Yu Qingwu lowered her eyes, not daring to meet Xie JinYan's gaze at all. Her voice grew softer and softer until, in the end, it was almost inaudible. She only lightly tugged at his sleeve, using body language to quietly plead.

She didn't dare say too much. She knew Xie JinYan's temperament. If she said such things, he would inevitably become angry and sad. If possible, she wouldn't want to do this.

After all, no woman would be willing to share her husband with another.

Even if she and Xie JinYan had been forced together from the beginning, filled with滔天恨意 (tao tian hen yi, overwhelming hatred).

But now, if she didn't do this, she feared that the next time she saw Junior Sister Yan, she would be facing a cold corpse, just like her mother, or perhaps not even a complete one.

"Your Highness, I don't want to do this either, but I'm even less willing to let Qingqing lose her life."

After a pause, Yu Qingwu gathered her courage and called out to the gloomy man beside her. She raised her eyes and gazed at the handsome face covered in frost. In a tone that appealed to his emotions and reasoned with him, she sighed softly, "My mother... back then, she was forced to become a concubine of that Ning Wang, and in the end, she didn't even have a complete corpse when she died. I don't want Qingqing to end up like that."

"How are you so sure that Qingqing will definitely end up like that?" Xie JinYan asked with a dark face, looking at the woman's pleading expression, trying his best to suppress the anger in his heart. He closed his eyes and forced himself to remain calm as he questioned her, "Yes, your mother died tragically because she became someone's concubine, which is why you have always had a shadow in your heart. I understand that."

"But, A Wu, your mother encountered a pervert like Ning Wang when she became a concubine. That doesn't mean Qingqing can't meet a good man."

"Qingqing is not your mother. No matter how cowardly she is, she has martial arts skills, and she also has excellent talent. Black gunpowder, firecrackers, powders that blind people's eyes, it takes us a long time to figure them out, but Qingqing is different. Qingqing learns them as soon as she studies them. She's just a little cowardly, and she always adheres to the rules of the sect. But if she leaves the sect and her life is in danger, will she still be like this?"

"Furthermore, Qingqing today brought up the dirty business of Xiao Fengyun because of you and me. I am, after all, the Crown Prince of the dynasty, the bond by which the Master wins over the royal family. Even if he cares about my face and wants to avoid offending me, he won't send Qingqing away immediately. No matter what, he will have to wait until things calm down, or find another reason in a few days to determine Qingqing's fate."

That's right…

How could she forget?

Although the Master wanted to protect Xiao Fengyun's and the Xiao family's reputation, he couldn't completely offend Xie JinYan, let alone the royal family.

Therefore, he certainly wouldn't send Qingqing away immediately in order to save Xie JinYan's face.

She was, after all, in a muddle-headed state.

Yu Qingwu quickly calmed down, but when she raised her head and looked at Xie JinYan's reddened eyes filled with anger and disappointment, her heart trembled slightly again, and she asked him with some guilt, "Your Highness… why didn't Your Highness say so earlier?"

He didn't say so earlier?

Did she let him speak?

She was like a madwoman, insisting that Yan Qingqing had to leave tonight. He couldn't get a word in. How could he say anything?

In fact, thinking of Yu Qingwu's childhood experiences, Xie JinYan could understand why she was so resistant and so afraid of her junior sister becoming someone's concubine.

But no matter how much she wanted to save Yan Qingqing, she couldn't send her own husband out.

If Xie JinYan had still felt guilty and moved because Yu Qingwu had once been tolerant of him, then now he felt it was laughable and ironic.

She could forgive him, but she could also use any means to save Yan Qingqing. Perhaps if Ah Yue hadn't acted to smear the Master's reputation, perhaps his Senior Sister would not have taken such drastic action.

She seemed ruthless, but she was only ruthless to outsiders. She had always been kind and tolerant to her junior brothers and sisters.

Perhaps the reason she was so tolerant of him that day was not because he was so important to her, but because he was her junior brother, just like Qingqing was her junior sister. In her heart, perhaps he and they were no different.

Thinking of this, Xie JinYan felt even more lonely and self-deprecating.

Under the starlight-filled night, a mocking expression appeared on that handsome face. His eyes were lonely and desolate as he stared fixedly at the woman he loved. He suddenly chuckled and didn't answer her words. Instead, he coldly called out to her, "Second Senior Sister, the reason you treated me so kindly back then wasn't because I was the most important person in your heart, was it?"

"It was just because I was your junior brother, just like Qingqing is your junior sister, Ning Yu is your junior brother. Even if any one of them accidentally pushed you into the icy lake because of a moment of willfulness, you would still be tolerant, wouldn't you?"

"So, you were once tolerant of me, at least because I am your Seventh Junior Brother, and not because I am Xie JinYan…"

"Even today, to you, this husband of yours is the same as the other junior brothers and sisters, isn't he? If letting me sell my body countless times could save the other junior sisters and brothers, you would still push me out without hesitation, wouldn't you?"

"Yu Qingwu, I'm asking you, wouldn't you?"

Xie JinYan had originally wanted to control himself. He knew she hated this side of him the most, so he tried his best to be gentle, at least in front of her, to be gentle, to be emotionally stable.

But at this moment, his wife, for the sake of others, pushed him out so readily. He couldn't help it after all.

Perhaps he was too agitated. When Xie JinYan regained his senses, he realized that his hand had somehow landed on Yu Qingwu's shoulder, tightly imprisoning her weak shoulders.

Xie JinYan's strength had always been great, and in such a state of disarray, he unconsciously increased his strength.

Realizing his gaffe, Xie JinYan quickly withdrew his hand.

He looked at her with a sneer and said desolately, "Yu Qingwu, what exactly am I to you? What the hell am I in your heart?"

After saying that, he brushed past her and left.

Yu Qingwu stood there, staring blankly at Xie JinYan's receding figure, both surprised and guilty.

She thought that Xie JinYan was used to being a playboy, and perhaps such things were nothing to him.

After all, she had asked him to sell his body when he was on missions before, and he looked like a纨绔子弟 (wan ku zi di, good-for-nothing playboy) at that time, without any resistance.

His reaction was something she had never expected.

Was she… really being a bit too much?

Looking at the man's figure gradually disappearing into the darkness, Yu Qingwu felt a pang in her heart, a little pain, and a little panic.

After pausing for a moment, she quickly followed him.

But Xie JinYan was walking too fast, and when she caught up, there was no one around.

After thinking for a while, Yu Qingwu went in the direction of the guest room.

She strode into the guest room, the door slightly open.

The faint candlelight flickered in the room. It seemed he had returned.

She breathed a long sigh of relief, raised her foot, and tiptoed into the room.

As she stepped into the inner room, the man's slender back came into view. He was sitting stiffly by the window.