Where is the early stage of the marriage alliance?

Xiao Xiao laughed and joked as she raised the book in her hand. Suddenly, a folded piece of paper fell out of the book and floated lightly onto the table.

"Huh, what's this?"

Xiao Xiao put down the book in confusion, reached out and grabbed the paper, quickly unfolding it.

Ling Xi also curiously went over to investigate. The paper was yellowed, with a vermilion official seal printed on it, the ink deep and rich.

"It's an ultimatum from the Ministry of Rites...it's for you, Sister-in-law Xi!"

After reading the contents of the paper, Xiao Xiao raised her voice.

Ling Xi took the ultimatum with surprise; the handwriting on it was still clear:

Now, based on the petition submitted by the Ling family, and considering the deep bond between siblings, it is reasonable to grant permission. The Ling family, accompanied by two servants, is permitted to enter the Wanfang Hall daily from Shenshi (3-5 PM) to Youshi (5-7 PM) to meet with their elder brother. All necessary ceremonial guards and attendants within the hall will verify the permit before allowing entry…

"Isn't this the ultimatum my father gave to Sister-in-law Xi? But... why is Sister-in-law Xi's ultimatum in Brother Ce's study? And why is it tucked inside a book?"

Xiao Xiao looked at Ling Xi with a puzzled expression, tilting her head in confusion.

Ling Xi's fingertips lightly brushed against the familiar seal of the Ministry of Rites, and her heart sank inexplicably. The Ministry of Rites' proclamations were printed on official yellow mulberry bark paper, which was only available in the palace and could not be imitated by ordinary people. Without this paper and this seal, one could not even think about entering the Wanfang Academy.

Ling Xi's gaze fell on the words on the document, and her heart suddenly trembled. She quickly came to her senses and realized that this was prepared for her by Xiao Ce.

On the day her elder brother first arrived in Jinling, she couldn't enter Wanfang Pavilion without an ultimatum. She had originally decided to ask him for help, but after thinking it over, she turned to Prince Yu for help instead.

At that time, she was still being sarcastic towards Lu Ming because he stopped her outside the study, saying that she couldn't enter Wanfang Pavilion and therefore couldn't cooperate with the enemy.

Unexpectedly, he had quietly prepared this ultimatum from the Ministry of Rites for her. He probably knew that she had already obtained the ultimatum from Prince Yu, so he casually slipped his own copy into a book.

Ling Xi clenched the thin document between her fingers, her brow furrowed with worry, her heart filled with mixed emotions, unable to tell whether warmth or bitterness outweighed the feelings.

He was always taciturn and aloof, yet it seemed he had quietly done a lot for her.

He bought her Hongyuelou's Pillow Snow Pastry, exiled the Zhuang family to Liuzhou to avenge her, silently redeemed her more than ten boxes of dowry, and searched for Lu Baixu overnight to save his brother...

She never spoke of any of these things, but he did them silently, not on a whim, but after a long time. So perhaps the words he said to her before he left were sincere.

Thinking of this, her heart suddenly tightened. It turned out that her concern for him was not something that suddenly arose, but something that he had nurtured little by little, growing and taking root day by day.

She always turned a blind eye to all of this, probably because she believed he belonged to Mu Wanning. Apart from constantly trying to curry favor with him and use him as a backer, she never had any other thoughts. Little did she know that she had long since been gradually influenced by him and had borne the fruit of being moved by him.

"Sister-in-law? What's wrong?"

Seeing her dazed expression, Xiao Xiao asked softly. Ling Xi suddenly looked up and steadied herself.

"This ultimatum was obtained for me by your brother Ce."

"Brother Ce?"

"Yes, the one your father gave me is still with me."

Xiao Xiao reached out and took the paper, examining it carefully.

"Since Brother Ce had already prepared an ultimatum for Sister-in-law, why did she go to my father for help in the first place?"

Ling Xi lowered her head silently, her mind in turmoil.

"Perhaps, at that time he was unaware that I had already issued an ultimatum. I thought he harbored resentment towards my brother and dared not rashly ask him for help, but I never expected..."

"Sister-in-law never expected that Brother Ce had already secretly planned everything for you. It's clear that Brother Ce values ​​you very much, so much that he can let go of all his obsessions."

The younger sister spoke with certainty, issuing an ultimatum.

"I noticed it a long time ago."

"How did you figure that out?"

Ling Xi frowned slightly, her face showing a hint of surprise.

"Sister-in-law, think about it! If Brother Ce didn't care about you, why would he let you move to Chuixing Courtyard? Brother Ce has always been aloof and hates being disturbed by others. When I was a child, I would only go to Brother Mo's or Sister Mu's courtyards when I came to Prince Rui's mansion. I never dared to easily step into Chuixing Courtyard, let alone enter his study."

As Xiao Xiao spoke, she looked around the study. Although it wasn't her first time there, she could count the number of times she had been there on her fingers.

Ling Xiyi followed her and looked her over. When she first moved to Chuixing Courtyard, she wasn't even allowed to come in, but now she could do whatever she wanted inside. Thinking about it now, perhaps he really was just not used to being disturbed.

"Perhaps."

"Not maybe! It's definitely true!"

Xiao Xiao gritted her teeth, looking extremely determined. But Xiao Xiao's certainty made Ling Xi feel a sudden emptiness and melancholy.

She suddenly missed Xiao Ce, wondering what he was doing at that moment—was he fighting fiercely on the battlefield, or concentrating on strategizing in his military tent?

She picked up the book on the table and, mimicking Xiao Xiao's actions, slowly brought it to her nose to sniff. Sure enough, there was a faint scent of agarwood, unique to him. Her chaotic thoughts seemed to be instantly soothed by this light fragrance, gradually calming down and becoming peaceful.

"How is it? Does it smell like Brother Ce?"

Seeing her like this, Xiao Xiao smiled and teased her.

"Let me flip through these books and see if there's anything else hidden in them, Brother Ce."

As Xiao Xiao spoke with great interest, she casually moved all the books on the table in front of her, picked up the top book, and gently shook it.

"Xiao Xiao, don't touch his things. There's no way there could be anything else..."

Ling Xi quickly reached out to stop her. Although she was allowed into his study, she never touched his things except to take some books to read.

But before she could finish speaking, another small, plain white sheet of Xuan paper drifted down from between the pages of the book that Xiao Xiao was gently shaking.

"See, see! I told you there was more!"

Xiao Xiao was overjoyed and quickly reached out to grab the piece of paper.

Ling Xi's smile froze; she hadn't expected there to actually be one.

"So close yet so far, lost and unwilling to move forward; once we parted in a light boat, lost and unwilling to move forward again." This poem seems familiar.

Ling Xi looked up at the sound, a faint light shimmering in her eyes.

"Ah! I remember now, isn't this the marriage fortune slip my sister-in-law got for my brother at Nanyin Temple?"

Ling Xi knew it as soon as he heard the first sentence, but how did this fortune slip end up in his study?

"Look, it's Ce-gege's handwriting, but it looks a bit messy than usual, as if he was writing it with a hint of urgency and anger."

Xiao Xiao lightly brushed her fingertips across the paper, carefully examining the handwriting.