Why Does Mr. Xie Favor Me? Chapter 10
byChapter 10: Climbing Mount Qixia
To commemorate someone speaking up for you today
Early the next morning, before the morning mist on Mount Qixia had fully dispersed, the Xie family carriage had already stopped at the foot of the mountain.
Xie Heng wore a veiled hat and a plain white robe, his hair secured with a jade hairpin. He stood before the stone steps, looking up at the mountain. Xiao Jue followed half a step behind him, dressed in black martial attire with a long sword at his waist. His gaze instinctively drifted toward the veil of the person in front of him, which fluttered in the mountain breeze.
“Brother, this way!” Xie Nanqiao lifted her skirt and ran toward another path, followed hurriedly by several maidservants.
The stone steps were slippery and covered in moss. Xie Heng walked steadily, but he paused before a steep slope. Xiao Jue immediately stepped forward, extending a hand to steady him. “Minister, be careful.”
His hand hovered near Xie Heng’s arm without touching it, a protective gesture. Xie Heng glanced at him, did not refuse, and reached out to lean on him.
They had only covered a third of the steps when Xie Nanqiao crossed paths with Wang Zhaoruo.
It was at a fork in the road. Wang Zhaoruo, accompanied by four maidservants, was turning out from another path. Seeing the Xie siblings, she paused before offering a perfectly measured smile. “What a coincidence.”
Xie Nanqiao didn’t respond, merely shifting half a step closer to her brother. Xie Heng gave a slight nod as a greeting.
“Minister Xie has also come to climb the mountain?” Wang Zhaoruo’s gaze swept over Xiao Jue, her tone carrying a hint of disdain. “And you’ve even brought a guard.”
Xiao Jue’s hand tightened on his sword, but he heard Xie Heng speak calmly. “General Xiao is my guest, not a guard.”
These words were blunt, causing Wang Zhaoruo’s smile to stiffen. She turned her attention to Xie Nanqiao. “Sister, your dress is quite lovely today. Is it Shu brocade? It’s just a bit plain in style.”
“Plain has its own merits,” Xie Nanqiao finally spoke. “It’s better than some people who wear an entire bolt of Sunset Gauze, looking like a walking hydrangea.”
Wang Zhaoruo’s expression changed. A maidservant behind her couldn’t help but say, “Young Mistress, those words are a bit…”
“Enough.” Wang Zhaoruo raised a hand to stop her maid, her smile cooling. “Since our paths differ, we won’t disturb you. I only wish to remind my sister that the Hundred-Step Stairs ahead are very steep. You are delicate, so be careful not to fall.”
Xie Nanqiao bit her lip and said nothing. Xie Heng had already turned away. “Let’s go.”
The two groups passed each other. Xie Nanqiao heard Wang Zhaoruo whisper to her maid, “Did you see? The chilblains on that General Xiao’s hands… tsk tsk…”
She instinctively looked at Xiao Jue’s hands. The back of the youth’s hands were indeed red and swollen, with thin calluses from sword practice on his knuckles. He was currently gripping his sword hilt tightly.
When they reached the Hundred-Step Stairs halfway up the mountain, an accident did indeed occur.
That section of the steps was truly steep and slippery from the previous night’s autumn rain. Xie Nanqiao lifted her skirt and climbed carefully, but unexpectedly, the moss at the edge of a step gave way, and her foot slipped.
“Watch out!”
Xiao Jue lunged from the side. One hand grabbed a protrusion in the rock wall while the other firmly caught Xie Nanqiao’s arm, pulling her back.
The force was applied skillfully; Xie Nanqiao only stumbled and did not fall. However, because of the pull, the back of Xiao Jue’s hand scraped against the rough rock. His chilblains split open, and blood began to seep out.
“Your hand…” Xie Nanqiao cried out.
Xiao Jue had already released her and stepped back. “As long as the Young Mistress is unharmed.”
The blood from the back of his hand dripped onto the stone steps, quickly absorbed by the moss, leaving a dark red stain. Xie Heng stepped forward quickly, first checking on his sister. Seeing she was fine, he turned to Xiao Jue.
“Hand.”
Xiao Jue hesitated before reaching out. Xie Heng took a plain handkerchief from his sleeve—the very one Xiao Jue had handed him that morning, now damp with the mountain mist. He carefully pressed it against the wound with gentle movements.
“Minister, it’s a minor injury…” Xiao Jue tried to pull his hand away.
“Don’t move.” Xie Heng held him still and took a small porcelain bottle from his robes, sprinkling medicinal powder onto the wound. “This medicine stops bleeding quickly. Endure it for a moment.”
