The room was quiet, and only the intermittent dripping sound of the tea could be heard.
Xue Rui did not know how long it took for him to return to his senses. It was as if he had woken up from a long nightmare, and his back was covered with a layer of sweat.
"Big Brother."
Yu Shu couldn't help but call out to him in a low voice. She didn't know when she had sat down beside him, but she held his cold hands.
"…" Xue Rui turned his head and faced Yu Shu. He revealed a complicated smile, cold and indescribable bitterness.
No one knew how he survived the days after the death of the Tenth Princess. Every day and night, he was immersed in the torment of remorse.
He felt guilty to his mother, to his third sister, and he was ashamed to face his grandfather. However, the person who made him feel the most guilty was the unparalleled beauty that he insisted on marrying.
He had always thought that the most innocent victim in the whole matter was the Tenth Princess. For three years, he had never forgotten to find the murderer who killed her and avenge her.
However, regarding this murderer, he had suspected the imperial concubines in the palace, suspected Liu Hao, and even suspected that Jin Xun had made a mistake. However, he had never thought that it would be a trap that she had set up herself.
It was ridiculous that the person he had been hating and regretting all these years was the same person.
Yu Shu looked at Xue Rui's expression and felt upset. She wanted to comfort him, but she couldn't help but say coldly,
"The Tenth Princess really had no intention of marrying you. Even if she leaked some information to you, I believe that you wouldn't force her. At that time, the marriage had not been arranged, and everything could be salvaged. However, she chose such a method of harming the enemy and herself, harming others and herself. How old was Jin Xun at that time? She was still a child, yet she could bear to frame her. I really don't know whether to say that she was ruthless or stupid. Why are you sad for such a person? "
Hearing this, Xue Rui smiled bitterly, sighed softly, and said in a low voice,
"Everything happened because of me. She is just a pitiful person."
Yu Shu hated a person from head to toe. When she heard that Xue Rui wanted to take the blame and absolve the Tenth Princess, she couldn't help but be angry.
This made her even more determined to uproot the thorn that was the Tenth Princess from Xue Rui's heart. Thus, she pushed his hand away and said confidently,
"What's there to be pitiful about? She's a dignified princess. She's lived a life of luxury, but she doesn't know how to be a princess. She secretly has an affair with a man. If she really has guts, why doesn't she openly mention it to the Emperor and Empress and ask them to be the matchmaker? I don't believe that anyone will force her to die! "
"There must be something shameful about that Xiao Ji man, so he wants her to hide her head and show her tail. It's lucky that you're here. If she's given to someone else, she'll still plot against you. Instead of feeling pity for her, it's better to pity yourself!"
The more Yu Shu spoke, the angrier she became. She knew that it was meaningless to argue with a dead person, but when she thought that Xue Rui was thinking about such a poisonous and stupid thing, she couldn't help but feel angry.
"Let me ask you the truth. If you knew that the Tenth Princess had someone else in her heart and was not willing to marry you, would you still stubbornly ask the Emperor to arrange the marriage and force her?"
Xue Rui was stunned when Yu Shu bellowed at him, and the coldness in his entire body actually disappeared in the blink of an eye. As he looked at her face that was slightly flushed from anger, he was suddenly enlightened in his heart, and he suddenly wanted to laugh.
When he was young, he didn't know the world. He once thought that a beauty with unparalleled talent was the best person in the world. Now, his eyes were like a torch, and he could see clearly that a beauty was not famous for her talent, but someone who understood her heart. It was hard to find one in ten thousand.
"I won't," Xue Rui shook his head and answered with certainty. At the same time, he took Yu Shu's hand back and held it in his palm. His eyes warmly looked at her, his gaze fixed —
"You know this the best."
When he liked Yu Shu, she was in love with someone else. He could use his heart to find her, he could wait for her to change her mind, but he would not force her to do something she was not willing to do.
Yu Shu couldn't stand his gentle gaze. Thinking back to the twists and turns they went through to get together, the fire in her heart disappeared.
She gave a light snort and pulled his hand that had warmed up. She lowered her head and bit down on his hand, not holding back.
The teeth on his hand were sharp. Xue Rui had a smile on his lips, his brows not furrowed. His eyes were no longer dim and had brightened.
Yu Shu let go and looked at the red mark on his hand with satisfaction. She raised her eyebrows and said to him, "Don't think about the past.
"Don't think about the past. I don't like you thinking about someone else. From now on, if you dare to think about her again, I'll bite you once."
Since the Tenth Princess had caused her own death, then there was no need for Xue Rui to seek revenge from that so-called 'murderer,' and this knot in his heart would be easily resolved.
Hearing her autocratic request, Xue Rui's eyes sparkled. He held her hand in front of him, kissed her round fingertips, and said,
"She and I finally don't owe each other anything. There's no need to seek revenge for her. Don't worry, even if I think about her again, I won't feel sorry for her. Now I only have you in my heart, but —"
Yu Shu was still proud of the first half of his words. Suddenly, he changed the topic and she curled her lips.
