It was already late morning, yet the Li Manor remained eerily quiet. Li Weiyang slowly descended into the dungeon, and Zhao Yue said in a low voice, “Miss, General Sun has been interrogating them all night, but they refuse to confess anything.”

General Sun, after all, came from the battlefield, with countless fierce soldiers under his command. His methods of torture were also extraordinary. The fact that these four men could endure under his hand for so long was truly not to be underestimated.

Zhao Yue glanced at Li Weiyang’s expression and said, “Miss, in this servant’s opinion, it would be better to just kill them directly. Why go through so much trouble?”

“There is no clam in this world that cannot be pried open, just as there is no mouth that will never speak. Keeping them alive is far more useful than turning them into corpses.” Li Weiyang smiled as she answered, continuing down the steps. This was her second time coming to the Li family dungeon. Last time, she had dealt with the Jiang brothers here with great success. But this time, she faced not a young famous general, but a group of ruthless desperados who killed without blinking. No matter how vicious Jiang Hai and his men were, they cared about face and reputation. Once you broke through their psychological defenses, you could completely crush them mentally. But these shadow guards were people without self-respect or bottom lines—no matter how you humiliated them, they would not be moved, making them very difficult to handle.

General Sun’s full name was Sun Chongyao. He was a famous brave general who, though already over fifty, remained imposing and robust due to his years of military life, exuding authority in his every move. However, at this moment, his expression was extremely unpleasant. Seeing Li Weiyang descend into the dungeon, he couldn’t help but say, “Princess, this is not a place you should come.” Though his tone was stern, his eyes held a trace of concern. Clearly, he felt that Li Weiyang, being a young girl, would be frightened if she saw the bloodstains covering the dungeon.

Li Weiyang glanced at the four men hanging on the wall to one side and smiled faintly. “General Sun, have you made no progress yet?”

After working so hard for so long to capture these men, Sun had originally intended to torture them thoroughly before killing them. Who knew Li Weiyang would say they were still useful, so he had patiently ground away with them for this long, wanting to extract some useful intelligence from them. He had interrogated at least eight hundred military spies in his time, if not a thousand, yet he had never encountered such stubborn ones. After toiling all night, he hadn’t even gotten their names, despite having used every torture method available. However, these men not only refused to speak, they hadn’t even raised their eyelids to look at him once, rendering all his methods useless and leaving him angry but helpless.

“My men broke three whips, but unfortunately, no one would reveal a single word. Names, ages, identities—they say nothing.” General Sun spoke honestly.

Regarding his daughter’s death, though he wasn’t as emotionally distraught as his wife, he had been suppressing tremendous grief in his heart. Sun Yanjun had been his precious treasure since childhood, with a naive, lively, kind, and selfless temperament. Precisely because of this, he had been deeply worried she would suffer outside, so before she married, he had repeatedly warned her to be extremely careful outside, speak less, not do things she shouldn’t do, and especially to listen more to her husband’s family’s teachings to avoid causing trouble. Who knew that just after marrying over, this kind of thing would happen. If he had known this would happen, he would rather have refused his daughter’s request and directly married her to his deputy general, keeping her under his watchful eye for life, rather than having the old send off the young.

Li Weiyang looked at General Sun’s frost-white hair, feeling a slight ache in her heart, and said, “General Sun, I have my own methods for dealing with these people. Please hand them over to me.”

General Sun was surprised. “Princess, aren’t you afraid?”

Li Weiyang’s tone was very light: “Afraid? I fear blood, fear screams, I even fear the dust and rats in the dungeon. But when I think of how miserably Yanjun died, I fear nothing anymore. So, please hand these men over to me and let me do my part for her.”

General Sun was startled, then said, “Alright, I trust you.”

Li Weiyang smiled and said, “Then please go out and rest first. I’ve already instructed the servants to prepare a side room. When you’ve rested well, Father says he wants to invite you for tea.”

General Sun nodded. Since he had come to the Li Manor and caused such a commotion, Li Xiaoran couldn’t possibly be unaware. The most likely scenario was that out of guilt over Sun Yanjun’s death, he deliberately gave him this courtesy, even secretly providing considerable assistance. Since the host was being so polite, he should pay his respects. Thinking this, he said, “Then I’ll take my leave first. Call me if you need anything.”

