Pastoral Splendor

The evening breeze rustled the leaves, and the soft moonlight and the faint falling petals made one feel exceptionally refreshed. Stepping on the pink and white petals was like stepping on tender thoughts, so light that one felt as if they could fly away.

Jian Yifei gently pushed open the courtyard gate and went in. It was already early 11:00 PM. The old woman at the side gate smiled and said to him, "Master Jian, if you come back any later, this old woman will go to bed. It's almost time to lock the gate."

She spoke with a smile, but her tone betrayed impatience and complaint. Jian Yifei knew she was late and was complaining, so she just smiled and didn't say anything, instead taking out a piece of silver and tossing it to her: "Mother, take this and go buy some wine."

The old woman's eyes widened in surprise. She reached out and took the silver, opened the side gate completely, and bowed to Jian Yifei: "Master Jian, please go in and rest. It's getting late."

This time, the smile was genuine; he was happy to have received a piece of silver, and that smile was naturally real.

Jian Yifei took the horse to the stable and slowly walked into her own courtyard. Just as she stepped inside, someone rushed out from the door: "Master, where did you go tonight? I've been looking for you everywhere!"

Jian Yifei removed Xu Yixuan's hand from her shoulder, smiled at him, and said, "I had something urgent tonight and didn't have time to tell you."

Xu Yixuan followed Jian Yifei forward, wondering, "What urgent matter is it? Has it been resolved?"

“Miss Xiao was forcibly taken away by the son of Prefect Lin.” Jian Yifei saw Xu Yixuan’s brows slowly furrowing and gave him a reassuring smile: “Don’t worry, I just took her home.”

"This is outrageous!" Xu Yixuan slammed his fist heavily on the tree, causing the branches to rustle and the fallen petals and leaves to flutter to the ground with a soft, crisp sound. "What did you do with that Prefect Lin's son? Did you cut off his hands or chop off his feet?"

"No." Jian Yifei shook his head honestly. "If I did that, I wouldn't be here now." He wasn't Xu Yixuan, who could do whatever he wanted. Although he had the ability to cut off Lin Qinxun's hands and feet, he didn't have to be so vicious. Teaching him a lesson was enough. If he continued to do evil, it wouldn't be too late for him to teach him a lesson later.

"Master, how can you be so soft-hearted?" Xu Yixuan jumped up and down anxiously. "That bad guy should be taught a lesson, otherwise he might do more bad things!" He thought for a moment, then suddenly raised his eyebrows. "So when Miss Xiao has something to say, her second sister always comes to me. Why didn't she come to tell me today?"

Jian Yifei shook her head: "I don't know either. Tonight I was planning to go out for a ride, and as soon as I went out, I saw the second young lady of the Xiao family standing at the door, looking anxious. I went over and asked her what happened."

Xu Yixuan's face instantly changed color. He threw off his robe and jumped up: "Well, those two gatekeepers actually wouldn't let her in. Did they have a death wish?" With a flick of his hand, Xu Yixuan stormed out, and the two servants beside him quickly chased after him: "Young Master, please slow down and watch your step!"

Xiuyun was standing at the courtyard gate looking around when she bumped into Xu Yixuan face to face: "Young Master, it's getting late, you should go back and rest."

Xu Yixuan ignored her and ran out like a gust of wind. Xiuyun watched his retreating figure, twisted the hem of her clothes, bit her lip, and looked sad. The young master had become increasingly distant from her these days, and she wondered why.

Looking down at the fallen flowers, Xiuyun slowly walked towards her courtyard. Just as she passed the courtyard wall, she heard someone calling her: "Xiuyun, what's wrong with you? The young master has already run far away, why don't you hurry up and chase after him!"

Looking up, she saw Li Mama, who was beside Princess Yu, walking towards her. Her dark blue robe was stretched taut, revealing ripples of flesh. She walked up to Xiuyun, panting, and grabbed her: "Princess Yu was just taking a walk outside when she saw the young master running away so fast that she couldn't stop him. She asked me to come and ask you what happened."

