Wang Yi came over to pick up Chen Jue and set off for the Chai residence together. He handed his horse over to Xiao Tong in the House of Chen's courtyard.
He told the Coachman the route he would take later.
Then, he turned to the main courtyard.
When he stood in the main hall and saw Li Xiao …
"…" Wang Yi stood rooted to the ground.
Li Xiao could see Big Brother Wang's pupils dilating and constricting.
"…" Chen Jue frowned.
He reached out his big hand and blocked Li Xiao's eyes.
Then, he scooped up the back of the little girl's head.
He scooped her up and walked forward with him.
Wang Yi came back to his senses and closed his slightly open mouth due to shock. He cleared his throat awkwardly and quickly walked past Lord Chen and Li Xiao.
He took the lead and walked out.
Why was he so good-looking?
Wang Yi secretly turned back to look at Li Xiao again.
His heart skipped a beat.
He scratched his ear, feeling a little guilty.
Sitting in the carriage, Li Xiao tidied her skirt uncomfortably.
She was always worried that her skirt would wrinkle.
"Are there worms on your body?" Chen Jue, who was resting with his eyes closed, opened his eyes.
He frowned and glared at Li Xiao.
"…" Li Xiao pursed her lips. After Chen Jue closed his eyes again, she stuck out her tongue playfully at Wang Yi.
"…" Wang Yi couldn't help but laugh.
The two of them smiled meaningfully and confirmed with each other.
They met someone who understood.
Chen Jue suddenly opened his eyes again and saw the two of them sitting face to face.
They were both smiling slyly.
Their eyes were glued to each other.
"…" He glared at Wang Yi in annoyance. Wang Yi quickly looked away.
He pretended that nothing was wrong.
Li Xiao didn't wait for Chen Jue to glare at her.
She lowered her head and played with her fingers.
Therefore,
When they arrived at the Chai residence, the assistant minister of the Ministry of War, Chai Jin, personally came out to greet Lord Chen. He was very confused when he saw the cold expression on Lord Chen's face.
Chai Jin was a straightforward person by nature, so he didn't really mind. Sometimes, he would pat Chen Jue's shoulder and praise Chen Jue for his good physique. Sometimes, he would use his stone-like fist to pound Chen Jue's back. He lamented that Lord Chen was smart and sharp, and that he was able to judge cases with great insight.
Chen Jue was already a little unhappy, and after being tormented by Chai Jin, the expression on his face became … even more indescribable.
After entering the courtyard, they circled around the outer courtyard before arriving at the central courtyard. They directly crossed the small bridge and arrived at the Chai Manor's large garden, which took up half of the manor's area.
There was a pavilion in the middle of the garden. There were six small tables in the pavilion.
In the middle of the pavilion was a small bridge with flowing water. The small bridge was less than five meters long, but it was just a partition for the scenery. There was a stage opposite the small bridge.
On the other side of the pavilion was a small pond, which was half surrounded by rockery. In the pond, there were turtles lying on the rocks, basking in the sun with their necks raised. Koi swam among the lotus leaves, swaying their long red or gold tails. They looked free and at ease.
Madam Chai had specially decorated the courtyard. The tables in the small pavilion were filled with snacks. The potted plants that she usually raised were also displayed to welcome the guests.
As soon as they entered the courtyard, everyone could feel a flourishing and bustling atmosphere rushing towards them.
Li Xiao followed behind them, her eyes wide open as she looked around curiously.
There was a pot of flowers in full bloom. She didn't know what kind of flowers they were.
The rockery here was arranged in an interesting and beautiful manner. She didn't know how it was designed.
The pond over there was sparkling, and the fish in it were swimming around. She really wanted to feed the fish.
There was a bird standing on the treetops, raising its head and chirping. Occasionally, it would flap its wings. It was so interesting …
There wasn't a single place that wasn't fresh and attracted her attention.
Chen Jue excitedly punched Chai Jin's arm when he was talking. He revealed a cold smile. However, Chai Jin didn't seem to notice Lord Chen's displeasure and embarrassment at all. He was still happily telling jokes that he found funny.