After he left, the dungeon returned to silence.

Only then did Li Weiyang slowly turn around, carefully examining the four bloody, mangled men hanging on the wall.

General Sun clearly hated them to the extreme and had been ruthless with all of them. After one night, they were basically covered in whip marks. Li Weiyang smiled as she looked at the man with the scarred face. “I’m not interested in anything else. I only want to know who exactly violated Sun Yanjun.”

The four men showed no reaction, not even raising their heads to look at Li Weiyang once, as if completely indifferent to her presence.

Li Weiyang sneered coldly. They were indeed all tough nuts.

Standing beside her was the torturer General Sun had specifically left behind. Seeing them refuse to answer Li Weiyang’s question, he immediately lashed down viciously with whip after whip. From their initial muffled grunts, the sounds gradually grew quieter until finally silent, yet they still remained motionless, refusing to speak.

Li Weiyang looked at them with a calm expression. “I have many methods to make you talk. However, I don’t like those cruel methods. If I ask nicely now and you answer nicely, I’ll give you a quick death. Wouldn’t that be good?”

Among the four, the scarred leader suddenly raised his head, slowly staring at Zhao Yue beside Li Weiyang, and smiled silently.

Zhao Yue couldn’t help but shudder. She whispered, “Miss, this servant recognizes him. His name is Jingzhe, a first-rank shadow guard.”

“Oh, Jingzhe. See, once strangers, twice acquainted—doesn’t that mean we know each other now?” Li Weiyang smiled very gently.

Jingzhe sneered and said something in a low voice. Zhao Yue didn’t hear clearly and frowned as she leaned closer to listen, only to hear Jingzhe laugh, “Just a little whore, how dare she know my name.”

Zhao Yue became furious. “Miss, this dog dares to insult you! Let this servant kill him with one sword!”

Li Weiyang spoke unhurriedly, looking at Jingzhe’s face and slowly saying, “The tongue is meant for speaking, so when you insult me, you’re not exactly wrong. The reason I’m letting you live isn’t because I’m soft-hearted, but because I want you to know that sometimes, living is more painful than dying. Do you believe me? Very soon, it will be your turn to beg me—beg me to kill you.”

Her tone was gentle, her expression peaceful. The four men, seeing this, all looked at her with contempt. During their training, to test their loyalty and endurance, what kind of severe torture hadn’t they experienced? How could they take Li Weiyang’s petty tricks seriously?

Li Weiyang ordered someone to prepare a chair nearby and serve hot tea, clearly intending to watch throughout. Zhao Yue saw the four men’s disdainful expressions and sneered inwardly. You underestimate my mistress—soon you’ll know what it means to wish for death.

Li Weiyang ordered, “Bring what I instructed.”

Following Li Weiyang’s instructions, Zhao Yue brought over a jar of coarse salt. Then Li Weiyang looked at the jar of salt in her hands and sighed, “Do you know? Sun Yanjun had just married, dreaming of spending her whole life with the man she loved.”

Then, with a wave of her hand, she ordered the salt rubbed all over Jingzhe’s body. Immediately, Jingzhe let out an earth-shattering scream. Salt sprinkled on wounds—his already torn and mangled wounds brought excruciating pain, twelve hundred thousand times more cruel than the original whipping. Jingzhe’s face immediately turned deathly pale, cold sweat covered his forehead. He was about to pass out from the pain, but someone beside him had already inserted steel needles into the acupoints in his ears, preventing him from losing consciousness, forcing him to endure this agony that felt like ten thousand knives cutting his flesh.

Li Weiyang sighed, her voice low. “Not only that, she was pregnant, joyfully telling me she would soon become a mother.”

Jingzhe continued screaming. Li Weiyang laughed softly, “She wasn’t your enemy, just a defenseless woman, and moreover, a woman six months pregnant. I really want to know, when you made your move, did you feel even a moment of reluctance?”

Jingzhe spat out a mouthful of blood. Though his body was in unbearable pain, he still sneered coldly. But the other three watching him all showed expressions of terror on their faces. Because at this moment, following Li Weiyang’s instructions, the torturer took out another jar and scooped out honey to smear on Jingzhe’s body. The more severe the wounds, the more was applied. The yellow crystals congealed on Jingzhe’s body, making his entire person smell of blood, decay, and sweetness mixed together—bizarrely unimaginable.

