Chapter 2 A White Lotus

Xie Wuqi's face turned pale, but he forced a wry smile: "Xie accepts the punishment."

"Accept the punishment?" Luo Zhaohan suddenly took three steps back. "Tomorrow, the whole capital will know that Young Master Xie has changed his mind, secretly had an affair with the adopted daughter of the Luo family, and abandoned his fiancée!"

Qin Wan threw the teapot at his feet and said, "Get lost! Even the dogs in our Luo family won't eat the Xie family's leftovers!"

Xie Wuqi wiped the blood off his face and suddenly smiled: "Whatever you say, but I'm determined to marry Yueli."

Luo Zhaohan turned around and hugged his mother's arm: "Mom, if Master Xie keeps making such a fuss, Cousin Yueli's reputation will be ruined. Why not let her explain herself?"

Luo Dinglian and Qin Wan looked at each other, both frowning.

Qin Wan made a quick decision: "Xia Huan, go invite the second young lady." She then instructed: "Speak carefully and don't scare her."

The title of "Second Miss" was a respectful title given to Liu Yueli by Qin Wan.

Xia Huan took the order and left. Luo Zhaohan took the opportunity to pull Chunxi over and whispered a few words in her ear.

Chunxi's pupils trembled after hearing this, and he looked at his young lady in disbelief.

Luo Zhaohan held her hand tightly and nodded with a firm look.

The friendship since childhood made Chunxi not hesitate. Although he didn't understand the situation, he still left quickly to carry out his master's orders.

Luo Zhaohan deliberately shrank into his mother's arms, feeling the jasmine scent on her body become stronger: "Mom, I asked Chunxi to go pick up Sister Yueli as well. She's timid, don't scare her."

Qin Wan held her hand tightly, her voice trembling, "Our Zhao Zhao is the most beautiful girl in the world. With such good looks and character, why can't she find a husband of her dreams? If..."

She paused, her fingertips gently stroking her daughter's hair, "If you don't want to get married, your parents will support you. Are we in the Luo family afraid of having an extra pair of chopsticks?"

"My daughter will always be with me, daddy." Luo Zhaohan buried her face in her mother's shoulder, her voice muffled and choked with sobs.

"All right, all right." Qin Wan patted her daughter's back gently, her voice tinged with emotion. She looked up and exchanged a distressed look with her husband. Luo Dinglian's hands, clasped behind his back, had already clenched into fists.

Xie Wuqi stared at the gate like a hungry dog.

About half a minute later, the sound of footsteps was finally heard at the gate of the courtyard.

Everyone looked at the same time and saw a slender figure walking towards them in small steps.

Liu Yueli was wearing a moon-white silk dress today, with only a plain silver hairpin in her hair, which made her look even more elegant and refined.

Her slender eyebrows were slightly furrowed, with a faint red at the corners of her eyes, making her look like a weak willow swaying in the wind. With Xia Huan's support, she looked even more pitiful.

"Yueli——"

Xie Wuqi's call gave Luo Zhaohan goosebumps.

When I looked up, I saw Liu Yueli being supported by Xia Huan. Her white dress was so plain that she looked like she was in mourning, and the silver hairpin was the birthday gift that Luo Zhaohan had given her last year.

"Zhao Zhao!" She rushed over and grabbed Luo Zhaohan's hand. The red coral beads on her wrist hurt her. "It's all my fault..."

Luo Zhaohan almost sneered and shook her off abruptly: "What's it got to do with you?"

His nails deliberately scratched her wrist. "Everyone knows that you, Liu Yueli, value your reputation the most. How could you be in cahoots with such a treacherous bastard?"

"Zhao Zhao is right!" Qin Wan slammed the teacup down on the table. "Yue Li has always followed the rules and never crossed the line with that Xie guy!"

Liu Yueli lowered her head and wiped her tears, but Luo Zhaohan saw that her nails in her sleeves were digging deeply into her palms.

"Yueli? Why aren't you talking?" Luo Zhaohan approached Liu Yueli. "Could it be that you're secretly having an affair with this unfaithful man?"

"Zhao Zhao!" Qin Wan hurriedly stopped her daughter.

Liu Yueli suddenly stumbled back, her white skirt sweeping across the broken porcelain pieces on the ground.

