(Yuan Kezhen's POV)
The Yuan estate had not changed.
Three years away, and still the walls stood quiet, dignified, unmoved.
The carved beams, the stone walkways, the sweeping tiled roofs bathed in a warm spring glow — everything looked exactly as he remembered.
Yuan Kezhen walked through the gates with his aide and the butler at his side.
The butler spoke rapidly, almost tripping over his own words.
"Master Kezhen, Madam will be delighted. We were told you would arrive tomorrow—"
"We would have prepared—"
"Your room has been kept spotless—"
He nodded, acknowledging their reports without particular interest.
He had planned to visit his mother first.
A brief stop.
A greeting.
Then a few quiet days before departing again for Shanghai.
His schedule was set.
His future was set.
He didn't expect anything unusual.
Which was why the sudden sound of a gasp across the courtyard caught his attention.
But only barely.
Not enough for him to stop walking.
Just enough for his gaze to shift.
And then—
he saw it.
--
THE SCENE
A girl knelt in the middle of a spreading puddle of dirty water.
Soaked from head to toe.
Her braid heavy, dripping.
Her sleeves clinging to thin arms.
Her skirt darkened with mud.
Nearby lay two overturned buckets.
And not far from her —
Qingling and Qiuhe stood frozen, their expressions collapsing into dread.
Two maids knelt behind them, trembling violently.
The butler's face blanched.
He whispered hoarsely, "Young Master… this—this isn't typical—this—"
Kezhen didn't respond.
He didn't need to.
His silence had always been heavier than raised voices.
His aide stepped forward urgently.
"Young Master… it appears some improper conduct occurred. Shall I—"
Kezhen didn't answer him, either.
Instead, he simply observed.
--
KEZHEN'S ANALYSIS
He examined the scene the same way he would a debate question or a political puzzle:
an overturned bucketa girl kneeling in filthsisters looking guiltyservants terrified
He noted details automatically:
The girl's clothes were plain, but immaculately tended.
Her posture — even drenched — was straight, disciplined.
Her hands trembled.
Her lashes clung together with water.
And her eyes—
They lifted, just slightly, toward him.
Wide.
Soft.
Long- lashed.
Terrified.
Not the eyes of someone who expected rescue.
The eyes of someone who expected nothing at all.
Something inside him irritated faintly —
not at her, but at the sight.
A soft exhale escaped him.
His brow furrowed.
Just barely.
But in the Yuan estate…
that small movement cracked like thunder.
--
EVERYONE PANICS
The butler nearly collapsed into a bow.
"Young Master, forgive the disgrace—! This was a foolish mistake—childish temper—please allow me—"
Qingling paled further.
Qiuhe stepped behind her, shivering.
The two kneeling maids pressed their foreheads to the stone.
Kezhen didn't speak.
Still observing.
Still assessing.
His aide swallowed hard.
"Young Master… should I remove the offenders—?"
Still nothing.
He wasn't ignoring them.
He simply didn't engage until he had understood everything.
Finally, his gaze returned to the girl.
She blinked through wet lashes.
Her face was as delicate as a painted scroll.
Her shoulders quivered under the weight of humiliation.
She looked… familiar.
Someone mentioned—
Ah.
The princess.
Wan Li.
His former intended.
A political arrangement that meant nothing now.
A symbol of a dynasty that would never rise again.
The engagement, in his mind, had dissolved with the empire.
If this was her—
she held no weight in his future.
No power.
No claim.
No usefulness.
But the scene—
the cruelty, the chaos, the disrespect—
that required correction.
Not because of who she was.
But because he refused to walk past injustice.
Even if he was indifferent to the people involved.
--
THE COMMAND
With a slight tilt of his chin, he addressed the butler.
His voice was soft.
Even.
Controlled.
Exactly as always.
"Those two."
He didn't point.
He didn't need to.
Everyone knew which two.
The butler stiffened.
"Y–Young Master?"
Kezhen's expression didn't change.
"Punish them."
The words fell like a stone into still water.
Immediate.
Solid.
Unarguable.
The maids gasped, bowing until their foreheads hit the ground.
"Young Master, forgive—!"
"We didn't mean—!"
Kezhen didn't look at them again.
They had already ceased to exist to him.
THE SISTERS
He turned slightly — just enough that his gaze brushed past Qingling and Qiuhe.
Not anger.
Not scolding.
Just the weight of someone who saw through everything.
It was enough.
Both sisters bowed instantly.
"T–Third Brother…"
"Welcome home…"
He didn't reply.
Their shame was answer enough.
--
THE GIRL IN THE WATER
His eyes returned to Wan Li.
She stared at him — breath held, body trembling — as if the entire world had narrowed to just this moment.
Her cheeks were flushed with humiliation.
Her lips trembled.
Her fingers curled against her sodden skirt.
She looked small.
Fragile.
Breakable.
And unbearably quiet.
He finally spoke —
not to comfort,
not to soothe,
but to correct the imbalance before him.
"Stand."
Just one word.
Calm.
Even.
Unemotional.
But to Wan Li —
it sounded like rescue.
It sounded like being seen.
Su Yan rushed forward, grabbing Wan Li's arm, bowing repeatedly.
"Young Master, thank you—thank you—Miss Wan Li was not at fault—"
But Kezhen had already turned away, uninterested in dramatics.
His aide hurried after him.
The butler scrambled into action.
The sisters remained frozen with shame.
The guilty maids were dragged aside.
And Wan Li—
Wan Li pressed a trembling hand over her pounding heart.
Her breath came too fast.
Her chest felt too tight.
Her cheeks burned.
Her vision blurred with overwhelming emotion.
He defended me.
He punished them.
He saw me.
Something bloomed painfully inside her chest.
A feeling she didn't have a name for.
Only a whisper:
Mother…
He is everything you said he would be.
I think…
I think I've fallen in love.