Seeing that the person blocking her was Yun Xi, Yao Susu’s resentment only deepened.

The past two months had not gone well for her.

After Yun Xi and Pei Lan broke off their engagement, rumors had somehow twisted around to implicate her, claiming she had schemed behind the scenes to sabotage the match between the Pei and Zhongyong households.

Yao Susu had always held herself above such things. Even privately harboring feelings for Pei Lan, she had never once spoken ill of Yun Xi to him, nor suggested he break the engagement.

Given how resolutely Yun Xi had ended things that day, it was clearly some rift between her and Pei Lan—what did it have to do with her?

Fine, let that be. Now that Pei Lan’s engagement was dissolved, by all rights the Yao family should have received a marriage proposal by now.

And yet, whether due to the Dowager Matriarch’s illness preventing it, or some other reason, the Pei family had made no move at all—Pei Lan had even grown more distant toward her than before.

Yao Susu had once again become an object of ridicule, doing everything right yet earning nothing for it.

She was a favored daughter of fortune, her father a first-rank Privy Councilor, her aunt the Imperial Noble Consort who oversaw the entire harem. How could she tolerate such slander?

Thinking it over, she traced the root of it all back to Yun Xi.

If she hadn’t made such a dramatic show of breaking off her engagement, would people be mocking her like this now?

She felt she’d already gone out of her way to avoid Yun Xi. And now, over the mere matter of beating two dogs to death, this woman dared to stand in her way?

Yao Susu’s anger flared higher the more she thought about it, and she declared without restraint, “This mangy dog has no owner to discipline it—it deserves to die! If Snowball were merely my own pet, that would be one thing, but she was a gift from the Imperial Noble Consort herself. Now that she’s been hurt, why shouldn’t I punish the beast that harmed her?!”

A person needs their pride, just as a tree needs its bark.

Yao Susu called out loudly, “Someone, beat them!”

The guards exchanged uneasy glances—one woman was the daughter of a Privy Councilor, the other the young lady of a marquisate. Neither was someone to offend lightly.

Fortunately, with the House of Zhongyong having fallen so far from grace, the guards weighed their options and made an easy choice, dodging around Yun Xi and striking instead at the old dog and her pup.

Though highly skilled in combat, Yun Xi was simply outnumbered—she could block the front but not the rear, guard the left but not the right. And with the mother dog refusing to abandon her pup and flee, just as a club was about to come down on the bamboo basket, the old dog lunged forward in one desperate leap, shielding the pup beneath her body and taking the full blow herself.

A servant restrained nearby cried out, “Old Chai!”

The old dog whimpered, swayed on the spot, then collapsed, breathing heavily.

But the guards showed no sign of stopping. Seeing the old dog fallen, they turned their clubs toward the pup instead.

Gritting her teeth, Yun Xi abandoned her struggle against the guards, spun around to shield the fallen dog behind her, and scooped the pup up from the basket with one hand, cradling it against her chest.

In doing so, she exposed her back completely to her attackers.

The guards were startled by this. One of them, unable to check his swing in time, landed a blow squarely on Yun Xi’s back.

“Stop!”

At that moment, someone shouted sharply from outside the bamboo grove.

Everyone turned to look and saw a young man approaching, sword-brow and star-bright eyes—Prince Nan’an’s young heir, Cheng Ye.

He had been entertaining guests in the front hall with his father, Prince Nan’an, when word reached him of the commotion in the bamboo grove, and he’d hurried over at once.

Even from a distance, he’d seen a young woman in blue clashing with the household guards.

The woman in blue moved with remarkable skill, but alone and outnumbered, she’d sacrificed her own safety at the critical moment to protect the pup. Seeing this, Cheng Ye had called out to stop it.

Drawing closer, Cheng Ye asked Yun Xi, “Are you all right?”

Yun Xi, crouched down checking on the old dog’s injuries, looked up at his voice and shook her head.

Cheng Ye found himself momentarily struck still.

The woman before him was strikingly beautiful, her eyes bright as the first rising sun of spring—perhaps made even more so by the sheen of worry glistening there over the old dog’s condition.