Jingzhe and the others had no idea what Li Weiyang was trying to do. Rubbing salt naturally would drive someone mad with pain, but what use was honey? Could it sweeten him to death? Jingzhe forcibly endured the intense pain on his body and laughed loudly, “Have you run out of tricks? Get lost as far away as you can—stop putting on airs in front of this grandfather!”

Li Weiyang lowered her head, smiled slightly, and said, “I’m sitting too close—I can smell the sweet scent.”

Others didn’t know what she was talking about. Just then, the torturer walked over again, carrying an iron bucket. Jingzhe and the others had originally been indifferent, but when they saw clearly what was in the iron bucket, all their faces changed.

“I’ve heard that ants, crawling insects, and rats all love the smell of honey, and I also added honey crystals to the honey—the scent must be wonderful.” Li Weiyang said quietly, her expression actually somewhat innocent, as if seriously discussing whether the animals in this iron bucket would truly like these flavors.

Before Jingzhe could react, the torturer had already poured the entire iron bucket’s contents from head to toe over him. In an instant, ants, crawling insects, and rats crawled all over his body.

“Ah—ah—ah—” Jingzhe’s screams made everyone freeze. Especially the other three who had been indifferent to torture—they watched in horror as Jingzhe’s body became densely covered with ants, black thumb-sized crawling insects, and even three gray rats biting his wounds. Jingzhe’s whole body was already wounded with torn flesh. This suffering of ten thousand insects gnawing at the body was more terrible than being slowly cut to pieces.

Li Weiyang’s voice was very calm: “I’ve starved these rats for one night. The insects eat heartbreak grass that grows in the mountains—their saliva itself is poisonous, making all your wounds unbearably painful and severely swollen. As for the ants… I suppose I don’t need to explain—doesn’t the itching feel wonderful?”

Jingzhe’s body began to swell and fester in moments. Even his eyelids were crawling with ants. The doubled wound pain plus bone-deep itching made him truly understand what it meant to be unable to live or die. He screamed desperately. Just then, the ants, smelling the honey mixed with blood, swarmed in black masses into his eyes, nose, and ears, making his whole body shake violently.

Jingzhe let out screams of extreme misery, as if falling into the eighteenth level of hell.

These shadow guards now knew that Li Weiyang’s punishment was crueler than any torture they had ever experienced, and moreover, this unbearable torment would drive a person completely mad. Half an hour later, Jingzhe’s entire body’s skin had festered. Ants had burrowed into his internal organs. He could no longer say half a word.

Li Weiyang smiled faintly, looking at the three men beside him. “In another hour, the ants will have eaten through his flesh and skin. Do you also want to try? It’s truly very interesting!” This voice, sweet yet vicious, made the other three men’s bones tremble. Suddenly, Jingzhe’s screams stopped abruptly, as if his tongue and vocal cords had been bitten through by the ants…

The man on the left could no longer resist and was the first to speak: “The one who raped Lady Sun was Jingzhe—only him! I didn’t do it! I really didn’t!”

The other person also feared falling behind: “Yes, it was all Jingzhe alone! Princess Anguo trusts him the most!”

Li Weiyang looked at the other silent man. If she remembered correctly, last time Princess Anguo had called him Hui Nu. “Oh, is that so?”

At this moment, Jingzhe’s entire body had been submerged by the terrifying ants and crawling insects. No screams, no breathing sounds—only the animals’ squeaking sounds of sucking blood and flesh. Only Hui Nu’s expression flickered uncertainly before finally saying, “I… I don’t know…”

Li Weiyang’s smile deepened as she ordered the torturer to bring the iron bucket with the remaining ants closer to Hui Nu: “You know, I’ve never liked people lying. I’m even crueler to liars than to those who won’t speak.”

