Chapter Fifty-two: The Second Proposal

  After dinner, Xu Mingjin finally got his wish and took a good stroll around the villa which was said to be given by the emperor to King Ming. Moreover, it was Xuan Yuan Jinglin who acted as their tour guide. Xu Mingjin thought to himself: Not to mention anything else, just having Xuan Yuan Jinglin as our guide is something that many people can't even dream of.

  This villa didn't seem like much at first glance, but after strolling around slowly, Xu Mingjin only then discovered that this villa was actually quite large. After circling around once, Xu Mingjin felt exhausted, while Xuan Yuan Jinglin still seemed full of energy. Xu Mingjin couldn't help but admire: "Your physical strength is really good."

  Xuan Yuan Jinglin glanced at Xu Mingjin who was so tired that he couldn't straighten his waist and said with a relaxed tone, "It's not that I'm physically strong, but you're too weak."

  Xu Mingjin: "......"

  As they spoke, the two of them sat down in a pavilion.

  Xu Mingjin held a large handful of colorful flowers, and when she saw the grass outside the pavilion with flowers that were not in her hand, she couldn't help but want to get up and pick them. However, she was pulled back by Xuan Yuan Jinglin: "You can slow down! There are so many flowers, it's not too late to pick them tomorrow. But what do you want so many flowers for?"

  Xu Mingjin smiled slightly: "I didn't think of doing anything, these are just wildflowers, some fragrant, some not. I just thought it was fun." As she spoke, she put the flowers in her hand on the stone table.

  Xuan Yuan Jinglin looked at Xu Mingjin with some speechlessness.

  Xu Mingjin suddenly became enthusiastic and said: "How about I paint a portrait of you?"

  Xuan Yuan Jing Lin's eyes widened: "You can still paint?"

  "Of course! This is what I'm best at."

  Xuan Yuan Jing Lin had already categorized Xu Ming Jin as a clumsy person after seeing her play the guqin. When she said she wanted to paint, Xuan Yuan Jing Lin didn't think much of it and didn't have high expectations. But Xu Ming Jin was suddenly enthusiastic, disregarding everything else, and immediately pulled Xuan Yuan Jing Lin back because she wanted to paint.

  It just so happened that Xu Mingjin had rushed out, leaving her sketchbook and handmade charcoal pencils at home. Xu Mingjin felt a pang of regret: why hadn't she brought them? Xuan Yuan Jinglin watched Xu Mingjin's unnatural expression from the side, thinking she had guessed correctly, and couldn't help but laugh lightly. This laughter sparked Xu Mingjin's competitive spirit, which had originally been discouraged, and she began to think of a solution.

  No drawing board, so they made do with the desk for now, which was quite large anyway. No charcoal pencils, Xu Mingjin instructed the maid to find some thick and long charcoal sticks, slowly sharpening one end into a sharp point with a knife, and wrapping the remaining part in a strip of tough paper, carefully winding it around the charcoal stick in small circles. Before long, it was ready. Xu Mingjin asked Xuan Yuan Jinglin to pose, warning her not to move, and then slowly began sketching on the paper. For a while, the quiet room was filled with only the sound of scratching.

  Xuan Yuan Jing Lin looked at Xu Ming Jin's serious and solemn expression, her heart finally filled with anticipation. She hoped that Xu Ming Jin could move her heart like he did that day, with a song that would shock her to the core, even though his playing was a bit rusty.

  Xu Mingjin's brushstrokes were very meticulous, and every tiny detail of Xuan Yuanjing was carefully depicted by him. As time slowly passed, Xuan Yuanjing maintained her pose, getting a bit tired. But she saw that Xu Mingjin still hadn't finished painting, so she persisted. Just then, Xuan Ze entered the room, and upon seeing the scene before him, he lightened his footsteps and slowly walked towards Xu Mingjin.

  Xu Mingjin painted very carefully. She didn't notice at all that someone was quietly approaching behind her, peeking to see the painting in her hand. Xuan Yuan Jinglin saw it, she rolled her eyes at Xuan Yuan Ze, using her expression to tell him how despicable his behavior was.

