oath

Eating at someone else's house is never as enjoyable as eating at home, especially with Xie Qi, this big shot, sitting next to you.

Li Wan had no choice but to carefully pick up a piece of fried eggplant from the plate. It was unexpectedly fragrant and crispy, and she couldn't help but pick it up twice more.

"Young lady, you have quite an appetite. What's wrong? Is the cooking at our Marquis's residence better than that at the Jiang residence?"

Xie Ye's eyes narrowed slightly, and his tone was casual and smiling.

Li Wan blushed at what was said and slowly put down the silver.

The old lady glared at Xie Ye and then called the servant behind her to bring Li Wan a bowl of turtle and ginseng soup.

"Ye'er is a chatterbox, don't pay him any attention until it's late. It's freezing cold, eat more to stay healthy."

"Yes, thank you, Madam." Li Wan thanked her, but did not touch her chopsticks again.

After the meal, the servants cleared away the sandalwood round table and served hot tea.

The old lady looked at Li Wan and said, "I have already sent an invitation to the Jiang family for the flower viewing banquet the day after tomorrow. You can also talk to your family there."

"Thank you for your concern," Li Wan said, but she knew in her heart that her father probably wouldn't come to this kind of banquet, and as for Jiang Feiche... well, it's better if he doesn't come. The only person from the Jiang family who could come was probably Madam Zou, and she didn't have much to say to Madam Zou.

Seeing that Li Wan showed no joy, the old lady paused, then turned to Xie Qi and said, "Put aside your messy affairs for now. Fei Wan has just entered the family, so spend more time with her."

Xie Qi glanced at Li Wan and replied casually, "I understand."

Li Wancai didn't want him to accompany her, so she said, "It's alright, court affairs are important."

Xie Qi chuckled upon hearing this, leaned back in the armchair, shifted his posture, and looked at Li Wan with a meaningful gaze.

"I forgot to tell you, several princes have also been invited to the flower viewing banquet. The sixth prince, the fourth prince, and the third prince will all be there. Are you happy, Awan?"

Fourth Prince! Li Wan's eyelashes trembled. She had already given him the fake name list, so why didn't Xie Qi go and keep an eye on him to find something to use against him? Why did he still invite him to the Marquis's residence?

"It has indeed been a long time since I've seen Fan'er," the old lady said with a soft sigh.

Li Wan was stunned for a moment, and it took her a few breaths to realize what the old lady had said.

How could she have forgotten this detail? Xie Qi's birth mother was the second daughter of the Lin family, while Xiao Fan's birth mother was the current Empress, who was also the eldest daughter of the Lin family. In other words, Xie Qi and Xiao Fan were cousins.

If they are cousins, why are they at odds?

Li Wan looked at Xie Qi with a puzzled expression, only to meet his gaze. He scoffed, "What, so happy to be able to see the prince openly that you can't even speak?"

Li Wan pursed her lips, unable to resist rolling her eyes at him. What did he mean by being so happy to see the prince that she couldn't speak? What was he implying?

However, it was good that Xiao Fan could come to the flower viewing banquet. She wanted to test whether he had ruined Jiang Feiwan. If so, since she had taken over the original owner's body, she would naturally seek justice for the original owner.

Thinking of this, Li Wan spoke frankly, "I am naturally happy to see the prince."

After he finished speaking, the old lady and Aunt Yang did not react much, but Xie Ye's eyes widened suddenly. He glanced at Xie Qi and then gave Li Wan an admiring look.

How dare you say such a thing? Do you not consider my brother a man, or are you just tired of living?

Under Xie Ye's gaze, Li Wan belatedly realized that it was indeed inappropriate to pretend to be affectionate in front of Xie Qi just yesterday, but now say that she was happy to see another man.

She quickly explained, "My younger brother is the Sixth Prince's study companion, and the Sixth Prince treats him very well. I have always wanted to meet the Sixth Prince."

After saying that, she fawned over Xie Qi and handed him a piece of candied fruit, saying, "I'll trouble you to put in a good word for my brother with the Sixth Prince."

The dark brown candied fruit held between her fingers made her slender, white fingers appear even more delicate.

Xie Qi lowered his eyes, paused for a moment at her fingertips, then looked up and said lightly, "It's dirty, I won't eat it."

Li Wan was about to say that she had just washed her hands, but she stopped abruptly as she opened her mouth. Was he referring to the candied fruit as dirty, or... her?