Before those things could even get close, Hui Nu had already screamed out, “The one who shattered her heart meridian was Jingzhe! The ones who raped her were those two! The one who cut open her belly was Princess Anguo… I, I was responsible for throwing her in that alley—”

Oh, so that’s how it was. Li Weiyang turned to examine the other two: “So you two were both lying?! How disappointing.” She waved her hand. “Throw them into the pen with rutting bulls until they stop breathing.” Said so lightly, yet the content was extremely bloody and terrifying. Everyone knew that once rutting bulls went mad, they didn’t distinguish between male and female. In the end, one could be gored through the belly or trampled to death by hooves. Those two men became even more terrified, struggling desperately, but Li Weiyang ordered their hand and foot tendons severed and had them dragged out directly.

Hui Nu looked at Li Weiyang in fear. He had never encountered such a terrifying woman. Princess Anguo liked to torture people, but she didn’t have such horrible methods. Who knew how she thought of this! So bizarre and cruel!

Li Weiyang sighed. “Are you curious how I thought of such strange methods? It’s not strange. The place I stayed in had plenty of methods to torture people. However, I endured all those methods, but you can’t, which shows how incompetent these so-called shadow guards are.”

Hearing this, Zhao Yue looked at Li Weiyang strangely, not knowing what she was talking about. In fact, life in the Cold Palace wasn’t limited to the stepping-on-lotuses punishment. Those twisted, perverted eunuchs could think of any method. The only difference was they would show restraint and not cause deaths, but this way, the torture was doubled.

“Hui Nu, do you know why I’m keeping only you?” Li Weiyang asked.

Hui Nu didn’t even dare look at the person beside him who had been gnawed by ants until only a skeleton wrapped in skin remained. He tried hard to focus his gaze on Li Weiyang’s delicate face, but this effect was really too weak, rendering him unable to speak. Li Weiyang waved her hand, and someone beside her immediately disposed of Jingzhe’s corpse. She said lightly, “Now speak up. Remember to be honest.”

Having seen the three others’ terrible fates, who would dare be dishonest? Hui Nu nodded fearfully. The torturer beside him kept his head lowered, not daring to look at Li Weiyang, while Zhao Yue was quite satisfied. These shadow guards had countless blood on their hands. They didn’t just kill for their missions—killing had become their habit. When idle, they even compared who had killed more people, including many innocent elderly, weak, women, and children. Such people deserved to die.

Hui Nu said, “I don’t know why you’re keeping me alone, but whatever you want me to do, I’ll do it. I only ask that you give me a quick death.”

Li Weiyang smiled. “As long as you take this pill, I’ll let you know what you should do.”

Hui Nu looked at the red pill Zhao Yue brought to his mouth, gritted his teeth, tilted his neck back, and swallowed it.

Li Weiyang’s voice was exceptionally gentle: “Since you’re so obedient, naturally I won’t kill you. There are still many places I’ll need you. However, after taking this pill, you must take the antidote every ten days. Otherwise, I’m afraid your suffering will be ten or a hundred times worse than Jingzhe’s.”

Hui Nu bowed his head deeply and said through gritted teeth, “Hui Nu greets his master.”

Li Weiyang normally disdained using such cruel methods to make shadow guards submit, but they had killed Sun Yanjun using such brutal methods, showing not a trace of humanity from beginning to end. Dealing with such people, being soft-hearted would only embolden them. Fundamentally, these murderous assassins were all base at heart. If you speak nicely or try to buy them with money, they look down on you. Only by making them recognize that you are crueler and more ruthless than they are will they bow to you. This is what it means to be strong—only the strong can make others fear and admire them. Of course, this method varies from person to person and isn’t suitable for everyone.

Emerging from the dungeon, Li Weiyang heard that Tuoba Yu had come to visit. She walked to the pavilion to see Tuoba Yu standing up with a smile all over his face. “You’re here. I’ve prepared some pastries and brought them for you to taste.”

At this time? In this manner? Li Weiyang was startled.

“What are you thinking about?” Tuoba Yu asked softly.

Li Weiyang had been looking at the plates of exquisite pastries, then turned her head to meet Tuoba Yu’s gaze. Her expression seemed somewhat distracted: “Nothing.”

“This is a famous chef I specially invited from Jingzhou. His cream rolls are the most authentic—sweet and delicious, and once you eat one, you can’t stop. Would you like to try?” Tuoba Yu ordered a maid beside him to serve Li Weiyang food, but her expression remained ordinary—she didn’t even touch it once.

