The sounds of the zither and the guqin continued. Su Xiaoliu's gaze fell on the two young girls beside him who were dressed in gorgeous red floor - length brocade robes. One of the girls was as calm as a lotus, while the other was as charming as a cat. Their beautiful faces boasted delicate features. The red brocade robes were interlaced with gold and silver embroidery. Their smooth black hair was coiled up like that of porcelain dolls, adorned with green jade and gold hairpins on top, and small exquisite hairpins were lightly inserted. From afar, they were so breathtakingly beautiful.
Su Xiaoliu recognized these two girls. They were the ones she had seen in the carriage before.
Su Xiaoliu didn't even have the strength to be angry. She just felt that she was so naive, always being deceived, kept in the dark, and hurt.
As if sensing her gaze, the music suddenly stopped.
Fang Xie looked at her from afar through the pavilion curtain. After a moment, his pleasant voice slowly sounded, "Come here."
Su Xiaoliu was taken aback for a moment, and then, as if possessed, she walked across the small bridge and into the pavilion.
"Ban Tu and Cai Ling, which one do you take a fancy to?" Fang Xie said indifferently after she got closer.
Ban Tu? Cai Ling?
Su Xiaoliu was stunned for a moment, then looked up at the two peerlessly beautiful girls standing behind him.
His slender fingers gently landed on the edge of the carved - flowered qin. Fang Xie said emotionlessly, "Ban Tu."
The more composed girl took a small step forward, bowed her head, and said softly, "This servant is here."
So her name wasn't Song Ningzhi but Ban Tu? But this name seemed like an alias...
While Su Xiaoliu was still in a daze, she heard Fang Xie call another name.
"Cai Ling."
The charming girl like a cat raised her head, looked at Su Xiaoliu, and hooked her lips into a smile that was extremely alluring. She said, "This servant is here."
Su Xiaoliu gasped. That seemingly delicate and vulnerable Gu Momo actually had such a personality...
How much more was there that she didn't know?
Fang Xie quietly looked at Su Xiaoliu and slowly said, "These two servants, if you like one, you can pick her. If you like both, you can take both."
These two such beautiful little girls were actually servants?
Su Xiaoliu's almond eyes widened.
Seeing that she didn't answer for a long time, Fang Xie said again, "Go over to her." This was said to Ban Tu and Cai Ling.
"Yes." The two replied in unison.
By the time Su Xiaoliu came to her senses, Cai Ling's hand was already on her face.
Su Xiaoliu was startled and turned to look. She saw a slender and boneless hand gently wrap around her neck and caress her cheek. Cai Ling's charming cat - like body pressed against hers. A pleasant fragrance wafted by. Cai Ling let out a coquettish laugh. Her cat - like eyes sparkled with a moving luster. She reached out and gently lifted Su Xiaoliu's chin. Then she turned around, came in front of her, slightly lowered her eyes, pressed her body forward, and her soft lips covered Su Xiaoliu's.
Su Xiaoliu suddenly widened her eyes. Her mind went blank in that instant.
This... this...
Cai Ling curled her lips, raised her head, put her arms around Su Xiaoliu's neck enchantingly, then slowly took two steps back, retracted her long arms, and stood beside her.
Ban Tu, who was as calm as a lotus, didn't seem surprised. She slightly lowered her head and whispered, "Miss Dai, from today on, this servant and the other will take care of Miss Dai's daily life."
Su Xiaoliu hadn't recovered from the shock Cai Ling had brought her. She looked at Fang Xie stupidly. He still showed no reaction at all, as if everything was far away from him.
That sense of distance actually carried a hint of hidden loneliness.
The moon was like a hook, and the evening dew wet the flowers.
Inside the room, the candlelight flickered, and the sandalwood incense curled up.
Su Xiaoliu sat silently on the flower - cage stool, raising her eyes to look at Fang Xie who was sitting quietly behind the low table behind the brocade curtain.
He was still wearing that dark red begonia - patterned robe. The candlelight shone on half of his jade - like and creamy complexion, making it look a bit translucent.
Just when Su Xiaoliu thought he wasn't going to speak, his voice slowly sounded in the room.
"I need you to do something for me."
Finally, he spoke.
Su Xiaoliu pursed her lips and prepared for the worst. She looked at Fang Xie through the brocade curtain and asked, "What is it?"
Behind the brocade curtain, Fang Xie said indifferently, "Make the Alliance Leader step down."
Su Xiaoliu curled her lips and looked at him quietly.
She blinked her eyes and smiled, "What did you say?"
Fang Xie slowly raised his head, looked at Su Xiaoliu meaningfully, and repeated, "Make the Alliance Leader step down."
The smile on Su Xiaoliu's lips froze bit by bit. She gritted her teeth and said through clenched teeth, "I'm afraid I'm powerless in this matter."
Are you kidding! How could she be the one to make the Alliance Leader step down?
Not to mention making the Alliance Leader step down, she was even reluctant to get close to the Alliance Leader. She had already made up her mind never to set foot in the martial arts world again. Why was she being dragged into these unappetizing things?
Su Xiaoliu sighed in her heart and prayed that Zhong Fengyue would quickly discover her whereabouts and come to take her away from Fang Xie.
Fang Xie seemed to have expected her to refuse. He said calmly, "All you need to do is to extract some information."
This Fang Xie must be a tough person. Gu Rongxue was so gentle, but her brother was such a ruthless character. Were they really from the same Gu family?
Su Xiaoliu was stunned for a moment and suddenly remembered something.
She suddenly stood up, looked at Fang Xie behind the brocade curtain, and asked, "Did you cause trouble for the Tang family?" And also the Wei family, including Cang Nanyan... These three families wouldn't be involved together for no reason. The person who could stir up these three families must have a background.
And this Fang Xie in front of her seemed exactly like the kind of person who would do such a thing.
Facing her interrogation, Fang Xie admitted calmly, "It was me."
Su Xiaoliu stared at him with her almond eyes. She increasingly felt that this Fang Xie was unfathomably deep. How deep was this person's scheming?
"They know very well how many wrongdoings they've done." Behind the brocade curtain, Fang Xie said indifferently.
Inside the room, the white smoke from the gilded incense burner rose straight up.
Su Xiaoliu pursed her lips, frowned, and said, "It seems that the Tang and Wei families have never harmed the Gu family, right?" Even when Gu Rongxue had an accident, it happened after Wei Feng and the others left.
The Tang and Wei families didn't seem like the kind of people who would frame others. Moreover, why did he have to use Cang Nanyan, such a ruthless knife, to make the Tang and Wei families fight each other?
There was a moment of silence from that end. After a while, a voice slowly said, "They didn't directly harm the Gu family, but they drove the Gu family to destruction. The decline of the Gu family was entirely due to the cowardice and evasion of the Tang and Wei families."
Su Xiaoliu didn't quite understand these words. She then remembered what he had said before.
Make the Alliance Leader step down? Why did he want her to do it? Also, did he... know about her past association with the Alliance Leader? How did he know all these things?
Su Xiaoliu looked at him quietly. Behind the brocade curtain, she could faintly see his dark outline.
Su Xiaoliu quickly stepped forward. She reached out and waved away the brocade curtain, then snatched off the black cloak on Fang Xie. When she saw that peerless beautiful face, her heart twitched violently, as if it was about to jump out of her chest...
"Gu Rongxue..."