SBTW 7

 Chapter 7: The Iceberg Heir's First Embrace

The corridor of the Court of Judicial Review was eerily quiet.

The bailiffs and scribes who usually shuttled back and forth, and even the handymen carrying water basins passing by, all froze in place as if they’d been hit by an immobilization spell.

Gaze after gaze fell squarely onto the center of the corridor—more precisely, onto their exalted Heir.

Huangfu Ye had always been famously and severely a germaphobe. Normally, let alone getting close to anyone, even a speck of dust landing on his sleeve could cause the air pressure across the entire Court of Judicial Review to plummet for half a day.

Yet right now, he was actually holding a young woman’s hand, and doing so as if it were the most natural thing in the world. He even deliberately slowed his pace, as if matching the odd-looking black-and-white casual shoes on her feet.

The entire corridor was dead silent.

Some bailiffs were so shocked they nearly crashed into a pillar, while others secretly pinched their own thighs, wondering if they’d been on duty too long last night and were starting to dream in broad daylight.

Tian Qiqi, however, was completely oblivious to this impact.

Carrying her oversized pink backpack, she walked with a buoyant, high-spirited bounce and naturally waved at the people passing by.

"The people in your Court of Judicial Review look like they've seen a ghost when they look at us," she tilted her head and whispered with a small laugh.

Huangfu Ye's expression remained as light as ever. "Pay them no mind."

Yet his fingers, hidden beneath the broad folds of his wide sleeves, quietly squeezed her hand a fraction tighter.

Only he knew that until his palm touched her very real, existing temperature once more, the restlessness churning through him for a full twenty-four hours finally settled completely.

The moment they returned to the Chief Minister's official office and the heavy wooden doors clicked shut, those shocked gazes outside were finally sealed away.

Only then did Huangfu Ye slowly loosen his grip.

Tian Qiqi rubbed her wrist, which was warmed from his hold, the smile in her eyes deepening.

"Lord Huangfu," Tian Qiqi deliberately drew out her syllables, smiling like a cat that had successfully stolen cream. "I hear you stood at the entrance waiting for me for a long time?"

Huangfu Ye's footsteps paused slightly, a trace of an imperceptible, faint flush sweeping across the tips of his ears. He quickly withdrew his gaze, turning to walk toward the tea table as his tone resumed its usual calm, self-possessed composure.

"As the Chief Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, ensuring peace in the capital is naturally my duty," he added flatly. "Your origins are unusual, so naturally it requires personal verification."

Tian Qiqi stood her ground with her arms crossed, watching a certain solemnly serious Chief Minister and ultimately failing to hold back a chuckle.

"Alright, alright, I get it," she drawled with a nod. "Official business calls."

Without any intention of calling out the Heir's painfully obvious bluff, she turned and unzipped her gigantic pink backpack.

"Come on, let me introduce you to some genuine cross-era office equipment."

A continuous series of rattling and rustling sounds echoed across the entire office. Crouching on the floor, Tian Qiqi hauled items out of the bag one by one.

A megaphone, a desk lamp, snacks, a high-powered flashlight, a charger, earphones, and a bunch of other small gadgets whose purposes Huangfu Ye couldn't possibly fathom. The entire tea table was filled to the brim in no time.

Huangfu Ye lowered his gaze to look at those bizarre "magical artifacts," harboring a distinct premonition that his office was about to be remodeled into something deeply peculiar.

The first item Tian Qiqi pulled out was a sleek, pure white desk lamp. Its clean, sharp design contrasted starkly with the oil lamps commonly seen in ancient times, instantly commanding everyone's attention the moment it touched the desk.

"Here." She laughingly pulled Huangfu Ye's hand over, guiding him to press the switch.

With a soft click, a soft white glow instantly bloomed, illuminating the entire office as if it were daylight. The case files, inkstone, and even the tiny specks of dust in the corner were rendered crystal clear—no oily smoke, no open flames, and no pungent odor.

A flicker of surprise crossed the depths of Huangfu Ye's eyes. He subconsciously reached out to touch the lamp shade, finding not a hint of heat, yet the light was incomparably brighter than an oil lamp.

"What object is this?"

"An LED desk lamp," Tian Qiqi smiled with a hint of triumph. "It charges in the daytime sun and stays bright for ages at night. You won't have to strain your eyes staring at oil lamps every time you review case files from now on."

As she spoke, she casually dialed the brightness up a notch. "You ancient folks work far too hard at night. Reading case files until midnight every day will ruin your eyes sooner or later."

Standing amid that soft, gentle radiance, Huangfu Ye quietly watched her. This girl always seemed to fixate on the tiniest, most overlooked details.

She wasn't simply showing off these strange mystical items; she was genuinely looking out for him.

