Within the heavy curtains, someone was shrieking miserably: “Get away, don’t touch me! Don’t touch me!”

That voice was exceptionally familiar. Pei Huaizhen’s expression changed dramatically.

“Princess, you haven’t been willing to drink even a sip of water for several days now. This servant begs you, please take pity on this servant. If you continue like this, the General will kill this servant first!”

Pei Huaizhen pulled back the curtain with one sweep and was shocked to see Princess Qixia in a state of panic, her entire body curled into a ball as she cowered in the corner. A young maidservant held clear porridge and a spoon in her hands, trying to persuade her. Hearing the sound, the maid whipped around, her delicate face showing great surprise: “You are…”

“Withdraw!” Pei Huaizhen said coldly.

“The General has ordered—” The maid was about to explain when she saw Pei Huaizhen say expressionlessly: “Even if you gave Pei Yuan a hundred doses of courage, he wouldn’t dare obstruct me!”

To be able to enter this passage, to speak in such a tone, and even to directly address the General by name—in this world, besides Old General Pei, there was only one person who could do so: the supreme Empress. The maid’s fair face stiffened. Suppressing her belly full of doubts, she could only softly coax Qixia as if speaking to a child: “Princess, a distinguished guest has come to see you!”

Qixia had no reaction whatsoever, merely keeping her head down tightly, her body curled up rigidly.

Pei Huaizhen’s expression changed slightly. She stepped forward: “Qixia, what’s happened to you? I’m Pei Huaizhen. Lift your head.”

Princess Qixia didn’t move. The fingers gripping her arms trembled slightly, her black hair tangled in disarray, and at the roots of what had originally been jet-black hair, silver was faintly showing… Pei Huaizhen realized something was wrong and suddenly stepped forward to grab Qixia’s arms. Startled, Qixia immediately screamed loudly, the sound extremely shrill. Pei Huaizhen forced her to lift her head, but Qixia’s long nails scratched deep bloody marks across the back of her hand. How could someone as stubborn as Pei Huaizhen easily let go? So Princess Qixia kicked her, pinched her like a madwoman, and even finally used her mouth to bite, desperate to escape her restraint. In a moment of carelessness, Pei Huaizhen was pushed backward by her and fell hard to the ground, while the person who had been in a frenzy seemed to have exhausted all her strength and collapsed to the ground, equally drained.

Pei Huaizhen had never seen Princess Qixia like this. In her impression, Qixia was beautiful, intelligent, and gentle—a woman who inspired respect and admiration from the depths of one’s heart. But now she had clearly lost her sanity, like a complete madwoman. Before, it had only been feigned madness, but now she was truly insane. Why?

The maid hurried forward to help Empress Pei up, but was shaken off: “What exactly happened? How have you been caring for the Princess to let her become like this?”

The maid knelt on the ground, somewhat fearfully saying: “Your Ladyship, this servant… this servant knows nothing… This servant is only following the General’s orders to care for the Princess here.”

Empress Pei laughed coldly, went forward, and pulled back Princess Qixia’s collar, revealing the bloody marks she had glimpsed during the earlier struggle. She said in a cold voice: “Taking good care of the Princess—then what is this?”

The maid wanted to stop Empress Pei but was a step too late. She could only hang her head silently.

Qixia lay quietly on the ground, her face showing a sickly flush. At this moment she was no longer frantically making noise—she seemed to have fallen unconscious. Pei Huaizhen knew things had exceeded her expectations. With a darkened face, she personally stripped off Qixia’s outer garments, only to discover that her entire body was covered in unbearable wounds. Instantly, all her rage transformed into terror.

Just at this moment, Pei Yuan walked in from outside. He was travel-worn and dusty, his handsome face showing slight fatigue, still gripping a riding crop in his hand—clearly he had just galloped back from outside. When Empress Pei saw him, she flew into a rage, scolding him furiously: “Pei Yuan, I told you to watch Princess Qixia properly. What have you done?”

Pei Yuan lowered his eyes and stared coldly at the maid for a moment. The maid knelt down fearfully: “General, it was Her Ladyship who suddenly arrived. This servant truly had no idea!”

Pei Yuan took a deep breath and looked at Empress Pei: “Sister, you already know what happened, don’t you? Why ask unnecessarily?”

