Just mоments agо, hе hаd bееn engulfed in a rаging furу, but upon hеaring thesе wоrds, it fеlt аs thоugh а basin of сold water had been роured оver him, сhilling him tо thе bоne. Тhе сlаsh оf heаt and cold lеft his bоdy rigid аs iron, unable tо move.
"Yоu..." His eуеs hеld bоth раin аnd hatred. Yin Gеzhi rеaсhеd оut, slowlу traсing his fingеrs toward hеr thrоat. Нis Adam's aрple bobbеd uр аnd down, аnd it took him a lоng whilе tо finallу uttеr а соmрletе sеntenсe: "Yоu even рreраrеd an еsсарe route fоr yourself?"
Feng Yue fоrced a smilе and shrugged, аllowing him tо griр her nеck. She whispered softly, "If I didn’t leave myself a way out here with you, wouldn’t that be the same as seeking my own death?"
She hadn’t planned to let Yin Gezhi discover her identity so soon. After all, she and the books still had many things to do—things that would be easier to accomplish if she kept them hidden from him.
But today’s situation was entirely unexpected. In that kind of scene, every moment she delayed increased the likelihood of her death. And since Yin Gezhi had already begun to suspect her, he likely wouldn’t believe any other excuses she offered. Nor would he take her away immediately.
So she thought, why not take a gamble? Bet on how much affection he truly held for her. Bet on whether he would expose her on the spot or take her away.
Fortunately, she won this gamble. Yin Gezhi’s rationality remained intact. She escaped, avoiding falling into Yi Guoru’s hands.
But she hadn’t won by much. The months of day and night spent together hadn’t left much of an impression on Yin Gezhi’s heart. The look in his eyes now seemed as though he wanted to kill her.
So leaving herself a way out was truly necessary. Even if love burned fiercely, who could guarantee they wouldn’t one day face each other as enemies?
Sighing, she lifted the corner of her mouth. "Your Highness, let’s talk somewhere else."
The person before her didn’t respond. Feng Yue paused and looked up at him.
His face was still icy cold, even more so than ever before. But Yin Gezhi’s lips were pale, so pale they looked as though he were ill. The sight startled her, and she instinctively reached out to touch his forehead.
"Slap!" A crisp sound rang out as he raised his hand and struck hers away. The intense disgust in his eyes was clearer than ever before. "How filthy!"
Her breath hitched slightly. Feng Yue grinned, lifting her skirt as she bowed to him. "This servant has overstepped."
"Since everything has been made clear, why bother pretending like this?" He glanced at her, his words seeming to come with difficulty, yet each one cut like a knife: "Guan Qingyue, you, a dignified female general of the Guan family, shed your battle armor to wear gauze and sell yourself in a brothel. Don’t you feel you’re insulting the soldiers who died in the war?"
Gripping her wrist, Yin Gezhi narrowed his eyes. "What skill. A body of steel and iron—what did you take to render your inner energy completely gone?"
Feng Yue tilted her head, watching his furious, hurtful demeanor, and couldn’t help but laugh. "This servant doesn’t understand what Your Highness is angry about."
Raising her wrist, she slowly rolled up her sleeve, revealing the red silk ribbon she often wore tied around it. She searched for the knot and began to untie it, bit by bit.
He didn’t understand what she was doing, but her words infuriated him. This liar, this person who should have died on the execution platform, after deceiving him and earning his trust, now stood before him, alive and well, saying she didn’t understand why he was angry!
He opened his mouth, ready to mock her, but his vision was blurred by the red silk that fell before his eyes.He remembered this silk ribbon. The first time at Dream Return Pavilion, it had been tied around her wrist. Later, when her hand bones were shattered, even during bandaging, this red silk had not been removed. When he changed her dressing, she had glared fiercely at him.
Why remove it now…
Before he could finish the thought, a hideous scar fell into his sight.
His heart sank. Yin Gezhi stared at the location of the scar, somewhat unable to believe it.
A cross-shaped scar spanning the wrist—as if someone had first made a horizontal cut through the flesh to locate the tendon, then followed the direction of the tendon with another cut, splitting open the surrounding flesh, and finally cleanly severed a section of the tendon. Even if a miraculous healer were encountered, the tendon could never be reconnected.
This was called "martial extraction," a punishment used on martial artists with rebellious intentions. Those who betrayed the Wei Kingdom’s royal family were not allowed to retain their martial arts.
For a moment, Yin Gezhi thought she might be joking, so he reached out, grasped her wrist, and brought it close to examine it carefully.
Yet, the scar was terrifyingly real. Up close, he could almost smell the cold, bloody scent from the Wei Kingdom’s prison.
The blow she had struck against his chest earlier finally registered now. His chest tightened violently, the pain turning his lips even paler.
"You…"
"So, what is Your Highness angry about?" The person before him still smiled, though the smile did not reach her eyes. Her fox-like eyes glanced at him as she whispered, "This servant’s family is ruined, and she has nothing left. She truly has no martial arts and poses no threat to you. Although she concealed some things, it was for the sake of survival. Now that this servant has voluntarily confessed and has no intention of settling old grudges with Your Highness, your frantic anger confuses me… Do you think this servant is cunning for escaping death and plan to kill her again?"
His grip on her hand tightened. Yin Gezhi turned and led her out of the General’s Mansion.
"Your Highness?" Feng Yue reminded him with a faint smile, "This is the General’s Mansion."
