23 Determined

It turned out that the feast she thought was dogshit. There was nothing more ironic than this.

And this dogshit was filled with gold inside.

Since the heavens allowed her to be reborn, she would never marry into the He family. As for Yang Shao, she was determined to get him.

If she could snatch it from Xiao Baoxin once, she would be able to snatch it a second time. This time, she had the upper hand. She didn't believe that she wouldn't succeed in winning over Yang Shao!

Almost instantly, Xiao Jingai's memories of her past and present life flashed through her mind. Just as she was feeling smug, she saw Xiao Baoxin return to the carriage with a murderous look on her face.

"Jingai, I don't have time to send you back to the residence now. You have to follow me to Little Changgan first. Stay in the carriage later and don't come out."

Xiao Baoxin then raised her voice and ordered the driver outside, "Stop the carriage by the road later."

She then instructed Tang Li and You Mei who were following outside the carriage, "Protect Second Miss."

This was the moment when she saw Yang Shao!

Xiao Jingai was looking for an excuse to follow her. When she was sleepy, someone would pass her a pillow. There was nothing as apt as this.

"Sister, what are you saying? Young Master is standing up for Sister. No matter how timid I am, I have to follow Sister to save him. If I can't beat them, I can just stand by the side and provide moral support!"

She raised her fist. "There's still a teapot in the carriage. At most, I'll just hide at the side and smash them!"

That expression was so loyal and adorable.

Xiao Baoxin did not expect her weak cousin to have such an eccentric and adorable side. She could not help but laugh and lightly pinched her little face.

"You better hide in the carriage, lest those stinky men offend you."

If her guess was right, she should have met Yang Shao at this time. If she had hidden in the carriage, how could she have met him first?

Xiao Jingai knew this very well. He would definitely stand up for her.

She knew all of this because when there was something between her and Yang Shao, she had bugged Xiao Baoxin to reveal it to her.

At that time, Xiao Baoxin's expression was reminiscent and proud. She was not shy at all, which made Xiao Jingai even more jealous. She managed to get some information from Yang Shao to piece the whole story together. However, it was only until today that she was reborn and was involved in it herself that she realized that the two of them were merely describing their state of mind at that time. There really was no mention of time, place, or people!

The sporadic bits and pieces that they said were missing so much that it was almost like they were sending beggars away!

When Xiao Baoxin's hand touched Xiao Jingai, she could hear her inner voice. She didn't hear everything, but it was enough to shock her.

It was that Yang Shao again!

From her tone, he seemed to be a man.

But who exactly was the one she wanted to beat her into meeting first?

Xiao Jingai had always been a well-behaved girl. She was much more well-mannered than her. As she had an engagement since they were young, she rarely went to unnecessary social events.

How did she find out about this man, and how did she take him to heart without seeing him?

Why did everything sound so strange?

Xiao Baoxin was not as excited as when she first heard the name. Instead, she wanted to talk about it openly. When she heard that Xiao Jingai was actually using Xiao Baoshu as a stepping stone to get to know Yang Shao, she felt extremely disgusted by her scheming act.

In the past, she had also heard Xiao Jingai's inner voice before. They were just some girl's specious thoughts and jealousy.

Yes, she always knew that Xiao Jingai was jealous of her. But so what? She was good-looking, had a good personality, and came from a good family. Why couldn't she be jealous of her?

Other than that, she did not have any major personality flaws. This was already good enough as her relative. She had heard of darker and more inhumane thoughts.

She had always been tolerant towards others.

However, Xiao Jingai was scheming against her brother for a man. She couldn't accept that.

No matter how ridiculous and troublesome her brother was, he should not be used as someone's stepping stone.

"Sister?" Sensing Xiao Baoxin's cold face, Xiao Jingai smiled carefully, trying to curry favor. "Don't worry, Young Master will be fine."

Xiao Baoxin, "It's hard to say. No one knows what exactly is going on."

Xiao Jingai choked. She was just trying to ease the awkward atmosphere. Was it really okay for her to slap her face back like this?

Could it be that she had to say, "Aiyo, this is bad. Young Master is such an annoying person that he will be beaten to death?"

Only then?

It's easy to lose friends if she ended the conversation like this.

"…Good people like Young Master are blessed by the heavens." Xiao Jingai tried to be friendly again and gently touched Xiao Baoxin's hand. "Didn't Papaya go to deploy the guards? He won't let anything happen to Young Master."

It was often said that good people did not live long, while scourges lived for a thousand years. Xiao Baoshu, this scourge, would still live a long life.

She thought to herself.

If it was said that using Xiao Baoshu as a stepping stone previously only made Xiao Baoxin feel uncomfortable, now the word "scourge" simply struck Xiao Baoxin like lightning.

She was the one who could say that he was a scourge, but Xiao Jingai couldn't. At least he didn't cause any trouble to her!

How was he not a good person?

Xiao Baoshu was indeed a little dim-witted and naggy, but firstly, he did not do evil, and secondly, he did not bully others. Even if he did evil, he did not harm anyone.

If Xiao Jingai had scolded Xiao Baoshu in front of her, she would have thought that they were family and not outsiders. However, she scolded him in her heart and pretended to be nice to him. That was disgusting.

Why didn't she think that Xiao Jingai was such a jerk before?

Xiao Baoxin suddenly retracted her hand and glared at her. If not for the fact that she was afraid of exposing her skills, she would have kicked her off the carriage.

Xiao Jingai was confused, but seeing Xiao Baoxin's frozen face, she knew better than to approach her.

Otherwise, just after being reborn, she would have messed up both her past and present lives. Her incomparably malicious and rich inner thoughts might cause Xiao Baoxin to lose her composure and kick her out of the carriage.

Hence, it was not unreasonable for her to hate Xiao Baoxin. She was tyrannical in the Xiao Residence. Whenever she was unhappy, she would show it on her face and liked to fight head-on.

Xiao Baoxin's unbridled behavior seemed to only become more restrained after she returned to Jiankang with Yang Shao, after he had made some achievements.

It was also from then on that Xiao Baoxin's reputation gradually spread.

Previously, all the rumors of her not upholding her reputation, being rejected from marrying into the Yuan family, and of her arrogance had disappeared as Yang Shao's position rose. It was as if they never existed.

Yang Shao had put in a lot of effort to treat her differently.

Xiao Jingai didn't want to admit it up till her death, but she had no choice. Yang Shao and Xiao Baoxin broke up because of her. Even if they reconciled later on, she would just watch coldly from the sidelines. Xiao Baoxin didn't forgive her in the end, and her eyes were no longer as bright as before.

As shrewd as Yang Shao was, he could sense it. However, he still allowed her to become the empress of the palace and appointed her son the Crown Prince.

This was the difference between a wife and a concubine.

In this lifetime, she was determined to replace Xiao Baoxin!