Her fingertips trembled, and she withdrew her hand. Not wanting to put the candied fruit back, she could only lower her head and put it in her mouth.

It was sweet, but it couldn't mask the bitterness in her heart. Fortunately, she replaced Jiang Feiwan, and there was still Niutian Village as a way out. If Jiang Feiwan had married into the family, she would have been disliked and schemed against by Xie Qi, and would have been stuck in the inner quarters for the rest of her life. Just thinking about it made her feel hopeless.

It's a rare sunny day, but the thin sunlight felt utterly unwelcoming.

After leaving the flower hall, Li Wan followed Xie Qi with her head down, still thinking about Jiang Feiwan.

The tall figure in front of her suddenly stopped, and before she could stop, she bumped straight into the man's hard, broad back.

"Ugh~" Li Wan covered her nose, tears welling up in her eyes from the pain.

Xie Qi looked down at her, dressed in a dark, narrow-sleeved robe with subtle patterns. He stood with his hands behind his back, his sharply defined face hidden in the shade of the trees, making it impossible to discern his emotions.

Li Wan's heart tightened, fearing that he would humiliate her again, so she preemptively said, "I know I am unclean, and I will not hand you food with my hands again."

Li Wan looked up at him and said, "Really, I said it yesterday. When I entered the Marquis's mansion, I only asked to stay by your side, sir."

Xie Qi clicked his tongue, "Jiang Feiwan, you really are... good at enduring humiliation."

Li Wan thought to herself, "I can't bear this humiliation and endure his insults every day for his sake and for Jin Linjun's sake."

Never mind, business is more important.

"My lord, do you remember what I told you about the great calamity of the Jinlin Army yesterday?"

Xie Qi glanced at her and hummed in agreement.

Why was he so calm? "Aren't you curious about what kind of calamity it was, and how I found out?"

Xie Qi smiled faintly, "My calamity with the Jinlin Army? Then it will only be that I die on the battlefield and the entire Jinlin Army is wiped out."

“You…” Li Wan’s eyes widened in shock. “How did you know?”

Xie Qi twitched the corner of his mouth.

It's only when I die that it becomes a calamity, and it's also because you and Xiao Xian can only use this life-or-death excuse to legitimately investigate the Jinlin Army's whereabouts.

Xiao Xian's target has always been the Jinlin Army.

The woman stared straight at him, her wide black pupils reflecting his image. She looked like a startled rabbit, as if she had just heard his thoughts.

A gust of cold wind blew up, and he smelled that faint floral fragrance again.

"What kind of face powder are you using?" he suddenly asked.

Li Wan was momentarily confused and remained silent for a long time without answering his question.

"Ouch!" A sharp pain shot through her forehead, bringing her back to her senses.

The man retracted his long, curved index finger.

Li Wan rubbed her skin, which had been reddened by his tap, and frowned. "You're a grown man, what business is it of my what kind of powder I wear?"

Actually, she wasn't wearing any powder. She had never been used to the expensive rouge and face powder in the capital and usually only used moisturizing creams.

Xie Qi laughed in exasperation, "Can't you speak properly?"

"You're the one who inexplicably mentioned perfume powder," Li Wan muttered under her breath. She looked up, wanting to continue talking to him about Jin Linjun, but then heard footsteps behind her.

"Hey, are you and your sister-in-law...flirting?"

Without even looking, I could tell it was Xie Ye just by listening to his voice.

Li Wan composed herself and greeted him reluctantly, "Uncle."

Xie Ye glanced between the two men and, seeing Xie Qi's cold expression, stopped teasing him and said to Xie Qi, "Brother, Father is waiting for you at Nianqing Hall."

After Xie Ye finished speaking, Li Wan clearly felt the pressure around Xie Qi drop instantly, and his voice became deep. "I understand."

He turned and left without even glancing at Li Wan.

Instead, Xie Ye gave her a meaningful look for a few moments before leaving.

Watching the two figures leave, Li Wan became even more certain that there must be something going on at the Ningyuan Marquis's residence.

On the other side.

The moment Xie Qi stepped into Nianqing Hall in the West Mansion, a short arrow suddenly shot towards him at an extremely fast speed. Just as the arrow, gleaming with cold light, was about to pierce his brow, it was caught by two strong, long fingers.

"Clang!" The arrow was carelessly tossed to the ground.

