The next morning, after a medicinal bath, Xie Jiang felt refreshed. She touched her forehead; the fever seemed to be gone.
Xu Hengyi entered the Shi’an Courtyard carrying a food box. He saw Xie Jiang stretching lazily in the corridor.
Reluctantly, Xu Hengyi placed the food box in front of her.
"These are pastries made by my third, fourth, and fifth sisters. They asked me to deliver them to you and specifically told me to mention that they made them themselves."
The third and fourth sisters were of marriageable age, but the fifth sister was only ten years old!
Xie Jiang, that scoundrel, didn't even spare the young girl, his fifth sister!
Xie Jiang showed no interest, merely saying "oh" and continuing to stretch.
Xu Hengyi was furious.
This scoundrel so disregarded his sisters' affections!
Yet, he also felt it wasn't entirely bad; being cared for by Xie Jiang meant falling into a tiger's maw without a trace.
But he couldn't help but feel indignant.
Normally, Xie Jiang smiled like the sun in front of his sisters, clearly trying to seduce them, yet behind their backs, he was dismissive of the pastries they made with their own hands!
He really should let his three sisters see Xie Jiang's despicable, scumbag face.
"They made you pastries because you've been taking medicine all day, to help get rid of the bitter taste."
Xie Jiang finished stretching and stopped. She opened the food box and took out the meticulously prepared pastries one by one.
Xu Hengyi had received pastries made by his sisters before, but compared to the ones for Xie Jiang, this food box was strikingly different.
The petals adorning the pastries were still dew-kissed with just the right amount of moisture.
Even the sesame seeds used for decoration were arranged in seemingly casual, yet subtly artful patterns.
Xu Hengyi couldn't help but reveal a look of envious hatred.
Judging by their appearance, they were indeed good. Even Xie Jiang, with her discerning palate, felt a desire to try them.
Xie Jiang ate a few pieces and found them genuinely good, otherwise, they wouldn't have been presented. "My three sisters are very thoughtful. Please thank them properly for me."
Xu Hengyi snorted.
Seeing his sour expression, Xie Jiang grabbed a handful of pastries and shoved them into his mouth. "If you want to eat them, just stuff your face with them."
Xu Hengyi sputtered, "Do I care about this food?"
Xie Jiang retorted, "Isn't this just food?"
Xu Hengyi almost choked to death. How many had this scoundrel Xie Jiang forced into his mouth!
"You should smile less at my sisters from now on!" What girl could resist that?
His grandmother and mother couldn't resist it either!
The maids and servants in the mansion couldn't resist it!
Why was Nuwa so biased towards such a scoundrel?
"I am a polite person."
"Do you even know how to spell 'polite'?"
Since Xu Hengyi was so worried, Xie Jiang brushed the pastry crumbs from her hands. "Since I have nothing else to do, I'll go to the kitchen and make something delicious for my three sisters."
Xu Hengyi quickly followed. "You're going to cook for my three sisters? Maybe you shouldn't. Just cook for me and my second brother."
Xie Jiang gave him a look like he was a beast. "Can you be a human? Don't I already cook for you guys often enough?"
He didn't mean it that way.
His sisters were already smitten with Xie Jiang. If they ate food made by Xie Jiang's own hands, what would happen then? How many men of their background would cook? Moreover, Xie Jiang's culinary skills were enough to capture any beauty's heart!
He was afraid his sisters would fall deeper into the mire!
"I, you, I'm just worried about your health not being fully recovered! How can you possibly exert yourself in the kitchen!"
"Yesterday, when I exerted myself in the kitchen and had the chef cook dishes for you, why weren't you worried about my health then?" Xie Jiang wanted to see his sisters sink into the mire.
"You didn't personally do the cooking then."
"Today, I'll only be directing. These are dishes I've made before, and the chefs' skills are more than enough."
Considering the large number of female residents in the Duke of Wei's mansion, Xie Jiang instructed the chefs to prepare all the dishes they had made before.
Xie Jiang also thoughtfully considered that the ladies might not be accustomed to spicy food for the first time, so the spicy dishes were prepared with only a mild level of heat.
Xu Hengyi's suspicion that Xie Jiang had ulterior motives grew.
Did this scoundrel want to become the Duke of Wei's son-in-law?
Absolutely not.
"Xie Jiang, I've thought about it seriously. Your personality doesn't match my third sister's, nor my fourth sister's. My mother already has a prospective son-in-law in mind and is currently evaluating him."
She would never consider you, so give up.
Xie Jiang chuckled.
She had no intention of becoming his brother-in-law.
She might consider becoming a lover to his sisters.
To give his brothers-in-law a wholesale of cuckoldry.
"Why are you so idle? Don't you have to go to the Imperial Academy?"
"I took leave. You were sick, and I was worried about you."
"You just don't want to go to school."
"Don't expose me... Oh, right, I have something to tell you. My second brother can't leave tomorrow. Tomorrow is the Flower Festival. Do you know about the Flower Festival? Do you have a Flower Festival in your Lan Yong?"
"No, what does the Flower Festival have to do with your second brother?"
"How can it not? The Flower Festival is a holiday for going out for spring outings and sightseeing, with many girls..."
"Your second brother is going to the Flower Festival to pick up girls?"
"You're the one picking up girls. My second brother is a proper gentleman. But if he meets someone he likes, wouldn't that lead to a good match?"
"In the wild..." Xie Jiang's eyes lit up, and her spirits perked up.
"Shut up! You're too shameless! You think everyone is like you! My second brother would never!" Xu Hengyi's face turned red. "What I meant was, if he meets someone he likes, it can be put on the agenda."
Xie Jiang said "oh," her excitement deflated.
"My second brother is not young anymore, and he's always busy and hard to see. My grandmother and aunt want to arrange a marriage for him, but he always says he's not in a hurry and is indifferent to girls, so his marriage has been delayed."
"At first, my grandmother and aunt indulged my second brother, thinking it was good for him to marry someone he liked. But years have passed with no progress, and my grandmother and aunt have become anxious."
"So, since my second brother is in the capital this time for the Flower Festival, when I paid respects to my grandmother this morning, she adamantly demanded that my second brother not leave tomorrow and take you and the sisters out to play."
"Going out for a trip will lead to finding someone suitable? Don't the Old Madam Xu and the Duchess of Wei have any preferred candidates?"
"Yes, Shen Qinghuai."
Xu Hengyi leaned close to Xie Jiang's ear and whispered in a low voice, "The beloved daughter of the Duke of Liang's mansion, renowned throughout the capital. My grandmother and aunt are very pleased with her."
"Last year, my grandmother mentioned her to my second brother once, but he still said he wasn't in a hurry. My grandmother became uncertain. Does my second brother dislike Shen Qinghuai, or does he still not intend to get married?"
"Then what do you think? Does your second brother dislike Shen Qinghuai, or does he not intend to get married?"
"I think my second brother has no intention of getting married. If he absolutely must marry, my second brother would rather marry the crops in the field."
As the heir of the Duke of Wei, he also had a responsibility to marry and have children to continue the lineage. Some things could be avoided for a while, but eventually, he would have to take that step.
"However, my grandmother and aunt probably won't indulge my second brother anymore. If my second brother hasn't found a woman he likes, they will directly arrange a marriage for him. I estimate that, if nothing unexpected happens, my sister-in-law will most likely be Shen Qinghuai."