Lu Hanxing sat on her as his gaze was menacing. Both his hands were ready to tear apart her already torn lapel. Fu Yin used all her energy to grab onto Lu Hanxing’s hands, refusing to let go.

The door suddenly opened. Lu Qi rushed in and roared, “What are you doing?!” He took one step forward and pulled Lu Hanxing up. With one kick, he sent Lu Hanxing flying out of the door. Lu Qi then followed up with a punch.

Fu Yin was disheveled as she got up, gripping tightly onto her lapel. She saw Ling Long poke her head in, her face delighted by what she was seeing.

“I was thinking why you were not sleeping at such a late hour and went out without saying anything? Young Master treats you so well, yet you fool around with other men. Slut.”

Fu Yin pounced onto Ling Long furiously. “I did not! You were the one that set me up!” Why? She had nothing against Ling Long. Why did Ling Long want to hurt her?

Ling Long did not back off but instead fought back. She pulled Fu Yin’s hair, frantically slapping her. Meanwhile, Lu Hanxing had taken a few of Lu Qi’s punches and was furious. He started to fight back.

“Lu Hanxing, you touched my servant and you dare to retaliate?” Lu Qi was not paying attention for a moment and got hit. He was in disbelief.

“Lu Qi, all you got is a good father. What is so impressive about you? You can’t even secure your own servant and you are blaming me? If you are capable, she would not have come to find me in the middle of the night. You cannot do anything if we are both willing!” Lu Hanxing threw caution to the wind.

Lu Qi was burning with anger and did not hold back. All of a sudden, Fu Yin’s heart wrenching wail caused him to stop punching Lu Hanxing for a moment and dash to the room.

Fu Yin and Ling Long were fighting and Ling Long had pushed Fu Yin down. Fu Yin's bracelet was smashed.

Lu Qi turned back to see that Lu Hanxing had escaped. He snorted and turned to Ling Long. “What is going on?”

Ling Long pretended to cry. “This slut was in the wrong and became angry to hide her embarrassment. She even scratched my face. You have to stand up for me.”

Lu Qi threw Ling Long’s hand off. “It is the middle of the night, what is there to stand up for? If there is anything, we will settle it tomorrow. Go back and sleep.”

Ling Long bit her lip and glared at Fu Yin before turning to leave.

Lu Qi looked at Fu Yin. Her hair and clothes were in a mess. The skin at the corners of her lips were torn and fresh blood flowed. It caused the coldness in his eyes to dissipate.

He took off his own outer coat and gently placed it on Fu Yin. He never knew that he could behave so gently. However, his tone remained icy, “Hurry up and get back to your room. You have no sense of shame and made me lose face. Are you going to sit like this until the sun is up so everyone can see you?”

Fu Yin did not spare Lu Qi a glance and he stormed off. She held her face and cried. She cried for the humiliation she felt that night and for the gift her mother left for her. Sorrow permeated through her.

She did not know how much time had passed before she finally stopped crying. She carefully picked up the two broken parts of the bracelet. Initially, she hated Ling Long, who kept trying to hurt her, and Lu Hanxing, who was shameless. However, she slowly hated herself for being weak. She could not even deal with these pathetic people, so much for wanting to take revenge.

She thought about a lot of things. Her mother’s wish for her to marry into an official’s family as well as Lu Qi and his interest in her. A sinister feeling rose in her. Actually, power was readily available. She would borrow strength to fight and catch them off guard. The only thing was--she had to give up on herself!

The expression in Fu Yin’s eyes changed. She held the broken bracelet in a death grip. “Mother, there are so many evil people in this world. Those that hurt you and those that hurt me. I don’t care what I have to do to kill them. I am willing to do all it takes.”

Lu Qi lay on his bed and could not fall asleep. His entire head was filled with Fu Yin. The more he thought about it, the more angry he got. He had really misjudged her. He thought that with her dumb and dazed look, she was innocent and cute. Who would have known that she would harbour such intentions and hook up with anyone. She almost tricked him.

All of a sudden, the door creaked open. Lu Qi got up in surprise and reached for the sword hanging on his bed frame. Light reflected off the sword, illuminating Fu Yin’s beautiful face.

