Qin Yi had originally wanted to chop off the hand of the heavily armored brute as he drew his blade, but the prince had stopped the conflict from escalating first. Whether that had been his own intention or the rich young lady's, however, was another matter.
As he stepped into the hall, Qin Yi swept his gaze around.
It was laid out like a council chamber. The brightly lit, double-height interior looked rather imposing, with stairs tucked into one corner and a row of private rooms visible on the second floor. At the moment, there were not many people in the entire hall.
There were several maidservants, a handsome young man in a dragon-patterned robe seated behind a desk, and a pretty girl sitting beside him with her little feet swinging.
Unhurriedly, Qin Yi closed his oil-paper umbrella, shook off the droplets, and handed it to a maidservant nearby before slowly walking inward.
Su Jingsi's eyes were deep as he studied the strikingly handsome youth with great interest. A faint smile hung on his lips, yet an almost imperceptible pressure filled the air. "You have some nerve, daring to lay hands on my people right beneath my eyes. Still, considering that at your age, you can remain unfazed beneath my soul pressure, you may be considered..."
"Hey, what's your name?"
"...Su Jingsi."
The crisp voice, like an oriole's song, cut off the young man in the dragon-patterned robe in the middle of his grand speech. The girl smiled sweetly at Qin Yi. "My name is Su Nuo. Nuo as in soft and glutinous."
His opening was interrupted, and Su Jingsi immediately turned to whisper to his younger sister, so softly it was nearly inaudible, "Can you stop undermining me while I'm talking?"
"Undermining you, big brother? What stage?"
Su Nuo