“Big brother, do you have to be so exaggerated?”
Although Qiao Yin also admitted that Xie Yu’an was charming, it shouldn’t be enough to win Qiao Mo over with just a few words.
Qiao Mo shook his head. “It’s not just a few words—it’s about actions speaking louder than words.”
“Bizhu,” Qiao Mo turned to ask Bizhu, “has Lu Jinzhi ever sent the young lady home?”
Bizhu shook her head like a rattle-drum. “No, not even when the young lady risked her life to stop the carriage from falling off the cliff and broke her leg. Lu Jinzhi didn’t send her home; instead, he said she was ‘unlucky.’ Later, when the young lady went to see him again, even though he knew she was injured, he made her jump over a fire basin to ward off bad luck!”
The more Bizhu spoke, the more indignant she became, gritting her teeth as if she wanted to devour someone.
“Bizhu, would Lu Jinzhi ever speak to the young lady so politely and respectfully?” Qiao Mo asked again. “Anyway, whenever Lu Jinzhi spoke to me, he acted as if he were above everyone else.”
Bizhu shook her head even faster. “No, every time Lu Jinzhi spoke to the young lady, it was as if he were talking to a servant—ordering her around without caring whether others were present. Later on, it wasn’t just Lu Jinzhi; even the Lu family’s steward made the young lady do things.”
Finally, Qiao Mo pointed at the teapot in Qiao Yin’s hand. “For four years, has Lu Jinzhi ever given you anything or sent you gifts?”
Bizhu was about to shake her head again, but Qiao Yin, afraid she might break her neck from shaking it so much, quickly stopped her.
“Can the two of you stop stabbing me in the heart? I get it, I get it. I was too humble before, humble as dust, and Lu Jinzhi never even looked at me properly. Compared to him, Xie Yu’an is the real good man—is that what you mean?”
Qiao Mo and Bizhu nodded in unison.
Qiao Yin looked at the two of them and smiled, her lips curving upward. “I think so too. What kind of inhuman life was I living before? I must have been bewitched.”
Actually, that wasn’t the case. She was purely tricked by the “damn System”—it was like a bottomless pit.
…
As the moon rose and stars appeared, Xie Yu’an returned home by carriage. The flower hall was lit, and he walked toward it. Before he could enter, the furry little ball San Er Yi came running over happily, circling around him.
Xie Yu’an crouched down, picked it up in his hands, and gently scratched its doggy head. San Er Yi immediately closed its eyes in contentment.
Carrying the little puppy, Xie Yu’an walked into the flower hall and announced to the two people inside, “We have guests tomorrow. Both of you, get out.”
“Huh? Who’s coming? The Crown Prince? If the Crown Prince is coming, so be it. Why do we have to leave?” Xie Ren protested loudly.
Xie Yu’an glanced at his face, which bore some resemblance to his own, and then at the dark blue robe he was wearing. “Don’t you have your own clothes?”
Xie Ren tugged at his robe. “I have clothes, but you have good taste.”
Xie Yu’an’s face darkened. “Take it off!”
Xie Ren pouted in grievance.
Xie Yu’an couldn’t be bothered to look at them. He left a sentence behind and carried San Er Yi back to his room.
“Leave at mao hour tomorrow morning and don’t come back until you hour.”
“Mao hour? The sky isn’t even light at mao hour! Huh?”
Xie Ren grumbled and turned to look at Xie Qingxuan. “What is he trying to do?”
“You dummy!”
Xie Qingxuan jumped up and knocked Xie Ren on the head. Usually, as the youngest, she didn’t dare provoke Xie Yu’an, but bullying Xie Ren was more than enough.
“Xie Yu’an is meeting his little sweetheart tomorrow and thinks you’ll be in the way at home.””Dislike me? Pfft—”
Xie Ren sneered, “Believe it or not, I’m more likable than him? Just watch me tomorrow.”
Xie Qingxuan looked at Xie Ren’s clear and innocent eyes, thinking to herself: This guy is about to stir up trouble again.
