"Young Master, Young Master?"
Xie Jiang had fallen asleep on the windowsill.
He didn't know how long he had slept. The water pavilion was empty, with no one else in sight except Tian Kangtai.
"Everyone's gone?"
"We just saw off the guests. I packed two boxes of newly made pastries for the old lords, along with chili seeds."
The old lords had become addicted to spicy food. Yongxin Hou and Duke Zhao were clamoring that they couldn't eat without chili. They weren't free to visit the Nanhai Hou Mansion every day, and a few jars of chili sauce couldn't satisfy their tastes, so they proposed to grow their own chilies.
Tian Kangtai had given the order to prepare the chili seeds, and today was a good opportunity for the old lords to take them home and plant them.
"Can they still be planted now?"
"The weather hasn't turned cold yet. If they are planted soon, they will still have time to grow."
There was no need for large-scale planting at the beginning. Even if the weather gradually turned cold, the ducal and marquis mansions should have greenhouses.
Xie Jiang was dazed for a moment before standing up and rubbing his sore arm, which had been pressed down.
He sighed, "They're finally gone. So long-winded!"
Recalling it now, he still felt a prickle of unease. "Go and tell them to close the gates properly. Don't let them in again next time!"
Tian Kangtai wouldn't take these words seriously. If he truly found the old lords annoying, he would have turned around and left on the spot. When had his young master ever been polite to anyone? He always prioritized his own comfort and desires. Hadn't he often embarrassed people directly?
"The Duke and the Marquis spoke so much, it's because they treat the Young Master as one of their own juniors. If it were anyone else, why would they bother to expend so much effort?"
Although his young master clearly showed his annoyance with the old lords, as if afraid they wouldn't notice, his respect for them was also genuine.
The old lords had lived for most of their lives and had seen all sorts of faces.
Xie Jiang said shamelessly, "It's all because I have too many friends."
Tian Kangtai said with a straight face, "The Young Master is approachable and makes many friends."
If Yongxin Hou were present, he would have made Tian Kangtai swallow those words. Approachable? The entire Nanhai Hou Mansion was filled with blind fools!
"The only prince that Da Yu can boast of is the Third Prince. The Duke and the Marquis are afraid that the Young Master will offend the Third Prince to death. If the Third Prince ascends the throne in the future, the Young Master might not have a good outcome."
"Say that to Xia Ze Shi's face next time."
"..."
Xie Jiang lazily descended the stairs and slowly walked towards Fuyun Xuan.
Tian Kangtai followed behind. Xie Jiang yawned and asked, "Is there something?"
Tian Kangtai carefully held up the hem of his clothes and said, "There's nothing else. It's about Young Master Su Yang. He's been inquiring outside about the Young Master and Young Master Yi."
"Oh?"
Xie Jiang's footsteps paused upon hearing this. He walked to the first floor and stood on the open-air terrace extending out of the water, leaning against the wooden railing. He raised his eyebrows slightly, lost in thought.
Something flashed through his mind, and Xie Jiang frowned, racking his brain for a long time but unable to grasp it. Finally, he shook his head and dismissed it.
"Young Master Su Yang has overstepped his bounds. Should we give him a warning?" Tian Kangtai asked for instructions.
"Let him be. No need to manage it for now."
It didn't matter if he couldn't remember. What important matter could be related to Su Yang? Moreover, no matter what it was, even if it sank to the bottom of the sea, it would eventually surface.
Tian Kangtai nodded in agreement. Since the Young Master didn't care, it wasn't worth the effort.
Let's see what Young Master Su Yang intends to do. Even if Su Yang had some ideas in mind, he wouldn't dare to be presumptuous in front of the Young Master. As for whether Su Yang would deal with Young Master Yi, that would depend on whether Su Yang had the ability.
As he emerged from Yilan Xuan, he saw a ball of red cloud floating towards him.
"Young Master!"
He opened his mouth and realized it was a person.
"What is it?"
