Tie Ci heard the voices outside and her heart tightened.

Was County Magistrate Li conducting a city-wide search? Making such a big commotion? They’d already searched their way to Fuchun Tower so quickly?

She’d originally thought that with such a disturbance, Feiyu would surely come in quickly to take her to hide, but Feiyu didn’t appear.

Tie Ci frowned.

Had something happened?

She didn’t know what medicine had been used, but it was very effective—though it likely contained numbing agents, as her body was numb and couldn’t move.

One hand was injured, leaving only her right hand mobile.

She reached out to feel around and indeed found a protrusion under the blanket, pressing down hard.

The bed board flipped over. At the moment of rotation, she grabbed the bed’s edge, preventing herself from falling.

With her current injuries, falling would cause her wounds to burst open, and that would be the end.

Now she was on the bed’s underside, with pitch darkness below. Her nose caught the fishy scent of earth and another vaguely familiar smell.

Then she felt a slight breeze, which surprised her somewhat.

Brothels often faced raids from wives coming to catch their husbands, so to let clients visit with peace of mind and no worries, many courtesan rooms had secret passages, most conveniently located under the bed.

Though Tie Ci had long dwelt in the deep palace, with Chi Xue as her know-it-all companion, she naturally understood these things.

However, such passages were usually just dug as hiding places, but the one beneath her seemed to have considerable space and even ventilation. With ventilation, there should be an exit.

This thought flashed by, and Tie Ci didn’t think much about it. She closed her eyes and silently recited an incantation.

Years ago, her master had opened her extraordinary meridians and assisted her in cultivating true qi, but at the time, to compete for the Crown Princess position, the process had been rather rushed. Afterward, her master said that her meridians had rashly endured tremendous force, leaving hidden dangers, though he couldn’t determine how severe these dangers were or what consequences they might bring in the future. Her master therefore taught her a reverse true qi cultivation method, for use when her meridians suffered serious blockages that couldn’t be resolved—she could then practice this method to attempt breaking through the blocked acupoints.

When her master first gave her this method, he repeatedly warned that unless facing life-or-death circumstances with dire situations and absolutely no hope, she must never practice it. Because even her master had never practiced this method and didn’t know its consequences—if any problems arose, even her master couldn’t resolve them.

Strictly speaking, this moment might not have reached the point of desperation, but Tie Ci was bold—she disliked this feeling of complete bodily loss of control. Her childhood experiences had taught her to most despise “lack of freedom,” whether mental, lifestyle, or physical.

Outside, there were faint movements—someone had broken down the door.

Tie Ci reversed her true force. The powerful true qi she’d cultivated through years of bitter practice flowed along a thin meridian never before explored, rushing backward toward that major acupoint.

Like a giant dragon squeezing into a thin, soft tube, the tearing agony it brought was unbearable to ordinary people—like ten thousand fish-scale knives constantly gouging viciously within the meridians, as if inflicting death by a thousand cuts. Wherever it passed, flesh and blood became mangled, then were forcefully repaired by true force. The meridians continuously split and mended, leaving countless fish-scale marks invisible to the naked eye.

Though the weather wasn’t hot, sweat poured from Tie Ci’s forehead in streams, pattering down onto the earthen ground.

Tie Ci didn’t even dare tremble, fearing the bed board would make noise. Her fingers dug fiercely into the solid wood, fingertips bursting with blood, staining that patch of wood red.

The commotion outside grew louder—the intruders were searching. Footsteps had already approached the bedside.

Tie Ci closed her eyes. Her entire body suddenly shuddered violently, and within her body came a thunderous roar as massive waves churned, breaching the dam and surging back, transforming into countless gentle streams that tenderly caressed the scarred riverbed.

Tie Ci opened her eyes.

In the darkness, faint trace of golden light flickered by.

In that instant, a phantom suddenly appeared before her eyes—like the shadow of a palm—then vanished.

She was startled.

How could she see this in the darkness? Where did this palm shadow come from?

Suddenly, banging sounds came from overhead, as if someone was tapping the bed board, testing whether there were mechanisms beneath.

Tie Ci’s entire body tensed.

The opponent was very experienced.

After one tap, as if sensing something, he tapped twice more.

Then he stood up, nodded to the person behind him, indicating there was space below.

The person behind looked outside—Feiyu stood at the doorway, showing half her face, making eye contact.

Her expression was ambiguous, seeming to smile yet not smile.

Still unaware that brothels had such mechanisms—but this person was surprisingly familiar with brothel tricks.

The young men of the capital were quite romantic indeed.

Earlier, when she couldn’t find the person, she’d been stunned for quite a while, truly unable to imagine where someone could go after the wound medicine was mixed with numbing drugs.

The man who’d detected the mechanism below, to confirm where the person actually was, half-knelt beside the bed, pressing his face to the bed surface to listen.

Feiyu’s expression changed, about to call out to stop him, then remembering she shouldn’t make noise lest the person below hear her. She kicked out a small stone.

But it was already too late.

That man’s face had just touched the bed surface.

