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

Looking at his daughter's tear-streaked face, Xi Jian felt a pang of heartache. "Fanfan, what happened? Tell Daddy, okay?"

Xi Lingxian nestled in her father's arms and said in a muffled voice, "Father, I want to go back to Jingkou. I don't like Jiankang; the people here are all bad."

"What's wrong with it?"

"Nobody here likes me; they all bully me."

Xi Jian's face instantly turned cold. "Who? Who bullied you?"

Xi Lingxian showed no remorse in complaining, her eyes brimming with tears and her face full of grievance, "Father..."

Xi Jian was somewhat at a loss for words at his daughter's reaction. "Fanfan, don't be afraid. With your father and your older brother here, they're just all talk. Even the Empress wouldn't dare to lay a finger on you."

She sobbed, trying to stop her tears, "Today, the Empress said in front of many people that she wanted to find a Taoist priest to exorcise evil spirits from me, saying that I have something unclean on me."

Xi Jian's eyes were icy cold, but before he could speak, an even more furious and ruthless voice rang out.

"Does the Empress dare to say that?"

Xi Rui was dressed in a black, close-fitting outfit. He had broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and a strong physique. His brows exuded an air of authority even without anger.

"Big brother!"

Xi Rui touched the flower hairpin in the little girl's hair. "Who else?"

She looked up, bewildered: "Huh?"

"Tell me who else has bullied you, and I'll settle the score with them tomorrow."

Xi Lingxian felt a lump in her throat and her eyes reddened again. "So many people, and I don't even know how I offended them."

Xi Rui: "They have been bound by rules for many years. When they suddenly see someone like you who does whatever he wants and doesn't follow the rules, they naturally find it unconventional and hard to accept."

"It doesn't matter, those who like you will like you no matter what; in my father's and my hearts, Fanfan is the best girl."

Xi Lingxian felt a little embarrassed.

In her previous life, she would have accepted her elder brother's praise without any shame. She was confident in her beauty and noble birth. Her father and brothers treated her like a precious jewel, and she thought she was the best girl in the world.

But after experiencing life, one realizes that while greenhouse flowers may be beautiful, they are too delicate. Once they are freed from protection, any storm can bring them down.

When she was with her father and brothers, she got everything too easily. She could throw a tantrum and shed a couple of tears, and her father would feel sorry for her and her eldest brother would soften his heart.

She once thought this tactic would work on the whole world, but reality repeatedly slapped her in the face.

"Big brother, don't try to comfort me. I'll stay here with you and Father." She rubbed her red, tear-filled eyes and whispered.

Xi Rui felt that her younger sister seemed to have changed a lot.

No longer as carefree and easygoing as before, her beautiful peach blossom eyes were now tinged with a faint sadness.

Well, his lively and cheerful little girl has only been back in Jiankang for a few days, and she's already been bullied like this.

Those guys are really something.

Xi Jian wanted to make his daughter happy, so he changed the subject, "Fanfan, Daddy is coming back this time and won't be leaving again. From now on, whatever you do, Daddy will support you."

"Not leaving?"

"Yes, your elder brother and I have discussed it. One of us, father and son, is enough in Jingkou. We also need one person to be in charge of the central government in Jiankang, so that those guys won't take my daughter for granted just because the Xi family has no male heirs in the capital."

Xi Lingxian was stunned.

This didn't happen in my past life, how come...

Xi Rui seemed to sense her confusion and said softly, "Father and I know about you falling into the water and no one coming to your rescue."

Xi Lingxian laughed and said, "What's so strange about that? Others might not know, but you all do. I don't need anyone to save me at all."

"You don't need anyone to save you if you fall into the water, but what if it's something else next time? Last time it was a pleasure boat that was damaged, but next time it could be a palace being burned down or poisoning someone's heart. I, as your father, absolutely cannot allow such a thing to happen."

Lingxian looked into her father's resolute and unquestionable eyes, and a sudden thought struck her.

"Father..."

"The Second Young Master has arrived?"

The butler's voice from outside the door interrupted Xi Lingxian before she could ask her question.

"Father, elder brother!"

Xi Song came running up, panting. Despite the hot summer day, her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were brimming with excitement.

"Father."

Xi Song and Xi Lingxian are twins, a boy and a girl. The two siblings have seven or eight parts similarity in their eyebrows and eyes, beautiful peach blossom eyes, fair skin, and their eyes seem to be filled with stars when they smile.

In contrast, his elder brother Xi Rui, who shares the same mother, has features more like his father Xi Jian, with strong features and a tall and slender figure.

Xi Jian raised his hand and patted Xi Song's shoulder, "You've grown taller. I know you love Guangling snacks, so I brought you a lot."

A warmth filled Xi Song's heart. "Father...ah!"

The cry of "Father!" suddenly took eight turns in the air, turning into an almost ferocious wail.

Xi Song stared wide-eyed at the culprit. "Big brother, why did you suddenly pinch me?"

Could his small frame withstand the strength of the general's grip?

Xi Rui stared at her younger brother's thin shoulders, her brows furrowed. "Why do you seem to be getting weaker and weaker?"

"Brother, you don't understand. This is the style of a scholar. Only with elegance and refinement can one have such beautiful flowing robes."

Xi Rui scoffed, and his subordinate used ten percent more force, instantly twisting Xi Song's facial features into a distorted shape. "Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! I didn't do anything to you, brother!"

"Starting tomorrow, shall we rise at dawn and train with you at the training ground?"

Xi Song pointed at himself, "Me? Me?"

"It's not you."

Before Xi Song could even smile, the other person's cold words fell again, "Who is it?"

