Chapter 29 Chapter 29 Compared to them, I still like you…

The girl at the foot of the building leaped with joy. The man beside her spoke to her, but her bright, sparkling almond-shaped eyes curved into a sweet smile, like a city of peach blossoms suddenly bursting into bloom on a spring day. The man walking beside her froze for a moment, then the smile in his eyes deepened.

Fu Huaiqing's eyes darkened, his jaw tensed slightly, and emotions surged in his eyes.

Su Ci, approaching leisurely, glanced at the two figures ascending the stairs. He caught a glimpse of Fu Huaiqing, whose expression darkened slightly. He raised an eyebrow, then glanced at Qin Xiao, whose gaze was fixed on the two of them, a faint, unspeakable expression flitting between their expressions.

He pondered for a moment, then said, seemingly oblivious, "Biezhi and Xu Wenche, they seem quite a good match."

The moment he finished speaking, two piercing eyes pierced the silence. Su Ci felt that if eyes could be sharp arrows, he would have been killed by their gazes.

Fu Huaiqing sneered, "How could they be a good match?"

Su Ci's smile widened. He patted his shoulder meaningfully and teased, "It's true that Qin Xiao is worried about his sister, but why does the prince look like he's facing a formidable enemy?"

Qin Xiao, his gaze fixed on him, subconsciously glanced sideways at the unhappy man. He was stunned for a moment, then frowned.

Sensing the intense gaze, Fu Huaiqing casually met it. After a moment's stare, he said, unhurriedly, "Very interesting, very cute."

His words were unclear, but the two people in the private room instantly understood: he was referring to Biezhi.

"It seems the rumors are true. The Qin family and our Prince Su have a close relationship," Su Ci said with a smile. "But I didn't expect it was the second daughter of the Qin family."

Qin Xiao's palms, hidden beneath his sleeves, unconsciously tightened. The turmoil in his eyes instantly softened, as Su Ci saw it. He curled his lips and said, "Let's talk later,"

his words hinting at a polite refusal.

Fu Huaiqing stood with his hands behind his back, giving him a cold glance.

Regarding Biezhi, the Qin family's words were irrelevant.

Biezhi, completely focused on Xu Wenche, was unaware of the gazes from the private room upstairs. She followed him to the private room on the west side of the second floor, which was empty.

Biezhi sat down opposite him. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of the servant carrying tea in and said, "If Master Xu has made an appointment with someone else, he wouldn't have been able to take care of me." "

No one else." Xu Wenche pushed open the window of the private room and cast his gaze at the scattered seats below the building where people were coming and going. He asked, "Young lady, don't you think Qingshizhai is interesting?"

Biezhi was puzzled: "Hmm?"

"Young lady, if you have time, you can come here more often. You can know what's going on in the world without leaving home." Xu Wenche took a sip of tea and his eyes caught sight of a figure. He raised his chin slightly and said, "If you step on anyone, you will step on a young man from an aristocratic family."

Biezhi followed his gaze and saw the young master of the Li family who was chatting with someone. The corners of her mouth twitched slightly and she said, "I don't like it here."

Hearing this, Xu Wenche looked at her: "Why?"

"A beast in human form." Bie Zhi's voice, though seemingly low, was loud enough for him to hear. She thought for a moment, then muttered, "I think Young Master Xu is more interesting."

Xu Wenche was stunned. "What?"

"I said, you're more interesting." Bie Zhi stared at him intently, then said, startlingly, "I still prefer Young Master Xu."

Xu Wenche held a mouthful of tea in his mouth, unable to move it up or down.

Bie Zhi watched the man's handsome face flash with confusion and bewilderment, her smile growing a little thicker. "Compared to them, I still like you."

Xu Wenche: "..."

He swallowed the tea with difficulty. "Young lady, don't use this to amuse me."

"I'm not." Bie Zhi blinked, her face sincere.

Xu Wenche's lips parted, stunned by her bluntness, speechless for a long time.

He had seen many women pursue their love with openness and courage, but this was the first time he had seen someone so straightforward, without even a hint of pretense.

The man's face seemed lost in thought, and Bie Zhi knew he was deeply moved. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly, revealing a bright smile. "Don't misunderstand, Master Xu."

Xu Wenche came back to his senses, but

remained silent. The girl's eyes flickered, incredibly bright.

He calmly hid the inquiry in his expression while sipping tea and asked, "What do you mean, young lady?"

"Hasn't anyone told you, Master, that you are very handsome?" Bie Zhi asked crisply.

Xu Wenche: "..."

No one dared to speak so bluntly to him in person.

