Where is the early stage of the marriage alliance?

Ling Xi's heart pounded wildly, startled by the terrifying thought that suddenly popped into her head.

Her beautiful eyes widened suddenly, her long eyelashes trembled slightly, and an incredulous panic spread across her eyes. Immediately, an even more terrifying thought arose in her mind:

Could Xiao Chen'an be the son of Mu Wanning and Xiao Mo? He was born prematurely, but he showed no signs of premature weakness at birth, appearing no different from a full-term infant.

At that time, Xiao Ce explained to her that he would explain to her later. Now, thinking back carefully, he hesitated again and again and still chose to remain silent, probably because it was a secret that could not be made public.

"Sister-in-law Xi, what are you thinking about? Brother Qin Qi is inviting us to a big meal at Yuhua Restaurant!"

"Oh... okay."

She snapped back to reality, her heart still pounding.

"What are you doing?"

Lu Baixu's deep voice suddenly rang out from behind them, and the group turned around in unison. They saw him standing upright and serious at the door of the inner room.

"Brother Bai Xu! Is the treatment finished? How is Sister Mu?"

Xiao Xiao spoke first, preoccupied with her own question and not even thinking of answering Lu Baixu.

"It's nothing serious. It's just a cold that triggered an old ailment. You'll recover after a few days of rest."

Lu Baixu glanced back at the inner room, his brows furrowing slightly before quickly regaining his composure.

"Butler Mu, this is today's prescription. Take it three times a day for three days. I will come back for a follow-up appointment in three days."

"Yes, thank you for your trouble, Young Master Lu."

Ling Xi followed his previous actions and glanced into the inner room, but saw nothing. However, she did not believe Lu Baixu's words today. The way Princess Rui acted earlier was clearly not right.

"Then, may we go in and see Sister Mu?"

Xiao Xiao moved closer to the door.

"I just administered acupuncture to Consort Mu. She needs to rest with her eyes closed. Let's see her another day."

"Oh, okay... By the way! Brother Lu, Brother Qin Qi lost a bet with me earlier, and we agreed that he would treat us to a meal at Yuhua Restaurant, and Sister-in-law Xi will be there too!"

Xiao Xiao turned around, looking at Lu Baixu with delight, her eyes sparkling with joy. Lu Baixu looked up at the sound, glancing at Ling Xi standing beside the desk, blinking slightly, and replied gently:

"Okay, what did you bet on?"

"We're betting on Sister Mu's painting!"

Xiao Xiao walked to the desk again and pointed to the painting with great interest.

"Why don't you try to guess, Brother Bai Xu, whether the person in this painting is Brother Mo or Brother Ce?"

Lu Baixu looked in the direction she was pointing, took a few steps forward, and stared intently at her. After a moment, his expression subtly changed, and a strange look flashed in his eyes, but he remained silent.

"Well? Did Brother Bai Xu figure it out?"

She followed him over, and Lu Baixu gently shook his head, remaining silent. Xiao Xiao immediately beamed, her eyes crinkling with smugness.

"Could it be that I'm the only one who noticed? The person in this painting is Brother Mo! Look here, he has a beauty mark at the corner of his eye. You wouldn't notice it unless you looked closely."

Lu Baixu gave a faint smile but did not respond, though his gaze subtly fell on Ling Xi.

"Let's go, didn't we agree to go to Yuhua Tower?"

"Okay, let's go now!"

Lu Baixu was the first to leave the room, followed closely by Xiao Xiao. Ling Xi frowned and glanced back at the inner room, secretly wondering why Lu Baixu seemed so strange today, just like Princess Rui, as if she was hiding something.

And the terrible suspicion in her heart could not be verified with anyone. Filled with doubt, she followed the group out the door in a daze.

A few days later, at the drill ground in the west of the city, it was late spring in April, with a warm breeze. All the scions of noble families and ladies of high society in Jinling City were present, all dressed in neat spring clothes, their sleeves fluttering, exuding elegance and grace.

This was Ling Xi's first time participating in such a grand group activity since arriving in Jinling, and she couldn't help but feel a sense of novelty.

On the high seats for watching the game, noble ladies sipped tea and chatted, while young ladies from their boudoirs strolled in groups, each holding a round fan, glancing up at the arena from time to time, their eyes full of anticipation.

As the heir apparent's wife of Prince Rui, Ling Xi was naturally arranged to sit in a superior seat, just a few steps away from the eldest princess in the main seat. Her view was excellent, offering a panoramic view of the entire arena. As soon as Xiao Xiao arrived, she moved closer to her.

Wushuang was dressed in a bright red riding outfit, her black hair tied up high, and her eyes and brows exuded a heroic spirit, making her look dashing and imposing.

Ling Xi had specially arranged this outfit for her a few days ago, saying that Wushuang was representing the Chu Kingdom this time, so she had to win in terms of attire first, and then outshine everyone else in the arena today, regardless of gender, in the competition.

Unexpectedly, before even making her appearance, Wu Shuang had already become the focus of everyone's attention. The reason was that Ling Xi was not wearing a veil today, revealing her stunning beauty, which had only been rumored in the streets. The surrounding crowd's eyes frequently lingered on her, some openly and brazenly scrutinizing her, while others secretly stole glances, not daring to look directly at her.

While everyone was secretly amazed by the stunning beauty of the Chu Kingdom's princess, they were even more surprised to find that her personal female bodyguard was also so beautiful and dazzling, in no way inferior to the noble ladies present.

Ling Xi glanced sideways at Wu Shuang beside her, whose expression was aloof and whose brows were slightly furrowed, knowing that she must be uncomfortable with everyone's intense gaze.

"Wushuang, you should go to the arena first. I see that Young Master Qin and the others are already making preparations."

"Yes, Princess, how would you like Wushuang to fight today?"

She knew that Wushuang asked this because she was afraid that she had overstepped her bounds and caused her trouble.

"Just focus on winning first place and have fun, but remember not to hurt anyone."

She smiled gently and calmly gave her instructions.

"Understood."

Wushuang nodded in acceptance and calmly left the audience seats.

Beside her, Xiao Xiao turned her head to look at the figure leaving the field, her eyes full of curiosity as she leaned close to Ling Xi's ear.

"Sister-in-law Xi, is Wushuang really just your personal bodyguard? I find her to have an extraordinary bearing, even more noble and elegant than many daughters of noble families in Jinling City. Look at her in this bright red riding outfit, so heroic and awe-inspiring. Even Miss Yang from the Pingyang Marquis's mansion cannot match her dashing and heroic figure."

She followed Xiao Xiao's gaze to Wu Shuang's tall and straight back, and was somewhat influenced by her words. She shook her head slightly, feeling that Xiao Xiao's words made some sense, but she couldn't quite put her finger on why.

"What does it mean by shaking your head like that, sister-in-law?"

"She wasn't originally my bodyguard."

"Then she is...?"

"She was originally my brother's personal bodyguard."

Xiao Xiao was astonished upon hearing this, clicking her tongue in amazement:

"So he's your brother's personal bodyguard? Where did your brother find such a treasure? Not only is he incredibly beautiful, but he's also so skilled in martial arts."

Ling Xi shook her head. She had never inquired about many things concerning her brother, and she couldn't possibly know where her brother had found Wushuang.

"Sister-in-law, look! It's about to start!"