Xu Bing was drinking in the middle district of Pingkang Ward. The northern district, which hugged the ward walls, was where lower-class courtesans gathered—a place where money bought immediate gratification. The middle district, with its intersecting streets lined with pavilions and multi-story buildings, housed courtesans who made their living through artistic talents. These women, some plump and others slender, each possessed their unique charms, attracting the capital’s young dandies and wealthy heirs who lingered in endless revelry. The establishments were as busy as marketplaces, with visitors coming and going like flowing water. The southern district contained deep residential compounds where beauties were kept in golden chambers, accessible only to high-ranking officials and nobles.

As the new dynasty established itself and the situation stabilized, Prime Minister Zheng issued the “Talent Seeking Decree” in Li De’s name, announcing the reopening of imperial examinations. Candidates could participate regardless of their background or social status—any talented individual in the realm could take the exam. When the decree was issued, it shocked the world. Scholars from both north and south responded by heading to the capital, while noble families who had scattered to escape the warfare gradually returned to Beijing. Pingkang Ward grew more bustling with each passing day. Among the three districts, the middle district naturally flourished the most.

Before sunset, rows of lanterns were already hung in front of the spacious entrance of the wine house. Layer upon layer of curtains couldn’t contain the laughter and songs from inside. Clear pipa notes, passionate huqin strings, resonant golden bells, and mellow konghou tones filled the air. In the flowing, melodious music, several Hu courtesans wearing colorful cloaks, purple silk robes, and long skirts tied at the waist danced barefoot on carpets. They swayed their slender waists and danced gracefully. The music alternated between fast and slow tempos, and so did their dance movements. The fast sections were bright and lively, strong and powerful. The slow parts were graceful and elegant, light and alluring. Before long, the courtesans’ silk garments were soaked with sweat, their snow-white skin showing through faintly. Their charm and allure were beyond description.

As the song ended, the courtesans arched their backs in a spin, their jade-green eyes full of tender feeling as they slowly began removing their clothes. The patrons in the building were already staring in amazement. The entire establishment fell silent, with all eyes from both floors fixed on the courtesans’ slender fingers as they slowly unfastened their garments.

Xu Bing sat with his mouth agape, excitedly swallowing. Suddenly, there was a loud bang as the main door was kicked open. Several sheathed long swords pushed aside the curtains, and golden sunlight flooded into the hall. The thick, heavy scent of powder and overflowing wine fragrance was slightly dispersed by the incoming wind.

Xie Qing stood in the hall, scanning the room. Several Hu courtesans screamed in fright, clutched their clothes, and hurriedly retreated. The previously ambiguous and romantic atmosphere instantly vanished. Complaints arose.

“Don’t stop! Keep stripping!”

“Damn it! I was just getting excited!”

Xu Bing joined in the angry shouting, slamming the table as he stood up: “Where did this ugly monster come from!”

Xie Qing’s eyebrow twitched as he glanced at Xu Bing. As Xu Bing continued cursing, Xie Qing silently strode up the stairs. His palm, large as a fan, grabbed Xu Bing’s collar and dragged him downstairs.

Though Xu Bing stood seven feet tall with a strong build and considerable weight, Xie Qing handled him effortlessly, carrying him out of the wine house like a chicken and throwing him to the ground. Xu Bing’s drinking companions finally reacted, hastily putting down their cups and rushing out of the wine house, drunkenly shouting: “Let go! He’s a Mid-Captain under Prince Qin! You…”

Before they could finish shouting, they caught sight of an elegant figure approaching on horseback, surrounded by attendants and strong servants, and immediately fell silent. In an instant, they sobered up considerably and exchanged bewildered glances. Why would the Seventh Princess come to a place like Pingkang Ward?

Li Yaoying dismounted, lifting her gaze. Her eyes swept across the faces of the prince’s attendants, who were red-faced and stumbling from drink. They nervously lowered their eyes, feeling guilty. The Second Prince was crude and only cared about warfare, never managing internal affairs. All matters in the prince’s mansion, big and small, were handled and supervised by the Seventh Princess. Although they were the Second Prince’s servants, it was the Seventh Princess who could determine their fate. If she took a dislike to someone, the Second Prince would expel that person from the mansion without even asking why, even if they were a servant bestowed by Emperor Li De himself. They quietly wondered: seeking pleasure and buying wine… surely that wasn’t too serious an offense?

Xu Bing, thrown into the mud and with a mouthful of dirt, hadn’t seen Li Yaoying dismount. He only heard the sound of hooves and noticed the extraordinary silence around him, with everyone holding their breath. Still drunk, he didn’t think much of it, rolling over to stand up while cursing: “Looking to die!”

There was a tense intake of breath from all around.

Li Yaoying looked at him expressionlessly, her eyes tilted upward: “Still not sober?”

The fierce anger froze on Xu Bing’s face, his mouth hanging open.