He knew her—the young lady of the House of Zhongyong.

When his servant had first come to report the incident, they’d said it concerned a dispute between Miss Yao Susu and Miss Yun Xi of the Zhongyong household over an old dog kept in the bamboo grove.

Cheng Ye glanced again at the pup cradled protectively in Yun Xi’s arms, unsure what to say, then finally asked, though he already knew the answer, “You saved it?”

Yun Xi didn’t respond.

Cheng Ye didn’t press further, turning instead to bow to Yao Susu. “I now understand the situation here. I hope Miss Susu might see fit to show mercy and spare the pup’s life.”

Having just witnessed Yun Xi struck, Yao Susu’s shock had already dampened half her anger.

But having invoked the Imperial Noble Consort so heatedly in her own defense moments earlier, backing down now over these two dogs would make her look insincere toward the Consort’s gift.

Cornered by her own outburst, Yao Susu could only say, “Your household’s dog bit the Imperial Noble Consort’s cat. If I let it off lightly now, how am I to explain myself to Her Highness, young heir?”

More than just Cheng Ye had come rushing to the bamboo grove.

Watching from a distance, Prince Nan’an sent the physician accompanying him to examine Snowball’s wound, then asked a nearby attendant in a low voice, “Where’s the Princess Consort?”

“Reporting to my lord, the Third Young Master of Prince Cong’s household wished to see the horses kept at our stables. The Princess Consort personally accompanied him there.”

“Go fetch her at once. Tell her something has happened here.”

“My lord, someone has already been sent.”

Prince Nan’an, a titular prince without real authority, was cautious to a fault, unwilling to offend anyone—when it came to handling such external matters, he was, frankly, less capable than his own wife, who had been born into a family of horse trainers.

Cheng Ye said, “Should the Imperial Noble Consort inquire, Miss Susu need only say that a village dog I keep accidentally bit the precious cat. I will personally bear any punishment Her Highness sees fit to impose.”

“You speak lightly enough, young heir, but Snowball is no ordinary cat—she is a spirit cat, able to recognize true beauty and understand human speech. Even though Her Highness gifted her to me, she still has me bring the cat back to the palace from time to time for her to see. If she sees Snowball’s injuries and grieves over it, what then?”

“Even someone struck on the street deserves justice. I merely seek justice for Snowball—does the young heir truly intend to stand in my way?”

As Yao Susu spoke, her gaze drifted to Lin Ruonan standing beside her, still shaken, and an idea sparked in her mind.

She smiled. “Besides, it wasn’t only Snowball this village dog harmed. Didn’t it come charging out just now and frighten Sister Wan’er as well?”

Lin Ruonan had come today in Prince Cong’s household’s carriage.

Everyone present understood full well what Yao Susu meant by this.

The Prince Nan’an household, though a princely one, could ill afford to offend the Imperial Noble Consort, let alone add Prince Cong’s household to the mix as well.

Cheng Ye was about to speak again when someone outside the bamboo grove called out sharply, “Ye’er!”

Prince Nan’an strode forward and said sternly, “Ye’er, step back.”

“Father?”

“Step back!”

Cheng Ye couldn’t defy his father in front of everyone and had no choice but to retreat a few steps, revealing Yun Xi, whom he’d been shielding behind him.

Prince Nan’an, seeking to smooth things over, said to Yun Xi, “Since this pair of dogs has caused offense, I ask that Miss Yun Xi no longer shield them. Simply… hand them over to the household servants to deal with.”

The pup in her arms let out a whimper, as though sensing what was coming, trembling with fear.

Yun Xi said nothing, lowering her eyes to look at it.

Having already saved it once, how could she simply watch it be taken away to die?

It was so small—what had it possibly done wrong? Every life was equally precious—did it matter less simply because Yao Susu’s cat was more prized?

Luo Shu stepped forward as well, tugging at Yun Xi’s arm, urging, “A’Ting, why not just let it go?”

