"What? You said he found out?" Aunt Cai's hand, which was cutting the silk material, trembled and a big hole was cut in the fabric.

Xiao Zhixuan sat down dejectedly, as if she no longer had the strength to speak, and just nodded silently.

Aunt Cai quickly put the scissors on the table, walked over and asked, "What's going on? How much does he know?"

Xiao Zhixuan raised her head with a dazed look in her eyes, and suddenly burst into tears. She rushed over and hugged her waist, saying, "Mom, I'm so scared. Can we stop? My eldest brother said that as long as we are willing to stop and tell him the whole truth, he will not pursue the matter any further."

Aunt Cai felt very distressed when she saw her like this. She immediately hugged her tightly and gently stroked the back of her head, coaxing her like she did when she was a child for a long time before Xiao Zhixuan stopped crying. She took out a handkerchief to wipe her tears, and then said softly, "Don't worry, tell me what happened?"

Xiao Zhixuan sniffed and told the whole story of how Xiao Du had tested her and how he had waited for her to fall into his trap. Aunt Cai was horrified and asked with a frown, "So you admit everything?"

Xiao Zhixuan shook her head and said, "I didn't dare. I was afraid that if I told it all, my elder brother would hate me. So no matter what he said, I just admitted that I overheard their conversation and wanted to go over to see it out of curiosity. But my elder brother..." She recalled Xiao Du's expression at that time and still felt a chill. She said, "But my elder brother seemed very disappointed. He said that originally, since I was his sister, if I was willing to confess, he would definitely not pursue the matter."

Aunt Cai sighed and said, "Silly child, how can you possibly understand your elder brother's thoughts? He says that just to trick you into telling him everything. If you really tell him, I'm afraid you won't be able to see me again." As she spoke, she wiped her tears with a handkerchief.

Xiao Zhixuan felt flustered and started crying again, saying, "What should we do? What should we do? Since my eldest brother has doubts, he will find you sooner or later. If he tells dad, dad will be so angry that he will die. Will they chase us out?"

Seeing her panic and helplessness, Aunt Cai felt sad and said, "It's all mother's fault. But don't worry, mother still has an important handle. I wanted to wait a little longer and make plans slowly. But judging from the current situation, I can't wait any longer. There is only one person who can save us now."

She slowly raised her neck, a look of determination and cruelty flashing in her eyes.

It was the dead of night and everything was quiet. The few cranes wandering by the pond had fallen asleep with their necks bent.

On the bluestone road with sparse moonlight, a woman dressed as a maid, half-hiding her face, looked around for a long time in front of the temple door, and finally creaked open the red lacquered door in front of her. She bowed to the Buddha statues on all sides, then turned around and carefully closed the door. The moonlight was faint, flowing over the lacquered door. A fairy crane was awakened for some reason, chirped twice, and began to pace impatiently. The door opened again, and the woman came out from inside, patting her chest lightly, as if she had just recovered from the fright. She gathered her hair, straightened her body, and showed a proud smile again.

She left the temple and began to walk quickly forward with her head down. Just as she passed through a grove of trees, a dark shadow suddenly appeared in front of her, scaring her so much that she almost screamed out loud.

The shadow slowly turned around. The woman saw her face clearly. She forced a smile out of shock and said, "It's you. Why are you here?"

The man laughed coldly and said, "Cai Xiaotao, I think I should be the one asking you this question. Why are you here?"

Aunt Cai's eyes moved rapidly, and she stared at her for a long time, saying, "The Marquis has discovered our affair."

The man was startled, then glanced at her coldly and asked, "Did he know about you or us?"

Aunt Cai also sneered and said, "Didn't you say that we are already grasshoppers tied to a rope? Now that it has come to this, I might as well make it clear that you can't even think of abandoning the pawns to save the marshal. Even if I die, what I have in my hands is enough to drag you down with me."

The man's face was hidden in the darkness, and his expression could not be seen. "It seems that my guess was right. You really did have a trick up your sleeve. It's all because the master trusted you too much in the past."

Aunt Cai raised her chin and said fiercely, "In short, you better find a way to help me get out of this situation, or we'll just die together."

The man lowered his head and thought seriously, and the two of them confronted each other silently in the darkness until the cool breeze brought a faint fragrance and the sky became bright. Many undercurrents hidden deep in the sky began to surge, and many plans began to take place quietly.

