The Phoenix is Back - Chapter 79

Chapter 079 Concubine Begged
After the hairpin ceremony, Jiang shi stayed for two days before taking her leave and returning to Jiangnan. Xiao Xiwei originally wanted to keep her for a few days, but the weather was getting colder and colder. If she didn’t start again, she wouldn’t be able to leave once it snowed and the canal froze. Moreover, the Chen Clan still had a lot of things waiting for her. Therefore, even if she was a little reluctant, she could only send the Jiang Clan back to Jiangnan.

A few days after Jiang shi left, fine snowflakes indeed floated in the capital. At first, it was only a few small pieces, but not long after, it grew bigger and bigger. Very quickly, the entire capital was wrapped in a thick layer of silver clothes.

When Zi Yan lifted the curtain and entered, a gust of cold wind mixed with snow wind also surged in. “It’s getting colder and colder. I heard that the moat has frozen. Fortunately, my uncle and madam left two days ago. Otherwise, they would have been frozen halfway.”

Xiao Xiwei looked out of the gray window and smiled, “I wonder if aunt has arrived in Jiangnan yet.”

“Jiangnan is so far away from the capital. This servant should be a few days away.” After Zi Yan finished speaking, she turned her gaze and landed on the pair of newly sewn boots on the couch. She giggled and said, “Miss, you’ve finished your boots. They’re really beautiful!”

Xiao Xiwei picked up the pair of black satin and gold embroidered boots on the couch and pursed his lips with a smile. “If it weren’t for the annoying accounts in the manor these past two days, it would have been done a few days ago. Later, ask Xiao Wu to go out and deliver these boots and the winter clothes that A Liang sent him yesterday. I wonder if he would be able to withstand the cold these days.”

Although Xiao Xiyang grew up in the army, Yan Yunwei was no match for Wu Cheng. More than half of the Yan Cloud Guards were carefully chosen by the nobles of the wealthy clans in the capital. Xiao Xi Yang had parachuted in, and it was likely that he would be underestimated and excluded by those people. However, Xiao Xiwei wasn’t worried about this. She was sure that her brother relied on real strength to survive. In addition to Chu Xizhi, no matter how unconvinced others were, they didn’t dare to openly disagree with Xiao Xiyang.

Zi Yan’s eyes widened, her face filled with astonishment. “Miss, aren’t these boots made for the Seventh Prince?”

Xiao Xiwei raised her eyebrows slightly, “Who told you that these boots were made for the Seventh Prince?”

Zi Yan’s chest froze, and her pretty face instantly collapsed. “Yes, you didn’t say … but you didn’t say that these boots were made for the eldest young master!”

If that wasn’t the case, how could she have misunderstood and quickly ran to the seventh prince to claim credit? This is good. She picked up a rock and smashed her foot. What should she tell the Seventh Prince?

Xiao Xi gave Zi Yan a faint glance and did not say anything.

“Young miss, seeing that it’s getting cold, why don’t you make a pair of boots for the Seventh Prince as well?” Zi Yan said as she poured a cup of tea and flattered Xiao Xiwei.

“No.” Xiao Xi pushed away the teacup that Zi Yan had held and calmly spat out two words.

Zi Yanyou was unwilling, “Why? You’ve already done it for the eldest young master, why didn’t you do it for the seventh prince?”

Xiao Xiwei pursed his lips slightly. “Because, I don’t want someone to take my boots to claim credit.” After saying that, he turned to look at Hong Yu. “Hong Yu, it’s better for you to give these boots to A-Liang! Tell him to leave early, otherwise it will be dark soon.”

Hong Yu suppressed his laughter, took the boots and went out.

“Miss, I beg of you! How am I supposed to explain this to the Seventh Prince?” Zi Yan pleaded with a bitter face.

“I don’t care about that.” Xiao Xiwei smiled faintly and casually pulled out an account book from the table to read.

Zi Yan wanted to struggle for a while more, but the little girl outside suddenly reported that Third Concubine had come.

“Why didn’t Third Concubine stay in her room in this cold weather?” Zi Yan whispered.

Most importantly, if there were no boots, how could she explain it to the Seventh Prince? This third concubine mother’s arrival was too inopportune.

Although Zi Yan thought so in her heart, Third Concubine still led Cui Zhu into the room.

“Why is Third Concubine here today?” Xiao Xi put down the ledger in his hand and smiled at Third Concubine.

Third Concubine smiled and took a sleeve made of fox fur from the girl’s hand and handed it to Xiao Xiwei. “It’s not cold anymore, so I made a sleeve and sent it to Second Miss.”

Xiao Xiwei looked at the tight stitches on the sleeve, and there was a plum blossom embroidered on his face. He couldn’t help but smile, “Auntie is really considerate. However, Ah Liang had already sent several sleeves yesterday, so he didn’t dare to trouble Auntie anymore.”

As the saying goes, no matter how attentive, either rape or steal.

Third concubine mother might not be so much of a person, but since she came looking for her, she naturally had some requests for her.

Third Concubine did not expect that she would hit a soft nail in Xiao Xiwei’s face before she could speak. The smile on her face stiffened, but she still managed to resist a smile and said, “It doesn’t matter. This is just a small token of my gratitude.”

Xiao Xiwei glanced at Three Concubine and finally smiled. He said to Zi Yan beside him, “Since it was Concubine’s intention, then I will accept it.”

“Young miss, it’s my fortune to be able to accept it.” Third Concubine smiled and said, “Speaking of which, it snowed a lot earlier today than usual. I wonder if those examinees who came to Beijing for the Spring Festival can make it?”

