Chapter Twelve Bird's Nest
1930 Words
"Ah?! They all know martial arts?!" Situ Yinxiu nervously clutched the front of her clothes. "How could you tell?"
"Of course. Those people aren't at the level where their martial arts have reached the state of returning to simplicity and are unattainable! ——Ordinary martial artists simply can't conceal their skills. These people make a living on the water and are the most ruthless water bandits. There aren't any particularly powerful characters among them, so they were discovered by my subordinates. After some interrogation, well, they turned out to be from the same group as the people who robbed us before! So we didn't hold back and took the initiative to strike first!"
Zheng Hao's words were righteous and flawless, clearly indicating that he had prepared them long in advance.
Situ Yinxiu thought that what he said seemed generally coherent, except for one thing. That is, the claim Zheng Hao made about them being first attacked by water bandits and then escaping onto Situ Yinxiu's boat simply didn't hold water. Since the precondition was not valid, the subsequent words must be all fabricated...
Situ Yinxiu pondered for a long time and still gave Zheng Hao a gentle reminder, "Since Young Master Feng doesn't want to tell the truth, I won't ask any more questions. Anyway, I believe that Young Master Feng has no intention of harming us. I will never forget this life - saving grace, Yinxiu." As she spoke, she stood up and bowed deeply to Zheng Hao, performing a grand salute.
Zheng Hao was taken aback and immediately reacted. He quickly tried to avoid it and repeatedly said, "Miss Situ, there's no need for such excessive courtesy!" But Situ Yinxiu had already finished her grand salute.
She raised her head, and her bright and sparkling almond - shaped eyes quickly swept across Zheng Hao's face. Then she lowered her eyes and said with a smile, "Young Master Feng has an exalted status. I assume you don't care about the gratitude gifts from our humble family. However, if Young Master Feng has any requests in the future, as long as our Situ family can manage it, we will definitely do our best!"
Zheng Hao clicked his tongue twice, flicked his folding fan on his hand, and smiled, "Miss Situ really speaks flawlessly. When it comes to repaying the favor, there are still so many conditions attached!" First, she said that her family was humble and definitely couldn't offer much help. Then she said that they would only help with what their family could do. This latter point was really worth pondering...
Situ Yinxiu was hit right on the mark by Zheng Hao about her little thought, and her face couldn't help but turn red. The smile on her face almost disappeared.
"Look, I don't think you're the kind of person who forgets kindness and repays evil. Since ancient times, when a hero saves a beauty, the beauty is supposed to promise to marry him. ——How about it, Miss Situ, would you promise to marry me?" Zheng Hao swished open his folding fan, blocking half of his smiling face, and looked at Situ Yinxiu with great interest.
Of course, Zheng Hao didn't really want to marry Situ Yinxiu. But using this method to break through this woman's seemingly invulnerable shell of dignity and composure was really interesting!
Situ Yinxiu was indeed at a loss for words... Leaving aside the fact that she already had a marriage contract, even if she didn't, she had never wanted to marry a "national husband" like Zheng Hao with the status of a prince... If she really married him, she would either be strangled to death by those women in the Southern Zheng Kingdom who considered themselves members of the "Young Mistress Zheng Hao Fan Club" or drowned in the saliva of all the women in the world who were infatuated with Zheng Hao!
In a hurry, Situ Yinxiu thought of the excuse Zheng Hao had just used. She immediately came to her senses, smiled gracefully, and nodded, saying, "Young Master Feng's great kindness indeed needs to be repaid well. But actually, we also saved Young Master's life. Moreover, Young Master's life is more precious than all the people in our Situ family. So when we balance each other's favors, it seems that Young Master Feng still owes us a life - saving grace..."
"You ——!" This time, it was Zheng Hao's turn to be at a loss for words. Clutching the folding fan in his hand, he could hardly fan it. Looking at the faint smile on Situ Yinxiu's face, which wasn't particularly beautiful, but the sudden radiance of her intelligence and cleverness made his heart tingle and feel intoxicated.
Zheng Hao racked his brains for a while but couldn't think of any words to refute Situ Yinxiu. Helplessly, he angrily slapped the folding fan on the table, dragged the porridge bowl over, and started eating the porridge while muttering, "...... As expected, she's from a merchant family. She's really nitpicking!" After thinking for a while, he angrily taught Situ Yinxiu, "For a young lady, the best qualities are chastity, tranquility, gentleness, magnanimity, and grace! Who taught you this petty and calculating behavior! Is this how you calculate a life - saving grace?! Can it be calculated like this?!" He wished he could say that every word of hers was heart - piercing and every sentence was full of blood...
Situ Yinxiu didn't say anything more. She leisurely lowered her head and started eating the porridge, and the smile on her face didn't fade at all.
Zheng Hao said these things to her just because he didn't get the advantage he wanted. ——Since he was the defeated one, she might as well be magnanimous and not argue with him.
