Chapter 6: 006 示爱，背水一战

Two bailiffs approached, one on each side, and grabbed her arms roughly, dragging her away.

In this moment of crisis, she came up with a quick idea. Her eyes reddened, and she began to wail, "Marquis, it doesn't matter if I die, but I love you so much, I can't bear to leave you! Even in death, I can't bear to leave you! Waaaah..."

She had intended to fake cry, but once the sound escaped her lips, it turned into genuine weeping, and she cried as if her heart were breaking.

However, the main reason for her sorrow was not being persecuted by corrupt officials, but rather remembering the events that occurred before she transmigrated into Xia Luokui's body.

Back then, she had been a university graduate for just one year, a highly promising protégé of the city's renowned private investigator, "Winner Non."

On that day, her mentor had sent her to investigate an affair involving a wealthy man's wife. After the wife discovered she was being followed, she attempted to flee and unexpectedly ran across the road. Just as she was about to be hit by a sedan, she rushed forward without a second thought to push the woman out of the way. As a result, the wife was unharmed, but she was sent flying by the car and became a vegetable.

Her parents, younger brother, and younger sister had wept inconsolably. As her soul drifted in the air, seeing their grief made her feel deeply sorrowful and guilty.

Fortunately, the wealthy wife had a change of heart because of the incident and returned to a loving relationship with her husband. Out of deep guilt, they not only covered all her medical expenses but also paid her family a large sum of money. Her mentor also promised to take good care of her family in the future. Because of her sacrifice, her family's economic situation improved; calculating it back, her "death" was actually quite worth it.

Thus, her soul did not remain sorrowful for long, and she happily moved on to her new life.

It was just that now, having only just become Xia Luokui, she had encountered this tragedy of kin turning against kin and persecution by corrupt officials. Thinking of her original loving parents and siblings, her tears fell right on cue.

Her sudden, intense crying left everyone stunned for a moment: She had been perfectly fine, so why was she crying?

Of course, the Prefect and the bailiffs were also stunned.

And while they were dazed, Xia Yulin's final chance arrived!

First, she bit down hard on one bailiff's wrist. Taking advantage of the moment he let go in pain, she violently shook off the other bailiff's hand. Then, enduring the pain in her buttocks, she lunged desperately toward the nearby curtain, tore it away with force, and threw herself into the Marquis's arms. Hugging his neck, she cried out, "Marquis, you are my fiancé! I was born to marry you! My love for you is unwavering until death! Now that I am being detained, I might die in prison and never see you again in this lifetime. I can't bear to leave you, I truly can't bear to leave you..."

The Marquis was sitting in a wide-backed chair; for her to throw herself into his arms like that and wrap her arms around his neck... that painting... was quite stimulating.

The crowd was first shocked by her audacious behavior, but then they felt a sense of sympathy: This Eleventh Miss had been waiting to marry the Marquis since she became sensible. Now that she had encountered such a disaster and her life was uncertain, it was only natural that she couldn't bear to leave him...

Even the Prefect and the bailiffs were staring blankly. Was she... bidding a public farewell to the Marquis?

The Marquis held a high status, and since they were engaged, how could the bailiffs dare to interrupt their farewell? They could only wait.

The Marquis opened his mouth slightly, looking at the woman in his arms in utter astonishment: Was this girl, who was crying like a river in his arms and professing her love so fervently, really the same woman who, every time she saw him, would only lower her head, blush, twist her handkerchief, squirm around, and fail to even form a coherent sentence?

Although he did not like this woman, being publicly shown such affection moved him slightly. He thought to himself: *If only you could be this intelligent, generous, decisive, and bold in your daily life, how could I look down on you so much?*

Just as he was lamenting, he heard Xia Luokui whisper in his ear: "I know everything about you and Xia Laixiang, Xia Mulan, Xia Ying, Xia He, and even Xia Fanlü! I even have the love letters between you and them—they were the ones who gave them to me to show off. If I can walk out of here safely, you will still be a gentleman! Otherwise, I will expose all your scandals with them and make those letters public. We'll both be finished!"

He felt certain he had misheard: "What... what did you just say?"

Xia Yulin pulled her head back ten centimeters and stared into his eyes: "If you don't save me, I'll take you down with me!"

The Marquis was beyond shocked: He hadn't misheard? She was serious?

A smile played on her lips, but her expression was exceptionally firm, and her gaze was icy. Like a little demon, she didn't look like she was joking at all.

After a long pause, he said slowly, "Are you threatening me? You dare threaten me?"

The usual Xia Luokui was like a little mouse; even if she caught someone's leverage, she would only timidly return it, promising to keep her mouth shut and begging the other party not to hold it against her. How could she possibly know how to use someone's leverage to protect herself and seek personal gain?

And today, she actually knew how to threaten him, and at such a critical moment?

He was the renowned Marquis; where on earth did she get such audacity?