"But what?"
"I still think that even if the Tenth Princess was courting death, there must be someone behind the scenes who added fuel to the fire. I must find out who the man named Xiao Ji is. Even if I don't seek revenge for the Tenth Princess, I also want to seek peace of mind for myself."
A cold light flashed across Xue Rui's eyes. He had a good temper, but he was not a person to be trifled with. After three years, when he returned to the territory of Anling City, he did not only rely on his family background.
No one in the capital city knew what he had experienced in the past three years.
Seeing that his face was flushed again and he was no longer concerned about the death of the Tenth Princess, Yu Shu was relieved and said indifferently,
"If you want to find out, then go ahead. I also want to see what kind of peerless man can charm the Tenth Princess so much. He is even worse than you."
Xue Rui pursed his lips and smiled. He was not angry when he heard her teasing.
He was just a young and frivolous delusion towards the Tenth Princess. There was no mutual love between them. Those obsessions had been awakened as early as when she died, so he could pick them up and let them go.
As the saying goes, three heads are better than Zhuge Liang.
Yu Shu and Xue Rui, the two smart people, got together and learned from each other's strengths. In just a few days, Yu Shu first discovered the secret of Yun Hua Yi Zi, and then untied the knot in Xue Rui's heart for three years.
After they confided in each other, the two of them felt that they were even closer than before. Especially Yu Shu, she'd even told Xue Rui about Qing Zheng's request, and unknowingly, she'd become slightly more reliant on him.
In this way, she was even more unwilling to resign herself to fate and be the person who broke her life.
Speaking of which, ever since she had asked Jing Chen about the Book of Mystery Women's Six Rens, she had returned to the Taishi Library for the past two days and did not look for him again. She was only waiting for him to take the initiative to look for her when he had news.
.....
The day at the end of May was a good day to worship.
He Fangzhi asked the servants to clean the front and back courtyards early in the morning. She set up an incense table in the courtyard, served pork head, mutton, and four fruit plates.
Today, they were going to formally adopt Yu Xiaoxiu as their son. In addition to Pei Jing and his wife, they also invited two of He Fangzhi's good friends in the capital city to be guests.
When the auspicious hour arrived, Yu Xiaoxiu knelt to the sky and kowtowed three times to acknowledge his parents and Old Madame He as his grandmother. At the same time, he also had Pei Jing and Madame Qin as his uncles.
Yu Shu accompanied Yu Xiaoxiu by holding the tea tray. After he toasted the elders and finished the ceremony, she shouted towards the door of the courtyard,
"Put the Thousand-Year Red Wine on, it must be loud!"
She pushed Yu Xiaoxiu's shoulder and returned to He Fangzhi and Zhao Hui. She held a cup of tea in each hand, knelt down, raised it above her head, and said,
"Xiaoxiu and I were born alone. Our father died early and our mother remarried. We depended on each other until now. There were times when we didn't have enough food and clothing, and also times when we lived under someone else's roof. My brother was more sensible than me since he was young. At a young age, he had to wash and clean. He couldn't even wear new clothes all year round. He was used to living a hard life and didn't get much love from the elders. Fortunately, the heavens had eyes and he met godparents. Finally, there were a few people in this world who loved him. As the eldest sister, I didn't take good care of my brother in the past and let him suffer. It's my fault. Father and Mother, please teach Xiaoxiu well in the future. If he doesn't listen, you can beat or scold him. But please love him more than you love me. My brother and I will definitely be filial. "
These heartfelt words made Zhao Hui's eyes brim with tears. He Fangzhi's eyes also redden as she recalled the scene when she first met these two children. The spectators on both sides of the hall were all moved.
Yu Xiaoxiu knelt beside Yu Shu, biting his lip. With one hand, he tugged at the corner of Yu Shu's clothes. His stubborn little face was covered in tears.
"Good child, get up quickly. Why are you telling the child to kneel?" Old Madame He wiped her tears and urged her son and daughter-in-law to pull him up.
The scene was chaotic. The women were all wiping their tears. Zhao Hui hugged Yu Xiaoxiu with one hand and Yu Shu with the other. Qin Shi hugged He Xiaochuan and also choked with sobs.
.....
An hour later, the banquet was set up. He Fangzhi was in the dining room entertaining the guests. Yu Shu brought Yu Xiaoxiu back to the room to wash up.
In the room, Yu Shu took over Yun Dou's position. She wrung out a towel from the water basin and gently wiped Yu Xiaoxiu's face as she said to him,
"Let's forget about it today. In the future, you're not allowed to cry so casually. A man doesn't cry."
"En, I won't cry anymore."
Yu Xiaoxiu nodded obediently and raised his neck to look at Yu Shu, who was half a head taller than him. His eyes drifted a few times, and suddenly, he became determined. There was a glimmer of dazzling courage on his young face. He gathered his spirit and told her in a nasal voice,
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