But she didn’t stop him. Instead, she gave him a thumbs-up: “Brother Ren, I’m rooting for you.”
…
Qiao Yin slept soundly and woke up refreshed the next day. With utmost sincerity, she carefully tried on over a dozen outfits in front of the bronze mirror before finally settling on a white dress.
The dress appeared simple, but hidden within its folds was a clever detail.
As she moved, the white skirt would reveal specks of red plum blossoms.
Wasn’t this a perfect match for her plum-viewing date with Xie Yu’an?
“Perfect.”
Qiao Yin even added a plum blossom diadem to her forehead.
“Bizhu, is the carriage ready?”
Just as Qiao Yin was about to leave, Bizhu walked in from outside and said, “Second Miss, Miss Xue is here.”
“Who?” Qiao Yin was momentarily stunned before she realized. “Oh, what does she want? Let her in.”
Bizhu turned to fetch the visitor. Before long, Xue Wanran walked in, sobbing.
“Little Sister Qiao, I was wrong, wuwuwuwu… It was all my fault yesterday, wuwuwuwu… Not just yesterday, but everything in the past was my fault too. I shouldn’t have tripped you up to keep you out of the academy. I was blind. Please be magnanimous and forgive me just once…”
As soon as Xue Wanran entered, she grabbed Qiao Yin and began wailing loudly, apologizing between sobs. Her shrill voice was almost enough to pierce Qiao Yin’s eardrums.
“Alright, alright, stop pretending. I can see the ginger you hid in your sleeve.”
The crying stopped abruptly. Xue Wanran stood awkwardly in place, her tears completely frightened away.
Seeing that her tearful act had failed, she steeled herself and bent her knees, about to kneel before Qiao Yin.
“Qiao Yin, I truly know I was wrong. I apologize to you. Please forgive me…”
“Ah-ha…” Qiao Yin grimaced, even the diadem on her forehead wrinkling out of shape. “Could you get up and talk?”
Xue Wanran looked down and saw that she wasn’t kneeling on the ground but on Qiao Yin’s foot. She scrambled to her feet, looking at Qiao Yin with a complicated expression.
What did Qiao Yin mean by this? Did she think she wasn’t sincere enough?
Qiao Yin grimaced as she withdrew her foot.
“I really don’t like you, but not to the point of making you kneel and kowtow. I know it was Lu Jinzhi who kept me from entering. At most, you were just an accomplice. Besides, you’re not sincerely apologizing either.”
“So you knew all along?” Xue Wanran widened her eyes.
How could she not know? One shouldn’t underestimate her will to survive.
Couplets? She couldn’t write them, but couldn’t she find someone to teach her?
She had learned tea pairing, pastry making, playing the zither, and flower arranging—learning couplets wasn’t much different.
To have more interactions and contact with Lu Jinzhi, she had spent a fortune to hire a tutor and studied for half a year.
That day, when she learned that Lu Jinzhi was going to Yingtian Academy for a lecture, she had Bizhu copy the couplet in advance. She thought about it all the way and finally came up with an impressive response.
But when she arrived at the academy gate, she found that the original couplet had been taken down and replaced with a new one.
At that moment, she knew—Lu Jinzhi didn’t want her in the academy.
Because her answer, she had only told Lu Jinzhi.
After that, she never attempted the challenge again.Xue Wanran had originally been forced to come and apologize, but upon hearing Qiao Yin’s words, she genuinely felt a pang of remorse.
Qiao Yin truly lived with clarity and magnanimity.
“Xue Wanran, don’t you like Lu Jinzhi? Well, now it’s settled—no one will compete with you anymore. From now on, we’ll keep to our own paths and not interfere with each other.”
Xue Wanran widened her eyes, her face filled with shock: “You don’t like Lu Jinzhi anymore? Could it be that the rumors outside are true? You and Xie…”
“A Yin, come out quickly, Yu’an is here to pick you up.”
Suddenly, Qiao Mo’s voice came from outside, cutting off Xue Wanran’s words—