Xue Yi had followed Xiyan into the residence. When he was previously lured away and noticed the servant stalling for time, he realized something was wrong.
The people in the Prime Minister's residence were truly vile. No one seemed to know their young master's whereabouts. When he tried asking for the residence of the two from the Yue family, no one would speak, leaving him wandering around the estate like a headless fly.
If he hadn't run into Xiyan by chance, who knows how long he would have kept searching. The gory sight and the miserable state of the servants didn't affect Xue Yi much.
"Master, are you hurt?" he asked. "No," Caelen answered simply.
"Xue Yi, take these people away and hand them over to the third brother. Tell him to do whatever he wants with them." Xue Yi shivered at the thought of the third brother's methods but couldn't help wondering what these people had done to anger the young master so much.
"Yes, Master." Still, Xue Yi was a very capable servant. Even though he was curious, he knew exactly what questions could be asked and which ones couldn't.
"Keep it discreet," Caelen continued, "bring two people to serve the lady, and bring the wound medicine I usually use." "Yes, Master," Xue Yi answered respectfully.
Xiyan, who had felt nauseated from the blood earlier, snapped back to attention. "Hey, Caelen, my sister isn't married to you yet. Why are you already calling her 'lady'? Isn't that too early?"
Obviously, no one else in the room was going to listen to Xiyan, except for his personal servant, Ah Xin. Caelen's eyes moved past Xiyan and landed on Ah Xin, remembering that it was this very servant who had distracted Xiyan earlier.
"Brother Yue, you left in such a hurry earlier. Did something big happen?" Caelen asked. "It was nothing, just someone causing trouble at the restaurant," Xiyan replied, clearly displeased.
"Caelen, now's not the time to talk about that. What on earth happened here?" "Just someone causing trouble at a restaurant?" Caelen didn't answer directly but stared at Ah Xin.
The servant kept his head down, appearing calm and respectful without any flaw in his expression. Suddenly, Caelen's sword flashed and cut the tendons in Ah Xin's hands and feet.
Before the man could even scream properly, Caelen sliced off his tongue without blinking.
It looked like a lot happened, but in Xiyan's eyes, it all occurred in the blink of an eye. "Caelen, are you crazy?"
"Better to kill the wrong one than let the real one go." Caelen firmly believed Ah Xin was highly suspicious and dangerous. Having someone like that around Xylira could get her hurt at any moment.
"Xue Yi, take him away too." "Yes, Master."
Xiyan's face turned pale with rage, but he kept his reason. Because of Xylira, he had spent a great deal of effort investigating Caelen.
No one among Caelen's friends or soldiers ever said he was a violent person. So today's behavior—was it because something happened to Xylira?
He should have figured it out from the start. He had just been shocked by the blood and chaos. Stumbling into the inner room, he saw the mess and blood, signs of a fierce struggle.
His legs almost gave out. How could things turn out like this?
"Aren't you going to check on Xylira?" Caelen came in and saw Xiyan's pale face and eyes full of fear. His frustration over Xiyan returning so late began to fade.
After all, Xiyan was her older brother. From the small courtyard the siblings shared before, it was clear their living conditions in the old General's Manor were worse than even the servants.
"Oh," Xiyan let Caelen help him to the bed. Xylira's face was red and swollen, looking even worse than before.
Seeing her frowning even in sleep made Xiyan inhale deeply, trying to swallow the lump in his throat. He reached out, wanting to hold her exposed hand.
"Don't touch her. She's injured."
Caelen's eyes landed on the hand he had cleaned. It was torn and bloody, a horrifying sight.
"Why?" Xiyan finally broke down. He held his head with both hands, tears falling silently. "Why? I've already endured so much. I only want Xylira to live in peace. Why do they still do this?"
Caelen, being a man himself, had no comforting words. But he didn't agree with Xiyan's thinking.
Enduring only makes the enemy bolder. "You're already falling apart. Don't you want to know what exactly happened to Xylira?"
Xiyan froze. His instincts told him Caelen was about to say something beyond what he could imagine.
But as Xylira's only relative, he couldn't and didn't have the right to run away. "Speak."
Caelen sighed in his heart. They were truly siblings, even the way they bit their lips looked the same.
Then Caelen calmly told him everything he knew, without exaggerating. "Smack."
The truth made Xiyan tremble with fury and fear. He slapped Caelen across the face.
Caelen could've dodged it but didn't. Saying it all over again hadn't lessened his own pain or guilt.
This slap was something he deserved. Unlike Xylira's weak strike, Xiyan's slap was firm.
