Yun Xi hadn't expected it; her head struck Qi Yu's chest. Dizziness clouded her vision while a strange numbness settled over his heart.
The two young bodies leaned against each other. The soft, floral scent unique to women drifted to Qi Yu's nostrils and for a moment unmoored him; his face flushed. He felt the rhythm of his breath falter.
His arms went around Yun Xi's shoulders. He lowered his gaze to the crown of her dark hair. He knew he should pull away, but his hands betrayed him and tightened the embrace instead.
"I'm sorry. I'm fine," Yun Xi murmured, the dizziness ebbing. She pressed her palms between them, trying to create distance.
"Oh!" Qi Yu's cheeks burned as he jolted to attention and slowly loosened his hold.
"What are you doing?!" a sharp voice cut through the moment.
Yun Ni stood there wide-eyed, anger flashing in her face. Without hesitation she lifted her hand to slap Yun Xi.
Yun Xi reacted instantly and kicked out—see whose limb was quicker: her foot or Yun Ni's hand. But before the foot could land, someone yanked her back and she stumbled into that warm, steady embrace again.
Qi Yu had stepped in and shielded her with his body, blocking Yun Ni's strike with his back. Yun Ni froze; the shock of being denied the scene she expected turned instantly into a green, burning jealousy.
"How shameless, Yun Xi! How disgraceful!" Yun Ni raged, claws of fury showing in every word. She lunged for Yun Xi's arm, desperate to wrench her from Qi Yu's hold. "You wait—I'll make grandmother drive you out of the Chancellor's residence!"
Qi Yu wouldn't allow her to go on. He wrapped a firmer arm around Yun Xi to protect her, and his usually gentle face hardened with a chill that was unexpected in someone of his rank.
"Miss, please stop," he said coldly. "As the daughter of a noble household, such behavior is unbecoming."
He didn't know Yun Ni personally, but any woman who would try to harm Yun Xi earned his contempt. The rebuke stunned Yun Ni into stillness; hot tears sprang to her eyes. She dared not display such a ugly side in front of the Crown Prince. Instead she pointed at Yun Xi, venom in her voice.
"Just wait! I'll tell grandmother—she'll have you thrown out of the Yun household!"
With a huff, she stamped her foot, wiped at her cheeks, and ran off crying and sputtering threats.
Qi Yu exhaled and turned his gentle gaze back to the trembling figure in his arms. "Are you hurt?" he asked.
The whole episode had happened so fast that he didn't know whether his own actions might have embarrassed her. He said the words with a softness that had no malice in it.
Yun Xi's cheeks warmed. She knew well how unusual it was for a man to protect her so openly. Embarrassed, she tugged at a stray lock of hair and stepped back a few paces to restore propriety.
"It's nothing," she said hurriedly. "And thank you, Your Highness, for stepping in. My younger sister is inexperienced—please don't mind her."
Qi Yu watched the deliberate distance and the formal address and felt a faint pang of something like disappointment. He had an idea, though: Yun Ni's parting threat about the grandmother nagged at him.
"If you like," he offered, voice steady, "I can speak to your grandmother and clarify what happened. I don't want this to become a scandal for you."
Yun Xi managed a genuine smile—warm and grateful. "You don't have to trouble yourself. With my father here, everything will be handled." She hesitated, then added, "And don't worry—Mr. Xiao He will be escorted out of the Chancellor's residence within three days."
Qi Yu's eyebrows rose in surprise. So she'd meant to lure him out of the front hall on purpose. He couldn't help the amused grin that tugged at his lips; the maneuver had been elegantly done.
"I see," he said, low and approving. "I won't trouble the residence these few days, then."
He reached to his belt, drew out a white jade tablet, and placed it in her hand. "If you need anything, have a servant bring this to me. With this, you will be granted access to the palace."
The cool jade felt almost too warm to hold. Yun Xi reflexively started to hand it back, but before she could, Qi Yu turned and strode toward the Chancellor's gates.
She stood rooted to the spot, watching his retreating figure until it vanished from sight. The jade lay heavy in her palm and an odd mixture of feelings churned inside her.
She had never liked men much. Apart from her grandfather and father, most men had been either coarse and violent like Qi Rong, or petty and shameless like Lin Kang and Jiang Qing—men who wanted everything and felt entitled to take it. Qi Yu, however, belonged to none of those types. He was refined, consistent, and disarmingly gentle. Though she would not say she liked him, she could not bring herself to hate him either.
She was about to return to the front hall to speak with her father when Yuzhu came running, hair loose and voice wobbling with tears.
"Miss, it's terrible! Hurry to the ancestral hall! The matriarch is about to burn Mother's memorial tablet—and force her name from the Yun genealogy. Father is already on his way!"
"What?!" Yun Xi's eyes went cold as steel. Her face drained of color.
She had expected the Jiang family to stir up trouble; she had not imagined that her own grandmother—the woman she disliked—would seize the chance to push matters to an irreversible cruelty and try to erase her mother's place in the family.
Yun Xi's breath came out in a frosty snort. Her fists clenched so tight her knuckles whitened. To try and harm her mother—dead and buried—so that she would be shamed even in death? No.
She had been willing to give her grandmother the courtesy of not making things permanent because of the old woman's age. But the Jiang faction and her grandmother had kept pushing, daring her, crossing every line until there was nothing left to appease.
If they wanted to make life unbearable for her and her mother's memory, then Yun Xi decided she would answer in kind. No more restraint. If they were determined to burn all that remained of her mother, she would see to it that the consequences were shared—everyone would be implicated.
Without another thought, Yun Xi turned on her heel and ran for the ancestral hall, eyes flashing, mouth set in a cold, merciless smile. This time, there would be no forgiveness.