"Old man? You are also here?", Li Xi Rui come back to Long Jie's quarters to deliver the lamb soup noodles. Putting down several bowls of the lamb soup noodles, she asked the mute boy to bring another bowl.

"Cousin in law is too nice~", praised Rui Sheng.

Li Xi Rui is too hungry to bicker with Rui Sheng. "Old man, Long Jie, this is lamb soup noodles. Do try if it is to your taste", as she pushed the bowls to each of them.

Looking at the colorful ingredients on top of the noodles and the aroma make them hungry all of the sudden. Long Jie's disappeared appetite come back with Li Xi Rui's noodles.

"Xi-er, you too. Let us eat this together", Long Jie said. Gently, he tugged Li Xi Rui's sleeves to make her sit down beside him. Li Xi Rui hasn't eat anything, he is worried about her. If she and their child is affected, he would have gone berserk.

"En", Li Xi Rui allowed herself to be pulled down. Slowly, she begins eating.

At the small round table, there are 4 youngsters each with a bowl of steaming hot noodles. Rui Sheng eats elegantly as if he was in the palace banquet. QiQi eats normally- not too slow nor too fast. Li Xi Rui eats as a lady should- with small bites. Only Long Jie eats it with a fast rate, inhaling the noodles without stopping.

Li Xi Rui suddenly stops eating. She had thought that she was famished, but after eating half a bowl of the noodles, she felt full. Rising her head to look at the other, she silently asses their reaction towards the food.

But when her sight falls onto the man besides her, her eyes went wide. Looking at Long Jie's eating pace, Li Xi Rui feels an unusual tinge of satisfaction. Slowly, she pushes her own bowl towards Long Jie. She seems to forgot that she has been eating from that bowl in her hastiness. She just wants to look at Long Jie eating her food.

"Hungry?", she asked with a rare hint of gentleness. As she said this, she smiles.

"En", Long Jie nodded his head. He couldn't say anything. Li Xi Rui's smile stupefied him. Receiving her bowl, Long Jie begin eating again.

Refusing to take off her sight from an eating Long jie, Li Xi Rui asked for more bowls to be brought over. While looking at Long Jie, she smiles. And Long Jie, seeing her smiling, he continues to eat bowl after bowl of the noodles. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. Long Jie couldn't eat anymore.

Li Xi Rui frowned. "Eat more", she urged.

"Xi-er, I couldn't eat anymore", Long Jie had to refuse while holding his round stomach. Luckily his martial art is so good, he could bear with the stomachache. "You are a good cook Xi-er", Long Jie praises.

Sighing, Li Xi Rui has to accept that Long Jie is too full to eat more. "Thank you", she replied. Counting the stacked up bowl in front of her, she finally could feel satisfied. Seven bowls. Seven bowls of lamb soup noodles. Smiling, Li Xi Rui could imagine the satisfaction the next time she cooks.

Overseeing all these is Rui Sheng, while QiQi clear the table. "It seems like Jie's fate is sealed~", Rui Sheng said teasingly. He would have more things to entertain himself in the future. 'I couldn't wait~', he thought.

***

While the youngsters are happily fooling around in the Qilin sect, the news in the capital couldn't be more worrisome.

"The Left Prime Minister will be replaced!"

"What?! Why?!"

"The emperor seems to want another younger scholar to take on the position"

"Where did you hear this?"

"My father's friend who is one of the lower rank minister, told us when he come visiting"

"Too bad for the left prime minister but isn't it better?"

"I heard the new scholar come from a commoner background"

"wouldn't that be better? He would understand the common folk's difficulties better than a noble do"

"True! True!"

"Let's wait for the decree of the emperor!"

"This is the wisest decision from the emperor!"

The hottest rumor in the capital nowadays is the news of replacement of the Left Prime Minister. It is unknown whether it is true or not. But do people really care about the truth? Of course not. What they do care is nothing but whether the news is worthy enough to be gossiped. True or not, it is not their job to care, they are not the commandant of justice!

What they seem to forget is that the word of people, holds a certain power in it. Following the majority, anything could happen according to popular opinion. This is what they call trying cases in the court of public opinion. It may serve a certain benefit if the person deserved to be prosecute based on opinion. But how about an innocent person? Would they just have to open handedly received the punishment due to ignorance of common folks?

Unbeknown of them, a certain man is hearing all the commotion with a smile on his lips. 'You forced me to do this, Li Xi Rui. Don't blame me for being ruthless', he thought.