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

On New Year's Eve, the servants of the Xi household were busy coming and going.

The Gu worms on Xi Lingxian's body were soothed by Wang Jue's mother Gu, causing the Gu master who could originally control her to become completely ineffective.

Wang Jue never used the Gu worms to control her. She is now no different from a normal person, but she cannot get too close to other men, otherwise the Gu worms will clamor and complain, as if she has betrayed the master of the mother Gu.

Many of the uncles and elders in the detachment were all single, and they would spend holidays at the Xi family's house.

Since the elders take care of most of the household affairs, Xi Lingxian dragged Xi Song out for a stroll, hoping to find something new and interesting to buy in the market.

"Sister, are wild walnuts delicious?"

Xi Song's words nearly choked Xi Lingxian to death.

"What did you say?" she asked, feigning ignorance.

"Come on, my brother already told me. The once mighty Wang family's secret guards, who came and went without a trace, have done so many impressive things. Now they've actually been reduced to searching for walnuts in the deep mountains and forests."

"You're wrong. Finding walnuts isn't dangerous at all; it's much better than them going on important missions."

"So who ate all the walnuts you found?"

"Why wouldn't I eat something that's been delivered to my door?"

Xi Song grinned: "Just kidding, I was involved too!"

???

"You have one too?"

When did Wang Jue suddenly have such leisure and refined tastes? Or did something happen that made him need to relieve stress by cracking walnuts?

"I think he might be trying to please me, after all, Brother Wang Er is obviously still interested in you."

Xi Lingxian ignored such nonsense. "Help me take a look. I want to give my sworn brother a gift. He personally caught fish for me every day and made fish soup for me while he was on the ship. I have to thank him."

"So you didn't thank him for giving you walnuts?"

"What does he have to do with it? If you mention him again, I'll beat you up!"

Xi Song shut his mouth and pointed to a large gatehouse not far away, "Are you willing to spend money? If you are, go to this place; they have a lot of imported goods, good stuff!"

Xi Lingxian clutched her purse. "How much will it all cost?"

"It must be at least a thousand or eight hundred taels."

So expensive!

Xi Song knew she was born in the Year of the Pixiu, and said, "If you really want to express your gratitude, no gift, no matter how valuable, can compare to something you made yourself. You could make your sworn brother a belt or a pair of boots; I guarantee he would be happier than if you gave him 100,000 taels of silver."

"How can a daughter give away her needlework so easily?"

"Didn't you send a net to the Prince of Chenliu back then?"

"I didn't give it to him. He begged for it himself, and it wasn't needle and thread, it was just a knitting thing."

"Miss Xi?"

The siblings argued back and forth, neither able to convince the other, when suddenly a voice came from behind them.

Xi Lingxian turned around and happened to see Madam Lu from Liuchuntang and her second senior brother Wensheng.

"Miss Xi? Is it really you? I thought I had mistaken you for someone else."

Xi Lingxian was both surprised and delighted, "Madam Lu, how could you...?"

Lu Niangzi sighed softly, "With your help, my senior brother was released from prison safely. After that incident, Liuchuntang could hardly survive. So my senior brother and I decided to leave Jiankang. It's far from the emperor's reach, so we can live freely in another place."

"Are you two also from Jiangnan?"

"My ancestral home is Lin'an, while my senior brother is from Yixing."

Xi Lingxian suddenly remembered that Lu Niangzi had mentioned that her senior brother Wen Sheng was well-versed in the poisons of the Southern Frontier. After hesitating for a moment, she softly inquired whether the two of them knew how to neutralize the Gu worms.

Both Lu Niangzi and her companion were startled upon hearing this. They then carefully examined Xi Lingxian. Her face, covered in makeup, didn't reveal much at first glance, but the frailty in her eyes betrayed something.

Wen Sheng said solemnly, "Miss Xi saved my brother and me, and we will never forget her kindness. We will dedicate the rest of our lives to studying the secrets of toxicology and are willing to serve you with utmost loyalty."