The powder stung, but Xiao Jue didn’t even flinch. He simply stared at Xie Heng’s lowered profile. The man’s long lashes were like fans, casting faint shadows over his eyelids.
Xie Nanqiao watched from the side, suddenly feeling a bit redundant.
Wang Zhaoruo’s group was passing by below at that moment. Seeing this scene, Wang Zhaoruo let out a light laugh. “Oh, Minister Xie is truly considerate toward his servants.”
These words were grating. Xiao Jue’s face darkened, but Xie Heng had already finished the bandaging. He straightened up and looked at Wang Zhaoruo. “Lady Wang.”
His voice wasn’t loud, yet it made the entire mountain path fall silent.
“According to the laws of our dynasty, what is the penalty for slandering a court official?” Xie Heng walked down two steps until he was at eye level with Wang Zhaoruo. “Xiao Jue is a fifth-rank Colonel of the Northern Frontier with military merits to his name. By calling him a servant just now, do you believe the rules of the Wang family are greater than the laws of the state and military regulations?”
Wang Zhaoruo’s face turned deathly pale. She could mock him in private, but she could not openly trample upon a decorated military officer. That was a grave taboo.
“I… I didn’t mean it that way…” she explained hurriedly.
“Then what did you mean?” Xie Heng’s tone remained calm. “Why don’t you explain yourself clearly, Lady Wang, so that I may learn?”
Wang Zhaoruo bit her lip and remained silent. Her maidservants all lowered their heads, even their breathing becoming shallow.
After a long silence, Wang Zhaoruo curtsied. “It was Zhaoruo’s失言. I ask the Minister for forgiveness.”
“The person you should apologize to is not me.” Xie Heng stepped aside, revealing the silent Xiao Jue behind him.
Wang Zhaoruo’s nails dug into her palms, but she was forced to turn toward Xiao Jue. “General Xiao, my apologies.”
Xiao Jue cupped his fists. “Lady Wang overstates the matter.” His tone was flat, devoid of emotion.
Having spoken, she led her people away in a hurry, her footsteps frantic, no longer possessing the arrogance she had arrived with.
Xie Nanqiao watched their pathetic retreating figures and suddenly burst into laughter.
The three of them continued their ascent. The atmosphere was different than before. Xie Nanqiao no longer deliberately kept her distance from Xiao Jue, occasionally asking him a few questions about the Northern Frontier. Xiao Jue’s answers were brief but earnest.
Xie Heng walked in front, listening to the intermittent conversation between the two behind him, the corners of his lips curling slightly.
It was nearly noon when they reached the summit.
There was an open space at the top, where several ancient maples were as red as fire. Xie Nanqiao ran to the cliff’s edge to look at the clouds. Xie Heng sat down at a stone table, while Xiao Jue stood silently three steps away from him in a protective stance.
“You sit too,” Xie Heng said.
Xiao Jue shook his head. “I’ll just stand.”
Xie Heng did not press him further, simply taking a tea set out of a food box. The water was from a mountain spring, and the tea was Pre-Rain Longjing. His movements in brewing the tea were as fluid as flowing water, as if he were not on a wild mountain peak but in the study of the Xie manor.
When the fragrance of tea rose, Xie Nanqiao returned, holding several perfect maple leaves in her hands. “Brother, look, this one has the best shape.”
Xie Heng took it and held it up against the sunlight. “Indeed.” He turned to look at Xiao Jue. “You pick one too.”
Xiao Jue was stunned for a moment before picking up a leaf from the ground. The leaf wasn’t large and its edges were slightly damaged, but its red color was pure, like congealed blood.
Xie Heng took out a small silver knife and carved the character Xiao into the leaf. The character was very small, hidden among the veins of the leaf, invisible unless one looked closely.
“This is…” Xiao Jue was confused.
“A memento.” Xie Heng handed the leaf to him. “To commemorate someone speaking up for you today.”
Xie Nanqiao looked at her brother, then at Xiao Jue, and suddenly said, “I want one too.”
Xie Heng’s lips twitched as he carved a leaf for her as well. When it came to his own leaf, he carved the character Heng.
The three red leaves were placed side by side on the stone table, their red color dazzling under the autumn sun, as if freezing the warmth of this moment in time.
Carrying that warmth back down the mountain, even the scenery along the way seemed gentle. Unknowingly, the carriage had entered the streets of Guzang as the evening lights began to glow. The brilliant lights outside the window seemed less bright than the few red leaves held close to their hearts.