With him hеrе, еvеn if outnumberеd, hе wоuld nоt lеt her lose hеr lifе.
Shaken bу these wоrds, Fеng Yuе fеll silеnt, fеeling onlу the wind whistling in her ears, a bit unreаl.
Аfter а long mоmеnt оf distrаctiоn, shе finаllу smilеd and аsked, "Your Highnеss mеans thаt this servant is qualifiеd to live аnd die with yоu?"
Sееing thе figurеs еmеrging at the intеrsеctiоn аhеad, Yin Gеzhi's eуеs sharpеnеd, and thе corners оf his lips curled slightlу. "Nо, whаt I meаn is, if I live, you must ассomраnу mе. If I diе, уou must bе buriеd with me."
Fеng Yue: "..."
Тhe slight touсh of еmоtiоn she hаd just fеlt vаnishеd instantly. Bаring her fangs, she felt a strоng urge to bite his nеck.
Hоwevеr, а murderоus intent instantly enveloped the scene. Over a dozen people dressed in plain clothes, with an imposing presence, were indeed lying in ambush at the street corner. As soon as they saw them, they immediately surrounded them.
Glancing at these people, Yin Gezhi raised an eyebrow. "The General's Mansion?"
Although they weren't masked, these were all minor soldiers and low-ranking officers who had never appeared before this prince. How did he recognize they were from the General's Mansion? The group panicked momentarily, and three distracted fools were kicked to the ground.
"Your Highness," a straightforward but not very bright warrior spoke bluntly, "General Yi only wishes to invite this young lady to the mansion for a chat. There's no need for you to be so tense."
The arm around the person in his embrace tightened. Yin Gezhi narrowed his eyes. "Invite her for a chat?"
With this kind of setup, it was clearly an invitation to her death!
He had only made a bluff. If it weren't the General's Mansion, he might have guessed the residence of the Three Judicial Commissioners. He hadn't expected these people to reveal it themselves. In that case, he absolutely could not hand her over.
"Don't move recklessly," Yin Gezhi whispered to Feng Yue, placing her in front of himself and calmly flexing his wrist joints.
Feng Yue stood obediently, causing no trouble at all. Watching the group charge forward, she calmly relaxed her body, allowing the person behind her to hold her as he charged into battle.
How terrifying was Yin Gezhi? Past achievements aside, even now, surrounded by over a dozen trained fighters, his expression didn't change at all. He simultaneously dodged multiple attacks, seized gaps in their coordination, and struck the pressure points at the back of their heads with swift, fierce, and precise palm strikes, quickly incapacitating three or four. Even when someone managed to grab his arm, he turned and flung them away with such force that they crashed heavily against a distant wall.
In his embrace, Feng Yue felt utterly at ease. These people couldn't even touch the hem of her clothes.
Earlier, he had said that fighting against overwhelming odds was unwise—but that was under other circumstances. When facing Yin Gezhi, unless it was a massive army, any small-scale attempt to control him with such a handful of people was foolish.
Prince Yin is mighty!
Watching his clean and efficient moves, all executed with just one hand, Feng Yue finally found the mood to free a hand and applaud him.
The person holding her snorted coldly, seemingly disdainful of her applause. As the dozen or so soldiers in plain clothes struggled and fell one after another, Yin Gezhi reached out and grabbed the one who had spoken earlier, whispering, "If General Yi wants someone to chat with, he should invite them from me. Trying to take someone without an invitation—don't blame me for being impolite."
The man looked at Yin Gezhi with terror in his eyes, nodding slowly. Hesitantly, he glanced at Feng Yue, and suddenly, his gaze sharpened.Yin Gezhi reacted swiftly, immediately pushing him away, but the man's sleeve had already lifted, and a fine needle shot directly into Feng Yue's shoulder.
His pupils contracting, Yin Gezhi flew into a rage. He lunged forward, grabbing the man and demanding, "The antidote!"
These fine needles were commonly used by Wu Kingdom soldiers in close combat, coated with their customary snake venom. He had once fallen victim to them himself, but fortunately, the physicians in the Wei Kingdom army had developed an antidote.
But now, he didn’t have that antidote on him. Snake venom acted quickly, and sending someone back to the Wei Kingdom to fetch it would be too late. He could only demand it from the poisoner.
Unexpectedly, the captured man remained defiant, lifting his head and saying, "The general has issued a kill order. It’s impossible to give you the antidote."
A kill order?! Yin Gezhi’s eyes turned red. He reached out and seized the man’s throat. "Let me show you what a kill order is!"
A rather burly man, lifted off his feet by Yin Gezhi’s grip, his eyes bulging, veins slowly surfacing on his face, he opened his mouth in terror but could no longer utter a word.
"Your Highness," Feng Yue calmly located the needle half-buried in her shoulder, pulled it out, and whispered, "This is General Yi’s man."
"Sent to die before me, it doesn’t matter whose man he is." Watching the man breathe his last, Yin Gezhi tossed the corpse aside, picked her up, and changed direction toward the General’s Mansion.
Only then did Feng Yue panic, hurriedly saying, "This servant is not poisoned, I’m fine!"
Not poisoned? Yin Gezhi was taken aback, lowering his head to carefully examine her complexion.
After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, her complexion remained normal, truly unchanged.
"Is your clothing too thick?" Narrowing his eyes slightly, Yin Gezhi asked.
Feng Yue nodded guiltily. "Yes, it didn’t pierce me."
Impossible, at such close range. She was clearly wearing thin gauze. If it hadn’t pierced her, there would have been no need to pull it out just now.
