Mistakenly recognized as a cousin, thousands of pampered

Tao Jiuxi gently closed the courtyard door, making a slight "creak" sound, which was particularly clear in the quiet night.

She walked slowly into the room, her thoughts still immersed in the conversation she had just had with Ji Qingyi.

However, when her eyes inadvertently swept to the distance, she saw a familiar figure sitting on the swing - Shen Zhiyi.

Tao Jiuxi was completely unprepared and her heart suddenly trembled. She didn't know if it was because of the sudden fright or the inexplicable softness in her heart after seeing Shen Zhiyi, but tears suddenly burst out of her eyes uncontrollably.

"You're so scary." Tao Jiuxi said with a reproachful tone.

Seeing this, Shen Zhiyi was extremely anxious. He immediately stood up and ran towards Tao Jiuxi in two steps like a gust of wind. He gently hugged Tao Jiuxi in his arms and said softly, "Cry if you want to. I know you are very sad."

"Why are you crying? You scared me to death." Tao Jiuxi said stubbornly, but his voice was tearful.

"You don't have to pretend in front of me. I know you are sad." Shen Zhiyi responded softly.

"What's even sadder is you two, you didn't cry." Tao Jiuxi choked up, her nasal voice making her words full of sorrow. She knew that Ji Qingyi and Shen Zhiyi were both suffering in this emotional entanglement, but they buried their sorrow deep in their hearts.

Shen Zhiyi gently stroked Tao Jiuxi's hair. He knew that Tao Jiuxi felt guilty towards Ji Qingyi. He also knew that Tao Jiuxi's decisive words to Ji Qingyi, though intended to make him give up, had deeply wounded Ji Qingyi like a sharp blade.

"Qingyi is willing to help us." Shen Zhiyi said softly, the words floating in the air, but falling heavily in the hearts of the two.

"How did you convince him?"

"I told Qingyi that you pursued me relentlessly at the beginning, and I would rather die than surrender. You even threatened me with death, and I had no choice but to accept. After hearing this, Qingyi just said that I was pitiful, and said that he couldn't bear the hardship, so he let me suffer." Shen Zhiyi was joking.

In fact, after they went out, they found a quiet place and drank bottle after bottle.

As the alcohol started to take over, Shen Zhiyi confided in Ji Qingyi about his past with Tao Jiuxi. Those moments, both sweet and bitter, those unintentional expressions of deep affection, all fit together like puzzle pieces, piecing together a picture of their love before Ji Qingyi. Only then did Ji Qingyi realize that their feelings were so deep that they could not be separated.

Moreover, Ji Qingyi had never seen Shen Zhiyi so devoted to a woman before. He knew that Shen Zhiyi's love was no less than his own. If he insisted on not fulfilling their wish, the three of them would only sink deeper and deeper into the vortex of pain, and would eventually be tortured and bruised, with no way out.

After weighing the pros and cons again and again, he finally chose to let go and choose to fulfill his wish, bearing all the pain alone in silence.

"Ayi, if you were Brother Yi, would you help us?"

Tao Jiuxi raised her head with a hint of inquiry in her eyes. She wanted to know how much weight this feeling had in Shen Zhiyi's heart and what different choices he would make.

"No, if not, I'll kill them all." Shen Zhiyi narrowed his eyes and said it deliberately viciously, but there was a subtle seriousness hidden in his eyes.

Tao Jiuxi was speechless for a moment. He was about to raise his head to scold him, but when he raised his head, his eyes inadvertently fell on the corner of Shen Zhiyi's mouth, where there was a wound.

"Been beaten?"

"Qingyi is really something. He was jealous of my good looks and didn't even allow me to slap him in the face, but he just came up and punched me." Shen Zhiyi curled his lips and raised his hand to gently touch the wound at the corner of his mouth.

Tao Jiuxi looked at Shen Zhiyi pretending to be relaxed, and felt both distressed and amused.

"Let's go in first. Xiu'er will come back to give her the hangover soup. Don't let her find out."

The two of them walked into the house quietly and sat down on the Arhat couch.

Tao Jiuxi lit a candle, and the dim candlelight swayed in the room, dispelling some of the darkness.

Only then did she clearly see that Shen Zhiyi's injuries were far more than just the corner of his mouth. There was also an obvious bruise on his face.

Tao Jiuxi frowned, quickly took out the medicine to eliminate swelling, and carefully applied it to Shen Zhiyi.

While concentrating on treating the wound, she said seriously, "Right now, even if Brother Yi agrees to cancel the engagement, it will be difficult to deal with my father. He doesn't want me to be involved with you."

"My father-in-law is so stingy. I just did something once. Why isn't he grateful to me for going to Shuzhou to save him?" Shen Zhiyi muttered dissatisfiedly, with a trace of grievance in his eyes.

"Come on, go ask him." Tao Jiuxi rolled his eyes at him unhappily, but did not stop what he was doing.

"I'm not going, I'm just saying it."

Shen Zhiyi curled his lips. He didn't want to offend Tao Jiuxi's father. That would be asking for trouble.

"Right now, I have thought of a way, and I need you to ask His Majesty for help."

"any solution?"

Tao Jiuxi told Shen Zhiyi about his father's remarriage without reservation, hoping that his father would focus on his own affairs. In this way, there might be a turning point in their emotional dilemma.

"Will my father-in-law agree?" Shen Zhiyi was a little skeptical, as he knew very well how stubborn Tao Jiuxi's father was.

"That depends on you. I've already thought of a solution. Anyway, I'm not in a hurry to marry you. You can come and propose to me when you can deal with my father." Tao Jiuxi looked at Shen Zhiyi with a smile, but there was a hint of expectation in his eyes.

"I will enter the palace tomorrow."

"With this face of yours?" Tao Jiuxi looked at his wounded face and asked worriedly.

"Time is tight, and I can't take care of many things."

Shen Zhiyi clenched his fists, his eyes filled with determination.

At this time, footsteps were heard outside. It was Xiu'er who brought the hangover soup. Tao Jiuxi took it carefully and did not let Xiu'er into the house. She did not want others to know that Shen Zhiyi was here.

After Shen Zhiyi drank the sobering soup, he took a detour and quietly left the Tao Mansion.

This time, he deliberately avoided Ji Qingyi's yard.

He really wanted to end this secretive life as soon as possible and marry Tao Jiuxi home as soon as possible.

Shen Zhiyi was terribly worried. Sure enough, the next day, after Tao Hongyuan returned from court, he looked as if shrouded in a dark cloud, his face filled with worry and a heavy burden. The relaxed and carefree demeanor he had always had when leaving court had vanished without a trace, as if he had become a completely different person.

That afternoon, the invitation to the banquet hosted by the eldest princess was delivered to the mansion.

The invitation clearly stated that Tao Hongyuan was to bring his two daughters to the banquet. At the same time, Ji Qingyi also received the same invitation.

It is not difficult to imagine that all this must have been carefully arranged by Shen Zhiyi.

Tao Jiuxi was in a very good mood when he learned about it. The next day, he and Tao Qingwan started preparing clothes for the banquet. This was a large-scale blind date banquet specially prepared for his father.