  Xuanyuan Ze didn't take it to heart. He wasn't bothered by Xuanyuan Jinglin's disdainful gaze, as he was captivated by Xu Mingjin's painting.

  That was a style he had never seen before. The color was only black, though monotonous, it had another kind of strange beauty. At first glance, the painting seemed like Xuan Yuan Jing Lin taking a mirror shot.

  Xuanyuan Ze looked for a while, then quietly retreated. He didn't want Xu Mingjin to know that he had just sneaked a peek at her painting. Xuanyuan Jinglin saw him like this and showed him another disdainful expression. Fortunately, Xu Mingjin was now drawing the clothing part, so she didn't see her expression.

  It wasn't until an hour and a half later that Xu Mingjin finally finished painting.

  Xuan Yuan Jinglin heard Xu Mingjin say that she could get up and move around, so she quickly got up and walked over to pick up the painting to admire it, not even bothering to rub her numb butt.

  Xu Mingjin was also a bit tired. Painting required a lot of effort too. She smiled at Princess Jinglin and said, "My skills are just average, I hope you won't be disappointed."

  "How could I possibly dislike it? Ming Jin, you're being too self-deprecating." Xuan Yuan Jing Lin carefully appreciated the painting in her hand and broke into a wide smile: "You always manage to surprise me."

  Xu Mingjin knew that Xuan Yuan Jinglin was very satisfied with the painting as soon as she heard it, and she let out a sigh of relief. To be honest, she was quite afraid that Xuan Yuan Jinglin wouldn't appreciate this style of sketch.

  Xuanyuan Jinglin had enough appreciation, so she ordered people to carefully collect this painting. She returned to Beijing the next day and wanted to bring it with her.

  It was almost dusk at this time, Xu Mingjin suggested that the two of them go watch the sunset. Xuan Yuan Jinglin agreed happily.

  The two of them came to the highest pavilion in the villa, where the view was very broad. The surrounding scenery was unobstructed, and the distant mountains beside the sun that had already fallen on the mountain top, the remaining light had dyed half of the sky red.

  Xuan Yuan Jinglin had probably never gone out to watch the sunset with anyone before, so she was a bit excited. She said: "Ming Jin, how did you know that sunsets are this beautiful?"

  Xu Mingjin smiled slightly, and in her past life, she had admired the sunset many times. At this time, she suggested that the two of them go watch the sunset, but it was just because they were both idle now. But she wouldn't tell Xuan Yuan Jinglin that, so she thought for a moment and said: "When I was young in Liu City, I found that the sunset is very beautiful." When she said this sentence, Xu Mingjin suddenly felt an extremely strong nostalgia for her modern family and friends, wondering if they were all doing well?

  Xuan Yuan Jing Lin saw that Xu Ming Jin was in a somewhat downcast mood, and naturally thought of the circumstances of her birth that Xu Ming Jin had told her about. She regretted asking such a question, which had stirred up Xu Ming Jin's memories. She wanted to make amends, but found that she had never comforted anyone before - as a princess, who would have dared to let her do so? Xu Ming Jin was the first.

  Xuan Yuan Jinglin thought for a long time before saying, "Don't be sad about those things. Whoever dares to harm your mother and you, as well as your younger brother, will one day pay the price for their own actions."

  Xu Mingjin heard Xuan Yuan Jinglin say this, and knew that she must have thought he was thinking of the late Fan madam, so he was so emotionally down. He hurriedly put on a smile to tell her that he was fine.

  At this time, the sunset had already sunk more than half of its face behind the mountain. The colorful clouds in the sky were also fading away. The two people stopped talking and focused on appreciating the sunset.

  The two of them went downstairs from the attic when the sky had already darkened to the point where people's shadows could hardly be seen. After they returned, they ate dinner together and then rested separately.