Quick-witted servants had already brought two large buckets of cold water and splashed them over Xu Bing’s face. Though the weather was warming up and the cold water wasn’t bone-chilling, Xu Bing couldn’t help but shiver, the chill rising from his feet. He recognized the Seventh Princess. How could any of the Second Prince’s attendants and officers not recognize the Seventh Princess?

Yaoying knew he had sobered up and gestured to her guards. The guards brought forward several bound men. The men rolled to Yaoying’s feet, kowtowing and begging for mercy: “Noble Master, spare us! Noble Master, spare us! We were only following orders—it was Xu Bing who ordered us! Xu Bing has a residence in Shengping Ward where he keeps all the women he’s abducted!”

These were the soldiers who had just been abducting women from good families. They had been thoroughly frightened on the way here and were already terrified out of their wits. Without waiting for Yaoying to question them, they knelt on the ground and spilled everything like beans from a bamboo tube, confessing how Xu Bing had ordered them to force women from good families to sign contracts and stamp their seals.

Xu Bing was now completely sober, his face ashen.

The others, seeing the situation, understood that Li Yaoying had come specifically for Xu Bing and quietly sighed in relief.

In the silence, urgent hoofbeats sounded at the entrance. A guard leaped from his horse, carrying a middle-aged man dressed as a scholar, and ran into the courtyard, putting him down: “Noble Master, we’ve brought the Chief Secretary!”

The prince’s Chief Secretary, disheveled from the journey with his headpiece askew and robes in disarray, was gasping for breath. Yet he dared not complain and bowed to Li Yaoying before he had even steadied himself.

Yaoying returned his bow, saying: “The matter was urgent, thank you for your trouble, Chief Secretary.”

The Chief Secretary hastily said he dared not accept such thanks.

The guard then pulled out a stack of messy contracts from his chest: “These are the contracts we found on them.”

The Chief Secretary took the contracts and examined them carefully, shaking his head and sighing. He looked up at Xu Bing: “Prince Qin has repeatedly issued strict orders forbidding the military from abducting women from good families. You forced them to sell themselves as servants—the evidence and witnesses are all here. What do you have to say for yourself?”

Xu Bing’s face fluctuated between red and white, his expression changing repeatedly. Finally, he said in a muffled voice: “I’ve fought life and death battles alongside His Highness, and it’s just a matter of taking a few servant girls…”

He gritted his teeth and puffed up his chest.

“His Highness isn’t in the capital. Since I’ve fallen into the Princess’s hands, whether you want to kill me or flay me, I’ll accept whatever comes!”

The others kept their eyes down, not daring to make a sound.

The Chief Secretary glanced at Li Yaoying.

In truth, the Second Prince had never issued such prohibitions—the one who had issued them was the Seventh Princess.

The Second Prince was careless about minor matters, and his subordinates included many unscrupulous individuals. These people were unruly, and their first action after every battle was to lead troops in plundering, often harassing civilians.

This was precisely why the Second Prince had a poor reputation.

The Seventh Princess had urged the Second Prince to control his subordinates, but he forgot about it as soon as she mentioned it.

Last year, an officer under the Second Prince had harassed a woman, who then committed suicide in her despair. When the matter reached Li De, he was furious and publicly rebuked the Second Prince. The Seventh Princess was also angry and summoned all of the Second Prince’s officers and attendants, warning them sternly: Military law was as immovable as a mountain, and anyone who violated it would face military punishment! At the time, the Second Prince stood beside the Seventh Princess, humbling himself and carefully agreeing to everything she said.

Before leaving for battle, the Second Prince had instructed that all military affairs and household matters were to be decided by the Seventh Princess.

The Chief Secretary waited for Li Yaoying’s instructions.

Xu Bing tilted his head back with a light snort, his face mocking.

In the oppressive silence, a buzz of discussion spread through the growing crowd of onlookers. Li Yaoying didn’t order the area cleared, so the guards didn’t drive the civilians away.

The Chief Secretary’s expression was grave.

Yaoying gave him a calm look: “Since the evidence is conclusive and Xu Bing has admitted his guilt, handle it according to military law.”

The Chief Secretary’s heart jumped. Enforce military law? The Seventh Princess was usually easygoing and tolerant, never even scolding her maids and palace servants…

Yaoying’s brows furrowed slightly.

The Chief Secretary concealed his surprise and hesitated no longer. “Carry out the sentence!”

Two guards stepped forward in response, forcing Xu Bing to kneel.

Xie Qing walked in front of Xu Bing, unsheathing his long sword.

All traces of drunkenness gone, Xu Bing’s face turned pale.

The prince’s attendants hadn’t expected Li Yaoying to carry out the execution. Shocked, they trembled as they spoke: “Princess, please spare Xu Bing this once, he’s just rash by nature…”

Yaoying raised her hand.

Xie Qing immediately stopped drawing his sword.

The prince’s attendants sighed in relief.

Yaoying looked at Xu Bing: “Do you favor your left hand or right hand?”

Xu Bing, all courage gone, was stunned for a moment before answering: “Right hand.”

Yaoying nodded and said to Xie Qing, “Cut off his left hand.”

