Chapter 20: A Turning Point

“Today at the East Market, Qiang and I have been waiting for you for a long time. Why haven’t you shown up?” Xiao Ru raised his voice, demanding, “Hiding away is one thing, but coming back this late—do you even have any sense of discipline?”

Xiao Yi was kicked down the steps by Xiao Ru, tumbling several times before a servant kneeling in the front row of the courtyard caught her.

The servant silently helped Xiao Yi to her feet, only to be scolded by Xiao Ru, “Servants are just like their masters! Did I tell you to stand up? Kneel!”

Hearing Xiao Ru’s harsh words, the servant trembled and quickly knelt down, bowing, “Please spare me, Young Master, please spare me.”

Xiao Yi, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth and looking utterly disheveled, had just been helped up by the servant but hadn’t yet regained her footing.

Under Xiao Ru’s menacing gaze, the servant’s grip loosened, and Xiao Yi suddenly went weak, collapsing back to the ground.

“Speak, Xiao Yi! Do you think playing dead will get you out of this?” Xiao Ru strode down the steps and stood over her, anger blazing in his eyes.

Tilting her head, Xiao Yi coughed up a mouthful of blood and slowly said, “I was delayed on the way; it wasn’t intentional.”

“Oh? Is that so? Then why did someone tell me they saw you at the First Pavilion?” Xiao Ru’s fury surged as he stepped on her hand, grinding it beneath his foot. “You’d better be honest and tell me where you went today and who you met.”

A painful scream echoed over the Western Garden.

Xiao Yi’s finger bones were crushed under Xiao Ru’s heavy foot; the pain drained the color from her lips, cold sweat pouring down her face. Fear and dread consumed her.

Today, she had been so engrossed in playing with Xiao Jiu and Shen Lan that she completely forgot that the East Market was under the White Fox family’s territory. Naturally, no small matter escaped Xiao Ru’s notice.

Lowering her head, Xiao Yi silently weighed how much to confess, but Xiao Ru’s impatience grew.

He crouched down, grabbing Xiao Yi’s chin, squeezing and twisting it, grinding his teeth as he said, “Who would’ve thought, in just these few days, you’ve even managed to seduce an envoy from the Wolf Clan?”

Xiao Yi’s pupils shrank sharply; her heart seemed to stop.

He knows?

What should she do?

Her panic was clear, and Xiao Ru took it as an admission of guilt. Anger boiled over, and he sneered, “Truly a worthless wretch no one wants. The moment someone beckons, you rush right over. You’ve brought shame upon the entire White Fox family.”

Had this been the Xiao Yi before meeting Shen Lan, such words would have broken her to tears, drowning her in self-loathing. But now, hearing this insult, she touched the hairpin Shen Lan had given her inside her sleeve and calmed considerably.

She had someone who cared for and cherished her; Xiao Ru’s opinion meant nothing.

Yet, Xiao Yi’s slight movement did not escape Xiao Ru’s sharp eyes. He yanked at her sleeve, reaching inside, demanding, “What are you hiding in your sleeve?”

“There’s nothing,” she replied.

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