Tuoba Yu looked at her. “No appetite?!”

Li Weiyang smiled. “Thank you for Seventh Prince’s kind intention, but your coming here every few days is really inappropriate.”

Of course it was inappropriate. Everyone knew she was Princess Anning, the Empress Dowager’s adopted daughter. This Tuoba Yu was a generation younger than her. He frequently came to the Li Manor claiming to visit Li Xiaoran, but who didn’t know he came to see her? After all, the Seventh Prince’s interest in her was something everyone could see. Most strangely, Tuoba Yu was openly competing for the throne. If so, he should maintain appropriate distance from her and pursue another daughter from a prestigious family instead. What did constantly chasing after her mean?

Tuoba Yu gestured for a maid beside him to ladle a bowl of soup for Li Weiyang: “If you can’t eat pastries, drinking some fermented rice balls would be good. These are pearl rounds from Tianshan, which have beauty-enhancing effects.”

Li Weiyang held the bowl in her hands. Without the soup touching her lips, she set down the bowl: “Why must you do this?”

“I’m willing.” Tuoba Yu answered this way.

Li Weiyang let out a long breath, the corners of her mouth slightly curved: “Then I really must thank you for your kind intention.”

“You also need my help, don’t you?” After a moment of silence, Tuoba Yu suddenly spoke, his hands clenched tightly, his fingertips pale from pressure. “Regarding how to free yourself from him—” He suddenly looked into the distance, where a figure seemed to be standing far away.

Li Weiyang had long since noticed Li Minde standing there, but didn’t want Tuoba Yu to notice too. She lowered her eyes, her voice light: “This is my own affair. You needn’t trouble yourself.”

Tuoba Yu’s face became icy cold, his eyes also taking on a trace of barely perceptible pain. Soon, this pain was replaced by anger. She should be cruel and heartless. If she truly wanted to reject any man, she had plenty of methods, yet she had no way to deal with Li Minde. What exactly did this prove? Li Weiyang herself might not have realized it, but Tuoba Yu, who had been watching her, understood.

He liked her this much, changed his principles for her, became less and less like himself, yet she had already turned her gaze away and begun to like someone else. He stood right in front of her, yet she couldn’t see him at all. Tuoba Yu bit his teeth. When Li Weiyang noticed his distress, he had already relaxed his brow and smiled. “What’s wrong with you? Since you consider me a friend, what can’t be said?”

Tuoba Yu showed special concern, but Li Weiyang’s attitude became even more indifferent. “I’ve said, this is my own matter. Your Highness should be more concerned with your great enterprise.”

Tuoba Yu turned his head away, hands clenched tightly, afraid of losing self-control on the spot and making a scene in front of Li Weiyang.

The person in the distance walked closer and closer, seeming about to come over. Li Weiyang suddenly moved closer to Tuoba Yu, her voice soft in his ear: “Seventh Prince, since you sincerely want to help, you don’t mind if I use you a little, do you?” Tuoba Yu was startled. Li Weiyang had already smiled at him slightly, personally serving him a piece of cream roll. “It really is delicious. Try some.”

She was doing this for that person to see—it wasn’t genuine care for him at all. Tuoba Yu was furious to the extreme, but thinking it over, if this could make his rival disappear far away, it might not be a bad thing for him. After all, regarding Li Minde, he dared not act rashly, because instinctively he knew the man’s importance in Li Weiyang’s heart, forcing him to restrain himself completely. Now that Li Weiyang was taking the initiative to drive that person away, he couldn’t ask for more.

“If you ask, I have no refusals.” He smiled, actually wanting to hold her hand.

Li Weiyang imperceptibly avoided his hand, showing her thanks only with a smile: “Then, thank you.”

Her beautiful eyes rippled with flowing light, making Tuoba Yu’s heart tremble, but unfortunately, such tenderness, such beauty, was only for another man. Tuoba Yu felt as if a knife had been thrust into his heart, painfully so, yet he smiled on his face: “By the way, Princess Anguo has shown no movement, clearly believing Hui Nu’s story. Actually, in my opinion, those shadow guards really have no need to be kept—better to eliminate them to prevent future troubles.”

