39: Chapter 39 Beautiful women have always had tragic fates (10)

In an instant, Wei Qingli strode forward. He took a white cloak from his attendant behind him and draped it over her with a completely natural movement, whispering, "The wind has picked up outside, and you are sensitive to the cold."

Before she could dodge, he stepped back, creating a distance between them.

Zhao Yan wanted to say something but hesitated. What was going on with Wei Qingli lately? Was he trying to flirt with her?

It seemed like it, yet he maintained the perfect sense of boundaries. Just when she was about to refuse, he would retreat to his original position. This ambiguous feeling was very uncomfortable.

"Shall we continue walking?" He leaned down slightly to match her height.

"No, let's stop," Zhao Yan shook her head.

The two of them fell silent in tacit understanding, both knowing where the other was headed.

After Wei Qingli finished all this, the expressions of the others varied.

To onlookers, it appeared as though Wei Qingli was catering to the woman before him, the two of them whispering softly.

Li Nanxi had just recovered from the stunning sight, and somehow, his mind connected the dots regarding the mystery of why Wei Qingli had traveled day and night to reach Jiangnan. He had not come for Qingxue, but for this woman before him. He hadn't been idling at Jinxiu Clothing Store for no reason; it was because she was the owner of that shop.

Deep in his mind, there was an even deeper memory. Long before this lantern festival, Wan Xianzhi had spoken highly of the owner of Jinxiu Clothing Store, saying she was also surnamed Bai and that he wanted to introduce her to him.

Just as she brushed past Saintess Bai, a cold voice blocked her path.

"Stop! Why are you imitating my attire? Do you think that by doing this, you can attract the attention of the two Heirs?" Bai Qingxue glanced at the person beside her and said coldly.

Earlier, she, Chu Yao, and Li Nanxi had been admiring the lanterns together. When they reached the vicinity of the arch bridge, a riot inexplicably broke out, scattering the three of them. On the way, she had encountered Heir Wei, the Prince of Donghu, who had also been separated from his group.

She had originally felt that in such a vast sea of people, being able to meet must be fate.

Therefore, she had lowered her status and taken the initiative to speak with him, but she hadn't expected Wei Qingli to show such a lack of interest, appearing completely bored. In the end, he simply let his personal attendant handle everything.

She had originally thought that was just his personality, but she hadn't expected to see this scene—adding clothes for someone, speaking in soft, gentle tones, his usually rigid and cold features softening.

Wei Qingli was clearly different toward that woman, yet while that woman was hooked onto Wei Qingli, she was also imitating her style to strike up a conversation with Li Nanxi, the King of Jiangnan.

"What? Is white clothing your exclusive property? Or is the veil only for you to wear?"

"Imitating your attire?" Zhao Yan smiled lightly, her voice incredibly gentle. "I am the manager of Jinxiu Clothing Store. This wide-sleeved fairy dress was drawn by my own hand, and every finished piece has been reviewed by me. If I hadn't drawn this design, you wouldn't even be able to wear this fairy dress, let alone me imitating your attire."

She was truly using the gentlest voice to speak the most insulting words.

"You!" Bai Qingxue was humiliated and angry. When had she ever suffered such indignity!

Back on the mountain, she had been considered the most outstanding junior of the Bai Clan in this generation and was heavily groomed. After growing up, she was even conferred the title of Saintess. She knew what the Bai Clan meant; looking across the entire Central Plains, even if not everyone fawned over them, absolutely no one would dare to oppose them.

The person before her was truly detestable!

Faced with her glare, Zhao Yan scoffed, feeling increasingly disdainful of the current conduct of the Bai Clan. After hundreds of years of accumulated reputation, they had been puffed up by rumors to the point of losing all sense of humility.

Chu Yao could not bear to see Qingxue suffer even the slightest grievance. Furthermore, in his eyes, no matter how glib the other woman was, he was convinced that Qingxue was right.

He reached out to block her path. "Go and apologize to Qingxue. You are not allowed to wear white again in the future and cause Qingxue displeasure."

