The moonlight was bright, and everything seemed hazy. After Xu Lingwan finished speaking, she suddenly pushed hard on Li Shiyue's shoulders with both hands.

The two of them were walking one after the other up the stone steps to the garden. Xu Lingwan's sudden action caused Li Shiyue to lose her balance and take a half-step back, missing the step.

Losing gravity, Li Shiyue thought to herself, "I dodged the bumps and bruises of my past life, but now I'm going to fall and get hurt all over again."

Suddenly, an unfamiliar warmth came from behind her. Before she could see clearly, Li Shiyue was already being helped to stand up. The young man from before had let go, grinning to reveal two rows of bright white teeth.

"ah--"

The young man suddenly stopped smiling, reached out and grabbed Xu Lingwan by the back of her collar, lifting her up from the ground.

Just now, Xu Lingwan suddenly exerted force, and Li Shiyue was caught by someone, but she lost her balance and fell down. Her clothes were covered in dust, her face was in pain, and she was clutching her ankle.

"Fifth Brother! It hurts, it hurts so much!"

Only then did Li Shiyue get a good look at the young man; he was none other than Xu Yunyao, the fifth cousin that her fourth aunt, Zhou, had mentioned during the day.

He wouldn't budge, grabbing Xu Lingwan by the back of her collar and heading towards Shousong Hall: "Don't even think about running away, I saw everything."

Ignoring the pain in her ankle, Xu Lingwan's face was filled with shock as she saw Xu Yunyao about to carry her back to Shousong Hall. She had already been punished, and if she told the truth, even her father would probably have to resort to family discipline.

Feeling extremely frightened, Xu Lingwan tried to break free but couldn't. Her ankle still hurt when she tried to pull away. She was both angry and anxious.

Hearing the commotion, the sisters rushed back and saw Xu Yunyao carrying the thrashing Xu Lingwan into Shousong Hall.

They lost all interest in appreciating the garden and returned to Shousong Hall.

Inside Shousong Hall, Old Madam Xu was seated on a warm couch, listening to Xu Yunci speak. Upon seeing that Xu Lingwan had been dragged in, covered in dust, her eyes twitched.