38 Giving Flowers

"Miss Ye, does the Jing Dian Shi's family have a grudge against you?"

Ye Lily quietly looked at the young man in front of her.

His eyebrows and eyes were beautiful but heroic. Even though he had a carefree expression, there was a stability beyond his age.

It wasn't shown on the surface but rather gave people a sense of security that as long as they were with him, even if the sky fell, he would hold it up.

Even in her previous life in Qin or in the harem, she had never seen such a transparent person. With just one sentence, he could understand the core of everything.

Such a brilliant person died young. It was truly a pity.

The pity in her eyes flashed for a moment. When she spoke again, it was in a plain tone. "Yes."

"Your plan is quite circuitous." Xiao Jack's gaze was scrutinizing.

"Going around such a big circle just to send Gao Yan into officialdom. Are you trying to disrupt the officialdom of Ming Qi?"

Even though Ye Lily had lived two lives, she couldn't help being slightly shocked in her heart.

If Xiao Jack's performance before was just overly smart for her, understanding with a hint, now this person seemed a bit terrifying.

Ordinary people take one step and look one step. Smart people take one step and look ten steps.

Xiao Jack's seemingly ordinary question seemed to look thousands of miles away with one step. Such a straightforward and undisguised question left her not knowing how to answer.

After a moment, she replied, "What does this have to do with Lord Xiao?"

"I don't care about the officialdom of Ming Qi, but Lin An Marquis can't be moved." There was a warning in his tone.

"If you have any idea about Lin An Marquis Mansion, don't blame me for being impolite."

Ye Lily looked at him.

Xiao Jack seemed to have always hated Lin An Marquis Mansion and loved to go against his father. Now it seemed that it wasn't complete hatred.

I'm afraid he still cared about Lin An Marquis Mansion.

Otherwise, in the end of the previous life, he wouldn't have ended up being pierced by thousands of arrows to preserve the reputation of Lin An Marquis Mansion.

And it was understandable for Xiao Jack to suspect that she would do something to the Xiao family.

The Ye and Xiao families had always disliked each other. Besides, what she did now was always hard to understand.

To others, it did seem possible that the Ye family would trip up the Xiao family.

"Lord Xiao can rest assured." She spoke indifferently, her tone as ordinary as talking about today's weather.

"The Ye and Xiao families have nothing to do with each other. Naturally, there won't be any trouble. The thing that Lord Xiao is worried about won't happen. Life is only a few decades. Fortunes change. The Xiao family regards the Ye family as an enemy now. Little do they know that one day in the future, they may ride the same boat and share a common enemy."

"Are you trying to be nice to me?" Xiao Jack raised his eyebrows.

"Yes," Ye Lily said calmly.

Xiao Jack sized up the girl in front of him.

Since he was born, he had seen countless women. When he was young, those women wanted to get close to his father. Later, those women began to get close to him.

Among these women, there were those who were gentle and charming, those who were stunningly beautiful, those who were good at using swords, and those who were good at using strategies.

Xiao Jack had seen thousands of smart people, but none was as surprising as the person in front of him.

Perhaps it was the intuition of someone who had experienced the battles on the battlefield.

Xiao Jack could smell the blood from this girl. It was like a deep and still pool, but there was a huge fierce beast lurking at the bottom.

Now the surface was calm, but it was just waiting for the right moment. When one day it broke through, it would surely be a bloody storm.

Although this seemed really ridiculous. How much trouble could a girl in the boudoir cause? But Xiao Jack never underestimated his intuition.

The girl was wrapped in a lotus-blue brocade cloak. Her pretty face was cold.

Even this lush plum forest seemed to have a feeling of a nine-foot palace because of her. Noble, lonely, decisive, and bottomless.

"There are actually smart people in the Ye family." His words were rather sarcastic, but he still said seriously.

"Since that's the case, do it as you please. Today, I'll just watch a good show. Don't disappoint me." He stood straight and was about to turn and leave.

"Lord Xiao," Ye Lily called him.

"What else?" He stopped and asked without looking back.

"Two of the Xiao family's younger brothers by a concubine will also take the examination on the stage today," Ye Lily said indifferently.

"Will Lord Xiao just let it be?"

The two younger brothers of the Xiao family, Xiao Chang Wu and Xiao Chang Chao, born to the concubine, Lady Fang, were both in the second grade of the national school.

In fact, Xiao Jack was also a student in the third grade of the Guang Wen School. But of course, he acted freely and unrestrained. The Guang Wen School couldn't restrain him, so they let him be.

Otherwise, Xiao Jack should have taken the examination with his two younger brothers in the second grade today.

In the previous life, Xiao Jack didn't participate in the examination, but let his two younger brothers steal the spotlight.

To be fair, Xiao Chang Wu and Xiao Chang Chao were quite capable and ranked among the top in the martial arts category. They also caught the emperor's attention and were later favored by Xu Hao and worked for him.

Ye Lily always thought that both the father and son of Lin An Marquis were smart people.

How could they end up in such an ending in the previous life? Although the royal family gave compensation in the end, it was Lady Fang and her two sons who received the favor.

In fact, if you think carefully, there were no shortage of doubts.

For example, the downfall of the Ye family in the previous life was partly due to the efforts of the second and third branches. So, could it be that there was also a problem within the Xiao family?

"Don't you want me to compete with them?" Xiao Jack turned back, somewhat surprised and said.

"Just like you competing with your elder sister?"

"Isn't Lord Xiao's situation the same as mine?" Ye Lily ignored the mockery in his words and only said.

"The ones who stab the deepest are often the closest people. I naturally understand that someone of Lord Xiao's noble status is too disdainful to care about the younger brothers by a concubine. But a thousand-mile embankment can collapse because of an ant hole. Something that seems insignificant is like a poisonous snake lurking in the dark."

Her words were clear, and her tone was clearly warning, but her eyes were as clear as a child's.

"Cut them off at the bud. Make sure they never sprout."

"Rather than letting them be glorious, get supported by noble people, and pretend to be friendly brothers forever, wouldn't it be more pleasant to defeat them one by one, make them lose face in public, and not have to pretend in the mansion?"

Xiao Jack's heart moved.

His mother was the noble Princess Yu Qing. He didn't want to care about the younger brothers by a concubine.

Not only would people say that he wasn't magnanimous, but they would also mention his mother's jealous heart that was angered to death.

He could ignore his own reputation, but he would always care about Princess Yu Qing's reputation.

In Lin An Marquis Mansion, he faced the mother and son coldly every day.

Although Lin An Marquis favored him, outsiders would inevitably gossip. And the mother and son still had to act obedient and kind, which made him sick.

He just wanted to watch the three of them act like this as an outsider. Now Ye Lily's words moved his heart.

Would it be more enjoyable to snuff out their hopes? Tear their faces in public and make them unable to pretend to be friendly brothers and annoy people?

Ye Lily's voice seemed bewitching.

She said, "It's been too long. Don't endure it."

Don't endure it.

He lowered his head and looked at the person right in front of him.

A faint fragrance came from the girl. Just like her, she seemed pure but was actually indifferent and heartless.

Even though he knew she was suggesting with a purpose, he couldn't refuse.

He raised his lips and smiled.

With a sweep of his sleeve, the crabapple flower on his black hair fell into his palm. In the next second, where the crabapple flower was, it turned into a small jade crabapple.

He held the flower, smiling ambiguously. His tone was teasing.

"You are quite interesting. This flower is for you. Good suggestion. Thank you."