Empress Pei said angrily: “I only see that Qixia’s body is covered in unbearable marks. Pei Yuan, have you gone mad? I told you how to handle this. If you need women, you can find a thousand, ten thousand—how dare you lay hands on her?”

Pei Yuan’s expression was exceptionally calm: “Sister, since you entrusted her to me, shouldn’t you let me dispose of her as I see fit?”

“Letting you dispose of her means you can rape her and drive her insane? This is your method of disposal? Don’t you know that keeping her will have great use in the future? Don’t you know she’s an important chess piece! No wonder… no wonder you haven’t dared enter the palace these past months—you were afraid of being exposed before me!” Empress Pei had always been cold, but at this moment she couldn’t help gnashing her teeth.

Pei Yuan squeezed out the words through clenched teeth: “If the Emperor can touch a woman, why can’t I?”

Pei Huaizhen raised her hand and delivered a ringing slap: “Arrogant!”

Pei Yuan’s face turned to the side from the blow. He laughed coldly: “I did nothing wrong. I merely obtained the woman I wanted!”

For the first time, Pei Huaizhen trembled with rage: “Good, good, good! My dear younger brother actually questions me one day—you question me over a woman?! Pei Yuan, you’ve utterly disappointed my expectations of you!”

Pei Yuan bit out: “Expectations? Sister, aside from expectations, have you truly cared about me? In your heart, there’s only the Pei family, only yourself! You brought Qixia here not to help her, but because you wanted to push her out at the critical moment to threaten the Emperor! People like you have no love, no affection, no humanity—only yourself!”

Pei Huaizhen’s entire body felt plunged into an icy cave with fury. All these years she had planned for the family, shared her father’s worries, sought opportunities for her younger brother—and now look at how he repaid her? She was absolutely enraged. She snatched the riding crop from Pei Yuan’s hand and struck him violently all over, each lash landing on Pei Yuan’s handsome face. Pei Yuan immediately knelt to the ground, but stubbornly said: “If you want to beat me, then beat me. I absolutely won’t yield!”

Empress Pei mercilessly and violently whipped his head and face. Pei Yuan indeed gritted his teeth without making a sound. Empress Pei grew even more resentful: “Speak! When exactly did you set your sights on Qixia!”

Pei Yuan remained silent.

“Speak! Did you plan all along to stab me in the back!”

“How exactly do you want to humiliate your sister!”

“Why won’t you speak? Why won’t you speak!”

The whip fell on Pei Yuan’s body again and again, nearly beating him bloody, especially that handsome face—long since torn and lacerated, beaten until even the edges of the whip curled up. The maid was already so frightened she held her breath, trembling on the side.

Yet no matter how severely Empress Pei questioned him, Pei Yuan remained utterly silent.

Finally, Pei Huaizhen grew tired of beating him. She threw down the whip and sat on the ground, her gaze looking at her younger brother with such sinister intensity, as if she wanted to tear him apart and devour him.

“I truly find it hard to imagine that while I endured humiliation for the Pei family, my own younger brother would treat me this way.” At this moment, though Empress Pei was cold and emotionless, she was still young and retained some feelings for family. So her questioning contained a trace of barely perceptible sadness, like a sharp blade edge constantly trembling: “I only want to ask you one thing—why!”

Empress Pei’s appearance was terrifying, but Pei Yuan merely smiled faintly: “From the first time I saw Princess Qixia, I wanted to possess her.”

Empress Pei stared at him blankly, as if seeing him for the first time.

“But that man clearly had no way to give Qixia an open and proper status, yet desperately forced her, tormented her.” When mentioning the Emperor, burning sparks flared in Pei Yuan’s eyes, even murderous intent. Then he seemed to glance in Qixia’s direction, the bright light in his eyes quickly dimming, a smile floating at the corners of his mouth containing helplessness yet filled with resentment: “So when you, Sister, told me you would entrust her to my custody, my heart secretly rejoiced, because after waiting so long—the opportunity had finally come.”

Empress Pei’s weary face couldn’t conceal her disappointment: “So from the very beginning you planned to scheme against me. Once I handed her over to you, you thought you’d achieved your heart’s desire.”

