Cai Huan's eyes flickered for a moment. She clearly hadn't expected Ling Shuang to figure her out so well, but she quickly returned to normal. "So what? You've already figured it out, haven't you?" Her words hinted at a hint of blame for Ling Shuang. In fact, with her cunning, she couldn't fail to understand that Ling Shuang was doing this for her own good.

But people are like that. The closer they are, the more confident they become. Xianyue, for example, took out all her anger on Ling Shuang.

"I just find it a pity.

A tiger in trouble is bullied by a dog. While they're certainly taking it too far, you're a precious person. Why bother going toe-to-toe with someone like Xun Wenqi?

Just pretend to be pitiful and spread her reputation for being domineering and mean. That's enough," Ling Shuang said calmly.

Xianyue's mockery of them being soulmates wasn't entirely mockery. At least Ling Shuang understood Cai Huan.

And Cai Huan had observed Ling Shuang a lot.

"What about you? Do you really think you can stay out of this and never marry?" She looked Ling Shuang in the eye and asked, "You know Cheng Jun is also Yuzhu and Bizhu's target, right?

If you don't want to marry Cheng Jun, you should plan it sooner rather than later. Don't put it off until you're done, only to end up with nothing left over and forced to marry someone else's leftover. That would truly be the end of you."

"Xianyue said the same thing. You two really think alike, but she's mad at me..."

"Angry at what? Do you think you shouldn't stand up for me?"

"Angry at me for being your friend." Ling Shuang was frank.

Her straightforward nature was a real nemesis for people like them. As expected, Cai Huan bought into her words. She didn't respond, but her prickliness subsided somewhat. She glanced at Ling Shuang and asked, "What book are you reading?"

"From the library outside. 'Zhuangzi,'" Ling Shuang handed it to her.

"How did you get into the library outside?"

"I climbed over the wall."

Ling Shuang's ridiculous response made Cai Huan smile helplessly. She flipped through the book, wanting to say something more, but then stopped herself.

Ling Shuang simply laid it out.

"Actually, your calligraphy is better than your painting," she confessed. "At first, I thought it was written by Grandmother, because it must have been a woman, but then I guessed it was you.

Xun Wenqi is truly unworthy of competing with you. I've read your annotations several times over these past few days. You know what? If a man could annotate Zhuangzi, he would have already won the imperial examination."

She was referring to the tiny, delicate handwriting on the pages. It was beautiful, without a trace of feminine charm.

Next to it, someone else's handwriting was scraggly, trying to imitate the annotations, but the words were incoherent and incomprehensible. The name they left was Lou Tianlin from the third house. Ling Shuang wrote four large characters below: "Bullshit."

Cai Huan stroked the pages of the book, her eyes downcast, as if about to smile, but ultimately remained silent.

"There's a small door in the library," she suddenly said. "It's just behind the Buddhist hall. A few years ago, it rained, and the brick wall collapsed. Now it's easy to get through. Just a few steps and you're in."

"We've reached the small door to the library. You won't have to climb over the wall anymore."

Ling Shuang smiled, and Cai Huan smiled too. Her guard seemed to finally drop.

"It wasn't my plan to embarrass Princess Wen and Xun Wenqi." She said the most frightening words in a calm tone. "When I knelt, I was touching Xun Wenqi's skirt. I know her skirt is embroidered with split-stitch embroidery, and so is her handkerchief. I've never seen split-stitch embroidery before, so I needed to feel it before I could imitate it. I don't know if I can recover my jade, but I guarantee that her handkerchief, bearing a love poem, will end up in the hands of some man out there."

After she finished, she looked at Ling Shuang, who was stunned by her back-up plan, and asked, "So, is this what you think a Zhuangzi commentator should do?"

Xianyue wasn't feeling well, skipped lunch, and was taking a nap alone. Halfway through, she heard someone tiptoe in. Knowing it was Lingshuang, she turned toward the bed without even turning back.

Lingshuang immediately sighed, "Ah, so sour, so jealous!"

Without even turning back, Xianyue threw the cloth tiger on the bed at her. Lingshuang, agile enough to catch it mid-air, took off her shoes, and got into bed, ready for her nap.

"Go over there, it's so dirty!" Xianyue said, eyes closed.

"Don't be angry, I'll show you something good." Seeing her ignore her, Lingshuang poked her back with the cloth tiger. "It's really good, it'd be a shame not to see it."

Xianyue couldn't help herself, so she turned around and squinted to take a look. Lingshuang handed her a camellia—the same rouge red one she'd worn yesterday.

