When Yu Shu returned to Wangji Tower, it was already late at night. She held the sandalwood brocade box with the gold jade hibiscus in her hands. Her good mood was ruined by Jing Chen on the way. Plus the twists and turns of the night, she felt tired.
However, when she entered the backyard and saw the figure waiting in the corridor downstairs, she couldn't help but smile and quickened her steps.
"Brother is waiting for me?"
Xue Rui smiled as he nodded, and he stared at her as she walked over to stand before him before stretching out his hand to pluck off the crystal flower that was on the verge of falling from the side of her ear, and he rubbed it in his hand before passing it back to her.
"Isn't this dress heavy? Go back to the room and change. I will wait for you to have supper. I have something to say to you."
Yu Shu rubbed the back of her stiff neck. She thought that if it weren't for the shining silver, she wouldn't have suffered like this. However, she said proudly,
"Isn't this beautiful? I looked in the mirror before going out and was shocked by myself. Tut, clothes make the man. I can be considered a beauty if I really dress up."
After saying that, she raised her eyebrows and smiled at him. She didn't know that such a coquettish look was enough to make people's heartbeat go crazy.
Xue Rui's eyes were a bit deep. He raised his hand and gently pinched her face. He said with a low smile, "I don't care about beauties. But a beauty with such a thick face is rare."
"Hey." Yu Shu hit off his flirting finger. Looking at his handsome face with peach blossoms, she thought of several cases of him. She smiled coldly and poked his chest with her finger.
"I'll settle accounts with you later."
She turned and went upstairs to change clothes, leaving Xue Rui confused. He wondered what he did to provoke her.
.....
By the time Yu Shu had freshened up and changed into a refreshing silk dress, Xue Rui still couldn't figure out what he had done wrong tonight that she needed to "settle the score" with him.
Yu Shu, who didn't wear any makeup, didn't have the cold and elegant appearance that attracted people's attention at the banquet, but her aura was still there. She put the brocade box on the table and sat opposite Xue Rui. After staring at him for a while, Xue Rui felt his right eyelid twitch, and he had a bad premonition.
Sure enough, Yu Shu tapped on the table and asked expressionlessly,
"Princess Xi Wen is one thing, but what about Young Lady Rui from the Count's Estate? Could it be that Big Brother has forgotten something that he needs to tell me? "
Rui Zizhu had leaked the news about the marriage between the Xue family and the Count's Estate. When Yu Shu first heard about it, she was very angry, but she didn't let her anger get to her head. After thinking about it calmly, she decided to first ask Xue Rui about it and see if he knew about it.
If he was also kept in the dark, it would be forgivable. But if he knew about it and deliberately hid it from her …
Yu Shu clenched her fists that rested on her knees.
When Xue Rui heard her question, he felt a headache coming on. He immediately guessed that she had heard about the marriage between the Xue family and the Xue family. Seeing that she was calm as if a storm was brewing, he knew that she didn't hide the sand in her eyes. If he couldn't give her a reason tonight, this little ingrate might turn against him.
As Xue Rui thought to himself, he got up and sat next to Yu Shu. Regardless of whether she was willing or not, he grabbed her hand first.
"Shu, this is Big Brother's fault. I'll tell you the truth. You can't keep your distance from me."
Yu Shu's heart skipped a beat. From his words, it was obvious that he knew about it. Her face suddenly darkened and she said,
"So, you really have an engagement with Young Lady Rui?"
"No," Xue Rui denied it without thinking. Seeing that she didn't look well, he was afraid that she would misunderstand, so he quickly explained, "My grandfather has the intention to marry the Count's Estate.
He's interested in the young lady of the Rui family, but the marriage hasn't been decided yet. It's just that the elders of both families have informed each other, and they haven't formally discussed the marriage. "
Yu Shu laughed angrily and shook off his hand. She said, "Your family has arranged a marriage for you, but you're hiding it from me. If I hadn't overheard it tonight, were you planning to wait until the marriage was settled before telling me? At that time, you'd coax me, so that you could have two beauties and enjoy the happiness of having two wives, right? "
"Nonsense," Xue Rui didn't know whether to laugh or cry as he listened to her conjecture. He grabbed her hand back and held it firmly, lest she ran away.
"Listen to me first. It's not too late to be angry with me. First of all, the marriage with the Count's Estate wasn't my intention. You also know about the matter between me and the Tenth Princess. Outsiders thought that it was because of the death of my Xue family. My grandfather didn't want to touch the Emperor's heart, so he didn't talk about marriage with me these years. The Tenth Princess is also the Empress's daughter. If someone wants to claim kinship with my Xue family, they have to think twice. The Count's Estate is the Empress's mother's family. My grandfather wanted to marry the Tenth Princess. On the one hand, he also wanted to repair the relationship with the Rui family. However, whether the marriage would be successful or not, it wasn't up to the two families to decide.
"Therefore, I thought that this marriage couldn't be done overnight, so I thought about how to make my grandfather give up the idea. At that time, you still wholeheartedly regarded me as a big brother. How could I mention this to you, so I hid it from you."
After listening to his words, Yu Shu's anger also dissipated. She sorted out her thoughts and said with a straight face,
"It's fine if you didn't tell me before. Why didn't you discuss it with me later? Am I that unreasonable?"
In the first place, she didn't believe that Xue Rui would be a fickle person. Not to mention that she personally saw him jumping into the unpredictable depth of Dingbo Lake tonight. He was willing to take the risk because of a single sentence from her. There was no need to doubt this man's feelings towards her.
