Nan Yi returned to Xie's Mansion and became an embarrassing existence.
In terms of status, Nan Yi is the young lady of the eldest daughter of the Xie family, but in terms of background, she is a pariah who is even inferior to the female servant in the family.
If she had died dutifully, this mistake would have been bearable, but not only did she not die, she now returned to the Xie Mansion in a dignified manner.
How to deal with this error? It's a tricky thing, but not that tricky.
Lu Jinxiu only asked the female envoy to take Nan Yi to Huaixu Courtyard where Xie Heng lived before his rebirth, and asked her to wait for Aunt Qiao's arrangements. In this way, no matter what Aunt Qiao arranges, it has nothing to do with her.
Nan Yi was sitting on the stone bench in the courtyard. She thought Aunt Qiao who was chatting with her in front of the soul was a kind person. She waited from day to dusk and did not dare to walk around, for fear that she would not be able to find Aunt Qiao when she came. she. She watched helplessly as the sun set towards the west and sank into the eaves. She didn't even wait for Aunt Qiao's arrangements, and she didn't even show up.
She spent the whole day on this stone bench cautiously, humbly and restlessly. When she saw the warm candlelight in the house not far away, she finally understood that Aunt Qiao would not appear again.
I don't mean to be harsh, it's the dignity of the family, but the people in the family can't tolerate this untouchable being on an equal footing with everyone. So everyone chose silence.
Everyone tacitly ignored her and treated her as a transparent person, out of sight but out of mind. This way, she would not have any bad luck, nor would she be stigmatized as a mistreater of women.
In this huge Wangxuewu, there are twelve courtyard houses, large and small, named after the elegant names of the twelve months, with pavilions, pavilions, carved beams and painted buildings. But there is no place for Nan Yi in this vast mansion.
Qiao Yinzhi was not a mean person. She had shown kindness to Nan Yi, but that kindness only existed under the premise that Nan Yi wanted to be buried for Xie Heng again.
Even Nan Yi could understand that she would do anything to stay alive and destroy the order in the family. But so what? She just wants to live. No one cared about her, so she found a place to sleep by herself. It was so cold in the yard that she couldn't sit there all night.
But she didn't want to attract attention, so she avoided the lighted room and walked along the west side of the wall, finally finding an empty wing in Huaixu Courtyard. As soon as he opened the door, dust rushed into his face, causing him to cough several times.
The room was dimly lit, not even a candle could be found. There was no bedding on the bed, only hard wooden slats, which were freezing cold.
Nan Yi was hungry, cold and thirsty, but fortunately her clothes were thick, so she took her clothes and slept on the wooden board. When you fall asleep, you don’t feel any suffering at all.
……
Nan Yi thought she would sleep well. In the past, when she was wandering on the roadside, she had stayed in worse conditions. Now that this house had tiles to protect her from wind and rain, it was already pretty good.
But Nan Yi only slept lightly for half an hour before being woken up by the cold. Tossing and turning, the wooden board beneath me hurt my back.
Tomorrow we should find some straw to spread on the planks.
Nan Yi thought so and tried to fall asleep again, but he became more and more awake.
She remembered Zhang Yuehui. One winter, he brought a pile of cotton from nowhere and wanted to make a quilt for her.
None of them were good at this job, and the quilts they made were thick at one end and thin at the other, extremely uneven. But this did not prevent the quilt from being very warm, but it was later cut to pieces by the evil official with a knife. The cotton wadding in the sky was like cold snow, rising in the air for a long time and refusing to fall.
She failed to keep the quilt, and after that, she rarely felt warm.
Nan Yi turned around again. Although her eyes were closed, she vaguely noticed that there seemed to be light in the room. She frowned, opened her eyes a crack, saw the scene in the room, and sat up with excitement, now her sleepiness was gone.
Xie Queshan was sitting in the room, with a lantern he brought beside the table. The dim light of the candle surrounded the silent cabin, and the light and shadow flickered on his face. His stick injury has not healed, and his face is slightly pale.
If Nan Yi hadn't made sure that she was awake at this moment, otherwise she would really have thought that this moment and this scene was a nightmare.
