In Yu Shu's comforting voice, Xue Rui finally calmed down. He relaxed the strength of his arms, but he still hugged her. He sat motionless on the chair with his eyes closed and calmed his mood.
As for the table downstairs, Feng Zhaomiao didn't see Xue Rui coming back for a long time, so he asked Feng Zhaomiao to go out and look for him. Xi Wen met Yu Shu when she went downstairs. She thought that she and Xue Rui should be together at this time, so she was unhappy. She interrupted, "I saw Brother Rui go up to the third floor. You go and look for him."
Feng Zhaomiao put down the wine glass and went out. Coincidentally, there was no one in the corridor at this time, so he went upstairs unimpeded. When he walked to the door of the second room, he looked inside and saw Xue Rui and Yu Shu hugging each other. He was stunned on the spot. He stood there dumbfounded. He didn't know whether to go forward or retreat.
Yu Shu quickly noticed Feng Zhaomiao outside the door. She didn't rush to push Xue Rui away, but she asked him casually, "Is the stall downstairs closed?"
Feng Zhaomiao said in a daze, "No, no. They asked me to find Brother Rui to go back for a drink."
Yu Shu looked down at Xue Rui and said to him, "You go back and tell them that Brother Xue has something to do and left first. Tell them not to wait."
"Oh, oh," Feng Zhaomiao turned around obediently. As soon as he lifted his foot, he felt something was wrong. He turned his head abruptly and almost sprained his neck.
"What happened to Brother Rui?"
Yu Shu patted Xue Rui's back and said, "Nothing. He drank too much."
"Oh." Feng Zhaomiao's eyes looked around and couldn't help but fall on the two of them. An idea flashed in his mind, and he recalled a scene: On the night when the restaurant just opened during the Lantern Festival, in this dark corridor, Brother Rui took the lotus servant's hand and went downstairs.
Feng Zhaomiao slapped his forehead and suddenly realized. He was wondering what was strange. It turned out that the two of them were together!
"Zhaomiao, after you go down, remember to help me call a fellow up here."
"Ah!" Feng Zhaomiao scratched her head and stared at them a few more times before leaving in a daze.
Yu Shu did not specifically remind him not to talk nonsense. She still trusted Feng Zhaomiao. On the surface, he looked careless, but in fact, he was very thorough. Moreover, he had always followed Xue Rui's lead. She believed that he would not cause any gossip for Xue Rui.
Not long after, Gui Qi went upstairs. Yu Shu ordered him to brew a pot of thick tea with ice spring water. She also fetched a basin of clear water and personally wiped Xue Rui's hands and face. She also untied his tightly coiled hair and tied it up loosely.
Xue Rui, on the other hand, did not say a word from beginning to end. He let her arrange everything until she was done and brought a cup of warm tea to his hand.
"Big Brother, drink some tea to calm yourself down."
Xue Rui took a deep breath as if he had woken up from a dream. His body was still a little stiff, but he still obediently took the cup, held it in his hand, and slowly took a sip.
Yu Shu ordered Gui Qi to guard the stairs and closed the door. She returned to Xue Rui and sat down next to him. She held the back of his other hand and looked at his face that had regained color. She said, "Are you feeling better?"
"Yes." Xue Rui held her hand and looked at her deeply. He said apologetically, "I scared you."
Yu Shu slightly curled her lips. "Yes, you scared me. I thought you drank too much and had a stroke."
Hearing her deliberate teasing, Xue Rui couldn't help but laugh. "How can a stroke be like this?"
Yu Shu glanced at him. "Then tell me, what happened to you?"
"You don't want to say?" Yu Shu leaned closer to him and narrowed her eyes. "I met Commandery Princess Xi Wen upstairs. Did you do something shameful with her behind my back?"
Xue Rui held her hand tightly. He couldn't bear to scold her lightly. "Nonsense again. I only spoke a few words with her."
"Speaking a few words made you so angry? Then I must ask the Commandery Princess for advice. Where did she learn this ability to anger people to death! "
Yu Shu didn't want to interrogate him, but she was really frightened by Xue Rui's appearance earlier. She clearly knew that it was Xi Wen who caused it, so how could she not be annoyed? If Xue Rui was really angered to the point that something bad happened to him, then she wouldn't spare that stinking little girl.
Xue Rui gazed at her beautiful face that seemed arrogant because of her anger, and she was like a type of bird that he'd seen in the northern kingdom that was covered in ice and snow when he was traveling in his youth. It possessed soft and thick feathers and looked to be small and harmless, yet if anyone dared step on its territory, it would reveal its sharpest claws and attack its enemy head-on without the slightest hesitation, and it was ferocious and charming.
His heart moved. He had an impulse to pour out the pain that had accumulated in his heart for three years to her.
"Shu, didn't you want to hear about my past? Can I tell you about it?"
Of course, Yu Shu nodded. She knew that what Xue Rui wanted to talk about must have something to do with his previous gaffe.