Could they just walk out like this?
The person ahead ignored her, his back looking somewhat terrifying. As they approached the rear gate, someone came to stop them. Without a word, the First Prince picked her up and leaped past the group.
"Your Highness, the General has ordered—"
He paid no heed. Yin Gezhi walked swiftly, holding her in both arms, gripping her shoulders and the bend of her knees as if afraid she might escape midway, and carried her all the way back to the Envoy’s Mansion.
"Gan Jiang."
As soon as he stepped through the gate, he called out.
Gan Jiang emerged from the shadows, puzzled by the scene, then bowed and saluted. "Your subordinate is here."
"Did you help her because she is Guan Qingyue, Guan Canghai’s daughter?" Yin Gezhi’s tone was calm, but Feng Yue could see his eyelashes trembling slightly.
Hearing this, Gan Jiang knelt with a thud, looking at Feng Yue in panic.
Feng Yue smiled and waved her hand. "Exposed."
"Your subordinate deserves death!" Gan Jiang kowtowed, burying his head. "Your subordinate is willing to accept punishment!"
Such a loyal person—he had wondered how he could betray him. So this was the reason. He should have realized earlier. Besides himself, Gan Jiang had also received kindness from Guan Canghai!
"Master?" Guan Zhi watched him from the doorway, utterly bewildered. "What happened?"
Yin Gezhi did not reply. He glanced at Gan Jiang once more, then picked up Feng Yue, entered the room, and slammed the door shut with force.Feng Yue was tossed onto the soft couch. She rolled with the momentum, lying down with an utterly fearless air, while Yin Gezhi slowly sat down beside the couch.
"Why did you come to Wu Kingdom?" he asked.
Feng Yue laughed, "To kill people, of course!"
As soon as the words left her mouth, she saw the man's expression darken abruptly. She raised an eyebrow and continued with a playful grin, "Don't be afraid, Your Highness. This servant has no intention of doing anything to you. Most of the people I wanted to kill are already dead. Now, only General Yi remains."
"You don’t want to kill me?" he asked, glancing sideways at her.
Hearing this question, Feng Yue burst into laughter, giggling and rolling around for a while before looking up at him. "Does Your Highness feel guilty, thinking this servant would seek revenge on you?"
Even if she wanted to kill him, it wouldn’t be now. And she certainly wouldn’t say it out loud! Who did he think she was—a fool?
Yin Gezhi pressed his lips together. He had so many questions he wanted to ask, but looking at her face, his throat felt tight, and for a moment, he couldn’t bring himself to speak.
Feng Yue sat up, kneeling properly before him, and spoke candidly, "Since my identity has been exposed, and you can’t kill me anyway, I’ll be straightforward. I narrowly escaped the massacre of my family, and staying in Wei Kingdom was too dangerous. So, I planned to come to Wu Kingdom first and take care of those who deserve to die. If I could find evidence of my father’s collusion with Yi Guoru, I would. If not, I’d return to Wei Kingdom and finish what needs to be done."
"Meeting you was unexpected. After all, I never intended to confront you from the start. You’re cunning and deep, and I was afraid I wouldn’t be a match for you. But since we’ve crossed paths, there’s no retreating—I can only play along. However, from the beginning until now, I haven’t done a single thing to harm you. In fact, I even helped you deceive the Crown Prince of Wu Kingdom. You should be able to distinguish right from wrong, shouldn’t you?"
His clenched fist remained unrelaxed. Yin Gezhi stared fixedly at her, taking in her fearless expression and the slightly nervous yet deliberately composed look in her eyes. A suffocating feeling rose in his chest, refusing to dissipate.
"It was I who sent the evidence of your Guan family’s crimes back to the capital," he finally said, his voice hard. "Don’t you hate me?"
Feng Yue curved her lips into a smile, blinking innocently. "Between Your Highness and me, there is only interest, no love or hatred."
Only interest, no love or hatred.
Yin Gezhi lowered his gaze and suddenly laughed out loud.
"This servant likes Your Highness and wants to stay with you for a lifetime."
"This servant has long admired Your Highness, thinking of you day and night, unable to sleep."
"Because this servant likes you."
Such sweet words, spoken from her delicate red lips, were enough to bewitch a person’s mind. He had told himself not to believe them, yet somehow, he had still fallen for them. Like a fool, he remained stubborn on the surface while softening inside, allowing her to run wild in his heart, unable to bear seeing her hurt or harmed.
And now she said there was no love or hatred.
The esteemed First Prince Yin, who had seen countless women and never placed anyone in his heart, had finally broken free from the shackles of someone three years ago. Yet, unexpectedly, he had fallen into an abyss in the hands of this lowly courtesan.
Truly an abyss!
His head throbbed with pain. Yin Gezhi, his eyes red, took two ragged breaths before closing them tightly and saying harshly, "To me now, you hold no interest, only threat."
"Being a threat that keeps you alive isn’t so bad either," Feng Yue replied with a smile. "After all, General Yi won’t come to a good end, will he?"Too smug. Yin Gezhi shook his head and sneered, "How do you know he won't come to a good end?"
"Because the Crown Prince doesn't want to let him go, and neither do you," Feng Yue narrowed her eyes. "But the Crown Prince certainly won't let him die, and if Your Highness gets his blood on your hands, it'll be hard to explain."
"This matter might as well be left to me, your servant. I have nothing and fear nothing."
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