This was the third time he had asked the question, and impatience was beginning to show.
Liu Youcheng, along with the Liu family’s other two uncles, Liu Xiyin’s brothers, and cousins, all gathered nearby.
A moment ago, Liu Mingyu had been speaking fluently to Liu Xiyin.
Now she suddenly stammered.
“I… I saw Third Sister coming out of Biyu Pavilion. She didn’t have an umbrella, so I wanted to walk her back… Then I noticed she was injured, and I… I…”
She stuttered for a long time without finishing.
But the first half of her explanation had already pointed in a very specific direction.
【She’s implying I went to Biyu Pavilion to cause trouble for Liu Mingyue and ended up getting myself hurt.】
【Cousin, you don’t even need to lead them. Everyone’s going to think that’s exactly what happened!】
Sure enough, before Liu Mingyu finished speaking, everyone’s eyes landed on Liu Xiyin.
This was Liu Mingyue’s courtyard.
The only reasonable assumption was that Liu Xiyin had come here to stir up trouble and had suffered the consequences herself.
No wonder she only dared to say she was useless when she saw the Young Marshal.
Bullying someone only to get beaten up in return…
That really was pathetic.
Liu Mingyu’s father, Liu Yousong, coughed lightly.
“Ah Yin, what were you doing here? Where are you hurt? Is it serious?”
【What else? Getting abused.】
Liu Xiyin lowered her head and stared at the tips of her shoes.
Before she could answer, a large hand grabbed her arm.
“Hiss…”
She gasped sharply.
Yan Changye carefully felt along the bones in her arm.
After confirming nothing was broken, his expression only grew colder.
“The servants said Mother-in-law brought you here.”
“You came out alone.”
“Where is Mother-in-law?”
“She just watched while you were beaten?”
The moment those words fell, Liu Yousong’s expression froze.
He quietly stepped back behind Liu Youcheng.
The others’ faces changed as well.
That was right.
Earlier, when the servants announced the return banquet was ready, Yan Changye had just finished his discussion in the study.
As he came out, he asked where the Young Madam was.
The servant had answered in front of everyone,
“Madam brought Miss to Biyu Pavilion. They haven’t returned yet.”
Only then had Yan Changye personally come to fetch Liu Xiyin.
From a distance, he had seen Liu Xiyin fallen on the ground while Liu Mingyu stood beside her with an outstretched hand—whether she had been pushing or helping was impossible to tell.
If Madam herself had brought Liu Xiyin here…
Then it was far less likely that Liu Xiyin had come voluntarily to provoke anyone.
Now she had emerged alone, injured, in heavy snowfall, without even an umbrella.
Surely she hadn’t insisted Madam escort her over just so Madam could help Liu Mingyue beat her up before throwing her outside?
That would be…
…
Liu Youcheng immediately turned toward a servant.
“Where’s Madam? Go find her at once.”
The servant sensed the strange atmosphere and hurried away.
Yan Changye bent down and lifted Liu Xiyin into his arms.
“Where did you used to stay?”
Liu Xiyin pointed in a direction.
“Over there.”
Yan Changye strode away carrying her.
Behind them, everyone exchanged uncertain looks, unsure whether they should follow.
Liu Youcheng glanced toward Biyu Pavilion.
The veins on his forehead throbbed.
“Go fetch a doctor!”
Liu Youcheng knew Bai Manman was dissatisfied with Liu Xiyin.
After all, the girl had not been raised by her side.
Bai Manman cared deeply about appearances.
She could not accept that her biological daughter had grown up in the countryside.
Even less could she accept that she herself had been the one who lost her daughter all those years ago.
But Marshal Yan had ignored old ties, pointed a gun at the Liu family, and demanded they bring the girl back from the countryside to replace Liu Mingyue as the Young Marshal’s bride.
Liu Youcheng had never objected.
Liu Xiyin was his true flesh and blood.
Now that he knew the truth, he would never allow her to remain abandoned outside.
Marrying into the Yan family simply restored everything to its rightful place.
Bai Manman did not see it that way.
The guilt she should have felt toward Liu Xiyin had all been redirected into sympathy for Liu Mingyue because of the Marshal’s coercion.
When no one else was around, Bai Manman had once complained to Liu Youcheng,
“Mingyue was raised like a precious jewel. Marrying the Young Marshal, who’d been banished to the front lines, was already unfair to her. Yet the Marshal humiliated her in front of everyone and even took away her engagement. How is she supposed to live after this?”
“Ah Yin grew up in the countryside. She’s small-minded. Marrying into the Marshal’s household only embarrasses our family. I don’t even dare go out anymore. Do you know how those society ladies laugh at me?”
…
Liu Youcheng had assumed she was only venting in private.
After all, Liu Xiyin was still their biological daughter.
When Liu Xiyin asked for a private kitchen, Bai Manman had immediately arranged one.
When there wasn’t enough time to prepare a dowry and Liu Mingyue volunteered hers instead, Bai Manman had accepted that too.
So what had happened today?
Why had Bai Manman brought Liu Xiyin to Biyu Pavilion?
Why had she allowed her to be injured here?
Today was the day the Young Marshal had personally accompanied her home.
…
Curled up in Yan Changye’s arms, Liu Xiyin hid her face behind her sleeve and secretly peeked at him through a gap.
【He actually didn’t believe I got hurt because I picked a fight and lost.】
【How am I supposed to explain this later? The big villain is way too observant.】
She had never expected him to notice the flaw in the story—that she hadn’t come to Biyu Pavilion alone.
Originally, she thought she’d be forced to shoulder the blame.
A vicious, narrow-minded village girl looking for trouble with the glamorous eldest miss, only to be beaten up herself.
It fit the cannon-fodder role perfectly.
She’d assumed no one would believe a disposable side character.
The morning sun had been brilliant.
Now heavy snow blanketed the sky.
The weather changed faster than a master face-changing performer.
Yan Changye carried her into Cailü Courtyard and placed her gently on the bed inside her room.
Compared with Liu Mingyue’s residence, this room and courtyard felt much smaller.
Yan Changye reached toward the buttons of her clothing.
Liu Xiyin hurriedly dodged away.
“I’m not hurt anywhere else.”
Yan Changye straightened.
His tall frame cast a shadow that nearly enveloped her completely.
“If you’re not injured elsewhere…”
“Then where are you hurt?”
Liu Xiyin honestly pointed to her left arm.
“Here.”
With one long reach, Yan Changye pulled over a chair and sat directly before her.
“How did it happen?”
As though he knew she was full of tricks, he added in a deep voice,
“Tell me the truth.”
“Otherwise, I have plenty of interrogation methods.”
Liu Xiyin immediately remembered their wedding night—him pinning her down and groping around.
Startled, she shrank backward, instinctively covering her chest while pretending to protect her arm.
“My sister fell into the lake half a month ago. She’s been unwell ever since.”
“Madam thought I was responsible.”
She deliberately omitted Liu Mingyue’s vomiting.
In the original novel, after that reckless night, Liu Mingyue had become pregnant with the male lead’s child.
Who knew how resilient that baby was?
Even after Liu Mingyue fell into an icy lake in the middle of winter…
It still managed to settle safely inside her womb.
“I didn’t do it.”
“She wanted me to kneel and admit my guilt.”
“I refused… and talked back.”
“So Madam got angry and hit me once with a feather duster.”
【I’m telling the truth. The big villain had better not use the excuse that she’s my biological mother against me.】
【I don’t even acknowledge her as my mother. She deliberately starved me on my wedding day.】