Xiuyun shook her head: "I don't know either. I just went to Master Jian's courtyard to call the young master back, and I happened to run into him running out of there."

Madam Li frowned: "Then you should come with me to report to the Princess."

Xu Yixuan stormed to the gate, grabbed the two gatekeepers, and asked them what had happened. He learned that the messenger had already sent the message into the courtyard. The gatekeeper, looking extremely aggrieved, lowered his eyebrows and said, "Young Master, Miss Xiao was so anxious that she knelt down. Even if we are heartless, we wouldn't go and deliver a message for her!"

"Which stewardess did you send in to deliver the message?" Xu Yixuan was so angry he felt like his lungs were about to explode. Which blind old woman dared to disobey him? This was outrageous! Fortunately, the second young lady of the Xiao family met her master. If her master hadn't arrived in time... Xu Yixuan clenched his fists, his heart trembling. He simply couldn't bear to think about what the young lady would be like now without Jian Yifei's help.

"We asked that old woman, the one who manages the shops in Yuzhou City for the Princess." The gatekeeper was angry but didn't try to cover for the old woman. It wasn't his fault; he wasn't refusing to inform Miss Xiao. It was all that old woman's fault for not taking such an important matter seriously. He didn't know what she was up to.

"Old Woman Yi?" Xu Yixuan stormed back, and seeing his two servants chasing after him, he pointed and said, "Go and fetch that Old Woman Yi here!" Seeing the two servants' dumbfounded expressions, he added forcefully, "It's that Old Woman Yi who manages my mother's shop!"

The servant nodded and hurried away. Xu Yixuan stormed into the garden, his heart burning with rage, beads of sweat dripping from his forehead. Miss Xiao had been forcibly taken! And he hadn't even come to tell him about something so important—it was outrageous!

Miss Xiao… A bright and beautiful face flashed before Xu Yixuan’s eyes. Her smile was so sweet. He loved her smile the most. It was a pure and sweet smile. As long as she smiled, it was as if all the troubles in the world disappeared.

Xu Yixuan grabbed the branch with all his might and pulled hard, causing the leaves to fall down in a rustling sound, leaving the ground covered with broken leaves.

"Xuan'er, what's wrong with you?" A gentle voice came from beside her. Xu Yixuan looked up and saw the smiling face of the Princess Consort of Yu.

"Mother, I'm not happy." Xu Yixuan pouted and muttered to herself.

"What's bothering you? Tell your mother." Princess Yu smiled gently and took Xu Yixuan's hand. "Xuan'er, you're fourteen this year. You're a grown-up now. How can you act like a child? If something is wrong, you must be calm and composed. Don't be so impatient."

"Greetings, Your Highness and Prince." An old woman, led by Xu Yixuan's two servants, approached and bowed to Princess Yu and Xu Yixuan. "Your Highness, is there something you need from this old woman so late at night?"

The old woman standing before him appeared to be in her forties, but the wrinkles around her eyes were so deep that she looked almost fifty. Xu Yixuan looked at her—a sharp-tongued face with high cheekbones and thin lips—and felt a surge of dislike. He pointed at her and said, "Take this old woman away and give her fifty strokes of the cane!"

Upon hearing this, Madam Yi was terrified. Fifty strokes of the cane would surely kill her. She hurriedly knelt down with a thud: "Young Master, what wrong have I done to deserve such a severe punishment?"

Princess Yu was also taken aback. This Madam Yi's husband, Steward Yi, was someone she relied on. She owned fifteen or sixteen shops in Yuzhou City, all managed by Steward Yi. Every year, he would hand over fifty or sixty thousand taels of silver, which made her more financially secure. Even though Prince Yu doted on Consort Zhu and didn't give her many pieces of jewelry, she still had spare money to buy what she wanted.

