frank
This is the first time a daughter of the prestigious Xie family has been called a "fallen family."
Liu Xu was clearly furious, his neck turning red with anger, but considering they were in the palace, he didn't want to argue with her, so he grabbed Xie Lingxi's hand and was about to leave.
Yan Jiaojiao had never been looked down upon like this before. Her eyes narrowed, and she shouted, "Who gave you permission to leave!"
The palace servants around them all knelt down.
They were all shrewd people. The official at the center of the storm was now a favorite of the emperor, not to mention how glorious he was a year ago, riding his horse through Chang'an and wearing flowers and hats.
His wife was the beloved daughter of the Xie and Wang families. Regardless of her talent, beauty, and character, her noble status surpassed even that of some princesses.
Did the Seventh Princess ever consider the consequences of her outburst at such a person?
Yan Jiaojiao clearly didn't know Xie Lingxi's identity. She lived a secluded life, always pampered by her brother and mother, and had an exceptionally willful nature. Seeing that the two were still walking, she suddenly drew her whip from her waist and lashed it out—
Xie Lingxi was caught off guard and was slapped hard on the back.
"Ugh—!"
Blood oozed from her tightly closed lips, trickling down between her pale fingers.
The pent-up frustration of the day finally dissipated, and her consciousness gradually blurred. She was unaware that she was coughing up blood in a violent manner, her hands covered in blood, which smeared on Liu Xu, who was supporting her, and stained her husband's sky-blue outer robe red.
She felt a sharp pain in her chest, as if her internal organs had been misplaced. She accidentally choked on blood and fell to the ground. Blood poured out of her nose and mouth. Grass pierced her palms, and her whole body turned a chilling red.
Amidst the surrounding clamor, the high-ranking officials and empresses at the banquet moved to the pond to admire the view. Upon seeing this scene, they were utterly shocked.
The arguments escalated, eventually reaching a point of contention.
They all saw it: the Seventh Princess repeatedly spoke rudely to Lord Liu and his wife, and in the end, she even took out a long whip and hit them.
The clothes of Lady Xie were torn, and cotton wadding floated in the air, sticking to their faces. Blood flowed uncontrollably from their faces and backs, white and red, a gruesome sight.
"Cough cough cough—cough cough—!"
"A telepathic connection!"
Xie Lingxi fainted.
...
When I woke up again, it was already evening the next day.
After seeing off countless visitors, Liu Xu noticed that his wife on the bed had her eyes slightly open. He quickly fetched a basin of warm water and gently wiped her face.
Xie Lingxi's eyelashes unconsciously brushed against Liu Xu's fingers. "Ah, Xu."
Liu Xu touched her forehead and, seeing that she didn't have a fever, sighed, "Yes, I'm here."
Although the imperial physician said there was nothing seriously wrong, it was just that the lady was weak, had many worries, and was frightened, which caused the blood in her chest cavity to gush out. She was still shaken, saying, "It scared me to death."
"What are you scared of?" Xie Lingxi asked knowingly.
She regained some strength, moved her fingers slightly, and quietly felt that the dull pain in her chest had lessened considerably, but her throat and back still burned, probably because the friction had been too intense.
"I'm fine, don't worry."
It's more than just worry.
When Xie Lingxi collapsed last night, Liu Xu's heart stopped for a moment—his wife's body stood alone like a withered lotus, suddenly knocked down by the wind.
Fear and rage surged into my heart, and a storm raged through my mind.
But the whip didn't strike him.
After thinking for a moment, he tenderly rubbed Xie Lingxi's stiff calf, "Does it hurt a lot?"
"A little."
Xie Lingxi raised her hand and stroked Liu Xu's tender eyes, a cold glint in her eyes: "But she will be in more pain than I am."
Last night she sent Baishi to invite the distinguished guests, and they arrived just in time.
Princess Da Yan whipped the minister's wife in full view of everyone, which was a scandal no matter how you looked at it.
Although the matter could be big or small, Liu Xu and her father and brothers would definitely make a big fuss about it. The third daughter of the Xie family and the wife of the top scholar should not be humiliated like this.
That is the beauty of power—
No wonder so many people enjoy it.
Liu Xu hummed in response, still filled with self-reproach. His wife had come looking for him; if he had returned home sooner, none of this would have happened, and Lingxi would have suffered needlessly.
"If you hadn't come looking for me, why would you be like this?"
Xie Lingxi reassured her, "That's not it. I was just angry."
"who?"
"Yanji".
Outside the courtyard, fallen flowers resembled brocade. She carefully chose her words, "If I told you that Yan Ji had the same dream as me, would you believe me?"
It was the prophetic nightmare that Xie Lingxi had told him before.
Liu Xu said, "I believe you."
"Um."
