Chapter 185: Extra (15)
Ever since that day when Xie Jing had brought Bai Jiu loquats, the two of them shared a little secret.
At first, Xie Jing was a bit worried. He knew Bai Jiu didn’t have the best relationship with his uncle, and he couldn’t help but consider things from the perspective of the Xie family head. Half a month passed, and the city of Sichuan remained peaceful, with not a whisper of the incident leaking out. Whenever Bai Jiu saw Xie Jing, he never mentioned that night—he just asked for loquats again, praising how well they were picked and how sweet they tasted.
Xie Jing admired Bai Jiu’s discretion, thinking of him as a proper, honorable young man, and his impression of Bai Jiu grew ever more favorable.
He often went to see Bai Jiu—sometimes to learn shooting from Zhang Huwei, other times simply because he wanted to see him. Whenever he ate a delicious pastry or picked a bunch of fresh grapes, he wanted to bring them to Bai Jiu.
The more time he spent with Bai Jiu, the more curious he became about a letter he had never received. He wanted to know what Bai Jiu had written in it, every word, every sentence. But whenever he asked, Bai Jiu only shook his head and refused to tell him.
Frustrated, Xie Jing scratched his head and ran home to ask his uncle for the letter.
Xie Siquan had recently been outmaneuvered by Bai Jiu in business and was already in a bad mood. When Xie Jing asked about the letter, he immediately exclaimed, “What does that brat Bai Jiu want? Usually, coaxing you to stay a day isn’t enough, and now he’s even instigating you to come home and argue with me? I knew he was no good!”
Xie Jing replied, “I just want my letter, Uncle, please give it back!”
“Did you ask your father?”
“Yes, I asked. He says he knows nothing. I asked this morning before he went out with Mother to buy a boat. He even gave me some money before leaving.” Xie Jing held out his hand, stubbornly refusing to back down. “Uncle, don’t waste time talking. Just give me my letter.”
Xie Siquan was furious. “Your father didn’t say anything else?”
“Nope.”
“Then you come to me. I’ll have someone fetch your father so you can ask him again.” Xie Siquan walked a few steps, then returned, eyes calculating. “Why don’t you come with me? You haven’t gone out in a while. I can take you to buy a boat, split the cargo between two boats for you.”
Xie Jing refused; he was preoccupied with the upcoming horse race and didn’t want to leave Sichuan.
Xie Siquan said, “You’re grown now. You can’t play around like when you were a child. You have to listen to your uncle.” As the family head, he had his own calculations. No matter how close his nephew was with Bai Jiu, in business they were competitors. After several encounters, how friendly could it really be?
Xie Jing frowned at his analysis and instead defended Bai Jiu. “Uncle, don’t be too hard on him. Bai Jiu has already done so much for us.”
Xie Siquan laughed angrily. “I need his help?!”
Xie Jing scowled. “Uncle, you should speak and act cautiously.”
“…”
Xie Jing was stubborn; if he wanted something, he wouldn’t give up halfway. In the past few days, every time he saw Xie Siquan, he ran over to demand his letter.
Xie Siquan, unable to deal with the persistence and with no sign of his brother-in-law returning, had to summon a senior manager to handle the matter.
The manager, experienced and sharp, immediately knew the situation. Bowing, he apologized repeatedly, taking all responsibility: “Young master, there was so much cargo at the firm that day, and I must have mixed up the letters. I don’t even know what was valuable. It’s entirely my fault. If anything was lost, please tell me—I’ll take the punishment willingly.”
Xie Jing wouldn’t argue with a man in his fifties, especially one his mother trusted. He quickly helped the manager up and exchanged polite words.
Realizing the letter wouldn’t come back, Xie Jing muttered, “Forget it, I don’t want it.” Then he walked away.
Xie Siquan, giving the manager a reward, sat in the hall with a stern expression, silent for a long while. The others were too frightened to breathe, afraid to offend the family head.
Xu Jun entered and, seeing no one else was scared, approached and rubbed Xie Siquan’s brow. “Why are you sulking here? Who upset you?”
“Who else?”
Xu Jun smiled. “I guess no one else. What did Jing’er say?”
Xie Siquan frowned. “He sided with an outsider to provoke me.”
“Impossible. There must be a reason.”
Xie Siquan told Xu Jun about the letter. Xu Jun, upon hearing it, sided with Xie Jing and advised: “Why tease him? You know Jing’er’s temper—once he decides something, he won’t back down. If you really have it, you should have returned it earlier.”
Xie Siquan explained: “I didn’t take it. That day, my brother-in-law and I were drinking when the firm sent over some letters. The wine jar spilled, soaking a batch. The staff, worried there might be something important, dried them by the fire. I’d had too much to drink and didn’t see clearly; my brother-in-law noticed what was written first.”
Xu Jun was curious. “What did the letter say?”
Xie Siquan frowned, irritated. “That kid Bai Jiu wants to propose in Sichuan.”
“Propose? To whom?”
“To whom else? To Jing’er!”
Xu Jun was stunned. “They only knew each other as children. How can he suddenly propose? And Bai’s family is prominent—how could they allow him to act recklessly? I’ve never heard of him having siblings. Can this even work?”
Xie Siquan said, “I think the same. Who knows what that kid is planning. But this letter can’t be seen by my sister. You don’t know, there’s an unresolved matter with the Bai family.”
He recounted the story of Xie Jing’s birth to Xu Jun, surprising him. “If my sister knew, she would definitely approve of Bai Jiu’s proposal.”
