The Bai clan's great hall was filled with oppressive silence. Tall pillars of black jade reflected the light of golden lamps, and the crest of the Bai family—a soaring crow clutching a flame—loomed high above.
Lady Bai Gu stood in the center, head lowered, her silken robe clinging to her tense frame. Her brother Bai Rui was to the side, his face flushed with righteous anger as he recounted his complaint.
"Father! Our Bai family's prestige is already being questioned because of Mo Han daring to draw his sword at me in the streets. And now, Gu… my own sister, a daughter of the Bai family, was seen chasing him in half-clothed shame, begging him for his touch! How can we endure this humiliation? If word spreads further, where will my face go?" Rui's voice cracked with fury.
The elders shifted uneasily. A daughter of the Bai family begging? Even a rumor like that could shake the city's perception.
