Xiao Li looked at her, his eyes threaded with bloodshot lines from a day and night without sleep, his lips cracked and peeling from dryness.

He seemed to have forgotten where he was, forgotten that his body was still bound by heavy black iron shackles and chains. He took a step forward, continuing to walk toward her, his pitch-black eyes seemingly unable to see anyone or anything except Wen Yu.

The Azure Cloud Guards quickly pulled the iron chains taut with force, dragging him back hard as they shouted: “Insolent!”

Seven or eight Azure Cloud Guards combined their strength, finally forcing him down onto one knee, yet his eyes, filled with savage intent, still stared unblinkingly at Wen Yu. His Adam’s apple slowly moved as he spoke in a hoarse voice: “I’ve been searching for you for so long, Wen Yu.”

Though restrained to this extent, the oppressive and threatening aura he gave off was still extremely intense, as if what was bound beneath those chains was some kind of fierce beast.

Wen Yu looked at him in this state, her lip line slightly flattening, though her face still showed no emotion, her tone remaining shallow and distant: “Oh? Does Mister Xiao have matters to discuss with this palace?”

Xiao Li’s jaw slowly clenched tight as he asked the answer he had sought her out for a day and night to obtain: “The child—it’s ours, isn’t it?”

Except for Tongque, all the Azure Cloud Guards in the tent were utterly shocked. Though they all knew Wen Yu’s child wasn’t Prince Chen’s, the identity of the child’s biological father had always been a mystery.

Hearing Xiao Li ask this now, their first reaction was anger at how he dared to offend Wen Yu so. But when they realized that the timing of Wen Yu’s return from the Northern Frontier last year aligned perfectly with the month she became pregnant, the eyes of each guard staring at Xiao Li nearly burst into flames.

Wen Yu’s gaze lingered long on the bird and flower embroidery patterns on her wide sleeves. After a moment, she raised her head and said calmly: “Mister Xiao really knows how to jest.”

Xiao Li seemed not to believe her answer. The savage intent in his eyes intensified as he hid all his wounds behind that forcibly maintained cold hardness, stubbornly continuing to present the evidence he’d found: “Then why do you still keep those wood carvings in your palace?”

Tongque looked toward Wen Yu with concern, but heard Wen Yu say lightly: “A’Zhao and Tongque initially thought they were things I’d dropped after being attacked, so they brought them all back.”

She looked at Xiao Li: “Moreover, Mister Xiao wrote that they were a gift for this palace’s child’s first birthday. This palace and Mister Xiao haven’t reached the point of being irreconcilable enemies in the past, so why would there be any need to avoid keeping this first birthday gift?”

Her voice was so gentle, yet it was the sharpest knife in this world.

The bloodshot color in Xiao Li’s eyes nearly overflowed together with his pain. After a long while, he said: “I treated you that way—why didn’t you just kill me when leaving the palace?”

“Perhaps because… this palace has always held grudges.”

Wen Yu stood up and slowly walked before Xiao Li, lifting his coldly chiseled jaw: “Whatever Mister Xiao did to this palace, this palace will return to Mister Xiao exactly the same.”

Her fingertips were slightly cool, her eyes like a lake shrouded in misty fog—extremely clear, extremely cold, yet making it completely impossible to see into their depths.

Because of this forced head-raising posture, the chain attached to the black iron collar around Xiao Li’s neck was pulled, making the heavy sound of metal collision and also revealing the bite mark on his neck that was half-hidden by the black iron collar.

His gaze was so fierce, painfully mad, staring intensely at the beautiful woman before him, as if once he broke free from his restraints, he would devour her whole, flesh and bone together.

He was not a fierce dog awaiting taming, but a savage wolf that unless he chose to submit of his own accord, no one could ever hope to approach.

He said: “The Princess will regret her decision not to kill me.”

“Regret?”

Wen Yu’s long lashes lowered slightly: “This palace is rather curious—Mister Xiao drove back the barbarian tribes multiple times in the Northern Frontier, won deep popular support, and achieved merit in defeating the Pei forces. You should have had prospects to compete with my Liang faction for superiority. But Mister Xiao killed twenty thousand surrendered Pei soldiers, taking on the evil name ‘Butcher of Men,’ greatly losing popular support. Now, even if this palace uses Mister Xiao to reclaim Northern Frontier military authority, no one in the world would say a word against it. Does Mister Xiao regret his actions then?”

