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

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw a person standing behind the display shelf next to the stairs.

A moon-white robe, with a jade crown binding her hair.

Who else could it be but Wang Jue?

He stood there quietly, his gaze sweeping across the faces of the crowd, but when he looked at Gu Xin, his eyes turned icy. "Miss Gu, I, Wang, am utterly unworthy. I had no idea when I and Miss Xie had fallen in love. Miss Gu, you come from a distinguished family. Is spreading rumors your way of life?"

Gu Xin's face turned pale.

"Your Highness... I... I didn't mean that."

"I have no interest in listening to your reminiscing." Xi Lingxian slowly stepped forward, her gaze fixed on Gu Xin. "Apologize to my father."

Gu Xin sneered, "Xi Lingxian, don't be so unreasonable. I haven't even settled the score with you for hitting me, and you still expect me to apologize?"

"Let me tell you, I'm not apologizing. What can you do to me? Even if you take it to my father, he loves me the most and won't do anything to me over such a small matter."

Zhang Yuci chimed in, "That's right, Miss Xi, you're being too domineering. It's common for powerful families to undermine each other in the court, why are you making such a big deal out of it?"

Xi Lingxian said calmly, "From what I'm saying, you're not planning to apologize?"

Gu Xin retorted, "If I don't apologize, what can you do?"

Lingxian nodded, her eyes innocent and naive, "Okay."

Her hand twitched under her sleeve, and when it came out again, she held something in it.

A short knife.

The scabbard was made of ebony, simple and unadorned, but when she slowly drew it from the scabbard, the blade flashed a cold light in the sunlight, making people tremble.

Gu Xin turned pale with fright and instinctively staggered backward, tripping over her skirt and nearly falling.

Zhang Yuci and Zhu Yuening screamed and ran far away.

"What, what are you going to do?" Gu Xin's voice cracked. "Xi Lingxian, are you crazy? Let me tell you, if you dare lay a finger on me, my father won't let you get away with it!"

Lingxian seemed not to hear, and slowly approached with the knife in hand.

Gu Rong retreated to Wang Jue's side as if grasping at a straw, "Young Master Wang, look at her."

"She bullies others so brazenly, committing violence with a knife in broad daylight. As the head of the Court of Justice, shouldn't you, Young Master Wang, do something about her?"

"Miss Gu."

Wang Jue's voice was devoid of any emotion: "Lord Xi guarded Guangling for more than ten years, fighting over a hundred battles, large and small, ensuring the peace of the region. Last year, when the barbarians invaded the border, Lord Xi led three thousand light cavalry, penetrating three hundred li into enemy territory, beheading more than two thousand and capturing the enemy chieftain alive. Since that battle, the border has been stable to this day."

His voice was flat and straightforward, as if he were talking about something extremely ordinary.

"The good news arrived in the capital last month," Wang Jue said. "His Majesty is overjoyed, and the reward for Xi Gong will be issued soon."

After he finished speaking, he finally turned his head and looked at Gu Xin.

Those eyes remained indifferent, like a bottomless pool of water.

But when that gaze fell on Gu Xin, it inexplicably gave her a sense of being seen through.

"Miss Gu," he said, "I heard everything you just said."

Gu Xin's face turned as white as a sheet in an instant, her lips trembling, "I...I didn't mean that..."

"Xi Gong has just achieved unparalleled military exploits," Wang Jue's voice rang out again, still calmly, "and upon returning to the capital, he will be bestowed with honors and rewards."

"Miss Gu," he said, "is your Gu family sure you want to offend someone you can't afford to offend at this juncture?"

This statement was so blunt that Gu Xin had no room for self-deception.

The Gu family had been officials for generations, a prestigious lineage that sounds incredibly glamorous. But that was in the past.

In recent years, the powerful families who migrated south have been at their zenith, holding central government power and wielding military authority.

What do they have besides an empty title?

Gu Xin's face turned white then red, then red then white again.

The two girls behind her were too scared to utter a sound, wishing they could shrink into a crack in the wall.

Gu Xin lowered her head, tears falling to the ground drop by drop.

"……sorry."

The sound was barely audible.

Lingxian did not speak.

Gu Xin gritted her teeth, her voice rising slightly, "I'm sorry... I shouldn't... I shouldn't have mentioned your father..."

