Startled

Just after 9 AM, carriages and horses lined up in front of the Ningyuan Marquis's mansion, and dignitaries gathered, creating a lively scene.

It was a rare occasion for the old lady to meet with the ladies from various prominent families in the main hall of the backyard.

Li Wan stood beside the old lady, bowing and greeting her. She stood there for nearly an hour, but she couldn't remember the names of many of the ladies and young ladies.

She only sat down and spoke for a while when Zou came over.

Zou originally thought that Li Wan had become someone's concubine, so she gave up the idea of ​​relying on Li Wan to help Che'er. Unexpectedly, things took an unexpected turn, and she became his equal wife.

Seeing the generous betrothal gifts that the Marquis of Ningyuan's mansion had given to the Jiang family a few days ago, and considering that today's banquet was clearly for Wan'er, Madam Zou figured that the Marquis of Ningyuan's mansion valued Wan'er quite a bit, and her mind started to wander again.

If Madam Zou could see it clearly, how could others not see it? Those noble families who had previously laughed at the Jiang family for letting their daughters become concubines, now that the long-absent old lady of the Marquis's mansion had come out to support Madam Jiang, they secretly became jealous of the Jiang family.

Ms. Zou was being fawned over all day and was in a great mood. Even though Li Wan spoke to her in a lukewarm manner, she still responded enthusiastically.

Li Wan finally made it to the start of the banquet and used the excuse of helping Aunt Yang to leave the main hall.

She always felt bored and depressed when she was around these ladies from noble families.

I intended to visit the plum garden, but while waiting at the hanging flower gate, I encountered Xie Ye leading three young masters toward the East Mansion.

Walking alongside Xie Ye was the Fourth Prince, Xiao Fan.

The two people following behind them, one of whom was dressed in a bamboo-green robe, looked sickly, and was thinner than the woman. A pale, bony wrist was exposed under the wide sleeves, and he looked frail overall.

The other person, on the other hand, was the complete opposite: tall and robust, with small eyes, thick lips, and a simple, honest smile on his face.

Upon seeing Li Wan, all four paused for a moment.

Xie Ye introduced with a smile, "This is our little sister-in-law."

Xiao Fan stared coldly at Li Wan without saying a word, while the two people behind him politely addressed her as "Little Sister-in-law".

Seeing Li Wan looking at the two men with a puzzled expression, Xie Ye said, "Sister-in-law, these are two cousins ​​from the Lin family."

Upon hearing the name of Lin's cousin, Li Wan immediately realized that it was the two sons of Xie Qi's uncle, Lin Shang.

Li Wan quietly observed the two men. The sickly-looking one who appeared to be younger must be Lin Shang's illegitimate son, Lin Youke, while the tall and strong one must be Lin Shang's eldest son, Lin Kanghuan.

"Your sister-in-law is so beautiful."

Lin Kanghuan suddenly stepped forward and grabbed Li Wan's hand, his eyes crinkling into slits with laughter. "My name is Xiao Zhuangzhuang, and your name is Xiao Xiannv, isn't it?"

Li Wan was startled and tried to shake him off, but he held her even tighter.

He shook Li Wan's hand, pouting, and said, "Why does Xiao Qiqi have a beautiful wife? I want one too."

Li Wan's forearm ached from being gripped so tightly. She frowned and looked to Xie Ye for help, hoping he would pull away her not-so-bright cousin Lin. But Xie Ye just watched the show with a smirk and didn't move.

Li Wan blushed, but dared not push him away roughly. Just as she was at a loss, a hoarse and deep voice came.

"Brother, be good, let go of your sister-in-law."

Upon hearing that voice, Lin Kanghuan's smiling face instantly froze. He lowered his head, obediently released Li Wan, and silently retreated to Lin Youke's side.

Lin Youke's thin, colorless lips curved slightly, his demeanor was polite and gentle, and his tone was kind, "My brother has a childlike nature, sister-in-law, please don't be offended."

Li Wan gave an embarrassed, wry smile. "It's alright."

"Has the banquet for the women ended? Why is my sister-in-law here?" Xie Ye suddenly asked.

Li Wan glared at him and said dismissively, "Just came out to digest."

"We're going to my brother's for a drink. Would you like to come along, sister-in-law?" he asked again.

"No need, please do as you please. I'll head back now."

Li Wan glanced at Xiao Fan, and seeing that he had no intention of making eye contact with her, she turned and walked back.

The sky was dark and cold today. Li Wan was only wearing a light yellow embroidered jacket and a horse-face skirt to meet guests, without a cloak. Now, walking in the courtyard, the cold wind made her feel cold to the bone, and her head also felt dizzy.

