Chapter 30:
Xie Wanning’s mind was somewhat slow-witted, and she nodded lightly.
She thought to herself that she seemed not to have shared a carriage with any man outside of Lu Ziyan yet.
However, with Xie Yanyu there, it didn’t count as being alone together.
Thinking this way, she didn’t look at Pei Yuqing, but instead gripped her elder brother’s arm and said softly, “Elder Brother, I want some water.”
The Xuanping Marquis’s Estate’s carriage naturally always had tea ready, so Xie Yanyu poured a cup of tea for his younger sister and handed it over, his tone carrying a bit of reproach: “Will you dare to drink until you’re so drunk next time?”
Alcohol bolstered the timid, and Xie Wanning wasn’t so afraid of him at the moment. She held the teacup and sipped it in small mouthfuls. Hearing this, she curved her lips in a smile and leaned closer to her elder brother while smiling: “They just wanted to get me drunk so you would come pick me up, to catch a glimpse of you.”
She wouldn’t normally dare to tease people like this. Xie Yanyu glanced at his younger sister and saw that her eyes weren’t very clear. He reached out to take the empty cup from her hand, too lazy to pay her any mind.
Xie Wanning nudged her elder brother twice with her elbow. Seeing that he still ignored her, she finally looked across with a face full of unhappiness: “Hey, Pei Yuqing.”
This impolite form of address made Xie Yanyu’s brow twitch. He was just about to scold his younger sister for being rude when, before the words could leave his mouth, he saw his good friend—who had been slighted by the younger generation—respond without changing expression: “Mm, I’m here.”
His tone was gentle, and even his voice was extremely tender.
Xie Wanning blinked upon hearing this and said seriously to him, “You can’t say one thing and mean another in the future, got it?”
Xie Yanyu showed a look of surprise, his gaze also turning toward the opposite side.
“…” Pei Yuqing paused slightly, lowered his eyes to avoid their line of sight, a bit embarrassed on his face, and said helplessly, “Wanwan, you’re drunk.”
Normally, Xie Wanning definitely wouldn’t give up so easily, but at this moment she was quite tipsy, and seeing his awkward and green demeanor, she felt inexplicably happy for some reason.
So she waved her hand and said in an extremely good-tempered way, “Forget it, I won’t force you.”
As she spoke, she felt her mind growing even more muddled and couldn’t help hugging her elder brother’s arm nearby, humming and hawing as she rested her little head against him and closed her eyes to rest.
Her shoulder sank as the little young lady who had just been making a fuss fell asleep. The carriage had good shock absorption, and the capital city’s roads were smooth, but Xie Yanyu still supported his younger sister’s neck with his hand for fear she would slump over, his gaze fixed on his friend across from them the whole time.
His expression was somewhat complicated: “Does Brother Changqing have anything he wants to say to me?”
The carriage fell into a brief dead silence.
In the midst of the silence, Pei Yuqing sighed lightly, his line of sight falling on the little young lady’s face on his shoulder, the emotions slowly rising in his eyes straightforward and obvious.
“Didn’t Runzhi figure it out long ago?”
As long as she was in front of him, his feelings could never be hidden, nor did he have the heart to hide them.
Xie Yanyu had of course sensed it early on, but his friend admitting it so directly still shocked him greatly.
He was stunned for a long time before parting his lips: “Wanwan toward you…”
“Her heart is all on Lu Ziyan and she has no feelings for me at all—it’s all one-sided on my part,” Pei Yuqing said faintly. “She just saw through my thoughts.”
Both had keen insight, and Xie Yanyu guessed most of it in an instant, though his frown never eased.
Pei Yuqing saw his worry and couldn’t help smiling slightly: “Runzhi, rest assured. From beginning to end, I only want to protect her as an elder brother.”
If he truly had an obsession to seek an outcome for himself, how could he have endured silently until now, watching with open eyes as Lu Ziyan bullied and wronged her all these years.
If only Lu Ziyan had been devoted to her, allowing her to marry steadily and peacefully, he wouldn’t have appeared before her repeatedly during this time, letting her see through his thoughts.
Xie Yanyu was extremely shocked: “When did you…”
Pei Yuqing shook his head slightly, unwilling to say more.
…………
The carriage steadily entered the Xie Residence and came to a stop. The drunken young lady was still sleeping with her eyes closed, sleeping soundly.
Xie Yanyu frowned as he looked for a moment, then resignedly took the cloak nearby to wrap his younger sister and carried her out of the carriage.
At the intersection of spring and summer, with fine weather today, the evening breeze was mild and comfortable. The evening glow shone on her eyelids, and Xie Wanning frowned as she opened her eyes.
“Awake? If you’re awake, walk on your own,” Xie Yanyu unceremoniously set her down, supported her until she stood steady, and nagged almost subconsciously: “You’re such a big young lady now, yet you go out to a banquet and get so drunk you’re out of your senses.”
“…” As soon as her feet touched the ground, Xie Wanning sobered up a bit. She looked around and could already see her Jianxia Courtyard.
Apart from Er Qing and the sheep-hair brush from her elder brother’s side following behind—currently lowering her head and holding back laughter—there was no one else.
She raised her hand to call Er Qing over to support her and said somewhat embarrassed, “Why didn’t Elder Brother wake me?”
She was so old already, and being carried by her elder brother—what would that look like.
Xie Yanyu glanced at her and said nothing.
Entering Jianxia Courtyard, he instructed Er Qing: “Go make a bowl of sobering tea for your young lady to drink, so she won’t have a headache when the alcohol wears off at night.”
Er Qing curtsied and withdrew.
The hall was left with just the brother and sister.
Xie Wanning was already slumped crookedly on the soft chair, holding a cup of hot tea and carefully sipping it. Her muddled mind had cleared up mostly. She pointed to the chair nearby: “Elder Brother, sit.”
Her eager appearance showed that the alcohol had mostly worn off.
Xie Yanyu sat down silently and looked up: “Did you see Lu Ziyan at the Zheng Family today?”
He had heard from Zheng Ye that the Zheng Family had started sending invitations to familiar families more than half a month ago. After all, it was a full birthday celebration, held very solemnly, and notifying closer families early to clear their schedules was only natural.
At that time, their family’s marriage engagement with the Lu Family was still going smoothly. As the Lu Family’s grandson-in-law, Lu Ziyan naturally made the Wuyuan Marquis’s Estate a fairly close relative of the Qu Cheng Marquis’s Estate.
The invitation had naturally been sent to them as well. Later, when the Xie and Lu families fell out, the Zheng Family couldn’t very well ask for the invitation back.
He had thought the Lu Family would know better than to come, but while the several madams of the Lu Family indeed didn’t show, Lu Ziyan had come alone.
He even brought a generous gift, leaving no room for anyone to find fault.
By the time he learned Lu Ziyan had arrived, the banquet was already underway, and Xie Yanyu hadn’t had a chance to remind his younger sister.
Seeing her now with the flush of drunkenness, he thought the two must have run into each other in the Zheng Family’s back courtyard, had another quarrel that soured her mood, and she drowned her sorrows in alcohol.
Meanwhile, Xie Wanning, who had been happily sipping her tea, suddenly heard Lu Ziyan’s name and immediately wilted a bit.
“Saw him,” she nodded lazily, saying listlessly, “Elder Brother, you don’t know—he’s like a completely different person now…”
Xie Yanyu seemed very interested: “Changed how?”
“I can’t quite say,” Thinking of that person’s jealous rage today, fierce as if he wanted to devour someone, Xie Wanning tsked lightly, set down her teacup, frowned, and said, “Anyway, I can’t really figure him out anymore.”
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