Inside a private room on the second floor of Jinxiu Pavilion.

Xin Jiuwei stroked her slightly flushed left cheek, but a barely perceptible smile curved her lips.

"Miss!" Wang Qing exclaimed in surprise, frantically pulling out a handkerchief to wipe her face, then turning back to glare at Xue Yingxue, "What are you doing? How dare you hit my young lady!"

Xue Yingxue acted impulsively, and now she was stunned, caught in a dilemma. "I... it was you, Xin Jiuwei, who went too far!"

After saying that, he turned around and left downstairs with a stiff face.

Wang Qing hurriedly chased after him: "Stop!"

"No need to argue." Xin Jiuwei gently pressed Wang Qing's hand, her voice extremely low. "Let her hit you. This slap is worth a fortune."

Downstairs was already in complete chaos.

Xin Jiuwei walked to the window and looked down through the gap in the carved wooden window. She saw that a lot of guests had gathered downstairs to watch the excitement. Xue Yingxue was surrounded in the middle and could hardly move an inch.

That usually ethereal face was now horribly distorted, and there was no trace of its aloof and elegant demeanor left.

"Miss, what do we do now?" Wang Qing asked with a mixture of curiosity and schadenfreude.

A cold glint flashed in Xin Jiuwei's eyes. "We have to make the performance convincing."

She deliberately messed up her hair and pressed her handkerchief hard against her left cheek to make the handprint more obvious.

Only then did he take Wang Qing's hand and, feigning weakness, slowly walk downstairs.

The lobby on the first floor was already crowded with people. When Xin Jiuwei came down, the crowd automatically parted to make way, and whispers rose and fell.

"Oh my god, Miss Xin's face has that slap mark..."

"Isn't Miss Xue usually the most proper person? How could she do something so outrageous?"

"I heard it was because of a piece of cloud-patterned satin; Miss Xue offered ten times the price but still couldn't win..."

"Where would she get so much money, she's just an orphan?"

"Sigh, the way she eats, dresses, and uses things every day, she doesn't seem like an orphan at all! And I heard she and Young Master Qi have some..."

"Isn't Young Master Qi Miss Xin's fiancé? This is outrageous!"

Xin Jiuwei lowered her eyes, concealing the smile in them, and staggered towards Xue Yingxue, who was being blocked. Seeing her like this, Xue Yingxue trembled with rage: "Xin Jiuwei! What are you pretending to be weak for! You're clearly provoking me on purpose..."

“Miss Xue.” Xin Jiuwei raised her tear-filled eyes, her voice trembling slightly, “I know you’ve long coveted that piece of fabric. If I had known this would happen, what harm would it have done? Why… why humiliate me in public…”

As she spoke, a perfectly timed tear slid down her cheek.

This crying immediately aroused public anger.

"This is outrageous!"

"It's one thing to look down on this person or that person on a daily basis, but how can you resort to violence?"

"For Miss Xin to suffer such injustice, the Third Miss is still too kind-hearted."

Xue Yingxue's face turned pale instantly. She suddenly realized what kind of trap she had fallen into—she had hit Xin's daughter in front of everyone. How could she face anyone in Yingzhou City now?

"Let's go." Xin Jiuwei gently tugged at Wang Qing's sleeve, her voice weak but clear, "I ask you all to bear witness to what happened today."

As the mistress and servant stepped out of the Brocade Pavilion, a chorus of whispers rose behind them. The moment the curtain fell over the carriage, Xin Jiuwei straightened her back, her eyes devoid of any trace of vulnerability.

"Miss's acting is so convincing!" Wang Qing couldn't help but exclaim. "Xue Yingxue must be kicking herself right now!"

Xin Jiuwei took out a handkerchief, slowly wiped her face, and smiled without saying a word.

Not long after, Xin's father came to see him in person.

"I heard you had a conflict with Xue Yingxue at Jinxiu Pavilion?" Xin's father, who had been calm at first, immediately turned cold upon seeing the mark on Xin Jiuwei's face as he approached. "She did this? How dare she be so arrogant!"

"Father, please calm down." Xin Jiuwei smiled. "I'm fine, it just looks serious. Xue Yingxue didn't get away with it either. Let's not talk about that anymore, Father. I have something to discuss with you."

After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Xin Jiuwei escorted her father to the gate of the courtyard.

Father Xin turned around and asked, "What you say today cannot be taken back later."

“I’m sure,” Xin Jiuwei said. “I’ve mentioned this to you before, haven’t I? Qi Huaiyu has completely exposed his hypocritical face, and I no longer want anything to do with him.”

Father Xin nodded. "Alright, from today onwards, you have no relation to him, and he should never set foot in the Xin residence again."

“No.” Xin Jiuwei smiled slightly. “If he wants to act, let him. If necessary, please ask Father to allow him to work in the Xin family as before.”

Xin's father looked at Xin Jiuwei, "What other plan do you have?"

Xin Jiuwei said, "I do have a plan, but I need Father's cooperation. At the birthday banquet..."

She leaned close to her father's ear and whispered a few words. Her father was first surprised, then a relieved smile appeared on his face: "Good! We'll do as my son says!" Since Qi Huaiyu is so ungrateful, don't blame the Xin family for being ruthless!

Xue Yingxue fell into the trap without resistance, and the next day, Xin Jiuwei went to Chongwu Mountain.

It's been several days since I returned from Yuncheng, it's time to see Xiao Xun again.

The mountain path to Lingyin Temple was shrouded in morning mist. Xin Jiuwei climbed the steps, her fingers unconsciously stroking the porcelain bottle in her sleeve.

The temple gate was half-closed, and a young novice monk was sweeping fallen leaves. Upon seeing someone arrive, he put his palms together in a gesture of respect: "Female benefactor, my grandmaster uncle is not receiving guests today."

Xin Jiuwei asked, "How did you know I came to see Master Jueming?"

The young novice monk said, "Everyone in the temple knows this."

This was somewhat unexpected, probably because Jueming had sent her Buddhist scriptures before.

Xin Jiuwei said, "Please pass on my message, little master, that this is a matter of life and death, and that I have only one chance today."

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