Xie Qi looked up at the person in the wheelchair and said calmly, "You really are as ruthless as ever. If your son dies, who will avenge you?"

Ningyuan Marquis Xie Chang's eyes, as cold as a deep pool, were filled with hatred. "Why did you marry the daughter of Yue from Jiangnan? Don't you know that he was also involved in the events of that year?"

Xie Qi lifted his robe and sat down in the armchair. "This matter is not for you to worry about."

"Xie Qi!" Xie Chang's brows furrowed even more, and he slammed his right hand on the armrest of the wheelchair. With a "whoosh," another short arrow shot out from the top of the armrest, heading straight for Xie Qi.

Xie Qi reacted extremely quickly, tilting his head slightly. The short arrow grazed his neck and pierced deeply into the white jade porcelain bottle on the display shelf behind him, causing the bottle to shatter instantly.

The guards standing at the door trembled at the sound of the noise inside, but none of them dared to enter the room without permission.

Mo Shi, hidden in the shadows, slowly drew his thin sword. With just a glance from his master, he could take that person's life in an instant, even if that person was his master's father.

In the hall, Xie Qi leaned back in his armchair, his voice as usual, "I will keep her for a reason, and I will get rid of her when she is no longer useful."

Xie Chang snorted coldly, "You had better keep your word. If I find out that you are bewitched by her beauty, she won't just die a quick death."

Xie Qi lowered his eyes for a moment, then raised them again, his expression hidden, and looked calmly at Xie Chang.

The two faced off in silence. Xie Qi's calmness fueled Xie Chang's anger. The wooden wheelchair scraped against the ground. He raised his hand and lifted the white silk cloth on the nanmu offering table in front of the hall, revealing the ebony tablet underneath.

The inscription on the memorial tablet reads: "The spirit tablet of my wife, Lin Lan."

Xie Chang stretched out his withered finger and pointed at the memorial tablet, "Do you still remember the vow you made before your mother before she died?"

Xie Chang stared intently at Xie Qi, his voice like the low growl of a trapped beast, "You said you have only two ambitions in this life: to destroy the Xiao royal family and to annihilate the Lin family. If you fail to achieve either, then you shall die a death pierced by ten thousand arrows!"

Destroy the Xiao royal family and annihilate the Lin family.

Xie Qi's gaze swept over every word on the ranking list, his eyes deep and dark.

＊

Two days later.

Li Wan was woken up early in the morning by Xiu Zhu and Xiu He to wash and dress.

"Today's flower viewing banquet is a big event for the young ladies, so please dress up carefully," Xiuhe said to Xiuzhu, who was helping Liwan get dressed.

Xiuzhu gave a listless "hmm".

Li Wan frowned. "What's wrong?"

Xiuzhu pouted and said in a muffled voice, "It's all because of those gossipy old women in the manor. They say that you've been in the manor for several days, but the eldest young master has never come to Yingyue Residence. They're spreading rumors that the eldest young master doesn't like you. Today when I went to get breakfast, even the people in the kitchen dared to give me a hard time."

Li Wan paused, thinking to herself that these wealthy families were indeed troublesome, each one putting down the weak and flattering the strong, and rumors had already spread in just a few days.

But then she thought, let the rumors spread. She couldn't possibly marry Xie Qi just to stop people from talking about it. Besides, even if she were willing, Xie Qi would still look down on her.

After thinking for a moment, Li Wan asked Xiuhe to call Jixiang into the house.

"Young Madam." Jixiang bowed respectfully.

Seeing that she was still wearing a light-colored maid's dress, Li Wan casually took out a scarlet long dress from the trunk.

"There are many guests today, and the eldest young master is sure to want to drink. Please keep an eye on him for me. If the eldest young master wants to rest, you can take him to Yingyue Residence to rest."

Jixiang was taken aback for a moment, then understood what the young mistress meant. She was to have her serve the eldest young master, and in order to silence the gossip, she was also to have her take the young master to Yingyue Residence.

This… Ji Xiang blushed and looked at Li Wan in disbelief.

Li Wan took her hand and whispered, "I suppose you, like everyone else in the manor, have realized that the eldest young master has no interest in me. That's why you want to make a name for Yingyue Residence."

"Others only care whether the eldest young master comes here or not; as for who is actually serving him, they can't possibly know for the time being."

Li Wan stuffed the dress into Ji Xiang's arms and said, "Go and change quickly. You should dress up nicely today."