Yun Xi glanced at her and simply shook her head, saying quietly, “I can’t let it go.”

At that moment, seeing Yun Xi’s attention divided, several of the guards, eager to prove themselves, moved recklessly to snatch the pup from her arms.

But the moment a hand reached out, it was caught from the side.

Cheng Chang said coldly, “What do you think you’re doing?”

Beneath the green bamboo leaves, dressed in pale blue robes, he seemed to have materialized out of thin air from the very color of the grove itself.

Everyone froze for a moment, then bowed respectfully. “Third Young Master.”

Cheng Chang said nothing further.

He had, in truth, overheard most of the situation when the servant reported it to the Princess Consort of Nan’an earlier. But now, seeing the dying old dog on the ground and the trembling pup clutched in Yun Xi’s arms, his heart went completely cold.

He spoke again. “What exactly are you all doing?”

His voice was three parts colder than before—not a question, but a reprimand.

The steward of the Nan’an household, uncertain whose side Cheng Chang stood on, replied in a trembling voice, “R-reporting to the Third Young Master, our household’s village dog accidentally injured the precious cat gifted to Miss Susu by the Imperial Noble Consort, and also startled the young lady of the Lin household. Miss Susu therefore wished to have it beaten to death…”

“Isn’t the cat perfectly fine?”

Before the steward could finish, Cheng Chang cut him off.

The physician had already finished bandaging Snowball’s wound, and as though to confirm Cheng Chang’s words, the cat suddenly leapt from the physician’s arms and darted straight to Cheng Chang’s feet, rubbing against him.

A cat that could truly recognize true beauty, indeed.

Cheng Chang continued, “It’s barely even hurt, is it?”

“Y-yes, yes, the Third Young Master is quite right.” The steward nodded repeatedly.

Cheng Chang said, “Very well. I’ll take this dog and her pup off your hands. If the Imperial Noble Consort inquires, simply tell her a dog of mine injured her cat, and I’ll pay my respects and apologize to her myself another day.”

Everyone exchanged glances. They had assumed the Third Young Master had rushed over to protect Lin Ruonan—yet here he was, siding with Yun Xi to protect the dogs instead.

But with the young lord of Prince Cong’s household having spoken so plainly, who among them dared object further?

Prince Nan’an smoothed things over. “Excellent, excellent. The Third Young Master’s solution pleases everyone.”

He added, “Refreshments and fruit wine have already been prepared in the flower pavilion. With the sun so fierce today, perhaps our distinguished guests should retire there to cool off.”

Lin Ruonan followed Yao Susu away with evident reluctance, glancing back at Cheng Chang once before leaving the bamboo grove.

Cheng Chang seemed not to notice her at all. He turned his gaze to Yun Xi, seeing her hair slightly disheveled, still cradling the pup protectively, and asked, “Are you all right?”

Yun Xi shook her head, looking strangely subdued. “I’m fine.”

She crouched down again to check on the dying old dog.

The physician who had treated Snowball, sensing the situation, had thoughtfully remained behind. He examined the old dog, lifted her eyelids, and shook his head. “There’s no saving her.”

“Old Chai—!” The servant, freed now from the guards’ restraint, rushed forward and dropped to his knees beside the dog.

The physician explained, “The wound on her belly is from the cat’s claws—not serious in itself. But her body was already failing badly; she used the last of her strength giving birth to this pup, and had perhaps a month left regardless. With the heavy blow she just took on top of that… she has, at most, three more days.”

Hearing this, both Cheng Chang and Yun Xi felt a pang of sorrow. They said to the servant, “Our condolences.”

Tears streamed down the servant’s face. Overcome with grief, he forgot all propriety and said, “I knew she wouldn’t live much longer, but I’ve raised her for seven years. I’d hoped to give her a proper send-off, but I never thought…”

“She grew up here in this bamboo grove, and she loved it here. Now that the stables don’t need her anymore, she came back here. Dogs are just like people—they have feelings, they remember, they get attached to places. If I’d known there’d be so many people here today, I should have been more careful and taken her somewhere else. How could I have been so careless…”

The servant’s voice broke into sobs.