With a “crack” of penetrating sound, wood chips and cloth fibers flew as a pale fist suddenly and extremely fiercely penetrated the thick bed board and three layers of bedding upon it, appearing violently beside that man’s head. The hand instantly changed from fist to palm, seizing that man’s throat!

The next instant came a tremendous crash as half the bed board was knocked flying. The thick wooden board smacked down precisely on the two men following toward the bedside. They cried out in alarm, blood streaming down their heads.

A figure emerged from beneath the bed board, sitting on the remaining half, hand still tightly gripping the earlier man’s throat, dragging him up as a shield, laughing: “Stand still.”

The others had just rushed forward when this sudden and violent turn of events startled them into stumbling and freezing.

Sitting on the bedside was naturally Tie Ci. Breaking through the acupoint had also allowed her to barely move. That one uninjured hand gripped the opponent’s throat tightly—probably few people in this world could pry it open.

She sat rigidly upright, her body stiff, her attack vicious, yet her tone was light and smiling: “You’re not county office people. Speak—who sent you?”

Several people looked at each other, not expecting her to immediately see through their disguise as government officers.

“If Ziyang’s officers had your skills, they wouldn’t be unable to solve even one murder case.” Tie Ci flicked her fingers against her captive’s neck—each flick made him convulse once. “I know their nature. Either they’d know brothels have tunnels and head straight under the bed without searching around, or they wouldn’t know and wouldn’t think to tap the bed board.” She narrowed her eyes. “You should come from a rather secretive organization—one that presumably acts very meticulously. You walk quietly with soft-soled shoes, and when standing, each person automatically seeks the most suitable position, forming mutually supporting angles. This shows you’re well-trained and frequently face enemies… Your organization’s style is presumably quite ruthless, because your soft-soled boots have hard objects in the middle—I guess those are thin blades.”

With each sentence she spoke, the surrounding men’s faces grew more tense.

“All of the above is nonsense. I made it up.” Tie Ci suddenly smiled. “Actually, there’s just one flaw—you’re all wearing masks. Do government officers need to do that?”

Those people were stunned, all feeling their minds couldn’t keep up with this person. Those words weren’t made up, and wearing masks wasn’t something immediately noticeable—their masks were specially made, extremely ingenious, and could fool anyone.

After a long moment, one person said coldly: “You hold our brother hostage—what do you intend?”

“That’s what I should be asking you.” Tie Ci observed these people’s expressions. “I sense you don’t actually want to kill me, so you shouldn’t be Li Yao’s people. You surround but don’t kill, seeming more interested in me personally. But an organization appearing in Ziyang at this time… I find it hard to believe you have no connection whatsoever to Li Yao’s affairs…”

The men on all sides lowered their eyelids—this person was too perceptive. They feared that one more movement would be interpreted by her to reveal their identity.

From outside the window came the rolling sound of a stone falling. The room fell terrifyingly quiet for a moment.

Tie Ci suddenly stopped speaking and smiled: “Let’s make a deal. You withdraw and don’t interfere with Ziyang affairs anymore. I’ll release this brother of yours and promise not to pursue you. How about it?”

Silence filled the room, while trees rustled outside the window.

After a while, a man who appeared to be the leader suddenly smiled and said: “You’re very capable… We don’t want to be your enemy either, but you don’t seem very trustworthy, so we’d like to choose another way to discuss this deal. For instance, using your savior’s life to exchange for our brother’s life, and for you to leave Ziyang immediately. How about that?”

He waved his hand, and Feiyu stumbled into the doorway with two blades pressed tightly against her neck.

Seeing Tie Ci, she immediately cried out piteously: “Young Master, save me!”

The black-clad man behind her laughed coldly: “Master Mao, this young lady saved you from danger and hid you in a fragrant tower. Can you bear to abandon her and let her fragrant soul perish?”

Tie Ci blinked: “Yes, I can bear it.”

Black-clad man: “…”

“…This is your savior!”

“So what about my savior? Since she saved my life, it shows she’s kind and good, hoping I’d live. If I ultimately still lose my life because of her, wouldn’t that make her rescue pointless? How could such a kind person be willing to let that happen? Wouldn’t it be better to save someone completely? How could I bear to make such a kind person feel bad? Don’t you think that’s reasonable, brother?”

Black-clad man: “…”

I’m speechless.

“Besides,” Tie Ci said kindly, “Miss Feiyu herself said that I wasn’t actually saved by her, so there’s no life-saving debt. Naturally, I can’t be expected to trade my life for it. At most, I’ll burn more incense for her in the future, definitely remember to burn paper money annually, and offer three sacrificial animals during festivals. I think Miss Feiyu should be quite satisfied with that.”

The black-clad man said through gritted teeth: “We just want to trade back our brother’s life!”

Tie Ci: “No trade.”

Black-clad men: “…”

We suspect you’re stirring up trouble.

“Why won’t you trade!”

“Can you just burn a life-saving talisman casually?”

Feiyu raised her eyes, looking pitiful and astonished: “Master Mao, you… you actually won’t save me!”

“Miss,” Tie Ci sighed, “It’s not that I’m unwilling to save you, but that I cannot. Go in peace…”

The atmosphere in the room grew tense. Obviously, the black-clad men were also confused by Tie Ci’s refusal to play by the rules. The leading black-clad man instinctively cast his gaze toward Feiyu’s face.

