Chapter 14 Xie Yan ignores Cheng'er

Chapter 14 Xie Yan ignores Cheng'er

She watched him walk calmly in the direction she had come from.

The crowd was dense, and he clearly didn't see her standing right in front of him.

She passed him by two people, and Shen Nanzi wanted to grab him and ask whose clothes they were.

However, this time, she, who was usually so bold, was timid!

Because Lin Ruyi said that Xie Yan was with the person he loved!

Lin Ruyi loved seeing her in a sorry state. Although she sometimes made things up, this time she inexplicably felt that what she said was true.

She dared not look, dared not learn the truth, fearing that her ten years would be a joke.

"Miss!" Lie Feng, dressed in black, arrived breathlessly, his breath steaming in the air. "The young prince has been found!"

He pointed ahead and said, "They're fighting over there!"

Upon hearing that Cheng'er was fighting, Shen Nanzi disregarded everything else and hurriedly followed Lie Feng to the scene.

Cheng'er and a boy got into a fight and rolled around on the ice.

"Stop!" Shen Nanzi watched as the child grabbed Cheng'er by the neck.

Xie Chengze's face turned red, and he was not to be outdone, so he punched the child's cheek.

Lie Feng separated the two and picked up Cheng'er from the ground.

Shen Nanzi quickly checked Cheng'er's condition; there were marks on the corners of his mouth and eyes from being hit.

Fortunately, it seems there's nothing seriously wrong.

"How did you end up fighting with someone?"

Xie Chengze was a grandson of the emperor and also wanted to gain Xie Yan's attention.

When he was out and about, he was always self-disciplined, well-behaved, and obedient. I never saw him fight with his friends.

Seeing that he remained silent, Shen Nanzi asked again, "Did he offend you?"

Xie Chengze leaned on Lie Feng's shoulder, looking gloomy, and nodded slightly.

Shen Nanzi sensed something was wrong and stroked his head, "Mother knew it. Cheng'er would never have struck first. It must have been him who offended you."

Xie Chengyan clenched his small fists, which trembled slightly as he suppressed his emotions. "Next time I see him, I'm going to beat him up again!"

Shen Nanzi's heart skipped a beat, and she touched his little hand, "Could it be... that he mentioned Mother!"

Xie Chengze's small body trembled, and the emotions he had been suppressing collapsed, with tears dripping onto Lie Feng's shoulder.

Clutching Shen Nanzi's sleeve with her small hand, her voice choked with sobs, she said, "He said Mother is a madwoman, he said... he said Father... Father despises Mother."

“I… I wouldn’t allow him to talk nonsense, but he… he insisted on saying it, and he even… he shouted and yelled, making everyone say… you, you’re a crazy woman.”

Xie Chengze sobbed, his small body convulsing, unable to catch his breath, describing the situation in broken sentences.

Shen Nanzi's heart trembled, and her eyes stung unbearably.

It turns out that her actions caused Cheng'er to suffer painful ostracism.

Shen Nanzi turned around, wanting to see whose child it was, but the children who had seen the adults before had all scattered like birds and beasts.

She comforted the child before taking him back home.

On the way back, lanterns had already been lit on the ice, illuminating the lake.

Shen Nanzi searched through the crowd for a woman in an apricot-colored dress, since the number of people on Hongchi Lake was limited.

Persistence pays off; the apricot-colored figure was right in front of me. I was feeling sad and couldn't help but search for her.

But once I actually found it, I lost my courage.

...

Under the lamplight, the woman was slender, wearing a cloak that revealed a long, apricot-yellow coat.

Knowing that I will eventually have to face it, there's no point in running away.

He wanted to see whose daughter she was.

Shen Nanzi walked quickly in fear, and when she reached behind her, her arm was grabbed just as she reached out her hand.

Shen Nanzi instinctively looked up, and the person in front of her was Xie Yan. "Let go!"

Xie Yan looked at Lie Feng and Xie Chengze behind her, his eyes turning icy. "The banquet is about to start, why are you still outside with the child instead of preparing the food?"

