After Chi Li returned to the Chi family, he quickly calmed down and began to study day and night to prepare for the exam.

Although rejected by Yu Tanqi, Chi Li did not give up.

To succeed in anything, you need to persevere.

Chi Li doesn't think he is worse than Jiang Shi. Yu Tanqi chose Jiang Shi only because they had an engagement arranged for birth.

He knew that the Xie family was not satisfied with Jiang Shi. As long as he waited for him to pass the imperial examination and expressed his feelings for Sister Tan Qi to the old lady of the Xie family, he still had a chance.

Thinking of this, Chi Li became full of motivation and looked at the book in his hand without distraction.

At the hour of Hai, the light in Chi Li's study was still on.

Jiang Xuan came to him with a lunch box. Seeing the young man sitting at the desk, reading intently, she slowly walked over to him and said softly, "Cousin, it's already midnight. You've been reading all day. It's time to rest."

Without even looking up, Chi Li said, "I'll watch for a while. You can go back and rest."

Jiang Xuan opened the lunch box and brought out a bowl of hot soup. She said softly, "You've been studying so hard, forgetting to eat and sleep. I'm worried about your health, so I asked my aunt for a nourishing recipe and made you a bowl of soup. It's not too late to drink some soup before reading."

Hearing the word "Auntie", Chi Li had to put down the book and wanted to take the hot soup, but Jiang Xuan said, "Wait, it's a little hot."

She blew gently on the steaming soup a few times, her long eyelashes drooped, and under the warm yellow candlelight, she looked very similar to Yu Tanqi.

Chi Li looked a little dazed. Jiang Xuan raised her eyes and looked at him with a soft smile, then handed him the bowl of soup. "Cousin, you can drink now."

He subconsciously reached out to take the bowl and took a sip.

Jiang Xuan smiled and asked, "Is it delicious?"

He nodded slightly: "It tastes good."

She smiled happily: "As long as it tastes good, I made it specially for my cousin."

She lowered her head slightly, revealing a section of her snow-white, slender neck, soft and beautiful.

Chi Li's eyes were slightly blurred, as if he saw the shadow of Yu Tanqi.

His pupils shrank and he suddenly came back to his senses.

Why did he feel that his cousin Xuan would be similar to Tan Qi's sister?

They are clearly two different people.

Chi Li pursed his lips, put down the bowl, and rubbed his aching brow. "It's getting late. You should go back and rest."

Jiang Xuan looked at him with bright eyes and said worriedly, "What about you, cousin? Candlelight hurts your eyes. My aunt told me to persuade you to get some rest early. It won't be too late to read tomorrow."

"The Spring Examination is approaching, and I'm feeling restless. Only by reading more can I calm my mind. Tell mother not to worry, I won't tire myself out."

"But I'm still worried about you, cousin. How about I read with you? If you want to write, I can even help you grind the ink."

"No, I still prefer to read and write alone."

Chi Li lowered his head, picked up the book again, and stopped looking at her. "Go back."

Jiang Xuan bit her lip slightly and looked at his face greedily.

She told herself that there was no need to rush. Yu Tanqi was short-sighted and had set his sights on the Marquis of Wu'an. Sooner or later, Chi Li would let go of Yu Tanqi and see her who had always been by his side.

Thinking of what her aunt said, that she would consider their marriage after Chi Li passed the imperial examination, Jiang Xuan's heart beat faster and the corners of her lips couldn't help but rise.

It was worth it that she had been running to the Chi family since she was a child, trying to please her aunt and make her like her more, while at the same time developing a dislike for Yu Tanqi.

Since ancient times, it has been the most difficult for mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law to get along. Which mother-in-law would like a daughter-in-law who is so obsessed with her son?

Jiang Xuan believed that as long as Yu Tanqi left, and she and Chi Li spent more time together, Chi Li would fall in love with her sooner or later.

Jiang Xuan fell asleep with a sweet dream at night. When she woke up the next day, she was in a good mood and told her personal maid Pei'er, "I want to wear that green dress today."

Her cousin once praised her for looking good in green, so from then on, most of her clothes were green, just to hear her cousin praise her again.

The girl in the bronze mirror was bright and beautiful without makeup, but in order to look somewhat like Yu Tanqi, she forced her two personal maids to learn how to put on makeup to look similar to Yu Tanqi. They had to get up early every morning and spend more than an hour on dressing up.

From makeup to words and deeds, Jiang Xuan imitated Yu Tanqi. She suppressed herself in pain, while at the same time she resented and hated Yu Tanqi's existence.

But Yu Tanqi was finally leaving.

After Jiang Xuan dressed up, she walked towards the main courtyard with a polite smile, paid her respects to Mrs. Chi, and had dinner with her.

This is something she has been doing consistently for many years just to make Mrs. Chi happy.

However, when she walked into the main courtyard, she saw two men in plain clothes kneeling on the ground and Madam Xie sitting next to Madam Chi. Her heart skipped a beat and she clenched her handkerchief. On the surface, she looked at Madam Chi with a gloomy face with a puzzled look and bowed.

"Greetings to my aunt, thank you, Madam."

After a pause, she asked, "Aunt, what happened so early in the morning? What did those two people kneeling on the ground do wrong to make you so angry?"

Mrs. Chi looked at her niece with an innocent and confused face, and she couldn't believe that she would do such a thing as hiring a killer to kill someone and silence the witness. However, Mrs. Xie even brought a witness, and the evidence was conclusive. Even if she wanted to cover up for her, she could do nothing at this moment.

She looked at Jiang Xuan fiercely, "You really don't know them?

Jiang Xuan pretended to be calm, but her eyelashes kept trembling. "Aunt, what are you talking about? Why do I know them? Are they servants of the Chi Mansion? Or servants of the Jiang Mansion?"

Madam Xie snorted coldly: "If you don't know him, then does Miss Jiang know him?"

Nanny Li beside her walked up to Jiang Xuan and opened a brocade handkerchief with both hands, revealing two gold bracelets inside.

Jiang Xuan couldn't control the horror in her heart and her face changed.

However, she quickly realized, "This is my bracelet. I lost it a long time ago. Where did you see it, Madam Li? Thank you so much."

She looked at Nanny Li with gratitude. If Madam Xie had not been watching her the whole time and had not missed the flash of horror in her eyes, she would probably have been deceived by her reaction.

This seventeen-year-old girl is so scheming.

Madam Xie looked at Jiang Xuan coldly. The Xie family had a good family tradition. Although she had never experienced any palace fighting, she knew that the women in the backyard, no matter how big or small, were good at acting. No matter how gentle and kind they appeared on the surface, they could be vicious and cruel behind the scenes.

"You said it was lost a long time ago. When was it lost, and where was it lost? Are you going to say it was stolen in the end to frame you?"

Jiang Xuan forced a smile and said, "I don't know what Madam Xie means."

Madam Xie said coldly, "You bribed these two men to do things for you. One was responsible for passing on a message to Yan. But you never expected that Yan would be arrested for attempted murder. Fearing that she would be exposed, you asked the other man to help you kill Yan and fake it as a suicide out of fear of punishment."

"You can deny it and say I'm slandering you, but you know there's more evidence than just these two people and these two bracelets."