"Once you've been in the capital for a while, you'll know that there are far more noble and distinguished young lords than corrupt ones. You've just happened to encounter two rotten apples, don't paint everyone in the same brush."
Xu Hengyan, also from a noble background, naturally didn't want Lu Baofang and this Zhu family member to tarnish the reputation of all noble scions, so he couldn't help but offer a few words in defense.
"When your Xie clan truly submits to Da Yu in the future, won't you also be one of the capital's noble scions? Your Xie clan was also a noble family during the previous dynasty..."
"Ah, I don't want to be associated with people like that!"
After wandering around the mountainside for the entire morning, Xie Jiang seemed a bit tired, leaning against Xu Hengyan as if she had no bones.
Xu Hengyan pushed her head away, straightening her. "You don't even walk properly!"
"Among commoners, there are the simple and hardworking, as well as the cunning and overbearing, and even those who are utterly wicked. A person's character and virtue have nothing to do with their status."
"Makes sense."
They walked side by side, Xie Jiang staggering and bumping into him from time to time. Xu Hengyan watched with trepidation, afraid she would run into a tree.
"At least the people I know, like myself and Xu Hengyi, wouldn't do such things."
"You're the best." Xie Jiang bumped him with her shoulder.
Xu Hengyan was tall and slender. Xie Jiang had to jump to bump her shoulder against his.
Xu Hengyan looked at her with a helpless expression.
Weren't you just looking listless, as if you'd fall if you weren't hanging onto me?
Now you have energy?
When we first met, you were so imposing, looking down on everyone, I thought you were cold and arrogant.
Of course, you still look down on everyone and remain aloof and arrogant towards outsiders, but...
Often you're a headache, yet you never truly make people dislike you.
Xie Jiang shrugged, signaling that if he wasn't happy, he could bump her back.
Xu Hengyan wasn't that bored.
Xie Jiang continued to bump him.
Seeing her having so much fun, Xu Hengyan, though not understanding the point of her joy, could only smile helplessly and let her be happy.
Suddenly, Xie Jiang misjudged her strength and bumped Xu Hengyan, causing him to stumble and step into the grass beside the stone path.
Xu Hengyan wasn't angry. "Haven't you had enough fun yet?"
"No."
Xu Hengyan tilted his head to look at her slender shoulders. She usually only ate a bite or two of each dish, such extravagant waste and capriciousness, which was why she was so thin and small.
She was small?! Xie Jiang was furious! What did she do to deserve a personal attack!
Her head barely reached his shoulder. It was difficult for Xu Hengyan to lie and say she wasn't short.
Xie Jiang, angered, walked a few steps ahead, leaving him far behind.
Xu Hengyan smiled helplessly and chased after her, shaking the kite in his hand. "After we eat, shall we fly the kite?"
Having spent some time with Xie Jiang, he had come to understand her temper to some extent.
As long as she wasn't truly angered, her temper usually flared up quickly and subsided just as fast.
Xie Jiang indeed stopped, turned, glared at him, and then turned back.
However, Xu Hengyan never expected Xie Jiang to sneak up behind him, leap up, and climb onto his back.
Xie Jiang hooked her legs around his waist, her arms encircling his neck, and let out an enthusiastic cheer, "Giddy up—"
Xu Hengyan: "..."
"Hurry up!"
Seeing her withdraw one hand, preparing to swing it at him.
Xu Hengyan quickly started walking.
He could easily imagine where her palm would land.
Just as a whip would land on a horse, her hand would naturally land on a corresponding part of his body.
Xu Hengyan was utterly exasperated by her antics.
...
As Xu Hengyan carried Xie Jiang past the square, they encountered the Flower God parade, and more and more people began to gather.
"There are too many people, do you want to get down and walk?"
Xie Jiang immediately tilted her head and made a snoring sound.
Xu Hengyan was amused. Who snored so adorably? If she didn't want to get down, she didn't have to; he was just asking.
"Alright, alright, no more pretending."
Xu Hengyan carefully avoided the people surging towards them, but there were simply too many, making every step difficult and slow.
The next second, Xie Jiang came alive. "Yan Yan, you have such a good temper."
While praising him, she swayed her legs.
There were people in front of and behind them, and any slight movement would bump into someone. Xu Hengyan had to use the hand holding the kite to restrain her restless legs.
"You know I have a good temper?" Anyone else would have thrown you on the ground and left. "But this address?"
No one had called him that before he was three years old.
"Does it sound good?"
"No, it's not a proper title."
"I'm not a proper person either."
"You're quite honest in your self-evaluation."
"Yan Yan, look at the Flower God!"
Xie Jiang suddenly raised her head excitedly, pointing at the float in the center of the square, like a celestial concubine descending to earth.
The capital had Flower God parades every year. Xu Hengyan had seen countless them since he was a child, and he responded with a bland, unenthusiastic "Mm," as a reply to Xie Jiang's high spirits.
"The Flower Goddess is so beautiful, and her dance is lovely too!"
"The merchants spent a fortune to create it." If it were purely about beauty, even a true Flower God descending to earth would feel inferior in her presence.
"It's still very beautiful."
"It's alright."
More and more people, drawn by the Flower God parade, noticed the divine combination of Xie Jiang and Xu Hengyan.
Even amidst the sea of people, the two were the most striking presence.
All the beautiful scenery of Xihua Mountain merely served as their backdrop.
Those who were captivated by their gaze unconsciously shifted towards them.
And thus, a crowd formed.
Xu Hengyan's brow furrowed with alarm.
He couldn't forget how the Nanxiong Marquisate had been destroyed not long ago.
Xu Hengyan more carefully protected Xie Jiang on his back, trying his best to prevent the encroaching crowd from touching her.
At the same time, he re-selected their route.
Xie Jiang, perched on Xu Hengyan's back, had a clearer view of the direction of the crowd's movement, but she didn't think it was a problem.
Xu Hengyan wouldn't let a single hair on her head be harmed.
"Are these people crazy? They squeezed over from so far away just to see the Flower God, and now they're looking at us instead?"
The newly chosen route was quickly blocked. If this continued, even if they could retreat unscathed, a severe stampede would inevitably occur.
"Are we that good-looking?"
It was mainly to see her. When he watched the Flower God parade before, this had never happened.
They had to leave quickly.
Xu Hengyan was multitasking.
Xie Jiang leaned over his shoulder, sticking her head out to stare intently at Xu Hengyan's face at close range.
Xu Hengyan was startled.
Xie Jiang maintained this posture for a long time without moving. "You are indeed very handsome. I can understand why they're acting like this."
"Stop fooling around."
On the third floor of a restaurant by the square, a window was slammed shut with a bang.
Yi Yanting was furious.
He was just bored! He had so many things to deal with! Why did he come to Xihua Mountain!
It was simply scandalous!
Two grown men being so intimate in broad daylight, under everyone's gaze!