TSWRLM -Chapter 334 Sister He’er

“I am Su Yang, this year’s newly appointed jinshi, and A-Xi’s childhood playmate.”

Su Yang answered, though he felt somewhat intimidated by Xiao Yechen. Still, in order not to lose face in front of Xiao Qinghe, he straightened his back and tried to appear calm and composed.

However, the moment he finished speaking, Xiao Yechen’s cold voice rang out: “Since Young Master Su has passed the imperial examination, you must be a man of learning and propriety. Even if you share some childhood affection with Madam Shen, it is not appropriate to address her so familiarly in public, is it?”

Su Yang’s expression stiffened.

Though he had earned the title of jinshi, among the aristocratic families of the capital, he was still a nobody. If he didn’t deliberately draw closer to Chun Xi, he wouldn’t even be qualified to stand here and speak with Xiao Qinghe and the others.

Now that Xiao Yechen had exposed this directly, Su Yang felt extremely embarrassed. He quickly said, “General Xiao is right. I was careless and rude just now.”

Xiao Yechen replied sternly, “The one you offended is Madam Shen. You should apologize to her.”

Su Yang gritted his teeth, silently cursing Xiao Yechen for meddling, but he didn’t dare disobey. He lowered his head and apologized to Chun Xi.

After such an incident, Su Yang had no face to remain and hurriedly left.

Chun Xi thanked Xiao Yechen and asked curiously, “General Xiao, what brings you here all of a sudden?”

Of course, Xiao Yechen wouldn’t admit that he had come for Xiao Qinghe. He gave a light cough and said, “The residence His Majesty granted me is nearly finished. I plan to buy some decorations. I’m not very good at this sort of thing. Since I happened to run into Madam Shen today, would you be willing to give me some advice?”

His eyes were full of expectation.

Chun Xi raised her brows slightly—this man really knew how to take advantage of the situation.

She didn’t agree immediately, instead turning to look at Xiao Qinghe and Xiao Qingyue for their opinion. Xiao Qingyue, who couldn’t hide her thoughts, readily said: “Sure! We came today to pick out a gift for Brother A-Chen anyway, and we were just worrying about not knowing your preferences. Why not choose together?”

Seeing that Xiao Qinghe didn’t object, Xiao Yechen nodded. “Thank you, Eldest Miss and Second Miss.”

“Huh? You call my elder brothers ‘brother,’ but you address us so formally. Is it because we don’t meet often and aren’t familiar?”

Xiao Qingyue asked in confusion.

The Xiao family had many children. By the time Xiao Yechen came to the Xiao household, he was already six or seven years old. Because of propriety between men and women, Xiao Qingyue and the others rarely met him. They might see each other during festivals, but with so many people around, there was little chance to talk.

Still, Xiao Qingyue had already called him “Brother A-Chen” to show goodwill—yet he remained overly formal.

Xiao Yechen’s eyelashes trembled. His hands, hanging by his sides, clenched into fists. After a long pause, he corrected himself:

“Yue’er… little sister. He’er… little sister.”

When he said “He’er, little sister,” his voice was especially soft, as if afraid of disturbing Xiao Qinghe.

Xiao Qingyue didn’t notice the subtle difference. Satisfied with the form of address, she happily began browsing the shop.

She had already decided what gift to give Xiao Yechen, but as she walked around, she became distracted by things she liked.

Chun Xi, on the other hand, followed Xiao Yechen together with Xiao Qinghe. She couldn’t offer much advice. After walking around for a while, Xiao Qinghe spoke: “Although elder brother is a military man, the war has ended now. I think the furnishings in the residence don’t need to be overly refined, but they also don’t have to be too imposing. What do you think, elder brother?”

The word “elder brother” made Xiao Yechen’s ears tingle. He tried hard to restrain himself and answered as calmly as possible, “Alright.”

Xiao Qinghe helped choose some calligraphy, paintings, potted plants, and interesting ornaments. Throughout the process, Xiao Yechen had no objections—anything Xiao Qinghe approved of, he had the shop assistants wrap up.

Soon, the entire morning passed. Xiao Yechen then proposed treating them to a meal as thanks. Although Chun Xi hadn’t helped much, she was very enthusiastic at the mention of food.

The group went to a nearby restaurant. After ordering, Xiao Qingyue couldn’t hold back her curiosity: “Brother A-Chen, what kind of woman do you like? Recently, so many people have been asking my mother about it. Just tell us!”

Besides those asking Madam Xiao, many of Xiao Qingyue’s close friends had also been inquiring.

“Yue’er, don’t be rude,” Xiao Qinghe warned softly, feeling the question was inappropriate.

Xiao Qingyue pouted. “Sister, I don’t mean any harm. Can’t I just ask?”

Before Xiao Qinghe could respond, Xiao Yechen spoke first: “Actually… I already have someone I admire.”

“Really? Which family’s young lady is she? I’ll tell my mother right away so she can arrange a proposal for you!”

Xiao Qingyue immediately pressed on, her eyes shining.

Xiao Yechen lowered his gaze, not daring to look at Xiao Qinghe. In a low voice, he said, “She doesn’t know that I like her, and I don’t wish to disturb her.”

Xiao Qingyue was puzzled. “Why? If you like her, shouldn’t you want to marry her? Could it be she’s already married?”

Xiao Yechen couldn’t reveal more and didn’t know how to respond. Chun Xi stepped in at the right moment: “That’s enough, Yue’er. If General Xiao doesn’t want to say, he must have his reasons. If you had someone you liked, you wouldn’t want people constantly pressing you about it either, right?”

That made sense.

Putting herself in that position, Xiao Qingyue stopped asking, but still encouraged Xiao Yechen: “If you really like her, I think you should try harder. At the very least, find a chance to let her know your feelings. Even if she doesn’t like you back, knowing there’s someone in this world who cares for her deeply would still make her happy.”

Xiao Yechen fell into thought.

After the meal, Xiao Yechen escorted the two sisters home along the way. Chun Xi, however, returned to the antique shop. The shop assistant immediately greeted her: “Madam, why have you come back? Did you lose something?”

“No,” Chun Xi shook her head and handed him some silver. “I just want to ask—what did that Young Master Su buy earlier?”

Since Su Yang had spoken loudly before, the assistant knew they were acquainted. Weighing the silver in his hand, he answered honestly: “That Young Master Su didn’t come to buy anything. He asked a craftsman here to engrave a jade pendant. It seemed to be a token of love between him and his fiancée. He wanted to engrave his fiancée’s name—her surname appears to be Cao.”

Chun Xi: “…”

So Su Yang didn’t even have a real token—he fabricated one?

With this in mind, Chun Xi returned home and immediately went to find Feng Yinyin.

After a night’s rest, Feng Yinyin looked a bit better. When Chun Xi asked about a token, she thought for a moment and said: “My mother originally didn’t approve of us being together. Back then, to please me, he tattooed my courtesy name over his left chest. Even if he removed the tattoo, there would definitely still be a scar.”

Chun Xi raised her brows—something engraved on the body was far more convincing than a fragile jade pendant.