Xie Jiang left as quietly as she had arrived.
However, the moment she entered the room and rounded the screen, she was met with Yi Yanheng's icy gaze.
"Weren't you playing chess with the Old Duke of Qin?"
Xie Jiang remained remarkably composed. She hadn't done anything wrong, so why shouldn't she be composed?
Yi Yanheng sat on the soft couch inside, his eyes fixed on her with a chilling intensity. "You snuck off to secretly meet Xu Hengyan, perhaps you were too happy to remember the time?"
It was deep in the night; even the dogs on the street were back in their kennels, yet she was still toiling away for one person.
Xie Jiang said, "What do you mean 'secretly meet'? We're returning to the capital tomorrow, I just went to bid farewell to Xu Hengyan. It was just normal socializing. The way you put it, it sounds a bit improper, doesn't it?"
"Do you usually run to Xu Hengyan's this late at night?" Yi Yanheng tried to keep his tone as calm as possible.
"In Xu Hengyan's eyes, I'm a man. Can two men spark fireworks late at night?" She was determined not to admit that she intended to make Xu Hengyan fall for her, and it seemed highly likely that he already had.
When Yi Yanheng eventually found out, she could feign shock and declare, "I never imagined Xu Hengyan would be that kind of person!"
The fault would lie with Xu Hengyan! What did it have to do with her!
She was innocent!
She was a pure, little white rabbit!
Xie Jiang walked in with great composure and sat down beside Yi Yanheng. "It's so late. Since the Old Duke of Qin has already gone to sleep, why aren't you sleeping?"
Yi Yanheng retorted, "Do you think I can sleep?"
"Since you can't sleep, then don't. Let's have some fun together." Xie Jiang shamelessly leaned in, attempting to push Yi Yanheng down.
Yi Yanheng was hesitating whether to play along when a scent that wasn't hers suddenly filled his nostrils.
Yi Yanheng's heart instantly turned cold. He grabbed her shoulders and pushed her away.
Xie Jiang cried out in pain, frowning. "What are you doing?"
Yi Yanheng stared at her coldly, saying nothing.
Xie Jiang rubbed her sore shoulder. "What's wrong with you now? I've always disliked looking at people's faces. If you have something to say, just say it."
Yi Yanheng looked somewhat hurt. "You have a scent on you."
Xie Jiang was taken aback. Yi Yanheng was a meticulous person. "Should I go take a bath then?"
Yi Yanheng gritted his teeth. "It's Xu Hengyan's scent."
Xie Jiang's brow furrowed in disbelief. "I don't smell anything. And even if there is a scent on me, how can you be sure it's Xu Hengyan's?"
"I was drinking with the elders earlier. Although I didn't drink myself, I was circulating among them, pouring wine for them. If there's a scent, it would be from the wine, or perhaps the sweat from the elders. I was with them for so long, maybe I've absorbed their scent."
Yi Yanheng looked at her coldly. "Whether it's a foul smell, the smell of wine, or some other scent, I can still distinguish them."
Seeing that he seemed to care about the scent on her, Xie Jiang no longer tried to pounce on him. "Even if it is Xu Hengyan's scent, so what? I was in his study for half an hour, it's normal to pick up some scent. If I stay in your room for a while longer, I'll pick up your scent too."
Yi Yanheng understood this logic, but the thought of her carrying another man's scent made it impossible for him to ignore it and pretend not to notice.
Especially since she had been staying in this remote place with Xu Hengyan for several months.
Xie Jiang sat down opposite him, looking at his cold expression, and felt like laughing. "When did you become so petty? With the myriad of state affairs demanding your attention, do you still have the leisure to get stuck on trivialities?"
Yi Yanheng said, "It's you who doesn't let me rest easy."
Xie Jiang picked up the teapot to pour herself a cup of tea, but before she could drink it, Yi Yanheng snatched it from her hand. Doctor Lou had said she shouldn't drink tea.
Yi Yanheng poured her a cup of warm water.
"What do you mean by 'letting you rest easy'? Should I just become a vase, placed on a high shelf for you to admire whenever you remember me?" Xie Jiang narrowed her eyes mischievously.
"I don't mean that, nor would I dare to."
What kind of high shelf could possibly house such a formidable being, accumulated over eight lifetimes of good deeds?
Yi Yanheng found her gaze very intriguing. "Are you saying you want to turn me into a vase and place me on a high shelf, to be taken out and admired whenever you remember?"
Xie Jiang said sternly, "How can you think of me that way? Am I that kind of person?"
They both knew the truth of that.
Aunt He came in to ask Xie Jiang to go to the adjacent bathroom to wash up.
Yi Yanheng urged her to go quickly. "We have to set off early tomorrow morning."
When Xie Jiang returned to the room after her bath, her hair unbound, Yi Yanheng was no longer there.
Yan'er extinguished the lamps one by one. When asked about Young Master Yi, she said, "Young Master Yi asked you to rest early."
Aunt He, suppressing a smile, brought a dry cloth to wipe Xie Jiang's hair.
Xie Jiang sighed, "Aunt He, how do emperors balance their three palaces and six courtyards, with all their vying beauties?"
She found it troublesome enough just managing two relationships.
Aunt He said, "The emperor has his authority. If the two people you're involved with were of lower status, or more docile in temperament, would you still need to hide them?"
"Your taste is too high, Young Master. You've set your sights on Young Master Xu and Young Master Yi. If it were our other young masters, even if you took them all in, they wouldn't dare to object."
"What would be the point of that?"
"That's why I say your taste is too high. But then again, you are the Young Master, so it's only fitting that your taste is high."
Aunt He's words were a bit convoluted, but in Aunt He's and many others' eyes, whatever the Young Master wanted to do was acceptable.
Even if her Young Master wanted the moon from the sky, it would be the moon's good fortune accumulated over eight lifetimes. If the moon was unwilling to comply with her Young Master, then the moon would be ungrateful and deserve death.
~
The next morning, everyone was personally escorted out of the city by Xu Hengyan.
The elders were very satisfied with their trip. Not only had they personally verified that sweet potatoes were a God of high yield, but they each received two baskets upon departure.
They also learned how to cultivate seedlings and plant them from the county yamen.
They had enthusiastically worked in the fields themselves for two days. The two baskets of sweet potatoes they earned were not just for immediate gratification; they planned to plant sweet potatoes in their own fields next year.
Who wouldn't want to plant such a good crop in their own fields?
When Xu Hengyan returned to the capital next time, the number of people coming to ask for sweet potatoes would be enough to break down the door of the Duke of Wei's mansion.
Although this year's sweet potato harvest was abundant, it was impossible for everyone to get a share.
And they were different from those who just asked for handouts; the two baskets of sweet potatoes they received were earned with their sweat.
They could stand tall and proud wherever they went.
The news that sweet potatoes could yield five thousand catties per mu had already spread in the capital, but no one believed it.
They hadn't believed it either.
The yield was too unbelievably high!
Their visit this time was based on the principle of "better to believe it than not," rather than "better not to believe it."
To their surprise, it was actually true!
Not only that, but four to five thousand catties per mu was the lowest yield! The highest exceeded seven thousand catties!
Xie Jiang and Xu Hengyan remained silent, giving them, and all the common people, a tremendous surprise!