Chapter 71 I Believe You

  Xu Ming Jin followed Xuan Yuan Jing Lin with her head held high, accompanied by Yu Zhu, Chun Xing, and Qiu Yun. They swaggered out of the mansion, got into a horse-drawn carriage, and headed towards Huang Zhuang.

  In the carriage, Xu Mingjin asked happily: "How did you suddenly come to the Xu Mansion to find me and just rescued me who was locked up?"

  Xuan Yuan Jinglin looked at her and smiled, but didn't say a word.

  Xu Mingjin looked at Xuan Yuan Jinglin with suspicion, she was smiling so strangely, could it be that she wasn't just coincidentally saving her, but had come specifically to rescue her? But how did she know that she was being locked up? Could it be that Yu Zhu saw Xu Mingxia being let out and got anxious, then went to find Xuan Yuan Ze? Xuan Yuan Ze couldn't show his face, so he let his younger sister come and save her? With the identity of Princess Xuan Yuan Jinglin, who would dare disobey? Yu Zhu was Xuan Yuan Ze's person, this she had known from the start. Now it seemed that apart from Yu Zhu, there was no other choice. Thinking to this point, Xu Mingjin's emotions were very complicated, she knew that Yu Zhu had gone to find Xuan Yuan Ze in order to save her, and she trusted Yu Zhu's loyalty towards her. But in her heart, she couldn't help but think, between her and Xuan Yuan Ze, who was Yu Zhu more loyal to?

  "Is it Yu Zhu? She went to find your brother?"

  Xuan Yuan Jing Lin took one look at Xu Ming Jin's expression and knew what she was thinking. She said with a guarantee: "Alright, Yu Zhu is worried about you so he went to ask my brother for help, not to report your situation to my brother, so don't get tangled up in this anymore. Luckily there's Yu Zhu around, otherwise who would have come to save you? Or I can also give you a servant girl! This way, apart from settling the matter, at the first moment I'll be able to come and rescue you!"

  Xu Mingjin smiled awkwardly, as if she had a small heart. Regarding Xuan Yuan Jinglin's proposal to send Yaotou, Xu Mingjin thought for a moment and said: "Okay, you openly give it to me, and in the future when the Xu family wants to punish me, they will weigh their options carefully."

  Xuan Yuan Jinglin agreed as soon as she heard it and promised to send a maid to Xu Mingjin, which was just a matter of talking.

  Xuan Yuan Jing Lin said: "You promised to make me eat beggar's chicken last time, how about this time!" Xu Ming Jin nodded, Xuan Yuan Jing Lin said again: "Hmph! This time in the imperial villa, let's see how you fly in with your wings!"

  Xu Mingjin knew at once that she was talking about Xuan Yuan Xi Wei. He couldn't help but smile.

  Xuan Yuan Jing Lin suddenly remembered something and hastily said: "Ming Jin, there's something you might not know."

  Xu Mingjin hastily asked what's going on.

  "What exactly happened that day at Wenxiang Lai? Now, rumors are flying all over the capital, saying that Miss Xu and Sixth Miss Xu both have their eyes on Young Master Wang of Pingxi Wangfu. Because of this, the two women got into a jealous fight and ended up having a huge brawl in the wine tower."

  "Ah?" Xu Mingjin was so shocked that his eyes almost popped out. It turned out that this was the reason why Old Lady Xu was angry with her and locked her in the Buddhist hall. But Xu Mingxia was just a rumor, what did it have to do with her? However, when she recalled everything that happened at the wine tower that day, she realized that from an outsider's perspective, it really did seem like the rumors. She couldn't help but regretfully say: "It's all my sister's fault for making things turn out this way!"

  Xuan Yuan Jinglin said: "What's going on after all? Tell me again."

  Xu Mingjin recounted the events of May 10th in detail.

  Xuan Yuan Jinglin heard this and raised an eyebrow with a smile: "I didn't expect that little devil to have someone who likes him. What kind of eyesight does your older sister have?"

  Xu Mingjin smiled and said: "This is just radish greens, each has its own preferences. It's just that people have different perspectives."