Steward Yi is a respected person by my side, yet Xuan'er wants to hit Steward Yi. Isn't that slapping his own face? Princess Yu was somewhat displeased. What's wrong with Xuan'er? Even if Steward Yi did something excessive, she should be dealt with appropriately. How can you give her fifty lashes without even asking what happened?

"Xuan'er, what's wrong?" Princess Yu reached out and squeezed Xu Yixuan's hand: "Don't be so hasty, ask the reason first."

"Mother, you have no idea what a foolish thing she did!" Xu Yixuan pointed angrily, "Old woman, the gatekeeper asked you to pass on a message saying that Miss Xiao had something urgent to tell me, but you completely forgot? Do you know what a terrible thing happened because you didn't deliver the message to me in time? You take the monthly allowance from the Prince Yu's mansion, so you should do your job properly for the Prince Yu's mansion. If you can't even do a good job of delivering messages, then what are you doing working in the mansion?"

Madam Yi knelt there, her face pale. The gatekeeper had asked her to deliver a message to the young master, but after much thought, she decided to postpone it. Xiuyun had previously offered her money, pleading with her not to tell the young master about Miss Xiao. Madam Yi thought to herself, "Miss Xiao came to see the young master; wasn't she just trying to lure me back to my backwater village? If the princess found out, I'd be in for a scolding too. It's better to pretend I didn't hear anything, thus fulfilling Xiuyun's wish and avoiding angering the princess."

But after calculating, she came up with fifty strokes of the cane. Mother Yi felt unlucky. She had planned to ruin everything in every aspect, but she had only missed the young master!

Chapter 81

"Miss Xiao?" Princess Yu's two willow-leaf eyebrows slowly furrowed together. This was not the first time she had heard of Miss Xiao. Last time, the maids and servants complained to her that Xu Yixuan, in order to please Miss Xiao, had actually made them go up the mountain to dig up bamboo shoots. They collected two or three hundred catties and sent them to Miss Xiao.

Now it's Miss Xiao again! The tassels at Princess Yu's temples trembled slightly, and she felt a pang of resentment. Was Miss Xiao really that important? She was even willing to beat her trusted servant for her sake!

“What urgent matter could a peasant girl possibly have?” Mama Yi knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Princess Yu. “She should be doing everything she can to lure the young master out of the villa to play with her! Your Highness, you must stand up for this old servant. I’m worried that Miss Xiao is a femme fatale who will ruin the young master!”

“Mother is very loyal.” Princess Yu smiled slightly: “You may rise.”

Mother Yi was moved to tears and respectfully kowtowed to Princess Yu. Just as she was about to get up, a foot stepped on the back of her hand, causing her pain. "You old woman, what nonsense are you spouting!" Xu Yixuan shouted. "You think you can fool my mother with your sweet words? Kneel down and be respectful to me!"

"Xuan'er!" Princess Yu's face darkened. "As the saying goes, even when beating a dog, one should consider its owner. Now that your mother has asked Mama Yi to get up, you insist on refusing. Why is that?"

Xu Yixuan was so anxious that sweat poured down his forehead. He snatched the handkerchief from Xiuyun's hand and wiped his forehead. "Mother, please listen to me! Miss Xiao was taken away by the son of Prefect Lin. Isn't that a big deal? But this old woman kept it from me. If Master hadn't gone out riding a horse, Miss Xiao would already be..." At this point, Xu Yixuan stomped his foot heavily in anger, and Mother Yi let out a scream.

"Oh, so that's what it was about." Princess Yu nodded knowingly. It seemed that Miss Xiao was quite favored by Xuan'er, and Xuan'er was afraid that she would be snatched away by someone else, so he took this action out of anxiety.

After all, he was a young man just beginning to experience love. How could he not panic upon hearing that the woman he loved had been taken away? Princess Yu gently kicked Yi Mama: "You old woman, you are truly despicable. This matter is indeed dangerous. How could you keep it from your master? Do you think you can solve this problem?"