She swayed like a reed in the wind, tears streaming down her face. "Ever since my father died in battle saving my adoptive father, Yueli has vowed never to marry..."

Luo Dinglian's eyes instantly turned red.

Back then, Lieutenant General Liu had blocked a fatal arrow for him, his intestines spilling out onto the ground, yet he still clutched his battle robe tightly and shouted, "Protect Li'er." Seeing his adopted daughter weeping like a pear blossom in the rain, he felt quite distressed.

Qin Wan held Liu Yueli in her arms and patted her on the back: "With us here, who dares to bully you?"

"Yueli understands..." Liu Yueli suddenly stood up from Qin Wan's arms, covering her lips with a handkerchief and started coughing violently.

Her already pale face became even more transparent, and even her fingertips were bluish-gray.

Qin Wan was so frightened that she kept shouting, "Quick, get the ginseng slices! Yueli has had heart palpitations since she was a child and can't stand any stimulation!"

Luo Zhaohan clearly saw Liu Yueli's fingertips secretly pinching the tiger's mouth under the handkerchief - this was a trick Liu Yueli used when they were playing as children and pretending to be sick to skip classes.

Sure enough, after just a moment, the white handkerchief began to stain with scarlet spots, just like plum blossoms falling on the snow.

In her previous life, she had also trusted Liu Yueli's weakness, until she saw her wearing the phoenix hairpin that should have belonged to her at the execution ground.

"It's all my fault..." Liu Yueli suddenly pushed Qin Wan away and fell to her knees. Her silver hairpin fell, and her hair scattered all over the floor. "I caused Zhaozhao to suffer this injustice. I will cut off my hair and become a nun!"

She grabbed the broken porcelain pieces and scratched them on her head. Xie Wuqi rushed over and grabbed the pieces with his bare hands. Blood dripped onto her skirt.

"Kill me if you want!" Xie Wuqi's eyes were bloodshot. "Yue Li is innocent!"

Luo Zhaohan watched the play coldly.

At the execution ground in her previous life, the way Liu Yueli smiled at her while wearing a phoenix hairpin was much more sincere than it is now.

"I will marry you!" Liu Yueli suddenly kowtowed to Luo Dinglian. "Marrying Master Xie will not only fulfill his wishes, but also protect Zhao Zhao from rumors."

The whip in Luo Dinglian's hand fell to the ground, and Qin Wan was shivering while holding onto the table.

Only Luo Zhaohan curled up the corners of his mouth when he saw Liu Yueli lower her head.

The copper bells on the eaves rang in the strong wind. She clutched her sleeves tightly and looked towards the courtyard door. Just then, she saw Chunxi rushing towards her with a carved wooden box in her hand, her hair all messed up. "Miss! Something's happened!"

Luo Zhaohan stepped forward and supported her trembling shoulders: "What happened?"

"I went to pick up the second young lady but took the wrong road. By the time I arrived at Stepping Moon Garden, she had already been picked up by Xia Huan..."

Chunxi swallowed her saliva and said, "When I turned back, I saw a maid in a lotus-colored bodice rummaging through the second young lady's dressing box. I coughed twice, and she panicked and overturned the dressing table, and the things were scattered all over the floor..."

The incense in the copper incense burner was about to burn out. Liu Yueli glanced at her adoptive father and mother sitting on the main seat. She knew that her crying just now had softened her adoptive mother's heart. She didn't expect that Chunxi would suddenly jump out and cause trouble.

She took the opportunity to cover her mouth with a handkerchief and coughed violently, her fingers wrinkling the handkerchief embroidered with gold thread.

"Be careful not to catch a cold." Qin Wan hurriedly tried to take off her cloak, but Liu Yueli held her hand.

Tears still hung on the girl's eyelashes, glittering in the candlelight. "My daughter's body won't last much longer. My father lost his life saving my adoptive father. Has he ever thought about what he wants in return?"

Luo Dinglian's hand trembled, and most of the water in the teacup spilled out.

He looked up at his wife and found that Qin Wan was also wiping her tears.

Chunxi couldn't help but take a few steps forward. Just as she was about to speak, Luo Zhaohan shook his head at her, signaling her not to be anxious.

"Yue Li only asks to be as loyal and righteous as my father." Liu Yue Li kowtowed heavily, "I beg my parents to agree to let me marry into the Xie family, as a way of... repaying the kindness we showed you back then."