No one inside heard Xie Xian's voice, but after a while, Po Feng spoke again: "Cui Liu somehow found out about Ziwei Lane and brought people to try and force their way in. Fortunately, Cheng Ying happened to be nearby on an errand and stepped in to stop them."

  "Is anyone hurt?" Qin Miao's voice was distinguishable, it was Xie Yan's voice.

  "Fortunately, I was able to catch her in time and she wasn't hurt. Only...she got a fright..."

  Xie Yun's voice rose again: "Then it's good."

  "Master, won't you go and take a look? Lao Mama has been waiting at the door for a long time. She said that Qingxiang had cried uncontrollably after what happened and was eager to see Master."

  Qin Miao vaguely heard the sound of a chair scraping against the floor, followed by Po Feng opening the door with a helpless expression, only to bump into Qin Miao standing at the door with an expressionless face.

  Po Feng was momentarily stunned, staring blankly at her, thinking to himself that things were not going well. Just as he was about to call out "Madam", Qin Miao had already entered the room nonchalantly, completely leaving him standing in the doorway.

  Xie Xian, who was standing in front of the desk and writing with his pen, heard the creaking sound of the door again. Without lifting his head or stopping his pen, he replied somewhat impatiently, "I said I'm not going."

  Ke Lai Ren didn't stop in his tracks, but instead took another step closer. Only then did he lift his head to meet Qin Miao's almond-shaped eyes and her face full of incredulity.

  She stood quietly in front of Xie Yun, staring straight into his eyes like a bolt of lightning that struck his heart. He tried to move his mouth, only to find himself suddenly losing the ability to speak for a moment.

  She must have heard it all, about the Ziwei Lane. How to say, what to say, where to start. At this moment, Xie Yan hoped that he could transform into a eloquent oriole, and dissolve the awkwardness that existed between them in just a few inches.

  "The weather is sweltering, this is iced green bean soup, have a drink." Qin Miao finally broke the awkward silence in the air and sat down on a stool. "I'll watch you drink, and then I'll take the bowl away."

  "Ah, ah."

  Xie Xuan inexplicably felt that he was very feminine today, with a thousand words on the tip of his tongue, but in the end, only two bland "ai" sounds came out. He weakly leaned back against the chair and picked up the bowl of mung bean soup.

  The soup went down his throat, and he felt a sudden coolness in his heart.

  Qin Miao was still gazing at Xie Yan, for she wanted to wait for an explanation. Just now, during their eye contact, he had already seen the doubt in her eyes, so she used the excuse of putting down the bowl to give him time, waiting for his explanation.

  Little did she know, Xie Xu finished drinking hastily, but from start to finish, he didn't utter a word. This made Qin Miao feel quite uncomfortable on her way back. What's more, not long after she left Tingyu Pavilion, Xie Xu led his men out of the mansion.

  Where to go? Only ghosts know, besides Ziwu Lane, where else can it be.

  However, Xie Xuan went out to the Ziwei Alley, not on his own initiative, but was forced. After Qin Miao left, Po Feng came to pass on a message, and Quanxiang wanted to kill herself, but it didn't work out.

  A sudden rain came over at noon, the street was still wet and gloomy, the eaves of the roof were dripping with water, seemingly endless, listening to it was quite annoying.

  Xie Xuan stepped into the small courtyard, but did not see Qingxiang coming out to greet her as usual. Instead, she saw Chengying standing in front of a wing room with his hands clasped together, which was an unusual sight.

  The door of the room was closed, and when one drew near, they could still faintly hear the intermittent sobbing sounds of the women inside, like the sound of rain dripping from tiles.

  Xie Xuan let Cheng Ying go knock on the door, and saw Liao's mother wiping her sleeves to answer the door. As soon as she saw Xie Xuan standing tall in his long shirt, she was excitedly shouting inside: "Young lady, young lady, the prince is here to see you!"

