Chapter 134: All Present

"The Ninth Prince is here to join in the festivities too!"
"The Ninth Prince is truly courteous to the Old Madam!"
"Is the Ninth Prince also a relative of the Old Madam?"
"No, no, the Ninth Prince is studying martial arts under Old General Xue!"
"No wonder..."
No wonder he so frequently appeared at the Xue household.
As soon as Old Madam Xue took her seat, the women surrounding her began warmly inquiring about Xiao Yi and his connection to the Xue family.
Wen Xian sneered inwardly. He was obviously here for Xue Fanzhi; did they think she did not know? Xiao Yi had fallen for Xue Fanzhi at first sight and was particularly eager to curry favor.
With these thoughts, Wen Xian looked over at Xue Fanzhi. Today, Xue Fanzhi wore a crimson curved-hem formal gown. Having already paid her respects, her hairstyle had also changed. A simple bun was secured behind her fringe, held in place by a silver comb and a multi-treasures hairpin, while the rest of her long hair cascaded down the back to rest upon her shoulders. It fell as low as her waist, as fluid and heavy as a waterfall. Paired with her clear, bright, starry eyes, she truly looked gentle, refined, and exceptionally lovely!
A young maiden just coming into her prime. Compared to Xue Fanzhi, Wen Xian suddenly felt much older. No wonder Xiao Yi only had eyes for Xue Fanzhi.
Why is she looking at the Eighth Young Miss again?
What on earth is this Eldest Miss Wen here for?
Xue Jiaoyue silently picked up a bite of food.
In her past life, Xiao Yi had never come! Xue Fanzhi lowered her chopsticks and glanced at Xue Jiaoyue. In her previous life, she had no one she trusted by her side except for this Xue Jiaoyue, which was why she ended up getting hurt.
So in this lifetime, was Xiao Yi just dropping by as he usually did, or had he done it on purpose?
Why did she always feel like she had overlooked something regarding Xiao Yi, yet she could never quite grasp the crux of the matter!?
At that moment, a maid announced, "The Young Master of the Sun family has arrived!"
He's here!
Xue Fanzhi forced all other thoughts from her mind, focusing entirely on the events to unfold. The Young Master of the Sun family had arrived. In her past life, the turning point of her fate, the tragedy of her entire existence, was about to begin.
Xiao Yi watched as a young man with a frivolous gait and swollen eyes walked in. The youth was exceptionally emaciated, his eyes bloodshot—clear signs of excessive liver heat, bordering on a pathological state.
Composed, Xiao Yi picked up his wine cup, using it to mask his gaze fixed upon Young Master Sun.

Qin Jianyu did not warmly greet Young Master Sun either, mindful of the impending events.
Instead, Xue Renjing stood up to welcome the guest: "Brother Xian has come as well!"
His voice was bright, steady, and resonant. Jolted by the sound, Young Master Sun snapped back to his senses and looked around. *Ah, she is not on this side.*
He sat down beside Xue Renjing and then cast his gaze about the room.
Assuming Young Master Sun was unacquainted with the company, Xue Renjing introduced them to Xiao Yi and the others: "The Ninth Prince, Third Young Master Qin, my Third Brother, Fifth Brother..."
There were truly quite a few people here. Young Master Sun listened to the introductions one by one, his gaze finally coming to rest on Xiao Yi. This Ninth Prince was here again. Seventh Miss had once sent him snacks; he must have come because he was smitten with Seventh Miss's beauty. He was no good either.
Young Master Sun tightly gripped the dagger hidden within his sleeve, forced a smile for Xue Renjing, and said, "Brother Renjing, this younger brother has gifts he wishes to present to Seventh and Eighth Misses, and I also wish to pay my personal respects to the Old Madam. Might I?"
Xue Renjing hesitated slightly; there were still many female guests on the other side.
If it were ordinary female guests, it would not matter, as they would all be middle-aged matrons, and being juniors, there would be no need for the young men to avoid them. However, today there was also a princess, and he had heard that Eldest Miss Wen was present as well—unrelated young women from outside families. How could they simply go over and intrude?
"Eldest Brother, I'll escort Brother Sun over!" Xue Jingxiao said. "There's nothing to hesitate about. Let's all go together; I haven't kowtowed to Grandmother yet anyway!"
Today was not his grandmother's birthday, however!
Xue Renjing did not relent.
Qin Jianyu chimed in, "Then let's all go. I haven't kowtowed to the Old Madam either!"
Xiao Yi glanced at Young Master Sun, then said to Xue Renjing, "You all go ahead; I won't cross over!"
A wave of relief washed over Young Master Sun. The pressure emanating from an imperial prince was simply too great. If Xiao Yi were to follow them as well, he feared he would not dare to strike.
"You're all coming over!"
One panel of the screen was removed, and Xue Renjing led the group over to pay their respects to Old Madam Xue.
With a warm, benevolent smile, Old Madam Xue said, "As if I need to have extra seats added for all of you!"
Why is Xiao Yi not here? Wen Xian lifted her chin, failed to spot him, and sat back up straight.
The maids were already adding low dining tables alongside the lower rows of seats for Xue Renjing and the others. In truth, this was of little consequence. With the prevailing scholarly trends of the era, which valued free-spirited elegance over rigid Confucian propriety, mixed-gender seating truly was no great scandal.
Once Xue Renjing and the others were seated, Young Master Sun's gaze locked directly onto Xue Jiaoyue.