After being stunned for a few seconds, Nan Yi rolled out of bed almost reflexively and knelt on the ground with a plop.
"Why did you come here so quietly like a ghost..."
Her voice was trembling, half cold, half out of real fear. But as soon as the words came out of his mouth, Nan Yi regretted them. They sounded like curses.
Fortunately, he didn't seem to care, there was no wave on his face, he just looked down at her.
"Is it cold if you sleep here?" His tone was far from caring.
"...cold." She hesitated for a moment, but answered truthfully.
"I survived after making such a big fuss, but I still live like a fool."
Nan Yi thought this was Xie Queshan's accusation and quickly explained: "Young Master, you know, what I did during the day was just a delaying tactic. I didn't really want to hurt you. I'm sorry, Master, if I said anything offensive When it comes to your... I ask you, sir, to have a lot of it and don't take it to heart."
Xie Queshan didn't answer for a long time. Nan Yi lay on the ground and waited for a while, then raised his head in confusion and observed his expression.
Meeting her probing gaze, he suddenly laughed.
"You call me a traitor and a traitor during the day, but at night you change your face. You are really flexible and flexible."
"That...that's just part of the play. Otherwise, give me a hundred courages, and I wouldn't even dare to scold you."
Nan Yi knew that her defense was very weak. She was acting in vain and was an uninvited guest. Who knew if he would suddenly want to kill her.
He seemed to be able to see through her little thoughts: "Get up, I won't kill you."
Nan Yi still didn't dare to get up: "Then... what are you doing here?"
Nan Yi looked at the silent Xie Queshan and always felt that the look on his face was a bit lonely.
Xie Queshan looked out the window. The thin window paper revealed the light outside, and a faint afterglow spread on the window lattice. In fact, Xie Queshan didn't know why he came here. He just thought that this huge Wangxuewu was brightly lit, but this place was dark. Maybe she was the only one left in the darkness like him.
This thought was swirling in my mind, and my footsteps came over unconsciously.
But the slightest bit of emotion cannot be expressed in words.
Xie Queshan took out a wooden box from his sleeve and said, "Do me a favor."
The wooden box exuded a strong smell of ointment. Looking at Xie Queshan's pale face, Nan Yi already understood.
Still confused, she muttered: "Don't you have a personal attendant?"
He Pingyu went out to do some things for Xie Queshan at night. He really didn't have anyone at hand who could handle him. Looking at the female servants and servants standing next to Xuewu, he wouldn't let them get close to him. Looking at the entire mansion, the only person he dared to hand over his back to was actually her.
It's not trust, but he knows that she depends on him to save her life. She is the only one who dare not kill him and will not kill him.
Xie Queshan was too lazy to explain and glanced sideways at Nan Yi. Nan Yi didn't dare to say anything more. He just thought that this was another big shot's whim. He didn't dare to comment. He stood up obediently and took the ointment.
The strong smell of the ointment entered his nose, and Nan Yi suddenly thought of a question. He was injured on his back. Doesn't he have to take off his coat to apply the ointment? She was a little dumbfounded.
Xie Queshan had already untied his belt and took off his robe as if no one else was watching.
In the dim light of the lantern on the table, his scarred back was exposed in front of her eyes, bringing another sense of shock.
A few days passed, and some small wounds began to scar, but there were still many vertical and horizontal wounds that were still oozing blood.
Nan Yi didn't know what she was feeling in her heart.
People are of the same kind first, and then divided into enemies and friends. Her heart is not so hard that it is invulnerable to all poisons, so it is inevitable that she will empathize with people who shouldn't be empathized with. She picked out the ointment and carefully removed the medicine from the mountain.
The cold fingers were coated with thick ointment, and the touch across the wound was also refreshing and biting.
It was like she was writing on his back, horizontally, vertically, folding, folding, and pressing, but together they were some incomprehensible symbols, rubbing this secretive night into the scars.
It hurts. Xie Queshan's hand holding the corner of the table had veins popping out.
Seeing the tense back of his hand, Nan Yi became really nervous. His hand unconsciously became heavy, and Xie Queshan finally couldn't help but groaned.
