Xi Heng gave him face and nodded as he moved closer.
"Hmph." The rich lady did not refute. She was somewhat curious about Xi Heng.
Hong Ji led the young lady to Xi Heng and introduced her first: "This is the senior sister I often talked about after returning to the capital. Her name is Xi Heng."
"Xi Heng..." Miss Qianjin lowered her head and thought: "This name is somewhat familiar."
Yan Hongji coughed lightly and said to Xi Heng:
"And this is my good friend who grew up with me, Chu Xiao. She has some interest in martial arts, so maybe she can have some topics to talk about with me."
"Oh." Xi Heng didn't have much of a favorable impression.
If this guy asked her about martial arts, she would probably just say some random stuff and let him figure it out on his own.
"It's getting late. We came here today to have a banquet in the building. Do you want to join us, Senior Sister?"
"What to eat?" Xi Heng had indeed not eaten much at noon.
"Delicacies from land and sea, and exquisite delicacies." Hongji said kindly.
"Coming." Xi Heng followed.
The woman in gorgeous clothes named Chu Xiao stared at Xi Heng for a few seconds. No one knew what she was thinking. Anyway, she snorted and said nothing more.
The three of them walked into the building, crossed the lotus pond on the first floor, went to the third floor, and sat down at the top of a magnificent hall with an open balcony.
Yan Hongji gave a few instructions to the maids on the way, and then a series of maids came in, carrying several plates of various cakes and drinks.
Most of the maids did not leave when they arrived, but stayed in the hall waiting for instructions.
"Do you need us to play some songs?" Hong Ji asked the two people beside him.
Xi Heng was quietly eating cakes beside him.
"It's so boring to just eat." Chu Xiao nodded: "Without Kunqu opera, dancing, music, and literary poetry, it always feels like something is missing."
"Do you have to invite so many people to perform just for a meal?" Xi Heng complained.
"Common people like you naturally don't understand the elegance of us, the noble people of Xuanshang." Chu Xiao was not surprised, and there was an obvious sense of pride in his answer.
"Oh, you guys watch yours and I'll eat mine." Xi Heng felt that the better it was to just concentrate on eating during mealtime.
"It is unacceptable for a vulgar guest to be accepted in such a refined hall." Chu Xiao said to Xi Heng naturally.
This was not the first person who said this to her, but Xi Heng didn't care.
Seeing this, Chu Xiao gradually lost interest.
She drank tea and tasted food with an elegant posture, listened to the music beside her, watched the maids dancing in front of her, and thought about what Xi Heng had just said. For some reason, she suddenly felt bored with the singing and dancing in front of her.
"Let's take those people away. How about we sing poetry and have fun?" She turned her gaze to Xi Heng again.
After Chu Xiao met Xi Heng today, he kept thinking about the other person's name and appearance in his mind.
Although she was reluctant to admit it, she did attach great importance to this person.
She seldom had such thoughts, and she couldn't figure out what she was thinking.
It was just her instinct over the years that made her act superior.
Chu Xiao was vaguely unwilling to do so, but her years of experience as a superior meant she couldn't find any other attitude.
So much so that as time goes by, the words will become close to being offensive.
"Forget about reciting poetry. My senior sister is a martial artist and may not be familiar with this kind of literary elegance." Yan Hongji said soothingly.
"Write a poem?" Xi Heng felt that he had no problem with it: "How do I write it?"
"Let's use poetry to praise Miss Hongji's beauty." Chu Xiao thought of a rule casually.
"Are there no restrictions on the style of writing?"
"Of course." Chu Xiao didn't expect Xi Heng also knew the word "style", so she nodded naturally.
"Then let me think about it."
Then Xi Heng tapped his little chin and carefully admired the beautiful face of Miss Hongji beside him.
The other person has a red lip on her fair face, and her expression is as shy as she wants to speak. Her beauty is like pink peach petals, and her behavior is like the gracefulness of an orchid. No matter what dynasty or era she lives in, she will always be a beautiful lady.
Yan Hongji was stared at like this for a long time. Even though she had become a gentle and intellectual young lady in the past two years, her cheeks still turned red under Xi Heng's gaze, and she raised her hand to slightly cover her face.
"Who wrote the poem first?" Xi Heng asked again.
"Please come first, sir." Chu Xiao said.
"Um……"
Xi Heng then temporarily changed his job and became a copycat of ancient texts from another world, and copied a poem from his previous life.
"The clouds are like clothes..." the girl murmured:
"The clouds resemble clothes, the flowers resemble faces, the spring breeze blows through the threshold and the dew is gorgeous... If we hadn't met on the top of the Jade Mountain, we would have met under the moon on the Jade Terrace."
"..."
"..."
"What?" After reciting the poem, Xi Heng looked at the two people, but saw some confusion in their eyes.
“The clouds resemble clothes…?” Yan Hongji blinked her eyes. Just by reading the first few words, she felt as if the spring breeze filled the paper and the flowers filled the eyes.
She lowered her head slightly, a hint of shyness appeared on her face, and she covered her face and said:
"Senior sister, you are too flattering. Obviously, senior sister is more beautiful."
"Is this... the poem you just wrote?"
Chu Xiao, who was more literary-literate, could obviously appreciate the meaning of the poem better. After listening to it, he felt like colorful clouds and the warm spring breeze. The word "think" was used to depict the reality with the imaginary, which was extremely clever.
"Yes." Xi Heng remained calm and spoke without shame, and he was not afraid when he told a lie.
“The clouds are like clothes… the clouds are like clothes, the flowers are like faces.”