The feeling was entirely foreign, yet it made his chest warm up slightly.

"Qiqi," Huangfu Ye called out to her softly. It was his first time dropping the formal address of "Lady Tian." His voice was lower and gentler than usual.

When Tian Qiqi looked up, her eyes lit up brightly. "Oh? Lord Huangfu is actually willing to call me by my name now?"

Huangfu Ye gave a light cough, his expression uncharacteristically awkward. But Tian Qiqi had no intention of letting him off the hook; in the next second, she fished a red-and-black megaphone out of her backpack and placed it on the table with enthusiastic flair.

"This is the main event for today." She patted the megaphone, radiating the pure excitement of someone looking to stir up trouble. "Your Court of Judicial Review's interrogation methods are way too traditional and not efficient enough. I think there's plenty of room for improvement."

Huangfu Ye looked at the smile on her face, and an ominous premonition suddenly pricked at his heart.

Right at that exact instant—

[BEEP—!]

An earth-shattering alarm siren suddenly exploded into the air.

The entire office seemed to shudder along with it. The window paper buzzed violently, dust rained down from the ceiling beams, and even the secret guards on patrol outside stumbled in surprise.

[COURT OF JUDICIAL REVIEW HANDLING A CASE! CONFESSION BRINGS LENIENCY, RESISTANCE BRINGS SEVERITY!]

A colossal electronic roar mixed with amplified echoes blasted outward from the office, instantly blowing the entire Court of Judicial Review wide open.

"Assassins?!"

"His Highness the Heir is in danger!"

"Quickly, men—!"

Chaos instantly erupted outside. A dull thud echoed from the roof—presumably some poor, clumsy secret guard who had lost his footing and tumbled down.

Huangfu Ye, who had been sitting calmly in his grand armchair, for once displayed a fleeting moment of blank shock. He pressed a hand against his ear; for the very first time, the usually composed Chief Minister felt like his brain had been blown into a daze by sheer noise.

Tian Qiqi, meanwhile, was laughing so hard she could barely stay on her feet. After switching off the megaphone, she leaned back and forth, casually tapping Huangfu Ye on the shoulder.

"Isn't that super impactful? Put that next to them during interrogations from now on, and the results will definitely be mind-blowing."

After a long silence, Huangfu Ye finally closed his eyes in resignation.

"Qiqi, if the Court of Judicial Review were truly renovated according to your methods, I fear that within three days, the entire capital would believe a heavenly tribulation had descended."

Tian Qiqi laughed even more merrily. "Isn't that great? It builds deterrence."

While the outside world remained in an uproar, the office grew lively with a warmth it had never known before, fueled by her uninhibited laughter.

Huangfu Ye gazed into those eyes that always shone as bright as if they harbored starlight.

Unawares, all his rigid rules, boundaries, and defenses seemed to have long been battered loose by her, piece by piece.

"That's right," Huangfu Ye spoke up suddenly. "The Du family treason case has concluded. The imperial court awarded one hundred taels of gold, alongside a pair of suet white jades."

Pausing for a moment, his gaze settled on Tian Qiqi. "I have already had them sent to your quarters in the backyard."

Tian Qiqi blinked in initial surprise, her eyes instantly widening to an astonishing degree. "One hundred taels of gold? And suet white jade?!"

She nearly leapt into the air on the spot. The look she shot Huangfu Ye was precisely the look one reserves for a walking, breathing mountain of gold.

Watching her look as though she were about to be blinded by the mere thought of gold, the corners of Huangfu Ye's lips finally betrayed a smile. "Mn."

Unable to contain her excitement any longer, Tian Qiqi took a step forward and threw her arms around Huangfu Ye in a hug. "Lord Huangfu, you are literally the greatest client in the entire world!"

A warm, soft body crashed unexpectedly into his arms, and Huangfu Ye froze completely for a fraction of a second. A faint shampoo fragrance blended with her familiar sweet scent washed over him, completely enveloping his senses.

It was a distance he had never allowed before—a closeness he was least accustomed to. Yet when the person in his arms giggled with upturned, crescent-moon eyes from sheer happiness, he couldn't summon a single ounce of repulsion in his heart.

Following a brief moment of stiffness, Huangfu Ye lowered his gaze and finally raised his arms, his movements still carrying a touch of awkwardness as he carefully pulled her into his embrace.

Leaning against his chest, Tian Qiqi could distinctly hear that usually steady heartbeat pounding with heavy, powerful thuds against her ear.

And as Huangfu Ye looked down at the bright-eyed, smiling young woman cradled in his arms, the trace of gentleness in his eyes could no longer be hidden away.

From today onward, the cold, blood-stained days of the Court of Judicial Review were truly, completely going to change.

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