"continue."
Before Nan Yi could subconsciously retract her hand, Xie Queshan calmly gave her an unquestionable instruction.
Nan Yi could only continue to apply medicine on him, and the movements of his hands became more careful.
After being silent for a long time, Xie Queshan suddenly spoke: "Although our positions are different, I respect my brother very much, so I will not treat his old man badly."
"But I... don't live up to my name, and I can't be considered his old person." As he answered, the movements of his hands continued.
"Name is more important than reality," he said very firmly, "but you are still a little different from others."
"What's the difference?"
"I gave you your life."
The weight of these words was so heavy that Nan Yi was a little breathless.
After finally applying medicine to his wounds, Nan Yi obediently walked back to him, lowered his head and knelt down, not daring to look at him again: "Master, the medicine is ready."
Xie Queshan put on his clothes and looked at Nan Yi: "What's your name?"
"Nan clothes. Nan of the south, clothes of clothes."
"Nanyi, do you know which kind of beast in the Colosseum the dignitaries like to buy the most?"
Nan Yi thought for a while and answered hesitantly: "The strongest one?"
Xie Queshan shook his head: "They may not be the strongest, but they must be the ones with the strongest desire to survive. In order to survive, they will unleash their unlimited potential to reverse the situation. This is the most exciting moment of fighting beasts. "
Nan Yi looked up at him and shuddered.
"You are the beast I bought back," Xie Queshan stood up, his shadow pressing heavily over him, "So, you have to live hard in my Colosseum."
Xie Queshan leaned forward and helped Nan Yi up. Nan Yi could only rely on his strength to stand up. After standing still, she wanted to retract her hand, but found that her arm was still firmly grasped by him.
"Remember your identity, Nan Yi. You are now the confirmed young lady of the Xie family. You don't need to kneel to anyone except your elders. From today on, learn how to be the master. Don't think about escaping or going there again. Steal something.”
"In my current situation, I have nothing, how can I be a master?" Nan Yi was a little annoyed. She thought he was teasing her.
"In a secular family, you have to learn to ask for things that others don't give you. You even want your own life back, what else can you not ask for?"
The wind picked up, banging against the doors and windows, and squeezed into the already cold room along the gaps. For a moment, there was only the sound of the cold wind hovering in the Western Zhou Dynasty, and there was silence.
Deep down, he pities her. It is true that he has enough status now and can give her glory and wealth at will, but in troubled times, she cannot hold on and will only fall deeper, which is useless. He wanted to teach her to earn her living in an upright manner. But he won't be honest, and he doesn't need her to understand immediately.
After a long time, Nan Yi raised her head and looked into his eyes. She understood some of his words, but she was still dubious.
"Then...can you leave the candle in the lantern for me?"
She asked cautiously, as if she were testing and verifying what she was learning now.
He didn't answer, just let go, her arm dropped, and her cold knuckles touched his palm.
They both paused.
His hands were so warm. In front of the warmth that she could absorb, she couldn't even remember for a moment the relationship between men and women, or what kind of big devil he was. Her hand was almost subconsciously in his palm. There was a pause.
Then, she regained her senses and reluctantly retracted her hand.
"Okay." He replied.
He walked straight out the door without taking his lantern with him.
Nan Yi moved to the table in a daze, and put her hands on the wall of the lantern. The lantern had been warmed by the candlelight, just enough to warm her hands.
She was just a duckweed in troubled times. She would live wherever he took her, and she had no choice but to live there.
Can she really survive?
——
Xie Queshan returned to his room, but it was empty. The cold moonlight poured in from the window lattice, illuminating the black and white chess pieces on the table clearly.
Halfway through the chess game, the outcome was decided. Xie Queshan twisted a sunspot under the moonlight and placed it in a corner of the chessboard.
With a "pop" sound, there is no regret in making a move.
Heizi was almost certain to lose, but now, there was one more particle in the upper right corner... Heizi actually breathed a few more breaths.
A chess piece can complete a game of chess.
"It's still too early to win in the end." Xie Queshan said to himself quietly.
