A flurry of chaotic footsteps echoed as guards rushed up and down the stairs.

Yao Ying glanced downstairs, saw that all of Zhu Lüyun’s guards had been subdued, released Zhu Lüyun, took out several pieces of parchment, and spread them on the long table.

Zhu Lüyun was terrified and panicked. Seeing Yao Ying release her, she turned to flee but was blocked by the guards after just one step.

“Since the Princess was so eager to meet our Princess multiple times, why such haste to leave?”

The guard sneered, forcing Zhu Lüyun to sit by the open window.

Yao Ying sat across from Zhu Lüyun, not even lifting her eyelids, holding the dagger in her right hand while pointing at the parchment with her left, “Make her press her fingerprint.”

The guard acknowledged and lifted Zhu Lüyun’s hand, forcing her to press her fingerprint on each piece of parchment.

Zhu Lüyun struggled but couldn’t move, watching helplessly as her fingerprints appeared on the parchment.

It happened in a flash, all at once.

Before Yuanjue could recover from his shock, and while Zhu Lüyun still looked frightened, Yao Ying had already pulled away all the parchments, examined them carefully, and handed them to Yuanjue.

“The Northern Rong Princess attempted to harm me during her diplomatic mission to the royal court but was caught in the act by my guards. The evidence is in black and white, irrefutable.”

Zhu Lüyun could understand some Hu language, and upon hearing this, her face turned deathly pale: “Seventh Sister, you’re framing me!”

Yao Ying smiled faintly, raised the dagger, and suddenly thrust it down toward Zhu Lüyun’s hand pressed on the table.

The blade flashed, swift as lightning.

Zhu Lüyun’s soul nearly left her body as she screamed in terror.

With a whoosh, the dagger brushed past Zhu Lüyun’s hand and pinned her sleeve to the table.

Yao Ying’s eyes slanted slightly upward as she looked at Zhu Lüyun’s fear-filled eyes, gently dragging the dagger so its sharp tip tore through Zhu Lüyun’s sleeve.

“That’s right, I am framing you.”

As the blade made rustling sounds cutting through the fabric, Yao Ying spoke word by word, “I could also kill you right here.”

Zhu Lüyun was terrified but tried to maintain composure: “Seventh Sister, I am now a Princess of Northern Rong. If you kill me, Northern Rong won’t let this go.”

Yao Ying’s lips curved upward: “You came on a diplomatic mission and repeatedly requested to meet me as Princess Fukang. I agreed to meet Princess Fukang, not the Northern Rong Princess. Zhu Lüyun, I’m not from the royal court, this isn’t the Royal Temple or a guesthouse – we’re old acquaintances meeting. If I kill you, I alone will bear the responsibility.”

She changed her tone, “Northern Rong diplomatic missions always have both primary and deputy envoys, usually held by officials and noble children. Yet for this mission to the royal court, Northern Rong didn’t send any noble-born officials to accompany you. You’re just a pawn to Northern Rong – they would never go to war with the royal court over you.”

Zhu Lüyun fell silent for a moment, then said trembling: “If you kill me, you’ll forfeit your life too. Seventh Sister, have you gone mad?”

Yao Ying’s fingers gently caressed the dagger as she said: “If I were moved by your and your aunt’s words, believing you truly came to atone and compensate me – that would be madness.”

Zhu Lüyun bit her lip, her face ashen.

Yao Ying looked up at Yuanjue: “Keep those things safe.”

Yuanjue held Zhu Lüyun’s “evidence of crimes,” caught in a dilemma, unable to advance or retreat.

The King said Princess Wenzhao knew her limits – was this what he meant by limits?!

Should he intervene? But the Princess hadn’t hurt anyone yet… If the King were here, would the Princess be more restrained? The Princess didn’t seem afraid of the King at all…

Yuanjue stood there dumbfounded, his mind in turmoil, his jaw hanging open.

At this moment, shouts erupted from downstairs.

Yao Ying’s lips curved slightly as she lightly tapped Zhu Lüyun’s hand with the dagger: “Look downstairs.”

Zhu Lüyun shuddered and looked down, her eyes widening.

Below, the guards had dragged several of Zhu Lüyun’s escorts into the snow, forcing them to kneel, including the Han guard who had been exchanging meaningful looks with Zhu Lüyun. A guard beside them drew his sword and pointed it at the escorts.

Zhu Lüyun asked trembling: “Seventh Sister, what are you planning to do?”

Yao Ying said leisurely: “I will ask you several questions. Your guards will need to answer the same questions. If any of your answers differ, it means someone among you is lying, and I’ll have one of your guard’s fingers cut off. Once they run out of fingers, we’ll start on yours.”