Chen Jue turned around and looked at Li Xiao. The little girl had already been left behind by a few meters. He took a deep breath and began to doubt whether his plan was correct. This little girl had probably forgotten the purpose of his trip.
He saw that she was enjoying the scenery very … wholeheartedly!
"Don't look around. Come here!" Chen Jue stopped and stretched out his hand towards the little girl as if he was calling for his daughter.
Chai Jin also stopped and turned back to look. Just now, he had been focused on welcoming Chen Jue. Out of the corner of his eye, he had seen that Chen Jue had brought a servant girl. But she had been blocked by Wang Yi and he had not seen what she looked like.
At this moment, Wang Yi went to the front yard to accompany his son, Chai Hengbin. The little girl followed Chen Jue and stood there alone.
She was unobstructed and slender.
The Chai Manor's courtyard was filled with red flowers and green grass. Large patches of color clustered together to form the most perfect background. The little girl in pink was surrounded by them.
She was delicate, charming, and soft. Her skin was so fair that it glowed, and her facial features were inlaid with exquisite and incomparably good-looking features.
She opened her big watery eyes timidly and looked around curiously like a little kitten.
When she heard Lord Chen's words, she obediently returned to her senses. She clumsily lifted her skirt and ran over with small steps.
Her skirt, hairband, and waist pendant all fluttered with her movements. She was like a fairy who had descended to the mortal world.
Chai Jin's gaze followed Li Xiao's movements. He seemed to have smelled the scent of a celestial being.
However, he didn't realize that he was infatuated with her. The tall and strong general in his thirties stood there like a pillar that had lost consciousness.
Chen Jue turned around and saw Chai Jin's appearance. He frowned again.
He took a deep breath and reached out to grab the back of the little girl's head. He pulled her forward and pulled Li Xiao to his side. He straightened his body and blocked Chai Jin's line of sight.
Lord Chai swallowed his saliva and blinked. He cleared his throat and smiled. "Lord Chen, why did you hide this little girl for so long? If you had brought her to the capital earlier, I'm afraid that there would be so many people coming to the House of Chen to ask for her hand in marriage."
Chai Jin was a straightforward person. He didn't feel that there was anything wrong with praising the younger generation directly.
However, Chen Jue felt very uncomfortable. 'Your daughter is one year older than Li Xiao. Why are you staring at her with such lust?
You don't respect your elders. You've lost all face! '
At this moment, Lord Chen didn't know that if he wanted to keep an eye on Li Xiao so that she wouldn't be led astray, he was afraid that what he was doing now … was just the tip of the iceberg!
His work today was destined to be more than just investigating the case, observing and analyzing every suspect's eldest daughter!
The curtains had just been lifted on a day that had made him frustrated and depressed!
…
There were two round tables in the middle of the corner pavilion. There were flowers and some decorations on them, which also played a role of separation.
In this way, the girls and boys were only two tables away from each other. They could compete with each other in poetry. At the same time, it was more polite to the girls.
Although it was deceiving oneself, it was still a form of gathering in the big families.
It could be said that Madam Chai had really put in a lot of effort for this poetry competition.
They arrived relatively early. The other young ladies and young masters hadn't arrived yet. Li Xiao sat beside Chen Jue, looking like a pretty girl from a humble family. She listened to Chen Jue and Chai Jin chat.
They talked about the war in the northwest, the shortage of military supplies, the emperor's birthday, the Ministry of Rites' expenses have been a little high recently …
Li Xiao dozed off as she listened to them.
She was used to serving Chen Jue in the Dali Monastery. When Chen Jue's cup was empty, she stood up and poured tea for Chen Jue.
Every time the young maidservant standing at the side wanted to pour tea for Lord Chen, she couldn't snatch it from her.
Chai Jin looked at Li Xiao strangely. 'Why doesn't this cousin look like a cousin? Why does she look more like a servant?
In front of Jue Chen, he always looked at him as if he was the leader.
