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Before she could finish speaking, Di Xiu raised his hand and slapped her.

Yu Chi Mingyue was stunned, never expecting him to have such audacity. After a moment of shock, she reacted, already furious, and slapped him across the face.

However, before she could even touch his cheek, he firmly grasped her wrist.

Yu Chi Mingyue grew increasingly furious and shouted, "How dare you! Insolence! Guards!"

Despite her calls, no one responded. She looked up and saw that the servants on either side remained calm and at their posts, seemingly oblivious to what was happening. She immediately understood: everyone in the hall was Di Xiu's subordinate. No matter how dissatisfied she was, she could only swallow her anger.

She took a deep breath to calm herself. Glancing at the hand gripping her wrist, she said coldly, "This right hand, I'm going to cripple it." With that, she shook off his grip and stormed off.

...

After listening to Yu Chi Mingyue's recollection, Mei Ziqi frowned and sighed, saying, "Little Fourth, can I say that you brought this on yourself?"

"Sir!" Yu Chi Mingyue roared.

Mei Ziqi covered her ears and nodded, "Okay, okay, you're not wrong, you're not wrong."

Yu Chi Mingyue finally calmed down and said indignantly, "So, there must be something fishy about liking me! Humph!"

Mei Ziqi stroked his beard, his smile carrying a profound meaning.

Chapter Three

After midday, the scattered snowflakes gradually turned into a heavy downpour. By nightfall, the snowfall was even heavier, silencing all other sounds and leaving only a cold and quiet atmosphere.

Yu Chi Mingyue sat on the soft couch in the warm pavilion, a white fox fur blanket covering her lap, holding a cup of warm sweet wine, still thinking about the events of the day. Why did she suddenly become so stupid? And yet, her skills hadn't diminished at all; this was just too strange… She racked her brains, but couldn't figure it out.

Just then, another maid pushed open the door and came in, saying, "Fourth Miss, something has happened."

Yu Chi Mingyue responded indifferently, "What does the incident at Yu Chi Manor have to do with me?"

"Yes, yes," the maid said. "I just passed by Steward Di's residence and saw several hall masters leading a large group of people. It seemed like they were going to arrest him for interrogation!"

"Capture him for interrogation? Interrogate him for what?" Yu Chi Mingyue asked, puzzled.

"Naturally, it's the whereabouts of the 'pot-suppressing teapot'."

Upon hearing this voice, Yu Chi Mingyue was slightly surprised, "Sir?"

The speaker was none other than the schoolteacher, Mei Ziqi. He walked in with a smile and said, "Didn't you hear it this morning too? The theft of the 'Suppressing Pot' was probably orchestrated by Steward Di. Now, he's the only one who knows the whereabouts of the 'Suppressing Pot.' Everyone suspects that he's faking his madness and has other plans. During the day, Master Yuchi played the good cop, so tonight, the four hall masters will play the bad cop."

Upon hearing this, Yu Chi Mingyue pondered for a moment, "You mean, arresting people and interrogating them at night was my father's order?"

Mei Ziqi nodded and said, "Besides him, who else has the ability to mobilize several hall masters to take action?"

Yu Chi Mingyue's face immediately filled with disdain, and she said, "As expected of the style of Yu Chi Manor, truly low-class."

Mei Ziqi smiled and said, "Little Si, aren't you going to go take a look?"

“He stole the ‘Zhenhu’ (a type of ancient Chinese wine vessel), so it’s only right that we interrogate him. What would I do there?” Yu Chi Mingyue sipped her sweet wine, ignoring him.

Mei Ziqi gently patted the folding fan in her hand and laughed, "Little Si, after seeing what happened this morning, don't you understand?"

"What?" Yu Chi Mingyue asked, puzzled.

"Let's set aside whether he's truly stupid or feigning stupidity. This morning, when he was surrounded and attacked, he showed no mercy to anyone except you, clearly showing he's long forgotten about hierarchy and honor. Now that the four hall masters have captured and interrogated him, a fierce resistance is inevitable, and I'm afraid he won't stop until they're both fighting to the death..."

Yu Chi Mingyue pondered for a moment, then lowered her head and remained silent.

"Little Four, you don't want that right hand anymore?" Mei Ziqi asked with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Yu Chi Mingyue stood up. "Someone! Come with me to see!"

...

Yuchi Manor has four main halls: Shengyun, Buyan, Lingfeng, and Xingtao. These four halls stand around Yuchi Manor, protecting it.

When Yu Chi Mingyue arrived with her entourage, the torchlight was as bright as day. Of the four hall masters, only the head of the Buyan Hall was seriously ill and was being replaced by someone else. The other three were all personally leading dozens of their trusted experts. This large-scale operation was solely for the purpose of capturing Di Xiu.