Xie Lingxi propped herself up and sat up, leaning against the soft pillow. Liu Xu helped her move her head to his chest.
She said coldly, "Then today I want to tell you that all of this has happened—do you know about past lives and this life?"
Previous life.
Liu Xu chewed on the word slowly and deliberately.
A thought quietly arose in his mind—
Here it came: Xie Lingxi's bewilderment, Xie Lingxi's helplessness, Xie Lingxi's sorrow, Xie Lingxi's resentment... all the emotions that he had previously found difficult to understand seemed to have found an answer at this moment.
It was from a previous life.
He was not entirely unaware of this; the absurd dream that suddenly appeared in the heavy rain in Jingzhou that day often left him feeling uneasy.
Hearing this now, I feel relieved; it turns out it was from a past life.
In this life, everything will be different.
"Don't say anymore." He gently covered Xie Lingxi's mouth and said, "It's all in the past. Don't think about unhappy things anymore."
Xie Lingxi gestured for the person to put their hand down. "Aren't you curious?"
"Who did I marry in my past life? What kind of person did I become? Did we ever know each other? What was our relationship? Don't you want to know?"
Liu Xu was unwilling to recall it.
Seeing that the person remained silent for a long time, Xie Lingxi did not persist and changed the subject: "Then, Ah Xu, would you like to know what your final fate was in that story?"
"For example...the highest position in the court?"
Every scholar in the world dreams of governing the country and bringing peace to the world, and Liu Xu is no exception. Xie Lingxi thought that if he told him the truth, he would probably find it hard to accept.
To everyone's surprise, Liu Xu became even more adamant, shaking his head: "No, Lingxi, you don't need to tell me."
He looked into Xie Lingxi's clear eyes and could see his own reflection in them.
The young man in her eyes was handsome and elegant, like a bamboo shoot. Everyone who saw him would say, "A peerless gentleman."
"Just follow your heart, that's enough."
Xie Lingxi: "Alright then."
Hearing this, Liu Xu couldn't hide his disappointment, and not knowing what had touched Xie Lingxi's heartstrings, he asked softly, "What's wrong?"
Xie Lingxi said, "I thought we could have a sentimental chat here."
Liu Xu chuckled to himself.
His wife was still unwell, but she was in high spirits. She pulled him aside and talked on and on, explaining her past life and then talking about what happened yesterday.
"Yan Ji instigated Yan Jiaojiao to woo you... Are you aware of this?"
Liu Xu held the bowl and fed her a spoonful of soup. "?"
He had thought yesterday was just an accident, a sudden encounter with the princess in the deep palace, and the princess pouncing on him like a hungry tiger. But if this was the work of the Prince of Jin, the nature of the matter would be completely different.
He suddenly realized, "So leading me to the water's edge was also part of the plan?"
Xie Lingxi nodded. "Of course, how could I drag you down if we weren't close to the abyss? But being too clever for your own good is truly laughable."
After she finished speaking, she laughed twice, but accidentally aggravated the wound on her abdomen and back, choking on a mouthful of soup. Her laughter turned into tears, and she leaned into Liu Xu's arms, wincing in pain, "Cough cough cough—"
Be careful.
Liu Xu, both amused and exasperated, gently patted her back. In the process, their dark hair intertwined, blending with the evening mist from the flower bath. At that tender moment, someone approached from outside the door—
"A telepathic connection!"
Xie Lingxi sat up straight. "Ayi."
Cui Yi looked her up and down with heartache in her eyes, picked up Xie Lingxi's hand and examined it from all angles. Seeing that her face was slightly pale, she knew that she was in pain, but she was still smiling gently. Cui Yi took a breath and said, "You scared me to death. Luckily, you're alright."
Yesterday morning, Xie Lingxi saw Qing Lingling standing in the hall. She went out for a bit and then collapsed, bearing a whip mark. Thinking of this, she cursed, "What kind of damn princess is she! She bites people like a mad dog!"
Xie Lingxi patted the back of her hand, "It's alright, I'll never let myself suffer a loss."
Cui Yi sat on the edge of the bed and carefully took Xie Lingxi's hand. "The court was quite lively today. The sick, the pretending to be sick, and the bedridden all came. Naturally, she didn't get away with it."
Xie Heng arrived at the Liu residence early in the morning, partly to visit his sister and partly to meet her. These days, the war was intensifying, and Xie Heng was constantly training, his refined elegance almost completely washed away by the tension of battle.
Xie Lingxi frowned: "Is this battle absolutely necessary?"
"I can't say for sure."
Cui Yi suppressed her worries, then remembered something else, "However, Prince Jin took leave today. I wonder if he was ashamed because he tried to steal a chicken but lost the rice instead?"
"Because he has my handprint on his face."
