With her delicate face and slender waist, the royal uncle lost control.

She turned to look at Qin Senyao, whose expression was complex, and nodded slightly, her attitude distant yet polite: "Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. The affairs of the Yun family are my own family matters, and I dare not trouble Your Highness with them."

Then, she turned her gaze to Qin Jiuchen, who was sitting in a round-backed chair.

She curtsied slightly toward Qin Jiuchen, "Thank you for your help, Your Highness. I am deeply grateful. However, this is the inner courtyard of the Prince's residence, and I am afraid that staying here will be a disturbance. I will take my leave now."

After saying that, she looked away from everyone else and whispered to Qiluo beside her, "Let's go back."

Qin Senyao saw that she looked so weak that she would collapse if a gust of wind blew her away.

Ultimately, she was his soon-to-be wife. If she were tormented to death by the Prime Minister's mansion before marrying into the family, or if she were to suffer from some serious illness, it would be a disgrace to Qin Senyao and the Ningxiang Prince's Mansion.

He blurted out, "Yun Nian, don't rush off. Your body is in such a state; how can you withstand any more exertion? Just rest properly in the guest room of the Prince's Mansion. Don't go back to the Prime Minister's Mansion for now."

He paused, then added, "If the Prime Minister's residence is really as Qi Luo described, I'm afraid you won't receive good care when you go back."

These words revealed a genuine concern.

However, as soon as he finished speaking, Qin Jiaxue, who had been standing quietly to the side, spoke softly.

"Brother, your intentions are good, but perhaps this is inappropriate?"

She frowned slightly as she looked at Yun Nian, "Sister Nian'er is not yet officially married. If she stays in the Prince's mansion, what will people say about her?"

"A woman's reputation is of utmost importance. By doing this, brother, aren't you putting sister Nian'er in the eye of the storm? It might attract even more criticism, which would be detrimental to her."

Her words were impeccable, showing consideration for Yun Nian's "reputation" at every turn, but they were like a bucket of cold water, instantly extinguishing the sense of responsibility that Qin Senyao had just begun to feel.

Qin Senyao hesitated as expected.

After a moment, he murmured, "Xue'er is right, I didn't think it through. Yun Nian, you should go back to the Prime Minister's residence to recuperate. I will have someone send some good medicinal herbs over."

Yun Nian sneered inwardly, but her face remained calm and unfazed by the outcome.

Just then, a maid came to announce from outside the door, "Young Master, Miss Xue, the Old Madam requests your presence."

Qin Senyao nodded and said, "Yun Nian, you go back first. I will send someone to the Prime Minister's residence to take care of you."

After saying this, he bowed to Qin Jiuchen and took his leave, then left with Qin Jiaxue.

After Yun Nian waited for him to leave, she repeated to Qi Luo, "Let's go."

Seeing her young mistress struggling to stay upright, Qiluo was both anxious and pained. Finally, she couldn't help but cry out, "Miss, please think it over! With your injuries, they definitely won't let you off easily once you go back. They'll surely find all sorts of ways to torture you. I beg you, even for your own sake, please stay for now!"

"That's enough!"

Yun Nian interrupted her sharply, "Qi Luo, how many times have I told you, don't talk nonsense, don't speak ill of the master! I know what I'm doing!"

Her tone was resolute, carrying an unquestionable command.

After saying that, she broke free from Qiluo's support, took unsteady steps, and headed towards the door.

"Wait a minute."

Suddenly, Qin Jiuchen's calm and aloof voice came from afar.

Yun Nian's steps suddenly stopped.

After a brief silence, she slowly turned around.

Her face was as pale as paper, but her eyes, washed by tears, were exceptionally clear.

Qin Jiuchen stood up and slowly walked towards her.

He stopped three steps away from her and looked down at her.

Do you want to stay?

He spoke, but his voice betrayed no emotion.

Yun Nian was taken aback.

She instinctively turned her face away, avoiding his overly sharp gaze, and replied as if in a huff, "This isn't a matter of whether I want to or not. In the end, I didn't have a choice."

Qin Jiuchen did not shift his gaze. "I will now give you a choice."

Yun Nian turned her head and her gaze met his eyes.

His gaze was so deep and intense, as if he could easily see through all her pretense of vulnerability and scheming.

He gritted his teeth.

She met his gaze. "I don't want to."

Qin Jiuchen's eyebrows twitched almost imperceptibly, but a playful smile slowly curved his lips: "Are you out of your mind?"

His gaze swept over her arm, his expression suggestive.

A faint trace of sadness flashed in Yun Nian's eyes, but it disappeared in an instant. "I've endured all these years. Now there's only one month left."

"Besides," she paused, her voice lowering, "I don't want the prince to misunderstand me again, thinking that I have ulterior motives and am deliberately trying to get something from you."

Qin Jiuchen's ambiguous smile deepened. He leaned forward slightly, closing the distance between them. "It seems I've misunderstood you?"

Yun Nian was enveloped by his approaching aura, her heart slightly flustered, but she forced herself to remain calm.

She bit her chapped lower lip hard. "I understand that Your Highness is suspicious. Besides, given my status..."

She gave a self-deprecating laugh. "Indeed, I am not worthy of Your Highness's trust. Nian'er has nothing to say."

She took a deep breath, as if trying to suppress all the bitterness and helplessness in her chest, but her eyes welled up with tears again uncontrollably.

"Nian'er has always known that the Prime Minister's residence is not my home. I originally thought that the Prince Ningxiang's residence could be Nian'er's future support. But..."

She shook her head, and glistening tears finally rolled down her cheeks. "In the end, it was just Nian'er's delusion."

She forcefully wiped away her tears, looked at Qin Jiuchen again, and said calmly, "Your Highness, don't worry. I won't cause you any trouble, and you don't need to worry about my 'ulterior motives.' I'm very grateful for your help at the Princess's residence last time. I've never blamed you."

At this point, her tears flowed even more freely. "How could I blame you?"

"No one has ever stood up for me when I was wronged and accused by everyone. Your Highness, you are the first."

How could I blame the prince?

Qin Jiuchen pursed his thin lips and looked at her quietly.

It was as if he was carefully discerning the authenticity of every emotion in her words, or as if he was pondering something.

Yun Nian stopped looking at him, lowered her head, and said in a voice as soft as a sigh, "I'm leaving now."

She held onto the door frame, trying to step over the threshold.

Qin Jiuchen suddenly said.