Lu Qi narrowed his eyes before snorting. “What are you doing here?”

Fu Yin’s steps were light and determined. “I came to address the injustice I suffered.”

Lu Qi looked at her. Her translucent cotton dress hinted at her delicate figure. He immediately understood as his expression sunk. “When dirty things get exposed, everyone involved will cry out that they are innocent. I have no energy to bother. You can fool around with whoever you want, it is your problem. Don’t stick out like a sore thumb in front of me.” Did she think he was desperate and was willing to take anyone?

Fu Yin’s expression remained calm. “I have proof. I can prove my innocence.”

Lu Qi’s eyes flashed. “What evidence?”

Her dress fell to the floor. With not a single thread covering her body, she walked slowly towards Lu Qi.

“Myself. I am the best evidence.”

“Don’t go anywhere, wait for me--” Du Ning’s warm voice faded away.

Fu Yin felt like crying but did not dare to cry. She could only throw herself into this man’s arms and close her eyes. She felt the warmth of a stranger and could not help but tremble.

Lu Qi waved his sleeve, extinguishing the light from the lamp.

The day had just begun to brighten. Lu Qi opened his eyes and saw Fu Yin still in deep sleep. He took notice of the slight redness under her eyes. Her doll-like face was pale.

Perhaps she had cried because of the grievance she felt or maybe he had tired her out. He reached out. His huge palm lightly wrapped around half her face. His thumb stroked her face longingly; his actions were tender.

He finally knew that this blur servant of his had no ability to seduce.

“Young Master, it is time to get up.” Ling Long pushed open the door and walked in, carrying a copper basin for him to wash his face.

Fu Yin frowned and her eyelashes fluttered. Lu Qi immediately shushed her.

Ling Long thought that Lu Qi wanted to laze in bed. “It is almost 8am. Young Master, aren’t you going to train--” She turned back and immediately fell silent.

With one hand rubbing her eyes, and the other holding onto the blanket, Fu Yin’s black hair spread over her bare shoulder.

A loud crash resounded as the copper basin fell from Ling Long’s hands.

Lu Qi smiled warmly and pressed onto Fu Yin who was about to get up. He turned around and spoke coldly to Ling Long, “What are you doing? Who are you angry at first thing in the morning?”

Ling Long stammered, “She...she…”

“What about her?” Lu Qi grabbed onto the blanket and pulled it up, covering Fu Yin’s naked shoulder. “She is innocent, I already checked. It is undeniable. Lu Hanxing, that bastard, I will deal with him later. And you, you clearly didn’t know anything, why did you spout nonsense and ruin Yin’er’s reputation. In the future, Yin’er belongs to my room. You should learn to be discreet. I am fair and will settle things unbiasedly, I will not neglect anyone. If you dare to bully her, don’t blame me for teaching you a lesson. Do you hear me?”

Fu Yin spoke weakly, “Don’t make things difficult for Sister Ling Long. The past is just a misunderstanding.” Ling Long was wilful and Fu Yin could see very clearly that Lu Qi did not like that. Fu Yin knew how to cater to his appetite.

Lu Qi was satisfied and lightly squeezed Fu Yin’s cheeks. “Yin’er is so obedient. I hate it when people create trouble. Forget about anything bad that has happened before and get along well with Ling Long. I will definitely dote on you.”

“Yes, I will listen to you.” Fu Yin smiled as she used her elbow to support herself. “Let me help you wash up.”

Lu Qi pressed on her, his voice full of adoration. “I don’t need you. Sleep for a while more. Ling Long is still here, she is used to serving me.” He turned back to look at Ling Long, his face stoic. “Aren’t you going to quickly fetch another basin of water?”

Ling Long resentfully picked up the copper basin and headed out. She never thought that her plan to gain an advantage would backfire and she would end off worse than when she first started. Alas, that stupid brat had a motive. So much for pretending to be innocent.

Lu Qi got up and dressed himself.

Fu Yin turned around and tears silently rolled down her cheeks. Her heart was filled with sorrow. She had bidden goodbye to herself. There was no turning back.