Golden Pear Blossom - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

I wanted to say that “turning over a new leaf” was not a phrase you could use like that.

But then I remembered that Xie Jin was a villain.

Other men spent ten years studying bitterly for the imperial examinations and filled their bellies with poetry and books. Xie Jin, on the other hand, had relied on nothing but reckless courage to claw his way up from beggar to Prince Regent.

It was only normal that he had no ink in his stomach.

So I shut my mouth in sullen silence.

Xie Jin stared at the grave mound on the ground, the corner of his lips curving faintly.

“Why don’t we plant some flowers you like, too? I hear corpses make the richest fertilizer.”

“I seized the Minister of Revenue’s estate the day before yesterday. We found quite a few good things in that old bastard’s treasury, including a night pearl the size of a fist.”

“Weren’t you whining the other day that you were afraid of the dark and couldn’t sleep at night? Perfect. You can use it as a candle.”

“The people below also sent up a few bolts of Flowing Light Brocade. Pink ones. I’ll have them cut into two dresses for you.”

I still hadn’t recovered from hearing words like “grind the bones to dust” and “skin them and tear out their bones.”

When I caught the last sentence, even my voice trembled. “N-no need. I already have plenty of dresses.”

Xie Jin’s real sister was still alive.

How would I dare act spoiled?

Xie Jin’s expression instantly became meaningful. “What is it? You look down on them, or you think they’re dirty?”

He lifted his shoe and stepped onto the iron shovel.

I gave an awkward smile. “Pink is delicate and sweet. I am already nineteen this year.”

“Xie Shuyin. Good. Very good.”

Whenever Xie Jin called me by my full name, it meant he was furious.

That fear seemed to seep out of my very bones.

I instinctively took a step back.

“No, Brother. I truly don’t want them.”

I had no idea which word had offended him this time.

Xie Jin looked at me deeply, then swept off without another word.

Only after seeing Xie Jin leave did my maid, Ah Lan, hurry over, her face full of cautious concern.

“Miss, Master still dotes on you.”

“Even when he got angry, he only left by himself. He even left the carriage for you.”

“Miss, if you’re no longer upset, then smile a little.”

Facing a garden full of graves, I truly couldn’t smile.

At least they still had people to bury them.

Who knew, when I died, whether there would even be a straw mat left to hold me?

Sitting inside the bright, spacious carriage, I closed my eyes.

I remembered the last time Xie Jin had called me by my full name.

It was when a political enemy had poisoned him.

Back then, he had escorted the New Emperor into the capital. Those who had resisted stubbornly now had grass three zhang tall growing on their graves.

There were also a few people who had endured humiliation while biding their time.

Under the guise of currying favor, they invited Xie Jin to a banquet and presented him with several beauties during the feast.

He accepted them all with a smile.

Xie Jin had an excellent bone structure, and his features carried an almost bewitching beauty.

The tiny tear mole at the corner of his eye was especially enough to stir the imagination.

He himself was beauty incarnate.

Naturally, his standards were higher than the sky.

The beauties he brought back all seemed to lose their color the moment they stood before him.

They trembled in fear.

Xie Jin told them to “get out,” then returned to his room alone and forbade anyone from entering.

All I remembered was that something had been very wrong with Xie Jin that day.

It was the dead of winter, yet Xie Jin was soaking in a tub of cold water.

The guards didn’t dare stop me.

I entered the room and approached the bathtub.

Xie Jin wore only a thin inner robe, his entire body submerged in the water, his eyes tightly shut.

I placed my hand on his forehead.

He seemed to be in great pain. His lips and teeth were trembling as he murmured indistinctly, “Shuying…”

Shu-ying? Shuying?

I muttered to myself inwardly. Had he drunk too much at the banquet?

I didn’t remember any noble young lady in Shangjing named Shuying.

Very soon, a sinewy, well-defined hand clamped around mine with tremendous force.

I clearly saw the fresh wound on Xie Jin’s wrist.

The bloody mark was shocking. It had been bitten open.

Then water splashed everywhere as Xie Jin shoved me away.

Even when I fell to the floor and scraped the skin off my hand, he had no attention to spare for me.

I sat on the ground, very worried.

“Brother, don’t be like this. I’m scared.”

“Were you poisoned? I’ll go get a physician right now.”

His reason, burned nearly to ashes, returned in an instant.

The curve of Xie Jin’s lips did not change, but it now carried a hint of mockery. In a hoarse voice, he said, “Xie Shuyin, get out!”

Usually, he called me Ah Yin.

I felt terribly wronged and climbed to my feet without a word.

Back then, we had clearly promised to share hardship and happiness together.

I had only come in because I was worried about him.

I closed the bedroom door behind me.

From inside, I heard Xie Jin’s trembling voice.

“I’m afraid I’ll make a mistake.”