"Young Master, you went to Chun Se Man Yuan without calling me. Otherwise, with those dirty things, why would the Young Master have to dirty his hands!"
Su Yang said this and went to grab Xie Jiang's hand, rubbing it and blowing on it with his mouth, as if Xie Jiang's hand were truly stained with something dirty.
"I didn't kill anyone, so why would my hands be dirty?"
Xie Jiang frowned in disgust and pushed him far away with a slap. Xie Jiang's footsteps did not stop at all, and he continued to stride towards Fuyun Xuan.
"Even looking at those things is dirty, it's not like I had to see blood." In Su Yang's eyes, those dirty things were more foul than a latrine. Which hand did the Young Master use to touch them?
Su Yang went to hold Xie Jiang's hand again.
Xie Jiang told him to get lost.
Su Yang patted the footprints on his body and persistently chased after him.
Xie Jiang said, "Weren't you very busy recently?"
Su Yang glanced quickly at Tian Kangtai, who was respectfully following behind Xie Jiang with an unchanged expression.
Su Yang was unsure if Tian Kangtai had said anything to the Young Master.
But the Young Master's words seemed to indicate no displeasure.
Su Yang was relieved. Even if the Young Master knew, so what? He was the Young Master's person. Shouldn't he care about the Young Master?
"It's my first time in the capital, I'm just familiarizing myself with the environment, knowing oneself and the enemy."
Everyone close to the Young Master knew that the Young Master had come to the capital for revenge.
Master Xu, who came from the Wei State Duke's Mansion, was the Young Master's number one mortal enemy, but Master Xu was not in the capital.
Xu Hengyi followed the Young Master around every day, freeloading meals and drinks. The Young Master also frequently interacted with the female members of the Wei State Duke's Mansion. It seemed that the Young Master had no intention of dealing with Xu Hengyi, or rather, the Wei State Duke's Mansion, for the time being.
The Young Master's other mortal enemy was the Emperor of Xia, and seeking revenge against the Emperor was not something that could be accomplished in a day or two.
The other clowns were not worth mentioning, and the Young Master didn't pay much attention to them. If he encountered them one day, he would simply step on them.
According to Su Yang's usual methods, he would directly go to their homes and slaughter them.
However, the capital was not their territory after all. Their foundation was not deep enough, and everything they did had to be done indirectly and with a legitimate reason.
The Young Master did not seem to be in a hurry. So many years had passed, and there was indeed no need to rush. In the future, the Young Master would likely spend most of his time in Da Yu, and they had time to take it slow.
Xie Jiang casually said, "Then you continue."
Su Yang followed closely beside Xie Jiang, "Are those unseeing fools just going to be let off like that?"
Xie Jiang replied without looking back, "What do you mean 'let off like that'? I already returned it on the spot. What else do you want to do?"
Su Yang wanted to hang those people up, skin them, and then stuff them into salt vats. Otherwise, how would they reflect?
Xie Jiang said, "If you're bored, go help He Zhifei. He Zhifei is almost overwhelmed."
Su Yang refused without thinking, "Why should I bother with that? It's not like He Zhifei will think I want to snatch his work. Let him be a beast of burden himself. What I pursue is different from what He Zhifei pursues."
Besides, dealing with those complicated matters was not his forte. Comparing his own weaknesses with He Zhifei's strengths would only make He Zhifei seem more diligent and capable than him.
Would he be that foolish?
Xie Jiang said, "You have pursuits?"
Su Yang felt as if he had been stabbed in the chest, "Why can't I have pursuits? In the Young Master's eyes, only He Zhifei is visible!"
Xie Jiang turned back and looked at him strangely, "Or else, do you dress so flamboyantly?"
Su Yang was so angry that he took off his brightly colored outer garment and threw it fiercely onto the ground, "If the Young Master looked at me more, he would naturally know what I pursue."
Xie Jiang didn't care what he pursued. She just wanted to go back to her room and catch up on sleep.