Lu Xiao’s expression suddenly darkened.

The "depravity" mentioned by Yu Mingyue resonated with what Yu Wenqian had just said, and it pierced her heart, reminding her of the experiences throughout her life—before she followed Xiao Yuansui, she was once a renowned dancing girl in the Two Capitals; however, being with Xiao Yuansui was not smooth sailing, and after Left General’s rebellion failed, she was captured by Wang Shaoji and was forced to submit to him; further, before the Jiangdu Palace Rebellion, to uncover their secrets of rebellion, she was involved with Wang Shaoqiu multiple times...

Others might not know, but she was well aware in her heart that despite being revered as a guest by many, they merely saw her as a toy.

Now, her experiences have become weapons for these people to attack her.

Even by Yu Mingyue, a fellow woman.

Lu Xiao secretly bit her lip. Though her face still wore the usual charming smile, at this moment, the smile appeared somewhat forced, even revealing a trace of rigidity.

She smiled and said, "You mean that I am a depraved person?"

Yu Mingyue’s eyes flickered, naturally seeing through the other’s embarrassment at that moment, so she smiled faintly and said, "What I said is—Buddha’s mind is pure, especially avoiding depravity. If you consider yourself depraved, then this statement, you will understand yourself."

"..."

Lu Xiao’s expression darkened again.

Indeed, Yu Mingyue did not explicitly say anything against her, these words she understood herself.

Seeing Lu Xiao’s face turning paler, clearly a delicate woman who can greet her enemies with a smile, yet just one sentence from Yu Mingyue seems to have pierced her heart, making her unable to speak and incapable of arguing. Yu Wenqian slightly frowned, looked down at Yu Mingyue, about to say something, when suddenly a cold voice echoed beside him—

"Buddha’s mind is pure and avoids depravity, but Buddha also says, do not have a discriminating mind."

As these words came out, everyone present was taken aback.

Yu Wenqian immediately turned his head, only to see under the faint moonlight, Shang Ruyi slowly walking in from the garden entrance. Her expression was aloof, her gaze cold yet tinged with clear, visible anger and sharpness. With just a few steps, she walked to Lu Xiao’s side.

Standing sideways, shoulder to shoulder with her.

It was as if opposing the other two present.

Yu Mingyue’s expression also darkened, seemingly not expecting Shang Ruyi to intervene at this moment, and somewhat displeased by her appearance, coldly said, "What do you mean?"

Shang Ruyi said, "Lord Yu, am I still Princess Qin?"

"..."

Yu Mingyue’s expression darkened again.

Though she had quickly adapted to being "a person above others" upon arriving here, she had yet to fully adapt to living with someone above her. Even if before, she could suppress Shang Ruyi with her mere presence, or even her aura, now the latter had clearly adjusted to everything, and just her status made her bow.

Yu Mingyue bit her lip, reluctantly saluting Shang Ruyi: "Princess."

Shang Ruyi said, "No need for the salute."

Yu Mingyue raised her head to look at her again, and said: "I do not understand, what did the Princess mean by her earlier words?"

Shang Ruyi smiled and said, "It seems, Lord Yu is not entirely versed in Buddhist teachings either."

"..."

"Actually, the discriminating mind is not an obscure Buddhist teaching, it can be expressed in common words. In simple terms—it means don’t look down on people."

"You—!"

Yu Mingyue, being exceedingly clever, and even at this moment, without needing to be clever, could tell that the other was insulting her.

Even Yu Wenqian looked at Shang Ruyi with some surprise.

He seemed not to have expected, someone who had always been appropriate in her actions, who could stand side by side with men on the battlefield, who finished off tens of thousands of Longxi troops with one arrow and was hailed as a "Female Demon" by some curious souls in the army, could still maintain calm and serenity when facing them and keep the surface peaceful, to show such obvious rivalry.

No, it was no longer rivalry.

It was hostility, even deliberate provocation.

In fact, Shang Ruyi understood well what she was doing at this moment, both sides had long been in a state of life and death, she was polite usually because the other hadn’t touched her vitals, people like them maintain dignity until death. But this time, Yu Mingyue provoked her relationship with Yu Wenye and even aimed at Shen Wuzheng, that had touched her "reverse scale"!

She could not easily let it go, even if she couldn’t get the whole revenge, she had to at least get some advantage in words first!

Just like at the beginning, when she seized those memories of Yu Mingyue!