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

November 16th is Xi Rui's birthday.

Those who practice martial arts don't care about formalities. Xi Rui didn't want to hold any banquet. He just wanted to set up a few tables in the flower hall and invite a few close brothers and friends to get together. He wouldn't invite any other nodding acquaintances.

Among the disciples of prominent families, there were a few who were in a good mood with Xi Rui, and he personally wrote invitations for them all; after writing a stack of invitations, Xi Rui suddenly started chewing on the pen.

Xi Lingxian was looking at the account book when she saw this and glanced at it. "That's a sandalwood pen holder. If you waste such a precious thing, be careful your father will beat you."

Xi Rui was so embarrassed by the price that he quickly spat it out, "Fanfan, your older brother has something to discuss with you."

"explain."

"Should we invite Brother Qingyu to my birthday party?" The careless older brother was unaware of what had happened between his sister and Brother Qingyu; all he could think about was how to invite him without being refused.

"Brother Qingyu, what kind of drug did that guy give you?" Xi Lingxian asked irritably.

"Don't you think Brother Qingyu's strategic planning is particularly impressive? He remains calm even when Mount Tai collapses before him, as if everything is within his expectations. If you go to him for any problem, he will always have a solution." Xi Rui's eyes shone, and he clicked his tongue in admiration.

Xi Lingxian snorted: "If you wanted a girl, that would be fine. I'd send her to marry Wang Jue, and you'd definitely be happy."

Xi Rui chuckled, and in an instant, he used all his calligraphic skills to write an invitation, stroke by stroke, and sent it to Wuyi Lane.

Whether he sends a gift or not is a matter of his sincerity; whether he comes or not depends on the other party's intention.

Although Xi Rui didn't have much hope, after all, she had heard that the person had been seriously ill and seemed to have only recently recovered, so he shouldn't be going out at this time.

The servant who delivered the invitation returned excitedly half an hour later. "Young Master Wang has accepted the invitation and said he will keep his appointment to congratulate you on your birthday."

Xi Rui was stunned.

After a while, he suddenly jumped three feet high.

Xi Lingxian rubbed her forehead.

Is it destined that someone from the Xi family will be drugged by Wang Jue?

……

On her birthday, apart from Xi Lingxian and Shen Qingdai, there were no other female relatives present.

Quite a few young masters from prominent families have come: Huan Siyuan, Ji Ruchuan, Xie Chenxu, Wang Jue, and Lu Yun.

There were also several of Xi Rui's colleagues and his deputy generals.

One table was for the sons of noble families, and on the other side were two tables for military officers.

Xi Rui, on the other hand, ran back and forth between the two places, enjoying it immensely.

When men get together, how can they not drink?

The military officers drank the most heavily, and in the blink of an eye, two wine jars were already empty.

Xi Lingxian brought them incense to prevent them from making the flower hall smell terrible from drinking.

Before leaving, he remembered something and walked over to Xi Wen: "Brother, your leg injury hasn't healed yet, and the doctor said you can't drink alcohol."

Xi Wen paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "Since my sworn sister said so, I won't drink it."

The lieutenants at the table immediately started commotion: "Oh my, Brother Wen, why are you so obedient to Miss Xi!"

Xi Wen simply smiled, offering neither explanation nor engaging in further discussion.

Wang Jue leaned back in his chair; his cold had just subsided, and his complexion was a few shades paler than usual.

"Qingyu, you've just recovered from your cold, you can't drink alcohol." Lu Yun looked over. "Didn't You'an have someone prepare tea? You'd better behave yourself."

Wang Jue ignored him and suddenly spoke, her voice not loud, "Miss Xi, I have a question to ask you."

Xi Lingxian turned to look at him, slightly taken aback.

Today she wore a pale yellow padded jacket, and a white jade hairpin was tucked into her black hair.

The candlelight cast a thin halo on her face.

Looking at that face, Wang Jue felt a slight pang in her heart.

"What do you want to ask?" she asked, puzzled, not understanding what kind of trouble this guy was up to now.

"People whose leg injuries haven't healed shouldn't drink alcohol," Wang Jue paused, his gaze fixed on her face, his tone indifferent, "But what about people who have just recovered from a cold? Can they drink?"

The flower hall suddenly fell silent for a moment.

The people at the table glanced between Wang Jue and Xi Lingxian, vaguely sensing something.

Xi Lingxian was taken aback by his question, but then she understood.

She said irritably, "If you're not afraid of dying, then you can drink it."

Wang Jue paused for a moment, lowered his head, smiled slightly, and slowly put down his wine glass.

