Fortune-Telling Hides a Tang Blossom: Ruan, the Head of the Xie Family’s Darling

Qi Qingruan was born at the very top of the Nine Gates social circle: Qi Tiezui’s beloved granddaughter and Qi Yu’s only daughter, with an aunt who was Yin Xinyue. Her grandfather, one of the old guard of the Nine Gates, doted on her, while the Zhang family compound and the New Moon Hotel were hers to romp around and wreak havoc in. From childhood, she was the treasured darling of the Nine Gates, and whenever she got into a little trouble, the elders would simply laugh and smooth things over for her.

After her father passed away, Qi Tiezui sent her to study under Ninth Master Xie at an early age to keep her safe. By then, Xie Yuchen had already taken charge of the Xie family. He was the “Master Hua” who dazzled onstage with flowing water sleeves and calculated every move offstage. When they first met, Qi Qingruan clutched the peace charm her grandfather had given her and timidly called him “Brother Xie.” Later, she followed him into ancient tombs and through the conflicts of the underworld. She watched him break mechanisms with a slender blade and steady people’s hearts with a line of opera, and her dependence on him slowly blossomed into affection.

When an ancient tomb’s zongzi startled her, he shielded her and brushed the dust from her hair with his fingertips. After she had wreaked havoc at the New Moon Hotel, he helped clean up her mess, chiding her as a “little troublemaker” even as a smile lingered in his eyes. And when she grew drowsy studying the documents Ninth Master had left behind, he would quietly set a bowl of warm sweet soup on the corner of her desk.

The Nine Gates had never known an end to turmoil. When the secrets of her family’s past and the dangers lurking deep in ancient tombs ensnared Qi Qingruan, Xie Yuchen took her hand, his voice gentle but firm. “Qi Qingruan, as long as I’m here, no one will lay a finger on you.” And she, once a little girl who needed protecting, gradually grew into someone who could stand by his side, using the divination arts her grandfather had taught her, the Nine