Cui Yi: "..."
Liu Xu, who happened to be in the room to retrieve something, was speechless.
After a long silence, Cui Yi gave an awkward smile and said, "Alright then."
...
The events of that day caused a great uproar in the previous dynasty.
To give the Xie family, and indeed all the noble families they represented, an explanation, the Emperor publicly reprimanded the princess for her wicked words and deeds, confined her to her quarters for three months, and even implicated Yan Jiaojiao's elder brother, Yan Ji, and his maternal clan.
General Pei Huan, who originally held military power in the northern frontier, has now been transferred to Longxi.
He also sent an eunuch to the Liu residence to present Xie Lingxi with a pile of precious medicinal herbs and silks as a token of his appreciation.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Lord Cui strongly advocated for streamlining the redundant official system and abolishing nominal positions, which happened to be exactly what the Emperor wanted.
As a result, many official positions specifically created for scions of aristocratic families were abolished. This not only improved efficiency but also benefited another group of people.
That is the story of a poor scholar who passed the imperial examination.
Although the emperor established the imperial examination system with the intention of supporting scholars from humble backgrounds, the powerful families were too dominant, and the results were minimal. Now, the court has a fresh perspective, and scholars who have passed the imperial examinations have been able to occupy a small portion of the examination space.
this……
After weighing the options, the three parties formed a stable triangle, moving towards a "public good" approach.
Cui Wenying's actions have drawn criticism: some condemn him for not prioritizing the interests of powerful families, others admire his shrewd political maneuvering, but many more find them incomprehensible.
Why would the Grand Secretary get involved in this mess?
Xie Lingxi, however, believed that Lord Cui's actions were not for the sake of the poor, the powerful, or even the imperial power, but for his own sake.
She looked at the person lounging lazily in the mahogany chair opposite her and said, "Is this what you call 'trendy'?"
Pei Qian spread his hands, with an expression that said, "Just as I thought."
"Look at this, his methods are truly astonishing. Who would have thought that a reformer from such a wealthy and powerful family would have such courage and determination? If pushed too far, he's capable of anything."
"I never force anyone."
That's what I meant.
Pei Qian ordered someone to bring Xiao Cui and Zhi Yuan over, and they fought. Xiao Cui was strong and had a slight advantage, but Zhi Yuan also showed signs of fighting back. When he was pressed into the dressing case, he struggled and pushed away a small bead.
"Never coerce anyone?" he repeated in a low voice, gently grinding the bead. "Do you dare say that what happened to the Seventh Princess that night wasn't your doing?"
Xie Lingxi retorted sarcastically, "Did I ask her to hit me?"
She was simply playing along; since Yan Ji had given her such a generous gift, she naturally had to reciprocate properly.
But what was Pei Qian trying to do by bringing this up?
"Are you lying to me?" Her eyes sharpened. "What are you talking about, this pawn or not—you still have connections with Yan Ji?"
The person opposite suddenly clutched their chest. "You don't believe me?"
Regardless, he would naturally not break ties with Yan Ji, after all, the two were cousins who were very close.
Logically speaking, Pei Qian's closeness to the Xie family could be considered a "betrayal".
His father was General Pei Huan, who had been transferred to Longxi and was unlikely to achieve military merit. The Pei family's weakened power was a bad thing, but if Pei Qian's wish was to stop the war, it was difficult to criticize him.
Xie Lingxi recalled what Pei Qian had said that night and felt that something was amiss.
Although "the world is bustling with activity and people come and go for profit", why would Yan Ji abandon his own clan?
Moreover, if they were to face Dongli, it would almost certainly be a war they were guaranteed to win. At that time, fertile fields, beautiful concubines, houses, wealth, power, and status would come to them in droves. So what exactly was Pei Qian dissatisfied with, and what were his concerns?
Then Pei Qian said with a mournful tone, "What good would it do me to lie to you? I have no choice but to obey the Prince of Jin's orders, so why blame it on me?"
Pei Qian declined to comment.
Xie Lingxi suppressed her doubts, knowing that now was not a good time to press for answers, and said, "That would be best."
Countless thoughts flashed through her mind, and Pei Qian was also sizing her up.
Although Xie Lingxi concealed it very well, Pei Qian could tell that she deliberately let the Seventh Princess deal with her cruelly in order to stir up trouble and test something.
Looking at the cricket struggling on the table, he kindly untied the red thread wrapped around Lang Zhiyuan. "What are you planning to do next?"
Let me reiterate: "Our goal is to stop the war."
The two crickets were originally at peace, but they fought fiercely because they were trapped in a small box.
And the same applies to people.
Xie Lingxi made a sarcastic remark: "This battle was bound to happen sooner or later."
Little did I know it would arrive so quickly.
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