Cui Muli's words were like thunder on the ground, frying Cui Xijun inside and out.
What? What? What? What? What? The second brother yearns for Xie Miao?
Cui Xijun was greatly shocked. She clutched her chest and fell down on the chair. She finally held on to the handles and sat steady. She closed her eyes and murmured to herself: "No, I must have heard wrong. I definitely heard wrong. How could you like Xie Miao..."
"You heard it right, I long for Xie Miao." Cui Muli's mood was light, as if he was talking about the weather casually, "So from now on, you are not allowed to be rude to her again."
Cui Xijun opened her eyes suddenly, "Second Brother, are you crazy? How can you like Xie Miao?!"
Cui Muli looked clear and bright, and asked, "Why not?"
Cui Xijun was stunned for a moment. Then she raised her voice and tried to persuade the other party, "She is a relative brought here by mother. Mother has always wanted to give her to you and marry her into the second house to take over her job! You used to dislike this approach and hated others exercising control over your marriage. Since she entered the Cui Mansion, she has been acting pretentious, deliberately catering to you, and trying every possible means to please you, and now she is secretly hooking up with Third Young Master Zhou. How can such a character be worthy of you and our Cui family? "
"Cui Xijun." He called out her full name and asked, "When did you see her hooking up with Niannan?"
Cui Xijun's shoulders shrank slightly, and she felt guilty inexplicably. She insisted on saying harshly: "I, I, I saw it with my own eyes today, how can it be false?"
"Really? But judging from what you just said, it was Niannan who took the initiative to go to the paper mill to find Xie Miao, and it was Niannan who insisted on sending Xie Miao back home. If you really think about it, it is Niannan who is hooking up with Xie Miao."
Cui Xijun subconsciously spoke for her sweetheart: "What kind of status does Third Young Master Zhou has? Is it worthwhile? It must be Xie Miao——"
Cui Xijun trembled when a calm but awe-inspiring gaze struck her, and she suddenly fell silent.
Cui Muli said expressionlessly: "From the beginning to now, Xie Miao and Niannan do not get along well, let alone take the initiative to get involved with him."
Cui Xijun recalled Su Panyan's words and couldn't help but retaliate: "They made a private appointment to go on a boat trip on the lake, why don't you think it's involved?"
Cui Muli said: "It was Madam Marquis Dingyuan who invited A-Miao to visit the lake that day. Mother and I both knew about it."
Cui Xijun was stunned when she heard this and blinked in confusion, "Madam Marquis Dingyuan? Why did she invite Xie Miao to visit the lake?"
"Why?" Cui Muli laughed, "Cui Xijun, have you forgotten who stepped forward at the Flower Festival Banquet and stopped Princess Qingyang's slap for you?"
Cui Xijun was speechless for a moment and asked in a daze, "Is this why Madam Marquis Dingyuan looks at her with new eyes?"
"Yes."
For a moment, Cui Xijun had mixed feelings and asked angrily: "Are you and Third Young Master Zhou the same?"
"Yes."
This is not the answer she wants!
Cui Xijun lay down on the table, buried her face in her arms, and said with a cry: "Second Brother, you are all crazy. You actually speak for Xie Miao in all respects!"
Cui Muli removed the tea cup with quick eyes and hands, and his tone showed no sign of softening, "Xijun, have you ever thought that we have always been biased in our treatment of her?"
Cui Xijun shook her head crazily, "I don't care, I just hate her. I hated her at first sight, and I will continue to hate her in the future!"
"Because mother loves her niece more than you?" Cui Muli said calmly: "Xijun, you don't hate A-Miao, you are jealous."
Cui Xijun's body stiffened and her crying stopped abruptly. She thought that her secretive thoughts were revealed, and she was suddenly panicked and frightened. She jumped up and wanted to refute, but when she met Cui Muli's eyes as quiet as a deep pool, her mind was empty.
She thought desperately: Yes, she is just jealous of Xie Miao, isn't she?
She still remembers when Madam Xie first married into the Cui Mansion, she was extremely disgusted with this young woman who wanted to replace her mother. She suppressed her temper and teamed up with other people in Cui Mansion to make things difficult for Madam Xie, but Madam Xie... Madam Xie always treated her with gentle words and care. No matter how she showed her temper, Madam Xie accepted it with a smile. When she was nine years old, she suffered from cowpox and had a fever that left her delirious. It was Madam Xie who held her day and night, changed her clothes and gave her medicine, and brought her back from the dead.
