Wasn't he supposed to be beaten to death? Why did this powerful cousin love him so much?

As soon as he finished speaking, Xie Jue's fist came crashing down.

Xie Jue's eyes were filled with anger. Even at this point, Xie Yao still hadn't given up?

How dare you covet Se Se?

He's thinking about his sister-in-law?!

The punch showed no mercy; Xie Yao crashed heavily to the ground, his official hat rolling to the side, and a trickle of crimson blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.

The officials who hadn't finished walking nearby all held their breath. What was going on?!

Why did they start fighting...?

Let's fight! Let's fight!

Nobody dislikes gossip.

The person who was about to leave suddenly froze, feeling as if countless ants were crawling inside. Should they leave? They couldn't bear to part with this shocking revelation! Should they stay? They were afraid of getting themselves into trouble and attracting the attention of the two people over there.

As a result, the officials' actions became extremely strange.

Some pretended to straighten their sleeves and moved slowly, while others suddenly grabbed their colleagues and started chatting seriously, regardless of whether they knew them well or not. But in reality, they all had their ears perked up, as if they wanted to hear every word clearly.

Here.

Xie Jue's voice was as cold as ice: "Let her? What exactly do you take her for?"

Xie Yao frequented brothels and was skilled in sweet talk and knew all the tricks to please women. But there was one thing that even Xie Yao himself hadn't realized.

He always treated those women with a condescending attitude. He pitied them and sympathized with them, but he never truly looked at them with respect or equality.

This unconscious disdain also applied to Jiang Sese.

From beginning to end, Jiang Sese never took Xie Yao's words seriously.

Yes, a prodigal son's return is priceless, but only an ignorant young girl would naively believe she's the last one to do so.

Xie Yao felt it was all just an excuse. He was the one who had his eye on her first. There were so many women in the world, but his older brother insisted on competing with him for this one!

Xie Yao wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, looked down at the glaring red stain on his hand, a mocking smile appeared on his lips, and then he slowly stood up, straightened his crooked collar, picked up his official hat from the ground, and stood up.

Xie Yao gritted his teeth and said, "Stop with your hypocritical rhetoric. In the end, it's just that you got there first and seized the opportunity!"

Xie Jue stepped forward, standing only inches away from Xie Yao. "Don't blame me for not making this clear: if you dare to make a move on her—"

Xie Jue paused slightly, making no attempt to conceal his murderous intent: "I dare to kill you."

Xie Yao's pupils contracted sharply for a moment.

Xie Jue didn't look at him again and turned to leave.

After an unknown amount of time, Xie Yao raised his hand to touch the swollen, red wound, chuckled softly, straightened his clothes, and turned to walk in the other direction.

……

The court infighting of the past few days, along with the unfulfilled, deep-seated delusions that suffocated Xie Yao, left him breathless. He needed the whistling of the wind rushing past his ears, the adrenaline rush of galloping horses, to temporarily suppress the restlessness and unvented rage in his heart.

Xie Yao entered the gate and went straight to the horse farm in the manor.

Xie Yao loosened his collar, and just as Xun Feng led the horse over, Xie Yao suddenly stopped.

On the racetrack, a pony was trotting happily, with a girl in a pale yellow riding outfit sitting on it, her back ramrod straight, her hand loosely holding the reins, and her mouth muttering something.

"Computer, computer, let's run one more lap and then we'll call it a day. You did a really good job today, I'll have someone give you a treat later."

The horse named Computer snorted, seemingly already used to the name.

Xie Yao stood there, caught in a dilemma.

He didn't expect Jiang Sese to be here.

There is an old saying that uncles and sisters-in-law should not exchange greetings or have private interactions.

Once rumors spread that the uncle and sister-in-law are having an affair without any regard for propriety, both of their reputations will be ruined, affecting not only their family's careers but also the marriage prospects of their children.

Xie Yao didn't care about himself, but he didn't want to ruin her reputation, so he had been avoiding her for the past three years. Even at family banquets and holidays, the two would only nod to each other when they met.

Normally, he would have quietly slipped away by now.

But today, he had just been punched by Xie Jue, and the wound on the corner of his mouth was still faintly burning.

—If you dare to make a move on her, I'll kill you.

Xie Yao lowered his eyes, remained silent for a moment, then straightened his clothes and walked towards the horse farm.

He insisted on going.

Xie Yao's gaze lingered greedily on Jiang Sese, sweeping over her stunningly beautiful face before uncontrollably drifting downwards to her shoulders, neck, slender waist, and long legs, captivating his attention.

Jiang Sese finished the last lap before spotting Xie Yao, and was somewhat surprised: "Third Brother, what brings you to the horse farm today?"

Xie Yao was so nervous that his hands trembled and he didn't know where to put them. After a long while, he calmly said, "I'm not in a good mood today, so I came here to get some fresh air."

Xie Yao tossed the reins to Xun Feng, who was accompanying him, and walked up to Jiang Sese.

Xunfeng lowered his head, not daring to utter a single word.

Jiang Sese skillfully dismounted, then wrapped the reins around her hand twice, led the computer over, and her gaze suddenly fell on Xie Yao's face, and she was stunned.

"What...what happened to your face?"

Xie Yao subconsciously tilted his head to avoid her gaze and said casually, "...It's nothing, I just tripped and fell."

"You fell?!" Jiang Sese looked at him suspiciously.

The location and the shape of the wound don't look like a fall at all... it's clearly from a real punch.

A string of complaints flashed through Jiang Sese's mind in an instant.

Just kidding, Xie Yao's status is practically top-tier in the capital.

Her older brother is the powerful Grand Secretary, her mother is a princess, and her uncle is the reigning emperor.

With such a powerful backer, who would dare to lay a hand on him?

Do you think you've lived too long?

But Jiang Sese also understood that Xie Yao, despite his seemingly dissolute and carefree nature, was actually extremely concerned with his image. To the outside world, he always presented himself as a dashing and carefree nobleman, never wanting anyone to see him in a vulnerable or disadvantaged state.

He deliberately lied and deceived people, clearly because he didn't want to lose face.

Jiang Sese decided not to point it out.

But Jiang Sese still said, "Your face will be too conspicuous at court tomorrow with the injury on your face. I have some good ointment, I'll have Hongdou send it to you later."

Xie Yao stood beside the horse, silently watching her, his eyes filled with undisguised concern.

Xie Yao: "Okay, thank you."

His voice was unusually serious, without his usual carefree tone.

Jiang Sese waved her hand and casually said, "You're welcome."

"By the way, you just arrived to ride horses, right? I won't take up any space."

After saying that, Jiang Sese was about to leave.

Xie Yao stood there, watching Jiang Sese's figure gradually disappear into the distance. Suddenly, he felt the suffocating feeling in his chest that had been there all afternoon dissipate a little, but then another indescribable feeling welled up inside him.

He spoke without thinking.

"Ser—"

Sound travels faster than the brain.

Jiang Sese turned around, a hint of confusion on her face: "Hmm?"

Xie Yao opened his mouth.

What are you saying?

He couldn't say anything.

"It's nothing." Xie Yao forced a smile, reverting to his usual nonchalant demeanor, and gestured with his chin towards her.