His gaze had just turned halfway when Feiyu suddenly struggled and cried: “This humble woman is like drifting catkins, fallen into the dust—naturally just a cheap life, not worth a noble person’s slightest concession…” As she spoke, she tilted her head, rushing toward the blade at her neck.

With this collision, the black-clad man acted greatly surprised, both blades deflecting away. Feiyu stumbled and fell out. Naturally, Tie Ci wouldn’t miss this opportunity—she immediately leaped up, still dragging her massive hostage as she flew. She seemed to lightly swing her hand, tossing the hostage out to block the frontmost black-clad man, while her other hand pulled Feiyu toward her. Feiyu cried “ai ya” and crashed into her embrace.

Tie Ci’s thrown hand flashed back like lightning in a perfectly fluid circle, pulling the tossed hostage back again.

In this advance and retreat, she and Feiyu cooperated seamlessly. By the time those people reacted, Feiyu was already in her arms and the hostage still in her hands.

Then Tie Ci said coldly: “Get out!”

This time the black-clad men were very obedient, saying nothing and immediately withdrawing. A moment later came the sound of going downstairs. Tie Ci dragged her hostage to the building’s edge and saw several figures leap and vanish into the tree shadows.

She glanced sideways at the hostage beside her. The man’s forehead was beaded with sweat as he slowly clenched his jaw.

Before his teeth closed completely, Tie Ci suddenly reached out and pushed, saying: “Get lost!”

Caught off guard, the man was pushed and fell from the second floor, rolling on the ground before scrambling up and looking up at her in alarm.

Tie Ci just smiled without paying attention and turned around.

The moment she turned, Feiyu’s fingers slightly flicked out—a gesture commanding departure.

That man took a deep look at Tie Ci’s back and left.

On the second floor, Feiyu caught up to Tie Ci in surprise: “Young Master, you worked so hard to capture that hostage—why just let him go like that?”

“If I didn’t let him go, he would have committed suicide the next moment.” Tie Ci said flatly. “Obviously, he comes from an organization with harsh and terrible rules. The consequences of betraying the organization would be worse than torture and death. Since I’m destined not to pry open his mouth, why create unnecessary killing?”

Feiyu was stunned for a moment before saying: “I didn’t expect that Young Master, coming from aristocratic nobility, would also cherish the lives of such lowly people.”

“Lowly people are still people, with hands and feet just the same, with strength and will, equally capable of contributing to the Great Qian’s various enterprises and creating wealth.” Tie Ci said lightly. “So unless they’re utterly evil, everyone’s life should be cherished.”

What she really wanted to say was: Under heaven’s expanse, is there any land not the king’s? To the borders of the realm, are there any who are not the king’s subjects? Since they’re all my subjects, losing even one is a loss—of course I cherish them all.

Feiyu seemed somewhat surprised, her gaze flowing as she looked at her very seriously.

Tie Ci smiled, knowing her thoughts might differ from her own, but not intending to say more.

She wasn’t an ordinary man or woman managing worldly fires in this mortal realm—she was the Crown Princess. These worldly trifles, gains and losses of affairs, shouldn’t be placed on her life’s scales. What she should have in her heart was this beautiful realm, the common people crying for sustenance, the territory of the four seas, abundant grain and sufficient soldiers.

Standing high, one must see far—that’s all there is to it.

“However, I’m now certain,” she turned to smile at Feiyu, “that the organization these black-clad men belong to, and their leader, are definitely not good things.”

Feiyu: “…”

The taste of listening to someone curse you to your face while having to smile and agree was quite refreshing.

After Tie Ci’s acupoint breakthrough, her awesome moment lasted only briefly. Now her whole body was sore and weak. Though the numbness had improved somewhat, pain was clamoring. She barely managed to support herself back to the room, found her clothes and put them on. Fortunately, Feiyu had kept all her things, not even touching the accessories. When Tie Ci put on her brush pendant ornament, Feiyu said curiously: “I’ve never seen anyone use a writing brush as a jade pendant—Young Master is quite unique.” She spoke while curiously reaching to touch the brush.

Tie Ci handed the brush over, saying: “An elder at home gave it to me. I treasure it greatly, so I carry it with me. Actually, it’s not really a brush—it’s more or less an ornament.”

She spoke candidly, making Feiyu hesitant to take it. After looking carefully twice, she smiled: “Jade shaft and golden tip—it matches Young Master very well.”

Tie Ci smiled and put it away. This item wasn’t ordinary—even if Feiyu studied it, she might not be able to figure it out.

This was given by her master. Since it was relatively portable, she carried it with her. Her other belongings were still hidden in the county office dormitory.

Feiyu gazed at the sweat on her forehead for a while, saying: “Master Mao, please rest. I’ll prepare some food for you.”

Tie Ci opened her eyes: “Miss doesn’t blame me for refusing to save you earlier?”

Feiyu said softly: “Naturally I blame you, so I’m preparing to poison you.”

Tie Ci smiled: “I look forward to it very much.”