The aura around Xiao Li’s entire body suddenly turned cold and fierce: “Killing those who deserved to be killed—what is there to regret?”

Wen Yu looked deeply at him, and a rare smile bloomed on her cold face as she simply said: “Mister Xiao is true to his nature.”

Tongque watched this scene with her heart in her throat, looking at Wen Yu, then at Xiao Li. But when Wen Yu withdrew her hand and straightened up, her face had already returned to complete coldness: “Take him back and keep him under guard.”

She was just about to turn around when the tent fabric made “pfft pfft” sounds of being pierced by sharp weapons, and then arrows carrying the sound of wind had already flown toward Wen Yu.

“Assassins! Protect the Princess!”

Tongque’s hands reacted faster than her brain—she drew her sword and struck down that arrow while shouting loudly.

Arrows flew into the tent from outside like a swarm of locusts. The Azure Cloud Guards also drew their swords to block the dense arrows shooting in from outside the tent. In this chaos, they had no attention to spare for pulling taut the iron chains on Xiao Li’s body.

Thus, almost immediately after Tongque shouted, Wen Yu felt her waist gripped forcefully. Then, amid the dull sound of iron chains, the Azure Cloud Guards being pulled down and falling, and voices shouting to extinguish the candles, she was embraced and rolled several times across the ground.

As the candle flame was extinguished by a slash of a dagger, the tent suddenly plunged into complete darkness.

Outside the tent, there was continuous clamor, the sounds of weapons clashing and battle cries mixing together.

Unable to judge the situation inside the tent by candlelight anymore, those outside stopped shooting arrows. In the dead silence, besides her own suddenly rapid heartbeat, Wen Yu also heard the urgent heavy heartbeat and slightly burning breath of the person beneath her.

One of his hands rested on the back of her neck, the shackle on his wrist ice-cold, his fingertips burning hot—it was both a protective posture and a threat.

Wen Yu’s hand supported herself on the ground, easily finding a broken arrow that had been struck down by an Azure Cloud Guard. She picked it up and pressed it against the other person’s neck.

The other person seemed to laugh—making no sound, but the vibration in his chest was particularly obvious.

Given their previous cold hostility, this was not a friendly signal at all.

Wen Yu sensed danger and was about to call for Tongque when she heard the faint rustling sound of iron chains by her ear, and then her jaw was seized.

The moment her lips and tongue were invaded, she felt the other person had gone mad.

In fury, the arrow in her hand pressed forcefully toward his neck. Wen Yu even felt she had already drawn blood, yet the other person still showed no intention of stopping, only pressing the back of her neck forcefully, making it impossible for her to move even a fraction, forcing her to endure this kiss that was heavy with the taste of blood and shocking with desire.

The Azure Cloud Guards were skilled in martial arts with exceptionally sharp hearing. To prevent them from discovering anything amiss, Wen Yu didn’t even dare struggle too fiercely.

When Tongque called out softly “Princess,” wanting to confirm her location, and he still didn’t release her, Wen Yu became so angry she abandoned the broken arrow and directly used her hand to dig at the arrow wound on his shoulder, finally making him loosen his restraining force in pain.

Wen Yu took the opportunity to break free from his restraint and sat up, pulling the face veil that had been pushed to the side of her temple back into place, saying with a tense voice: “I’m here.”

The sounds of fighting outside had stopped, and there were rapid footsteps rushing this way. Wen Yu also heard Gu Xiyun’s voice: “Quickly go see how the Princess is!”

When the candle in the tent was relit, Gu Xiyun had already led people inside with an anxious expression, lifting the tent flap: “Is the Princess injured?”

Wen Yu had already been helped to her feet by Tongque. Her lips, swollen and painful from being kissed and bitten, along with the lower half of her face, were all hidden behind the veil, leaving only a pair of cold eyes exposed. Wherever her gaze fell, it seemed to condense a layer of frost.

