If you were cold and aloof in your past life, why are you crying in this one?

Xi Lingxian had a complete plan in mind.

Jiankang was the political capital, and Wang Jue could not leave it, but she could.

If he is truly obstinate, leaving Jiankang is undoubtedly the best choice for her.

"Sister-in-law, you... you're crying?"

If Xi Wen hadn't suddenly spoken up, she truly wouldn't have realized that her cheeks had become wet.

She stared at the water stains on her fingers, momentarily lost in thought.

She cried? Cried about what? Cried that her sincere feelings had been carelessly trampled on.

She was crying because she was a perfectly good young woman who had been used as someone else's pawn for no reason.

Wang Jue is truly a complete scoundrel.

……

After this incident, the house that I had initially liked suddenly became unpleasant.

Xi Lingxian didn't want it anymore.

Xi Wen listened to her completely; if they didn't want it, they could return it, which would also make them look good and make the other party owe her a favor.

Xi Lingxian summoned the broker and expressed her willingness to give up the house.

The broker was overjoyed and reported the news that very day.

Wang Yun had given up hope, but upon hearing this, it felt like a windfall. Fearing the other party might change their mind, she pocketed the banknotes and left.

She saw the stunningly beautiful Xi family girl again, but the difference was that the girl who looked like a little peacock last time looked a bit pale.

But that's not something she should care about.

"Miss Xi, thank you for being willing to part with it."

Xi Lingxian shook her head. All she wanted now was to stay far away from the Wang family and avoid any further contact with them.

Wang Yun was overjoyed to receive the house and land deeds, and upon returning home, she first went to share the good news with her grandmother.

He then sent someone to inform Wang Jue.

Wang Yun thought that the Xi family girl must still be wary of her nephew's abilities and was afraid of causing trouble for her family, which was why she ultimately decided to give him up.

Ultimately, her eldest nephew deserves the most credit.

This is the future head of the family; she should thank him properly.

Wang Yun has a knack for making pastries. She personally made fragrant plum blossom cakes and sweet soup, and had her daughter Yu Rong dress them up specially before sending them over.

Xu Yurong also tried her best to please her cousin, who was in a high position and extremely handsome.

Wang Jue sat in his study, his desk piled high with official documents, the ink on his inkstone dried up, and the half-open documents untouched for a long time.

"Cousin, the house purchase is settled. Mother is grateful for your help and specially made some desserts and sweet soup. Mother is a very good cook, would you like to try some?"

Wang Jue sat motionless, almost like a puppet.

Xu Yurong couldn't gauge the situation and hesitated for a moment.

"Cousin?" she called out again.

Wang Jue's eyes flickered slightly, then regained their focus, and his nostrils were suddenly filled with the pungent smell of face powder.

The stench made him instinctively furrow his brow.

Seeing through her expression, Xu Yurong subconsciously shrank back. "If you don't like this scent, cousin, I won't use it anymore. I didn't really like it to begin with."

Wang Jue shook his head.

He's not such an unreasonable person.

He wouldn't force his cousin to use any particular face powder.

"It's fine, use it if you like."

Xu Yurong calmed down and ladled a bowl of sweet soup, placing it beside Wang Jue.

Wang Jue, who was usually shrewd and capable, had an unusually slow look in his eyes this time.

His gaze was fixed on the soup bowl in front of him, and he seemed lost in thought for a moment.

But the pungent smell in his nose reminded him that this was not a dream.

It wasn't a previous life either.

"I appreciate your kindness, Aunt, but I don't like sweets. Please take it away; don't waste it."

Xu Yurong gave a weak "hmm," picked up her things, and left without looking up.

She wanted to say more, but her mother said that a small act of impatience could ruin a great plan.

You need to know how to bait the hook for the fish to bite.

The fragrance has faded.

Wang Jue's mind grew increasingly muddled. He slumped over his desk, his breathing unsteady.

When Chang'an and Ah Hu saw something was wrong, they tried it and found that their bodies were burning hot.

"Young master has a fever, quickly go and fetch Physician Lang."

Wang Jue was the most distinguished master among the younger generation of the Wang family, but he was usually the least troublesome. When he suddenly developed a high fever, the whole family was terrified and couldn't have any peace.

His illness was also strange, without any apparent reason.

It wasn't due to being cold, nor was it a case of congenital illness or weakness.

That's how I got sick.

Wang Jue was so famous in Jiankang that if he didn't attend court for two or three days, all sorts of rumors would spread throughout the city.

