Chapter 12

“Enough.”

Xu Duanyi’s voice came from behind—gentle, but carrying an undeniable authority that silenced Xiao Baozhu’s complaints, no matter how petulant they had been.

Xiao Baozhu looked reluctant, but in the end, she clung to Xu Duanyi’s arm, pouting without another word.

Xie Qingya could hear footsteps behind him, drawing closer and closer.

He lowered his gaze, his emotions unreadable as he stared at his taut, tense fingers hovering in midair.

Those same hands that had once drawn a great bow, gripped a long spear—and once held hers.

But the moment Xu Duanyi neared him, everything returned to its original state.

With a flick, his fingers lightly dusted off his cloak, as if brushing away some invisible ash.

Xie Qingya remained unchanged by Xu Duanyi’s arrival. His demeanor appeared even colder than before.

“Your Highness.”

Xu Duanyi stopped in front of him with Xiao Baozhu at her side.

Her lashes lowered, she gracefully bent in greeting. “My younger sister was reckless. I ask for Your Highness’s pardon.”

“Cousin!”

Xiao Baozhu protested with indignation.

One look from Xu Duanyi silenced her complaints, though she continued to mumble under her breath.

Xie Qingya, as Xu Duanyi looked at Xiao Baozhu, allowed himself a brief glance at her—just one glance—before quickly averting his eyes.

He remained his usual nonchalant self: fan in hand, draped in a red fox-fur cloak, his handsome features unmatched.

There were many things he could say to Xiao Baozhu or others, but words always failed him when it came to Xu Duanyi.

Turning aside with a look of impatience, he said dismissively, “Forget it. I’m magnanimous enough to overlook this.”

He began to walk away.

But then, Xu Duanyi’s voice called again from behind.

“Your Highness.”

Xie Qingya stopped but didn’t turn back. His tone was as irritable as before: “What now?”

Unbothered by his curt response, Xu Duanyi simply called, “Shiyu.”

When Shiyu responded, Xu Duanyi took a hand warmer from her and approached Xie Qingya herself.

“The cold is bitter, Your Highness. Don’t let your hands freeze.”

He stared at the hand warmer she held out. His brows furrowed, and he instinctively started to refuse. “I don’t—”

He didn’t even finish the last word before Xu Duanyi’s soft voice interrupted, “Consider it my apology on my cousin’s behalf.”

Apology? What sort of apology is this?

And why should she apologize for Xiao Baozhu?

If it weren’t for that fool, she wouldn’t have ended up married to him. She was still the same—always thinking of others before herself.

Foolish woman.

A flood of grievances rose within him, but Xie Qingya only gazed silently at Xu Duanyi.

Suddenly—

She lifted her head.

Startled, Xie Qingya barely had time to avert his eyes before he was ensnared by her gaze—those eyes, clear and serene, as if reflecting the depths of spring water.

His words of refusal died in his throat.

Face darkening, Xie Qingya took the hand warmer from her without a word and walked away.

It was meant to warm his hands, but he merely carried it.

Xu Duanyi watched as he walked off with the hand warmer dangling at his side.

“Cousin, why are you being so kind to him! Do you even know what that scoundrel just said?”

Xiao Baozhu’s complaints erupted once more, her anger unquelled as she glared after Xie Qingya’s retreating figure.

Xu Duanyi withdrew her gaze.

She wasn’t one to make a public spectacle.

With many eyes still watching from the street, she said to Xiao Baozhu, “Let’s return to the carriage.”

Holding her cousin’s hand, she led her back.

Inside the carriage, Xu Duanyi poured two cups of tea, offering one to Xiao Baozhu.

But Baozhu had no mind for tea—her indignation still bubbled over.

She cried out, “Cousin, do you even know how outrageous he was? Why did you stop me?”

Xu Duanyi met her gaze calmly and said, “Baozhu, the scoundrel you speak of is my future husband—your cousin-in-law.”

Baozhu froze at her words.

When she finally understood, her eyes widened in shock. Her response grew even more dramatic. “I refuse to acknowledge him as my cousin-in-law!”

Xu Duanyi remained unfazed.

She sipped her tea leisurely before continuing, “And what would you suggest? I’ve been granted a marriage by imperial decree. The entire court and even the common folk of the capital know it.”

“A sovereign’s word is final.”

“Unless, of course, you intend to leave your Liu Xun and marry him yourself?”

She said no more after that, but her words were enough to bring Xiao Baozhu back to her senses.

She naturally didn’t want to marry Xie Qingya. If she did, she wouldn’t have annulled the engagement in the first place.

She wasn’t exactly someone adept at reading people’s expressions, but she wasn’t entirely oblivious to others’ emotions either.

She glanced at her cousin beside her.
Though her cousin’s expression remained calm, she could sense her displeasure.

“Cousin, are you angry with me?” she asked softly.

Xu Duanyi said nothing. She merely kept her eyes lowered, holding her tea cup and quietly sipping her tea.

Without a single harsh word, her silence was enough to unsettle Xiao Baozhu.
She had never seen her cousin angry before!

“Cousin—”
At this point, Xiao Baozhu had long forgotten her anger toward Xie Qingya. She assumed her cousin was also unhappy about the marriage. Desperately, she scooted closer to Xu Duanyi, trying to use the same methods that had worked on her mother and sister-in-law to coax her cousin out of her anger.

“I was just trying to stand up for you. That scoundrel doesn’t know his place!”
“I thought that if he was the one to call off the engagement, you wouldn’t have to suffer the humiliation.”

She tugged at Xu Duanyi’s sleeve, her face full of pitiful sincerity.
“Cousin, please don’t be mad at me.”

Xu Duanyi looked at her for a long moment before sighing softly and setting down her tea.

“Baozhu, do you think a royal marriage is child’s play? If one doesn’t wish to marry, they simply won’t? If one doesn’t wish to wed, they can simply refuse?”

Xiao Baozhu was indeed oblivious to the complexities of such matters.
She only knew that her father was the Duke of Huguo, her two brothers held important positions at court, and her aunt was the Empress Dowager!

If she didn’t want to marry Xie Qingya, her family, though displeased, would say little.
If she wished to marry Liu Xun, her family would make plans and find a way to help her.

She merely thought it would be a difficult affair, not an impossible one.
Besides, if Xie Qingya was the one to end it, how would it harm her cousin?

Yet seeing her cousin’s expression, she dared not say these things aloud, fearing it would further provoke her anger.

But how could Xu Duanyi not know what Baozhu was thinking?
Excessive naivety could harm both oneself and others.

If the man Baozhu had been betrothed to was someone other than Xie Qingya, what would she do then? Would she simply marry without question?

Xu Duanyi felt weary, drained.
“I know you meant well, but some things are already set in stone and cannot be changed.”

“The current situation of Prince Nan’an… does not allow him the luxury of rejecting this marriage.”
These words were spoken so softly that Baozhu couldn’t hear clearly.

“Cousin, what did you say?” she asked, blinking.

“Nothing.” Xu Duanyi did not repeat herself. Instead, she looked earnestly at Baozhu and said, “Baozhu, this is the first and last time I will say this to you.”

Her seriousness left Xiao Baozhu momentarily dazed. She stared at Xu Duanyi, waiting for her to continue.

With steady eyes, Xu Duanyi said, “Prince Nan’an is about to become my husband. Soon, he will be my spouse. I do not expect you to treat him as you treat me, but in public, if you still remember that I am your cousin, you must never have another conflict with him.”

“As husband and wife, we are one. If he loses face, I lose face as well.”

“Or… do you wish for others to mock me?”