Today, Xue Jiaoyue was dressed in formal attire, her face as bright as the autumn moon, still as breathtakingly lovely as ever.
*"The young master works so hard practicing archery; try this bowl of cold-tossed noodles. I made them with my own hands. I have never made food for any man before; neither my father nor my eldest brother has ever tasted my cooking!"*
*"Is the young master's family extremely anxious about his marriage?"* the young maiden had asked, biting her lip with a mournful expression. *"I haven't even reached my hair-pinning ceremony yet!"*
*"The best gift is, of course, the one given by the person in your heart!"* The maiden's eyes had held such shy affection. *"I will love whatever gift my beloved gives me..."*
She always left her words half-spoken, halting mid-sentence to make him believe she harbored feelings for him, never minding that he was merely a plaything to her.
If he were to be asked how he knew, it was because on that day by the lake, he had seen with his own eyes how she clung to the Eighth Prince.
And then there was that Ninth Prince, residing in the Xue household. Xue Jiaoyue was constantly seeking him out as well. He had discovered all of this, all of it—he simply had been unwilling to believe it, choosing to convince himself that they were mere coincidences, absolute misunderstandings.
Until the turmoil in his heart became too much to bear, and he went to ask her why she maintained such intimate ties with other men. Upon seeing a maid approach—apparently sent by the Eighth Prince to deliver something—she had instantly cast aside all pretense, turning on him without a shred of recognition, bidding him crawl far away and stop ruining her reputation!
Over a mere maid, she had cursed him until he was at his wit's end. If those men had been standing right before her eyes, would she have spat upon him, accused him of pestering her, and branded him a scoundrel?!
This woman—why? Why did she treat him this way!?
Did she not know that he loathed deceitful and fickle women above all else?
He had originally thought she was different, unlike his mother. Yet she turned out to be even worse than his mother; at least his mother had only engaged in an illicit affair behind his father's back, whereas she had flirted with so many men.
The more Young Master Sun thought about it, the angrier he grew, his hands trembling beyond his control. Straight-backed, he rose to his feet and strode toward Xue Jiaoyue.
Sensing something amiss in Young Master Sun's expression, Xue Renjing called out, "Brother Sun, where are you going?!"
Everyone in the room lifted their heads to look at Xue Renjing and Young Master Sun!
Qin Jianyu's heart skipped a beat. He couldn't let Xue Renjing ruin this! He had expended so much effort to agitate Young Master Sun, steering him toward suspicions of Xue Jiaoyue; all his prior groundwork could not go to waste now.
"Brother Sun is naturally going to present gifts to the Seventh and Eighth Misses!" Qin Jianyu laughed. "Brother Renjing, you're startling people!"
Indeed, what else could he be doing? He was just delivering gifts in person. Modern youths simply adored such grand displays!
The attention of the crowd dispersed once more, but Young Master Sun had already lost his senses. He had reached Xue Jiaoyue's side and drawn his dagger.