"This will not be repeated."

Lingxian looked at her and accepted Gu Xin's apology.

Gu Xin was utterly humiliated and practically fled with her people.

"Let's go too."

Lingxian went downstairs to settle her bill with the shopkeeper.

The hem of her skirt brushed gently against the wooden steps, making a very slight rustling sound.

Outside Baohua Building, the sunlight was just right.

Taozhi, carrying the wrapped-up Yuping, followed behind and whispered, "Young lady, shall we go back to the manor?"

"Um."

Just as Lingxian was about to board the carriage, a clear, crisp voice suddenly came from behind her.

"Miss Xi, please wait."

Ling Xian was taken aback.

Footsteps came from behind, slow and gentle, echoing softly on the bluestone slabs.

Wang Jue walked past her, stopped three steps in front of her, turned around, and looked at her.

The sunlight shone directly on her face. She stood there with her back straight, her gaze calmly fixed on him.

Eyes facing each other.

Wang Jue's heart skipped a beat.

These eyes look so different from a few days ago; they don't look like those of a fifteen-year-old girl at all.

The shyness and tenderness from before were nowhere to be seen in her eyes, only an almost indifferent detachment.

What could have caused such a dramatic change in a young woman in just a few days?

"Young Master Wang," she curtsied, "what advice do you have for me?"

Wang Jue looked at her and said, "Miss Xi should also restrain her temper. After all, the Gu family is the head of the Jiangdong aristocratic families. It is better to resolve conflicts than to create them."

Lingxian curled her lips into a slight smile, her voice calm and even, "Then, according to what Young Master Wang said, how should I have acted just now?"

"Willingly submit and compromise, waiting for someone to pity her?"

"Men and women should be treated differently, so please forgive me for not being able to stay any longer. Farewell."

After saying that, he didn't care about the other person's reaction and turned to get into the car.

The carriage curtain fell, and the carriage rumbled away, disappearing at the end of the long street.

Ah Hu, the servant, muttered under his breath, "Young Master, why is Miss Xi so cold to you? Could it be that what she said at the Xie residence that day was true?"

Wang Jue remained silent, staring at the empty street corner, his fingers unconsciously groping inside his sleeve.

When she looked up at him just now, he clearly saw a fleeting look of disgust in her eyes.

Yes, it wasn't shyness, it was disgust.

Why?

Wang Jue really couldn't understand these girls' thoughts. She was the one who provoked them, and now she was the one who hated them.

That's really unreasonable and difficult to please.

As soon as the carriage curtain fell, Xi Lingxian collapsed onto the embroidered cushion.

She wasn't quite at ease enough to face Wang Jue without batting an eye; she had used almost all her strength to restrain herself from turning away.

"The girl just now..."

Taozhi hesitated, then asked, "Isn't your attitude towards Young Master Wang a bit too cold?"

cold?

Lingxian gave a bitter smile.

She wished she could stay as far away from him as possible, and never see that face again in her life.

"Taozhi, what kind of person do you think Wang Jue is?"

"This servant dares not speak presumptuously."

"There are no outsiders here, so please speak."

Taozhi thought for a moment, then lowered her voice, "Young Master Wang is really handsome, like someone who stepped out of a painting, but he's too cold... The way he looks at people is like he's looking at an object, without any warmth at all."

object.

In his previous life, she was nothing more than an object in his eyes.

The vase used for the arranged marriage was placed in the main room.

Wanting to please her mistress, Taozhi added, "Young Master Wang took the initiative to speak to you today, which has never happened before. Do you think it's because he's not used to being ignored by you, so he came to you on his own?"

Xi Lingxian was speechless and wanted to laugh.

"He didn't come to talk to me. It's just that my father and brothers have made great contributions, and my status as a daughter of the Xi family has risen accordingly."

Taozhi's first thought was, "A marriage alliance?"

"Even if it's an arranged marriage, I would never marry him. The Wang family is too arrogant and snobbish, as if anyone who marries into their family is incredibly lucky."

"But if Young Master Wang is determined... how should the young lady respond?"

"So," Lingxian closed her eyes, "I have to let everyone who wants to use me to show off in front of my father know that I'm not someone to be trifled with."

If you provoke them, you'll splatter them with blood.