Xi Rui's brow furrowed slightly at his sister's harsh words, worried that Wang Jue would be angry, but who would have thought...

He rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things.

Why are you still laughing? Which word in what his sister said was funny?

Didn't you hear his sister swearing?

Lu Yun watched as Wang Jue put down her wine glass, then looked at Xi Lingxian, and laughed heartily: "Miss Xi really has a lot of influence! We tried to dissuade Qingyu from drinking for ages, but you managed to do it with just one sentence?"

Xi Lingxian didn't reply and turned back to the inner hall.

"Miss Xi is truly beautiful. In all my years, I have never seen a woman more beautiful than your sister."

Xi Rui patted his chest, a smug look on his face. "Of course! Don't you know whose sister she is?"

"You'an, is your son-in-law engaged yet? If not, is there still any hope for us?"

Someone nearby joked, "I heard the other day that Lord Xi is considering taking in a son-in-law. I think it's good to keep the wealth within the family; wouldn't an adopted son be a perfect candidate for a son-in-law?"

The group of people at the table burst into laughter.

Xi Wen, holding his teacup, smiled and said, "My godfather's kindness to me is as heavy as a mountain, and my god-sister is like an inviolable goddess in my heart. You are all making fun of me."

Wang Jue lowered his eyes, his face expressionless.

Lu Yun leaned closer. "I'm a little confused. Are you going to make a move or not? Don't overdo it."

I know what I'm doing.

After several rounds of drinks, several people at the military officers' table had already passed out.

Wang Jue leaned back in his chair, his face even paler than before, and his eyes somewhat unfocused.

He reached for the wine jug, his fingers slipped on the handle, but he didn't grab it.

"Qingyu?" Xi Rui called out across the table. "Why are you still drinking?"

"Didn't I tell you not to drink it?"

Wang Jue raised her eyes, her gaze slowly turning towards the source of the sound, as if it took her a great deal of effort to find the direction of the sound.

He didn't say anything, but waved his hand, stood up by supporting himself on the edge of the table, and swayed slightly.

"Young master, you've had too much to drink—" Chang'an said.

The eldest son of the Xi family is eight feet tall and possesses extraordinary martial arts skills, yet his mind is as simple as a funnel.

Seeing Wang Jue's swaying figure, he strode over and slapped Wang Jue on the shoulder.

"How are you going to walk like this? The snow is so heavy outside, the roads are slippery, what if you fall?"

Wang Jue felt a thud on his shoulder from the pat, turned his head slightly, and remained silent.

Xi Rui had already turned to his servants and called out, "Someone, go and prepare a guest room! Brother Qingyu is staying here tonight."

Wang Jue simply lowered his eyes slightly.

"Brother." Xi Lingxian appeared again at some point.

She stood at the entrance of the flower hall, holding a bowl of hangover soup in her hand.

It was originally prepared for Xi Rui. Now, holding the bowl of soup, looking at her elder brother's warm-hearted face, she wished she could turn the bowl upside down.

"What's wrong?" Xi Rui asked innocently.

"You—?" Xi Lingxian took a deep breath, swallowing back the words "Are you stupid?" and trying to make her voice sound calm. "Wuyi Lane isn't far from here. How can you just decide to let someone stay overnight without their consent? Did you even ask their opinion?"

Xi Rui scratched his head and turned to Wang Jue: "Brother Qingyu, if it's inconvenient for you—"

"convenient."

Wang Jue's voice was very clear.

Xi Lingxian was so clear that she immediately concluded he was faking it!

"Then I'll trouble you." He even had the strength to cup his hands in a respectful gesture towards Xi Rui.

Xi Rui laughed and waved his hand, "What are you being so polite about! There's no need for formalities between us!"

Xi Lingxian bit her lip and coldly swept her gaze over.

Wang Jue happened to look over as well.

Their eyes met amidst the clamor of the room.

His eyes were as clear as moonlight on a snowy night.

She even raised her eyebrows slightly, a very subtle movement, as if only she could see it.

Xi Lingxian felt a tightness in her chest from anger.

She turned to leave with the hangover soup, but stopped after a few steps. She placed the bowl heavily on the railing under the eaves and said to Taozhi, "Take this to him."

"Who?"

"Who else could it be?" Xi Lingxian said irritably, "That brainless idiot who can't even tell if he's drunk or not."

Taozhi carried the soup away, looking completely bewildered.

Xi Lingxian stood under the eaves, looking at the courtyard full of white snow, and took a deep, deep breath.