Li Yuanjiao fell silent for a few breaths, staring intently at Xiao Guiluan. The woman lowered her eyes without speaking, as if she wanted to stare a blossom into the stone table. Only after a long while did Li Yuanjiao sigh and say:
"Since you already know, why speak it aloud?"
Xiao Guiluan lifted her head, took his hand, and replied gently:
"I only hope you treat me as one of your own. When I was a child, my father abandoned me on the mountain; I suffered much coldness and disdain. There's little for me to long for in the Xiao Family. In this life, all I care about are you and Xizhi, yet such a momentous matter you still keep from me."
Li Yuanjiao was deeply moved by her words. He affectionately took her hand and said warmly:
"I've always known you to be clever and intricate in thought, constantly exceeding expectation. But that you could deduce the Clan Head Courtyard's tacit inaction to this degree—"
"It was just a guess."
