Over the course of the next few days, Xin Rui spent her time talking to Yu Jian and Cai Zhi— separately, of course.

"Rui, come here." Cai Zhi waved his hand as he softly called out to her with an alluring smile. Curling her red lips, Rui skipped to his side.

With one hand, he gently held her by the side of her head and inserted a peony flower behind her ear with the other hand. He took several steps back and gave a helpless smile as his eyes gazed at her with warmth and adoration.

"Even a peony flower cannot compare to you..." he chuckled, showing his beautiful set of teeth.

In response, Rui slightly blushed to his compliment. "Stop joking, Zhi-gege..." But her mind thought of someone else.

He chuckled again, "How can such truth be considered a joke?"

Rui didn't reply as she lowered her head. While her lips were stilled curled up, her mind wandered somewhere else again. Yu Jian's nonchalant face appeared with a soft smile. She suddenly recalled the white jade pin and her smile faltered, but she quickly replaced it with a nervous laugh.

"Rui, I have a surprise for you."

"Ah?"

Cai Zhi smiled mischievously and pointed his nose up, "Close your eyes."

Though she was confused, she didn't question him and closed her eyes. Her hand was lifted up and something cold but smooth was gently placed in her palm. Rui opened her eyes and widened them with a gasp."This..."

He sheepishly smiled and coughed into his fist, "This is a blue crystal charm. While I was traveling with my men, I happened to come across an abandoned mine. The workers said that funds were no longer provided so they abandoned the cave. Thinking about you, I decided to go look inside for some crystal rocks. When we were children, you once said that you wanted a blue crystal because they looked like the sky. Fortunately, I managed to mine some out and made them into a charm. Rui, don't laugh at Zhi-gege's terrible craftsmanship."

Left completely speechless, Rui couldn't form any proper words. Her thumb ran over the smooth surface and she looked up at him. Cai Zhi was nervously standing with his hands behind his back, as if he was waiting for her approval. Her heart was touched by his kindness, but that was it. Rui slowly said, "Zhi-gege, you didn't have to do so much for Rui..."

"Of course I do, you're important to me. To show you how much you mean to me, I have to work through my own sweat and tears." Cai Zhi smiled and gazed deeply into her shocked eyes. She couldn't explain it; as if he had some magical rope in his eyes, he lured her in.

Her heart tremor with a violent shake. Lowering her face and breaking away from the ropes in his eyes with difficulty, she quietly said, "Zhi-gege, Rui will get the wrong idea if this continues..."

"How is your idea wrong, if it's right?" Rui shot her head back up to meet his sincere eyes. He was serious—or at least—she thinks he is.

She wasn't sure why she was reacting like this. Normally, she would be thrilled to hear such words from him. Her eyes flickered back and forth. Finding a reasonable excuse, she quickly saluted and bid Cai Zhi a goodbye.

"Miss—" Liling called from behind as Rui rushed back to her room with thoughts clouding her mind and eyes. She looked at Liling with a complicated gaze before she masked it with a bright, cheerful smile.

"Liling-ah, could you go heat up the bath for me? Also, I want freshly picked rose and osmanthus flowers. It has to be fresh." Rui requested with her large, glistening doll-like eyes, making it impossible for the poor maid to refuse.

After she left, Rui quickly shut the door and stood still behind the frames. Her lips dipped into a frown and she lowered her conflicting gaze. This was not the reaction she was expecting from herself.

She felt like someone had played a cruel joke on her by spinning her around like Fate, herself. It was like her head has been rolling around in circles for years.

"Zhi-gege, I finally decided that I wouldn't care about you anymore. How can you be so cruel to me? To suddenly appear and tell me that you love me..."

Rui absentmindedly sat on the couch and stared aimlessly. Yu Jian's face popped up again. She shut her eyes tightly and repeatedly knocked the back of her head against the wall. She groaned in frustration, combatting the ongoing battles of her emotions.

Her feelings for Cai Zhi goes way back—all the way to her earliest memories. When they were children, they would often secretly play together. Zhi-gege would always take her out to eat sweet dried melons and sour plum candies.

