Stаnding аt thе сеll door, Fеng Yuе, whо wаs stаlling the jailer, suddеnlу felt a strаnge gust of wind blоw оut frоm insidе, sеnding а chill down hеr spine.
She glanced bасk but saw nоthing unusual. Таррing her hеаd, shе соntinued smiling аt the nearbу jаiler: "Sir, hаve some mоre. I madе these with mу оwn hаnds."
Dаzzlеd bу hеr boundless bеаuty, thе jаilеr grinned fоolishlу, his еyes fiхеd on hеr as he stuffed thе pastries intо his mоuth.
Whеn Yin Gezhi еmerged, he sаw this sсеne оf а fооl аnd а temрtrеss staring аt eаch othеr.
"Young mаstеr," Fеng Yue grееtеd him with а smile upon sеeing him.
Glancing at her, Yin Gеzhi grabbed her аnd walked аwaу, еxрressionless. "It's done. Let's wait for Shi Chong outside."
"Ah, yes. But..." Stumbling along behind him, Feng Yue gritted her teeth and smiled. "I'm not a kite. You can't make me fly by dragging me like this. Why not let me walk on my own?"
"You walk too slowly."
Slow? Feng Yue bristled at this. Shaking off her delicate lotus steps, she lifted her skirt and sprinted forward, darting out in the blink of an eye. "Who's slow?"
The wind she stirred up sent Yin Gezhi's dark hair flying. Having just accomplished his task, the First Prince, in a good mood, glanced at the figure ahead, took a breath, and flashed forward to catch up.
"Quite the runner."
The cool voice, like ice, tinged with a hint of disdain, "thudded" onto Feng Yue's head as she ran wildly.
Startled, she turned her head and saw someone with fluttering sleeves running gracefully beside her, glancing at her sideways. "That swaying, three-step walk you usually do—was that an act?"
Feng Yue grinned against the wind. "How could it be an act? There are rules for everything, and I just follow them."
"Is that so? Then you don't need to run this fast now."
"I'm not running, I'm just walking quickly! Are you perhaps out of breath, unable to keep up? Then I can drag... no, I can support you as you walk."
Yin Gezhi pursed his lips, looked at her, and indeed extended his hand. His slender fingers and slightly rough palm stirred something in her heart.
Holding your hand...
He dragged her away!
Without a word, she grabbed him, trying to run faster, hoping to make him stumble or something!
However, reality proved she was too naive. The moment he took her hand, a cold smile flashed in Yin Gezhi's eyes. He no longer held back, speeding up and dragging her into a brilliant trail of dust.
An Shichong was waiting at the side gate when he suddenly felt something rush out from inside.
"Move aside!" Pulling his attendant aside, covering his mouth and waving away the swirling dust, An Shichong frowned as he looked in the direction of the rolling cloud. "What happened?"
His sharp-eyed attendant exclaimed in astonishment, "Prince Yin is pulling a maid... running away, eloping?"
Having agreed to meet at the side gate but running off privately could indeed be called eloping. Yet something felt off. An Shichong stroked his chin, thought for a moment, and said, "Never mind. It seems Master has something urgent. Let's go ahead."
"Yes."The gentle breeze of late March caressed the willow-lined riverbank, where the water flowed softly and the willows swayed gracefully. Beneath a particularly scenic willow tree stood a young man dressed in black, tall and elegant. With a gentle gaze, he looked down at the green-clad girl lying on the ground and kindly asked, "Tired?"
What a stupid question! I’m lying on the ground panting with my tongue out—of course I’m tired! Feng Yue gritted her teeth in frustration, trembling as she tried to tidy her disheveled hair. Taking a deep breath, she lifted her face and forced a smile. "Not tired."
Yin Gezhi nodded thoughtfully. "Then let’s walk a bit more?"
"You go ahead," Feng Yue replied through clenched teeth, her smile strained. "I’d like to enjoy the scenery."
Leaning against the willow tree, Yin Gezhi remarked, "Those who refuse to yield often end up with broken bones."
His words were meant to tease her—she was clearly exhausted, and a little softness would have sufficed, yet she stubbornly insisted on defying him.
Unfortunately, Feng Yue was someone who had indeed suffered broken bones. At his words, her expression shifted abruptly, her eyes flashing with a sudden surge of hatred so fierce that even Yin Gezhi was taken aback.
"What’s wrong?"
I can’t give myself away. Feng Yue took a deep breath, calming herself inwardly. I mustn’t get too worked up. What he said is true—it’s exactly the principle. It’s because I refused to yield that my hands ended up like this.
Stiffly shifting her gaze, she noticed movement in the distance and quickly seized the opportunity to vent her frustration. "Someone’s beating another person! In broad daylight, how outrageous!"
Still unsettled by her earlier glare, Yin Gezhi studied her for a moment before turning to look in the direction she pointed.
Indeed, someone was being beaten—a farmer, by the looks of it, wielding a shoulder pole with a menacing air as he struck a young woman. Nearby onlookers rushed forward to intervene and pull them apart.
The young woman was already bleeding profusely, a pitiful sight. Yet the farmer remained unappeased, intent on continuing his assault.
Yin Gezhi had little interest in ordinary brawls among commoners, and Feng Yue lacked the energy to meddle in others’ affairs. She merely wanted to divert the young master’s attention, hoping he would overlook her earlier inappropriate reaction.
