Shen Zhiyi choked.
This was way too ridiculous!
[What kind of ultimate unlucky victim is Ji Changge?!]
Shen Jingxuan: ???
A wave of cold dread surged through him. Scenes of his past interactions with Ji Changwei flashed through his mind one after another, nearly making him vomit up last night’s dinner.
Meanwhile, Shen Zhiyi continued indignantly reading through the gossip.
And the more she read, the more outrageous it became.
[So Shen Ruoyue figured out long ago that Shen Jingxuan’s real beloved was Ling Siyao, and she was the one who deliberately guided Ji Changwei into doing all this!]
[She knew Ji Changwei secretly loved her, and she also knew Ling Siyao and Ji Changge used the same style of sword tassels. So she intentionally leaked Shen Jingxuan’s search for his beloved to Ji Changwei and had him sabotage Ji Changge’s relationship.]
[Damn, as expected of the female lead. Somehow every problem in this family traces back to her.]
[But why would Shen Ruoyue do this? Doesn’t she already have endless simps? Could it be she has some grudge against Ji Changge? I don’t remember Ji Changge being among the people she disliked.]
Shen Jingxuan: ?
How was that possible??
Yue’er had always treated him kindly. If Yue’er truly knew his beloved was Ling Siyao, she would definitely have told him.
Besides, Yue’er and Ji Changge were close friends who treated each other like sisters. They had never once fallen out.
Someone as pure and kind as Yue’er could never possibly be so calculating, much less commit something as vicious as sabotaging another person’s relationship.
Instinctively, Shen Jingxuan wanted to refute it.
But then he remembered Shen Zhiyi’s earlier inner thoughts.
Only Yue’er and Ji Changwei knew about the sword tassel incident. At the time, Shen Zhiyi had not even returned to the Marquis Manor yet. There was no way she should know any of this.
And now, not only could he hear her thoughts, but many things she said had already proven true…
For a moment, Shen Jingxuan’s confidence wavered.
Yet when he thought about Shen Ruoyue’s gentle and innocent appearance, he forcibly suppressed his doubts again.
Shen Zhiyi wasn’t some omniscient deity. How could she possibly know everything?
And since Shen Zhiyi didn’t get along with Yue’er, it was entirely possible she was biased against her or deliberately speaking badly about her.
Shen Jingxuan nodded firmly to himself.
He believed Yue’er was not that kind of person!
Completely oblivious to her silly sweet second brother’s constantly changing expressions, Shen Zhiyi had already reached the second layer of this gossip drama.
[Ji Changge’s beloved is Xie Yu… why does that name sound familiar?]
[OH! Isn’t Xie Yu the heir of Prince Sujiang’s Manor? My cheap second brother’s good friend!]
Was this considered brothers turning against each other?
Shen Zhiyi instantly became energized.
[To overcome all the hardships between himself and the woman he loved, Xie Yu endured countless dangers and spent an entire month carrying out a near-impossible mission for the emperor—all so he could return and request one condition: refuse the marriage alliance with the Northern Yan princess and marry the woman he loved as his rightful wife.]
[He nearly died for it, and then when he finally came back home, his own good brother Shen Jingxuan had stolen his girl…]
[Wow. Xie Yu is seriously another massive unlucky victim!]
Shen Jingxuan: Huh?
Ji Changge’s beloved was Xie Yu?
But Ji Changwei had told him his sister had no one she loved, which was why their father was selecting a husband for her.
So the woman Xie Yu had loved for many years—the one fate reunited him with but could never allow him to be with—was actually Ji Changge?
Then…
Did that mean he had stolen his own brother’s future wife?
Shen Jingxuan felt as though struck by lightning.
[Judging by the timeline, Xie Yu should already be back.]
[Ah. He’s currently on his way to the Marquis Manor with a sword in hand.]
The moment those thoughts ended, an enraged shout thundered through the air.
“Shen Jingxuan, get your ass out here!”
A tall man dressed in black stood outside.
A sword rested in his right hand.
Though the blade remained sheathed, blood seeped from the intricate patterns on the hilt, dripping slowly downward. His entire body radiated murderous intent like a blood-soaked demon from hell.
Because it would be improper for a man to intrude into an unmarried young woman’s courtyard, Xie Yu stopped outside the entrance.
His chest rose and fell violently. Sweat glistened on his forehead. His pale face overflowed with fury, his eyes nearly splitting apart with rage.
Xie Yu had never imagined that after surviving near death and finally reaching the point where he could spend his life with the woman he loved…
His own good brother would snatch her away halfway through.
While returning to the capital to report back, he learned the news and instantly lost all hope.
After refusing the imperial marriage arrangement, the emperor had intended to personally grant him another marriage.
The name he had hidden in his heart for over a decade had nearly escaped his lips—
Yet he stopped himself at the last second.
Xie Yu laughed bitterly as the face he longed for appeared in his mind.
He and Ge’er had met in a foreign land during childhood, accompanying one another through the darkest and most painful period of their lives.
From that moment onward, Ge’er had lived in his heart.
She was the ray of light illuminating his gray world, the reason he endured and returned to Prince Sujiang’s Manor to reclaim his rightful position as heir.
He once believed they would never meet again.
Yet years later, under heaven’s guidance, they reunited at Qinglong Temple.
However, because of the Northern Yan princess matter, they could only meet in secret.
Ge’er was his only one.
He swore he would marry her properly with full honors and give her the rightful position of principal wife.
This mission had been unimaginably dangerous, and only that belief allowed him to persist.
Yet in the end—
Everything had been for nothing.
Why were he and Ge’er destined for such suffering?
Why, when only the final step remained?
He had never even heard Shen Jingxuan mention knowing Ge’er before.
Why had he behaved so despicably and stolen her first?
Today, Xie Yu absolutely intended to demand an explanation.
He drew his sword and pointed it directly at Shen Jingxuan, his gaze dark and heavy.
“Shen Jingxuan, you knew I loved Ji Changge. So why are you trying to marry her?”
Shen Jingxuan’s scalp went numb.
[Waaahhh! Xie Yu and Ji Changge are such a perfect couple! They should’ve been the male and female leads of the story! Damn this plot for tearing apart such a good pair!]
The sudden burst of emotional sobbing startled both Xie Yu and Shen Jingxuan.
[Isn’t this all because of Ji Changwei and Shen Ruoyue? My silly sweet cheap second brother is so dumb, there’s no way he could’ve noticed you liked Ji Changge.]
Xie Yu: What does any of this even mean?
How did this suddenly involve Ji Changwei and Shen Ruoyue?
After a moment’s thought, however, he realized it genuinely might be possible.
Though both men were Shen Jingxuan’s friends, Xie Yu had never liked Ji Changwei.
He always felt Ji Changwei sometimes treated Shen Jingxuan in ways that crossed the boundaries of ordinary friendship.
He had even subtly warned Shen Jingxuan before to keep some distance from Ji Changwei.
As for Shen Ruoyue…
Xie Yu’s brows subtly furrowed.
Shen Ruoyue gave an excellent first impression, but after spending time around her, she felt strangely fake.
What was especially bizarre was that no one else ever seemed to notice the obvious superficiality beneath her behavior.
So Xie Yu had buried those thoughts in his heart and simply stayed cautious himself.
And now—
There was finally someone else who wasn’t fooled by Shen Ruoyue either?