Chapter 127 Retort

However, on her way back to Lanting Pavilion, she encountered an uninvited guest.

Xiao Min stood with his hands behind his back on the only way to Lanting Pavilion, clearly waiting for her.

Come to think of it, she hadn't seen her second brother for quite some time.

Before she even got close, Xiao Min saw her.

Xiao Min only learned later that Xiao Yuxuan had actually passed all five tests and graduated from the girls' school, and was even given a sedan chair from Yuxiu Academy by the Princess.

He felt deeply remorseful for his previous sarcastic remarks about her currying favor with the powerful. If he had known that currying favor could bring such great benefits, he would have wanted to do it himself.

Now it seems that although he still favors Yuyao more, Yuxuan is the one who looks most promising. He came here to ease the tension between the siblings.

"Fifth Sister! Where have you been? I heard you were back but couldn't find you. I've been waiting for you for ages."

Xiao Yuxuan was indifferent. It had only taken her less than an hour to go to the main courtyard and see Doctor Pei, and he had only waited that long before he started complaining.

The young girl stood not far away, nodded slightly as a greeting, and said in a clear voice:

"If Second Brother has something important to say, he can just send someone to inform you. There's no need for you to come all the way here in person."

Her stiff demeanor lacked any trace of the delicate charm of a young lady from a noble family. Xiao Min was somewhat displeased, but remembering the purpose of his trip, he patiently continued:

"It's been a long time since my brother and I have seen each other. Don't you miss your second brother?"

"Speaking of which, has Second Brother visited Mother and Third Brother?"

Xiao Yuxuan had heard every single word of what had happened at home before—Xiao Jin punched Xiao Min in a fit of anger because of his rude remarks, and after being scolded by Lin Hui, he ran off to the academy in a fit of rage.

At this moment, she pretended to care about Xiao Min, but in reality, she was emphasizing that he should take care of his own troubles first.

Neither his mother nor his third brother had made amends, and it was no use saying anything more to his sister, whom he had never liked.

"I heard that the eldest princess is going to take you as her goddaughter. You won't be spending much time at home in the future, so it's more important to clear up the misunderstanding between us first."

Xiao Min seemed not to understand her words. Although his face was stiff, he still wanted to reconcile with her.

"Am I mistaken? I don't seem to remember any misunderstanding between my second brother and me?"

Xiao Yuxuan looked at him, feigning ignorance.

"Besides, Second Brother may not know yet, but I have already politely declined the Princess's offer."

"Yes, yes, you're right. We certainly know your filial piety..."

Xiao Min was about to speak again when a maidservant from the Princess's residence rushed over from behind Xiao Yuxuan and whispered something in her ear.

Xiao Yuxuan's expression suddenly changed drastically. She didn't even bother to appease Xiao Min and directly lifted her skirt and walked towards the gate of the Xiao residence.

Xiao Min's suppressed dissatisfaction finally erupted. Tall and long-legged, he quickly reached Xiao Yuxuan and blocked her path with his arm.

"Fifth Sister! I'm talking to you! How could you be so rude and leave without saying goodbye? I'm ashamed to even tell anyone!"

He scrutinized Xiao Yuxuan critically, as if she were merely a piece of junk on a shelf, waiting to be sold, and he was the owner of this junk, only thinking about how to package her as something flashy but impractical so that he could sell her at a high price.

Xiao Yuxuan recognized that look very well.

When she first returned in her previous life, almost all members of the Xiao family looked at her with these eyes, without exception.

It was as if her only purpose in life was to serve the family, to continue the lineage of the Xiao family, and ideally, to help the Xiao family as well.

Later, Xiao Yuyao repeatedly harmed her, causing the Xiao family to completely give up on using her for marriage alliances. They even disliked her so much that they casually married their only daughter to Xie Tingzhou, a sickly man who was all bark and no bite.

He was blunt, but Xiao Yuxuan was even more so.

She looked at the seemingly respectable young man in front of her with pity, shook her head and sighed:

"Is Second Brother having some kind of hysteria?"

"You spend a lot of the family's money to study abroad, and you've done terribly. It's one thing, but you dare to act like a big shot in front of me when you come home? What, do you think that even if you're a complete failure, you're still better than me? Only when you, Second Brother, have mastered the Six Arts of a Gentleman and graduated with honors will I truly admire you."

"Also, a good dog doesn't block the way, so please have some self-respect, Second Brother."

She was in a hurry and spoke at lightning speed, which made Xiao Min clench his fists and turn red with anger.

"Xiao Yuxuan!"

What does it mean to say that a good dog doesn't block the way? Xiao Yuxuan actually dared to call him a dog!

Doesn't anyone respect elders or family hierarchy anymore?! He's her second brother, one of the pillars of this family! How dare she humiliate and slander him like this!

This long passage was even more painful and burning on his cheeks than the punch Xiao Jin had given him in the face!

Xiao Yuxuan didn't want to pay him any more attention, so she gave Cheng Yan a look.

Cheng Yan nodded, then stepped forward, grabbed one of Xiao Min's arms with each hand, used her lower body strength, and with a forceful pull, she lifted the frail Xiao Min up and placed him on the other side of the road.

"Young Master Xiao, your arms are so slender, I'm even a little envious of you, hehe."

Cheng Yan uttered a sarcastic remark and quickly followed Xiao Yuxuan, who was walking away.

Xiao Min was left standing there, trembling with rage, his eyes fixed on the departing figures of the master and servants, his gaze filled with murderous intent.

How dare they treat him like this! Let's see if he doesn't go and complain to his father, so that Xiao Yuxuan can also be locked up!

Not long after Xiao Yuxuan returned, she hurriedly went to the Princess's residence.

Cheng Yan told her that it turned out that the princess had been holding back her cough because she was afraid that Xiao Yuxuan would worry, and only dared to cough freely after she left.

Aunt Meng and Lanxin were terrified and rushed to the palace to summon the imperial physicians. They initially thought it was just a common cold or something similar, but after several gray-bearded physicians examined her pulse for a long time, they came to a shocking conclusion—

The eldest princess has contracted the plague!

The symptoms are still mild, so intervention is still possible; treatment shouldn't wait until the disease becomes incurable.

Cheng Yan had to jog to keep up with Xiao Yuxuan's pace. Just before entering the Princess's residence, she noticed that the guards at the gate were all wearing thick white gauze masks, which showed how serious the situation was.

"Miss Yuxuan, what brings you here at this hour!"

Lanxin was startled when she heard that she had arrived.

“Chengyan, why didn’t you stop her? His Highness specifically ordered that Miss Yuxuan not to come again, and you…”

"Alright, don't blame her. I insisted on coming. How is His Highness now? Has he taken his medicine? Is his cough still bad?"

Xiao Yuxuan hurriedly interrupted her, shielding Cheng Yan behind her, and took the face towel handed to her by Lan Xin, quickly tying it on herself.

"I want to go see His Highness."

"By the way, are all the imperial physicians still here? I have something else I need to trouble them with..."