"Xin Jiuwei." Qi Huaiyu looked at Xin Jiuwei with a gloomy expression. "You're so cunning."
Xin Jiuwei ignored him, only covering her face and crying, as if she was still a little scared.
Xin Yunzhou immediately stepped between them, "What else do you want to do to my sister!"
For a moment, Qi Huaiyu was caught between a rock and a hard place.
"Uncle, I'm truly innocent!"
Mr. Xin asked in a deep voice, "Are you saying that my daughter is making baseless accusations against you?"
Qi Huaiyu gritted his teeth.
This is also part of Xin Jiuwei's cunning! Her public image has always been that of a spoiled and weak woman, so she can say whatever she wants. However, he cannot directly defend himself, since Xin's father is not his father.
Seeing that he didn't speak, the murmurs around him grew louder.
"I never imagined that Young Master Qi would be this kind of person..."
"This is outrageous! Miss Xin is a delicate woman; this could easily lead to someone's death!"
"He usually seems like a proper gentleman, how could he push a young lady off the carriage just because he was angry? That's really ungentlemanly."
"It's possible that he's just faking it all the time."
"Don't even mention Miss Xin, we were all fooled by him."
The scholars who had followed Qi Huaiyu earlier were also present today. They had been moved by Qi Huaiyu's deep affection these past few days, seeing him neglect his meals in his search for Xin Jiuwei, but they never expected things to turn out this way.
For a moment, although they did not say anything about Qi Huaiyu, they all began to doubt his character.
Qi Huaiyu stood there, his face ashen, still trying to think of a way to deal with the situation.
Meanwhile, Xie Changjing, who had been watching the commotion, had already secretly slipped away, fearing that he might betray him in desperation.
Father Xin sighed, "Xi Yao, take your sister back to rest. Someone, take Qi Huaiyu out."
Qi Huaiyu was taken aback, and quickly said, "Uncle! I'm really innocent!"
But no one present believed him anymore; even Xue Yingxue turned her eyes away, seemingly not wanting to have anything to do with him.
Qi Huaiyu was dragged out of the Xin residence. Although the Xin family members were still quite polite and not as direct as Xin Jiuwei had been when she threw Feng Shi away, it was still a great humiliation for Qi Huaiyu in front of everyone.
After everyone dispersed, Liu Qi and Yuan Xiaoshi accompanied the Xin sisters back to their courtyard. While waiting for Xin Jiuwei to change her clothes, Xin Xiyao thanked them again.
"Sister Xin, you don't need to be so polite," Liu Qi said gently. "This matter is really strange, and I was worried about it, so I asked around."
Yuan Xiaoshi said, "Luckily we came, otherwise Jiuwei would have been deceived by Qi Huaiyu for who knows how long!"
Xin Xiyao smiled meaningfully, "I'm afraid someone else has been deceived."
Yuan Xiaoshi looked bewildered. "Who is it?"
Xin Xiyao smiled but didn't say anything, while Liu Qi still had some worries.
"No matter what, Qi Huaiyu is still Xin San's cousin. Even if things get out of hand today, they will inevitably have to keep in touch in the future. Sister Xin, you should be careful of him."
Yuan Xiaoshi chimed in, "Yes! We must be careful of this hypocrite!"
Xin Xiyao frowned. "Who said he's Jiuwei's cousin?"
The two girls were taken aback, and then Xin Xiyao said, "My maternal family has no relation to him whatsoever."
“But he…” Yuan Xiaoshi wanted to say something, but Liu Qi pulled him back.
"That would be even better, then I wouldn't have to worry about Xin San anymore," Liu Qi said with a smile. "It's getting late, so we'll head back now. Sister Xin, please give our regards to Xin San."
Xin Xiyao said goodbye to them. Not long after, Xin Jiuwei came out after changing her clothes, but said she was going to see her father.
"Father went to his study alone. I wonder what he's doing there," Xin Xiyao said. "Do you have something to say to him?"
Xin Jiuwei nodded, "Sister, just wait and see. After today, you won't have to marry Xie Changjing anymore."
Without explaining to Xin Xiyao, Xin Jiuwei went straight to Xin's father.
Xin's father sat at the desk, with no writing brush, ink, paper, or inkstone in front of him, nor did he read any books. He just sat there, lost in thought.
"Father," Xin Jiuwei bowed, "From tomorrow onwards, my sister need not have any further contact with the Xie family, right?"
Mr. Xin looked at her with interest. "You were frightened, and instead of resting, the first thing you said to me was this?"
Xin Jiuwei smiled and said, "The reason I'm so frightened is because of Xie Changjing, isn't it?"
After a pause, she recounted how Xie Changjing had harassed Xin Xiyao in the garden, continuing until she got to the point where he had provoked her to go up the mountain.
“Father, please let my sister go out more. After what happened a few days ago, she must have figured things out by now. Besides, she showed off her music that day, and her reputation has already spread. She may not have the chance to hide her talents in the future.”
"Compared to Xie Changjing, my sister should focus her attention on more important things."
"Besides..."
Xin Jiuwei hesitated for a moment, "Xie Changjing has always been on good terms with Qi Huaiyu and is easily swayed. There's really no need to get entangled with him too much."
Sensing the underlying meaning in her words, Mr. Xin smiled and said, "Qi Huaiyu just did something like that to you, yet you're concerned about your sister first."
“Since my sister and Xie Changjing have only been engaged once and haven’t even exchanged betrothal gifts, wouldn’t it be better to cut our losses in time?” Xin Jiuwei raised her head. “Besides, Father doesn’t completely believe me about me falling off the carriage, does he?”
After pondering for a moment, Xin's father asked, "Since I came back this time, your attitude towards Qi Huaiyu has changed drastically. Why is that?"
Xin Jiuwei bit her lip. "My daughter has just seen through his true colors and doesn't want to be deceived by him anymore."
"If it weren't for the Liu family's daughter today, what would you have done?" Father Xin asked again. "During the days you were missing, Qi Huaiyu did his best for you. In the past, you would probably have been deeply moved."
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