She could only blame herself for hearing about it from Rui Zizhu. Thinking of the delicate Miss Rui's shy appearance, she couldn't help but feel angry. A mouthful of sour water was choked in her throat.
Seeing that her attitude had softened, Xue Rui secretly heaved a sigh of relief. He said, "If you want to blame someone, you can only blame God's will. Do you know what my original plan was?"
Yu Shu shook her head. For a moment, she couldn't think of any good way for him to reject this well-matched marriage.
"I've been eyeing this year's Gentlemen's Hibiscus Banquet for a long time." Xue Rui said in a low voice.
Yu Shu was stunned. After thinking for a moment, she understood what he meant. Suddenly, her mood became complicated.
"I originally thought that if I fought for the Golden Jade Hibiscus, I'd present it to you in front of everyone to show my sincerity. Then, we'd get married. Grandfather wouldn't be able to force me. Naturally, the marriage with the Earl's Mansion would be left unsettled. Who knew …"
"Who knew that I'd become the Life Breaker. Not to mention one Golden Jade Hibiscus, even if there were a hundred of them, it would still be difficult to achieve anything good." Yu Shu's voice was heavy.
From the moment that Jing Chen determined that she was the Life Breaker, a rope was tied around her neck. The other end of the rope was held in the hands of the Emperor of the Da An Dynasty. Wherever he led her, she had to go. If she ran in the opposite direction, the rope would take her life.
She was such a big trouble. It was hard for Xue Rui to have the courage to accept her.
Xue Rui saw her changing expression and guessed why she was worried. He sighed and pulled her hand to his chest. He rubbed her slender and cold fingers and slowly said,
"When the boat reaches the bridgehead, it'll straighten out. You don't have to worry too much. With the two of us working together, we'll definitely find a perfect plan."
"Hmm." Yu Shu didn't want Xue Rui to worry. She restrained her negative emotions. She frowned and said,
"Then what about your marriage with the Rui family? Miss Rui of the Rui family can be provoked by a few words from Xi Wen to deal with me. It seems that she has set her mind on you. If this marriage doesn't go through, will it backfire and make the misunderstanding on the Empress' side deeper? "
The Empress had no children. If the Xue family intended to support Liu Tan to ascend the throne, it would be best to get the support of the Rui family. Otherwise, it would not be good for the future if the two families became enemies.
Yu Shu's consideration was not wrong. However, when Xue Rui heard this, his eyes flickered. He smiled slightly and said,
"There have been conflicts since a long time ago. It is not necessarily a bad thing to not do this."
He was vague and evasive. It seemed that he didn't care about the enmity with the Earl's mansion. Yu Shu couldn't help but be curious, "What do you mean?"
Xue Rui didn't answer. He pulled her curled fingers in front of his face and kissed it. He avoided the important point and said, "I have another way to cancel this marriage. You don't have to worry about it. But where is the other half of the gift you said you would give me? I have worked hard to get the golden jade hibiscus. I am waiting to exchange it with you as a token of love."
Yu Shu couldn't stand his intimate behavior. She pulled her hand back and glared at him.
"You have the nerve to mention it to me. I asked you to exchange the golden jade hibiscus, but I didn't ask you to exchange it with your life. You are not good at swimming, but you dared to jump into the middle of the lake. If something bad happened, where should I go to cry?"
Xue Rui laughed. He didn't care about her cold face. He raised his hand and pinched her soft chin. He said,
"If I am so useless, I am not worthy of you, a female fortune teller who can determine life and death."
After saying that, he got up and went into the bedroom. After a while, he came out with the purple jade hairpin in his hand and gave it to Yu Shu.
"This year's golden jade hibiscus is made of ice chiseled from the Great Snow Mountain. It will become cold when it is hot. It is very rare. It is stuffy these days. Put it on the bed and you will have a good night's sleep."
Yu Shu took it and looked at it carefully. It was indeed an exquisite item. The hairpin carved from purple jade was only one-third the size of a real hibiscus flower, but inside and outside it were stacked with hundreds of layers of petals. The petals were as thin as ice gauze and as transparent as silk clothing. When they were in full bloom, the faint purple light was very moving.
She played with it for a while. Then she looked up at Xue Rui and said,
"Did you open the other half of the gift I gave you last night?"
Before Xue Rui went into the lake to look for the lamp, Yu Shu gave him a brocade bag. Inside it was a purple crystal fan pendant that had been nourished in the wind pond.
"I didn't have time to open it." Xue Rui took out the brocade pouch from his clothes. Just as he was about to open it to take a look, without paying attention, Yu Shu reached out and snatched it away, stuffing it into her sleeve.
"Hey? What are you doing? "
"I promised to give you the other half. It will take a few days to finish. I will keep this half for you and give it to you later. Brother, wait for me. I am sure you will like my gift."
If he saw the fan pendant, he would definitely guess that she was going to give him a fan. Then there would be no surprise.
Xue Rui looked at her shameless behavior. He squinted his eyes and bent down with his hands behind his back. His handsome face approached her.
"I have been busy all night, but in the end, I got nothing. If it were you, would you be happy?"
Yu Shu admitted that she was in the wrong. She gave a hollow laugh and subconsciously shrank her neck. She rolled her eyes and tried to fool him. "It's just a few days later. I didn't say that I won't give it to you. Why are you in such a hurry …"
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