But at this moment, Yuan Xi's eyes were only on the half-embroidered lilies in her hands. The rare warm autumn sun shone through the window sills onto her, feeling warm and comfortable, just like the embrace of the man in her heart. She couldn't help but curl up the corners of her lips slightly, and every stitch and thread seemed to be soaked in sweetness. After embroidering for a while, she rubbed her sore neck and was about to take a break when she suddenly heard a commotion in the courtyard. She could vaguely hear Nanny Li and others shouting, "My Lord, this can't be allowed." Yuan Xi quickly put down the embroidery string, lifted her skirt and walked out the door.

In the slanting sunlight, Xiao Du was standing in the yard, his sleeves rolled up high, holding a shovel and loosening the soil next to a tree facing her window. Surrounding him were Madam Li and several servants who looked frightened and were talking to him about something, but he just glanced at them, not moved at all.

When Nanny Li saw Yuan Xi coming out, she hurried over and said, "Madam, please go and persuade the Marquis. He insists on planting flowers here himself. This kind of thing should naturally be done by the gardener in the mansion. If he accidentally hurts it, how can we afford it?"

When Xiao Du heard this, he raised his eyebrows impatiently and said, "Do I look so weak? How can I get hurt by planting a flower?"

Yuan Xi couldn't help but chuckle, and held Li Ma's hand, saying, "It's not a big deal, Li Ma, don't worry, I'll go talk to him."

She then walked over to him, took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat off his face, then asked with a smile, "What are you doing?"

Xiao Du looked at her smiling face in the sunshine and couldn't help wanting to hold her hand. But then he remembered that his hands were covered in dirt, so he had to put it down in dismay. He introduced her with a rather proud look on his face, "This flower is called Jiao Huang, and it is the best of all peonies. I saw you particularly liked it when you saw it at Uncle Feng's place before, so I thought of getting one for you to plant under the window. This flower is very precious and difficult to grow. I specially went to Uncle Feng to get the planting method. Those rough people in the mansion may not be able to grow it."

Yuan Xi then realized that he wanted to plant flowers for her, so she leaned against him and said softly, "Then I'll go with you."

When Li Ma saw the two of them looking at each other in front of the flowers, their eyes were filled with affection and sweetness. She couldn't help but secretly scold herself for being nosy. It was a rare thought for the marquis to personally plant flowers for his wife, so why were they interfering?

Thinking of this, she felt that it was quite redundant for her to stand here, so she called for the servants to disperse and said with a smile, "Thank you for your thoughtfulness, Lord Marquis. I will go and prepare tea for you." After that, she ran back to the house and whispered with the maids outside.

Xiao Du chatted with her while loosening the soil and planting, and he didn't feel any hardship at all. When Yuan Xi saw the sweat on his forehead, she stood on tiptoe to wipe it for him. When they got close, the fragrance of her body penetrated into his nose, like a feather gently falling into his heart, easily stirring up a slight rash.

Xiao Du suddenly felt a little hot under the sun. Every time she came close to him, his heart felt like being gently pricked by little claws, and he felt itchy and dissatisfied.

He raised a faint smile and suddenly came up with an idea. He straightened up and frowned, "It's over. It seems like a bee has stung the back of my neck. It's itchy and painful. My hands are dirty and it's inconvenient. Can you help me take a look?"

Yuan Xi was startled and looked up quickly, but he was tall and stood straight at this moment, with no intention of turning his head or bending his waist to cooperate with her. As a result, she could not see clearly at all. She had to stand on tiptoe and move forward until she was close to his chest.

Yuan Xi carefully searched for his neck, but suddenly felt the hot breath he exhaled into her ears, her face suddenly turned red, and her heartbeat accelerated. At this time, she heard a muffled laugh from above, and then she realized that she was almost hanging on him, and he stretched out his hands, as if he was holding her in his arms.

She glared at him angrily and was about to pull away when she heard him whisper in her ear, "It really hurts. If you don't believe me, feel it for me."

Yuan Xi's face turned even redder, but she couldn't resist his flattering and begging tone, so she reached out and put her hand behind his neck and touched it gently. Because she was standing on tiptoe and was not stable, her lips always touched his neck accidentally, and every touch caused him to shudder.

She carefully touched it for a long time, but couldn't touch any red or swollen area, so she glared at him angrily and said, "Where are the bees? It's broad daylight, I'm not going to play around with you." But before she could step back, he pressed her arm, and her vest pressed against an apricot tree beside her. His wet and hot lips immediately covered hers, pulling her tongue tip and entangled with it continuously.

Yuan Xi was kissed so hard that her body went limp, but she suddenly felt something hard between her legs. She was startled and suddenly remembered that they were still in the yard, so she started to struggle with a red face, saying, "What are you doing? Others will see it."

Xiao Du panted and moved away from her lips. He suddenly picked her up and said with a malicious smile, "Let's go into the room."