It’s no wonder that the Beirong people’s spirits dampened when they saw him. To be honest, when Xie Xuanchen was calm, he really looked like an innocently handsome man.
These hands seemed to have been wiped for a long time as everyone’s line of sight fell on his hands, forced to do nothing but admire Xie Xuanchen’s beautiful hands. Finally, he threw the handkerchief onto the plate and unexpectedly agreed, “Okay.”
He answered so smoothly that even Xie Xuanji hesitated, “Second Brother, you…”
“Aside from the three-day palace banquet and sacrifice on New Year’s Eve, is there anything else?”
Xie Xuanji swallowed the words that he wanted to say and continued, “There’s nothing else.”
“Mm,” Xie Xuanchen responded casually and after finishing speaking, seeing that the other people hadn’t moved, he slowly raised his eyebrows, “What? Do you still want to stay for lunch?”
Xie Xuanji stood up as if waking up from a dream and said goodbye. No matter what purpose Xie Xuanchen agreed to, it was already a feat for him to agree to cooperate.
Xie Xuanji led his two wives away. After everyone had left, Mu Mingtang asked, “Why did you agree? I thought you wouldn’t talk to them.”
Xie Xuanchen sighed, “I really didn’t want to talk to them, but foreign enemies are ahead and there is no time to quarrel amongst us. This year, Beirong suffered a severe disaster, but when the winter thaws, they will probably harass the border. Now, there are no soldiers in Zhuozhou and what remains is merely the most common city defence force. If something happens, it will be too late to come back.”
The Emperor wanted to use Xie Xuanchen to whitewash the peace whereas he wanted to take the opportunity of the courtiers present on Yuan Day to remind the garrison again of the potential dangers ahead. The two parties had mutual goals, so it was no wonder Xie Xuanchen agreed as soon as Xie Xuanji opened his mouth.
Mu Mingtang also felt worried when she thought of the outside world. She held Xie Xuanchen’s hand silently and looked at him worriedly. Xie Xuanchen blanked his expression in an instant and walked in with Mu Mingtang in his arms, “We have to take small steps in order to achieve big things, but let’s go back to sleep first.”
Mu Mingtang was still feeling sorry for him just now, but now that his words revealed his intentions, she immediately withdrew her heartache for him and patted his hand unbearably, “Let go. Do what you need to do, but don’t come in!”
***
The Emperor wanted to take advantage of the New Year’s Eve to cheer up the public and so, the New Year’s Eve banquet was extremely grand. At the pretence of saying goodbye to the old and welcoming the new, the palace was deafened by firecrackers. If there really was a spirit beast during that time, it was probably frightened off.
Mu Mingtang was so shaken that her entire body smelled of fire. She wanted nothing more than to take a bath immediately upon arriving home.
But she was wearing makeup today, so she had to remove her makeup first. Mu Mingtang wanted to let down her hair as she removed one of the pearls, placing it on the dressing table. Xie Xuanchen looked at them for a while before he suddenly got excited. Sending the servants out their way, he went over to help Mu Mingtang.
While removing the hairpin that fixed the hair, Mu Mingtang said to Xie Xuanchen, “Pull out the hair comb at the back. Yes, it is the silver hair comb with a row of green beads.”