Quite саutiоus indееd. Yin Gezhi couldn't hеlр but claр lightly. "Guan Zhi, hаvе уоu еvеr seen а woman like this?"
Guan Zhi shook his hеаd, then аfter а mоmеnt оf thought, аskеd sоmеwhаt cоnfusedly, "What kind оf wоman?"
"Нer kind—the tyрe who сlaims to hаvе аdmirеd уоu fоr yeаrs but is аctuаllу dеeрly wаrу of yоu, whilе freеly indulging in intimacу with others." Hе сlоsed his еyes slightly, his gаzе dаrkening аs hе lооkеd аt the nеwlу plаnted trеes outsidе. "Hеr оrigins аre unсlеаr, hеr methods arе many, and her motivеs are impurе."
That sоunds quite dаngеrous, Guаn Zhi remarked. "Since you know so many of her flaws, why still let her handle matters?"
"Those with ability—why waste them?" Clenching his hand, Yin Gezhi lowered his gaze. "She is ruthless enough to use her own body as a bargaining chip. So why should I pity her?"
Glancing at him, Guan Zhi couldn't help but say, "Master, there's something I'm not sure if I should mention."
"If you're not sure if it's necessary, then it isn't." Yin Gezhi said, "Don't say it."
"...But, were you so angry earlier because Feng Yue offered herself to Zhao Xi?" Guan Zhi continued. "However, Zhao Xi said he barely touched Feng Yue at all. He fainted as soon as he entered the study and knew nothing afterward."
His body stiffened, Yin Gezhi looked up at him and said, "Have you become so idle that you even investigate such trivial matters?"
"It wasn't something I specifically looked into. Our people overheard it when Zhao Xi was explaining to Zhao Lin." Guan Zhi explained. "Feng Yue is very clever, and her timing was perfect. She took advantage of Zhao Lin's absence from the estate to target Zhao Xi, and she went prepared. She even brought knockout drugs, so obtaining the item went smoothly."
With a cold laugh, Yin Gezhi raised his eyes to look at him. "If he didn't touch her, then where did the marks on her neck come from? Do you believe Zhao Xi's excuses too?"
Guan Zhi scratched his head, unsure how to respond.
The room fell silent for a while. He thought the matter was over and there was no need to discuss it further, but unexpectedly, his master spoke again, his tone somewhat strange:
"Besides, if she didn't offer herself, why would she speak so harshly?"
It was she herself who said it—offering herself to one person is the same as offering herself to a crowd. When she can use her body to gain something, why should she remain chaste? Such words—if she hadn't actually done such a thing, who would curse themselves so harshly?
Awkwardly twitching the corner of his mouth, Guan Zhi hesitated and said, "I was listening outside the door at the time and didn't know exactly what the two of you were arguing about. But from what I heard... Master, it was you who spoke harshly first."
Was it?
Yin Gezhi frowned, quietly recalling for a moment, then fell silent.
"Actually, if you only see Feng Yue as an assistant, then how she does things shouldn't matter to you at all. But you got angry, and quite fiercely at that." Rubbing the bridge of his nose, Guan Zhi said, "I've wanted to remind you for a long time, Master. You quite like Feng Yue. Since you like her, why always bully her...?"
"I bully her?" The First Prince's tone was utterly disdainful. "Which of your eyes saw me bullying her?"Can't see it, they always closed the door when bullying! Guan Zhi sighed, "This subordinate does not mean to interfere with your personal affairs, but... Miss Feng Yue seems to have it hard. Since your interests align and she hasn't betrayed you, perhaps you could be a bit more lenient."
Lenient? He had always been quite lenient, never harshly reprimanding anyone. It was just recently... perhaps due to too many matters, his temper had become somewhat irritable, and his words weren't very gentle.
Originally, he had intended to treat her well, to make her devoted and willing to serve him. But this minor disruption had made him forget that original intention.
Slightly annoyed, Yin Gezhi stood up, about to call Feng Yue back, thinking the task was too difficult for her. Just then, he heard someone knocking outside.
Guan Zhi hurried to check and heard someone say, "By order of the Crown Prince. Prince Yin is invited to the tea shed outside the north gate for a meeting."
The Crown Prince? Guan Zhi turned around and saw his master already walking out, cupping his hands in acknowledgment. "Very well."
Given their current good relations with the Crown Prince, Guan Zhi didn't think much of it. He picked up his sword to accompany his master, but heard him say, "You stay."
There was still Lingshu in the mansion. Feng Yue wouldn't take her along when she went out, and without anyone watching, that little girl would surely run wild in the mansion. If she bumped into something, it wouldn't be good.
Understanding, Guan Zhi nodded in agreement and watched as his master followed the messenger on horseback, quickly disappearing from sight.
Feng Yue returned to Dream Return Pavilion. As soon as Mama Jin saw her, she pulled her into a small room and glared, "You must be careful! Many people are looking for you!"
"I know." Feng Yue smiled at her. "Someone is protecting me, so I'm not worried about losing my life."
"You mean the First Prince Yin?" Mama Jin shook her head. "I've heard rumors that he has offended many people lately and is a powerless hostage. Someone wants to target him."
Her smile stiffened. Feng Yue thought for a moment and said, "His martial arts are excellent. Ordinary people who try to target him won't gain anything."