Chen Jue has trained his cousin to be too … virtuous. '
Chen Jue didn't care much about this. Instead, he was a little proud.
Although this little girl didn't care about the scenery and flowers, she was quite obedient when she sat beside him.
Her obedient appearance was particularly pleasing to the eye.
She was thin and small. When others were chatting, she just blinked her round eyes and looked at them. She didn't interrupt or do anything else. She just sat there with a serious expression, like … a little bird in a cage. She was silly and obedient.
His hand uncontrollably pressed down on the fruit plate.
Chai Jin's gaze fell on his fingers. Then, he watched as Chen Jue's fingers hooked around the plate and slowly pulled it in front of Li Xiao.
He seemed to be calm and collected, but Chai Jin saw it all with his eyes.
"…" Chen Jue looked up and met Chai Jin's eyes. He awkwardly returned to the topic of the national treasury.
Although Chai Jin was chatting with him, his eyes were always on Li Xiao.
Lord Chen and his little cousin … Why was the atmosphere so strange?
It was as if … this little cousin was his pet, or … his daughter.
He wasn't even married yet. Was he already a father?
Li Xiao stared at the fruit plate in front of her. She was greedy and hesitant.
What was that round and furry fruit?
She had never eaten it in the north.
She didn't know if it was delicious …
Li Xiao smacked her lips and looked up. She saw that Lord Chai and Lord Chen weren't paying attention to her. The little maid also seemed to be distracted. She timidly reached out her hand and grabbed a red fruit in her hand like a little raccoon stealing cat food.
She touched it. It was prickly and definitely wouldn't taste good.
Was it to be skinned?
But what if it wasn't to be skinned? Would it be embarrassing for her to peel it?
Li Xiao hesitated for a moment, then quietly put the red fruit back on the plate. Then, his eyes stared at the sliced melon.
Just as she was about to pick up a small piece of melon with a toothpick and eat it, Chen Jue, who was sitting at the side and talking attentively, suddenly picked up the lychee that she had secretly put back.
He quickly peeled off the skin.
Li Xiao stared at him intently. Then, she saw the white and tender fruit in front of her.
She looked up in surprise and glanced at Chen Jue.
He didn't turn around, but accurately put the fruit in front of her — as if he had eyes on the side of his face.
She quickly took the fruit and stuffed it into her mouth without hesitation.
Wow … It's so sweet and tender, so delicious!
What is this? Why is it so delicious!
"Spit out the seeds."
Chen Jue pushed the small plate on the side, which was specially used for young ladies and young masters to spit out the seeds and toss the shells of melon seeds, in front of Li Xiao.
Li Xiao nodded obediently. She didn't know if Lord Chen, who was facing Lord Chai, could see her nodding.
She didn't have the heart to think about whether Lord Chen could see her nodding. She narrowed her eyes slightly and tasted the sweetness and sourness in her mouth happily. She couldn't stop.
It was so delicious!
The little girl's face was flushed red, and her left cheek was slightly puffed up because of the lychee in her mouth. She was already so beautiful that it made people's hearts flutter. At this moment, her appearance was so cute that it made the tough men on the battlefield melt into soup.
Chai Jin couldn't control his gaze and kept lingering on Li Xiao's face. He couldn't focus on Lord Chen.
As for the lychee, she was still holding the seed in her mouth even after she finished the fruit. The tip of her tongue kept licking and sucking, for fear of wasting the sweetness of the fruit.
After a long while, Chen Jue didn't see her spit out the fruit seed.
This girl couldn't have swallowed the fruit seed, right?
He turned his head and pointed at the small plate with the fruit seed. "Spit out the seed."
Li Xiao met his gaze and reluctantly stretched her head to the plate. With a "pu" sound, she spat out the fruit seed on the plate.
Her lips were slightly pouted, and there was a look of reluctance on her face. The seductive look in her eyes spread out.
How old is this little girl? Her eyes are still so innocent, but there's already such charm in them. If she grows up …
Chai Jin sighed with emotion as he watched Chen Jue instruct Li Xiao as if he was training a puppy. He couldn't help but think again.