Zhu Lüyun’s teeth chattered, “Seventh Sister, I truly wronged you, but I didn’t mean to harm you! I can swear to heaven I have no ill intentions! My aunt told me the people of the royal court despise the Han people and won’t truly accept you. The Buddha’s Son is a monk – after a year, you’ll have nowhere to go… I’m Han, you’re Han, we’re both in foreign lands. Why not let bygones be bygones… Were you imprisoned by Haidu Aling? You don’t need to be afraid. Haidu Aling fears my uncle – if my uncle speaks up, Haidu Aling wouldn’t dare…”

Before Zhu Lüyun could finish, Yao Ying stood up, bringing the dagger toward her face.

As the cold blade approached, Zhu Lüyun recoiled in terror.

Yao Ying smiled, “I should trust you because you’re Han? I’ve been away from Chang’an for over two years. Han or Hu, there are both good and bad people. I’ve met many good people and encountered quite a few villains, made many new friends. Those who treat me well, whether Han or Hu, I repay with sincerity. Those who have harmed me, I remember clearly.”

She leaned forward, tapping Zhu Lüyun’s face with the flat of the blade.

“Zhu Lüyun, if you were truly repentant and knew what had happened to me these past years, you wouldn’t be foolish enough to think you could move me with a few simple words.”

Yao Ying looked directly into Zhu Lüyun’s eyes.

“You never bothered to learn about my circumstances. In your eyes, I’m still that fourteen-year-old Seventh Sister forced into marriage, who would cry at the sight of someone from the Central Plains, who would forgive and forget after hearing a few promises, begging you and your aunt to save me from my misery, isn’t that right?”

Zhu Lüyun had no response.

…

Years ago, after Li De and Li Xuanzhen rescued Zhu Lüyun, they granted her every wish. All her needs for food, clothing, and daily necessities were met with the finest quality, taking precedence over all other ladies of the Li family. Li Yao Ying was frail and sickly, living in Jingnan with Li Zhongqian for many years. Busy quarreling with Li Xuanzhen, Zhu Lüyun knew little about Li Yao Ying, only hearing that Seventh Sister was a beauty in the making.

Later, when Li De defeated all his powerful enemies and became the hegemon of the Central Plains, Li Yao Ying grew older and her reputation for beauty spread throughout Guanzhong. Zhu Lüyun had seen her at several banquets and found her truly as beautiful as the legends said. At that time, Zhu Lüyun’s heart was filled with hatred for the Li family, and she had no friendship with Li Yao Ying.

Before and after Li De claimed the throne, the conflict between Li Xuanzhen and Li Zhongqian grew deeper. The advisors led by Wei Ming frequently crossed paths with Li Yao Ying, and Zhu Lüyun had witnessed several arguments between Li Xuanzhen and Wei Ming regarding Li Yao Ying.

Even then, she still paid little attention to the Li family’s Seventh Sister.

Later still, Zhu Lüyun quarreled with Li Xuanzhen and, influenced by her aunt’s loyal servant, agreed to the marriage alliance in a moment of grief and anger, only to regret it soon after. To protect her, Li Xuanzhen and his advisors arranged for the lustful Yelu chieftain to see the stunning Li Yao Ying at the Buddha’s Birthday ceremony…

After several twists and turns, Li Yao Ying took Zhu Lüyun’s place in the marriage, and Zhu Lüyun felt relieved.

She thought everything was over.

Li Xuanzhen deeply hated Consort Xie and harbored an intense hatred for Li Yao Ying as well. Having his enemy’s daughter replace her in marriage was killing two birds with one stone, and she could watch Li Yao Ying marry far away with a clear conscience.

However, after Li Yao Ying’s marriage, Li Xuanzhen wore a constant frown, not at all like someone who had achieved revenge.

Zhu Lüyun knew her fickleness, wavering between hatred and restoration of her state, had put Li Xuanzhen in a difficult position. He would rather use underhanded means to push his sister into danger than let her go. Deeply moved, when Crown Princess Zheng Biyu forcefully brought her into the Eastern Palace, she struggled for several days before beginning to waver, thinking: that perhaps she should just accept it. Li Xuanzhen had saved her, and she had no way to repay him except with her body.

Li Xuanzhen didn’t touch her.

Zhu Lüyun cried all night.

She didn’t understand what had happened. Li Xuanzhen was her enemy – she should have been happy he didn’t touch her. Hadn’t she refused to marry him all these years because she hated the Li family?

Why then, when Li Xuanzhen preferred to spend the entire night reading military treatises in the adjacent room rather than step into her chamber, did she weep endlessly?

The next morning, Zhu Lüyun pretended nothing had happened, dressed up anew, and went to pay respects to Zheng Biyu.

When she raised her face, she saw no jealousy on Zheng Biyu’s face, only mockery and pity.

