Chapter 686 No Invitation

As a daughter, Qingling came back earlier than the guests. She went home to clean up, change clothes, and prepare to welcome the guests - although she, a concubine, did not need to greet any guests at all.

But with her aunt's arrangement, she could only deal with it for the time being. After all, it was hard to cause any unpleasantness at her father's birthday party.

When Chu Nanyi and Xie Jin arrived, only a few people came outside the Ruan family's gate. The servants of the uncle's house drove the guests' carriages to the backyard, and the housekeeper and servants warmly welcomed the guests in.

Chu Nanyi moved all the gifts from the carriage and asked Xie Jin to get him a few. However, they were stopped as soon as they reached the gate.

"invitation?"

Chu Nanyi smiled lightly: "There is no invitation."

"You can't go in without an invitation." The servant said arrogantly, "Do you know whose mansion this is? Xipingbo Mansion, the home of honorable nobles, why are you here to join in the fun without an invitation? Come on, hurry up! Don't stay here Get in the way."

Xie Jin really wanted to laugh.

As the legitimate son of the Xie family, although he dare not say how noble he is, he has never received such treatment in the land outside the palace and within the imperial city. It was his first time to come to Xipingbo's Mansion. It was quite far away from the Xie family's residence. One was located in a prime location in the center of the imperial city, and the other was far away on West Street. The location was enough to highlight the status gap between the two mansions.

However, he was not angry and simply said: "I am Xie Jin."

"No matter what you are thanking -" The servants of the Ruan family were about to send him away, but suddenly their expressions changed, and they looked up at the noble and handsome young master in front of them in shock, "You, you... you..."

"Master Xie Jin, come to wish Uncle Xiping a birthday." Xie Jin mentioned the congratulatory gift in his hand with a leisurely and calm expression, "Can you come in?"

"Yes, yes, yes...it's okay..." the servant stammered, nodded and bowed, "Thank you, Master."

The housekeeper came forward and personally led Xie Jin and Chu Nanyi towards the main hall.

Xie Jin clicked his tongue, and the two of them swaggered into the Ruan family's gate. When they walked to a place with few people, Xie Jin said lightly: "I didn't expect that the young master would be so arrogant sometimes."

The housekeeper didn't know whether he heard it or not. He respectfully guided the two of them until they entered the main hall and announced: "Uncle, madam, Mr. Xie has arrived."

"Master Xie?" Uncle Xiping was surprised, "Which Master Xie?"

In addition to Uncle Xiping and his wife, there was another middle-aged man in the hall who was an official of the imperial court. Xie Jin couldn't help but raise his eyebrows at the first glance. By chance, the man also turned his head and stood up in surprise: " Mr. Xie?”

Xie Jin stepped across the threshold and nodded to the man who spoke: "Master Ye."

Mr. Ye is the Minister of Household Affairs. He is sitting and discussing the marriage between the two families with Uncle Xiping. When he sees Xie Jin coming, he doesn't know whether he is surprised or happy. He can't help but look at Uncle Xiping: "I didn't expect that the legitimate son of the Xie family is also here. It’s really surprising that my uncle is here to support me.”

When Mr. Ye was talking to Xie Jin, Uncle Xiping also saw Xie Jin. The expression on his face was extremely surprised. After listening to Mr. Ye's words, his face felt even brighter, and he couldn't hide the smile on his face: " Thank you for coming. It’s really a blessing.”

"Uncle Xiping, you're welcome." Xie Jin handed over the congratulatory gift in his hand, "This is a little thought from Mr. Chu and I. I wish your uncle to be as blessed as the East China Sea and live longer than the Southern Mountains. I hope he will accept it."

Uncle Xiping accepted it with a smile: "Thank you very much. Thank you for coming, sir. I am very happy. It doesn't matter if you are polite or not -"

"Mr. Chu?" Mrs. Ruan glanced at Chu Nanyi standing by Xie Jin, and her face changed slightly, "Why are you here too?"

Chu Nanyi smiled gently: "Come down to wish my uncle a birthday. Madam, don't you welcome me?"

Xie Jin looked at Mrs. Ruan in surprise.

"When?" Seeing Xie Jin staring at her, Mrs. Ruan smiled uncomfortably, "Take a seat, Kang'er, and take Mr. Xie and Mr. Chu to the table."

Ruan Kang nodded and walked out with Xie Jin and Chu Nanyi.

"What's wrong?" Mrs. Ye looked at Mrs. Ruan in confusion, "You don't seem happy."

Mrs. Ruan came back to her senses and smiled awkwardly: "Nothing, where were we talking about just now? Oh, speaking of the betrothal gift..."

"According to the original double betrothal gift, an additional five thousand taels of silver will be added." Mrs. Ye smiled faintly, "Do you think this is appropriate, uncle and madam?

Mrs. Ruan secretly calculated in her heart that the betrothal gift given by the Ye family was so generous that the real money and silver alone would be enough for the Ruan family to survive the current predicament and still have something left over. Moreover, if her daughter marries Mr. Ye, Mr. Ye will be her in-laws from now on, so she can give it to Kang at will. His future problem can be solved by arranging an errand for his son.

Moreover, the marriage must be settled early, before Her Majesty the Queen decrees the marriage. In this way, it will not be considered as resistance to the decree. If she waits until the decree is issued, it will be too late.

Mrs. Tao then nodded: "Let's set the date on the 16th of this month. What do you think, Mrs. Ye?"

Mrs. Ye nodded.

The two families had settled their marriage here, but at this time, on a remote corridor in the Ruan family's backyard, a man blocked Qing Ling's path: "Are you Ruan Qingling, the concubine of the Ruan family?"

Qing Ling frowned and looked at the man in front of her with some displeasure: "Men and women are not intimate, please don't block my way."

The man stopped in front of Qing Ling and did not intend to give way: "Miss Qing Ling is a medical woman?"

Qing Ling frowned: "Get out of the way."

"A woman should be dignified and elegant, docile and virtuous, instead of having such a bad temper." Seeing her bad attitude, the man's expression turned cold, "Is this the kind of rules you learned in the palace?"

Qingling looked at him in disbelief after hearing this: "Who are you?" Are you sick?

"I am your husband."

Qingling's face changed slightly, and she said coldly: "Please be careful with your words, young master."

"My last name is Ye."

Qingling pursed her lips and said firmly: "I will not marry you. It is inappropriate for Young Master Ye to say this."

"It is not up to you to decide whether to marry or not." Young Master Ye raised his hand, his voice slightly gloomy, "I heard from Madam Ruan that you are unwilling to cooperate. I have no choice. Miss Qingling, please don't blame me."

After the voice fell, the two guards behind him stepped forward and grabbed Qingling's hand.

"What are you doing?" Qingling's face suddenly changed, and she subconsciously took a step back to avoid the grip of the Ye family's guards. "If you dare to mess around, I will be rude."

"You're welcome?" Mr. Ye looked at her with interest, "I want to know how rude you will be?"

Qingling bit her lips tightly and stared at the two people in front of her warily. Suddenly, she heard an imperceptible command in her ears: "Run to the northwest yard."

Qingling was startled, and then turned around and ran to the northwest without any hesitation.

Although she was a woman, she was not weak. In a hurry, she ran fast. Mr. Ye and his two guards saw her turn around and run. They were stunned for a while before they reacted and hurried to chase her.

Seeing the direction Qingling ran away, Mr. Ye smiled coldly and said confidently: "Don't chase too closely, I still want to play with her."