"This is my choice, my responsibility, and the unyielding backbone of the Iron Household."
Within the waterside pavilion, it instantly grew quiet enough to hear a pin drop.
Only the clouds outside the window curled and unfurled, drifting silently.
The Princess Luan-yang parted her lips. Looking at her friend's expression, she finally swallowed every word of persuasion, letting them become a helpless sigh tinged with defeat.
-She knew that once Tie Qingyao made up her mind, further persuasion was useless.
Seeing that Luan-yang still looked anxious enough to stamp her feet, Tie Qingyao shook her head. Her unhurried voice sounded again, carrying a hint of guidance:
"Luan-yang, how could my Iron Household be unaware of news that has reached your ears?"
"Uncle Tie Ce, who greeted you outside the Ceremonial Gate just now, commands the Divine Capital Garrison Office. How well informed must he be? If he truly thought the situation serious, why would he not mention a single word of it to me?"
Luan-yang froze and blinked, shaking her head instinctively as something clicked in her mind. That's right! What sort of man was Marquis Tie Ce?
If Qing Chen had truly brought a great disaster upon himself, how could the Iron Household remain so calm and untroubled?
"Precisely." Tie Qingyao raised her hand, her fingertips brushing the body of the zither beside the table. Its ice silkworm silk strings gave a faint hum.
"If no one has mentioned it, that means the situation is nowhere near as dangerous as the rumors you've heard suggest. It is merely people with ulterior motives seizing on a pretext and passing distorted rumors around. These are nothing but underhanded tricks unfit to see the light of day, only making them a laughingstock."
She smiled with a composure that saw through worldly affairs,