Zhu Lüyun felt as if she had been struck on the head. All her pretenses instantly became a joke, her eyes reddened, and she could barely stand.

Zheng Biyu held her teacup, glancing at her indifferently, showing no surprise: “Lady Yun, do you know what mistake you made?”

Zhu Lüyun looked at her bewildered.

Zheng Biyu took a sip of tea, “You made one mistake: the person who took your place in marriage wasn’t just anyone – it was the Seventh Princess.”

After arriving in Northern Rong and reuniting with her aunt, her only relative, Zhu Lüyun often thought about the Crown Princess’s words.

She didn’t understand the implications of the Crown Princess’s words.

What was so special about the Seventh Princess?

She heard that this beautiful princess had fallen into Haidu Aling’s hands and was imprisoned for half a year. Zhu Lüyun felt conflicted emotions. Then she heard that the royal court’s Buddha’s Son had rescued her, disregarding rumors and explaining to various countries on her behalf, willing to be criticized to protect her. Zhu Lüyun gradually began to understand.

The Seventh Princess’s special quality lay in her beauty – the Yelu chieftain had desired her after just one glance, everyone knew Haidu Aling liked to possess beautiful women, and surely the royal court’s Buddha’s Son was also bewitched by her beauty, making special exceptions for her.

So when her aunt asked Zhu Lüyun about Li Yao Ying’s character, she replied: “Li Seventh Sister was frail and sickly, depending on her brother since childhood, which made her spoiled.”

Zhu Lüyun didn’t mention how Li Yao Ying had uncovered Haidu Aling’s plans and sent troops back to warn the Central Plains. While everyone in the Central Plains knew of Princess Wenzhao’s heroic deed, in Northern Rong, these events were barely known—clearly, Haidu Aling didn’t want to be ridiculed and had deliberately concealed this matter.

Her aunt pondered for a long while before deciding to have Zhu Lüyun visit Li Yao Ying at the royal court to discover what secrets lay between her and the Buddha’s Son.

“The royal court’s Buddha’s Son keeps his vows strictly, never glancing at beauties sent from various countries, yet he repeatedly makes exceptions for Li Seventh Sister. There must be something different about her.”

Zhu Lüyun initially refused, having just made up her mind to leave Li Xuanzhen and reunite with her aunt, not wanting to journey thousands of miles on a diplomatic mission to the royal court.

But her aunt insisted so she had to come.

…

Yao Ying wasn’t wrong—Zhu Lüyun truly hadn’t bothered to learn about Yao Ying’s experiences these past years, only hearing vague details. She projected her thoughts onto others, believing Yao Ying must now be isolated and helpless, and would surely agree to her conditions.

However, before she could even state her condition or voice the words her aunt had taught her, Yao Ying turned hostile at their meeting and seized her directly.

Although Zhu Lüyun was a princess of the previous dynasty, she had been pampered since childhood and never suffered hardship. After joining the Li family, she lived an even more privileged life. She had never been treated so roughly before. Faced with Yao Ying, who was younger yet had her firmly under control, she felt shame, anger, and indignation, unable to speak for a long while.

Yao Ying turned and went downstairs.

Yuanjue hurriedly followed her.

Yao Ying gestured for him to show the parchments to Zhu Lüyun’s guards, telling them: “These are your Princess’s admissions.”

The guards looked at the parchments, shocked and angry: Princess Fukang was truly foolish—with these confessions, Princess Wenzhao could now cause endless trouble! Princess Imperial Yiqing had given countless warnings before departure, but Princess Fukang hadn’t listened to any of them!

Yao Ying stood before the steps, signaling to her guards.

The guards dragged the escorts away, covering each of their faces with black hoods, and taking them to different rooms. Only the Han guard was left where Zhu Lüyun could see him being tortured. Then they began questioning them simultaneously: “How did Princess Fukang become a Northern Rong Princess?”

With their faces covered and separated in different rooms, not knowing others’ answers, they hesitated before deciding this question wasn’t too sensitive and answered quietly.

After they answered, a guard entered the room of the slowest respondent and struck with his sword. The escort let out an agonized scream.

That scream was full of pain, draining the blood from the others’ faces.

Yuanjue gripped his sword tightly, unsure whether to intervene, but Yao Ying shook her head at him.

He sighed, thinking to himself: The Princess hasn’t killed anyone… only injured them… so she must still know her limits?

Upstairs, Zhu Lüyun watched the Han guard kneeling in the courtyard, hearing screams from different rooms, her face deathly pale.

The guards continued questioning, and this time as soon as they finished speaking, all the escorts answered simultaneously.

After several questions, the guards’ tone suddenly changed as they began asking about Princess Imperial Yiqing.

The escorts’ responses notably slowed.

After they answered, a guard ran upstairs, and soon after, stood by the window shaking his head.