The smile on Empress Pei’s face was unprecedentedly devoid of a superior’s arrogance. At this moment she simply found it hard to believe.

When had Pei Yuan fallen in love with Qixia? She hadn’t noticed at all.

For the first time she realized that thinking everything was under control, even she herself was just a chess piece in Heaven’s hand.

This remarkable younger brother of hers, the brother she took such pride in, had actually done such things right under her nose.

A trace of guilt flashed in Pei Yuan’s eyes: “Sister, I only fell in love with Qixia. I didn’t betray you. Didn’t I imprison her according to your instructions? I did nothing to wrong you—why such fury?”

“But you violated my intentions—how is that any different from betrayal!” Empress Pei raged. Since childhood, her younger brother had always been very obedient, never showing defiant behavior. Her gaze was like a fireball, burning directly onto Pei Yuan’s face: “Wanting to possess a woman but not daring to confront the Emperor directly, so instead you turn and betray me. I told you to confine Qixia, but I didn’t tell you to rape her and drive her insane! You speak over and over about how the Emperor tormented Qixia in every way—how are you any different? I despise you from the bottom of my heart. You’ve failed me, failed the Pei family name. You’re unworthy to speak of love, because you’re cowardly and selfish, foolish and insecure!”

Having finished these words, Empress Pei finally showed a haughty expression, her jet-black eyes reflecting Pei Yuan’s face. These men, each one so insufferably arrogant, yet at critical moments so utterly useless. The Emperor disregarded even his empire for a woman—a complete fool. And her carefully cultivated younger brother of many years only knew how to betray his own sister, betray his own family—equally cowardly and laughable.

Speaking over and over of love, when it all came from selfish desires.

These people wanting to best her were all deluded dreamers!

Empress Pei suddenly stood up, her jet-black luminous eyes no longer holding any warmth, only revealing extreme cruelty as she looked down at Pei Yuan from above.

Pei Yuan had originally been determined to stubbornly resist no matter what the other party said, but at this moment seeing his sister’s eyes, his original resolve instantly vanished into thin air.

“My patience with you is exhausted.” Empress Pei snorted contemptuously. “I don’t want to waste any more time. Right now you’re no different from Yuan Jinfeng—both equally shameless dogs, not worth a moment of my time!”

She had sacrificed everything for the Pei family—what had the Pei family done for her?

She had carefully cultivated Pei Yuan—how had this younger brother betrayed her?

Those who betrayed her would never again be worthy of trust.

“Sister!” Pei Yuan’s face turned ashen all at once.

“Pack your things immediately. In one hour, depart for Jizhou at once. I don’t want to see you again.” Empress Pei’s voice was haughty, yet the corners of her lips showed a trace of neurotic, sickly twitching.

Pei Yuan was greatly shocked. Before, he could still see a trace of warmth on his sister’s face, but now her face had become extremely cold and emotionless, like an ice sculpture, devoid of feeling.

It was over. Everything was irretrievable. He had thoroughly enraged her, so she had decided to no longer show mercy.

All the blood in Pei Yuan’s body rushed to the top of his head, his heart seized by an invisible giant hand.

He suddenly remembered something from childhood. At that time he had disobeyed his eldest sister’s wishes by skipping lessons to secretly go play. When he returned, he was locked in a pitch-black small room. No matter how he cried out, cursed, kicked the door, or begged—all to no avail. No one paid attention. He was confined for a full day and night before being released. To take revenge on his sister, as soon as he got out he ate desperately, nearly eating himself to death. His sister was very angry and ordered people to grab his ankles and flip him upside down, face downward, slamming his head violently against the floor. That feeling of nauseous suffering—even someone as able to endure as he was couldn’t help begging for mercy repeatedly. And his sister’s terrifying expression at that time—he could never forget it for the rest of his life.

Yes, deep in her bones she loved him dearly, but once he betrayed her, angered her, she would become more cruel than a demon. At this moment, the fear of Empress Pei from childhood occupied Pei Yuan’s heart. For the first time his voice carried desolation: “Sister!”

Empress Pei said coldly: “Making mistakes out of youthful ignorance, I would still forgive you. But from today forward, if you dare defy me again, I will directly strangle you to death!”