The Legend of the Concubine in the Harem

Deng Jihui is two years older than Xie Yi. He officially came of age last year and is already 21 years old this year.

The Duke of Ying and the Marquis of Yongjia, who were both dukes and unmarried at an advanced age, were often compared privately by idle people.

In terms of title and background, Deng Jihui, as the founding duke who has been passed down to this day, is naturally better. But in terms of royal favor, future, and power, the two Deng Jihuis combined cannot compare to one Xie Yi.

Of course, what these idle people like to compare most is the appearance and love lives of these two dukes and marquises. Some say that Marquis Yongjia was born with a rare good appearance, which is better than Pan An and Song Yu, and even men would be moved when they see him. Another person said that Duke Yingguo even lost his father and grandfather but was still able to hold up the door of the Duke's Mansion, and he was well versed in Buddhism and compassionate, so he was not a person who only judged by appearance.

As these two noblemen are so young and have never married, the choice of their future wives is naturally a hot topic of discussion.

It just so happens that both of them have done their best to stay away from women and men, and for a moment it is difficult to tell who is better.

But deep down... Xie Yi really hasn't had that idea yet. After all, men don't come of age until they are 20 years old. If his mother is anxious to have a daughter-in-law for her, Xie Yi won't refuse. But even if he doesn't have such passionate feelings for the girl, he has made up his mind to be a husband completely different from his biological father. Not to say that he is a very good husband, but he believes that he can be loyal to his biological father both physically and mentally.

But Deng Jihui's abstention from women is not so simple.

Because of the incident with Concubine Deng in the past, his grandfather and father died one after another. Although the incident was not widely publicized, in the circle of powerful people in the capital, most people could imagine that the Duke of Yingzhou's Mansion must have angered the emperor somewhere, which led to such an end. They all distanced themselves from the Duke of Yingzhou's Mansion and secretly watched Deng Jihui's growth with a considering eye.

Deng Jihui also spent a lot of effort to regain his connections with the Duke of Yingguo's Mansion and to build up his own power again. Among the several paths before him, Lu Weiyuan, or Princess Yuyi, who was most valued and favored by the emperor and empress, was undoubtedly the most glamorous and easiest to reach in the eyes of the Duke of Yingguo's Mansion.

They believed that their little Duke and Princess Yuyi had studied together since childhood, and could be considered childhood sweethearts no matter what. Moreover, the age difference between them and the princess was not much. Moreover, among the several men who were foreign officials, only their little Duke was the most outstanding. Most importantly, when Deng Jihui first entered the imperial study, he was subtly excluded by the children of the powerful and wealthy, but he could still say a few words to the Marquis of Yongjia - this was Princess Yuyi's brother from the same mother!

So in their opinion, the relationship with the brother-in-law is considered stable.

Countless young men want to express their gratitude to their "dream uncle" and just want to give this self-indulgent man a few punches.

In the imperial study, who can't I talk to?

Xie Yi's identity was somewhat awkward in the royal family. He was not of the Lu family's bloodline, but was the Queen's biological son. For a long time, the Lu clan members subconsciously ignored him until he was recognized as the emperor's stepson and had the title of Marquis of Yongjia. Only then did the clan members officially regard him as one of their own.

It's just that the elders reacted quickly and were open-minded enough in this regard, but the children might not be the same. As for Xie Yi, no matter how others treated him, as long as it did not touch his bottom line, he always treated others with kindness - at least on the surface - Deng Jihui was just one of the people who was fooled by his kind smile.

Xie Yi was beautiful, elegant, and always smiling. Most of the children of the powerful relatives who studied with him in the Imperial Study in the past considered themselves his best friend. However, even so, none of them was as greedy as the Duke of Yingguo's Mansion, who actually regarded Deng Jihui as the candidate for Princess Yuyi's husband.

Maybe he is the only candidate in their eyes.

Thinking of this, Xie Yi didn't even want to give a good face to Deng Jihui who was walking towards him. He restrained his smile and lowered his eyes slightly to hide the slight coldness in his dark pupils.

"I didn't expect Brother Xie is here too." Deng Jihui looked a little embarrassed as if he had been caught - Heyi Tower treated male and female guests equally and sold "beauty" to them, which was considered very inappropriate by some older people. What's more, the owner of Heyi Tower, Princess Rong Le, was notorious for her lust and disregard for both men and women, so its reputation was even worse. For a long time, it became a synonym for families to use to teach their children a lesson.

Although the reputation of Heyi Building has improved over the years, in the eyes of the most "traditional" and "decent" people, this place is still not serious enough.

Deng Jihui wanted to become Princess Yuyi's consort, so he was naturally very careful not to let any gossip about him spread. If it weren't for the fact that the younger generation nowadays likes to gather in Heyi Building more and more and he had to maintain his network of contacts, he would not have come.

However, as a British duke, Deng Jihui could not escape from such social engagements, so he came here a few times. When he found that Heyi Building was not the place of fireworks as he had imagined, and no one caught him after he came here a few times, Deng Jihui completely let go of this "knot in his heart". However, he never expected that he would meet Xie Yi face to face in this place.

Feeling embarrassed, Deng Jihui changed his mind and thought - Marquis Yongjia himself came to such a place, so what could he blame me for?

Besides, I was just chatting with friends, drinking wine, listening to music and watching dance, and I didn't do anything beyond the scope.

So Deng Jihui waved his two large and flowing moth wings - big sleeves, and walked up to Xie Yi to talk: "Brother Xie, do you have an appointment with someone?"

"I and a few friends are going to Youhuang Pavilion to have tea and chat. If you are free, why don't you come with me?"

Thank you with a calm expression: "Thank you for your hospitality, Duke of England, but I have an appointment with someone, so it is inconvenient for me to go with you. Please make yourself comfortable."

Sensing his indifference, Deng Jihui could not help but frown, and said unwillingly: "I wonder which young master has an appointment with Brother Xie, why don't we all get together, it will be lively?"

Xie Yi took off the ebony folding fan hanging from his waist, opened it with a flick, and turned the side with the words written on it towards Deng Jihui: "He's not a young master from any family."

Deng Jihui looked at the big word "闲" on his folding fan, and his brows suddenly jumped.

"It's just that my little sister rarely leaves the palace, so she pestered me, her brother, to treat her to a meal."

I really want to blow this fluttering moth away with a fan.

Xie Yi thought expressionlessly that his sister was really good at rhetoric. She clearly understood that he was distancing himself from her but still insisted on sticking with her. This person was really an extremely annoying moth.