"My brother Xi Rui must not be unable to lift a finger or carry anything. If you're in this state, and something happens to you one day, I'll inevitably have to ask Fan Fan to come and save you."

Xi Song's face flushed red with anger, feeling insulted. "Big brother, what do you mean? Even if I'm not as powerful as you, I'm not that bad, am I?"

"Father, please be the judge."

"As the saying goes, brothers fight side by side, father and son go to war together. Your father has to stay in the capital, and I'm not at ease leaving your elder brother to guard the Huai River region alone. It would be good for you to go and train."

Xi Song's legs went weak, and he saw stars before his eyes.

"I don't want to!" Xi Songsheng howled in despair.

Xi Rui's fists clenched so tightly they cracked.

Xi Song fell silent instantly.

Xi Lingxian stopped crying and started laughing.

Because Xi Jian and Xi Rui returned home, the afternoon meal was served in the Shou'an Hall of the old lady, Madam Qu.

When a family reunites, they always have a family feast to celebrate.

Lady Qu was ignorant of war matters; she only asked if her son had been injured and if her eldest grandson was adapting well to the harsh conditions of military life.

Xi Jian: "Mother, rest assured, I am doing well. I just miss you and Fanfan."

Madam Qu glanced at Xi Lingxian and smiled silently, saying, "This girl has grown up and become more sensible recently. She's not as stubborn as a little bull as before, always talking back and being defiant. In my opinion, she should learn some manners and be properly trained. In time, the Xi family's daughter will definitely be no less capable than the Xie family's daughters."

Xi Jian: "Mother is joking. There are so many gentle and virtuous women in the world. I don't want Fanfan to become like that."

Madam Qu had long been dissatisfied with her son's excessive pampering of Xi Lingxian. Seeing that he was still talking back to her, she immediately said in a deep voice, "Spoiling a child is like killing a child. You have raised a fine young lady to be unruly and willful. What kind of behavior is this? This girl is beautiful and has a powerful father like you. If she could just restrain her temper, I guarantee that suitors would line up from Jiankang to Jingkou."

Xi Jian looked at his mother at the head of the table, then glanced at his daughter who was silent with her eyes downcast.

Her father had just returned, and Xi Lingxian didn't want him and her grandmother to have a falling out because of her. In her past life, her father had often angered her grandmother to the point of collapse because of her.

"Father, what Grandmother said makes sense. I also feel that I have been too willful before. It is not a bad thing to restrain my temper. I am willing to listen to Grandmother."

Ms. Qu said with some satisfaction, "Look at you, you're not as sensible as a child."

Beneath his raven-feather-like eyelashes, Xi Jian's eyes flickered slightly, his smile gradually fading, his expression becoming inscrutable.

……

Xi Jian insisted on staying to talk to his mother more, while the others dispersed on their own.

Madam Yu sensed that her daughter was unhappy, so she personally escorted her back to Nuanshan Residence.

Xi Yao was filled with grievances, followed by jealousy. "Mother, I am also Father's daughter, so why is Father so good to my sister, but cold and indifferent to me?"

"Nonsense! Didn't your father also bring you gifts? How could he have ignored them?"

"Who cares about those things? Xi Lingxian has way more than I do!"

Her handsome and capable husband had finally returned, and the couple were reunited after a long separation. At this moment, Yu was eager to go back to her room early to burn incense and take a bath, hoping for a tender evening together.

"Don't overthink it. You and Xi Lingxian are both daughters of the Xi family, so you're the same in every way. You're no less capable than her."

Xi Yao gripped Yu Shi's sleeve tightly, her eyes flashing with a fierce light. "Mother, I don't want to end up like her. Please get rid of her. As long as Xi Lingxian is around, Father will never think of me first when it comes to good things. I don't want to be overshadowed by Xi Lingxian for the rest of my life. I want Father to only have me as his daughter."

Exhausted after a long day, Madam Yu's patience ran out, and she snapped angrily, "You know Xi Lingxian is your father's lifeblood. Who is your father? How dare you harm his daughter right under his nose?"

Xi Yao didn't care about any of that.

"I want Xi Lingxian dead! I won't have a moment's peace until she's dead!"

"That vixen-like face of hers was enough to make my cousin, the Crown Prince, speak up for her today. Given time, won't all the men in Jiankang be at her feet?"

Madam Yu: "This matter cannot be rushed. Please allow me to consider it slowly."

"How long are you going to make me wait?"

"It won't be long, trust your mother, okay?"

How could the Yu family not feel resentment?

She was willing to become a second wife and beg her elder sister, the Empress, to grant her the marriage without prior approval. She was crazy enough to marry the man she loved in her youth.

She got what she wanted, but it also felt like she got nothing at all.

But the man could never forget his first wife, and his eyes were only for the children born to her.

She didn't even get to consummate her marriage on her wedding night.

When she was naming Xi Yao, she wanted to follow the name of her predecessor, Xi Lingxian, and call her "Lingyao". However, he crossed out the character "Ling" and said that the single character Yao was enough.

He was the head of the household, and his word was law; she had no room to object.

Much later, she learned about it from a former servant in her household.

Back then, after Xiao Lingxian was born, he and his wife, Han, each chose a character to name their daughter.

Han chose the character "令" (lìng), which means "as fine as a jade tablet" and "as prestigious as a jade seal," signifying renown and high reputation. He, on the other hand, chose "娴" (xián), which means "elegant and graceful like a secluded orchid, with a lingering fragrance"; it also means "skilled in the six arts," signifying "talented and brilliant."

The reason he was unwilling to use the character "令" (ling) for Xi Yao was actually because it came from the Han family.