Strange activities

Lately, there had been rumours that the eldest young master of the Xia family would be returning to the capital after subduing the invaders on the border but there was no official news about the matter and so Xia Xi Wan didn't dwell on it as such kinds of rumours occur every single year.

Xia Xin Wan was the black spot on the reputation of the Xia household. Eighteen but unmarried. A beautiful face with a nasty temper. Her failure to befriend anyone. Unlike her beautiful rose-like sister, she was a thorn who could only prick people with her words.

It was rumoured that the eldest Di daughter of the Xia family could make a person bleed with her tongue and the wound would be nastier than the one left by a knife.

It wasn't that Xia Xin Wan was outrageous and unvirtuous, it was just that she was cursed with pricking bluntness and acidic reason. In a society where everyone was fawning on the strongest, she was someone who understood the grief and predicament of the weak.

"Young Miss, if heaven truly listens to us humans, I pray with utter sincerity for your engagement with that nasty young master Li to be invalidated," Lu Xin said with a smile that belonged to that of a child.

Hearing the maid's words, Xia Xi Wan burst into a peal of laughter, revealing her so invisible dimples. Her phoenix eyes shone as a ray of sunlight befalls on her, highlighting their depth and allure. If her blank eyes were so beautiful, Lu Shi had no words when those eyes were filled with warmth and zeal.

Lu Shi had seen so many beautiful women in her life but nobody could describe the beauty of Xia Xi Wan possessed in words. It was not the kind of beauty that could cause the ruin of empires, nor was it the one that could be forgotten in a moment. It was unique just like the woman itself. Putting it in words would be such a shame.

"Lu Xin, heaven doesn't listen to us," Xia Xi Wan said as she wiped a drop of tear from the corner of her eye with her embroidered handkerchief in a graceful movement. "Instead, we have to make heaven listen to us."

....

The autumn wind was fluttering up the yellow leaves placed on the ground forming a beautiful melody for the passersby to hear. A carriage stopped inside the gates of the Xia residence and a slender and tall figure wearing a light blue dress got out, creating a beautiful hoax as if she was holding the hand of her maid under her long sleeve.

Lu Xin and Lu Shi looked all around the residence as soon as they stepped out of the carriage before their young miss. More maids appeared to serve Xia Xi Wan. It was not just the two maids, even she could sense a difference in the air of the residence. It was as if everything had changed yet nothing looked changed at this moment. It didn't make any sense but she knew that oftentimes things that didn't seem to make sense were actually making sense.

None of them made any inquiries as they followed Xia Xi Wan to her courtyard. The guards and the maids working in the outer area released their breaths that none of them didn't realize that they were holding as they watched her figure walking further and further away from them. It was only when not even the shade of her light blue skirt was seen flowing with her steps did they turn their gazes away. A look of pity and helplessness was present in those lowered eyes.

"Find out what unusual activity took place while I was gone," Xia Xi Wan let out as soon as she entered her courtyard. She could feel everyone's gaze on her even when she was looking just at the path ahead of her. She was curious to know what had changed in three days that caused each of them to look at her as if she was a goat about to be sacrificed.

Lu Shi and Lu Xin exchanged a look and then nodded their heads, before they disappeared but not before making arrangements for their young miss's rest. They knew that Xia Xi Wan didn't like many people entering her personal space, apart from them only two or three other maids were allowed to enter her courtyard and that too was for cleaning and other jobs that the twins couldn't do.

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