So what if she's my sister-in-law? You seduced me first.

The commotion was so loud that the people inside naturally heard it too. Ning Yu's body tensed up suddenly, her eyes fixed on the direction of the door, and she almost stumbled and lost her balance.

Grand Princess, is that the Grand Princess's voice?!

The angry shouts and the sound of slaps came through the door. She forced herself to calm down and got up to walk in the opposite direction.

Xie Xun grabbed her arm. "Where are you going?"

"open."

Xie Yan's chest injury prevented him from making any large movements, but seeing Ning Yu's pale face, he was so angry at Xie Xun that his eyes twitched.

A fist came flying, but Xie Xun pulled himself up, grabbed Ning Yu's waist, and forcefully pulled her into his arms.

The violent movement tore open Xie Yan's wound, causing blood to gush out and forcing him to stumble back several steps, almost losing his footing.

"Xie Xun! Let her go!"

Xie Xun raised his cold eyes, gripped Ning Yu's chin, and forced her to look him in the eye. "Do you want me to let you go?"

Ning Yu was so angry that her eyes turned red. She didn't want to pay any attention to him and struggled to push him away.

"If the Princess were to come in and see this situation, she would be furious. Let me go through the side gate."

Xie Xun pinned her to his chest with one hand and called out, "Let them in."

Ning Yu froze, staring at him in disbelief.

The sounds of fighting with swords and spears outside had stopped, and the command quickly reached the ears of the guards.

With a bang, the door was opened, and the person standing outside quickly saw what was happening inside.

The eldest princess, who was at the head of the group, saw the three people standing in the courtyard and her gaze fell on the slender figure facing her sideways. She almost lost her balance.

The old woman rushed forward to support him and glanced inside as well. She was so frightened by just one look that she immediately lowered her head and dared not look any further.

The Grand Princess stared intently at Ning Yu, who was being held tightly by her son. Then she turned her gaze to her two sons, who were locked in a fierce confrontation. When she saw Xie Yan, who had a wound on his chest and a pale face, she couldn't catch her breath and staggered back two steps.

The world suddenly fell silent. For a moment, the courtyard and the surrounding area were quiet, and only the breathing of the three people could be heard.

Ning Yu could feel the gaze fixed on her from behind, as if trying to bore a hole through her. She dared not turn around to meet the gaze, and her beautiful face instantly lost its luster.

The sudden pain from being pinched made the nanny grit her teeth, but she dared not make a sound. Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced at the princess's face. Her once dignified and noble face had lost all its arrogance and was now filled with incredulous anger.

"Close the door and don't let anyone in."

"Yes."

The door was closed again, and Xie Liu, who was standing outside the courtyard, was startled and came to his senses, wiping his face.

He wasn't mistaken, was he? Who was his second brother holding in his arms? Wasn't it his eldest brother's deceased wife, that woman from the Ning family?

He had previously made some jokes when he overheard the third son of the Prime Minister's mansion gossiping while drinking, but he didn't take it seriously.

Today, I suddenly heard that my eldest and second eldest brothers were fighting in the villa, so I rushed over to break up the fight. When I heard that the situation was not good, I brought my troops.

But I never imagined, I never imagined it was because of a... dead woman?!

Inside the courtyard, without their master's order, none of the archers on the walls retreated; they simply put away their arrows and crossbows, their cold eyes watching the situation below with indifferent expressions.

As the Grand Princess drew closer, she became even more certain that she was not mistaken—the Ning family girl was still alive!

Her eyes moved upward to look at her son, who had never caused her any worry, then turned back to glance at Xie Yan, who was pale and wounded by an arrow. She immediately understood what had happened!

Her palms trembled with anger, and her sharp eyes turned to Ning Yu's face, ready to slap her across the face.

You bitch!

"Mother."

Before Xie Yan could even weakly protest, Xie Xun grabbed the Grand Princess's wrist and flung her away, saying, "Mother, you shouldn't interfere in your son's inner court."

The Grand Princess felt a sharp pain in her wrist from being squeezed, her face turning ashen with anger. She cursed, "You bastard!"

Her most proud son, so young yet holding great power and commanding the army, so intelligent and shrewd, how could he be so muddle-headed on the battlefield and in the court!

"You kidnapped her?!" Seeing his silence, the Grand Princess roared in a trembling voice, "She's your own brother's wife! Do you even know what you're doing?!"

She thought her son, who wasn't interested in women, had finally come to his senses and that keeping a woman at the villa wouldn't be a big deal. But she never knew, never would have known, that it was Ayan's wife.

What on earth is going on? When did this damned woman start hooking up with my youngest son? Doesn't she know her place?!

Xie Xun glanced at the woman in his arms, whose head was bowed, and said in a flat voice, "Mother is mistaken. My elder brother's wife is dead. She is mine now."

The Grand Princess felt dizzy and her vision went black for a moment.

She had arranged several concubines for him—beautiful and charming, radiant and captivating, pure and lovely—all kinds, but he didn't fancy any of them.

Later, she stopped caring and thought that once she got married, she would naturally know how tender a woman was. But she never expected that he would be so absurd as to openly steal a woman from his older brother.

Is this still her abstinent and celibate son? She felt like she was dreaming, so absurd that she didn't want to believe it.

Her body, accustomed to a life of luxury, was on the verge of fainting. She angrily sat down on a chair in the yard, glaring fiercely at Ning Yu, who remained silent.

"What's going on? Tell me, what exactly happened?"

Ning Yu lowered her eyelids and remained silent.

Xie Xun pulled her behind him, blocking the Grand Princess's view of her. "Mother, you must be tired from your journey. Why don't you go back to your room and rest?"

Will she be able to sleep if she rests?

The Grand Princess glanced at the silent Ning Yu with a gloomy face, then looked at her two sons. Seeing that Xie Yan's injuries were getting worse, she suppressed her urge to question him and instead scolded him.

"Why aren't you getting a doctor for your brother yet?"

Having lost too much blood, Xie Yan was truly struggling to hold on, but his body, honed by years of fighting, remained strong, and he forced himself to stand there.

"You'd go crazy to harm your own brother for a woman, huh?!"

"Your Highness!"

Ning Yu also noticed Xie Yan's condition and was so frightened that she hurriedly tried to go over to help him, but Xie Xun grabbed her wrist and turned to look at her.

Her body stiffened, and a barely perceptible look of fear and disgust flashed in her eyes.

The Grand Princess didn't notice the two of them. She quickly helped her son up, so much so that she almost fell over. She then asked someone to take him to the nearest guest room.