As if she hadn't noticed his expression, Biezhi spoke slowly, "When I first met you, I thought you were very handsome, which is why I wanted to get to know you."

Xu Wenche frowned slightly, recalling their first encounter: "Did you have time to think—"

"Our first encounter wasn't in court," Biezhi interrupted. Seeing the man's slightly puzzled gaze, she added, "I was in a private room on the second floor of a street-level building when you were observing calligraphy on the street."

Xu Wenche remained silent, vaguely aware of what he had missed.

The man's friends were all kinds of people, and Biezhi was unsure of his personality. After much deliberation, she decided not to pretend to be someone else in front of him. Aside from her fake identity, she would present her true self to him.

When there was a knock on the private room's door, Biezhi was listening to Xu Wenche recounting the amusing experiences he had encountered on his journey to the capital. Hearing the man's whisper, she glanced back at him, his lips pursed, and waited patiently for him to speak.

Receiving the eye signal from his young master, Yuan An walked out over the screen.

Biezhi lowered his eyelids and sipped his tea.

Not long after, the sound of footsteps was heard again, the sound of his return.

After asking, Yuan An looked at the girl who was sipping tea with an awkward expression, and bowed and said, "Miss, your brother sent someone to look for you."

Biezhi's eyes widened and looked up.

The girl's surprised eyes fell into Xu Wenche's eyes, and it didn't seem like a disguise. He pondered for a moment and said, "If it was your brother who was looking for you, I wouldn't keep you any longer."

Biezhi nodded, and stood up with a look of disbelief. After thinking for a while, he couldn't figure out what Qin Xiao could be looking for him for, and - how did he know he was here?

She reached the door in a daze before she remembered Xu Wenche was still behind her. She turned around and asked, "Master Xu, can I still find you in the future?"

Xu Wenche's fingers tightened around the teacup, his expression unchanged: "What do you want to see me for?"

"To hear about things outside the capital." Biezhi smiled sheepishly and said, "Master Xu should have heard that I was found back from the countryside. The capital feels a bit out of place to me..." She pondered for a moment, "It seems a bit out of place. Now, hearing Master Xu talk about the trivial things along the way, I feel a lot more familiar."

Xu Wenche raised an eyebrow in noncommittal.

His original intention in coming to the capital was to establish relationships with the high-ranking families in the capital to facilitate the Xu family's expansion in the capital. The elders in his family had already warned him that if he could connect with the Qin family, it would be the best choice.

Xu Wenche said, "Jingyou Street, Xu Mansion."

Biezhi had never thought he would refuse her, so she wasn't surprised to hear the courtyard he was staying in. She said, "I'll go find the young master when I have time."

Xu Wenche nodded slightly, "Miss Qin, take care."

Watching the girl ascend the stairs with the servants, Yuan An closed the door to the private room, walked over to the young master, poured him a cup of fresh tea, and said, "The second young lady of the Qin family is very enthusiastic."

The smile on Xu Wenche's lips gradually faded, and his face darkened.

He played with the teacup and said, "She has something to ask for, so she's naturally enthusiastic."

Yuan An, holding the teapot, was stunned for a moment, looking at his young master in confusion.

Xu Wenche picked up the teacup and took a sip of the warm tea. His eyes flickered through the screen to the door, as if trying to get a clear view of the girl's graceful figure.

Biezhi followed Wei Feng up the stairs and walked to the corridor at the highest point of the building. Only then did she realize that there was only one private room at the highest point of Qingshizhai, and that servants were guarding the intersections of the stairs. On the other side of the corridor, there was another staircase leading to the outside of Qingshizhai.

Before she could figure out the structure of her surroundings, she caught a glimpse of a familiar face. She looked around and her eyes paused, then slowly shifted their focus to the man guarding the door.

It was the guard who had been waiting at the gate of the palace last night. Was

Prince Su also in the private room?

The two stared at each other for a while, and the man nodded slightly at her, turned his head and knocked on the door of the private room, then pushed it open and stepped aside to make way for her.

As she stepped over the threshold of the private room, the crisp sandalwood scent hit her face.

Biezhi, who didn't like the smell on her body, paused for a moment, lowered her eyes, exhaled calmly, and walked over the screen to the inside.

When her eyes met the handsome face of the man in the main seat, her breathing slowed down a bit.

She still had to admit that although Prince Su's voice was a little unpleasant, as long as he didn't speak, his face was indeed handsome beyond compare.

In the past two years, Fu Huaiqing had seen the girl mumbling countless times, and heard her express her dissatisfaction with her master in various ways, and the dissatisfaction had to be defined in the end.