Zhao Yan: I really want to just chop off that hand.

Just as she was debating whether to break it or beat him up to let him know not to mess with women, Wei Qingli had already struck, knocking away Chu Yao's outstretched arm.

"Wei Qingli, what are you doing?"

"There is no need to apologize. She can wear whatever she wants."

"Wei Qingli, do you know who Qingxue is? You would actually oppose the Bai Clan for the sake of an irrelevant woman!"

Bai Qingxue frowned slightly. Although she often had the Bai Clan on her lips and enjoyed the adulation of these people, hearing it from Chu Yao made her feel uncomfortable, as if she were using her identity as a member of the Bai Clan to bully others.

Wei Qingli's gaze finally fell upon Bai Qingxue, who was beside him.

Seemingly sensing the gaze of the person beside her, Bai Qingxue gently removed the veil from her head with her jade-like hand, revealing her exquisite face. She lifted her head slightly, her expression one of cold arrogance. "My Bai Clan is humble and low-key, indifferent to fame and wealth. I originally did not wish to publicize my identity, nor did I wish to use my influence to bully others—"

"With you acting like this, you are worthy of calling yourself a member of the Bai Clan?"

She had long wanted to say this, carrying with it the resentment from her first life. In that first life, she remembered clearly what she had done afterward, and could feel it as if it were her own.

"I was born into the Bai Clan, learning martial arts, formations, military strategy, and the art of governance from a young age. My achievements were outstanding, and because of my exceptional appearance, I was chosen as the Saintess of the Bai Clan. How can you criticize me! Your saying this is merely out of jealousy!"

"Heh... I am jealous of you?" Zhao Yan said softly. "Then this well-read Saintess of the Bai Clan must have heard the story of the frog in the well. That frog, trapped in a small, narrow world, saw only the sliver of sky within the well and believed the world was no bigger than that. Little did it know, the sky outside is bluer and the water is clearer."

"You are mocking me!"

"As a person, the worst things are to be arrogant and conceited. There is a saying, 'There is always someone better than you, just as there is always a higher mountain.' Excellence has no absolute ceiling. In the distant places your gaze cannot reach, there is always someone above you. Don't you agree? Saintess of the Bai Clan."

If Bai Qingxue didn't understand by now that she was being mocked, she might as well not live.

"Sharp-tongued and glib!" This person not only imitated her but actually insulted her! As the Saintess of the Bai Clan, she naturally had to uphold the dignity of the Bai Clan. "I must make you know the consequences of your sharp tongue!"

Zhao Yan had been on guard against her. Seeing her strike, she dodged backward with a graceful movement. Bai Qingxue, seemingly unwilling to give up, kicked sideways toward her face. As the veil was knocked off, Zhao Yan caught it with her left hand, turned around, and directly grabbed her ankle with her right hand. Spinning around, regardless of how the person in her hand struggled, she threw her into the air.

"Qingxue—" Chu Yao flew to catch her, gathering her into his arms as they descended from mid-air.

Zhao Yan pulled back her sleeves, putting away her sharp edge, and raised an eyebrow. The Bai Clan probably only trained their brains, and they hadn't even done that well. Is that it?

With Bai Qingxue's level of skill, without bragging, she could take on a hundred or eighty of her.

She lowered her eyes, blew off the non-existent dust on her veil, and looked up to find the gazes of the crowd fixed on her.

A face of stunning, celestial beauty was now openly exposed before everyone.

Finally, someone could understand the shock he had felt the first time he saw her, Li Nanxi thought.

The words Qingxue had just said about being jealous of her now seemed like a joke, and he, too, seemed to have become a joke.