Xiuzhu and Xiuhe were still serving at the banquet, so she had to go back to Yingyue Residence alone to get her cloak and hand warmer.

There must be guests admiring the plum blossoms in the plum grove at this time, so Li Wan thought of taking a detour through the side courtyard of the West Mansion.

When she reached a rockery in a side courtyard, Li Wan felt dizzy and weak all over. She raised her hand to touch her forehead and, sure enough, she had a fever.

She had never been sick since she took over this body, but now, for some unknown reason, she suddenly developed a fever.

Li Wan rested for a moment by leaning against the artificial hill. Just as she was about to continue forward, a large, cold hand suddenly grabbed her neck from behind, and she could feel a heavy breathing sound in her ear.

Li Wan instinctively struggled violently, grabbing the fingers on her neck with both hands, but the hand tightened its grip, and with her fever, she lost her strength in no time.

Just when she thought she was going to die today, the man suddenly let go and watched as Li Wan collapsed weakly at his feet.

"You vile woman, how dare you play tricks on this prince! You're asking for death."

A frivolous and sinister voice sounded from above.

Li Wan sat on the ground, her chest heaving violently as she gasped for breath. When she looked up, she could see the person's face clearly.

It turned out to be Xiao Fan, who had returned after leaving.

Li Wan's heart sank. Could it be that he discovered the roster was fake and, in a fit of rage, came to kill her?

Just as she was about to speak to him, he suddenly grabbed Li Wan's arm and pulled her up, then pressed a sharp dagger against her neck.

"Since you don't want to be used by this prince, there's no need for you to live."

With a knife pressed against her neck, Li Wan dared not move. She could only raise her voice and shout, "This is the Ningyuan Marquis's residence. I am Lord Xie's wife. You dare to kill me? Aren't you afraid I'll call for help?"

Xiao Fan laughed even more wildly, "Go ahead and shout, then let the whole capital see how dissolute and frivolous the eldest daughter of the Jiang family is. Not content with seducing one prince, she still wants to seduce another prince after getting married."

Li Wan didn't have time to think about the meaning behind his words. She quickly analyzed the situation in her mind. This was a side courtyard where few people passed by. Moreover, everyone in the mansion was entertaining guests in the main hall and the kitchen. She was practically helpless.

Li Wan's back was drenched in sweat. Though she was threatening, her voice trembled. "Aren't you afraid of others? Aren't you even afraid of offending Xie Qi?"

Xiao Fan acted as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world, grabbed her chin and forced her to look up, "What, you think that by hooking up with Xie Qi, you can team up with him to kill me?"

Li Wan dared not provoke him any further, and softened her voice, saying, "Didn't I just help you steal the Jinlin Army roster from him? You have something on me, how could I dare to betray you?"

Xiao Fan laughed loudly, "How stupid can you be to think you can bring me down with a fake roster?"

He found out as expected. Li Wan's heart sank to the bottom, but she forced herself to say, "But I am now Xie Qi's wife. He will not allow you to treat me like this."

Xiao Fan patted her face with the back of his knife and said sarcastically, "To tell you the truth, the roster you gave me was fake, and the person who gave me the real roster was Xie Qi."

Upon hearing this, Li Wan's eyes widened in disbelief. How could this be!

Xiao Fan felt extremely pleased to see her surprised and doubtful expression. Not satisfied, he wrapped his long arm around the back of her neck, grabbed her hair bun, and forced her to look at the high place in front of her.

That direction led directly to Xie Qi's Zhenyun Hall.

"Haven't you realized that without someone's tacit approval, how could we have remained locked in this stalemate for so long in the heavily guarded Marquis's mansion?"

He leaned close to Li Wan's ear and whispered, "Take a good look, who is that person up in that pavilion?"

Li Wan subconsciously looked toward the attic he mentioned, and there, indeed, stood two tall figures.

Even though they were far apart, she could still see clearly that it was Xie Qi and the Third Prince Xiao Xian.

They stood there, taking in all of Xiao Fan's humiliation of her.

Why! Why is this happening?!

Li Wan was first taken aback, and then Xie Qi's words and Xiao Fan's words flashed through her ears.

A lowly woman, a prince, another prince...

It turns out that the person who had an affair with Jiang Feiwan was Xiao Xian, and Xie Qi had known about this for a long time.

Xie Qi never intended to cooperate with her to bring down Xiao Fan; his real target was Xiao Xian, which is why he agreed to let her enter the Marquis's mansion.