"So you should be even more careful." Mama Jin said, "Even when picking persimmons, people choose the soft ones!"
If they don't target Yin Gezhi, then they'll target her? Feng Yue snorted lightly. She came and went without a trace—who could possibly corner her?
However, facts proved that one shouldn't be too confident. Before she could even voice this thought, the door of the small room was kicked open!
Feng Yue looked up at the group of people dressed in plain clothes but with unfriendly expressions. She grinned, slipped something into Mama Jin's hand, then stepped in front of her and winked at the group. "Gentlemen, here for fun?"
The group of gentlemen ignored her, grabbing her and dragging her out!
"Hey, hey, hey, let's talk this out nicely, be gentle!" Making a fuss, Feng Yue shouted at the top of her lungs, "In broad daylight! Forcibly abducting a respectable... bah, forcibly abducting a woman!"
Everyone in the building instantly rushed out to watch the commotion, even the cleaning aunties came out. Seeing Feng Yue being taken away, one of them grabbed a dustpan and followed them out.
Perhaps because she was too noisy, the soldiers took a cloth strip and gagged her. So Feng Yue could only glare at them.
Marshal Zhao had clearly been placed under house arrest, yet he could still send people to capture her. Yin Gezhi was right—the forces behind this man were truly formidable.Would she be taken to the imperial prison? Or perhaps some private dungeon? She pondered this all the way, never expecting these men to actually drag her straight out through the North Gate. Right under the noses of a group of North Gate guards, they bound her and marched her directly out of the city.
Turning back to cast a deep glance at the North Gate, Feng Yue had nothing to say, only wanting to give it a big thumbs-up. Impressive! They didn’t even bother to question her!
But why were they taking her out of the city?
The sky inexplicably darkened. When Feng Yue reached the woods, she saw many people forming a circle. The atmosphere was heavy.
A bonfire party? So they tied her up to make her dance around the fire? They could have just said so—she would have come on her own.
The cloth strip over her mouth was torn off, and a fierce-looking man beside her shouted, “Call out to him, or I’ll kill you!”
A gleaming knife was pressed against her neck. Feng Yue quickly said, “Call out to whom? You should at least let me see clearly before—”
A gap opened in the circle. She looked up and saw that what the crowd was surrounding wasn’t a bonfire—it was Yin Gezhi.
“You’re here too?” Feng Yue exclaimed with delight. “What a coincidence!”
Yin Gezhi: “…”
This utterly foolish woman—didn’t she confidently claim she would handle things properly? Yet she accomplished nothing and ended up being captured instead?
Laughing, she suddenly sensed the tense atmosphere. Feng Yue blinked, looking at Yin Gezhi, then at the leader-like man beside her, and whispered, “Big brother, what’s going on?”
Without looking at her, the leader pressed the knife against her neck and growled at Yin Gezhi, “If you resist any further, she dies first. I heard you’re quite fond of this little beauty.”
“You heard wrong,” Yin Gezhi said indifferently. “Even if you kill her, I won’t do as you wish.”
Feng Yue immediately understood the situation and said with exasperation, “Are you all stupid? With so many of you, are you still afraid of just one man? Fight him! Even two fists struggle against four hands! Enough ants can kill an elephant!”
The leader was stunned, looking from Yin Gezhi to Feng Yue. Something felt off—this didn’t look like the rumored deep, illicit affair at all. It seemed more like they were facing a sworn enemy.
“Ah, you big men fighting—what’s the point of tying up a weak woman like me? Won’t it make you a laughingstock in the underworld?” Glancing at him with a mix of complaint and reproach, Feng Yue said, “Big brother, listen to me. Have eight of your men attack his left side, eight attack his right, and the rest surround him. Even if he’s a monster, you can overwhelm him! If that’s not enough, add some arrows or hidden weapons!”
Surrounded on all sides, Yin Gezhi said with a dark expression, “You’re quite quick with your ideas.”
“You flatter me,” Feng Yue stuck out her tongue at him and sneered. “If it means killing you, I can offer even more ideas.”
“Don’t let me catch you, or you won’t keep what’s on your neck.”
“Come on, hit me!” Rolling her eyes, Feng Yue wore an infuriating expression. “Too bad you’ll die before me today!”
Listening to this back-and-forth, the leader was completely dumbfounded, even suspecting his men had captured the wrong person.
But before he could think further, Yin Gezhi on the other side truly grew furious and charged straight toward Feng Yue, looking as if he really intended to kill her.
The little beauty shrieked and stomped her feet, crying out, “Big brother! Protect me!”The leader beside him instinctively shouted, "Stop him!"
Could they stop him? Feng Yue smiled, watching with great confidence as Yin Gezhi seized weapons and cut through the crowd like chopping cabbage.
There was a gap between Jianghu assassins and battlefield generals. Yin Gezhi was accustomed to facing many alone, while Jianghu fighters were more used to one-on-one duels. Thus, when the two sides clashed, the larger group found themselves constrained and clumsy.
Yin Gezhi was exhilarated, just like back at Wangxiang Tower. The sight of blood made him tremble with excitement, like a newly sharpened sword. Stabbing a blade into a heart and pulling it out, blood splattering across his face, his eyes burned even more fiercely.
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