"Why didn't you get there sooner? Xylira suffered so much because of you!"
After yelling at Caelen, he thought about how he himself had returned late the last time she jumped into the well.
If it had been left to him again this time, Xylira might not have survived. If anything happened to her...
He suddenly slapped himself several times.
"Don't do this. Go put something on your face later. If Xylira wakes up and sees it, she'll be upset." Caelen said calmly.
"Don't worry. I won't let anything like this happen again. The Prime Minister won't act again anytime soon.
And after that, I will protect and care for Xylira."
"Hmph." Xiyan snorted coldly at Caelen's words but didn't argue.
Right now, he genuinely felt his own powerlessness and naivety.
Because of his leg injury, he had just hoped Xylira could live well while he lived quietly.
But thinking that way now felt like a joke.
Caelen didn't disturb Xiyan, who sat silently by the bed. Xylira had chosen a path far too difficult.
If Xiyan didn't grow stronger, what happened today might happen again.
At the palace, "You're saying Caelen stayed at the Prime Minister's residence until nightfall before leaving?" Zhaoye asked with a smile.
When the man in front of him confirmed it, he smiled even more. "Interesting. I didn't expect General Caelen to be so emotional. That's good."
Xylira finally woke up the next morning. The sky was already bright. Her body still felt weak, not just from hunger but also exhaustion from yesterday.
She looked at Xiyan sleeping by her bed, leaning against the wooden frame. His head kept nodding as if he had stayed like that all night.
Just as she was about to speak, Xiyan opened his eyes wide. "Xylira, you're awake. Are you feeling any pain?"
Seeing her always-calm brother so worried, she softly called, "Brother..." "Hiss..."
The pain from her lip made her frown. She regretted speaking—why had he kissed her so roughly yesterday?
"Don't talk. Your mouth is hurt. Does it hurt badly?" Xiyan quickly stopped her, seeing her face twist in pain.
His heart ached even more. He fought back the urge to hit himself again. "If you need anything, just tell me. No, write it. I'll get you a pen."
He rushed to find paper and pen, but a nearby servant stopped him. "Young Master Xiyan, Madam's hand is injured too. She can't hold a pen."
"Then... then what should we do?" Xiyan looked at Xylira with deep concern.
Hadn't she suffered enough? Now she couldn't talk or write, and he didn't even know where she felt pain.
Xylira looked at her brother's face, which seemed ready to cry. She was touched and amused at the same time. But she really was hungry.
So she pointed at her stomach, then at her mouth, and made a swallowing motion.
"Madam, please wait a moment. The congee is already warmed and ready for you."
Xylira sighed in relief and nodded. After the servant left, she looked at Xiyan curiously.
She didn't believe the Prime Minister's household would provide such a clever servant.
She had guessed a few things from being called "Madam." But now, Xiyan needed to be distracted.
"Caelen brought two servants here. One is named Servant Jin, and the other is Servant Xan. The one who spoke was Servant Jin."
She nodded and thought about yesterday. It was terrifying, but thinking of Caelen filled her heart with sweetness.
Her eyes also began to shine with a smile.
Xiyan could see clearly that she was growing more attached to Caelen. But this time, he had no right to say anything bitter.
Even he was truly grateful that Caelen arrived in time.
What happened had changed not only Xiyan but also Xylira.
It was a harsh lesson. She had been too naive. She thought that as long as she met the legal requirements, she could live happily in a monogamous marriage.
She didn't realize that behind Da Kang's seemingly fair laws was a deep layer of darkness.
If she were still the eldest lady of the Yue family, there would be no problem. But the truth told her otherwise.
Without a strong background, even an obvious trap was nearly impossible to resist.
She clearly knew who the mastermind was, but could only keep it in her heart and watch helplessly.
No background? Then she would build one.
Her grandfather's generation had fought for the Yue family's status. Why couldn't she?
She didn't crave power. But this attack taught her one thing clearly.
Without power, even if she became a second-rank official, once her identity was exposed, not only her own achievements would be ruined.
Her husband, son, and brother might also be dragged down.
Xylira admitted she had made an unforgivable mistake, which led to this disaster.
She treated Xiyan as family, saw Caelen as her fiancé, but never truly integrated into this society.
She even forgot that she was no longer the eldest lady of the Yue family.
Without those powerful relatives, she could be crushed like an ant.
Fortunately, it wasn't too late to realize it.
There was still time. She would take it slow.
Thinking of this, Xylira didn't feel like her suffering had been in vain.