Situ Haonan and Yelu Qianqian weren’t hiding in the Glazed Pavilion only to escape Yelu Chenyi’s pursuit—they were also hiding from Situ City’s investigation!

Even though the war between Xijing and Xiliang hadn’t technically been caused by Situ Haonan, the trouble he and Yelu Qianqian had stirred up had certainly been the spark that lit the fuse.

Word of it must have spread across all of Longyuan by now. More than Yelu Chenyi, what he truly feared was Situ City—if the Lord of Situ City refused to accept Yelu Qianqian as a daughter-in-law, he had no idea what he’d do.

In truth, even now he had no idea what to do. All he could do was hide, and keep hiding—he was simply unwilling to face the choice between Situ City and Yelu Qianqian.

His marriage had long since been arranged; he even had a betrothed he’d never once laid eyes on.

The Lord and Lady of Situ City had always opposed entanglements between martial-world figures and court officials. If not for that, given how doted upon Situ Xin’er was, they would have long since pushed her toward Jun Beiyue—it was only once word spread through the army of an ambiguous closeness between Situ Xin’er and Jun Beiyue, sharing a room together, that they’d reluctantly let her marry him, for the sake of her reputation.

A daughter, perhaps, had no choice but to submit.

But he was Situ City’s sole heir—when it came to his own marriage, he had no room to choose.

This was something Situ Haonan had never even mentioned to Jun Beiyue, let alone to the blunt, hot-tempered Yelu Qianqian.

Hidden away here, cut off entirely from the outside world—most of the Shadow Guards had been taken away by Jun Beiyue, and those left behind wouldn’t leave without his order.

As for his own men, to avoid Situ City’s watchful eyes, they dared not act rashly either.

Which meant the note now in Yelu Qianqian’s hands was the very first word from the outside world they’d received since going into hiding at the Glazed Pavilion.

Yelu Qianqian’s eyes reddened, and before Situ Haonan could even process what was happening, tears began pouring down her face without end. For a moment, Situ Haonan was utterly stunned.

“What… what’s wrong with you? What… what does it say?”

Situ Haonan asked timidly, reaching carefully for the note. Deep down he had some idea of what it might be—they’d been in hiding for quite a while now, surely Xijing and Xiliang had already clashed several times.

Given how recklessly Xiliang fought, once battle was joined, it was bound to turn brutal.

This news, nine times out of ten, was word of Xijing’s defeat.

He reached out carefully, but just as his fingers were about to touch the note, Yelu Qianqian—who had been silently weeping until now—suddenly let out a wail and burst into full, wracking sobs, the sound so loud it made the quiet, empty pavilion feel desolate.

“Waaah… waaah waaah… it’s all my fault, all my fault! Brother!”

“Waaah, Brother, Father, it’s all my fault, Qian’er was wrong, waaah…”

…

Ignoring Situ Haonan’s shock entirely, she let her hands fall and slumped down, burying her face against her knees, sobbing without end, grief-stricken.

Situ Haonan picked up the note, glanced at it, and was struck utterly still.

In truth, he should have guessed this outcome was coming—he just hadn’t expected it to come so soon.

“My brother is dead! Waaah, my brother…”

“Yelu Chenyi—no! This isn’t real, I have to go back! I have to go home! Waaah, I want to go home!”

…

Yelu Qianqian wept in anguish, then abruptly leapt to her feet and rushed toward the door!

She didn’t care what her brother had done, what grudges he’d had with Jun Beiyue or Nanzhao—that man was her own brother, the brother who had doted on her and loved her since childhood.

The brother who had all but raised her like his own daughter!

Situ Haonan snapped back to his senses and quickly wrapped his arms around Yelu Qianqian, but this time she struggled with an intensity utterly unlike her usual playful pouting.

“Let go of me! I want to go home! I want to go home!”

“My brother is dead, do you understand? My brother is dead! And it’s all because of me! Me! It’s all my fault!”

“It’s all my fault, I deserve to die! Let go!”

She thrashed like a woman possessed, but Situ Haonan held on tight, refusing to let go no matter how much she kicked and struck him. “It’s not your fault. It’s not!”

“It is! It is my fault, I’m the one who got my brother killed! I’m the one who killed him!”

“He doted on me so much, and I didn’t even listen to him, and now I’ve gotten him killed!”

…

As Yelu Qianqian spoke and wept, she gradually calmed, no longer struggling. But then, after a moment of murmuring to herself, she suddenly raised her hand and slapped herself hard across the face. “It’s all me! I betrayed my father, my brother, my country! Waaah…”

“Enough! Even if you married into Xiliang, none of this would change. Yelu Chenyi brought this on himself! He brought it on himself!” Situ Haonan said furiously, grabbing her right hand!

But Yelu Qianqian’s left hand swung around and struck herself hard again. “It’s my fault! I promised them—I promised them myself, long ago, that I would marry him! Waaah, I want to go home, let go of me, I want to go home, I want to see my father! I want to go home…”

As she spoke, she raised her hand to strike herself again, but Situ Haonan grabbed it in time, his eyes reddening faintly with tears. This was the first time he’d ever seen Yelu Qianqian so serious, so heartbroken.

It was as if she had grown up overnight—and yet, in another sense, become a child again overnight too.

He knew that blood ran thicker than water. He knew that the princess of Xijing had been the treasured jewel of the Xijing emperor and crown prince her whole life, their most precious darling, cherished and protected.

But so what?

The cruelty of it was simply this: these two men—a father and a brother—had, with their own hands, pushed the girl they loved most dearly toward Xiliang. Even under the warnings of Xiliang’s fierce crown prince, even knowing full well that remarrying her would be worse than death, hadn’t they gone through with it anyway, without hesitation?

“I want to go home! I want to go home!”

Even with both her arms pinned by Situ Haonan, Yelu Qianqian still fought with all her strength, kicking and thrashing, her voice hoarse from crying, still wailing and blaming herself. “It’s all because of me, I deserve to die, I deserve ten thousand deaths!”

“Enough! What did you do wrong? Wanyan Lie never even liked you—what he liked was your dancing! It was your brother who schemed to have you two ‘accidentally’ meet at the border! Do you understand that?” Situ Haonan shouted angrily. “It was your brother’s incompetence, your father’s incompetence—unable to beat Xiliang, and yet wanting to march east, so all they could do was push you out, send you off to Xiliang, to secure peace on Xijing’s western border so they could advance east step by step!”

“No, that’s not it, that’s not how it is!” Yelu Qianqian couldn’t bear to hear any of this right now. “That’s not it—it’s Jun Beiyue! Jun Beiyue is the real mastermind!”

“It’s not Beiyue! Your brother is the mastermind!” Situ Haonan snapped, his grip suddenly tightening, making Yelu Qianqian’s sobs catch in her throat.

A woman and a brother shouldn’t really be in conflict—and yet, somehow, here in Situ Haonan’s heart, they were.

Some men would, for a woman, distance themselves from their brothers, even abandon them. But Situ Haonan… he wouldn’t.