After leaving Yonghe Hall, Ling Jingxu's expression sank, and her lips were pursed extremely tightly.

  Bai Yu had been attending to Ling Jingxuan all day and had also guessed a few points about her thoughts, so she said in a low voice: "Miss, it seemed like the young lady was using joking words to probe Master's reaction just now."

  If Ling Wu Ye and Old Mrs. Ling nod their heads in agreement, then Ling Jing Xiu will have no choice but to agree even if she is unwilling.

  Marriage is a lifelong matter that relies on matchmakers' words and parents' orders. Women themselves cannot make their own decisions, which is truly pitiful and lamentable.

  Ling Jingyu pulled the corner of her lips, but there was no smile in her eyes: "With the Lu family's background, if the Ling family were to marry into the Lu family, it would be a high match for our Ling family."

  Moreover, Lu Hong is talented and beautiful, no matter how you look at it, she won't be humiliated. It's no wonder that Ling Wu Ye and Old Lady Ling both have a smile on their faces.

  Bai Yu furrowed her brow: "Miss doesn't like Young Master Biao at all. What if Master agrees to this marriage, what then?"

  Ling Jingyu let out a long sigh of the stifled air in her chest: "I will think of a way to make them change their minds. You don't have to worry about me."

  Specific methods were not explicitly stated, but Bai Yu felt strangely reassured nonetheless.

  The young lady's temperament is still gentle, but she is calmer and more stable than before, and has become very determined. Since she said so, she must have already thought of a solution.

  They walked in silence and soon returned to the Autumn Water Pavilion, just the two of them.

  ......

  Ling Jingxu suddenly stopped in her tracks.

  A slender and delicate young man appeared before her eyes, with a joyful smile on his pale face: "Sister Jie."

  Ling Jing's mood was not good, and she didn't have the interest to talk to Lu Qian, so she said lightly: "How did Brother Qian come to Qiushui Pavilion?"

  Lu Qian seemed to be suppressing the excitement in his heart, walked a few steps forward and said in a low voice: "Jie sister, I came to find you today because there is something very important that I want to tell you."

  What's so important?

  What could be so important between the two of them?!

  Ling Jing's eyebrows furrowed, and a sense of unease inexplicably rose in her heart. She quickly suppressed this unwarranted emotion: "Whatever it is, say it now!"

  Lu Qian looked at Ling Jingxuan's cold face and couldn't help but take two steps closer: "This matter absolutely cannot be heard by others, we need to find a quiet and safe place."

  Ling Jingxu reflexively took two steps back, increasing the distance between them.

  Lu Qian's smile stiffened for a moment, and then quickly returned to normal. He smiled and said: "Sister Ju, let's go to the Autumn Water Pavilion to talk."

  Ling Jingyu nodded calmly and replied, "Alright, follow me!" In her heart, she secretly wondered about Lu Qian's intentions. Could it be that Lu Qian had found out about the Ling family's plan to propose a marriage and had come to inform her of the good news?

  There weren't many servants in the Autumn Water Pavilion, so it wasn't difficult to find a "quiet and safe" private place. Ling Jingyu naturally wouldn't take Lu Qian to her own boudoir, but instead went to the west wing.

  This is where Ling Jingxuan practices piano and reads books every day. The room is not big, but it's quite tidy. When you push open the window, you're facing a Hawthorn tree.

  A gentle breeze stirs, and the leaves rustle in response, adding a touch of elegance.

  Bai Yu was very clever and didn't wait for Ling Jingyu's instructions before retreating, closing the door and standing guard about three or four meters away. This way, she could see the maids coming and going at any time while also avoiding hearing the voices inside the room.

  ......

  "You've come all this way to find me, what's going on?" Ling Jingxu broke the silence.

  Lu Qian rarely had the opportunity to be alone with Ling Jingxu, and he couldn't help but feel extremely excited, blurting out: "Sister Xiu, I've already persuaded my mother, she'll soon mention marriage to our great aunt and fifth uncle."

  Ling Jingxu: "......"

  Lu Qian seemed to have not seen Ling Jingyi's stiff expression, and continued to say: "You've already rejected Big Brother, he has no face to marry you again. In the future, I'll marry you, and for this lifetime, I'll treat you with all my heart and sincerity. I'm twelve years old now, wait patiently for a few more years, when I grow up, I'll immediately welcome you into our home..."

  "Lupian! Do you know what you are talking about?"

  Ling Jingxu couldn't take it anymore and quickly interrupted Lu Qian. The unease in her heart grew stronger, her expression full of vigilance and guard: "We are just cousins, nothing more. I have never had any other thoughts about you..."

  "I know you don't like me enough yet." Lu Qian stared at Ling Jingyu, his eyes burning with fervor: "But that's okay. Once we're engaged, there will be plenty of time to cultivate our feelings slowly."

  That tender face, evokes a familiar fervent expression from memory.

  Surging waves of shock and horror rose up in Ling Jing's heart.

  No, this is not 12-year-old Lu Qian!

  This is obviously the reincarnation of that infatuated and twisted young man from his past life!

  How did this happen?

  What on earth went wrong?!

