His Rui

"Heng…"

Yi Jie's voice sounded in the darkness of the room.

"Hmm"

General Li hummed in response in a low voice.

"Did something happen?"

The question made General Li go stiff slightly but then he composed himself as he tried to answer his wife calmly

"No. Why are you thinking so?"

As he said this, he held Yi Jie in his arms while lying on the bed.

Yi Jie held his free hand and said softly in a voice that was filled with concern.

"You seem upset since the moment you have come back."

General Li sighed as he tried to assure her

"I am fine. Don't overthink."

However, this time Yi Jie didn't pretend as if she didn't know anything and said in a slightly angry tone.

"Don't lie to me. You can simply say that you don't want to tell me. It's not like I will force you. I have never done that before. But you should not lie to me when you are really upset."

General Li was surprised.

He was worried when he sensed the anger in his wife's voice and had wanted to say something but before he could do so, Yi Jie said firmly

"I am sleeping."

General Li sighed as he continued to have her in his arms and didn't say anything else. He didn't want to tell her what happened and also knew that nothing could comfort her.

So he could only let her go to sleep and hope that she would not be angry tomorrow.

Soon he could hear his wife's even breathing indicating that she was asleep. However, General Li couldn't sleep for a long time.

All the words that Xi Ying had said to him in the past along with what Rui said to him today continued to ring in his ears.

Today he saw all the questions in his daughter's eyes, she never asked him. He could feel her silently blaming him for something she never did before …perhaps that's why he had been so ignorant.

Until today, he defends himself by saying that he did everything to protect Rui, his wife, and his clan.

However, at this moment he couldn't help but question himself.

In his desperate attempts to keep his wife unaware of everything, did he push his daughter very far away from himself?

She respected him but she didn't even seem to trust him as much as she trusted Xi Ying who knew about her life more than him now.

The sleep never visited General Li's eyes as he continued to think of all this.

.

.

.

Early morning, Xi Ying woke up and looked at the asleep Li Rui in his arms.

Last night, he had let Xi Ling sleep in a separate room and asked Liu Lan to be there so that he would not push the blanket away like before.

He didn't want Xi Ling to ask incessant questions seeing Li Rui's red eyes as he knew that she was not in the state to answer.

Seeing her still swollen eyes, Xii Ying sighed in distress.

He carefully removed his hands from her waist and then left the room.

Outside the room, Xi Ying called for Li Hua and ordered that she should take some water and cloth into the room when Li Rui would wake up.

After that, he went to wash up.

Xi Ying went to practice swordsmanship for some time.

He was thinking of returning early so that he would be there when Rui would woke up.

As soon as he stepped out of the courtyard, Xi Ying found Gu Li standing there.

"Prime Minister Xi"

Xi Ying nodded his head in acknowledgment.

Last night, General Li had let the old Master and Gu Li stay in Li Manor.

Gu Li and Xi Ying walked together when Gu Li said directly

"I had wanted to say that if you are making any plans against Zhao Wang Lei, then Youxio would like to extend every possible help."

This was something that Gu Li had promised Li Rui.

That was why he had wanted to come to the Imperial City. However, he had been hesitant to leave his master alone.

Now that they were here, Gu Li wanted to complete his promise. He didn't feel comfortable with the fact that someone out there wanted to kill Li Rui.

Li Rui was Mi Luan…the young boy he had considered as his brother. He couldn't save his brother but wouldn't let anything happen to Li Rui.

Xi Ying stopped walking when he heard Gu Li's words.

He looked at Gu Li for a few moments. After so long, he finally trusted Gu Li. However, was it wise to include Youxio in their plan?

He didn't want anyone to know that Xi or Li Clan had any kind of relations with Youxio which was the criminal organization in the Xin Empire.

It could put his wife in great trouble.

After a few moments, Xi Ying's eyes suddenly flickered and he was relaxed.

"This Lord indeed needs Youxio's help."

Gu Li was happy when he heard that.

When Xi Ying told him what he needed to do, he nodded his head seriously and said

"Youxio promises Prime Minister Xi no one will be able to harm Li Rui or any other member of Xi Manor as long as Youxio will protect Xi Manor."

And with that, Xi Ying finally solved the problem that had been plaguing his mind for a long time.

.

.

.

Today Xi Ying didn't find General Li training the soldiers,

It was Li Qiang who was training them.

Xi Ying practiced swordsmanship for some time and then went back to the courtyard. When he stepped inside the room, he found that Li Rui was awake and Li Hua also entered the room with cloth and water.

Xi Ying took the tray from Li Hua's hands and waved his hand to dismiss her. Li Hua looked at her silent mistress.

She was slightly reluctant to leave but left in the end.

In the past she had always been there to assure her mistress whenever she would be upset regarding Li Zhan Jiejie or Li Mei's death.

However, time seemed to have changed now.

Looking at how Xi Ying wiped her mistress's swollen eyes gently, Li Hua sighed and left the room in the end.

Xi Ying didn't ask Li Rui anything.

He never asked her why she was crying yesterday. He didn't ask her to stop crying yesterday.

Li Rui would cry very rarely and he also knew that it was rare for her to cry in front of anyone else.

She had bared herself in his presence yesterday and he wanted to provide her all the comfort he could.

"How do you feel now?"

He asked gently as he massaged the area under her eyes.

"Better."

She said calmly.

Xi Ying smiled with relief but his heart was filled with concern looking at her pale face. Last evening had surely put her under emotional stress …something he had been protecting her from all these months.

Xi Ying blamed General Li for this.

Perhaps that's why when Li Rui asked him

"Ying, can we go back to Xi Manor today?"

He immediately said yes.

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General Li had just gotten ready for the Imperial Palace when a maid came running and informed him that Li Rui and Xi Ying were leaving Li Manor.

Yi Jie who was seated on the bed was shocked and suddenly stood up from the bed.

"Leaving…so suddenly?"

As she said this, she had already left the room to go to Li Rui's courtyard while General Li looked at his wife's back with a blank face.

A moment later, he silently followed her.

In Li Rui's courtyard, Li Hua looked relieved when she saw Yi Jie running toward her mistress' room.

It was she who had asked the maid to inform General Li of this news.

Li Hua didn't know what happen suddenly that her mistress wanted to leave Li Manor so suddenly, however, she wished that everything could be solved at the earliest.

And hence, Li Rui who had been intending to inform her mother a little later about this was surprised when she saw her at the doorstep.

Xi Ying was holding her hand and was saying something when Yi Jie suddenly entered the room and immediately asked Li Rui

"Rui, are you leaving?"

Surprise flickered through Li Rui's eyes while Xi Ying calmly left his wife's hand.

Looking at her gently, he said

"We will leave once I will be back. Don't worry about anything. Arrangements will be made by Liu Lan and An Shing."

Li Rui nodded her head and Xi Ying left.

While Li Rui looked at her mother and then at her father who had just stepped inside the room.

To leave the manor, she needed to make her mother understand.

Yi Jie was surely very shocked and panicked by the news as she stepped forward and held her daughter's hand while asking

"Rui, is it because of something that I did? Did I anger Prime Minister Xi again? Mother can apologize but don't leave so early."