Li Weiyang drank a sip of tea. “I’m keeping him naturally for my own purposes. Rest assured, it won’t delay important matters.”

“They dared to assassinate you, so no survivors should be left—” Thinking that if Li Weiyang hadn’t been prepared, she wouldn’t be sitting here now, Tuoba Yu’s eyes ignited with flames.

“Aren’t I perfectly fine?”

Tuoba Yu looked straight at her: “But I would be very worried.”

In the pavilion, Li Weiyang and Tuoba Yu sat together—a talented man and beautiful woman, talking and laughing cheerfully, sitting so close together, looking like a perfect couple. It made one’s heart burn with anger, yet Li Minde suppressed his fury and walked up, smiling: “How does Seventh Prince happen to be here?”

“Seventh Prince—” Li Weiyang had just uttered a few words but slowly changed her address: “Quanqi brought some pastries over. Would you like to try some?”

Quanqi was Tuoba Yu’s courtesy name. Moreover, in the Great Li dynasty, only those very close to each other would call someone by their courtesy name, not to mention the person before them was the Great Li’s Seventh Prince—there were truly few people in this world who dared call him this way. Yet now he showed a pleased expression: “Third Young Master, please join us for tea.”

Li Minde’s face bore a smile, but his gaze was ice-cold.

“Seventh Prince, I’ve heard that Prince Chaoyang intends to betroth Princess Pinting to you. Though it was delayed due to the Empress’s mourning, Princess Pinting has let it be known that she’ll marry no one but you in this life. Your running here now to show courtship to Weiyang is rather inappropriate.”

Tuoba Yu’s expression darkened, and he said resolutely: “I could never marry Princess Pinting.”

Li Minde’s handsome face bore a smile, but that smile contained mockery: “Oh? Impossible? Prince Chaoyang visited the Seventh Prince’s residence three times within one month—surely not just for simple visits.”

In fact, Li Minde had long since obtained intelligence that Prince Chaoyang had secretly colluded with Tuoba Yu. To make Prince Chaoyang abandon neutrality and stand on Tuoba Yu’s side required nothing less than the position of Empress. Since Tuoba Yu had decided to marry Princess Pinting, running to curry favor with Li Weiyang was really somewhat unacceptable.

Tuoba Yu’s expression changed slightly. He worried Li Weiyang would mind. Her current identity was his aunt—she could never become his wife. To inherit the throne, he had to marry an Imperial Consort whose status and family background matched his own. Princess Pinting was the most suitable candidate. But somehow, his heart still hesitated. If he chose to marry Princess Pinting, he would lose the chance to win Li Weiyang’s heart. But conversely, to obtain Li Weiyang, he had to first obtain the throne, and Prince Chaoyang was currently a very powerful ally. On the surface, he seemed an idle prince without military power, but he was the Emperor’s cousin and a key figure who had helped the Emperor seize the throne, the only heteronymous prince to survive to this day—one could imagine Prince Chaoyang’s position in the Emperor’s heart. If he was willing to submit a memorial requesting the Emperor establish a Crown Prince, the matter would be more than half successful. But Prince Chaoyang was very difficult to approach. He had everything—power, fame, profit, status, beauties—his only worry was the marriage of his haughty, beautiful daughter Princess Pinting. This was also Tuoba Yu’s best method of approach.

The former Tuoba Yu would absolutely disdain using his marriage as a bargaining chip, but to obtain Li Weiyang, for the throne, he could now spare no cost. But when his actions were seen through by Li Minde, he felt extremely awkward. Yet at the same time, there was a hidden expectation—he hoped Li Weiyang would say something. Anger, jealousy, anything at all would do.

Li Weiyang slowly smiled: “Oh? Is this true? Princess Pinting is indeed a good match, except Prince Chaoyang is difficult to get along with. If Pinting becomes your primary consort, when you want to marry other secondary consorts, you’ll have considerable trouble.”

Both Tuoba Yu and Li Minde were startled. Li Minde struggled to suppress the violent anger surging in his heart: “Since Seventh Prince has already made his choice, he should avoid suspicion.”

Just then, Li Weiyang said softly: “The greater situation takes priority. I’m not someone who cares about reputation anyway. I’m sure Quanqi won’t mind either, right?”

