The aftermath of Yun Zhong's betrayal was a quiet earthquake within the Yun family. The patriarch, Yun Zhi, aged a decade overnight, retreating into a grief-stricken seclusion. The day-to-day leadership fell, by default and by Yun Zhi's devastated declaration, onto Ye Xia's shoulders. She was now the acting head of a wounded, suspicious household.
Her first act was one of calculated mercy. She did not have Yun Zhong executed or imprisoned in some dark cell. Instead, she had him placed under strict house arrest in a secluded wing of the estate, stripped of all authority but provided with comforts. It was a message: the Yun family was strong enough to be merciful, but betrayal would not be tolerated. The elders, who had witnessed her power and her restraint, watched her with a new, wary respect.
It was in this tense atmosphere that Yun Ming requested a private meeting in his sunlit conservatory. He was propped up on a chaise lounge, a blanket over his legs, but his eyes were clearer than she had ever seen them, the corrupting energy receding now that the poison had stopped.
"Niece," he began, his voice still weak but firm. "You have done the impossible. You have exposed the rot and given this family a chance to heal. My father's declaration… it was born of pain, but it was not wrong."
Ye Xia sat opposite him, the winter sun casting long shadows. "I never sought to lead, Uncle. I sought a shield."
"And a shield you have become," Yun Ming said with a faint smile. "But a shield can also be a standard, carried at the front of an army. The family needs that now. It needs strength that is not born of brute force and paranoia, as my brother believed."
He coughed, a dry, rattling sound. "But I will not lie to you. My health is broken. The poison has done its damage. I may have a year, perhaps two. I cannot be the head this family needs."
Ye Xia felt a pang of sorrow. In this frail man, she had found the closest thing to a kindred spirit in the family. "What are you asking of me?"
"I am asking you to make my father's words permanent," Yun Ming said, his gaze intense. "Become the true heir. Not just in name, but in deed. Let me guide you, for the time I have left. Let us rule together, you as the sword and shield, I as the conscience. Together, we can steer the family away from my brother's destructive path and my father's fading nostalgia."
He was offering a partnership. A regency. It was a smart, graceful solution that would give her legitimacy and him a purpose in his final days.
"And your brother?" Ye Xia asked. "What of Yun Zhong?"
A shadow crossed Yun Ming's face. "He is my brother. I cannot hate him. He acted from a warped sense of duty. I ask you, as my heir, to defend him. Ensure he is treated with dignity. When the time comes, and our enemies are defeated, perhaps there can be… redemption. Not for his position, but for his soul."
The request revealed the depth of Yun Ming's character. Even after being poisoned, he sought mercy for his betrayer. Ye Xia looked at him, this sickly scholar who possessed a strength of heart she envied.
"I will do it," she said. "I will be your heir. And I will protect Yun Zhong, for your sake."
It was a vow. She had entered the family for protection. Now, she was its protector.