  "Your elder sister's thoughts will probably be in vain, he is going to be the prince in the future. The Princess of Pingxi has been busy selecting a daughter-in-law for Qiyue recently, and it is said that she has chosen the eldest granddaughter of Yang Ge Lao, and it is almost settled. As for being the crown princess, you shouldn't think about it anymore. If your elder sister wants to marry him, she can only be his concubine. Given your father's position in the court, this still holds some hope."

  "My father and grandmother are both aware of Eldest Sister's thoughts, and they're also delighted about it. The only thing is, I don't know if they'll marry her off as a concubine. Eldest Sister is so proud, will she be willing to submit to someone else?" Xu Mingjin sighed.

  Xuan Yuan Jinglin said, "What are you worrying about for her? She's just a passerby, aren't you treating her like your own sister? If so, then I overestimated you."

  "What you said is right, but it's a stranger living in the same mansion." Xu Mingjin sighed: "If only I were really a stranger, I wouldn't have to worry about being schemed against one day."

  Xuan Yuan Jing Lin saw that Xu Ming Jin's mood had become gloomy again, and she hastily said: "Let's not talk about these unhappy things anymore, let's talk about something happy." She was momentarily at a loss for words, unsure of what to say to lighten the atmosphere. When Xu Ming Jin saw her like this, his mood actually improved somewhat.

  Arrived at the villa from last time, Xu Mingjin wasn't surprised to find Xuan Yuanze there as well. He saw Xu Mingjin and Xuan Yuanjing walking together, and nodded with a smile.

  Xu Mingjin couldn't remember how long it had been since she last saw Xuan Yuanze, it felt like a century, but in fact the last time was on the day her father got married, when she sneaked out to ride horses with Xuan Yuanjing, and they only met briefly.

  "Has your leg injury healed?" Xuan Yuan Ze suddenly asked.

  Xu Mingjin was daydreaming outside, and upon hearing the words, he hastily replied: "I've been fine for a long time." In fact, it was just a minor scratch, which hurt a lot at the time, but by the next day, everything was okay.

  Xuanyuan Ze nodded and turned to Xuanyuan Jinglin, "You quickly take Miss Xu Liu to her room. Check if there's anything missing, and let me know if there is."

  Xuan Yuan Jinglin smiled and said: "Why tell you, I'll just tell the person in charge. What's lacking, go take care of it?"

  Xu Mingjin's face turned slightly red with embarrassment, and she didn't dare to respond. Xuan Yuanze, however, remained expressionless and said, "I'll go take care of it."

  Xu Mingjin's face turned red, Xuan Yuanze looked at her with a low head and bid farewell. Leaving Xuan Yuanjing staring at Xu Mingjin with an ambiguous expression.

  Xu Mingjin couldn't take it anymore, she made an excuse to tidy up the room and wanted to slip away, but was caught by Xuan Yuan Jinglin: "With so many maids around, do you think tidying up the room still needs your help? Come here obediently."

  Xu Mingjin had no choice but to stop his footsteps going to the room and reluctantly followed Xuan Yuan Jinglin to the attic.

  Standing in front of the empty railing on the second floor, Xu Mingjin sighed that time passed so quickly. The last time he came here, the surroundings were still lush and green, but now they were all golden yellow.

  "My second brother likes you." Xuan Yuan Jing Lin said suddenly.

  Xu Mingjin was dumbfounded and didn't know what to say. But a pretty face, however, flushed with embarrassment at a visible speed.

  Xuan Yuan Jinglin waited for a long time but didn't hear Xu Mingjin's response, so she turned her head back and saw Xu Mingjin's face blushing like he was drunk, or like the sunset at the horizon.

  "Speak up!"

  "What do you want me to say?" Xu Mingjin asked.

  Xuan Yuan Jing Lin was stunned, what did she let Xu Ming Jin say? Did she also like her second brother? This is simply unrealistic, Xu Ming Jin is a dignified and elegant young lady, she doesn't have such thick skin.

  However, Xu Mingjin didn't say anything, but her reaction had already proven everything. Having figured this out, Xuan Yuan Jinglin was genuinely happy for her second brother.