Xu Jun nodded. “That makes sense.”
Xie Siquan frowned. “Which side are you on?”
“I think your sister is right.”
Xie Siquan sighed. “I know. Our Xie family owes a lot. When we went to the northern lands, we agreed—even if the Bai family requested this saltfield, we would comply. But Jing’er isn’t an object. How can we ‘give him away’?”
Xu Jun asked, “When your brother-in-law saw the letter, what did he say?”
“What could he say? You know his temper. Outwardly, he has some authority, but at home, he obeys my sister and Jing’er. When he saw the letter, his eyes reddened. He didn’t want to tell Jing’er he peeked, and he couldn’t let my sister mention the letter. He just asked me to pretend I never received it. I took pity and agreed.”
Xu Jun asked, “When did this happen?”
“Jing’er’s birthday, end of March.”
Xu Jun suddenly said, “That day you also wrote me a letter. Your wording was quite refined.”
“…?”
“You’re telling me honestly—that letter was written by you?”
“Of course I wrote it myself. I just copied a few nice phrases I saw.”
“Xie Siquan!”
“Why are you shouting? My feelings were real!”
“You’re… you’re too much!”
Xu Jun, furious, swept his sleeve and left.
That night, Xie Siquan couldn’t even return to his room. He stood at the door knocking, getting no response. He whispered a bit, and Xu Jun only opened a crack of the door and tossed him a quilt—clearly, he was thoroughly annoyed.
The family head stood in the courtyard holding the quilt, gazing at the moon, looking lonely even from behind. But he couldn’t leave the courtyard. A family head carrying a quilt outside today would be a laughingstock in Sichuan. He refused to step out.
Autumn winds brought a chill. The moon was full. Xie Siquan felt ever more forlorn. He felt caught between two sides—his wife and child were angry with him. Thinking of Xie Jing defending Bai Jiu, his heart ached. His precious nephew, raised and cherished for over a decade, might leave with someone else. People from the north were ruthless; Jing’er might not be able to keep him. Even the cabbages in his own field seemed to be taken by Bai Jiu.
That day, Xie Jing went hunting, got lightly injured, and was helped home.
Xie Siquan rushed back from the saltfield and summoned several doctors. After hearing it was a minor injury already treated, he relaxed slightly.
He bent to examine Xie Jing’s arm. “How did you get hurt? Was Hu Da not with you?”
Xie Jing said, “Uncle, I hurried on my own. I fell from the horse. It’s just a minor injury. Don’t blame them.”
Xie Siquan, furious, wanted to call Hu Da in. Xie Jing tugged his sleeve, lowering his voice: “I insisted on chasing the ibex. I was upset after arguing with you a few days ago, and I wanted to hunt a few extra ibex for you. Uncle, please don’t be mad at me.”
Xie Siquan’s heart melted. How could he still be angry? He barely had time to feel the concern. Watching Xie Jing grow up, he knew his nephew’s temper. For someone he cared about, Jing’er would eventually reconcile, regardless of right or wrong.
Xie Siquan rubbed his head, voice gentle: “I understand. I won’t blame them. But your parents aren’t here, so you must listen to your uncle. You’ll stay with me these days. I’ll worry about you until I see you fully healed before letting you go out to play.”
Xie Jing nodded, hugging him and rubbing against him like when he was a child. Xie Siquan laughed softly.
For days, the family head had people buy all sorts of rare things to give to his nephew. He also consistently went to the saltfield to help Xu Jun. These past days, business kept him late.
One morning, returning late, he saw a figure coming home—it was Xie Jing, wearing yesterday’s clothes, faintly smelling of alcohol.
Xie Siquan sniffed and realized it wasn’t alcohol, but medicinal wine.
Xie Jing, trying not to laugh, said: “Uncle, I wasn’t misbehaving. Bai Jiu worried about my arm, so he made some medicinal oil for me.”
Xie Siquan, recently reconciled with his nephew, didn’t dare comment on Bai Jiu, and softly coaxed: “Your injury’s healed. Don’t play too late tonight. Has Bai Jiu brought anything new?”
Xie Jing’s eyes lit up. “So much! The north has mountains, he said he could take me to hunt rabbits. There are also deer in the forest, with huge antlers! Uncle, I didn’t know the north had a horse festival too. Brother Bai said when it snows for several days, you can build tall snow piles and even make ice houses…”
“All Bai Jiu told you?”
“Yes!”
Xie Siquan smiled, smoothing his hair, letting him continue without interruption.
After several days of careful effort, Xu Jun finally opened the bedroom door for him.
Xie Siquan lay back in bed, hands behind his head, lost in thought.
Xu Jun brought a change of clothes and said, “This isn’t right.”
“Huh?”
“You know Jing’er’s abilities. Even if the entire Sichuan were on lockdown, he could escape. He respects you, likes you, and listens to you. That’s why you can’t always stop him. Better to talk things through. If possible, write a letter to your sister, invite Bai Jiu to visit. Sooner or later, you’ll meet anyway…”
Xie Siquan looked at him, smiling: “You’re worried about me again, ignoring all else?”
Xu Jun sat nearby, pressing a kiss to his brow.
He had tried ignoring Xie Siquan before—but his heart wouldn’t be still.
After two days, Xie Siquan wrote a letter to his sister. The person delivering it was replaced by one of Xie Yuanyuan’s attendants, who brought a message: the couple would return soon and were already on their way.