Her gaze swept over Xiao Li, who had been restrained again by the Azure Cloud Guards, as she forcibly suppressed her anger: “I’m fine. Did the Pei lackeys and Puershi tribe people arrive this quickly?”

Gu Xiyun, knowing she had failed in her duty, knelt on one knee to plead guilty: “This subordinate deserves death for not detecting beforehand that in order to rescue that captured lackey, they had already been lying in wait nearby for some time. After learning the Princess had entered the camp, while this subordinate was still deploying forces, they divided into two groups—one pretending to rescue that lackey, the other coming to assassinate the Princess. Because some among them are extremely skilled in archery and can wound people with arrows from dozens of zhang away while hiding in the dark, this subordinate failed to capture them all in time, frightening the Princess. Please punish this subordinate.”

In front of outsiders, Wen Yu and Gu Xiyun still needed to maintain the appearance of ruler and subject. She said: “There were reasons for this. I don’t blame you. Rise and speak.”

After Gu Xiyun stood, Wen Yu continued asking: “Was the current leader of the Puershi tribe captured?”

After Gu Xiyun nodded, she walked outside as if unwilling to stay in the tent a moment longer: “Go and see. I specifically brought someone to meet him.”

Gu Xiyun was Wen Yu’s friend of many years and could naturally see the anger emanating from her. Before following her out of the large tent, her gaze lingered for an extra moment on Xiao Li, whose hands, feet, and even neck were bound in heavy iron chains and shackles, yet whose lips and neck bore fresh wounds.

The other person was like a bound gluttonous beast. In Wen Yu’s presence he would still restrain himself somewhat, but when scrutinized by others, he no longer suppressed the savage ferocity about him at all, his brows and eyes full of murderous intent.

But that bite mark on his neck, half-hidden by the black iron collar, was truly eye-catching.

Such a fierce beast, yet with such a wound on his neck.

Gu Xiyun thought of the news she had specifically sought out after returning to Liang territory, then recalled Xiao Li’s appearance when she saw him by Suoyi Lake and the first question he had asked. Her eyelid suddenly twitched as the thought arose that only Wen Yu could chain this beast.

But how could someone so wild and brutal compare to her gentle, refined elder brother?

She cut off her thoughts, swept over him with an especially cold glance, then withdrew her gaze and quickly left.

—

Outside the central command tent, the bonfire burned vigorously. The bound new leader of the Puershi tribe was brought forward—it was the middle-aged man who had shot arrows at Xiao Li during the day by Suoyi Lake.

He was forcibly pressed down at the shoulders by Tiger Guard soldiers and kicked hard behind the knees, kneeling before Wen Yu. The bonfire crackled and popped with sparks, the firelight illuminating his face written with defiance and refusal to submit.

Wen Yu sat steadily in the grand master’s chair and asked him: “Puershi tribe warrior Badan?”

The man’s expression was fierce as he stared coldly at Wen Yu, using crude official language to say: “The Goddess Jiashi sees all the evil deeds you have committed. One day, the Goddess Jiashi will bring divine punishment upon you all.”

The Nanjiashi mountain range had always extended toward Bairen Pass. Those tribes in the great desert all relied on the water sources formed by melted snow from Jiashi Mountain to survive. Unlike the Western Frontier people within Liang territory who called the Southern and Northern Jiashi Mountains the Father and Mother Sacred Mountains, they only believed that on Nanjiashi Mountain, which nurtured them, dwelled the Goddess Jiashi.

Wen Yu said calmly: “The wrongs committed by our Chen Kingdom, Chen Kingdom will not shirk. But this palace believes there may be some misunderstanding between the Puershi tribe and our Chen Kingdom.”

The Bashiye tribe leader was brought over by the Azure Cloud Guards. When he saw Badan bound hand and foot and pressed to kneel before Wen Yu, his expression became especially agitated. He hurriedly tried to go forward but was blocked by the Azure Cloud Guards.

He knew the purpose for which Wen Yu had brought him on this journey, and also knew that the commotion that had arisen in the military camp earlier must be inseparable from Badan. He quickly spoke a stream of words in their tribal language, explaining the cause and effect from beginning to end.

