Chapter 16 Apology

Hearing Xie Jin Yan's voice, Yu Qingwu's heart sank.

She paused, slowly walking up to him, and curtsied, "This humble servant greets Your Highness, the Crown Prince."

"A'wu…" Xie Jin Yan frowned, a hint of displeasure and helplessness in his expression.

He sighed, pointed to the spot beside him, and said gently, "Forget it, sit down first."

Yu Qingwu nodded and sat down demurely.

Elegant, delicate, evoking feelings of pity.

Gao Minyue watched, gnashing her teeth, wanting to curse her for being a hypocrite...

However, before Gao Minyue could speak, Xie Jin Yan silenced her with a cold glare.

Observing the two's unusual behavior, Yu Qingwu grew more confused. She looked at Gao Minyue, then at Xie Jin Yan, and asked softly, "Has Your Highness come with instructions?"

"A'yue, apologize to your sister-in-law." As soon as the words left his mouth, the man's cold voice rang in her ears.

Yu Qingwu was slightly shaken, raising her head in disbelief. She saw him looking coldly at Gao Minyue, his expression commanding and stern.

And Gao Minyue, her eyes practically spitting fire, reluctantly said, "I'm sorry, Senior Sister, I shouldn't have fought with you the other day..."

"A'yue, not Senior Sister, sister-in-law." Xie Jin Yan interrupted her coldly, his usually playful phoenix eyes filled with solemn coercion. He looked deeply at Gao Minyue and emphasized again, "A'yue, call her sister-in-law."

Tears welled up in Gao Minyue's eyes, a mixture of grievance and unwillingness. She said softly, "I already apologized to her, what else does Senior Brother want?"

As she spoke, she began to sob.

She was clearly resorting to the same tactics she used back in their sect...

But this time, her most doting Senior Brother showed none of his former indulgence.

He closed his eyes, his handsome face, covered in frost, grew even more gloomy. His eyes turned icy, and his voice was cold and sharp as he emphasized again, word by word, "I said, call her sister-in-law!"

The tears in Gao Minyue's eyes deepened. She bit her lip and glared venomously at Yu Qingwu. "Sister-in-law, I shouldn't have fought with you. I apologize to you here."

She bowed, wiped away her tears, and stormed out of Qingning Courtyard before Yu Qingwu could say anything.

Yu Qingwu stood there, watching Gao Minyue's retreating figure disappear through the doorway. In addition to her astonishment, she suddenly felt very complicated.

Earlier, when Xie Jin Yan told her that he only regarded Gao Minyue as a younger sister, Yu Qingwu didn't believe a word of it.

But now…

She raised her eyes to look at the man, pondered for a moment, and asked him with a detached tone, "Did Your Highness bring A'yue here today just to have her apologize to me?"

"She did something wrong, it's only right." Xie Jin Yan's gaze shifted from the doorway back to Yu Qingwu, softening slightly. He gently took her hand and added, "Of course, it's also right for her to call you sister-in-law."

Yu Qingwu did not reply.

After a long while, she raised her head, distant and respectful. "Your Highness, I am but your concubine. Your Highness should save the title of sister-in-law for your principal wife."

"If there's nothing else, this servant will take her leave."

She pulled her hand away and walked coldly towards the house.

"Senior Sister… does it have to be this way?"

Xie Jin Yan grabbed her, paused for a moment, and then said in a low voice, as if he had mustered all his courage, "Senior Sister, I was insensible in the past. I shouldn't have deliberately pushed you into the lake, and I shouldn't have hurt you like that."

Insensible?

He nearly took her life, crippled her martial arts, and left her weak ever since…

In the end, he wanted to be forgiven with just the word 'insensible'?

In fact, in the beginning, Yu Qingwu had tried hard to find excuses for her most beloved Seventh Junior Brother. She thought, maybe he didn't do it on purpose. Maybe he was just momentarily careless and accidentally pushed her into that icy lake…

Even last night, Yu Qingwu was still deceiving herself, saying that Seventh Junior Brother certainly didn't mean to do it. But now, he had admitted it himself, and she could no longer deceive herself.

Yu Qingwu pulled her hand away forcefully, struggling to control her emotions. She replied coldly, "Jin Yan, I told you, it's too late."

Hearing this, the man didn't answer, but he took her hand again, speaking in a loving tone. "Senior Sister, from now on, I will protect you…"

Protect her?

If she hadn't fallen into the icy lake back then, would she need his protection?

The words that used to sound the most comforting now felt so sharp when she heard them.

Yu Qingwu clenched her teeth, her lips trembling, her hands trembling, her whole body trembling.

She tried her best to hold back, to swallow her anger, to suppress her grievances, and to force back her tears.

But…

"You protect me? Do I need you to protect me?" She turned around, interrupting him sharply. Her eyes were fiercer and more ruthless than ever before, the corners of her eyes filled with scarlet hatred. Word by word, she said, "Xie Jin Yan, if it weren't for your insensibility, how could I have ended up in this weak state? How could I get injured after walking just ten *li*? And how could even the youngest Junior Sister bully me at will?"

"In the past, I always thought you were unintentional. I even asked myself, what exactly did I do wrong? How did I fail you, that you would take revenge on me like this? I was waiting for your apology."

"But what did I get in return? I got more and more bullying from you! You had no remorse! You took advantage of your martial arts skills and deliberately put me on the roof, knowing that I couldn't get down, knowing that I was afraid of thunder, and yet you still scared me on those stormy nights."

"Not only that, two years ago, when our fellow disciples and I were on a mission together, you deliberately left me alone in that mass grave. Do you know how scared I was then?"

"Now you're telling me it's because you love me? Because you were jealous?"

"Xie Jin Yan, you are simply a mad dog!"

Yu Qingwu became more and more agitated as she spoke. By the end, she couldn't control her tears.

She curled up on the ground, covering her face and sobbing uncontrollably.

Xie Jin Yan stood beside her, watching Qingwu's frail and distressed form. He felt a sharp pain in his chest, as if it were bleeding.

His eyes reddened, and he reached out to stroke her back, but withdrew his hand out of guilt.

He took a deep breath, squatted down slowly, gently stroked her disheveled hair, his voice hoarse with remorse.

"At that time, I just wanted Senior Sister to beg me. I wanted Senior Sister to rely on me the way she relied on Senior Brother, but Senior Sister, whether before or after your martial arts were crippled, you were always so stubborn. Even if you were caught in the rain all night, you wouldn't beg me once."

"That night in the bathroom, when I wanted you, you cried for help, but you only called out for Xiao Fengyun. I hated it so much, I wished I could kill him, I wished I could tear him to pieces, so you would never see him again…"