Once, while the two were secretly out, a group of men tried to capture her to sell her as a slave. Zhi-gege was the first to protect her with his body and refused to let anyone touch her. The bad men kicked him from all sides, threatening him that if he doesn't let the girl go, he will be beaten to death.

Luckily, the stewart from the neighboring residence saw the scene and called for help. Later on, it was revealed that these two children were from one of the noblest families in Nangong. As a result, the imprisoned criminals were sentenced to death.

While growing up with him, he was always sweet to her. He went into battle just so he could learn how to protect her properly. Who knew that he would be so well-versed in martial arts and war? Cai Zhi became extremely popular with the maidens in the city. He is a good scholar and commander, so it was no surprise that he captured many hearts. As time passed, the two childhood friends grew distant, walking on separate paths of fate.

On the other hand, Yu Jian had seen nearly every side of her—literally—and he didn't judge her. Sure, she is terrible at studying and lacks in the four arts, but he didn't care about that. Noble or not, woman or not, she must do the work to eat. She wasn't spoiled nor babied by him. Because of that—she supposed—her heart tipped on the balance towards Yu Jian. He puts purpose in her, and sees her not as the eldest miss of a noble family, but as a regular person. She finally felt like her life had more meaning than to sit around and stare at flowers all day while reciting love poems—

Liling interrupted her thoughts, "Miss, your bath is ready."

Rui slowly raised to her feet and walked into the bathing room. Slipping out of her clothes, she dipped inside the warm water and sunk a little lower. Liling stood behind her and gently washed her back. With conflicting eyes, Liling bit her lips and contemplated on her words.

"What is on your mind, Liling?" Rui quietly asked, gentle and warm with her tone. These days, she has noticed that Liling has been acting strange. She had always seem like she wanted to say something but in the end, she closed her mouth before the words could fall.

"W-what would this servant talk about?" Liling averted her eyes while the hands that were massaging Rui's shoulders began to stiffen. Rui opened her eyes, revealing the knowing orbs behind her eyelids. In a low voice, she said, "It's okay if you don't trust me. However, if you're in any sorts of danger, please let me know. I will do my best to help you."

Liling widened her eyes and gulped nervously. A million thoughts flew by her mind. Timidly, she answered, "Yes, this servant thanks Miss for your kindness and care towards this lowly one..."

After Rui was done bathing, she happened to see Liling embroidering a handkerchief. Impressed, Rui walked towards her to get a better look.

"Liling, you are very good at embroidering."

Blushing, Liling quickly set down her needle and saluted to Rui, "Miss is generous with her compliments. This servant does not have a lot of talent."

"Nonsense. I will say that you're almost on the same level as Yue-er."

Liling had confused eyes. Seeing her gaze, Rui quickly explained, "Li Qiuyue, daughter of the Li family. She's my greatest friend. It's unfortunate that our families are from different factions. Anyway, although Yue-er is skilled in calligraphy, she's also very good at embroidery. Both of your skills bring life to a picture. It's a wonderful thing to have."

Flushing red, Liling waved her hands her around to deny, "No, how can this lowly servant compare to someone of higher status..."

Rui stopped her, "Liling. Do you know what I came to learn when I was with Yu Jian?" Of course, she shook her head. "You can always judge someone for their worth, but you can't measure their qualities based on status. After all, we are all the same. We all die in the end, so you have values too. You don't need to lower yourself, at least, in front of me."

Liling looked back up to Rui's eyes and found genuineness within. There was no second or hidden meaning behind them. It touched her heart and she slowly nodded. Rui gave her a beautiful smile, capturing Liling's trust and loyalty.

Rui is of noble blood, yet her aura enchants the people around her. She looked at Liling as a human. Since when were the nobles kind enough to step off the high grounds and stand equal as the servants?

Looking back, if it wasn't because of Liling, fate would have changed cruelly. But if it wasn't because of Rui, Liling's fate wouldn't have to change so cruelly.