Chu Xiao recited these words softly one after another, and the five fingers of his right hand gently stroked along with the sound, moving from left to right as he savored the verses. He looked at Xi Heng with disbelief for a few seconds, and then just let out a bitter sigh.
"It's great." She had to admit: "This poem is great."
Yan Hongji also repeated it several times, chuckled, her cheeks flushed, and she showed a rare hint of shyness.
After hearing this poem, Chu Xiao put aside his arrogant attitude, pursed his lips and said in a rather unfamiliar tone:
"I underestimated you."
"It doesn't matter." Xi Heng didn't expect that copying a poem at random would have such an effect.
Chu Xiao had a complicated look in her eyes, and then she murmured the poem softly again. No matter how many times she read it, the charm of the poem had an impact on her soul.
A few minutes later, Xi Heng was almost full, Chu Xiao came back to his senses, suddenly stood up and said seriously:
"This poem must be memorized."
She looked around and saw a desk with writing brush, ink, paper and inkstone on the side of the hall. Without calling the maid, she left the dining table and ran to the desk, picked up the writing brush, dipped it in ink, laid out the paper and inkstone, and immediately sat down to write seriously.
Hong Ji, who was standing by, was a little surprised: "This is the first time I see Chu Xiao so anxious. Is Senior Sister's poem really that good?"
Of course it’s good to copy, Xi Heng thought.
But her expression was calm.
After swallowing another piece of sea cucumber, Xi Heng suddenly leaned over to Hong Ji and asked another question in a low voice: "That girl is actually the princess of the current dynasty, right?"
"Eh?" Yan Hongji's response was quite hesitant, and it was obvious that he didn't want to give a direct answer: "Well..."
But based on this attitude, Xi Heng was already certain: "No need to say more."
After she finished speaking, she began to enjoy the delicacies on the table.
Chu Xiao looks somewhat similar to her.
And the other party's arrogant attitude made Xi Heng unconsciously recall the crazy emperor he met at the end of his previous life while talking to him.
After several conversations, Xi Heng guessed that the other party was one of the imperial princesses of the current dynasty.
He is the kind of guy who lives in the palace all year round and leads an extremely luxurious life.
Xi Heng was quite confused. This person should be one of the children of the current tyrant. Why wasn't he transformed into a spirit stone by the emperor?
Could it be that the mad emperor still had some affection for her? Why didn't he have any affection for her at the beginning?
Is it because of the difference between children who have been missing for more than ten years and children who have been raised since childhood?
"Tsk." Xi Heng was dissatisfied and put down his chopsticks: "I'll go back first."
"Won't you stay a little longer?" Yan Hongji was stunned.
"Come upstairs and find me if you need anything." Xi Heng yawned and slowly left the hall.
……
Half an hour later, Xi Heng was still in front of the dressing table continuing to dress up, but she heard a few light footsteps outside the door, which then turned into a knock on the door.
"Senior Sister, may I bother you for a moment?" someone said from outside the door.
"What's the matter?" Xi Heng continued to adjust his collar.
For some reason, her clothes always felt a little loose around her chest...
"I just talked to the housekeeper, and heard that my senior sister is looking for a job and is interested in becoming my guest?" Hongji came in and said gently.
He has become this well-educated, gentle and elegant person again...
Xi Heng looked at the other person for a while and nodded slightly.
"I am really happy that Senior Sister has this idea." Yan Hongji smiled sincerely: "How about we make this agreement today?"
"Don't you need to test first, interview or something like that?"
"You are joking. How can a junior sister test a senior sister?" Hong Ji continued, "I will ask the housekeeper to bring a written contract later. Now, please follow me, senior sister."
"Where are you going?" Xi Heng tilted his head.
"Let's go out and have fun together." Yan Hongji approached behind Xi Heng, looked at the beautiful girl in the bronze mirror, and said softly:
"Sister, you are dressed so beautifully today. Why don't you stay in your room all the time?"
"I read it for myself."
"Please also ask Senior Sister to protect me outside." The other party sighed softly again:
"Our Yan family has been declining in the past two years. We can only keep shrinking our businesses to barely maintain this small piece of land. But even so, it often attracts outsiders to covet us. The family behind those scoundrels that Senior Sister chased away this afternoon was one of them."
"Today I am going out to have fun with my nobleman. I may be targeted by my family's enemies and lose interest... Then I will have to ask Senior Sister to help me."
……
……
Because a lot of words are missing due to deletions and revisions, and the total number of words in the chapters on the shelves cannot be reduced, the ellipsis at the end is the word count patch, please forgive me.
Chapter 34: Yanguan Singing House
"Sister, please get in the car."
Yan Hongji held Xi Heng's right hand affectionately, and slowly led her to the purple gold carriage downstairs. Her voice was soft and pleasant, with a hint of joy in it.
Such a beautiful junior sister was calling him in a gentle voice. Xi Heng was influenced by her charm and couldn't help feeling a little touched.
She nodded subconsciously and got into the car as the other party said.
He stretched out his hand and pushed open the purple curtain, and saw someone sitting inside.
Naturally, this was the noble person Yan Hongji had mentioned, the one who would accompany her on her outings—Chu Xiao, who looked somewhat similar to Xi Heng.
"Xiheng...are you coming too?" Chu Xiao said the name unskillfully in the carriage.
"Well, provide some protection along the way." Xi Heng said.
"Don't worry about my...my safety." The other party shook his head and said, "Just pay attention to Hongji."
"Are there some hidden guards around you?" Xi Heng pushed open the car curtain and looked around, but could not detect any trace or aura of other powerful men.
"This has nothing to do with you. Anyway, no one in the entire capital has dared to attack me."
