Though Kong Yu was not a princess, she possessed the refined elegance and magnanimity that surpassed that of a princess!

She walked forward slowly, lowered her head in courtesy, displaying nothing but graceful composure. The Emperor and Consort Xiao looked at her, truly finding her pleasing from every angle.

Emperor Qizhen naturally praised her to the heavens, with Consort Xiao echoing his sentiments from the side.

Yuchi Lin was not the King of Qujiang. When it came to seeking a marriage alliance, the emphasis was on the word “seeking.” Since Emperor Qizhen had “given” him a woman, he could only accept the imperial command, present lavish gifts, and escort her back to Qujiang in grand fashion.

Ji Yunshu stole a glance at Jingrong and saw that he remained unmoved, as if Kong Yu were merely a stranger completely unfamiliar to him, not worth even a furrowed brow.

Even when raising his cup in celebration, Jingrong acted as if nothing was amiss, raising his cup to drink. When the mood struck him, he even drank several cups in succession.

Yet there was a flavor of drowning sorrows in wine.

At this moment, Kong Yu sat properly beside Consort Xiao, her hands held by the consort, who was speaking to her with an entirely affable expression.

Kong Yu’s response to her was only the unchanging faint smile at the corners of her lips.

Was this woman truly as Jingrong had said—willing to marry?

Forget it, it had nothing to do with her!

The next moment, she gently shook her head.

“Master Ji.”

Suddenly, someone called her by her ear.

She turned to look and saw a young eunuch pressing a slip of paper into her hand.

Then he left!

Looking at the paper slip in her palm, she paused slightly before unfolding it.

—Lotus Pond

Only three characters were written!

Who had given it to her?

She crumpled the paper slip into a ball and looked around the banquet, only to discover that Ji Huan had already left his seat.

What must be faced would have to be faced sooner or later—there was no escaping it.

Taking advantage of Jingrong “drowning his sorrows in wine,” she quietly slipped away.

But the moment she left, Lang Bo said to Jingrong, “Your Highness, should we follow?”

Jingrong poured another mouthful of wine into his mouth.

As if he had eyes on his back, he said, “No need. Zijin is following her. After she’s finished with her business, notify Zijin to escort her back to the residence first.”

“Yes!”

Lang Bo acknowledged the order and obediently stood to the side again.

The sky had already darkened. Inside the observation pavilion, universal celebration reigned, but outside, it seemed exceptionally desolate.

Ji Yunshu asked a palace maid for a small delicate lantern and went to the lotus pond she had passed when coming to the observation pavilion earlier.

Sure enough, Ji Huan was truly waiting for her.

Candlelight slowly approached, reflecting on the calm water surface!

Ji Huan gripped his Xuanchi sword that never left his hand year-round, glaring at her furiously.

Ji Yunshu, however, was extremely courteous, bowing slightly to him. “I wonder what matter General Ji has invited me here for?”

“Speak! Are you or are you not Ji Yunshu?” he questioned directly.

“Ji Yunshu?” Ji Yunshu spoke her own name, letting out a cold laugh. “This person—what relation is she to the general?”

“An enemy, an enemy who killed her brother and murdered her kin.”

“Oh? So she’s a murderer? But how is it that I heard the general’s younger brother Ji Yuanzhi committed suicide out of fear of punishment? And the general’s grandmother succumbed to a severe cold that couldn’t be cured. How did it get blamed on that Miss Ji? Could it be that what I heard differs greatly from the truth?”

Ji Huan was not Ji Li and naturally couldn’t remain calm. His face flushed red with anger, the sword in his hand ready to be drawn.

His fierce eyes glared as he barked, “You don’t need to beat around the bush with me. I’ll ask you just once—are you or are you not Ji Yunshu?”

Ji Yunshu steadied her gaze. “What if I said I am?”

As the words fell, Ji Huan drew the Xuanchi sword. Accompanied by a flash of cold light, the blade was already aimed at Ji Yunshu’s throat.

“If you are, I’ll kill you.”

The rough, fierce voice made even the calm water surface tremble.

Ji Yunshu raised her chin. The blade pressed against her delicate neck. Though there was still a tiny bit of distance, she could feel that this bloodthirsty Xuanchi sword was now madly wanting to pierce into her throat.

“General Ji, do you intend to kill me in the imperial palace?”

“You think I wouldn’t dare?”

“No, of course you dare. What wouldn’t the mighty General Changlin who commands the battlefield dare to do? But…” As she spoke, she took a small step forward, her neck almost touching the blade before her. Hooking her fearless eyes, she continued, “If you kill me, today you won’t be able to walk out of these palace gates either.”

That tone, as if emanating from a deep, dark abyss, seeped into one’s very skin, instantly transforming into countless sharp swords piercing the internal organs.

After she finished these words, Ji Huan pulled his sword back slightly.

But Ji Yunshu’s neck was still cut by a small gash from the sharp blade.

In truth, she was terrified. The hand holding the delicate lantern was trembling faintly.

But she knew that the more fear she showed, given Ji Huan’s nature of responding to hardness but not softness, when the Xuanchi sword had thrust toward her just now, she would already be dead.

Ji Huan was completely certain. “You know I’ve never feared threats from anyone. And you are Ji Yunshu. The person I want to kill is you!”

The murderous intent rising from his eyes grew more and more intense.

Ji Yunshu raised her sharp, delicate chin. Her originally somber gaze softened again.

She called out to him, “Second Brother, I don’t want to be your enemy.”

Yes, she had admitted it!

Calling him “Second Brother” made Ji Huan’s brow furrow slightly.

“I’m not your second brother. You killed Yuanzhi and angered Grandmother to death. You’ve already been expelled from the Ji family. You’re a criminal and have no right to call me that.”

“Could it be that Second Brother cannot distinguish right from wrong either?” Ji Yunshu’s heart ached. “Back then, it was Second Brother who rescued Ji Pei from the battlefield. I’ve always been grateful to you and felt you were different from them. Even though you keep saying you want to kill me, I’m still willing to believe that Second Brother cannot bear to do so. But if you truly believe that Third Brother’s death was my fault, then fine—kill me with one sword stroke.”

She looked at him resolutely.

In truth, she wanted to take a gamble—to bet on whether her second brother’s heart was truly as cold and ruthless as the rest of the Ji family!

Though Ji Huan was a rough warrior, he wasn’t a useless person incapable of thinking. Ji Yuanzhi had killed someone first and had committed suicide himself. In the end, it truly had nothing to do with Ji Yunshu. But that was his third brother—he couldn’t just watch him die and do nothing.

So he had truly steeled his heart to kill Ji Yunshu.

But hearing Ji Yunshu’s words just now, he hesitated.

He struggled!

That conflicted expression was written all over his face!

The hand gripping his sword was trembling, his face flushed bright red.

And hidden in the darkness, Shi Zijin was ready to strike.

If anyone dared harm her master, she would take that person’s head!

Suddenly!

Ah—

In an instant, Ji Huan roared!

Like a madman, he raised the sword in his hand and, as if wielding a cleaver, hacked down toward Ji Yunshu.

Ji Yunshu instinctively closed her eyes.

The blade carried a swift wind, gleaming with cold light, advancing toward her bit by bit.

She had thought the sword would split her in half, but what she hadn’t expected was that what was split in half was the golden mask she wore on her face.

The mask exploded to both sides—half falling into the lotus pond, half landing on the lantern in her hand.

Along with the lantern, it fell to the ground together!