Xianyue's face flushed with anger, and she threw it aside.

"Don't be angry," Ling Shuang coaxed her with a smile. "It's Mom who's partial, not me. Don't worry, if she makes you wear those yellow clothes again, I'll be the first to get angry. I'll pack you up and send you to Princess Xun's residence. No one will be happy."

Xianyue was prone to anger, but she was actually easy to soothe. Sure enough, she calmed down a lot after hearing this. She snorted, "You went to get warm face and then came back cold?"

"How could that be possible?

From childhood to adulthood, I'm the only one who doesn't want to be friends with others. How can others resist my charm? I'm not kidding. Being the King of Children in Zhenjiang is no joke." Ling Shuang teased her for a while, then told her the truth: "Cai Huan is very thoughtful. I had to persuade her for a long time before she agreed to be my friend. She agreed to come over for dinner tonight. You should get up and eat something then."

"Oh?

It's not enough for you to please her yourself, you still want me, your sister, to do the praising, right?" Xianyue was still angry.

"That's not what I meant. I think you two are alike. You could give her some advice. Grandma treats her so badly, she won't budge, and we're counting on you to save her and help her slay the dragon!"

Ling Shuang coaxed her, patting her shoulders and legs, and pleading with her until Xianyue finally changed her mind. She snorted, "How complicated can this be? Grandma herself wants to remain a chaste widow, a vegetarian and Buddhist for years. Do you think she's willing to do that?"

Seeing her niece out all day attending banquets and being stared at, knowing that life has countless possibilities and she might even marry the right man, it's inevitable that she'd feel jealous.

You're still too inexperienced. Even mothers can be jealous of their own daughters.

Besides, Cai Huan's strategy wasn't working. She'd been playing the pig to eat the tiger for so long that people would really treat her like a pig. Grandma, seeing her hapless state, felt she couldn't compete with the Third House, so she naturally didn't bother to support her.

There's another layer. Playing the pig to eat the tiger leaves no room for maneuver. People will bully you because they see you're weak. Do you fight them? Or not? Fighting isn't worth it, and not fighting is just too much of an annoyance. Look at Cai Huan's predicament. Isn't it all due to this?

I don't think she even realizes that this situation has affected her character. Now she's so extreme and gloomy."

Ling Shuang nodded repeatedly, saying, "That's just the Longzhong Plan," then, "He's the reincarnation of Zhuge Liang, Xiao He. I admire you." She coaxed Xian Yue into a comfortable state. Then, she dared to say, "Actually, you're quite extreme too. It's only been a short time since I started playing with Cai Huan, and you're already so jealous. We've been friends for sixteen years."

"Seventeen years, I've been teaching you since you were in the womb. Who knew you'd be so disobedient, growing up to be so crooked, doing nothing decent all the time? How can you blame me for disliking you?" Xian Yue said with a sharp tongue.

Ling Shuang was amused.

"By the way, it was probably Grandmother who leaked the broken-branch embroidery story to the Third House. Grandmother has the key to Cai Huan's place, allowing her to come and go as she pleases, even locking up the boxes and cabinets.

Yuzhu must have peeked and then told Princess Xun about it. We're wondering if we should retaliate against them."

"Revenge what? Can you arrest Xun Wenqi and give her a beating?

I think the truth will come out on the Lantern Festival. I've got Xun Wenqi all figured out, so just wait and see."

"Okay, tell me what you want to wear for the Lantern Festival. Cai Huan said she feels really bad and wants to help you embroider something. Her embroidery is excellent, just as good as the broken-branch embroidery."

"Let's talk about it later." Xianyue seemed uninterested.

She lay down to sleep, and Lingshuang, with her head in her hand, watched the tent from above, accompanying her. Xianyue, whose health had been weakened by chronic illness since childhood, particularly enjoyed company. However, her extreme beauty had kept her friends few, and Lingshuang was the only one who always stayed with her.

A long time passed, so long that Lingshuang almost thought she was asleep. Suddenly, she sighed and whispered, "Mother won't let me go with Qingyun on the Lantern Festival."

No wonder Huang Si Niang said something to Xianyue alone when she brought them back last night. Xianyue should have had a vague idea of ​​what she'd been thinking, even as Mother had chosen her outfits for yesterday.

How outrageous.

"Never mind her. When we go to Baibing, I'll just drag Qingyun with us. Qingyun's a bit clueless, she won't have that much to think about. She'll definitely want to go with you. Mother can't help it. Let her be partial. Just to piss her off."

