Chapter 14: Chapter The night inside the Xi Manor had grown even heavier after the Crown Princess incident.
When Xi Jianyu and Xi Wenzhe finally returned, they did not go to rest.
Instead, father and son walked straight into a smaller private hall where the core members of the Xi family had already gathered.
The atmosphere inside was tight and serious.
No one was speaking freely anymore.
Even Xi Yunchen, who usually never stayed quiet for long, was sitting properly for once with his arms crossed, his expression unusually focused.
Xi Qianqian kept glancing toward the entrance, her fingers unconsciously gripping her sleeve.
Xi Lanyin stood near her mother, while Xi Ronghua and Gu Zhen sat together with unusually stiff expressions. The younger children were kept closer to the adults than usual, as though the entire family was afraid of what they might hear next.
The door finally opened.
Xi Jianyu entered first, followed by Xi Wenzhe.
The moment they stepped in, everyone stood up at once.
"Father!"
"Duke!"
But Xi Jianyu only lifted his hand slightly.
"Sit."
Everyone obeyed immediately.
A heavy silence followed as both men took their seats.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Xi Wenzhe finally broke the silence.
"It is true."
The hall instantly became even quieter.
Xi Qianqian frowned.
"What is true?"
Xi Wenzhe’s gaze swept across the room.
"The Crown Princess was almost assassinated tonight."
A sharp intake of breath spread through the hall.
Xi Yunchen straightened immediately.
Xi Ronghua slammed her hand lightly on the table.
"So Su Yueqing was right again..."
Xi Jianyu’s voice cut in coldly.
"She was not guessing."
That one line changed the entire atmosphere.
Xi Yunhao narrowed his eyes.
"You mean... everything she said in her thoughts was real?"
Xi Wenzhe nodded once.
"The assassins were disguised as mountain bandits. The same group we encountered earlier."
A heavy silence fell again.
Even the servants outside the hall seemed afraid to breathe.
Xi Lanyin slowly spoke.
"Then... the diversion she mentioned..."
Xi Jianyu’s expression darkened.
"It was real."
The hall grew colder.
Xi Yunchen exhaled slowly, leaning back slightly.
"So she really knows the future."
Those words hung in the air for a moment.
Then Xi Qianqian suddenly spoke, her voice lower than before.
"Does that mean... something bad will happen to our family too?"
No one answered immediately.
Because everyone already knew the answer.