After recovering from the illness, she slowly accepted Madam Xie and looked for the motherly love from Madam Xie that her deceased mother had not had time to give. But within two years, Xie Miao came to Cui Mansion to seek refuge, and everything changed.
She heard that when Xie Miao was born, Madam Xie was the first person to hold her. After Xie Miao's parents passed away, Madam Xie took care of her until she was nine years old. She called her aunt, but in fact the feeling was like mother and daughter.
She saw with her own eyes the relationship between Madam Xie and Xie Miao. Compared with treating her tolerably, Madam Xie laughed, scolded, and cursed at Xie Miao. It is a kind of intimacy that comes from within.
The mother she finally got is gone again. She blames Madam Xie and hates Xie Miao even more. If there is no Xie Miao... If there is no Xie Miao...
"I am mother's daughter, she is just a niece!" Cui Xijun was so sad that she burst into tears, "You, my second sister, and Third Young Master Zhou are all possessed by ghosts. Why did Xie Miao come to the capital, why did she want to rob my mother, why did she want to rob the person I like!"
For a long time, the only sound left in the hall was her crying.
Cui Xijun was a little tired from crying. She wanted to drink some tea to moisten her throat, but she was afraid of ruining her heartbroken image, so she could only bite the bullet and continue crying.
It's difficult!
It's unknown how much time had passed, but perhaps the tea had been finished before Cui Muli said: "Cui Xijun, even the current Emperor cannot influence the wishes of others."
Cui Xijun read the unfinished words in his eyes: The Emperor has no right or ability to interfere in something, let alone you.
Compared with usual days, Cui Muli, who was wearing official uniform, had a deeper look, and there was a vague and non-existent sternness between his brows.
She was so angry that she groaned, but instinctively she didn't dare to be arrogant. She asked weakly: "Then I can only accept her anger?"
Cui Muli glanced at her lightly, "When has A-Miao ever taken the initiative to pass her anger to you?"
The word "initiative" is very interesting. Cui Xijun had to admit that she was the first to provoke Xie Miao every time.
Cui Xijun was depressed to death.
"You are the daughter of the second wife of the Cui family. You have grandparents, father and second brother, and a bunch of brothers and sisters who are very affectionate." Cui Muli paused, with unconscious pity in his eyes, "A-Miao's father died in the line of duty, and her mother died soon after. In this vast world, her aunt is the only person closest to her."
Cui Xijun bit her lip, and lowered her head. She picked at her fingers, her expression slightly moved.
Cui Muli said: "Put away your wilful behaviour. Next time, I will take father's place and discipline you well."
Discipline from second brother, an official from the Ministry of Justice?
Cui Xijun trembled but refused to give up, "Second Brother, why did you suddenly fall in love with her?"
Cui Muli said: "She is worth it."
Cui Xijun recalled that at the Flower Festival Banquet, when Xie Miao faced the oppression of Princess Qingyang, she retorted sonorously and forcefully, with a firm and fearless back - she was immediately relieved.
It cannot be denied that Xie Miao was indeed glowing with light at that time, attracting everyone's attention, including her...
Cui Xijun gave up.
She couldn't control her second brother's affairs. As for Third Young Master Zhou... Xie Miao rejected him in front of everyone, didn't she?
She twisted the handkerchief and said coquettishly: "Okay, I promise you, I will never target her again." After saying that, she thought of something again, looked up and asked: "Second Brother, did you already know about her father's death in the line of duty?"
Cui Muli remained silent.
No, he didn't know. In the past, he was indifferent and thought that no matter what happened to Xie Miao, it had nothing to do with him.
She never expected that this day would come, the day that she would always dream about.
*
Xie Miao foresaw that Cui Xijun would find trouble, and was ready to send troops to cover up the water and earth, but it took a long time for Cui Xijun to get angry. There were even a few unexpected encounters, but Cui Xijun kept a distance from her with strange eyes as if she was taboo.
Uh, could it be possible that she really woke her up? Is her eloquence that good?
Xie Miao was puzzled for only a quarter of an hour, then threw it to the back of her mind. Anyway, Cui Xijun is not Princess Qingyang, she can't do the job of silencing others due to jealousy and anger.
With only half a month left before her brother was born, Xie Miao went to Qingxin Temple to pray for her aunt, just like in her previous life. She set off before dawn, to return home before sunset.
She thought she had thought it through: in her previous life, Cui Muli was attacked on the third day of July, but in this life she deliberately went two days earlier to leave enough time to avoid him.
She never expected that fate would play tricks on her again.