Xie Qing acknowledged and brought down his sword.

A flash of cold light.

The long sword severed two fingers from the left hand, blood gushing forth.

Xu Bing screamed in agony.

Several of the prince’s attendants trembled in fear, unconsciously clutching their own hands.

The watching crowd fell silent for a moment before erupting in loud discussion.

“The Princess has punished that villain according to military law!”

“The Wei army maintains strict discipline—how could the Second Prince, being a royal prince, possibly abduct women from good families? It was all these villains’ doing!”

“The Seventh Princess is fair in rewards and punishments!”

Outside the wine house, cheers and praise continued endlessly.

Xu Bing was taken away to have his wounds bandaged.

Yaoying’s scalp tingled, her body trembling slightly.

Xie Qing glanced at her and stepped forward to block the pool of blood on the ground.

Unable to see the flowing blood, Yaoying felt a bit better and let out a soft sigh.

The Chief Secretary had watched Li Yaoying grow up. Seeing her unusual expression, he knew she was recalling an incident from when she was five years old. His heart filled with sympathy and sadness as he sighed: “Let this old servant handle such unsavory matters… The Princess is too precious to witness such bloody scenes.”

Yaoying shook her head: “What’s done today is done today. If we hadn’t dealt with Xu Bing, Second Brother’s reputation would have been truly ruined.”

Li De wouldn’t allow Li Zhongqian to threaten Li Xuanzhen’s position and had repeatedly suppressed him.

Li Zhongqian had then given up on himself, barely restraining his subordinates.

His subordinates often committed evil acts using his name, and his reputation worsened day by day.

Li De found him dissolute, the noble families thought him frivolous and cruel, and the common people cursed him as brutal and vicious.

When he was surrounded by enemies, no one reached out to help.

He had followed Li De into battle since his youth, fighting for the country for many years.

He died young, buried in yellow sand.

After death, he didn’t even have a tombstone.

Why did Li Xuanzhen hate them so much?

Yaoying was lost in thought for a moment before giving orders: “Have people monitor the ward’s situation—we can’t let anyone use this to tarnish Second Brother’s name.”

“If any of Second Brother’s subordinates violate military law in the future, punish them according to protocol, without leniency.”

“Remember to send people to Shengping Ward to find those women Xu Bing imprisoned and release them to their families.”

“This old servant understands.” The Chief Secretary nodded, then paused. “Princess, to His Highness, his reputation isn’t as important as you are. Please take care of yourself—next time something like this happens, let this old servant handle it.”

Before the Second Prince left for battle, his countless instructions had all been about taking good care of the Seventh Princess, mentioning nothing else.

Yaoying smiled: “I understand.”

Though she had appeared calm and composed earlier, not even blinking, she had been a bit afraid.

The crowd of onlookers gradually dispersed.

Local officials hurried over to report that the women had been safely returned to their homes.

Yaoying made a sound of acknowledgment.

As she turned to mount her horse, there was a commotion nearby.

The group of young men who had been following her all day sat mounted on fine horses, gathered at the entrance.

“The Princess is wise!”

“The Princess is mighty!”

“Princess, let me, Lu Hengsheng, handle such matters in the future! Don’t sully your eyes!”

Yaoying’s lips twitched slightly.

She had thought they’d been scared away long ago.

Looking at the main entrance blocked solid with people, she said: “Let’s leave through the side door.”

Xie Qing acknowledged and followed her through the side door.

The guard at the front suddenly pulled his reins to stop, drawing his sword to point upward as he shouted angrily: “Who’s there?!”

Yaoying looked in the direction the sword was pointing.

The side door was next to a high wall with a window. A slender figure was sprawled at the second-floor window, hands gripping the railing, most of his body hanging awkwardly outside. His brocade robe fluttered in the wind with a rustling sound.

People from the wine house hurriedly ran over: “He’s not an assassin…”

“Right, he’s not an assassin.” The guard, recognizing the young man hanging from the railing, sheathed his sword and added teasingly in a low voice, “He’s a patron.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, the young man lost his grip and fell.

Dust flew up.

Xie Qing protected Yaoying as they stepped back.

Yaoying patted her Wusun horse and cast a casual glance at the young man who had fallen in front of her horse’s hooves.

The young man was utterly embarrassed, struggling to stand up. When his gaze met hers, his face instantly turned bright red, too ashamed to lift his head.

Yaoying could almost feel the burning heat from his face.

Her heart stirred.

Could she know him?

Just as she was about to look more closely, thundering drum beats sounded from south to north, and a rider trailing dust galloped through the long street, heading straight for the imperial city.

“His Holiness has returned victoriously! His Holiness has returned victoriously!”

Yaoying lifted her head in delight.

This was the drum signal she had been waiting for—the army had returned victorious, Second Brother was back!

She gently squeezed her horse’s flanks, turning to gallop toward the southern gate.

Xie Qing and the guards also turned to follow.

Horse hooves clattered, raising fine dust everywhere.

The young man lay on the ground, covered in dirt and dust, coughing continuously.