  Lu Qian's heart surged with emotion, and she couldn't help but take a step forward: "Jie... older sister..."

  "Lu Qian, stop!" Ling Jingxu's mind was a mess, her voice involuntarily rising to a sharp tone: "Don't come any closer."

  Lu Qian stopped in his tracks, the burning eagerness in his eyes could no longer be concealed: "Don't be afraid, nothing from our past life will happen again, I'll protect you. No one will dare to bully or harm you again. I've already asked for Father and Mother's consent for our marriage, once we're engaged, after a few years, I'll marry you and bring you home. Big Brother will go to the capital, and in the future, he'll be his son-in-law. I'll stay in Ji Zhou, forever by your side..."

  Ling Jingyu finally came back to her senses from the shock: "Alright! Don't say anything else! Let me calm down for a moment."

  Lu Qian finally shut his mouth and looked at her with a hopeful and joyful expression.

  ......

  Ling Jing took a deep breath, calming her racing heartbeat and clearing her mind.

  It wasn't just her who had been reborn, Lu Qian had also returned with her. These days, Lu Qian had hidden it too well, she hadn't noticed at all, she was really too careless...

  This is not the time to think about those things, the most important thing now is to solve this huge trouble in front of us first.

  Ling Jingyu's eyes fixed on Lu Qian, and she asked directly: "You've also been reborn?"

  Lu Qian replied succinctly: "Yes."

  An expected answer. Ling Jingxuan's heart was filled with mixed emotions, and for a moment, she couldn't quite put her finger on what it felt like. Subconsciously, she asked: "When did you die?"

  At that time, she was given a secret order to die because she refused to commit suicide. Ling's family personally strangled her to death. At that time, Lu Qian was often ill but had no fear for his life.

  Lu Qian's expression turned bitter as he recalled the painful and maddening memories, his voice low as he replied: "After you died, I didn't want to live either. I took advantage of the servants' inattention to end my own life. Unexpectedly, when I opened my eyes again, I had been reborn. It was just over half a month ago that I woke up on the boat."

  Ling Jing was silent and didn't say a word.

  Calculating the days, Lu Qian was reborn around the same time as her.

  "A'xiu, I'm sorry, I wasn't able to save you back then." Lu Qian changed to a more intimate form of address, his eyes filled with deep emotion: "The two of us being reborn together must be the heavens' blessing and arrangement. Don't worry, from now on I'll protect you, absolutely won't let you suffer any grievances again."

  The immature face, paired with a fervent and frantic expression, looks quite strange, even somewhat frightening!

  This face is one of the culprits who caused her nightmares in her previous life. If it weren't for his unrequited love, if it weren't for his undisguised affection, Ling would not have hated her so much, using such despicable and sinister means to deal with her...

  What makes him think she would still be willing to marry him and jump back into the Lu family's fire pit?

  "Lu Qian, I won't marry you." Ling Jingxu said word by word: "I have never liked you, whether in the past life or this life."

  Lu Qian was rejected so decisively, but he didn't back down: "Feelings can be cultivated slowly. I won't be unfaithful like Lu Hong, I will devote myself to you wholeheartedly for a lifetime."

  "These are just your own thoughts." Ling Jingxuan restrained all her emotions, her expression cold and indifferent: "But I don't want to."

  "Lu Qian, you've been entangling me for my entire past life, and I ended up in that state because of you. You're 'deserving of praise'. If it weren't for you, your own mother wouldn't hate me so much. Even if Lu An's thoughts were treacherous, she wouldn't have dared to humiliate me so brazenly."

  "I will never have any feelings for you in this lifetime, and I definitely won't marry you. You'd better give up on that idea."

  Those words "merit cannot be buried" deeply pierced Lu's weak chest, and his eyes flowed out with pain and self-blame: "Ah-shu, I'm sorry. I didn't intentionally want to drag you down. I didn't think that Mother would lay such a poisonous hand on you..."

  He never thought that his father Lu An would be so cruel and inhumane.

  Regret and guilt haunted him day and night, tormenting him to the point of being worse than dead. However, he didn't have the courage to save her, nor did he have the courage to resist Lu An and Ling Shi. He could only torture himself in despair! Originally weak and sickly, he fell ill one after another, and his body was worn out in just a few years.

  The day the imperial edict arrived at the Lu residence, Ling Shi secretly concealed the news and quietly had Ling Jingyu killed. When he suddenly heard the bad news, he was heartbroken and nearly collapsed. Ling Shi feared that he would think of taking his own life, so she guarded him every day. After a while, she slightly relaxed her vigilance. However, there were always servants waiting on him at all times.

  He endured for several months, waiting until the people around him had let their guard down before finding an opportunity to jump into the water and die.

  In his final moments, he didn't feel any pain, only a sense of relief and liberation.

  It seems that heaven heard his prayer before he died and made his dream come true. When he woke up on the boat and found himself reborn, he was so excited that tears filled his face. In his heart, he secretly vowed that in this life, he would definitely meet Ling Jingxuan one step ahead of Lu Hong, marry her as his wife, and cherish and pamper her for a lifetime.