Xi Lingxian has already returned to the academy to teach and is unaware of this.

She overheard it by chance during a break when other students were chatting.

sick?

How could that seemingly indestructible man get sick?

Thinking about it this way, she immediately laughed at herself, realizing that she wasn't really made of iron after all; she was just a mortal, and it was normal for her to get sick.

She remembered that in her previous life, they had both been sick at the same time.

It's a cold; it's unclear who infected whom.

So they lay on the same bed, their cheeks burning red, still arguing about the issue.

She scolded him, saying it must be because he wasn't paying attention on his way to court and accidentally dragged her into it; he retorted sharply, "Why don't you say it's because you've been wandering around the garden all day and caught a cold that infected me?"

Back then, regardless of whether it was genuine or not, when we argued, we were truly head-to-head and wouldn't give an inch.

At that time, she couldn't stand it when people said that Wang Jue was aloof and taciturn.

Bah! So taciturn, why aren't you taciturn when you're arguing?

The medicine was prepared and served to the two of them.

The bowls were exactly the same, the smell was exactly the same, and even the steam rising into the air was exactly the same.

Her maid prepared candied fruit for her, but he didn't.

A grown man doesn't need this.

She took two sips of her medicine and ate a piece of candied fruit, unhurriedly, her meaning clear: "If you beg me, I'll give you one too."

A grown man like me doesn't care about this; I'll just finish it in one go.

The next moment, his handsome face scrunched up in pain.

She sat to one side, laughing gleefully. In the end, she couldn't resist her soft heart and pried open his mouth, forcing him to eat a candied fruit.

Good or bad, it's all in the past.

Realizing that her thoughts had wandered off, Xi Lingxian patted her cheeks, forcing herself to stop thinking about it.

As they were talking, Xiao Yun walked into the classroom; his history class was about to begin.

Before each class, the teachers at the academy would routinely review the students' performance on their previous assignments, praising the good ones and punishing the bad ones.

This is an unwritten rule of the hermitage.

"...Xi Lingxian, your writing and narration are both very good. You have made great progress since you first came to the academy. You deserve to be commended."

Xi Lingxian was taken aback for a moment, then said, "Thank you, Master."

Because Wang Jue was ill, the course on classical studies was temporarily taught by the headmaster, Gu Yong.

The lawsuit between the Gu family and the Shen family was so well-known that everyone knew about it, and Xi Lingxian was on good terms with the Shen family's daughter.

It's impossible for Gu Yong not to have some personal grudges, but he wouldn't be so rude as to make things difficult for a young girl.

It's nothing more than keeping a closer eye on things in class and being stricter with the coursework.

A good teacher produces outstanding students; this is also for her own good.

Xi Lingxian had seen this trick used on Xiao Yun before, and now that it was being used again, she felt an inexplicable surge of determination.

who is afraid of who.

With Wang Jue falling ill, many people wanted to take advantage of the situation.

Unexpectedly, despite his illness, he didn't neglect any of his duties.

The stalled case of Shen Pu's wrongful conviction began its third trial while he was ill.

The key witness, Zhao Ping, changed his story and admitted that he was bribed by Gu Rong to frame his master.

In an instant, the Gu family was thrust into the spotlight, while Shen Pu, the head of the Shen family, was released without charge and walked out of the prison safely.

Shen Qingdai returned to the hermitage on the third day after her father's return home to share the good news with Xi Lingxian.

Xi Lingxian was filled with doubt. "Who spoke up for Uncle? How did the Gu family suddenly get dragged down?"

Shen Qingdai couldn't hide her excitement. "It's the Wang family. It's said that Grand Commandant Wang has wanted to deal with the Gu family for a long time, but he just hasn't had the chance. This time, the Gu family took the initiative to attack our family, which gave them the opportunity to use us as a pretext."

"I just found out that my father's previous poisoning was fake. It was a scheme set up by Master Wang, the scholar of Confucian classics, to lure the snakes out of their holes. After that, several groups of people tried to harm my father, but he intercepted them all and subjected them to severe torture. Some of them couldn't take it and confessed."

"...In short, there's so much more. I really misunderstood you this time. I need to apologize to you. I was just being petty and judging you by my own standards."

"The matter dragged on for so long, and then it was suddenly resolved?" Xi Lingxian felt confused. She always felt that something was amiss when good things came too easily.

"I don't know either, but when I went to pick up my father from prison, I overheard the jailer mention that the teacher had specifically instructed them to treat my father with great courtesy."