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

The two walked out of Suqing Pavilion one after the other.

The courtyard gate closed gently behind me, and several silk lanterns under the eaves swayed in the wind.

Xi Lingxian walked ahead, her pace much faster than when she arrived.

She didn't want any further involvement with him. Having fulfilled her courtesy, it was time to leave.

When they reached the fork in the corridor, she went left, and he went left too; she went right, and he went right too.

Xi Lingxian took a deep breath, suppressing her surging anger, and said in a colder tone, "Get out of the way."

Wang Jue did not allow it.

He looked at her, his gaze moving from her eyes to her brow, then from her brow to her pursed lips, pausing for a moment before returning to her eyes.

"Shall we talk?"

"I have nothing to talk to you about."

Wang Jue looked at her and said, "I think we have a lot to talk about."

Xi Lingxian's temples throbbed.

"What do you want to say? Speak."

Let's get married next March.

Xi Lingxian stopped in her tracks.

She thought she had misheard, or that he had misspoke, or that this was just another trap he had set up that she couldn't understand.

"The wedding date is set for March of next year."

Xi Lingxian suddenly turned around and stared at him.

Her eyes were wide open, her lips were slightly parted, and she was completely dazed.

"What are you saying?" Her voice was shrill, trembling with a sense of utter absurdity.

Wang Jue's expression was calm, his unfathomable eyes fixed on her.

"Isn't it good?" he asked softly.

Looking at his matter-of-fact face, Xi Lingxian felt a surge of anger rising in her chest.

She faltered for a moment, her skirt caught on her ankle, and she stumbled, barely managing to grab onto a pillar to avoid falling.

As if she had seen something terrifying, her beautiful, lively eyes were filled with horror.

"Are you crazy?"

"How many times do I have to tell you before you understand? I never intended to marry you. Never."

The man sighed deeply. "I understand you're angry, and it's only natural to resent me; but a marriage alliance is no small matter, and you can't act impulsively at this time."

Xi Lingxian felt as if she had a fishbone stuck in her throat.

"Do you see everything I do as willful?"

"If you want someone obedient and sensible, then you should have gone to find someone like that from the start. Xie Wanyi would have been eagerly waiting for you."

He reached out and stroked the stray hairs at her temples, his gaze deep. "Don't say things in anger."

"It's absolutely impossible for you and Zhou Shuhuai. Putting aside everything else, he looks like a proud and aloof scholar. How could he possibly be willing to become someone's son-in-law?"

"No matter how much Master Xi dotes on you, he would never allow your marriage to be a financial burden, allowing the groom to take a huge advantage of the Xi family."

Xi Lingxian didn't understand his thoughts; over the years, she had never been able to see through him.

"Even without Zhou Shuhuai, it wouldn't be you."

"Zhou Shuhuai is unwilling to be a live-in son-in-law. The world is vast, there will always be someone willing; at the very least, I don't necessarily have to get married."

"You're not going to get married?" Wang Jue thought she was naive. "Do you really think your marriage is just a matter for you alone? The deposed crown prince was willing to take the risk of drugging you to get you; was it just because he was lustful?"

He looked at her with a leisurely gaze, "Believe it or not, the closer you get to Zhou Shuhuai, the more you'll harm him."

Xi Lingxian stared at him in horror.

"What do you want? You're not allowed to touch him."

Wang Jue felt uneasy as she glared at him for other men.

"I wouldn't do anything to him yet. His situation depends on your attitude towards him."

She didn't quite understand.

How could such an innocent and naive flower survive elsewhere?

The thought flashed through Wang Jue's mind.

"From the emperor and his family to powerful officials, who isn't eyeing your Jingkou soldiers like a piece of fat meat?"

"If you married me, that would be one thing; they would accept it willingly and wouldn't dare to do anything. But you've chosen to be close to a scion of a fallen noble family. How can those people be expected to accept that?"

"If they can't do anything to you, why can't they do anything to Zhou Shuhuai?"

He rarely spoke so much at once, and Xi Lingxian was a little unaccustomed to it, remaining stunned for a long time.

Wang Jue also felt that something was wrong and turned her head to look elsewhere.

Xi Lingxian was somewhat frightened by his words, but she didn't want him to feel like he was being manipulated.

I simply kept quiet.

The two walked back along the corridor, and when they reached the side door of the flower hall, the voices inside suddenly became louder, with one person saying one thing and the other another.

"Wasn't Your Excellency a little too amiable towards Xi Lingxian today?"

"Who says otherwise? Xie Wanyi calls him uncle all the time, and I haven't seen the Grand Commandant treat her any differently."

"An uncle is an uncle, and a father-in-law is a father-in-law; how can they be the same?"

"I knew it! The two things that the Grand Commandant gave to Xi Lingxian are items that the Wang family always includes when giving betrothal gifts to their daughters-in-law."

Xie Wanru interrupted, "Aren't you overthinking this? The Grand Commandant is definitely being nicer to Xi Lingxian out of respect for General Xi."

Xi Lingxian pushed open the side door. "That's not good for you. Does it mean your Xie family loses face?"

The hall fell silent instantly.

Xi Lingxian's gaze swept over the Xie Wanyi and Xie Wanru sisters, and then glanced at Wang Shuhui and Wang Shuyuan on the side.

"Miss Xie, I don't know how long you will continue to treat me as a hypothetical enemy, nor how long you will continue to deceive yourself."

Xie Wanru stood protectively in front of Xie Wanyi, chin raised, "Don't take advantage of my sister just because she's easy to talk to. What do you mean by this?"

"You all clearly know that the success of a marriage alliance depends on whether the elders of both families can reach an agreement. As the younger generation, we have no say in this. Miss Xie, I have no problem with you wanting to marry someone; I understand a young woman's infatuation. But if your marriage is thwarted, or your family's attempt at a marriage alliance is rejected, there's a cause for blame. Why is this being unfairly pinned on me?"

The Xie sisters blushed instantly.

How dare she say such things in public?

"You, you're spouting nonsense! Who's accusing you?" Xie Wanru retorted stubbornly, "My sister has kindly invited you to join us several times, and not only are you ungrateful, you even try to shift the blame! How can you be so malicious?"

"Whether it's an invitation to hang out or a pretext to elevate yourself while belittling me, I can see right through it. Do you think everyone else is a fool?"

"Let me make this clear today: I have no interest in playing those clownish games with you, nor am I interested in fighting over men and marriages with you. What's mine can't be taken away by anyone, and what's not mine, I wouldn't take even if it were given to me for free. But if you keep coming to make things difficult for me, don't blame me for being impolite."

"If I can save lives in the water, am I not afraid that one day in a fit of anger I might kill one or two? Good deeds and sins cancel each other out, and God probably won't hold it against me."