Chapter 19: Chapter 19: Playing with Fire

Haotian Village has a total of five chiefs, all brothers who bow their heads to the ground. At this moment, the Fifth Village Chief received the message and strode into the hall.

This Fifth Village Chief, Bai Feichen, had whiskers like halberds, a valiant appearance, and a body as strong as an iron tower.

Those who don’t know the truth would surely think this Fifth Village Chief is a rough and powerful man, with developed limbs but a simple mind. And the Second Village Chief, who looks refined, loves to hold a folding fan, and has a graceful demeanor, must be the strategist of the village.

But quite the opposite, this Fifth Village Chief is actually the strategist of Haotian Village.

Bai Feichen cupped his fists and said, “Big brother! What instructions do you have for me?”

Xia Wanqing waved and said, “Come, come, sit, sit!”

Bai Feichen laughed and said, “Big brother must be calling me here for the matter of Wenjin.”

Xia Wanqing said, “Isn’t that right? These guys, sending them down the mountain to find Wenjin, batch after batch, yet not a single one is reliable!”

“Is big brother asking me to go?”

“Besides you, I’m afraid there’s no one else who can bring her back.”

Bai Feichen glanced at Xia Wanqing and said, “Big brother, I have something to say, but I’m not sure if I should say it!”

“Go ahead!”

“Big brother genuinely wants to bring Wenjin back to marry Young Master Xuan? Wenjin’s attitude was clear from her willingness to go down the mountain. If Wenjin stubbornly refuses, what then?”

Xia Wanqing lightly sighed and said, “Feichen, Wenjin must marry Young Master Xuan, whether she agrees or not, she must marry him! You just bring her back, I have ways to make her agree!”

Bai Feichen saw Xia Wanqing’s firm determination and couldn’t persuade him otherwise, only saying, “Then I’ll take a trip.”

Xia Wenjin didn’t know that Uncle Bai, the one in Haotian Village she could least fool, had already gone down the mountain to find her.

She was still on Wang Wan’er’s carriage.

The carriage traveled without any obstruction. Not to mention the family clearing the road, once the common folk saw this carriage, they avoided it from afar.

Obviously, Wang Wan’er and her carriage were well-known and untouchable in this area.

Before long, they reached their destination, but the place they went to wasn’t the Governor’s Office, but an estate.

Though it was an estate, it was quite large. As soon as the carriage reached the estate gate, eight servants immediately came out, standing on two sides, and after the carriage entered, they closed the gate promptly.

The carriage stopped in the courtyard, Qiao Xi helped Wang Wan’er off the carriage, and Xia Wenjin nudged the immobile Huangfu Jingchen sitting on the horse with a hint, “What are you dazing for, get off the carriage!”

Huangfu Jingchen glanced at her coldly, “Xia Wenjin, don’t play with fire and get burned!”

Xia Wenjin, with a face of sincerity, said, “Don’t worry, I share blessings and hardships with Brother Huang, if I get burned, I’ll definitely drag you along!”

Huangfu Jingchen: “…”

He knew she wouldn’t say anything nice, he shouldn’t have gotten involved in this mess. However, since he’s already here, he might as well make the best of it. His journey has already been disrupted beyond measure because of this girl, so he might as well treat it as an experience.

He really didn’t expect there’d be someone like Xia Wenjin in the world.

In the Cheng Prince Mansion in Yunzhou, his father and mother were like an ordinary harmonious and loving couple, with his younger sister fifteen years old and younger brother twelve. The siblings were close and joyful. Those days were relaxed, tranquil, sophisticated, and beautiful.

Until this time for Grandfather’s birthday, Grandfather ordered that all imperial grandsons could come to the Capital City to celebrate his birthday. Considering the long journey, male grandsons over the age of fourteen must go, and those under fourteen can choose freely.

Cheng Prince had no interest in the supreme position, so he went to the Capital City alone.

In the Capital City, he felt the mighty power of royalty, sensed the hierarchy, the scheming and intrigues between cousins, he also felt things he had never considered before.

For instance, Uncle Li, Uncle Lu.

The cousin Huangfu Jinglun from Uncle Li’s family, though undoubtedly knowledgeable and insightful, surpassed many cousins, yet he does not restrain himself. And for what? Of course, for Grandfather’s favoritism.

And the eight-year-old cousin Huangfu Taihe from Uncle Lu’s family, at such a young age, already knows so well how to play mind games, making Grandfather very happy.

These things, Huangfu Jingchen was not unaware of, he just never felt they were worth it or necessary.

Huangfu Jingchen, coming from a family where the father is strict, the mother is kind, the elder brother and younger brothers are respectful and kind to each other, grew up far from those dirty intrigues and power transactions.

This experience broadened his understanding.

He doesn’t like the Capital City, doesn’t like that clearly defined hierarchy, the overwhelming desire for power, the calculations between grandfather, father, and brothers. If it weren’t for Grandfather’s reluctance to let them leave the Capital, he would have long returned to Yunzhou.

As for Xia Wenjin, he had mixed feelings.

Clearly, she was also playing tricks, calculating against him, making him very embarrassed and awkward.

Yet, his feelings towards Xia Wenjin were not like those towards his cousins in the Capital.

If they met, those cousins would certainly appear warm and close, yet beneath the warmth was calculation, beneath the closeness was coldness and distance. Each one calculating, each afraid someone else would become Grandfather’s favorite, leading to secretive infighting.

On the surface, all was harmonious and inseparable. But beneath it just lacked a knife plunging in and out. Hypocrisy, gloom, indifference.

But Xia Wenjin would calculate you openly.

Scheming without pretense, shamelessly proud of it, indeed utterly without shame.

However, there’s such a genuine side.

Clearly, it should make him angry, annoyed, and hateful, but thinking about the month spent in the Capital, he found that being with a real rascal was much more relaxing and joyful than being with those hypocritical cousin gentlemen. Even if he was the one calculated by the real rascal.

When Huangfu Jingchen got off the carriage, Xia Wenjin lightly nudged him, laughing softly, “I know your family is wealthy, but look, compared to this Miss Wang family, how does it stand?”

Huangfu Jingchen lightly hummed.

The Cheng Prince Mansion in Yunzhou, being the lord of a fief, can’t possibly compare to a Prefectural Governor, can it?

However, seeing the valuable rockery and strange stones in the estate, the quality of the wood used for the eaves and columns, even the luxurious tiles and plants, and the attire of the maids and servants…

Huangfu Jingchen suddenly felt uncertain.

Having a fief, wealth is natural, but his father and mother were compassionate towards the poor, within the fief, no one would steal, houses were not locked at night, taxes reduced again and again, striving to ensure no one is without clothing, food, or a home, but the decorations in the Prince Mansion were at most elegant, nothing like this lavishness.

This is just an estate, who knows what kind of luxury and extravagance awaits in the Governor Mansion.

Reaching the estate, Wang Wan’er suddenly changed from her previously gentle and kind demeanor, leaving with two other maids accompanying her.

Here, Qiao Xi’s attitude became even more arrogant, she looked down at Huangfu Jingchen and Xia Wenjin, saying, “Now you’re here, serve Miss well and behave!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep