Du Ruhui said in a rough voice, “I am Ah Hu. I greet Guard Cui.” Before he had finished speaking, Cui Yongzhong suddenly grabbed his hand. Upon discovering that the color of his hand was different from that of his face, his pupils immediately contracted sharply as he shouted sternly, “No! You are Du Ruhui!” Before his voice fell, sharp pain came from the back of his neck, followed immediately by loss of consciousness.

After dealing with Cui Yongzhong, Li Shimin didn’t linger. He swiftly came behind the guard who still didn’t know what had happened and, just like before, struck hard at the back of his neck with a knife-hand blow. As this guard fell to the ground, Pei Qiantong also knocked out another guard.

After dragging them behind the gate to hide them, Pei Qiantong said gravely, “Quickly go to Feixiang Hall. Otherwise, when they wake up or are discovered by someone, the palace will be sealed off, and it will be difficult to get out.”

In Feixiang Hall, Cui Ji pointed to a box of eyebrow stones carved into the twelve zodiac animals on the table and said to Yunyi, who was holding a book scroll, “This is Shixing stone slate from Lingnan, taken from stream water. It’s naturally moist and soft, and when dripped with fragrant dew, the ink liquid ground from it is bright and satisfying – most suitable for you.”

Yunyi didn’t even lift her head, saying indifferently, “I don’t need it. Take it away.” She wore no makeup at all now, her long black hair falling behind her like dark clouds, not even a single hairpin visible. In fact, because she had used a hairpin to wound someone at the city gate, all the hairpins and sharp objects in Feixiang Hall had been taken away by Cui Ji.

Cui Ji’s face stiffened, then he smiled, “If you don’t like it, that’s fine. I’ve prepared something else that you’ll surely like.” With that, he called out loudly, “Bring it in.”

Following his words, a palace servant walked in carrying an iron perch with a parrot perched on it. Parrots weren’t unusual, but what was unusual was that this parrot had five colors, each one bright and distinct, extremely beautiful.

After the palace servant took a handful of chestnuts from a small pouch and fed them to it, the parrot hopped while clearly calling out, “Long live the Princess! Ten thousand blessings to the Princess!”

This voice, as Cui Ji had wished, drew Yunyi’s gaze from her book. She then stood up and walked to the parrot. Cui Ji’s heart rejoiced, and he said to the eunuch, “Quick, have it call out a few more times.”

The eunuch was about to comply when Yunyi said, “No need.” Saying this, she turned to look at Cui Ji, “Do you really want me to be happy?” Because of the city gate incident, Cui Ji had been severely scolded by Yuwen Huaji, making him dare not act presumptuously. Instead, he frequently brought rare and precious trinkets to the palace to please Yunyi, hoping she would no longer resist him. In just over half a month, the storeroom was already packed full.

Seeing Yunyi take the initiative to speak with him, Cui Ji’s heart filled with joy, and he hurriedly said, “Of course. As long as you like it, no matter what it is, and no matter how difficult it is to find, I will find it for you.”

“Good!” Yunyi took the key from the eunuch’s hand and unlocked the chain on the parrot’s foot. Once freed, it immediately spread its wings and flew out of the hall, disappearing in an instant.

Cui Ji said in astonishment, “What are you doing?”

Yunyi casually threw away the key and said calmly, “No matter how well it learns, it’s ultimately just a beast, not worth my trouble to listen to. What I truly want is only one thing, and it’s not difficult to find – it’s far away in the sky yet close before my eyes.”

“What is it?” Facing Cui Ji’s urgent gaze, Yunyi said word by word, “Your head on your neck!”

These words made the smile on Cui Ji’s face disappear completely as he gritted his teeth, “You’re playing with me?!”

Yunyi smiled faintly, “I’ve already told you what I want. If Young Master Cui is willing to offer it with both hands, otherwise…” Her eyes turned cold as she said icily, “Get out of Feixiang Hall immediately!”

Cui Ji’s temples throbbed with veins as he said sinisterly, “Yang Yunyi, don’t refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit. I don’t have much patience left!”

Yunyi sneered, “Even if you pile all the treasures in the world in this Feixiang Hall, I still wouldn’t spare a glance at you, you despicable villain. Give up this idea!”

“You!” Cui Ji angrily grabbed her chin and said through gritted teeth, “Don’t think that just because Yuwen Huaji protects you, I really can’t do anything to you. I, Cui Ji, have never failed to get what I want!”

“Release my Princess!” Ruyi and the other rushed forward to pull him away, but were pushed down to the ground one after another, their backs in severe pain, unable to get up for a moment.

Yunyi endured the pain in her cheeks and said coldly, “Give up this idea. I will never belong to you!”

“Is that so?” Cui Ji laughed in extreme anger. The next moment, he actually tore open Yunyi’s clothing, exposing her smooth, jade-like shoulders. Yunyi was greatly alarmed and struggled forcefully, “If you do this, Yuwen Huaji will never let you off!”

“Hmph, do you really think I’m afraid of that old ghost Yuwen Huaji? I’m just waiting for the right moment. But now, I’ve lost my patience. Yang Yunyi, today I will make you mine. I don’t believe that old ghost would really turn against the Cui family for you!”

Before Ruyi and the other could step forward to stop him again, he said to several palace servants standing nearby, “Take these two away and watch them carefully.”

The palace servants said with difficulty, “Young Master Cui, this… this doesn’t seem right. Why don’t we just forget about it?”

Cui Ji, while grabbing Yunyi, said coldly, “What? Are my words no longer effective? Do you want your heads to roll!” The palace servants were frightened by him, their necks turning cold, not daring to say more. Following his words, they forcibly dragged away Ruyi and Jixiang.

Yunyi held her clothing with one hand and said sternly, “Even if I die, I will never submit to you!”

“Die?” Cui Ji sneered, “Without my permission, don’t even think about dying!”

“My life is my own. You have no right to interfere.” With that, she pressed her lips tightly together, a look of determination appearing in her eyes. But before she could bite down, Cui Ji had already seen through her intention. He grabbed her cheeks with one hand and stuffed a piece of cloth he had found somewhere into her mouth, preventing her from biting her tongue to commit suicide.

Cui Ji held her in his arms, caressing her smooth, creamy shoulders, and said with an evil smile, “Don’t worry, I definitely won’t let you die before I’m tired of playing with you.”

Facing his approaching face, Yunyi, who had originally looked panicked, suddenly revealed a trace of a smile. At the same time, her hands, which had been tightly clenched, suddenly became like snakes – so soft and slippery that they couldn’t be grasped. Then sharp pain came from his arm, and he hurriedly pulled back his hand, but it was already too late. A deep wound that reached the bone had appeared on his arm, with blood continuously gushing out.

Before he could react, a silver light stabbed toward his chest. Cui Ji hurriedly dodged. Though he avoided vital points, his shoulder wasn’t so lucky and was severely stabbed. And this wasn’t the end – the dagger that had pierced his flesh twisted viciously, like carving meat, causing him to break out in cold sweat, unable to say a word.

Yunyi held the blade in one hand and removed the cloth from her mouth with the other, laughing softly, “I forgot to tell you – I’ve practiced martial arts since childhood. I may not be very skilled, but killing one person is more than enough. Biting my tongue to commit suicide? Hehe, since you’re not dead, how could I bear to die!”