"No need." Xianyue sighed softly. "It's so boring."

"Oh, so if you don't go with Qingyun and go with me, it's boring?" Lingshuang poked her. "I'm not a human, am I?"

"You're not afraid. You've got Cheng Jun anyway."

Lingshuang didn't bother to respond, staring at the ceiling of the tent.

She knew Xianyue was throwing these little tantrums and saying these mean things because they were close to her, but the mention of Cheng Jun made her feel strangely irritated.

Xianyue suddenly rolled over, looked at her expression, and said, "How about I help you test Cheng Jun and see if he's truly honest?"

She and Cai Huan both had this trait, Cai Huan to a lesser degree, Xianyue to a greater degree. They both understood human nature too well, so they constantly tested it. It was truly a bad habit.

In reality, many things in the world aren't predetermined. It's precisely the path you choose that determines how fate will respond.

She wasn't testing Lingshuang, just teasing her out of habit. But if it were someone else, she would have been wary.

There's a reason Xianyue doesn't have any female friends.

"Don't try. There's nothing you can't take, only things you don't want to take." Ling Shuang remained calm. "Mother is stupid. If you wanted to snatch it, you didn't have to stand next to Qingyun. She'd snatch it from you if she walked down the alley. You'd be snatched away by your own standards."

This answer was better than anything Xianyue could come up with. Ling Shuang had that quality in her, like a little sun, scorching hot enough to burn anyone. But the world is so mediocre that they think she's some eccentric lunatic.

Cai Huan was truly lucky.

Xianyue turned away and remained silent for a long moment before saying, "Zhao Jing has seen me."

Ling Shuang immediately jumped up.

"When did that happen? He's so bold! I'll skin him alive."

That was her good point. No matter how outrageous Xianyue's actions were, she was the first to blame outsiders. She was incredibly protective.

In her opinion, with the strict separation of men and women in the capital, Zhao Jing must have been a scoundrel to have seen Xianyue.

"It's not what you think," Xianyue said calmly. "Do you remember the day we disembarked at the ferry? I deliberately showed my face.

Because I knew it was the official ferry, there were two boats there. The other one was much nicer than ours, but it had taken off its lanterns, something usually associated with officials. I bet it was a high-ranking official, but I didn't expect it to be the Zhao family's boat. Zhao Jing and Zhao Xiu were both on board, and they both saw me."

That's why the rumor about the Lou family's second branch having a stunning young lady spread throughout the capital. Clearly, the Zhao family was fueling it—they also wanted to know who Xianyue really was.

Although Lingshuang and Xianyue were inseparable, this guy sometimes managed to stir up trouble right under her nose. She was incredibly clever, ambitious, and ready to strike.

No wonder.

Xianyue snorted and said, "Mother must have heard the rumors, otherwise she wouldn't have been so provoked by Sanniang's words and is so wary of me.

If she wants to marry Qingyun to Zhao Jing, then so be it. Why be wary of me? There are plenty of men in the capital who are better than Zhao Jing. Honestly, he's just one of my targets.

If she had just told me straight up and told me to give up to Qingyun, I would have given up. But she has to go through all this trouble.

She's always on guard against me, even though the Lantern Festival isn't even here yet. Don't let Qingyun not win Zhao Jing by then, and Yuzhu and Bizhu will get the advantage. That would be a loss for everyone."

Lingshuang was silent for a moment, knowing she was speaking in anger.

"With you here, how could Qingyun not win Zhao Jing?" Lingshuang said only this.

If Qingyun was the daughter-in-law tailor-made for every lady, then Xianyue was the apple of every aristocratic young man's eye. Lingshuang wasn't kidding when she said she could win Cheng Yun if she wanted to.

It was this insight that made her equally disappointed in all men.

Just like Xianyue, she was upset because her mother was wary of her. A girl from the Lou family never felt sad for a man. In all those years, had she ever not helped Qingyun dress up to impress?

Even once, during the New Year holidays, it was only to help Qingyun trick the old lady out of a pearl.

Second Madam Lou didn't understand her, but Lingshuang did. She knew that one thing was one thing, and no matter how partial Second Madam Lou was, Xianyue would still consider Qingyun, helping her choose clothes and carefully dressing her.

Xianyue turned around.

"You're just smart, and you're just too talkative."

Though she spoke of her disdain for Lingshuang, she held her in her arms like a warm stove, and soon, she fell asleep peacefully.