When Yu Chi Mingyue saw the man's condition, she felt a strange pity for him.

He was surrounded by a group of skilled fighters, with over a dozen archers poised and ready, their bows drawn, effectively cutting off his movement. Arrows had struck his right arm and left leg, and crimson blood seeped through his thin clothes, dripping onto the ground and staining the white snow. His hair was disheveled, and his brow was furrowed. He must have been in a fierce battle. Perhaps from the pain and cold, his breathing was erratic, and his body trembled slightly. Even in this dire situation, he showed no sign of backing down.

"Di Xiu, surrender now!" The one who spoke was Fan Qi, the head of Shengyun Hall.

Di Xiu ignored him and instead attacked the person closest to him. Seeing this, the archer immediately fired an arrow, forcing him back.

The two sides were deadlocked again, and the atmosphere was extremely tense.

At that moment, Yu Chi Mingyue spoke up loudly, saying, "His right hand is mine!"

Everyone was shocked to hear this.

Fan Qi stepped forward, clasped his hands in a respectful greeting, and said, "Fourth Miss, it's dangerous here, please go back."

Yu Chi Mingyue ignored her and said only, "What I want to do is none of your business."

Fan Qi was slightly displeased and said, "Fourth Miss, this person stole the 'Zhen Pot,' a crime that cannot be forgiven. We are about to arrest him for interrogation, so please do not interfere in this matter."

Yu Chi Mingyue scoffed, saying, "This morning my father instructed everyone in the manor not to disturb Steward Di as he recovers from his injuries. May I ask, on what grounds do you manor lords have come here to arrest people?"

Fan Qi was speechless for a moment.

"Fourth Miss, then why have you come here now? You keep saying you want his right hand, isn't that just seeking revenge?" Qiu Yufeng, the head of Lingfeng Hall, asked from the side.

Yu Chi Mingyue remained calm and said, "I merely declared that his right hand is mine. When did I ever seek revenge?... Even if I were to seek revenge, I would do it openly and honestly. Don't try to compare yourself to me!" She glanced at the crowd with disdain and said, "Normally, when you see him, who among you isn't respectful, cautious, and obsequious? But now, you're all vying to take advantage of his misfortune and kick him when he's down. You're not worthy of being called men, you shameless men!"

Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent.

Yu Chi Mingyue snorted coldly, then shouted, "Who shot his right arm! Step forward!"

Upon hearing this, all the archers lowered their bows and bowed their heads, none daring to answer. The atmosphere grew increasingly tense, and the two sides faced off coldly.

At this moment, Mei Ziqi spoke up, saying, "Gentlemen, please calm down and listen to what I have to say."

All eyes turned to him, where he held a folding fan, a smile playing on his lips, exuding an air of ease and confidence. Seeing the silence of the crowd, he paced a few steps forward and said, “Although I have not been to Yuchi Manor long, I am still familiar with its rules. Wealth and power belong to the capable. In my humble opinion, it will be easy for the hall masters to kill Steward Di today, but capturing him alive will not be so easy…”

"What exactly is Mr. Mei trying to say?" Fan Qi asked.

Mei Ziqi smiled, pointed at Di Xiu with her folding fan, and said, "It's very simple. If Fourth Miss can subdue this person today, he will belong to Fourth Miss. Whether to kill or interrogate him is up to Fourth Miss."

Upon hearing this, Yu Chi Mingyue was stunned, and the other hall masters looked at each other in bewilderment.

“The Fourth Miss is the daughter of Princess Qingyun, the apple of the eye of the Prince of Nanling. This man is incredibly audacious, repeatedly offending the Fourth Miss, and should have died long ago. There's no need for such trouble to deal with him. If the Fourth Miss speaks up, Master Yuchi naturally has no reason to wrong her to protect a servant. Not to mention, if this matter reaches the Prince's ears, not only Yuchi Manor, but even the current Emperor cannot stop him from avenging his granddaughter. Now, what do you hall masters have to worry about?” Mei Ziqi said. “Of course, you hall masters can naturally choose not to adopt my suggestion… however, I'm afraid we'll have to remain stuck in this snowstorm. Alas, don't you all feel cold?” Mei Ziqi exaggeratedly gasped a few times to show how cold it was.

The hall masters exchanged glances, and Fan Qi then said, "Alright, if Miss Fourth can subdue this person today, then we'll leave him to Miss Fourth's judgment."

Upon hearing this, Yu Chi Mingyue turned to look at Mei Ziqi and gritted her teeth, uttering two words: "Sir."

Mei Ziqi still smiled smugly. He opened his fan, leaned close to Yu Chi Mingyue, and whispered a few words in her ear. Yu Chi Mingyue's eyes widened, her face filled with disbelief, her shock as if she had seen a monstrous flood.