When Zheng Hao saw that Situ Yinxiu didn't say anything, he became even angrier and kept muttering about how she should be a noble and generous woman...
After Situ Yinxiu slowly finished eating the porridge, she wiped her mouth with a handkerchief and then said, "Young Master Feng comes from a noble family. The rule of 'not speaking while eating and not talking while sleeping' should be something you've never forgotten since you were a child, right?"
This was actually saying that Zheng Hao was too talkative and didn't have an air of nobility...
Zheng Hao had a meat bun in his mouth at that moment. He was so angry that he couldn't swallow it. It got stuck in his throat, neither going up nor down, making his handsome face turn purple.
Situ Yinxiu quickly reached out and gave him a hard pat on the back. Then she made her hand into a knife - like shape and gently chopped at his neck.
"Pfft —!" Zheng Hao finally spat out the meat bun in his throat and gasped for breath.
"Don't be in a hurry, Young Master Feng. There are plenty of meat buns. Eat slowly. There's tea here. Please enjoy it. I still have something to do, so I'm afraid I have to excuse myself." Situ Yinxiu stood up, poured a cup of tea for Zheng Hao, and then turned and left.
Zheng Hao looked at Situ Yinxiu's back, involuntarily touched his throat. After a while, he came to his senses, scratched the back of his head, and secretly thought to himself why he had been so muddle - headed as to get angry with an eleven - or twelve - year - old girl?! ——He was really regressing as he grew older!
However, thinking of Situ Yinxiu's calm behavior and wise words and deeds last night, she really didn't seem like an eleven - or twelve - year - old girl who had never seen the world.
This family of the third branch of the Situ family was indeed quite interesting...
Zheng Hao pondered and stared in the direction where Situ Yinxiu had left for a while.
...
Situ Yinxiu returned to her cabin and saw Situ Chenlei sitting dumbly at the table, Situ Anxiang and the four maids playing a game of "zhuazi" on the table. Their voices were as clear as a warbler's song, and they were laughing heartily.
"It's so lively here." Situ Yinxiu smiled and walked in.
When Situ Chenlei saw her walk in, his eyes lit up. He quickly stood up and ran over, grabbing her arm and calling out, "Sister! Sister!"
Situ Yinxiu touched his forehead. Seeing that he was still normal and didn't have a fever, she finally felt completely at ease. She held his hand and came to the table, saying, "Xiaolei, would you like sister to teach you how to play 'zhuazi'?"
Situ Chenlei didn't understand her words and just smiled at her.
Situ Yinxiu didn't force him. As long as Xiaolei was still alive, it was better than anything else.
"Sister, let me teach him. Father sent someone to look for you just now and asked you to go and talk to him." Situ Anxiang said with a smile.
Situ Yinxiu thought for a while, "Then I'll go. You take care of Xiaolei. Don't let him run out, and don't let anyone else in either."
"Got it." The four maids replied in unison.
Situ Anxiang also nodded, "I understand."
...
Situ Yinxiu came to the cabin of her father, Situ Jianren, and her stepmother, Zhang Shi. She knocked on the door and said, "Father, Mother, it's me, Yinxiu."
The door of the cabin immediately opened. Situ Jianren waved to her inside, "Come in quickly! Come in quickly!"
Situ Yinxiu walked in and briefly told Situ Jianren about the conversation with Zheng Hao just now. Of course, she skipped the part where Zheng Hao asked her to "promise to marry him."
After listening, Situ Jianren stroked the three - strand beard on his chin and paced back and forth in the cabin, "So that's how it is. That makes sense then."
Zhang Shi smiled and said, "That's good. Your father was still a bit worried before. In my opinion, those people of Young Master Feng aren't bad people. They're just borrowing our boat for a ride. By being kind to others, we're also being kind to ourselves. Master, you don't need to think about it any further."
"Alright. Go and give an order to find a few more trackers. Let's speed up our journey and get to the capital as soon as possible." Situ Jianren let out a long sigh. "I was really scared out of my wits last night." Then he asked Situ Yinxiu, "Your sister is with you. You have to take good care of her. She's only eight years old and has always been delicate and weak. Don't let her get scared."
"Sister is fine. She's even helping to take care of Xiaolei." Situ Yinxiu said with a smile. "Xiaolei is also fine. He doesn't have a fever."
Situ Jianren waved his hand dismissively, "I'm not worried about Xiaolei. I'm only worried about Anxiang. By the way, ask the kitchen to stew a bowl of rock - sugar - stewed bird's nest for Anxiang every day to nourish her body."
Zhang Shi glanced at Situ Yinxiu's expression and quickly said, "Yinxiu and Xiaolei should also have some. Let's give each of them a bowl."
"We don't have much bird's nest with us. How can it be enough for the three of them to eat? ——Let Anxiang have it first..." Situ Jianren waved his hand, signaling Situ Yinxiu to leave.
- Writer
