Chapter 8: The Direct Lineage Heart Method

Ji Ruoling was thinking about how to let the two of them live in Elegant Court openly, rather than hiding in her room like thieves in the night.

She was fiddling with a golden hairpin in her hand, but her mind was elsewhere.

Feeling someone sit down beside her, her hand holding the hairpin paused, and she nearly poked herself.

"What kind of hairpin is this? It's so ugly, and gold too—how tacky!" Hou Mochen said, glancing at the hairpin in her hand without sparing her any feelings.

"...This hairpin is mine, not yours. What does it matter if it's tacky or not?" Ji Ruoling’s forehead was covered in black lines. Was this guy really this overly familiar? If you counted it, they had only met for the first time yesterday morning.

Besides, hadn't he arrogantly broken off the engagement? Why was he clinging to her place now and refusing to leave?

When Hou Mochen had woken up, Ji Ruoling had wanted to kick him out immediately, but to her surprise, he had become a nuisance, refusing to leave no matter what she said.

"Since you want to cling to my place, then don't complain. If you hate it so much, then get lost back to your not-at-all-tacky nest." Ji Ruoling began to drive him out. She didn't like him either; since they loathed each other, why wouldn't he go back?

Hou Mochen fell silent. He didn't want to go back, he didn't want to see his father, and since things had already come to this, perhaps...

After a long time without a rebuttal from Hou Mochen, Ji Ruoling turned her head and glanced at him.

Seeing him sitting there with his head lowered in silence, she turned her gaze toward Lin Muxi, who was resting with his eyes closed on the reclining ladder.

Hou Mochen had no intention of leaving, but she didn't know when the perpetually silent Lin Muxi would depart.

With two strangers in her room, she couldn't settle her mind to study those books.

Moreover, she wanted to go out for a walk. Although she didn't like going out or crowded places, she wasn't exactly a shut-in.

Staying in a room all day was quite stifling, so she decided to go out and stroll through the streets.

Once she had the idea, she acted immediately. She put down the hairpin and went out.

Ji Ruoling went to Ji Yi, saying she felt stifled in her room and wanted to go for a stroll.

Thinking of how she hadn't left that small room for ten years, Ji Yi felt a pang of heartache; thus, he gave her a bag of silver coins and granted her permission.

Carrying the bag of silver coins, Ji Ruoling returned to the courtyard with a calm expression.

She found a long veil in her wardrobe and used it to cover her face.

"Hey, ugly! Are you going out? Take me with you!" Seeing Ji Ruoling's movements, Hou Mochen nearly lunged at her.

He grabbed her sleeve excitedly, his eyes shining with anticipation.

Ji Ruoling felt that if he had a tail, it would surely be wagging vigorously right now.

"Fine. Get out yourself and don't come back. I don't care if you stay in an inn or sleep on the street," Ji Ruoling said coldly, pulling her sleeve back.

Hou Mochen blinked pitifully. "You! I'm about to die of boredom! Hurry up and take me out!"

"If you die, you die. What does that have to do with me? Don't come here crying and making a scene like a woman; if you want to make a fuss, go find your father." Ji Ruoling had a headache; she had picked up a massive trouble.

Ji Qianxue had clearly said that Hou Mochen was a tall, handsome, dashing, and somewhat arrogant fellow, but was this pitiful person looking at her really the legendary, high-class Hou Mochen?

After hearing the word "father," Hou Mochen fell silent. He lowered his head and sat in the chair in a dejected mood.

Seeing that Hou Mochen would no longer pester her, Ji Ruoling went out, instructed the four maidservants not to enter her room, and then left.

Hou Mochen stared at the tightly closed door, thinking about what had happened yesterday.

After returning to the Hou residence from the Ji family yesterday, he told his father, Hou Ming, about the matter.

To his surprise, Hou Ming was so enraged that he slapped him.

Since childhood, he had been the apple of Hou Ming's eye; let alone a slap, Hou Ming couldn't even bear to say a harsh word to him.

Before he could even react, Hou Ming dragged him back to the Ji family, wanting to renegotiate his marriage with Ji Ruoling, only to be coldly rejected by Ji Yi.

Hou Ming was even angrier after returning home, claiming that he had ruined his great plans.

It was only later that he was told the Ji family possessed a set of core cultivation techniques that Hou Ming had learned from a drunken Ji Yi while drinking together in his youth.

Because his eldest brother and third brother were constantly eyeing the position of the Head of the Hou family, he was desperate to find a way to stabilize his own status.

Thus, he had been eyeing the Ji family's core techniques for a long time. Upon hearing that the Mistress of the Ji family had given birth to a daughter, he had rushed to Ji Yi, claiming he wanted to arrange a betrothal between the children of the two families.

At the time, Ji Yi was very happy, so he agreed immediately.

When Hou Mochen learned the truth, he felt a sense of betrayal; Hou Ming had traded his lifelong happiness for that set of techniques.

The two of them had a massive argument, after which he ran out. Later, he was pursued by a group of men in black and, without realizing it, fled to the outer walls of the Ji residence.

Elegant Court was the most comfortable and tranquil courtyard in the Ji family.

At that time, Ji Yi had showered his wife with infinite affection. Knowing she loved peace and quiet, he had built Elegant Court in a secluded corner of the Ji estate.

Later, due to the birth of Ji Ruoling, the Mistress died, and Ji Ruoling, who should have lived in the courtyard, was driven out. Ji Yi also did not allow anyone else to live in Elegant Court.

In the end, Elegant Court still belonged to Ji Ruoling.

Regarding Elegant Court, Ji Qianxue had mentioned it to her several times, her tone always filled with envy and resentment, even mocking her by saying she lacked the fate of a noble lady.

Being hunted with nowhere to run, Hou Mochen could only stumble into Ji Ruoling's courtyard, where he lost consciousness.

Then came the matter of Ji Ruoling saving him.

Thinking of the reason for his massive fight with Hou Ming, he didn't want to go back, so he had been clinging to Ji Ruoling's place.

He never imagined that the person who saved him was the Ji Ruoling he had always disliked the most.

After learning that Ji Ruoling had saved him, he thought she intended to use this incident to force him to restore the engagement.

To his surprise, she showed no such intention and remained cold toward him.

He should have been happy that she wasn't pestering him, but he felt a slight sense of dissatisfaction in his heart.

As for Ji Ruoling, she didn't know the paths of the Ji family. Since childhood, she had never left the vicinity of her small room by more than fifty meters; even her food was thrown to her from the kitchen.

So, she began to ask for directions, but in the vast Ji estate, not a single person answered her; everyone avoided her when they saw her.

Later, she encountered someone dressed as a servant, who led her to the main gate of the Ji family and then left.

Ji Ruoling wandered aimlessly through the streets, not knowing what places existed in Maple City. After turning through many streets, she arrived at a very bustling one.

People came and went on the street, and there were many stalls on both sides. Ji Ruoling looked up and saw a monument at the street corner with the words "Market" written on it.

Walking inside, she found the space becoming wider and wider, appearing to be a plaza with stalls arranged neatly.

Ji Ruoling walked through the crowd, wandering aimlessly.

The stall owners were all shouting their wares, and one jewelry stall owner, with sharp eyes, noticed that the dress Ji Ruoling was wearing was unusual, so he began to call out to her.

Hearing the shouting, which mentioned something about a girl in a purple dress, Ji Ruoling looked around and found that she was the only one wearing purple.

She glanced at the small stall, thinking it wouldn't hurt to take a look, and walked over.