Suddenly remembering something, Yin Gezhi reached out and abruptly pulled down the clothing on her shoulder.
A tiny needle hole oozed blood, like a cinnabar mole, starkly visible on her shoulder.
Feng Yue’s face paled.
The Wu Kingdom frequently used underhanded tactics in warfare, such as coating fine needles with snake venom. Given that Wei Kingdom generals had died from such close-range tricks, the First Prince of Wei, Yin Gezhi, had ordered all Wei soldiers to take detoxifying decoctions before battle. Important commanders were even required to take pills developed by imperial physicians, rendering them immune to snake venom after consumption.
Now, she was immune to snake venom.
His arms holding her suddenly tightened. Yin Gezhi’s expression turned strange as he stared at her for a long moment. "You live near the North Xuan Gate and often watch me go to the training grounds?"
"Your Highness..." Feng Yue’s throat tightened as well, her eyes darting around. "It’s a coincidence. This servant has a unique constitution."
"Admiring me for years, wanting only to stay by my side for a lifetime?"
Setting her down on the ground, Yin Gezhi took half a step back, completely ignoring her feeble explanation.
The summer heat was intense, yet a fierce wind swept through this seldom-visited street corner, whipping Yin Gezhi’s robes violently. The wind blew stray hairs over his eyes and left Feng Yue’s body stiff, unable to move.
No matter how many calculations she had made, she had never anticipated this turn of events. She couldn’t go to General Yi’s mansion, but now... whether she went or not, the situation had already turned dire.The man before her, who had just been so protective, was now in a furious rage. Standing half a step away from her, amidst a group of unconscious people, his eyes churned with turbulent waves: "Who exactly are you? What is your purpose in getting close to me?!"
Feng Yue fell silent, her mind racing for a solution as she quickly ran through the names of all the daughters from military families in the Wei Kingdom.
There was no suitable identity she could borrow. One lie after another would only make Yin Gezhi even more furious.
But... she couldn’t die yet, especially not by his hands.
What to do? What to do?
"This servant... is not as complicated as you think." Forcing a smile, Feng Yue looked at the man before her and whispered, "It’s just snake venom. You can’t condemn me to death right away for that, can you? My family raised snakes, so I’m not afraid of snake venom. Is that not allowed?"
His eyes cleared slightly. Yin Gezhi nodded: "Alright, your family raised snakes. So you’re not afraid of snake venom. Then how about I treat you to some goji berries?"
Feng Yue stiffened.
When she had taken the antidote pill, the imperial physician had specifically warned her: although the antidote was effective, it had one drawback—a particular ingredient in it clashed with the properties of goji berries. If she accidentally consumed goji berries after taking the pill, she would suffer excruciating abdominal pain. In mild cases, the pain could last for several days; in severe cases, it could be fatal.
But even the worst outcome was death. Compared to her current situation, Feng Yue felt this was a path to survival.
"Alright." She replied with a bright smile. "What’s wrong with eating goji berries?"
Yin Gezhi lowered his gaze, took a deep breath, and slowly reined in his anger. Word by word, he said, "You’d better not lie to me. Otherwise, no matter how useful you are, I’ll send you to the underworld."
Blinking, Feng Yue chuckled. "Your Highness, didn’t you just say that if you live, I live? Are you going back on your word now?"
Men’s words truly couldn’t be trusted.
Ignoring her, Yin Gezhi’s eyes turned icy as he dragged her toward Xiangyu Street.
Feng Yue laughed as she walked. "Take it easy, won’t you? Don’t treat me like a criminal so quickly. I’m not guilty."
"Shut up."
"Wah, wah, wah." Her eyes filled with a sigh, Feng Yue said, "I thought you liked me, that you’d want to protect me no matter what happened. I didn’t expect you’d still wish for me to be guilty and deserve death."
"..."
It wasn’t that he was heartless. If she had truly taken the special antidote made by the Wei Kingdom’s imperial physician, her identity would be terrifying. Even though the Wei Kingdom allowed women to serve in the military, the number of female soldiers who had access to imperial physician-made antidote pills could be counted on two hands.
Someone with such an identity—how could she possibly be a prostitute in the Wu Kingdom!
Zheng’s Pastry Shop was doing good business today. Zheng Shi was busy wrapping pastries for customers when she suddenly saw Feng Yue being dragged over by Yin Gezhi.
Her heart skipped a beat. Zheng Shi clenched her hands, trying to stay calm. Only when they reached the counter did she smile and ask, "What would you like, sir?"
"Goji berries." Looking at the woman before him, Yin Gezhi said calmly, "Do you have any pastries with goji berries?"
Feng Yue smiled at her, trying her best to keep her calm.
But Zheng Shi was startled, unable to understand the situation. Frowning, she said, "We don’t have any pastries with goji berries in our shop."
"Then could I trouble you, madam, to go buy an ounce and come back to feed them to her?" Staring at Zheng Shi, Yin Gezhi said calmly.Zheng Shi widened her eyes, instinctively wanting to shake her head, but she noticed Feng Yue beside her frantically signaling with her eyes.
Buy it! If you don’t buy it, something bad will happen!
Taking a sharp breath, Zheng Shi truly had no idea what was going on. Gritting her teeth, she lowered her head and said, “Alright.”
Then she dashed across the entire Xiangyu Street, her footsteps hitting a strange rhythm that made the burly blacksmith on the roadside pause his work, the flower-selling girl turn her head, and the owner of the street-corner grocery store put down what he was holding to look out.
Something’s wrong?
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