Just as Feng Yue was getting up to change the subject, a sharp cry pierced the air along the riverbank: "Stop!"
The voice was all too familiar, drawing Yin Gezhi’s gaze back to the scene.
Yi Zhangzhu charged into the crowd with her maidservant in tow. After assessing the bleeding young woman and the aggressive farmer, she angrily demanded, "Is there no law anymore? Do you intend to commit murder in broad daylight?"
The crowd fell silent, sizing her up and noting her fine attire before choosing not to speak.
The bleeding young woman immediately took refuge behind Yi Zhangzhu, sobbing, "Save me!"
Well, with Lady Yi the Bodhisattva here, of course she’ll save the day. Feng Yue felt the matter was as good as resolved. But when she turned around, the man beside her was gone.
Looking again, she saw him walking toward the young woman. Hah, he didn’t even hesitate, despite having run so far earlier.
Narrowing her eyes, Feng Yue crossed her arms and watched as he approached Yi Zhangzhu from behind, his tone gentler than ever. "Zhangzhu, what brings you here?"
The moment Yi Zhangzhu saw him, her face lit up with a smile. She quickly pulled him closer and explained, "I was just passing by and saw the commotion, so I came to see what was happening."
Then, turning to the farmer, she demanded, "What are you doing?"The farmer, eyes brimming with grievance, glared fiercely at the girl behind her and said, "This is my newly wedded wife, who killed my sixty-year-old mother on her sickbed! I was just taking her to the authorities when she said my mother was wasting food alive and deserved to die! That's why I hit her..."
The crowd listened in shock. Yi Zhangzhu frowned and said, "Even if she was wrong, you shouldn't have hit her. Besides, why did she harm your mother? Shouldn't you ask clearly before sending her to the authorities? You're husband and wife!"
Feng Yue listened, her lips twitching involuntarily.
Yin Gezhi, however, remained completely calm, not finding anything wrong with what Yi Zhangzhu said. Instead, he stood behind her like a protector.
With him there, Yi Zhangzhu felt even more confident. Frowning at the farmer, she said, "Besides, your mother is already gone. Do you want to lose a wife too? How can you act like this? Family matters should be settled at home. What's the point of hitting someone on the street?"
"That's right, what kind of man hits a woman?" the onlookers chimed in. The girl hiding behind them cried even more pitifully, "His mother was so sick she couldn't get out of bed. She couldn't speak or move, needed help with everything, and still had to eat. There wasn't much food at home to begin with. How could we afford to feed her..."
Yi Zhangzhu turned to scold her, "Even so, you shouldn't have done it this way. Don't ever do something like this again!"
The girl sobbed and nodded.
This was truly an eye-opener! Feng Yue clicked her tongue, thinking that if the farmer had beaten this girl to death, would her family still not be able to file a complaint? After all, if the daughter was already dead, they couldn't afford to lose a son-in-law too, right?
Do girls raised in boudoirs have brains that grow differently from those of people like her who eat dust? The farmer was wrong for hitting someone, but the girl was clearly more malicious. Instead of sending her to the authorities, they wanted the farmer who had just lost his mother to forgive her?
Seeing that neither of them spoke anymore, Yi Zhangzhu felt the matter was resolved. She cast a compassionate glance around and was about to tell the two to go home when she noticed a maid-like figure standing not far away, rolling her eyes. She looked somewhat familiar.
"Miss Feng Yue?"
Spotted, Feng Yue immediately clasped her hands at her waist, bowed her head, and curtsied. "Miss Yi."
Yin Gezhi glanced at her, his eyes filled with disdain again, but he still followed Yi Zhangzhu to stand before her, eyeing her pretentious posture.
"What are you doing here?" Yi Zhangzhu looked her up and down in surprise. "Have you turned over a new leaf?"
Remembering Sun Li, Feng Yue forced a smile, glanced at Yin Gezhi, and said nothing.
Yin Gezhi said calmly, "My residence is short of a cooking maid. She often goes there to help."
Did he redeem her? Yi Zhangzhu frowned, feeling instantly displeased. She glanced at Feng Yue, pulled Yin Gezhi aside, and whispered, "Brother Yin, if you need someone to cook, why not find anyone else? Why her?"
"Her cooking is delicious."
"The cooks in my residence are definitely better than her!" Stamping her foot, Yi Zhangzhu said, "I don't really like her, Brother Yin. Don't get too close to her."
"Oh?" Yin Gezhi turned to look at Feng Yue and asked with interest, "What don't you like about her?"Frowning tightly, Yi Zhangzhu said, "She's alluring and seductive, not very proper, likes to flirt with people, and lacks any sense of shame. Someone like this, in Brother Yin's residence, would only bring you disgrace."
His eyes flickered slightly, but Yin Gezhi remained silent.
Just by looking at their expressions, Feng Yue could guess what the two were muttering about. She pouted, suddenly feeling a bit of interest. She tugged at the neckline of her dress, tightened the belt around her waist, then fluttered her handkerchief as she sidled up to Yin Gezhi. Her voice curled with a coquettish tone: "Young master~ Shouldn't we be heading back to the residence? This servant still has to serve you well tonight."
As soon as these words were spoken, Yi Zhangzhu's face immediately turned ashen. She glared at Feng Yue as if looking at a monster.
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