Jingxi personally escorted Rong Shi and the others to Qingzheng Hall before leaving to return to Chengde Hall.
Only after the imperial decree had been received at Chengde Hall did the Princess Consort reappear before everyone with Xiao Jinglin.
Xiao Jinglin found Ren Yaoqi and, avoiding the others, took her aside to talk.
"I heard you were just harassed by Lu Yu?"
Lu Yu was Eunuch Lu’s original name. However, after he became a servant by Empress Dowager Yan’s side, to align with her birth characters, the Empress Dowager bestowed upon him the new name Lu Dexin. From then on, people outside no longer referred to him as Lu Yu. By the time he became the chief steward by the Empress Dowager’s side, few dared to even utter the name Lu Dexin directly.
Others might not know who Lu Yu was, but Ren Yaoqi was aware of Eunuch Lu’s background. So, whether it was Xiao Jingxi or Xiao Jinglin who mentioned the name Lu Yu, Ren Yaoqi knew exactly who they were referring to.Ren Yaoqi sighed softly and recounted what had happened earlier. Xiao Jinglin frowned and said, "He's just a eunuch, yet he truly thinks of himself as a master. Don't be afraid. I'll have Hongying and Hongye accompany you back later. If he dares to cause trouble for you, just give him a beating!"
At that moment, a male voice spoke up behind them, "Apart from resorting to violence, can you think of any other methods?"
Ren Yaoqi and Xiao Jinglin turned around to see Xiao Jingxi, who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere, raising an eyebrow and looking at her with a faint, teasing smile.
Xiao Jinglin shot a sidelong glance at Xiao Jingxi. "At least I'm helping come up with ideas, unlike some who only show up after the fact. Who knows where they were when it mattered?"
Before Xiao Jingxi could respond, Xiao Jinglin glanced at Ren Yaoqi and suddenly smiled quietly, saying, "Could it be that you were so overjoyed upon hearing it was an imperial decree for a marriage arrangement that you sneaked off somewhere to celebrate in secret?"
Xiao Jinglin's words left Ren Yaoqi momentarily stunned.
An imperial decree for a marriage arrangement? For whom?
Since Xiao Jinglin brought it up, it couldn't be an imperial decree for her marriage. Could it be...
Ren Yaoqi couldn't help but look at Xiao Jingxi.
Meeting Ren Yaoqi's gaze, Xiao Jingxi's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly explained, "It's not for me."
Ren Yaoqi: "..."
Xiao Jinglin mimicked Xiao Jingxi's faint, teasing smile and looked at him a few times. "Who said it was an imperial decree for your marriage? Why are you so anxious?"
Xiao Jingxi: "..."
Seeing Ren Yaoqi's puzzled expression, Xiao Jinglin kindly explained, "The Empress Dowager has arranged a marriage for Xiao Jingyue."
Ren Yaoqi was somewhat surprised upon hearing this. "Third Young Master Xiao?"
Xiao Jinglin nodded. "I heard it's some virtuous and talented woman from the imperial clan. She'll be sent over in a while to complete the marriage."
Ren Yaoqi couldn't help but wonder if the imperial court was trying to divide the Yanbei Prince's Mansion from within.
Just as Xiao Jingxi secretly supported the Di family against Zeng Pu, the court wanted to back Xiao Heng's branch to oppose the Prince of Yanbei. Making enemies consume each other from within was indeed a top-tier strategy in military tactics.
But at least it wasn't a marriage arrangement for Xiao Jingxi.
As soon as this thought surfaced in Ren Yaoqi's mind, she froze.
Even if the court had arranged a marriage for Xiao Jingxi, what did it have to do with her? Could she possibly stop the Empress Dowager's decree?
Ren Yaoqi couldn't help but look at Xiao Jingxi, just as he was also intently watching her. The moment their eyes met, an indescribable atmosphere enveloped them.
Ren Yaoqi snapped back to reality, lowered her head slightly, and changed the subject. "What else did the imperial decree say? Was it just about the marriage arrangement?"
Ren Yaoqi didn't notice that, in the past, she would never have asked so directly about the contents of an imperial decree. She had always been cautious and careful, mindful not to leave any obvious vulnerabilities for others to exploit.
So her heart was still somewhat unsettled.
Xiao Jingxi had felt a bit disappointed earlier, but he was sharp-witted and immediately noticed the unusualness beneath Ren Yaoqi's calm exterior. He couldn't help but feel a surge of joy.
Fourth watch, seeking votes...
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