As though trying to comfort him, the old dog let out a few low, gentle whines from her throat—a sound so tender it was almost unbearable to hear.

Yun Xi gently placed the pup beside the old dog, and Cheng Chang reached out to stroke her fur.

The old dog, clearly intelligent, seemed to understand they had saved her, and licked Yun Xi’s hand, then Cheng Chang’s.

Seeing this, the servant came to his senses and wiped his tears hastily. “This lowly one has behaved improperly, offending the Third Young Master and the young lady. Please forgive me.”

Having something to ask, he steeled himself and continued, “Did the Third Young Master truly mean it, about taking in Old Chai and this pup?”

Before Cheng Chang could answer, he kowtowed again. “Please, Third Young Master, take them in. I am only a lowly servant—I cannot protect them. If anyone from the Yao household comes looking again, I fear their lives won’t be safe.”

Cheng Chang said, “Don’t worry. I keep my word.”

He considered further. “You watched Old Chai grow up, and you clearly care for her deeply—I won’t take her from you. I’ll come by another day to help you see to her final arrangements. But I’ll take the pup with me.”

“Thank you, Third Young Master, thank you!” Overwhelmed with gratitude, the servant spoke without restraint. “People say the Third Young Master is arrogant and tyrannical, but seeing you today, you truly are a living Buddha reborn!”

He added, “Unfortunately this pup was born frail—it had two brothers, but they both died within days of birth. Please take good care of it, Third Young Master. Old Chai is remarkably clever; if this pup survives to grow up, it’s sure to be just as clever as her.”

Cheng Chang nodded. “Don’t worry.”

He picked up the pup and was about to leave the bamboo grove with Yun Xi when Cheng Ye came hurrying back.

Cheng Ye bowed first to Cheng Chang, greeting him. “Third Young Master.” Then he turned urgently to Yun Xi. “Miss Yun Xi, is the wound on your back all right?”

Yun Xi shook her head. “It’s fine, thank you, young heir.”

Cheng Chang was startled. “You’re hurt?”

“Third Young Master, you may not know this, but if Miss Yun Xi hadn’t shielded Old Chai and this pup just now, they surely would have died beneath the household guards’ clubs. When Old Chai was struck, Miss Yun Xi took a blow herself in order to keep the pup safe in her arms,” Cheng Ye said, then added self-critically, “I arrived too late to be of much use—it’s thanks to the Third Young Master’s help that things were resolved.”

Cheng Chang fell momentarily silent. “Why would you…”

He wanted to ask why she would risk herself so thoroughly for a stray dog she’d only just encountered.

But before he could voice the question, Yun Xi seemed to already know what he meant to ask.

Her gaze fell to the pup in his arms.

“I just felt… it looks like A’Huang did, when it was small,” she said, her voice very soft. “I… miss him.”

She missed A’Huang.

She missed… those days back at the northern frontier.

Those carefree days, when her father and brother were still alive.

Cheng Chang looked at Yun Xi. Though she hadn’t spoken the rest of what lay hidden beneath her words, he found he understood anyway.

And thinking further, wasn’t he much the same?

A person adrift in this world with no true place to belong—this insistence on keeping a dog was, perhaps, nothing more than an attempt to fulfill some lingering regret from a solitary previous life.

Still lost in thought, he looked up to find Yun Xi suddenly smiling at him. “The young heir is right. It’s fortunate the Third Young Master came—without you, we likely couldn’t have saved it.”

Moments ago she had seemed so sorrowful, yet now she’d brightened in an instant.

Like clouds parting to reveal sudden sunlight.

Like the sun breaking through after rain, stirring something deep within.

The small pup, with a streak of white between its brows, looked a bit sickly still, but its eyes were bright and full of life—clearly it would grow up beautiful, and clever too, just like Yun Xi’s A’Huang.

Something stirred faintly in Cheng Chang’s heart—whether for Yun Xi’s sake or his own, he couldn’t quite say.

He held the pup out to her. “You raise it.”