The gloom that had been building up in Xi Lingxian's heart for so long instantly dissipated, and her eyes lit up.

Xi Song also suppressed his excitement, made an appointment with Lu Niangzi, and left Lu Niangzi's home address. After New Year's Eve, he would personally send someone to invite her.

Wen Sheng agreed, saying that he would prepare the necessary medicines and tools for removing the poison in advance.

After the group took their leave, Xi Lingxian was overjoyed. "Look, I made the right choice going out today. This is exactly what I was looking for."

"Sister is right." Xi Song pondered for a moment, then said, "To celebrate, could you treat me to a whole roasted lamb?"

"Eat! Buy a whole one! Have the waiter deliver it to our house, and we'll eat it together!"

The siblings went to the restaurant, placed an order, and agreed that the food would be delivered to their home in an hour and a half.

Xi Lingxian was generous, giving each of the two deliverymen an extra five taels of silver as a delivery fee.

The two strolled around and eventually went to the shop that was supposedly full of high-quality imported goods.

Crystal ball, Roman glass, nautilus cup, styrax, Western Region felt carpet, diamond ring...

The shopkeeper's enthusiastic introduction left Xi Lingxian dazzled and her heart fluttering.

They're all so beautiful, I want them all!

But the prices are really high; every single item starts at a hundred taels of silver, and there are no cheap ones.

Xi Lingxian particularly liked an ivory comb, while Xi Song took a liking to an agate wine cup at first sight.

If they were twins, the things they wanted would be more expensive than the last, and the two items together would cost more than 1,500 taels of silver.

They didn't have enough money on them.

Xi Lingxian summoned the waiters and told them to go to the Xi residence to collect their silver.

The Xi family is so famous in Guangling and Jingkou, how could the young ladies and gentlemen of the Xi family possibly owe debts?

The shopkeeper readily agreed, saying that it was unlucky to collect debts on New Year's Eve and that it would be fine to go a few days later.

As she spoke, she wrapped the two items and handed them to the siblings with both hands.

Xi Lingxian and Xi Song thanked her and happily stepped out of the shop, only to be met by two tall and imposing figures.

It turned out to be Wang Jue and Xi Wen.

"Brother, what brings you here?"

The siblings couldn't hide their joy. Seeing how much they loved it, Xi Wen felt a warmth in his heart and asked gently, "You seem so happy, what good thing did you buy?"

Xi Songxing excitedly opened it, his face beaming with joy: "Brother, look! I haven't seen such exquisitely crafted agate in a long time."

"It's good stuff, it must be expensive."

"It's not expensive, the two together cost only 1,500 taels."

Xi Wen blurted out instinctively, "It's just an ordinary toy, yet it costs so much. Isn't that a bit too extravagant? Fifteen hundred taels of silver can buy so many things."

"No, no, this kind of thing is priced like this. If it's too cheap, I'll doubt whether it's a good product."

Xi Song then asked Wang Jue, "What do you think?"

Wang Jue took the agate cup, examined it, and said, "It's made of Southern Red Agate. Although it has some minor flaws, the workmanship is indeed excellent. This price is really not expensive."

Xi Wen's eyes flickered slightly, then he laughed and said, "Am I ignorant, or do you all know more?"

Xi Song then told Xi Lingxian about his encounter with the two disciples from Liuchuntang.

"Wen Sheng?" Wang Jue pondered. "I've heard Mr. Zhou mention this person before. It seems his reputation is well-deserved."

Xi Wen: "Can a quack doctor really be trusted?"

Wang Jue: "Mr. Zhou has made some progress in developing the antidote for the curse these past few days. If this Wen Sheng is truly capable, it would be good to have another arm to lean on."

Xi Lingxian stroked the texture of the ivory comb, then suddenly said, "You don't want to take them under your command?"

"If they truly possess great talent, what's wrong with that?"

"No! That's mine. Even if you take it, it'll be taken to my house."

Wang Jue, unusually good-natured, went along with her, saying, "Okay, okay, it's yours."

Looking at the two of them, Xi Wen could barely hold back his smile.