When Shen Nanzi looked up again, the apricot-colored figure had already disappeared into the crowd.

She turned around and looked at Xie Yan, wanting to question him, but Cheng'er was watching them, and she couldn't bear to let the child see their argument.

Forcing back her emotions, she asked him, managing an awkward smile, "Where did you go all day?"

"busy!"

"Busy!?" Shen Nanzi nodded, as if convincing herself or comforting herself, "Let's go back together! The banquet is about to start!"

Xie Yan released her, saying, "I have other things to do, I'll go have my meal later."

Shen Nanzi didn't insist any further and left, with Lie Feng following behind, carrying the child.

Xie Yan glanced at them, then turned away.

Shen Nanzi returned to her kitchen and vaguely saw a figure flash by. When she chased after it, she saw other people from the mansion bustling about.

On the ice, everyone is so casual; a piece of cloth or a pot is all it takes to make a kitchen, there's absolutely no privacy.

She hurried into the kitchen to check, but the cooks were busy and there was nothing unusual.

As the banquet began, a bright moon hung in the sky.

The lake is covered with lanterns, like twinkling stars.

Blending with the darkness, it shines brilliantly.

Because it was on ice, the scale was naturally not as uniform as it would be in the city.

Each household brought its own chairs and benches, with the Emperor and Consort Wei at the head of the table, and the rest of the people sitting around them at their leisure.

Whether it's a group of three or five families or just two families drinking together, it's all about doing what you feel like.

Each household brought out their best dishes, exchanging gifts and feeding each other, creating an exceptionally lively scene.

The Emperor's household was naturally the focus of the entire event, with almost every family bringing out one or two dishes, served on exquisite plates and bowls, presented by the lady of the house.

The banquet had been going on for a while when Xie Yan finally arrived late.

It was a rare occasion for the family to have a meal together, and Shen Nanzi knew that Cheng'er was happy, but he was just suppressing his emotions and it wasn't obvious.

No one knows a child better than their mother. Shen Nanzi deliberately placed Cheng'er between the two of them, so that Cheng'er's father was on his right and his mother was on his left.

Sure enough, the little guy's eyes lit up. When he saw Xie Yan sit down, he quickly picked up the wine pot and filled his wine cup.

"Father, drink."

The little boy stared longingly at Xie Yan, hoping for a smile or a word of encouragement.

But there was nothing.

After Xie Yan sat down, he didn't look at the wine glass or Xie Chengze, but instead instructed Shen Nanzi, "Go and deliver the dishes."

Not wanting Cheng'er to get hurt, Shen Nanzi said, "Cheng'er poured this wine, you should drink it."

Xie Yan glanced at the entire banquet: "I still have errands to run tonight."

It meant that he couldn't drink alcohol. Xie Chengze understood, and although he was disappointed, he still tried to please Xie Yan by removing the wine glass in front of him.

And said, "Father, eat more vegetables."

Xie Yan seemed not to hear, "It's your turn. In public, don't make any mistakes."

Feeling hurt by Cheng'er's repeated neglect, Shen Nanzi said angrily, "He's not a three-year-old child. How can he make a mistake while serving a dish?"

Fearing that someone might cause trouble, she had checked everything inside and out, and even tasted the dishes herself to ensure that nothing went wrong.

The dishes to be presented to the Emperor were already on the tray: two dishes, a camel hoof soup and a roasted pork shoulder.

The portion was small, but the presentation was exquisite.

To avoid slipping on the ice, she specially wore boots with deerskin soles.

After getting up and confirming that she was alright, she carried the tray and headed towards the emperor.

Several wives of high-ranking officials have already sent their own delicious dishes, which the emperor has been praising highly.

Halfway there, Shen Nanzi noticed something unusual on the soles of her feet.

She steadied herself and looked down, only to find that the sewn deerskin soles on her feet had fallen off at some point.

My feet feel like they're greased; they slide to the sides even when I'm not moving.

Her unusual behavior gradually became apparent to everyone, but no matter how Shen Nanzi tried to steady herself, her feet kept tilting to the left and right.