Qi Huaiyu was slightly taken aback, not expecting Xin Jiuwei to lose her temper with him.

He suppressed his impatience and said in a good-natured manner, "That's not what I meant. I just wanted to say a few words of comfort to you."

Their conversation had already attracted the attention of those around them, and the scholars who had been talking to Qi Huaiyu were about to come forward to see what was going on.

But then Xin Jiuwei said, "So what do you mean? You're only trying to comfort me now? When you came to the Spring Banquet with Xue Yingxue in the carriage, why didn't you think of me?"

Upon hearing this, the scholars realized it was just a young lady being jealous, so they shook their heads and smiled, giving Qi Huaiyu a look that said "good luck," before walking away to the side.

Qi Huaiyu was utterly fed up with Xin Jiuwei's unpredictable personality. She used to be completely obedient to him, but now it seemed like she had been bewitched!

He was impatient inside, but he could only pretend to be patient on the surface. "I was wrong to do this. I just saw that Miss Xue was an orphan and I couldn't bear to see her alone."

Upon hearing his words, Xue Yingxue paused, her expression turning somewhat unpleasant.

She was used to being pampered and hated it when people brought up her status as an orphan.

But since she had been humiliated by the Xin sisters today and needed Qi Huaiyu to teach Xin Jiuwei a lesson, she could only endure it.

To everyone's surprise, Xin Jiuwei completely ignored Qi Huaiyu and shouted, "You still have time to sympathize with others? I think you've drunk too much salt water and don't even know your own limitations."

She used to be so tactless that she wouldn't even dare to contradict Qi Huaiyu, let alone say anything harsh. Now that she's saying these things, how long is Qi Huaiyu going to tolerate it?

Qi Huaiyu was angry, but he couldn't show it. Xin Jiuwei was really ungrateful; he had already coaxed her like this, and she was still satisfied!

Unable to maintain his facade of tolerance any longer, Qi Huaiyu flicked his sleeve and turned to leave.

"This..." Liu Qi walked over worriedly, "Xin San, are you alright?"

But then Xin Jiuwei seemed to suddenly come to her senses, looking at the direction Qi Huaiyu had left with some regret, before giving Liu Qi a forced smile.

"It's nothing, I...sigh."

She shook her head, sounding disappointed, "I really have this personality; I always say things that make people unhappy."

Liu Qi immediately comforted her, "Don't mention it. It's just that he's been getting too close to Xue Yingxue, which upset you."

“Yes, it’s clearly his problem.” Yuan Xiaoshi also came over. “He’s your cousin, and you two are engaged. Shouldn’t he be on your side? He’s always saying that Xue Yingxue is pitiful and taking care of an orphan, without considering your feelings at all. And those young masters Chen and Lin, they’re all like that. They say nice things, but they make others angry!”

You should have shown him some attitude!

Xin Jiuwei sighed, "But no matter what, I shouldn't have lost my temper. I guess I'm in a bad mood because I drew the worst lot... Sigh, I'll go apologize to him later."

Yuan Xiaoshi said, "Xin San, you're just too good to him!"

Liu Qi also said, "Xiao Shi is right this time. You've already given him enough face."

Xin Jiuwei gave a wry smile and shook her head.

From the perspective of the other young ladies, she watched Xue Yingxue leave without making a sound, and then glanced in the direction Qi Huaiyu had just left.

His gaze swept around the hall again, but Xie Changjing was nowhere to be seen.

Boom—

A faint rumble of thunder came from afar, not loud, but someone noticed it and turned to look outside the hall.

Is it going to rain?

"The weather was fine just now, really?"

Xin Jiuwei curled her lips into a smile.

Qi Huaiyu, if you're going to play tricks, she might as well play along.

The rumble of thunder made Qi Huaiyu pause for a moment, but he didn't pay it any mind and continued walking towards the gate.

As soon as he reached the place where the carriages were parked, he was shocked and hurried over.

"Brother Changjing, what are you doing?"

Xie Changjing was startled and hissed in a low voice, "Keep your voice down! Are you trying to get me killed?"

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry." Qi Huaiyu apologized quickly, then frowned, "But what are you doing..."

Xie Changjing poured the last bit of powder into the water trough for the horses, and while putting away the paper bag, he said smugly, "I told you long ago that I would teach Xin Jiuwei a lesson. Let's see if she dares to humiliate me again."

"You actually intend to teach her a lesson like this?" Qi Huaiyu exclaimed in shock. "Didn't we agree that we'd just come up the mountain to embarrass her? This could easily result in her getting hurt."

Xie Changjing said, "Why are you so timid? Look at Xin Jiuwei, she drew the worst lot and she's still so arrogant. What can you do to scare her in the palace? I think this method is more direct. I'll scare her to death."

Qi Huaiyu: "That's too dangerous!"

"Alright, stop nagging!" Xie Changjing pushed him away with disdain. "You're not reluctant to part with her, are you? Well, you were so rude to Xin Jiuwei just now, and you still swallowed your anger. You're really good-tempered. I can't blame you. After all, she's a young lady from the Xin family, your cousin."

He mocked Qi Huaiyu without any politeness, but Qi Huaiyu seemed not to be angry at all, only worried about Xin Jiuwei's safety.

"Brother Changjing, please don't say that. Jiuwei is just a woman, and she's not a bad person. She didn't really disregard your feelings..."

"She didn't do it on purpose?" Xie Changjing was even angrier upon hearing this. "I think she did it on purpose! Fine, don't say anything good about her anymore, or we won't even be brothers anymore!"

After saying that, he squinted and looked Qi Huaiyu up and down, "I'm warning you, don't you dare tell on me, or you'll be in big trouble."

"You...I..." Qi Huaiyu looked helpless and sighed, "Sigh!"

After Xie Changjing strode away, the panic on his face disappeared completely, replaced by a slight smile.

He reached out and touched the horse, the same horse that Xin Jiuwei was riding in.

"Thirsty?" he whispered, pressing the horse's head toward the water trough. "Then drink some water, drink more."

Boom—

Another rumble of thunder sounded in the sky, this time a deafening roar, and the sky quickly darkened.

Is it going to rain?

"It's really going to rain, it's already dark!"

The young men and women inside the hall began to panic.

"Chongwu Mountain is quite dangerous at night, let's hurry down the mountain."

"Yes, yes, let's go, let's go."

"If the rain gets heavier, the road down the mountain will be difficult to walk on, and it will be very dangerous."

"If I make such a mess of things, my mother will definitely scold me when I get back."

"Get in the car quickly!"

Everyone walked out, got into their cars, and prepared to leave.

Xue Yingxue didn't care about anything else and left with Young Master Chen.