Her expression at the moment was no different from when she faced Ji Ran. Her bright almond eyes were filled with chirping colors, and it was obvious what she was mumbling in her heart.

Biezhi naturally did not miss the man's slightly probing thoughtfulness, but in a moment, he seemed to have seen through her inner thoughts. She came back to her senses in shock and lowered her eyes: "Greetings, Your Highness."

Don't speak! Don't speak!

Biezhi greeted him, wishing him silence. Her fantasy had already been shattered, but she didn't want it to be shattered again. She couldn't accept the fact that he, with such a handsome face, spoke with such an unpleasant voice like a buffalo!

Fortunately, it seemed that the heavens had heard her fervent wish.

Prince Su remained silent, his fingertips resting on the table slightly raised, signaling her to rise.

Biezhi breathed a sigh of relief and stood up straight. Her gaze swept over the two figures in the private room. She frowned at Qin Xiao, who looked less than pleased. "Brother, you want me?"

At the word "brother," Fu Huaiqing paused, tapping her knuckles on the table.

"I heard you were here, so I asked you to come sit for a while," Qin Xiao handed her a fresh cup of tea.

Biezhi couldn't help but grumble at this.

They weren't familiar with each other, so what was the point of sitting down? And what was he doing interrupting her?

She kept her thoughts to herself, but didn't show them. She obediently pulled out a chair and sat down, teacup in hand, eyes cast down, staring quietly at the table.

For a moment, the private room was utterly silent.

Su Ci glanced at his two friends, who sipped their tea in silence, with a half-smile, as if it weren't them who had just agreed to call Biezhi up.

He curled his fingertips around the teacup and lifted it, bringing it to the young woman's eyes, her eyelashes drooping. "I had something urgent to attend to yesterday, so I arrived at the Qin residence a little later. That's why we're meeting today."

Biezhi raised her eyelids, their eyes locked for a moment. She cupped the teacup in both hands, clinking it against the cup before her, and said, "Business is important; everything else is trivial."

"You know who I am?" Su Ci raised an eyebrow, not withdrawing his hand.

Biezhi nodded. Yesterday in the backyard, Qin Wan had introduced her to a number of prominent court officials, almost wanting to lay out their family trees before her, introducing them one by one.

Furthermore, this was clearly a private gathering.

Even though she didn't pay much attention to court affairs, she knew that Su Ci and Qin Xiao were the only two people in the court who could have any private dealings with Prince Su.

Bie Zhi said, "I heard my sister mention it."

Su Ci hummed in understanding, withdrew his hand, and drank the tea in the cup instead of wine. He said, "The Qin family is not far from the Su family. We can visit each other more often in the future."

Bie Zhi nodded obediently, "Okay."

But after a moment, she caught a glimpse of the man's slender jade-like knuckles slowly tapping the table three times. Her eyes narrowed slightly, and her pupils lifted a little.

In an instant, Bie Zhi understood what he meant.

She turned her eyes away calmly and said to Qin Xiao, "It's getting late. If you don't have anything else, I'll go home first."

In less than half a cup of tea, she was leaving.

Qin Xiao could see that she was not feeling well. He sighed imperceptibly and nodded, "Wei Feng will take you—"

"It's okay." Bie Zhi interrupted him without a second thought, "The family carriage is waiting at the street corner. It's just a few steps away."

Before Qin Xiao could say anything, she stood up, bowed to Fu Huaiqing, and left the private room without looking back, as if someone was chasing her.

After a while, Fu Huaiqing also stood up and left. The two did not ask any more questions, thinking that he had something else to do.

The door was closed again, and only Qin Xiao and Su Ci were left in the private room.

Su Ci dismissed the servants in the private room, reached out to pick up the teapot and poured new tea into the teacup, and said slowly, "As the prince said, she is your sister." Whether it

was caring or liking, it was no longer possible. If he did not calm down in time, the pain he would cause would not only affect one person.

"I know." Qin Xiao held the teacup in his hand, a hint of bitterness flashed across his eyes, and he said, "I have nothing else to ask of her."

From the day he knew that Biezhi was his sister, there was no possibility for them. All the delusions in the past were like bubbles that were shattered in an instant and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Qin Xiao had told himself countless times that it would be better to stop here. There was no other possibility between them in this life except being brother and sister.

But when he saw her close to another man, he couldn't help but feel a little sour in his heart. It was precisely this slight sourness that was so strong that it wrapped him up layer by layer, making it difficult to breathe.

Su Ci looked at his friend, sighed helplessly, and said that fate was playing tricks on him.

He was silent for a while, and said, "You can see that the prince is also interested in Biezhi."