The official road is long and open, flat and smooth, and in the distance you can see the undulating mountains and the flying clouds. The twilight is just like a young girl with a half-covered face, with the beauty of a bud and a calyx.
Wang Da drove the carriage forward, and suddenly tightened the reins. After the horse's hooves stabilized, he said to the carriage: "Miss, the road we came from is blocked. We have to find another way."
What? !
Xie Miao suddenly opened the curtain, "Is the road blocked?"
Wang Da turned aside and saw many huge stones piled randomly on the official road five feet away.
Xie Miao was stunned: How could that happen? She was obviously two days early!
Fu Lu and Lan Xia stuck their heads out one after another. Fu Lu asked, "Brother Wang, can you move the stone away?"
Wang Da glanced at the boulder that was half a man tall, and scratched his ears in embarrassment, "It's okay if another man comes in, but it would be quite difficult for me."
Lan Xia tugged on Xie Miao's sleeve, "Miss, it's still early, let's go on the path."
Xie Miao was restless and her mind was in a mess: Take the path? No, what if we meet Cui Muli again? She didn't want to get involved in his affairs anymore, and she didn't want to fall into the trap again.
Fu Lu reminded her, "Miss, it would be inappropriate to leave later."
Although the security in the capital is good, in this sparsely populated suburb, there is no guarantee that there will be no demons and monsters emerging after dark.
How could Xie Miao not understand this truth? But, but——
"Let's go." Xie Miao gritted her teeth and said. She didn't believe it. She deliberately avoided the trajectory of her previous life yet it happened again!
Facts have proved that when a person is unlucky, drinking cold water can fill the gap between their teeth.
"Miss!" Wang Da suddenly stopped the carriage and shouted in a low voice, "There seems to be an accident ahead!"
As far as the eye could see clearly, there was a carriage lying across the middle of the road. The carriage was shot like a sieve, and the ground beside the reed marsh was full of broken arrows.
When Xie Miao got out and took a look, her heart was extremely broken——
What about the promised attack on the third day of July? How come she was two days ahead of schedule and the attack was also two days ahead of schedule?
Playing with her!
Wang raised his neck and looked into the distance. He saw an even more horrifying scene, "Miss, there's someone fighting over there!"
Is there a fight?
Fu Lu and Lan Xia stuck their heads out of the carriage window and took a closer look: Ho! Far away by the woods, there were indeed a bunch of people fighting around!
"W-what's going on?" Lan Xia stammered.
Fu Lu's mind was spinning very fast, "Miss, let's turn around and go back while those people aren't paying attention."
Xie Miao was trying hard to search for Cui Muli. Seeing him being forced back by the men in black and disappearing into the dense forest, she almost vomited blood - didn't she ask him to bring more helpers? Why are there still so few people?
She clung to the window edge with one hand, calmed down, and said calmly: "Wang Da, take Fu Lu and Lan Xia to Qingxin Temple to find assistance. Remember, bring as many people as possible." After saying that, she got ready to jump out of the carriage.
Lan Xia quickly stopped her, "Miss, what do you want to do?"
Xie Miao said: "Go and save Cui Muli."
Lan Xia was dumbfounded, "Save who?"
Xie Miao said: "Cui Muli, the second son of the Cui family, the top scholar Cui."
Lan Xia tried her best to recall, but she couldn't tell whether Cui Muli was among those people. "Did you see it wrong? How could the Second Young Master be in the wilderness?"
Xie Miao had no time to explain to her. As soon as she avoided her, Fu Lu opened her arms to block the carriage door.
Fu Lu said seriously: "No matter who that person is, you can't go."
Lan Xia followed: "Yes, Miss, you can't go."
Xie Miao said: "If you stop me for a while longer, Cui Muli will be in more danger.
Seeing that Xie Miao had to go, Lan Xia and Fu Lu looked at each other and said in unison: "You follow Wang Da, and this slave will go to save the Second Young Master!"
...
Xie Miao was moved, but also found it ridiculous. The two of them could not predict the future, how could they save people?
What two silly girls.
Xie Miao sighed. She pushed their hands away, and said without hesitation: "I'll be fine. You listen to me and go find helpers quickly. Try to get back as soon as possible."
Isn't it just to save Cui Muli? If you can't avoid it, then bravely face it.
She understood that she was chosen by Buddha to be reborn, and this must be another test of Buddha's heart.
Don't fall into the animal trap again. You must avoid the animal trap. You must avoid the animal trap. Xie Miao emphasized it three times before taking a deep breath. Holding up the hem of her skirt, she embarked on the beautiful journey of rescuing the hero.