"The ancestor of the Bai Clan, Master Bai Shang, was broad-minded and cared for the world, taking the salvation of all living beings as his duty. When he achieved fame and success, he retired from the rapids, indifferent to fame and wealth, and returned to the mountains. Such a low-key, modest person, possessing a sincere heart and exhausting his efforts for the world, is the true Bai Clan. Such a man of great virtue and ability would never allow the descendants of the Bai Clan to consider themselves saints, to Zhaoyao Guoshi, or to casually confer upon themselves the title of Saintess, relying on their talent to be arrogant. The ancestral motto of the Bai Clan, 'Choose a wise monarch to assist,' should not be capital for the Bai Clan to be arrogant and conceited, nor should it be your reliance to play both sides and wander among the five states."

Her voice was resonant and powerful, her demeanor elegant, calm, and composed.

Her originally charming peach-blossom eyes were now firm and clear, brook no blasphemy; on her flawless, fair face, her smile was free and confident, making it impossible for people to look away.

At that moment, no one present would likely doubt who the true descendant of the Bai Clan was.

Watching that beautiful figure leave with Wei Qingli, Li Nanxi lowered his eyes to look at the brocade box in his hand, then glanced at the person huddled in Chu Yao's arms. His eyes were filled with complex emotions. His lips twitched, but in the end, he said nothing, simply tucking the brocade box into his sleeve.

As Li Nanxi brushed past Bai Qingxue and Chu Yao, his footsteps paused slightly.

It was truly a wake-up call. He looked at the woman he had pursued for two years and realized she was nothing more than this. Looking back on these past two years, she was clearly already with Chu Yao, yet she had never rejected his pursuit, always giving him hope. She would also intentionally or unintentionally tell him the origins of some rare treasures, and when he found them for her, she would appear displeased on the surface, but in the end, she would always accept them with an arrogant and reluctant expression.

Ridiculous. He had always felt that she had feelings for him, and that he only lost to Chu Yao because of timing.

"Li Nanxi, what is that look in your eyes? I am the one who is a member of the Bai Clan. Don't you believe me?"

Bai Qingxue had long regarded Li Nanxi as her possession. Although she preferred Chu Yao's obedience to her, Li Nanxi was not bad to her either, and Li Nanxi's Jiangnan controlled the economic lifeline of the Liang State.

"Take care of yourself." After all, she was a woman he had pursued for two years, so Li Nanxi ultimately did not say anything too harsh.

After everyone had left, Bai Qingxue's gloomy gaze met Chu Yao's concerned expression. She said coldly, "You don't believe me either? Do you want to leave me?"

"Qingxue, what are you talking about? Of course I believe you." Chu Yao pulled her into his arms, wanting to say something more.

"You don't need to say anything. I will prove my identity myself." Bai Qingxue pushed Chu Yao away, her expression hardening. "When that time comes, those people had better not regret it!"

Li Nanxi walked dazed through the streets of Yezhou and encountered Wan Xianzhi and others who had come out to search for Wan Mingzhu.

"Heir, did you see the Saintess of the Bai Clan?" Wan Xianzhi had only learned later from the attendants that the chaos on the arch bridge had suddenly erupted because his own Heir wanted to separate Bai Qingxue and the King of West Chu, so he had ordered people to drive the Saintess of the Bai Clan to the front of Qinyin Temple to facilitate his confession.

So, where did all these coincidences and fate come from? It was nothing more than a long-planned scheme.

Li Nanxi nodded. Had he seen her? He had. But he had confessed to the wrong person, and the crowd had not separated Bai Qingxue and Chu Yao; instead, the two had come together and witnessed his confession with their own eyes.

"Did the Saintess of the Bai Clan like that rare piece of soft jade?"

Li Nanxi's gaze fixed on Wan Xianzhi's chubby, round face, and he replied irrelevantly, "Xianzhi, I saw the owner of Jinxiu Clothing Store, Miss Bai, today."

Wan Xianzhi's heart skipped a beat. He had been wondering why the Heir's expression looked so wrong.

"What did you mean when you asked me in the study earlier whether Bai Qingxue fits the characteristics of the Bai Clan?"

So he had realized something was wrong.

Wan Xianzhi said, "The Heir must have his own conclusion. I only feel that some things and some people cannot be judged solely by their appearance; one must look with their heart. Between Miss Qingxue and the owner of the clothing store, the Heir still needs to weigh who is superior and who is inferior."