  On the second day, early in the morning, Xu Mingjin started practicing guqin in the courtyard. At this time, she had basically broken away from her awkwardness and was gradually maturing in terms of technique. Xuan Yuan Jinglin lived just a corridor away from Xu Mingjin's place, and at this time, Xuan Yuan Jinglin had also gotten out of bed and started practicing swordplay in the courtyard. When Xuan Yuan Jinglin finished a set of sword moves and came to Xu Mingjin's side, she was about to speak when Xu Mingjin turned her head and gave her a sweet smile: "I want to learn to play the zither."

  Xuanyuan Jinlin glanced at her sideways: "You're still a novice at the guqin, and now you want to learn the piano too? I have no idea when you'll be able to master it. If I were to teach you, I'd definitely be exhausted to death."

  Xu Mingjin said, "I'm just afraid of encountering something like what happened at Pingxi Wangfu that day again. If I can play, it's fine, but if I don't know how to play, who knows, maybe I'll be ridiculed." Xu Mingjin said this as he pitifully glanced at Xuan Yuan Jinglin.

  Xuan Yuan Jinglin looked at Xu Mingjin's expression, which was still fearful, and thought that what she said also made sense, so she agreed. But Xuan Yuan Jinglin said that she would only teach once, and if Xu Mingjin couldn't learn it, then it was her own problem. Xu Mingjin didn't say another word and agreed, anyway her goal wasn't high, as long as she could play the instrument, that was enough.

  The day was spent studying music.

  On the third day, he returned to the capital city.

  Xu Mingjin and Xuan Yuan Jinglin both had some reluctance in their hearts. Xu Mingjin was reluctant to leave the temporary departure from the Xu family's intrigue, while Xuan Yuan Jinglin felt that she hadn't had enough fun yet. But no matter how reluctant they were, they still had to return to the capital. So they set foot on the journey back to the capital again. And Xuan Yuan Ze had already bid farewell and left yesterday.

  Xu Mingjin was sent to the Xu family gate, Xuan Yuan Jinglin turned around and left, once again letting the people waiting at the Xu family gate, who were preparing to fawn over her, wait in vain.

  Xu Ruoyi did not feel much loss, although he was also one of those waiting at the door for the princess's arrival.

  Xu Mingjin was received with unprecedented enthusiasm when she returned to the mansion. She knew it was because of her outing with Xuan Yuan Jinglin, but after hearing Xu Shangshu's words, she realized that was only part of the reason.

  "Jin'er, the Emperor has posthumously conferred upon your mother the title of First-Rank Lady. You and Xuan'er are now the true legitimate son and daughter of our Minister's Manor." Xu Ruoyi hastened to recount his hardships: "This is something I begged the Emperor for a long time, in order to secure it for your mother."

  Xu Mingjin sneered, every word Xu Ruoyi said was sarcastic to her. A man who didn't even dare to investigate the cause of his own wife's starvation, claiming he loved this woman, what a joke!

  "In a month's time, Father is going to marry again. At that time, you will have a new mother." Xu Mingjin heard this and said: "What about Mrs. Xu..."

  Xu Ruoyi said indifferently: "She has already been demoted to a noble concubine by me!"

  But he didn't tell Xu Mingjin that it was the emperor's intention. He wanted to use this opportunity to gain more paternal love from Xu Mingjin, after all, he had been neglecting his daughter for many years, and their father-daughter relationship was very distant. He wanted to take this chance to mend their relationship. After all, looking at the current situation, his daughter's future prospects were boundless. But he would never know that no matter what he did, in Xu Mingjin's eyes, he was just a stranger who had indirectly caused her mother's death.

  It's unknown whether Xu Ruoyi would still be so eager to repair his relationship with his daughter if he knew this. This is unknowable, because Xu Mingjin will absolutely not give him the chance to know about it.

  "I wonder which family's daughter Father is going to marry?" Xu Mingjin asked.

  "Oh, also from the Ye family, in terms of generation, she is Aunt Ye's niece."

  Xu Mingjin heard this and a faint cold light flashed in his eyes.