Yet Badan’s expression still held suspicion: “Could it be that the cavalry who rescued you and Chen Kingdom were working together, putting on an act to deceive you?”

The Bashiye tribe leader said urgently: “He did deceive us, but he deceived us to help his troops enter the territory and surround the royal court. He and the Princess are enemies.”

He gestured as he spoke: “Why would he help Chen Kingdom?”

He switched to official language so that Wen Yu could understand what they were arguing about.

There was an Azure Cloud Guard beside Wen Yu who understood their tribal language, continuously translating in a low voice for her. Suddenly hearing the Bashiye tribe leader switch back to halting official language to explain that Xiao Li and she were enemies, while beneath her veil her lips did indeed still hurt, though her eyes showed no ripples, the annoyance in her heart had never dissipated.

Badan was thoroughly convinced by the Bashiye tribe leader. The look in his eyes toward Wen Yu no longer held the previous hostility, only remorse remained.

The Bashiye tribe leader placed his hand over his chest and bowed to Wen Yu, continuing in not-very-fluent official language: “Noble Princess Pearl of Two Nations, I have explained everything clearly to Badan. He was also deceived by those people. To avenge the late chieftain, he secretly entered Chen Kingdom.”

Bound tightly, Badan could only nod his head toward Wen Yu in salute.

Wen Yu asked him: “The man who made contact with you—was he called Pei Song?”

Badan said: “He only said his name was Song, that he came from Liang territory. He also slandered you extensively, saying his ancestors were once generals of Liang territory, but were unjustly imprisoned because your ancestors were jealous of them. He wanted to clear his ancestors’ name of injustice but was repeatedly suppressed by you, telling us not to be deceived by you. He also said that Chen troops attacking our tribes was the best example, that you always say one thing and do another. He said he was willing to be a bridge for our tribes to establish good relations with Xiling, and that after Xiling conquered Chen Kingdom, our tribes could all receive more oases and cattle and sheep.”

The Bashiye tribe leader said angrily: “That Hulagai!”

The Azure Cloud Guard who understood Bashiye tribal language whispered to Wen Yu: “He’s cursing Pei Song as a cunning liar.”

Wen Yu asked: “Do you know where Pei Song is now?”

Badan shook his head: “After we made our alliance, he sent troops to me, but he himself didn’t come to Chen Kingdom together. Only the ‘Hawk’ among those people knows how to contact him.”

“Hawk?” Gu Xiyun, standing to the side, was completely baffled.

But Wen Yu already understood: “He’s probably referring to Pei Yuan.”

Only after learning about the origins of the hawks and hounds under Pei Song’s command did she discover that among the hawks and hounds, those with strong martial skills who earned Pei Song’s trust could be called “Hawks”—they were Pei Song’s eyes. The others were called hounds and even bore dog head tattoos on their bodies.

She looked toward Gu Xiyun: “Was anything extracted through interrogation?”

Gu Xiyun shook her head with some guilt and frustration: “That fellow’s bones are hard as iron. Even after being tortured to within an inch of his life, there’s still not a single truthful word from his mouth.”

Wen Yu then said: “First bring him back to the royal court and confine him in the Heavenly Prison for specialized interrogation.”

Her purpose in secretly leaving the palace tonight had been achieved. Now, escorted by the Azure Cloud Guards, she returned to the palace. Because they still needed to escort prisoners, Gu Xiyun also dispatched additional troops to accompany them, just in case.

When she secretly returned to the palace, it was nearly dawn. As the Azure Cloud Guards escorted Pei Yuan to the Heavenly Prison, they asked Wen Yu: “Princess, that man surnamed Xiao…”

Wen Yu’s brows and eyes were full of cold intent: “Confine him in the Heavenly Prison as well.”

—

After returning to her sleeping quarters, the Azure Cloud Guard who had been watching over A’Li during the night saluted her upon her return, then silently withdrew.

Wen Yu sat beside the cradle, looking at A’Li who was clutching her fragrance pouch and sleeping deeply. After tucking the corner of the blanket around her daughter, she twisted the tassel on the fragrance pouch’s cord, murmuring softly: “Does A’Li want to see Father?”

“But he did something wrong, so Mother must give him some hardship to endure.”