Amidst the murmurs, Qi Huaihe, who had already changed his clothes, strode over.
Upon seeing him arrive, the women of the Qi family all breathed a sigh of relief, as if they had found their pillar of support.
Qi Huaihe had a maid bring a new cloak for Xin Jiuwei and asked, "Cousin, are you alright? I've heard what happened from the servants, so don't be afraid."
The next sentence was addressed to the two songstresses.
Liu'er's hair was still dripping wet as she trembled in Xin Kui's arms. She was young and looked thin. Even if some people looked down on the singing girls, they couldn't help but feel sorry for her when they saw her like this.
Qi Huaihe said, "You've come to celebrate my grandfather's birthday. Since something unexpected happened at the Qi residence, it's naturally our responsibility. Someone—"
He summoned a maid and took Liu'er away to change her clothes.
Liu'er was still very scared and held onto Xin Kui's hand, not daring to leave.
"Don't be afraid." Xin Jiuwei took Liu'er's hand and patted it. "Change into clean clothes. My cousin will send someone to take you back. Get a good rest tonight and you'll feel better after a good night's sleep."
Xin Kui exchanged a glance with her and slowly nodded.
"Stop!" Qi Huaiyu suddenly shouted. "No one is allowed to leave. Are you just going to let this go unjustly accused?"
Xin Jiuwei shouted almost instantly, "Liu'er, be careful!"
Mianfeng reacted quickly and stepped forward to protect Liuer behind him.
Qi Huaiyu had no intention of making a move, but their sudden reaction made everyone think that he was angry and about to attack the little songstress!
"Does he intend to hit someone? How can he be so lawless!"
"It's Master Qi's birthday after all, this is going too far."
"Who could it be? I don't think I've seen them in Yuncheng before?"
Amidst the whispers, Xin Jiuwei burst into tears, “Qi Huaiyu, my father trusts you, that’s why he asked you to come to Yuncheng with me. I thought about how your mother took care of my brother for a few days when he was little, and I’ve always been very tolerant of you, not holding it against you for not doing what Father asked you to do well. But how could you… how could you…”
As she spoke, her tone was full of disappointment, and her face was pale. Qi Xinghui quickly stepped forward and hugged her.
"Alright, alright, he's a man. He can't control himself. What does it have to do with you? Don't be sad. He's just a servant."
Qi Huaiyu's face turned ugly. "I didn't..."
Xin Jiuwei covered her face and leaned on Qi Xinghui's shoulder, crying her heart out.
"I've disturbed my maternal grandfather's birthday celebration, how am I going to explain this to my father..."
She was slender and frail, and when she cried, her face was streaked with tears, making it hard for anyone to bear.
Young Master Mu, who was also at the restaurant that day, immediately shouted, "The men below deserve to die! What does this have to do with Miss Xin? How could you, a young lady, control the filthy thoughts of a grown man? Miss, please don't blame yourself!"
"Yes, yes." Qi Xin also hurried over to comfort her, "You child, why do you take everything on yourself? No wonder you're so weak. Aren't you just overthinking things?"
Xin Jiuwei hesitated, "But he came with me..."
Qi Xinqi said, "Didn't you say that he only works for your father? He's not a relative, so just kick him out."
"He must have been confused for a moment..." Xin Jiuwei covered her face and cried again.
Qi Xinghui exclaimed, "Oh dear, cousin, you're too kind-hearted! When he was bullying that little girl, didn't you think about your Xin family? Didn't you think about the fact that this was my grandfather's birthday celebration!"
"Xin Jiuwei!" Qi Huaiyu finally couldn't hold back any longer and stepped forward abruptly. "Don't all be fooled by her! She framed me!"
Seeing that he was pointing the finger at Xin Jiuwei, the others immediately became dissatisfied.
Young Master Mu said, "What benefit would she gain from framing you? You did such a thing, and it even caused Miss Xin to be gossiped about. What reason would she have to do something that would be more harmful than beneficial?"
Qi Huaiyu was speechless. Yes, Xin Jiuwei didn't need to do it, but that's exactly what she did!
Looking at Xin Jiuwei crying against Qi Xinghui, Qi Huaiyu now knew perfectly well that she was a master of acting! She had fooled everyone else!
He lunged forward, "Xin Jiuwei, you..."
However, before he could even get close, Qi Huaihe kicked him away.
Qi Huaiyu rolled quite a distance before he came to his senses. Hearing the laughter of the people around him, he had never been so embarrassed or ashamed!
"you……"
"Throw him out," Qi Huaihe said coldly. "How dare he lay a hand on my young lady from the Qi family? Do you think this is some kind of place?"
Xin Jiuwei weakly tried to stop him, "Cousin..."
"Oh dear, don't be so kind anymore!" Qi Xinghui pulled her back. "He deserves it all!"
Xin Jiuwei then gave up and allowed the servants of the Qi family to drive Qi Huaiyu out.
The farce ended, and everyone returned to their seats. Since it was getting late, the banquet soon ended.
The servant beside her maternal grandfather came to invite Xin Jiuwei, and Qi Huaihe accompanied her there.
"Wei'er, were you frightened?"
Xin Jiuwei's eyes were still a little red. "I never expected him to do something like this on my maternal grandfather's birthday..."
"It's just a minor incident, don't blame yourself." Grandfather didn't take it to heart. "Even if others gossip, they won't dare to say anything."
Xin Jiuwei nodded, a hint of worry still lingering in her eyes.
Her maternal grandfather looked at her for a while and said, "In previous years, when I sent people to Yingzhou, they all came back saying that you were very fond of Qi Huaiyu, and your father also agreed with you. But judging from what happened today, he is not a good man. You should think it through."
Xin Jiuwei gave a helpless smile. "Grandfather, I said before I came that I had nothing to do with him anymore. It's because...it's because..."
She seemed about to cry again, and quickly wiped her eyes with a handkerchief. "I've long seen what kind of person he is. I was just blind before."
"Alright, stop crying," the grandfather said kindly. "Luckily, we weren't engaged yet, so it's not too late to see things clearly now."
Xin Jiuwei nodded. Wanting to take this opportunity to mend the rift between her maternal grandfather and father, she said:
“Grandfather, Father has always indulged me all these years. It’s not that he doesn’t have his own ideas, but that he feels guilty towards me.”
She lowered her eyes, her tone revealing a deep-seated sorrow.
“Wei’er and her older sister and brother often miss their mother, but when we miss her, we can talk to each other and confide in our wet nurses and maids. But our father can’t… He is the head of the Xin clan, and he has to keep many things to himself.”
“During holidays, as well as my mother’s birthday and death anniversary, Wei’er often saw her father drinking alone. Sometimes he would talk to the moon and start crying. When I was little, I didn’t understand, so I would always go to my father at these times. He would wipe away his tears and hug me, never saying a harsh word.”
“Grandfather, now that I’m older, I often feel that my father’s indulgence of us was because he couldn’t get over his conscience and felt guilty towards my mother.”
Xin Jiuwei looked up to see her maternal grandfather, but as soon as she met the old man's eyes, tears welled up in her eyes.
“But if we follow the logic of my father taking the blame, and my mother died to give birth to me, then shouldn’t I be the one who should atone for my mother’s death?”
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