Zhu Lüyun’s answers didn’t match the escorts’.

A guard immediately raised his sword, and with one swift motion, the Han guard rolled on the ground in pain, a severed finger lying in the snow amid splattered blood.

The escorts in the rooms trembled in fear.

The questioning continued.

Upstairs, Zhu Lüyun watched the bloody fingers in the snow, realizing Yao Ying hadn’t been merely threatening her, and nearly broke down.

“I’ll answer whatever you ask! Just stop this!”

The guard grinned.

…

An hour later, Yao Ying received several confessions, compared them, and handed them to Yuanjue.

Yuanjue’s face showed amazement.

The escorts were well-trained professionals—this method of comparing confessions shouldn’t have worked well on them since they had already coordinated their stories. But Yao Ying had her guards question Zhu Lüyun, the escorts, and the servants separately upstairs and downstairs. Among the three groups, Zhu Lüyun and the servants’ answers always differed from the escorts’. The escorts, seeing people upstairs repeatedly shake their heads, knew Zhu Lüyun’s answers differed from theirs and must have confessed. Their resolve gradually weakened, and their defenses were soon broken.

But the cost was cutting off the Northern Rong escorts’ fingers… if Northern Rong wouldn’t let this go, the royal court couldn’t easily protect the Princess…

Yuanjue secretly glanced at Yao Ying, his heart heavy.

However, Yao Ying acted as if nothing had happened, returning upstairs and ordering the guards to release Zhu Lüyun.

Zhu Lüyun collapsed to the ground, unable to stand for a long while.

Yao Ying walked up to her, running the dagger across her cheek: “Zhu Lüyun, I know you’ve never truly felt remorse, because you think you didn’t actively harm me. You’ve always been like this—no matter how many innocent people are affected by your willfulness, you never take it to heart. You think the whole world has wronged you.”

Zhu Lüyun bit her red lips with her pearl-like teeth.

Yao Ying applied slight pressure with the blade.

A chill ran down Zhu Lüyun’s spine.

Yao Ying patted her face: “Your father was depraved and incompetent, neglecting state affairs, and imposing heavy taxes. The Zhu dynasty’s mandate of heaven was exhausted. The world belongs to its people, not to your father. You received preferential treatment as a Zhu descendant and repeatedly made grave mistakes. No one owes you anything.”

A flash of grief and anger crossed Zhu Lüyun’s eyes.

Yao Ying looked down at her: “The marriage alliance was between me and the father-son pair of Li De and Li Xuanzhen. Whatever entanglement you had with Li Xuanzhen is your business.”

Her dagger made a light stroke.

With a flash of cold light, a lock of Zhu Lüyun’s black hair was cut off, floating down.

Zhu Lüyun trembled.

Yao Ying spoke slowly, “This is just a warning. You’d better stay away from me in the future, don’t come looking for trouble, and don’t try to use me. Otherwise, next time I won’t just cut off a lock of hair.”

After speaking, she tapped the dagger against Zhu Lüyun’s forehead.

“Escort Princess Fukang downstairs.”

Zhu Lüyun trembled several times before the guards lifted her and took her downstairs.

…

Yao Ying retrieved the parchments from Yuanjue and threw them into the fire basin, burning them to ashes.

Yuanjue was startled: “Princess, why did you burn them? Weren’t you… weren’t you trying to frame the Northern Rong Princess?”

Yao Ying smiled: “Did you think those fabricated confessions would be useful? I was just frightening Zhu Lüyun.”

Confronting her immediately upon meeting allowed them to separate Zhu Lüyun from her escorts. Without her escorts, Zhu Lüyun crumbled easily. Once she broke down, finding the escorts’ weak points wasn’t difficult.

Yuanjue was stunned for a moment before shaking his head with a smile. A gleam suddenly crossed his eyes as he ran downstairs to the snowy courtyard, searching the ground until he found the bloody fingers. He picked them up for a closer look.

After a moment, he scratched his head, smiling sheepishly.

The fingers were fake.

The King was right—Princess Wenzhao truly knew her limits.

Yuanjue was completely relieved now. He ran back upstairs and clasped his hands toward Yao Ying: “Princess, you had those fingers prepared in advance?”

Yao Ying nodded: “They are after all Northern Rong’s people. With the current tense situation in the city, if I had injured the Northern Rong delegation at this time, wouldn’t that make things difficult for the Buddha’s Son? Don’t worry, the Northern Rong delegation is completely unharmed—they just got a few needles, no internal or external injuries.”

Yuanjue didn’t know whether to laugh or cry: those escorts had screamed so convincingly that he thought their fingers had been cut off!

Yao Ying said: “Now that we have these confessions, we can return to the Royal Temple.”

Yuanjue made a sound of agreement and carefully put away the confessions.