The young lady is delicate and soft, yet she criticizes the powerful minister for bowing and scrapin

When Qi Yunli learned that Wei Jun's first action upon returning to the mansion was not to report to the old lady, but to secretly summon her over, she felt quite uneasy.

When Ru Feng came to call for her, he was in a hurry and urged Qi Yunli to come over before she could even change her clothes.

Upon arriving at Jingchen Courtyard, Qi Yunli bowed and asked, "Cousin, were you looking for me?"

Wei Jun sat on a rosewood chair, still wearing the brocade robe he wore to the banquet.

A weariness lingered in his eyes, and a few lines had been added to his previous painting, "Drinking Alone Under the Moon," as if by accident. The owner, however, seemed quite pleased, hanging it next to a valuable landscape painting. The black and white contrast created a unique and evocative atmosphere.

"Who was the person you spoke to today?" Wei Jun asked.

Qi Yunli said softly, "I spoke with many people at the banquet today. The Princess also had other female relatives I didn't know. May I ask which one you were referring to, cousin?"

Wei Jun looked her up and down, his gaze making her feel uneasy.

Qi Yunli felt a tightness in her throat, as if someone was choking her, and a very uncomfortable, sour feeling welled up inside her.

"You're playing dumb. Who is the man you're talking to?"

Qi Yunli answered with ease, "At first, I got lost in the manor and accidentally went the wrong way, which is how I met a ninth-rank registrar. Later, I encountered a thief in the backyard, and he came to check on me. What's wrong?"

She wore a rather brightly colored pomegranate-colored dress today. Usually, her clothes are mostly plain colors, such as white and yellow, but today was different.

He originally thought she preferred simplicity, with her jewelry, hairpins, and clothes all having an elegant tone.

"I thought you didn't like such bright colors." Wei Jun walked over, and the two got very close.

He noticed that Qi Yunli was gripping the hem of her clothes with both hands, clenching them into fists, and her back was taut.

But her smile remained sweet and obedient: "Cousin, you jest. However, in the Marquis of Dingyuan's residence, I am only a cousin, so it's not appropriate for me to dress too brightly, lest I attract gossip. As worldly women, who doesn't like bright colors?"

She described herself as worldly.

A hint of confusion flashed across Wei Jun's eyes.

But shouldn't worldly women all eagerly line up, from the east gate to the north gate, vying to marry him? Even if they become concubines, they should stay by his side.

Wei Jun suddenly felt irritated for no reason, and a surge of frustration welled up inside him: "You caused quite a commotion at the Rong Prince's residence today. Ruolan falling into the water and Zhou Wenbin's incident are both related to you."

That sounds like a reprimand.

Qi Yunli knew he never cared about anyone and was ruthless. Yet, neither the old lady nor even the Princess Consort of Rong blamed her for these two incidents.

Wei Jun, however, took the initiative to manage the affairs of the inner quarters and questioned her instead of showing concern.

Qi Yunli gasped, her tone somewhat stiff: "Cousin, if someone wanted to push you into the water, you would have done the same. I merely did what anyone would have done. Would you rather see me fall into the water, and then, while 'resting' in the back courtyard of the Rong Prince's mansion, let Lord Zhou succeed?"

"If I hadn't shouted 'Thief!' back then, even if nothing had happened between me and Lord Zhou, he would still have pinned the blame on me. My cousin may have seen it from outside; I am indeed involved in both of these things, and I brought it upon myself. But if my cousin were me, what would he have done?"

As she spoke, for some reason, her eyes involuntarily welled up with tears. Even when she spoke these tough words, her tone remained soft and gentle, a tone she had never been able to shake off since childhood.

Wei Jun's presence was so oppressive that she could hardly breathe. She realized that she had lost her composure; she had never mentioned a word of the grievances she had suffered over the past year to Wei Jun.

This indifferent superior will never understand her situation.

Having said all this, I feel a little relieved, though I know it's all in vain.

She always pretended to be a weak and innocent little rabbit, incredibly obedient. Now that she had been holding back so much, she was finally letting it all out. Wei Jun was bound to be furious.

She calmed herself down, closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and tried to let the tears in her eyes dry naturally, not wanting the person in front of her to see anything unusual.

Wei Jun felt a tightness and stagnation in his chest that he couldn't shake off.

Her question left him speechless. The raging anger that had been burning within him suddenly vanished when he saw the mist in her eyes, leaving him unsure how to vent it.

He reached out, wanting to grab Qi Yunli's arm. Qi Yunli subconsciously took a half step back, her expression a mixture of grievance and anger—this was the first time the little rabbit had slightly bristled.

Never before in their relationship had Wei Jun felt so out of control. An uncontrollable surge of irritation and possessiveness welled up within him, and he suddenly pulled her right hand forcefully.

Just as he had expected, his fair right hand had been scratched by the tip of the slender silver hairpin.

Fortunately, the wound wasn't deep; it only scratched the surface, causing a slight oozing of blood, which had now dried. The owner of this hand hadn't had a chance to tend to it since the injury.

Qi Yunli thought he wanted to have sex with her again, so she became very wary and took several steps back.

Unexpectedly, he held her hand and stared at the wound for a long time, which made her very uncomfortable.

She only wanted to show him her vulnerable side, her true wounds and fragility; she didn't want to reveal them to this despised man.

Qi Yunli tried to struggle and pull her hand back, but this only provoked the other party to become even angrier.

"Don't move," Wei Jun snapped, his tone brooking no argument.

He gripped her wrist tightly, preventing her from moving an inch. He opened the medicine box, took out the ointment, dipped a cotton swab in it, and gently applied it to the dried scab on the wound. The ointment was cool and caused a slight tingling sensation when it touched the skin.

Qi Yunli could endure the stinging pain of the ointment, but looking at his focused profile, the doubts in her heart made her uneasy.

"Cousin, I can handle this myself. It's just a minor injury."

Wei Jun ignored him completely: "I was going to deal with Lord Zhou's matter anyway; it was just a matter of time. If you hurt your hand with that hairpin again next time, I'll throw it away."

He hadn't considered how late it would be. She couldn't wait. Before he could even win over Lord Zhou, a group of wolves and tigers were already eyeing her.

At this moment, Qi Yunli didn't want to confront him directly: "Yes."

When Wei Jun applied the medicine, he noticed that she had no other jewelry on her fingers. He could clearly see that she should have had a ring on her finger.

His heart skipped a beat.

Qi Yunli was thinking about how to find an excuse to leave Jingchen Courtyard, as the day's banquet had already exhausted her.

"You can go back now." Wei Jun suddenly released her hand, turned around, returned to his seat, and said coldly.

Qi Yunli stared at his indifferent back, her doubts growing even stronger.

She prided herself on having spent the past year with this young master, and that she had at least seen through him to some extent.

But at this moment, she was still confused. He had suddenly become unpredictable and inexplicable.

However, she didn't care. As long as the eldest young master lost interest in her, that would be the best outcome.

The weight on her heart suddenly lifted a little.