Tuoba Yu was startled. By saying this, Li Weiyang was clearly telling Li Minde she didn’t care about Tuoba Yu taking a wife—she didn’t even care about status. Indeed, if Tuoba Yu ascended the throne, he would have many consorts. Li Weiyang’s identity as the Empress Dowager’s adopted daughter absolutely could not openly marry him. But previous dynasties had cases of princesses never marrying yet having lovers. Tuoba Yu couldn’t give Li Weiyang a title, but he could give her real power, status, and even favor exceeding all other women. All three people present understood this point clearly.

Tuoba Yu felt a moment of wild joy. After Li Minde exposed his secret dealings with Prince Chaoyang, Li Weiyang said something akin to a declaration of her feelings, kindling hope in his heart. Perhaps Li Weiyang did care about him, only her emotions were too reserved to express—however, when he saw clearly that Li Weiyang’s gaze was looking at Li Minde, infinite rage surged in his heart in that instant. He suddenly understood that everything she did was for another person.

“Is this your true intention?” Li Minde looked quietly at Li Weiyang. Seeing her nod lightly, he smiled bitterly. “Then, I have nothing more to say.” He quietly turned around, his back straight and lonely. His feet stumbled, nearly falling down the steps.

Li Weiyang’s expression changed slightly—she almost stood up. However, when she came to her senses, she remained sitting there.

“You’re truly cruel-hearted, treating me this way, and treating him this way too.” Tuoba Yu suddenly laughed, not knowing whether he was laughing at Li Minde’s blindness to Li Weiyang’s true intentions, or mocking himself for still single-mindedly wanting to obtain Li Weiyang despite reaching this point.

Today he had completely understood where Li Weiyang’s heart lay. This woman was cold-blooded and heartless. If she didn’t care about someone, even if you died at her feet, she wouldn’t look once more. No matter how much you loved her or how you pleaded with her, she would have no reaction. But today, for Li Minde’s sake, she actually showed him unprecedented intimacy, even giving an ambiguous hint. If he didn’t know the truth, he would probably be mad with joy. But now, sitting here with eyes wide open, watching them perform for each other while performing for him—for Tuoba Yu, wasn’t this also a cruel torture?

The wind whooshed past, sounding like someone’s sobbing. Li Weiyang stood up: “Seventh Prince, please return.” With that, she turned and left without any reluctance, not even intending to hear what Tuoba Yu had to say.

He lowered his head, gripping the teacup in his hand tightly, suddenly laughing uncontrollably. The maids beside him looked at each other, not knowing why this noble, aloof Seventh Prince had suddenly gone mad, what he was laughing about alone. But just then, they saw him crush the teacup with a bang, his hand becoming covered in blood, yet he seemed completely unaware, rising and sweeping his sleeves as he left.

What on earth—was happening?

Li Weiyang walked to the garden but was suddenly grabbed by the wrist and dragged into a nearby artificial mountain. Zhao Yue was about to act when a long sword was pressed against her neck: “Don’t move.”

Zhao Yue was startled and stamped her foot: “Big Brother, have you gone mad!”

“Master has something to say to Third Miss. It has nothing to do with you.” Zhao Nan’s expression was rarely ice-cold.

“I must stop anything that goes against Miss’s will. Move aside quickly!” Zhao Yue didn’t take it seriously and tried to push aside his sword tip, but unexpectedly the other party’s long sword cut her slender neck: “Big Brother, have you gone mad?! You actually attacked me?!”

“Zhao Yue, you’ve forgotten your mission and duty. You and I came here for only one purpose—to protect Master. Yet you only know to follow Third Miss all day. Have you forgotten who your real master is?” Zhao Nan sternly rebuked, his upright face more serious than ever.

Zhao Yue was startled, then said: “You and Father are the same, always telling me to practice martial arts, practice martial arts, obey orders, but I’m a person, not a tool! You had me come protect Master, I came. Master had me protect Miss, I’ve also been doing my utmost. But now, I want to stay by Miss’s side. Because in all this time, she’s the first person who calls me just a servant to my face but behind my back will seek justice for me from the Prince of Yan, even when she herself is in dire straits. She still wanted those six guards’ heads to avenge me. Big Brother, this is something you and Father would never do for me!”

