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

For several days in a row, the autumn sun shone brightly, the weather was neither too hot nor too cold, and the wind carried the sweet fragrance of osmanthus blossoms.

With the matter of the Crown Prince settled, Lady Yu was so traumatized that she fell ill and was bedridden. Xi Yao and Xi Hui were confined to the ancestral temple.

Xi Lingxian was in a good mood, and everything seemed pleasing to the eye.

In the evening, she took two little maids to play shuttlecock in the garden.

The shuttlecock flew up and down on her feet, sometimes on her toes, sometimes on the side of her feet, sometimes bouncing high into the air, spinning a few times, and then landing steadily back down.

She got so into the game that fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead, and her cheeks were flushed, as if she had applied a thin layer of rouge.

Her skin was already fair, but now it was flushed with a faint pink, spreading from her cheeks to her ears and neck.

Taozhi couldn't help but clap and cheer, "Girl, you kicked so well!"

Distracted by her shout, Xi Lingxian's shuttlecock flew far away and landed behind a clump of chrysanthemums.

She smiled and shook her head, wiped the sweat from her forehead with a handkerchief, and took a deep breath.

The autumn air is crisp and sweet, carrying the fragrance of osmanthus and the bitterness of chrysanthemum, which is refreshing and delightful.

She felt light all over, as if a heavy burden had been lifted from her shoulders.

"Let's go back." She tidied her slightly disheveled hair and called to Taozhi.

Taozhi picked up the shuttlecock, and the master and servant walked back along the corridor.

Dusk rolled in from all directions, turning the sky a deep indigo.

The silk lanterns under the eaves have been lit, one by one, their dim yellow glow swaying gently in the wind, illuminating the bluestone path in a hazy light.

Xi Lingxian walked ahead, her steps light and quick, her skirt swaying gently with each step.

Taozhi followed behind, chattering about her impressive shuttlecock kicking skills. Lingxian listened, her lips curving slightly, but she didn't reply.

Passing through a moon gate, you'll find the long corridor leading to the inner courtyard.

A row of green bamboos is planted on both sides of the corridor, rustling in the wind.

Xi Lingxian suddenly stopped in her tracks.

At the end of the long corridor, under the moonlight, a snow-white figure stood there.

The man was dressed in a moon-white robe, almost blending into the moonlight.

He stood there silently, like a stone statue.

The moonlight fell on his shoulders, outlining his features as cold and sharp, like a knife sheathed in its sheath.

Wang Jue.

Xi Lingxian's heart skipped a beat.

Taozhi saw it too, her steps suddenly halted, and she opened her mouth as if to say something.

Xi Lingxian said softly, "You go back first."

Taozhi hesitated for a moment, but dared not disobey. She bowed, turned around, and left.

The footsteps faded into the distance, disappearing at the other end of the corridor.

Only the two of them remained in the corridor.

Wang Jue did not move.

He stared at her intently, his gaze as deep as a bottomless well.

It's time to come.

Xi Lingxian took a deep breath and stepped forward.

Walk to a spot three steps away from him and stop.

Wang Jue's gaze moved from her eyes to her cheeks, and then from her cheeks to the top of her head.

Her cheeks were still flushed from playing shuttlecock, and the stray hairs on her forehead were damp with sweat, clinging to her temples, with a few strands falling behind her ears.

His voice was low, "You seem to be in a good mood today."

Xi Lingxian's eyes were clear and bright.

She didn't know how long he had been standing there, or how long he had been watching.

From the moment he drew that raccoon dog, she knew he would come.

"When did you arrive?"

Wang Jue looked at her, a slight smile curving his lips, and said softly, "The way you play shuttlecock is the same as before."

Her voice was very soft, "What a tragic fate."

The moonlight fell on her face, illuminating her features with a soft and cool glow.

He leaped forward, and she retreated repeatedly.

"What are you hiding from?"

"Speak your mind. This is my home, not a place where you can act recklessly."

"I think you need to give me an explanation."

Xi Lingxian glared at him. "I don't think I have anything to explain to you."

"No one says I have to marry you in this lifetime, right?"

"What a cruel statement." He said casually, his eyelids half-closed.

After all that hard work and scheming, the Crown Prince was deposed because of her, and she thinks she can just wipe him out with a casual remark.

There's no such thing as a free lunch.

Xi Lingxian had sharp eyes and wasn't afraid of him at all.

The Xi family cannot stand shoulder to shoulder with the Wang family, but they are not to be manipulated at will.

"If you have nothing else to say, then go back; I also need to go back to my room to take a bath."

He had wronged her in his past life, but considering that the Wang and Xi families could not be at odds, she could forgive him in this life, but that was all.

Wang Jue's gaze fixed on him. "You want to find a son-in-law to marry into your family?"

"How did you know?" Having asked this, she already knew the answer in her heart: "My older brother told you?"

"I do have this plan. I can't bear to leave my father and elder brother, and I don't want to marry into another family and have to be treated like dirt. Taking a son-in-law as a wife is a pretty good option."

He ignored him, saying, "You should cut ties with that Zhou guy right now, and I can pretend nothing ever happened."

Xi Lingxian was taken aback. "What right do you have to say these things to me? What is our relationship?"

This person, despite having memories of his past life, remains as unreasonable as ever.

She turned to walk past him and leave.

But as she passed him, her wrist was suddenly grabbed. She jerked her hand away as if she had been burned, causing herself to stumble.

He stood an arm's length away from her, the moonlight blocked behind him, his face in shadow, his expression unreadable. "How come you're getting worse with age? Even if you leave me, you should find someone better, shouldn't you?"

"It's enough that I think you're better than me."

"You think he's better than me?"

"Whether it's good or not, I like it anyway, why do you have to ask so many questions?"

Wang Jue narrowed her eyes slightly, and said, word by word, "So your plan for this lifetime is to find a son-in-law who will live with you and move in with you?"

Xi Lingxian felt a chill run down her spine from his tone.

She knew what he meant. In his eyes, if Zhou Shuhuai really married into the Xi family, he would lose even the last bit of dignity he had left.

This person always uses his own set of standards to measure everything: status, power, family background, and face.

It seems that there is nothing else in this world worth caring about except these things.

"What I want to do is none of your business." She said each word clearly and decisively.

She met his eyes directly. "I'm looking for my son-in-law. You marry your Xie Wanyi, or any gentle and virtuous lady like Xie Wanyi. I guarantee she'll be a good wife and mother, she won't argue with you or cause trouble, and she'll definitely take good care of you."

The curve of her lips held an ambiguous sarcasm. "You'll definitely be satisfied."

The corridor was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Wang Jue stood there, his jawline taut, and the veins on his temples throbbing slightly.

When did it become her place to make arrangements for him on her own?

"Xi Lingxian, do you even know what you're saying?"

"I know, we both know it, why are you pretending to be confused?"

"What do you know?" His calm voice finally cracked slightly. "Do you know who Zhou Shuhuai is? A man without even a proper official position, he can't even support himself."

"If he had any ambition, he would never be willing to be a live-in son-in-law; given the Zhou family's current wealth, what would you eat? Where would you live? What would you wear? Do you think your romantic escapades can put food on the table?"

Xi Lingxian, unable to bear it any longer, said, "You're not my father, so don't try to lecture me."

"I can't afford a daughter like you!"

Xi Lingxian's chest heaved with anger. "You, you get out of here!"

The unpleasant parting from the previous life is playing out once again.