  Qin Xiang, who had been quietly embroidering a pillow, suddenly stopped and saw Xie Yun walking in. With a mixture of grievance and tenderness, she cried out: "Master Hou, you've finally arrived..."

  Xie Xuan's expression slightly changed, perhaps annoyed that he hadn't spoken to Qin Miao in the study earlier, or maybe it was because Jin Xiang seemed increasingly troublesome to him.

  "I heard something happened to you, I came to take a look."

  Qin Xiang was indeed frightened today, and it's true that she had been thinking of seeing Xie Yun all along. Otherwise, she wouldn't have bothered Lao Mama to run back and forth to the Hou Mansion. Now that she has really seen Xie Yun, she has another thought in mind.

  Liao's mother and Po Feng have all withdrawn, leaving only Xie Yun and Qin Xiang in the room.

  In a flash, Xie Xun felt a white shadow pouncing on him. He subconsciously stood up and dodged to one side, barely avoiding being pounced on by Qingxiang.

  But the woman who was now on the ground did not intend to let him go, tightly grasping his leg and leaning her body against him. The woman's eyes were brimming with tears as she sobbed and said: "Lord Hou, please save me again. Today it's Cui Liu, but who knows who will come tomorrow? I live alone in this place, always fearful and anxious."

  The woman by his side persisted as always, gazing up at Xie Xu with tears streaming down her face, her entire being radiant and captivating. As a courtesan born of the wind and dust, she was already blessed with heavenly beauty and national charm; such a pitiful yet lovely person would have surely been cherished by any other man.

  However, contradictorily, Xie Yun merely glanced at her calmly, then withdrew his gaze and looked straight ahead.

  Qin Xiang knew that Xie Yun's heart was sometimes cruel, and couldn't be compared to his former kindness. However, she also knew that the man in her hands was a responsible one. If she followed him, her second half of life would be worry-free and without anxiety. So she secretly rejoiced that today's unexpected event with Cui Liu had given her an opportunity to succeed.

  "I'll send someone to take you somewhere else, don't worry. Whether it's getting married or... I'll help you."

  Qin Xiang never thought that after waiting for so long, she would end up with a plan like Xie Yan's. She was extremely unwilling, and if she were still in Ziwei Lane, at least she could have used the excuse of visiting her family to see him again and get his attention. But if she were sent out of Pingyang, that would be a completely wrong calculation. He actually wanted her to marry someone else!

  "Your Lordship, I am just a weak woman, wherever I go, I can only be bullied. Moreover, now that you are the only one willing to help me, shelter me from the wind and rain, if I leave you, I really don't know how to go on..." After finishing speaking, she was again overcome with sorrow, shivering with fear, tears falling like rain, her voice like a mournful sigh.

  "So what do you want?"

  Qin Xiang took advantage of the gap in her crying to think about how to turn things around, and just as she was thinking, Xie Yan's sentence came, like a door opening, letting in light, making her eager to look inside.

  "Master Hou, I've already given you my body, where else can I go? Who would still want to marry me? I'd rather follow you, even if it's just as a servant or maid. I come from a poor background, and my family is impoverished. As long as I have food to eat and clothes to wear, that's enough for me. If Master Hou still cares for me like he did back then, please let me return to the manor with you..."

  After so many twists and turns, Xiangxiang finally said the words she had wanted to say for years. Returning to the mansion was her long-held wish, a gamble. She was betting that Xieyan would take pity on her for having "lost her chastity" for him, for having kept her virtue for him, and would agree with a soft heart. But at the same time, she had been worried because since that day, Xieyan had become much colder towards her, and rarely spent time alone with her, as if intentionally guarding against her.

  On that day, Xingxiang was unable to hear Xie Yun's personal promise, she looked at the man who walked away without hesitation, and the sourness and suffocation in her heart were difficult to describe for a while. And another woman, sat upright in the Zhaolu courtyard, waiting for the man's return.