  "My second brother and older brother have always had a good relationship. As the crown prince, my older brother's position was secure thanks to my second brother's efforts over the years, who had worked hard for him. However, he himself never asked for anything in return. The empress dowager and older brother were both very grateful to him, asking what he wanted, and second brother said that he only had one request: his future wife must be chosen by himself, and neither the crown prince nor the empress dowager could force her to marry someone or arrange a marriage for him." Xuan Yuan Jing Lin slowly recounted the past. Xu Ming Jin listened quietly, and the second brother in Xuan Yuan Jing Lin's words was very different from the Xuan Yuan Ze she knew. It turned out that she still knew very little about him.

  Xuan Yuan Jinglin sighed and continued: "My second brother has been very stubborn since he was a child. He will definitely do what he says. Since he made this request, the empress dowager and my eldest brother had no choice but to agree. In these years, all the princes who are three or four years younger than my second brother have already gotten married, but my second brother is now twenty-one years old and still single."

  "Three years ago, the emperor wanted to arrange a marriage for him, but he refused. He didn't like the wife the emperor had chosen for him. Later on, the emperor often sent him on errands to various places, so he spent less and less time in the capital. But over the past half year, he has rarely left the capital..."

  Xuan Yuan Jinglin kept talking about many things that Xuan Yuan Ze did when he was young.

  Xu Mingjin listened with a smile, not saying a word. But in his heart, he slowly felt the things Xuan Yuan Jinglin described, and his impression of Xuan Yuan Ze changed a lot. In the evening, Xuan Yuan Jinglin dragged Xu Mingjin to have dinner at Xuan Yuan Ze's place. Because of what Xuan Yuan Jinglin said that afternoon, Xu Mingjin's face turned red as soon as he saw Xuan Yuan Ze.

  Xuanyuan Ze couldn't help but take a few more glances at Xu Mingjin.

  Xu Mingjin hastily avoided Xuan Yuanze's line of sight. He lowered his head and slowly ate, the food tasting bland for the entire meal.

  After dinner, Xu Mingjin wanted to return to his own courtyard, but Xuan Yuan Jinglin smiled and refused. Xuan Yuan Jingze said from the side: "Qin Tianjian calculated that there will be a meteor shower tonight, why don't we go to the attic together to watch the meteor shower?"

  "Alright, alright!" Xuan Yuan Jinglin hastily replied.

  Xu Mingjin rolled her eyes, watching the meteor shower? She didn't expect that ancient people also liked romance so much. However, she really wasn't interested in that guy. Unfortunately, Xuan Yuan Jinglin kept pulling her and wouldn't let go, saying they had to go, so she could only follow along.

  Upon reaching the attic, Xu Mingjin found that tonight's night sky was truly beautiful. The twinkling stars were like pearls inlaid on the dark canvas of the sky, shining brightly. A new moon hung at the edge of the sky, resembling a silver hook hanging upside down. This quiet autumn night made everyone fall silent.

  Xu Mingjin stood in this open field of vision, her thoughts flying far and wide. She remembered many things from when she was a child, the popsicles she ate as a child, her childhood playmates, and the woods behind the house that she loved to visit as a child. At night, she would lie down with her friends in the fields and gaze at the stars. All of this only existed in her memory now, and could no longer appear before her eyes.

  "Don't worry, the rumors will dissipate soon." Xu Mingjin was lost in thought when he suddenly heard this sentence next to his ear. He turned around and saw Xuan Yuze looking at him with concern.

  Xu Mingjin knew that it was his own homesickness earlier that made him mistakenly think he was worried about that matter. He smiled and said, "I didn't even put my heart into that matter. The clear will be self-clear, the turbid will be self-turbid, explanations will only make things worse, I won't bother with it, after a while it will be fine."

  Xuanyuan Ze smiled and said, "You're absolutely right."

  Xu Mingjin said: "Do you believe in rumors?"

  Xuanyuan Ze shook his head: "I don't believe it."

  Xu Mingjin asked curiously: "Why?"

  "I believe you. Also, I know you've always disliked Xuan Yuan Xi Di."