Xue Rui held the teacup in one hand and held her hand in the other as he leaned against the back of the chair. He hesitated for a moment in his heart, but in the end, he couldn't restrain himself anymore, so he said slowly, "When I was fourteen, I passed the first subject examination and passed the imperial examination. Three years later, I received the imperial examination of grace and entered two rankings with great splendor. You won't be able to find a Master Jinshi at my age in Anling City. Those who are ranked higher than me are either over sixty years old or have children. At that time, I was young and glorious. I was proud and arrogant. I didn't put anyone in my eyes. Even the princes had to call me brother and show me some respect. "
Yu Shu seriously listened to Xue Rui recount this part of the past, and she could imagine how proud the young Xue Rui was. His background, talent, and appearance were all top-notch candidates, and it was sufficient for him to look down upon all his peers in the entire capital. "I've told you before, my mother lost her sight when I was young, and she couldn't manage the house. Moreover, my grandmother passed away early as well, so I didn't manage a proper marriage until I was 17 years old." Xue Rui said in self-ridicule. "It's probably because I looked down upon the Young Miss, and I felt that I was worthy of being the most outstanding woman in the world."
When he was flashy and young, he went in and out of Chen Xiang House and stayed in Fragrant Grass Garden. Even the most talented courtesan couldn't shake the obsession in his heart.
"That year, the Hibiscus Gentlemen Banquet was hosted by the Empress herself. It was in Dingbo House. The Tenth Princess, who had been pampered in the palace, appeared for the first time and shocked me. She was skilled in the four arts, chess, calligraphy, and painting. She could play a tune with just one sound, and she could settle a game with just one piece. She was extraordinarily intelligent and beautiful. Compared to her, the ones I had seen before were all mediocre. "
When Yu Shu heard the sudden appearance of the Tenth Princess, she stilled unprepared. Then she looked at Xue Rui's face. The jealousy in her heart hadn't come out before it was replaced by confusion —
Because Xue Rui's face was not filled with infatuation and reminiscence, but an indescribably complex expression.
"To be able to shock you, the Tenth Princess must have been a peerless beauty," Yu Shu's face was a little puzzled. She couldn't help but ask: "How old was the Tenth Princess at that time?"
The Tenth Princess was ranked behind Liu Tan. Liu Tan was only sixteen or seventeen years old. Then three years ago, the Tenth Princess was only thirteen years old. She was so young, what was there to see?
Xue Rui could roughly guess what she was thinking and told her: "When the Tenth Princess was born, Jinshang was the Crown Prince. At that time, the Great Advisor personally divined and said that she was a beauty that the heavens were jealous of and had to hide her surname for three years. So she was only recorded in the jade archive when she was three years old. Even though she was ranked after Jing Wang, she was older than Jing Wang. That year, she was sixteen or eight years old."
Yu Shu could see that Xue Rui didn't have any nostalgia for the dead princess and couldn't be bothered to be jealous. She shook his hand and asked: "And then?"
"After the Hibiscus Gentlemen's Banquet, I tried my best to find out a lot about the Tenth Princess. The more I heard, the more love I felt for her. So I told my feelings to my grandfather, hoping that he would help me ask for a favor in front of the Emperor.
At this point, he paid attention to Yu Shu. Seeing that there was no displeasure on her face, he continued: "But grandfather reprimanded me and didn't agree."
He was the eldest son and grandson of the Xue family. In the future, he would inherit the family business and protect the family name. If he were to become the Prince's son-in-law, it would be equivalent to changing half of the Imperial surname. In the future, he wouldn't even be able to become an official and would have to bend his knees to a woman.
How could Xue Lingnan bear to part with his grandson, whom he had high hopes for? Not only did he not agree, he even used the family discipline to teach Xue Rui a lesson, trying to dispel his thoughts.
"At that time, I was young and full of vigor. I didn't have the heart to become an official. After studying for more than ten years, I had long grown tired of it. So my grandfather's lesson not only didn't warn me, but it made me even more determined not to become a mediocre official. It's funny that I never thought that if it wasn't for my grandfather's position as an official, who would pay attention to me? If I was poor and had nothing, then what would I be? "
Xue Rui laughed at himself and unceremoniously mocked himself. Yu Shu didn't feel good when she heard this. She could see that he was regretting his rebellious behavior in the past. However, he grew up like that, without his mother by his side, he only had a strict elder to supervise him every day. How could he not feel depressed? With great difficulty, he finally had an opportunity to break free from his shackles. Of course, he wouldn't give it up.
"In the middle of the tenth month of that year, His Majesty went into disguise in the south of the city and asked me to accompany him. I seized this opportunity to go into disguise in order to inspect the situation of the people. Xue Rui purposely led the way to cause trouble, but he was also lucky. He happened to encounter a family crying on the street and blocking the road. It was an unsolved murder case. He solved the case on the spot and persuaded the Eighth Prince who took advantage of every opportunity to expose his identity. His Majesty then sent people to capture the tyrant and murderer, causing the whole street to kneel and worship him.
"After the Emperor returned to the palace, he was very happy and made a promise. I took the opportunity to show my admiration for the Tenth Princess. As I wished, the Emperor promised me that after the New Year, he would appoint a marriage for the Tenth Princess. At that time, there were many people present, so this matter was leaked. My grandfather was the first to hear the news, but he couldn't do anything about it."
Yu Shu saw the guilt on his face. He seemed to be immersed in some kind of memory. After a long time of silence, she couldn't help but say: "I'll tell you the truth. Before I went to Huazhen Garden, I heard the story of you and the Tenth Princess. But in the end, I still couldn't understand how such a noble and wealthy person disappeared."
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