“Chun Wei? When did concubine mother care about this?” Xiao Xi looked at Third Concubine Niang and a faint smile appeared in her clear pupils.

Third Concubine pulled up his handkerchief and covered the corners of his mouth with a smile. “How could a woman like me care about these things? Didn’t she receive a letter from my mother a few days ago saying that my younger brother also came to Beijing this year to participate in the Spring Festival? That’s why she asked. Second young miss, please don’t laugh at me.”

“I see.” Xiao Xiwei pursed his lips and smiled. Then, he lowered his head and flipped through the ledger.

Seeing that Xiao Xiwei had no reaction, Third Concubine rubbed her hands and smiled embarrassedly. “I don’t know if he can’t get used to living in the capital.”

Xiao Xi slightly raised his eyebrows and looked at Third Concubine Niang. The corner of his mouth pursed, “Concubine Niang has lived in the capital for so many years, but there is nothing uncomfortable about it. Presumably, your younger brother is also the same.” After saying that, he lowered his head and flipped through the book in his hand.

“Speaking of which, I have been away from Yangzhou for a few years. At that time, Xiao’er was only in her teens. In the blink of an eye, he was already so old. My sister really did not give him any heart.” Third Concubine wiped the corners of her eyes with her handkerchief as she spoke.

After circling around for so long, he finally couldn’t help but get to the point.

Xiao Xi raised his eyes slightly to look at Third Concubine Niang. He raised his hand to close the book and smiled softly, “Then what does Concubine Niang want?”

“Second young miss, Xiao’er has come to the capital for the first time. He is unfamiliar with the place. I wonder if he can stay in our mansion so that I, as an elder sister, can do my best.”

“Live in our mansion?” Xiao Xiwei raised his eyebrows slightly.

Speaking of which, she was really impressed by Third Concubine’s younger brother, Qian Xiao. In his previous life, he had also lived in the Marquis Mansion because of Third Concubine’s relationship. At first, he was still behaving properly. Until he squeezed into the top three in the Spring Wei Examination, his entire body became frivolous and often made moves on the girls in the mansion. Even Bi Yun had been teased by him. Later on, she even got pregnant with a girl beside Third Concubine. Although Third Concubine tried her best to hide this matter, she still angered her father and kicked him out regardless of Third Concubine’s pleas. Afterwards, he used some means to get Third Concubine to use a lot of money to help him do some idle work in the capital. It would be fine if he did his job properly, but in the name of the Marquis Manor, he was mixed up with a few ninth-rate ruffians everywhere, and finally, he still owed a bunch of debts and was stabbed into the Marquis Manor …

“That’s right. We’re all family. If we live outside, it wouldn’t be nice to hear about it.” Third Concubine said with a smile.

“Concubine is wrong. Although he is Concubine’s younger brother, he has nothing to do with our Xiao Manor. How can he be said to be a family?” Xiao Xiwei pursed his lips and chuckled.

Third Concubine’s face turned pale.

As a Concubine, her younger brother was naturally not a relative of Marquis Mansion. She had thought that Xiao Xiwei would refuse, but she did not expect that she would slap her in the face in front of the girl.

‘”Second young miss, I also know that my request is too much, but … but Xiao’er is my biological younger brother. In the capital, I am the only person I can rely on. You, can’t you just let him live in the Marquis Mansion for me? He won’t be staying for long. As soon as the exam is over, he will return.” Although Xiao Xiwei had slapped her in the face like this, Third Concubine had no choice but to speak with thick skin.

Her Concubine was already dead, and Xiao’er was bullied by other children in the manor. As his biological sister, she could not help him. Besides, if he had any future prospects, her biological sister would have a chance to rely on him.

“Auntie, it’s not that I don’t give you face. However, if he is an outsider and stays in the Marquis Manor, he will inevitably attract bad rumors. It’s nothing to Auntie, but …”

Xiao Xiwei didn’t say anything else, but the needle stabbed Third Concubine’s breath out of her mouth.

“Second young miss, if you are worried about this and don’t arrange for Xiao’er to live in the outer courtyard, do you think this is good?” Third Concubine said carefully.

Xiao Xiwei raised her hand and Zi Yan hurriedly handed the tea to Xiao Xiwei.

Xiao Xiwei took a sip of tea unhurriedly, “If, I don’t know, concubine mother, how do you like it?”

“Second young miss, you really have to do a good job. This is heartless.” Third Concubine gritted her teeth and looked at Xiao Xiwei.

She had already swallowed her anger to this extent, but she still didn’t dare to nod. What was she thinking?

Xiao Xi smiled. “Concubine mother’s words seem to be a great sin if I don’t let your younger brother live in the manor. If others heard it, they would think that Concubine mother is the matriarch of the manor.”

Third Concubine’s face turned pale as she looked at Xiao Xiwei and did not say anything.

Xiao’er said in the letter that if he could live in the Marquis Manor of Loyalty and Bravery, it would be easier for him to enter the aristocratic circle in the capital by borrowing the relationship between the Marquis Manor and the Marquis Manor. It was precisely because of this that even if Xiao Xiwei mocked her three times and four times, she could not fall out with her.

“Second young miss” Third concubine mother suddenly clenched her teeth and knelt on the ground. “I beg you. I only have this little brother. Please give me this little bit of thin noodle. In the future, if Second young miss has anything to use my body, I will die without hesitation.”

“Cui Zhu, help your Concubine up.” Xiao Xiwei smiled faintly. “Today, no matter what Concubine said, I will not allow Qian Xiao to enter the mansion. However, for Concubine’s sake, I can pay money to arrange for Young Master Qian to stay in the inn.” Xiao Xiwei said coldly as he looked at Third Concubine.