"Then tell me, is that owner of the clothing store a member of the Bai Clan?"

Wan Xianzhi deliberated, "The Heir desires a consort who is intelligent and capable in her conduct, possessing both gentleness and courage, someone who can share the Heir's burdens. As for whether she is a member of the Bai Clan, what does it matter? If she is of the Bai Clan, that is certainly good, but if she is not, what of it? Based on my understanding of the owner, this woman is definitely not an ordinary person."

Wan Xianzhi naturally did not dare to guarantee that Bai Zhaoyan was definitely a member of the Bai Clan. Firstly, she had never revealed it, and secondly, if he were wrong, wouldn't the Heir blame him? He understood the principle of leaving a way out in all matters.

But understanding was one thing; he muttered to himself: You are still agonizing over whether she is a member of the Bai Clan, but I fear that regardless of whether she is or not, you won't be able to win her over!

He would never dare to say this out loud, but that was exactly what he was thinking.

Don't forget, beside this owner of the clothing store is Heir Wei, the Prince of Donghu. He put aside the affairs of East Lake, and it wasn't just to watch the lantern festival.

As the owner of Wanlin Pavilion, no one knew better than him that Heir Wei was staying in his Wanlin Pavilion, in the room directly opposite the clothing store owner. He went to the Jinxiu Clothing Store for his outings. Tonight, he even lowered himself to accompany a female attendant, a little maid, and the clothing store owner to the lantern festival.

Everyone knows his intentions.

And you? What are you doing? Heir, you are still holding the rare soft jade that you obtained through trickery and coercion of the clothing store owner, and you are planning to give it to that other person. How much of a chance do you think you have? If the clothing store owner is a member of the Bai Clan, you will be even worse off.

Speaking of which, does the Heir even know the origin of that piece of soft jade? Wan Xianzhi dared not think about it.

"Since Heir Wei and the King of West Chu have both come to my Jiangnan, it is only right to host them properly and fulfill the duties of a host, is it not?" Li Nanxi thought for a moment and said, "Invite both Miss Bais together so that we can distinguish them."

He was still unwilling to give up. If Bai Qingxue was truly not a member of the Bai Clan, then what were his two years of running around and trying his best to please her worth? No matter which of them was a member of the Bai Clan, he had to find out. No one had ever been able to play him for a fool like this.

After leaving Qinyin Temple, only Zhao Yan and Wei Qingli were left walking toward Wanlin Pavilion.

Just as they reached the door, Wei Qingli suddenly raised his hand, and Zhao Yan instinctively took a step back.

His hand paused slightly, but he still tucked a strand of her messy hair behind her ear.

He said softly, "Fighting and killing have messed up your hair. In the future, why do you need to do such things yourself?"

Zhao Yan looked up. "Heir, that is not a proper thing to say. If she truly is the Saintess of the Bai Clan, are you not afraid of offending the Bai Clan?"

"I am not afraid." Wei Qingli said calmly, his hands clasped behind his back. "Everything I have obtained today was snatched by myself; it has nothing to do with anyone else."

"Does the Heir not believe that the Bai Clan has the great talent to assist a monarch? Do you not wish to ascend to the throne?"

"I do not believe it. If I give her the opportunity, she has it; if I do not give it, she can only live in seclusion on the peak of the snowy mountain." Wei Qingli looked at the person before him with deep, dark eyes. "And you? Do you want that position?"

Zhao Yan's expression froze. What did he mean? Could he have found out something?

Just then, fireworks bloomed in the sky, brilliant and magnificent, and the crowd on the street cheered again.

He turned his head. That person's attention was completely captivated by the illuminated sky. In her eyes was a joy and memory he had never seen before—memories of whom? Wei Qingli's hands, clasped behind his back, tightened into fists.

"This magnificent view of the world, I only wish to share it with you." That low murmur rolled in his throat, deliberated upon, but ultimately shattered, blown away like a light breeze.