Mei Ziqi smiled, waved his fan, and said to the group of experts, "Please make way, everyone."

The crowd immediately made way for her, waiting to see how Yu Chi Mingyue would display her skills.

Within the Yuchi Manor, both men and women practice martial arts, but the Fourth Miss Yuchi is an exception. As everyone knows, the Prince of Nanling is extremely disapproving of women learning martial arts, especially his own daughter and granddaughter. He once said, "If my precious daughter needs to learn martial arts to protect herself, what use are my thousands of fierce generals!"

Therefore, Miss Yuchi the Fourth never learned martial arts, only needlework.

When Yu Chi Mingyue walked up to Di Xiu, everyone held their breath, waiting to see what would happen next.

Yu Chi Mingyue raised her eyes and looked at the person in front of her.

His hair and shoulders were already covered in snowflakes, and the melting snow water soaked through his clothes, gradually freezing. Each of his breaths created a white mist in the cold. It was clear that his breathing was trembling slightly, indicating that he was extremely cold. He looked at Yu Chi Mingyue warily, but neither attacked nor dodged.

Yu Chi Mingyue hesitated for a moment, cleared her throat, and said somewhat reluctantly, "I will protect you."

Five words, simple and direct.

When those around heard these five words, their expressions were just like Yu Chi Mingyue's earlier—disbelief and utter astonishment.

The silence made Yu Chi Mingyue feel inexplicably awkward. In this freezing weather, why was she out wading into this mess instead of sleeping? And this Mei Ziqi was clearly just looking for trouble and amusement. Thinking back to what had happened during the day, she felt even more embarrassed. She was, after all, the granddaughter of the Prince of Nanling, yet she had said such absurd things to her mortal enemy—how could she maintain her authority afterward?

Just as she was feeling embarrassed and about to turn and leave, she suddenly heard him speak, saying:

"pain……"

She stopped, about to say something, but was stunned by what she saw. He looked at her, tears streaming down his face, his expression filled with grievance and helplessness. His voice choked slightly as he said plaintively, "...It hurts so much..."

She was stunned, at a loss for what to do, and couldn't react for a long time.

He took a step to approach her, but his foot slipped and he fell forward. Without thinking, she quickly reached out to steady him. Once he regained his balance, she looked up and met his eyes.

For a moment, her heart skipped a beat.

His eyes seemed to hold a thousand grievances and ten thousand sorrows he wanted to express, but he remained silent, only holding back his tears as he gazed at her quietly. At that moment, she felt that she was his only support…

Realizing the terrifying thought, Yu Chi Mingyue hurriedly stopped herself. She looked away and said casually, "Let's go."

Upon hearing this, he smiled and replied, "Mm."

At this moment, Mei Ziqi smiled and said loudly, "Fellow hall masters, the answer must be quite clear now."

The stunned crowd finally came to their senses, and the four hall masters exchanged bewildered glances once more before silently dispersing.

Chapter Four

Once the situation calmed down and everyone returned to the warm pavilion in the South Garden, Yu Chi Mingyue recalled her actions, and a sense of embarrassment and shame immediately returned. She sat blankly on the soft couch, slightly stiff.

Beside her, Mei Ziqi laughed heartily, "Little Si, see? I told you so, hahaha..."

Yu Chi Mingyue glanced at him and said irritably, "What do you mean, 'not wrong'? You're completely wrong! I'm going to cripple his right hand, not save him!"

“We have to save him first before we can cripple him, step by step, step by step, hahaha…” Mei Ziqi laughed even more happily, “Tsk tsk, but I have to say, Xiao Si, it seems he really likes you.”

"Nonsense!" Yu Chi Mingyue immediately retorted.

“I’m not talking nonsense.” Mei Ziqi held up one finger and laughed. “One sentence. You subdued the ‘Chief Steward Di’ whom everyone feared with just one sentence. If he didn’t have feelings for you, did you somehow cultivate some unparalleled divine skill?”

"Impossible!" Yu Chi Mingyue didn't offer any further explanation, but simply denied it decisively.

Mei Ziqi smiled and fanned herself, saying, "Don't be so quick to deny it. Think about his affairs again; maybe you can come up with some clues."

Although Yu Chi Mingyue was displeased, she still honestly began to recall. This led her to remember the first time she met him.

It was January of the year she turned fourteen. The Yuchi family sent an envoy to visit the Prince of Nanling and brought up the matter of her being recognized as a member of the royal family. After half a day of discussion, the Prince of Nanling finally agreed. Three days later, he gathered his servants and attendants, prepared carriages and supplies, and sent her to the Yuchi Manor.

However, despite her young age, she knew about her parents' situation.