As for Xiao Xian, he had consummated his marriage with Jiang Feiwan, yet he watched her marry another man, and even pretended not to know her at the Yongyi Marquis's residence.

How ridiculous!

Li Wan stood there motionless, her gaze fixed on them. She knew they were looking at her too.

"Alright, stop looking and prepare to die."

Xiao Fan raised his knife, about to stab, when in a flash, two large hands emerged from behind the artificial hill, covering her and Xiao Fan's mouths and noses respectively, and dragging them into the cave from the front and back.

From a distance, it appeared as if Xiao Fan was dragging her into a cave intending to commit a crime.

At this moment, in the attic.

Both men were equally tall and imposing, possessing an extraordinary air about them.

"The Fourth Prince is ruthless. Do you think she can survive today?"

Xie Qi chuckled and turned his gaze away from the artificial hill, glancing sideways at Xiao Xian.

Snowflakes began to fall gently from the sky.

Xiao Cheng's tightly clenched hands loosened and tightened again, his chest feeling as if it were weighed down by a thousand-pound stone.

Finally, he spoke, his voice low and restrained, "She is now your wife."

Seeing Xiao Xian's restraint, Xie Qi felt no relief or satisfaction as he had expected, but instead felt a surge of anger. "Whether another man's woman is his wife or concubine, I have no particular opinion about her."

Xiao Cheng's usually gentle and refined face revealed a ruthless intent, and his voice was almost a growl, "Then why did you agree to marry her?"

Xie Qi glanced at the angry man and said helplessly, "If someone insists on forcing it on me, how can I refuse their good intentions?"

Xiao Xian's eyes turned bloodshot under Xie Qi's mockery.

Xie Qi laughed, raised his chin and looked a little further away, teasingly asking, "There's been no movement over there. I wonder if the Fourth Prince has made a move yet."

Veins bulged on Xiao Xian's forehead. He took a deep breath and quickly gestured down to the pavilion.

In an instant, several highly skilled guards with swords emerged from the shadows and quickly headed towards the artificial hill.

The next moment, several black-clad guards flew out from the other side, and each of them captured all the guards with swords with a single move.

Xiao Xian suddenly looked at Xie Qi, his hands behind his back tense and restrained.

Xie Qi raised a phoenix eye and said slowly, "Her life is entirely in your hands today."

Xiao Xian closed his eyes briefly, his voice low and hoarse, "What do you want?"

Xie Qi curled his lips and said readily, "It's a small matter. His Majesty has entrusted you with the task of screening officials for corruption. I hope Your Highness will show leniency towards my men."

Is that all?

Xiao Cheng was slightly surprised. In the past few days, he had indeed been working with the Supervisory Council to investigate the corruption of officials and had found several people in Xie Qi's faction, but the amounts involved were not large. He originally wanted to give Xie Qi face and quietly let it go.

Why did Xie Qi go to such lengths to force him to agree?

However, he didn't have time to think it over at the moment, so he could only nod and say, "Okay."

Xie Qi smiled and said, "Thank you." Then he raised his hand and snapped his fingers. Upon hearing the sound, the guards swiftly sheathed their swords and released the guards.

The guards dared not delay and rushed toward the artificial hill, but when they saw the scene inside, they all froze on the spot, swords in hand.

When Xiao Xian and Xie Qi reached the entrance of the artificial cave, they looked inside.

Inside the dimly lit cave, Xiao Fan lay on the ground, his face and hairline covered in blood, motionless and seemingly unconscious. Beside him stood Li Wan, her face streaked with tears and blood, still in shock.

Upon hearing the noise at the cave entrance, Fang Muna stiffly turned her head to look at everyone.

As reason gradually returned, they realized that just as Xiao Fan was about to make his move, they were dragged into the cave by experts who had been lying in ambush.

The cave was dark, and she couldn't see anything. She only heard Xiao Fan groan, and then a stone was shoved into her hand.

Then, the entrance to the cave was surrounded.

However, she was now all alone in the cave, and she truly had no way to defend herself.

what to do?

Li Wan's gaze swept across everyone's faces, from the guards and secret guards to Xiao Qian... until it landed on that cold and handsome face.

Regardless of whether it was a setup by him or not, at this moment only he can protect her.

Suddenly, as if snapping out of her daze, Li Wan dropped the sharp, blood-stained stone from her hand.

"My husband."

She gasped softly and, looking disheveled, threw herself into Xie Qi's arms.

Xiao Xian, who had slightly raised his arms, suddenly darkened his eyes and silently lowered his hands.

For a moment, the cave was deathly silent.