Not long after, Fox Shadow was summoned.
“Young Miss, what are your orders?”
Ye Piaoling smiled and said, “I have good news for you: you’re getting a promotion and a raise!”
“Huh?” Fox Shadow frowned slightly. “Are you raising my wages, Young Miss?”
“Not me—Second Miss.”
Ye Piaoling pointed at Ye Xiangxiang and said, “Starting today, you’ll be assigned to her courtyard. She happens to be short of a Shadow Guard captain.”
Upon hearing this, Fox Shadow remained silent.
He turned and walked to the doorway, picked up a brick, and returned.
Fox Shadow approached Ye Piaoling, raised the brick high, and aimed it at her.
Ye Piaoling’s eyelids twitched, and she immediately took a step back. “What are you doing?”
Fox Shadow said word by word, “If Young Miss no longer wants me, please smash me to death with this brick.”
Ye Piaoling: “…” I thought you were going to smash me to death.
Ye Piaoling twitched the corner of her mouth. “What nonsense are you talking? I’m trying to secure a better future for you!”
“Young Miss, you should know very well that I have no desire for high positions or generous salaries. I only love Fallen Blossoms Courtyard,” Fox Shadow choked back a sob, his tone sorrowful. “If you insist on driving me away, it’s no different from taking my life.”
Seeing this, Ye Xiangxiang grew anxious and couldn’t help but blush as she cried out, “Fox Shadow, you saved my life! If you come to my side, I promise I won’t treat you poorly!”
“I don’t need your generosity,” Fox Shadow glanced at her and said without emotion, “Saving someone back then wasn’t specifically for you. I would have done the same for anyone else. You don’t need to take it to heart, and you certainly shouldn’t repay kindness with cruelty by forcing me to go to your side.”
“This…”
That’s a stab to the heart, old friend!
Ye Xiangxiang’s face instantly turned from red to pale, tears welling up in her eyes.
After saying this, Fox Shadow ignored her completely. Instead, he fell to his knees with a thud and wailed pitifully to Ye Piaoling, “Young Miss, if I ever do anything wrong in the future, just tell me directly, and I’ll definitely change… I only beg you, please don’t give me away to someone else!”
Unable to bear it any longer, Ye Xiangxiang abruptly covered her tear-streaked face with a handkerchief and ran out.
Ye Piaoling watched her retreating figure, speechless.
Since ancient times, deep affection has never been enough to keep someone…
Looking down, she saw Fox Shadow still weeping and wiping away tears.
“Get up,” Ye Piaoling said with a dark expression.
Fox Shadow stood up and reluctantly tossed the brick aside.
“Young Miss, everything I said just now came from the heart,” Fox Shadow said, his tears turning into a smile.
Ye Piaoling rubbed her temples in frustration.
The flower may be willing, but the stream is heartless. If Fox Shadow didn’t want to go to Ye Xiangxiang’s side, she couldn’t force him.
She only hoped Ye Xiangxiang wouldn’t take it too hard…
…
After leaving Fallen Blossoms Courtyard, Ye Xiangxiang cried so hard she could barely catch her breath.
Fox Shadow’s cruel rejection left her both heartbroken and humiliated…
She hadn’t told Ye Piaoling that she had already sent her maids to secretly invite Fox Shadow several times, only to be rejected every time.
She had once fantasized that Fox Shadow refused to come to her side because he hadn’t received Ye Piaoling’s permission.
Today, she mustered all her courage to ask Ye Piaoling for him, never expecting such a devastating outcome…
Ye Xiangxiang wept as she walked forward.
“Oh? What sad thing has happened to Second Miss to make her cry so pitifully?”
Concubine Liu walked toward her, her tone dripping with sarcasm.
Ye Xiangxiang had always been somewhat afraid of Concubine Liu, and even though Concubine Liu had now fallen from power, that fear still lingered. She didn’t want to speak much with Concubine Liu, so after offering a slight bow, she prepared to leave.
But Concubine Liu stopped her and dismissed the maids around her.
“Judging by your direction, you’ve just come from the Fallen Blossoms Courtyard, haven’t you?” Concubine Liu lowered her voice and sneered, “You always love running to the Fallen Blossoms Courtyard. Those who don’t know might think you and the eldest young lady are deeply affectionate sisters, but I know—you’re only going for that handsome Shadow Guard by her side!”
“You… don’t talk nonsense…” Ye Xiangxiang said, her voice trembling.
“Whether it’s nonsense or not, you know in your heart,” Concubine Liu chuckled, then added, “Judging by your demeanor today, you must have mustered up the courage to ask for him and were rejected, right? How did it go? Did the eldest young lady refuse to let him go?”
Ye Xiangxiang shook her head and whispered, “He was the one who refused…”
“Silly girl! You just went and confessed your feelings like that—of course he wouldn’t agree!”
“What do you mean?” Ye Xiangxiang asked, confused.
Concubine Liu said, “Haven’t you ever wondered why Fox Shadow was willing to stay by her side even after the eldest young lady became useless?”
“Why?” Ye Xiangxiang didn’t understand her meaning.
Concubine Liu sneered, “A man and a woman alone together in the same courtyard for so long—what do you think the reason is?”
Ye Xiangxiang was shocked. “You mean, the two of them…”
“That Shadow Guard is strikingly handsome. If you can see it, can’t the eldest young lady see it too?” Concubine Liu said, “I’ve long heard that the eldest young lady treats that Shadow Guard exceptionally well, granting his every wish… The two of them have long been mutually affectionate, secretly carrying on with each other!”
“Impossible!” Ye Xiangxiang shook her head in fear. “When I went today, the eldest young lady even said that if Fox Shadow was willing, she would let me have him… She even called Fox Shadow over and asked him right in front of me…”
“They were putting on a show for you!” Concubine Liu said. “While you’re here crying your heart out, they’re probably laughing at your foolishness behind your back!”
Ye Xiangxiang was stunned.
Images of Fox Shadow sticking close to Ye Piaoling surfaced in her mind. Her lips quivered, and tears streamed down her face again.
She murmured to herself, “What should I do? I truly like Fox Shadow…”
Concubine Liu smiled faintly and whispered, “There is a way, but it depends on whether you’re willing.”
“What way?” Ye Xiangxiang asked immediately.