"Okay." Xia Zhaoyi responded and took a seat.
Nie Huimo was still standing, looking at the girl uncertainly.
Although the two people are sitting facing each other, the space in between is enough for four or five people to dance.
Mrs. Qu signaled the housekeeper, who had been standing there and dared not leave, to order the food and drinks. When the housekeeper left, Mrs. Qu looked at Nie Huimo and found that he was still staring at Xia Zhaoyi.
Mrs. Qu held back her temper and said to Xia Zhaoyi: "Ali, do you have any plans to leave when you come to Hengxiang this time?"
"Afternoon or tomorrow." Xia Zhaoyi replied.
"So soon?" Mrs. Qu said, "You seem to have arrived not long ago."
"Well, Ben was just passing by."
Mrs. Qu nodded, with a hint of guilt on her face: "Ah Li, I can't help myself this time."
Xia Zhaoyi smiled at her: "No, it's me who has troubled Madam."
It could be seen from Mrs. Ziyi's expression that she was also very surprised that Nie Huimo was here.
And, Mrs. Qu defended her.
When Mrs. Qu saw her smile, she also smiled, and her tense thoughts finally got better.
"Ah Li," Mrs. Qu said sincerely, "you look so beautiful when you smile. You can resolve any worries."
"Thank you for your compliments, Madam. My Madam's smile is also beautiful, fresh and bold, like a spring breeze."
When Mrs. Qu heard this, she smiled even more happily.
But smiling, he looked towards Nie Huimo, and saw that Nie Huimo's eyes seemed to be glued, and he kept looking at Xia Zhaoyi.
A pair of eyes whose emotions cannot be clearly seen, deep, profound, and thoughtful.
Forget it, Mrs. Qu compromised and felt that it was good enough for him to just watch like this and not say anything, just don't make trouble.
Not long after the butler left, the first side dishes and pastries arrived quickly.
Although I didn't expect Nie Huimo to come, Qu Mansion was never short of delicacies and ingredients.
Sauce-flavored pork ribs, rose cake, Ruyi cake, shredded chicken and candied beef, flower-flowered lotus paste dough...
Each item is exquisite and delicious, and is installed on a small blue-backed gold Yaotai tableware. The whole set is extremely expensive. At that time, Tianhe Kiln only produced 200 sets in total. Mrs. Qu loved it and spent a lot of effort to get 60 sets.
Mrs. Qu began to explain the ingredients of each dish to Xia Zhaoyi in detail.
Just like every time before, she accurately measured the size of her passion, making it feel more boring and less fake, just right.
Her speech was lively and Xia Zhaoyi was made to laugh several times, but Nie Huimo was indifferent and only looked at the girl opposite her the whole time.
Although it was daytime, there were still lights in the room, and bright and soft light came out from the lampshades. The girl's face was like a boiled egg with the shell removed, plump, white and translucent.
Settle accounts?
That was no longer Nie Huimo's current mood.
He knew he shouldn't fall into such dangerous thoughts, but it was too difficult right now.
Regardless of all identities, he is just a man and she is just a woman.
A man of strong temperament, with numerous military exploits and a fondness for conquest.
A youthful and energetic person with a sweet smile and skin as white as gelatin.
Yin and Yang should complement each other, but unfortunately, he knew clearly that they could not be on the same path.
However, the way Nie Huimo looked at her suddenly became intriguing.
She should have known that he had been looking at her, so she really sat there as if nothing had happened, not affected at all, not even feeling disgusted?
For some reason, Nie Huimo found it boring and meaningless.
He finally withdrew his gaze and looked up at Mrs. Qu who was sitting in the chair.
Mrs. Qu immediately turned her eyes.
"Farewell." Nie Huimo said calmly, stood up and left.
Before leaving, he glanced at the girl again, and saw that she was eating with her head down, her movements so natural that she was not moved at all.
Nie Huimo looked ahead and ignored it.
Mrs. Qu followed him away with her eyes. After he disappeared, Mrs. Qu called the maid aside and whispered to her to see if Nie Huimo was gone.
The little maid trotted away and came back after a long time, saying that she was really leaving the house.
Mrs. Qu breathed a long sigh of relief, took out a handkerchief and wiped her forehead, although she didn't sweat at all.
She looked at Xia Zhaoyi, who had been eating there, feeling guilty, and said with a slight smile: "Ah Li."
Xia Zhaoyi looked up and smiled: "Thank you for your hard work, Mrs. Qu."
"Ah?" Mrs. Qu laughed, "How can this be called hard work? Ah Li, I'm sorry, this meal is a spoiler. I didn't expect him to come over suddenly."
"No," Xia Zhaoyi said, "These are delicious and not a bit disappointing at all."
She did eat a lot. The dishes were not finished yet, but she ate a little of everything that was served, which amounted to at least two bowls of rice.
Mrs. Qu looked at it and finally felt a little comforted. She breathed a sigh of relief and said, "It seems to suit Ah Li's taste. By the way," Mrs. Qu looked at the calligraphy and paintings, "Ah Li, you can open it and have a look."
Xia Zhaoyi nodded, took a kerchief to wipe his mouth, and then opened the calligraphy and painting on the side.
Since she came back with these calligraphy and paintings, all her thoughts have been on these calligraphy and paintings. However, she has never been impatient. The calligraphy and paintings are here, they cannot escape, and she can take a look sooner or later.
However, her thoughts would inevitably be disturbed. To distract her, she kept eating, chewing slowly, but she also ate a lot.
The scroll slowly unfolded, and the words and paintings on the paper appeared in front of them.
Mrs. Qu's eyes moved from the calligraphy and painting to the girl's face.
It is rare to see much expression fluctuations on the girl's face. Her eyes fell quietly on the painting, and her happiness and anger could not be seen.
"Ah Li," Mrs. Qu asked, "but is this Tang Xiangsi you know?"
Xia Zhaoyi nodded: "He is the person I am looking for."
It is his calligraphy on the paper. There is no date and month, but the name is Tang Xiangsi.
"Amidst the mountains and floating clouds, there is a vast expanse of cold smoke, and the city is covered with heavy frost and dew. I am drunk in the countryside and pretend to be calm, which makes me burst into tears. The shadows of flowers on the human world are empty in the moonlight."
The painting is of a mountain with a moon and half a foot of incense. It is an excellent painting.
Judging from the time, he came out of Qianqiu Palace?
Xia Zhaoyi opened another one, but it also had no date and month.
"The green bamboos and green mountains are old. The boat returns early, and the shadows of wild geese circle across the horizon. In the evening, the mist and rain on Nanhu Lake are misty, and the drunkenness rarely wakes up."
He seems to prefer this style of rhetoric.
"He must be very old." Mrs. Qu said.
Xia Zhaoyi paused slightly and raised his eyes to look at Mrs. Qu: "...maybe."
"Uh, maybe?" Mrs. Qu said.
Xia Zhaoyi didn't answer.
Xia Zhaoyi didn't believe it before, but now she couldn't help but believe it.
Moreover, she calmly accepted the fact that Tang Xiangsi might have lived for hundreds of years.
Or, die hundreds of years ago and wake up hundreds of years later.
The so-called deceased guest, she and he are both.
There is a box next to it.
Xia Zhaoyi picked up the little brocade box and asked, "Madam, can I open it?"
"I asked you to open it," Mrs. Qu said. "The things inside were given to my aunt by Tang Xiangsi."
This chapter has been completed!