This time, it was Zhao Nan’s turn to be completely stunned. He didn’t know when the little girl who used to listen to everything he said had become such a determined young woman with such strong behavior. Perhaps she herself didn’t know that her every action was imitating Li Weiyang. She admired her, longed for her inner strength, so unconsciously followed her. This magical power had already surpassed Zhao Yue’s sense of belonging to her mission, becoming her spiritual pillar—Zhao Nan felt this development was terrible, because for a guard, protecting the master was within duty, but Zhao Yue’s worship of Li Weiyang had seriously affected their mission. He was about to say something when Zhao Yue swept aside his long sword: “Big Brother, the only reason I’m not fighting you is because Miss hasn’t told me to. Next time you dare point a sword at me, don’t blame me for being impolite!”

Zhao Nan’s eyes darkened. This child was actually serious. If he tried to harm Li Weiyang, she would probably draw her sword to stand in his way—what drug had Li Weiyang given her to make her so devoted? He found it hard to understand.

Li Weiyang was about to struggle free when her wrist tightened, gripped by an ice-cold hand. Her body became unstable for a moment, stumbling as she was pulled into Li Minde’s embrace. For a moment she lingered in that warmth, but finally, quietly separated from him. The two pressed forehead to forehead, two pairs of eyes accidentally meeting, but it was Li Weiyang who first moved her eyes away.

Li Minde caressed Li Weiyang’s face. For over a month, he had never experienced such soul-consuming, bone-gnawing longing. Though she was so close, she always pretended not to see him. His heart felt empty and hollow. No matter what kind of matter, what kind of person, there was no way to soothe the desolate loneliness in his heart. Zhao Nan had requested he immediately return to the country, but he paid no attention. Because the person he loved was here—what meaning would there be wherever else he went?

When he finally realized this, he didn’t force himself to continue any meaningless waiting. He took the initiative to find her, never thinking she would put on such a show before him.

He understood her so well—she absolutely wasn’t the type of woman who could tolerate a man having three wives and four concubines. If she truly liked Tuoba Yu, she could have married him long ago. Why would she choose to say such things before him? All of this was to drive him away! She did this because she must have some concerns. How could he still endure the restlessness in his heart!

“Just how long do you intend to hide!” Like a dull knife cutting back and forth in his heart, words never before spoken spilled out so easily. “Do you know your acting is very poor!”

Li Weiyang froze. So her actions—Tuoba Yu knew, and he also knew. Yes, they were both rare intelligent men in this world. How could they not see through her tricks?

Looking at her, Li Minde’s heart ached so much he didn’t know what to do. He had vowed to cherish her in the palm of his hand, yet she still acted for him, unwilling to let down her guard. Had he truly done too little, making her so uneasy, unable to trust his feelings? “Weiyang, can you truly hide for a lifetime?”

Li Weiyang looked at him. His face reflected in her eyes seemed to ripple slightly.

Li Minde—no, Yuan Lie—what kind of man was he exactly? Just now she thought she had deceived him, only now realizing he was cunning as a crafty fox, easily seeing through her thoughts. He was even this domineering, not allowing her to continue evading. Thinking this, Li Weiyang asked softly: “Minde, what can you give me?”

Li Minde looked at her, slowly saying: “What do you want?”

Li Weiyang’s voice was soft as rippling spring water, yet carried countless chills: “I want no one in the world to dare bully me again. I want real freedom. I want supreme power. I want the highest position under heaven. Can you—give me these?”

Li Minde froze, staring at her unblinkingly, silent for a long time, as if wanting to carve her into his eyes. Slowly, his hand caressed her cheek, sliding past, gathering into her hair. Suddenly using force, his lips almost viciously bit down. Li Weiyang’s breath caught. She couldn’t help but open her mouth. When their lips and teeth intertwined, his kiss faintly carried a vicious flavor. For a moment she was confused, actually forgetting to refuse. He drove straight in without retreat, wildly demanding, bewilderingly teasing, full of tender entanglement.

After a long while, he suddenly released her, raising the corners of his lips confidently: “How difficult is this? As long as you want it, I’ll seize it for you, snatch it for you. No matter the cost, I’ll give you everything you want!”