The rage that had been burning like a wildfire just moments ago was suddenly doused by these words like ice-cold water poured over his heart. The clash of hot and cold left his body rigid as iron, unable to move.

“You…” Pain and hatred flashed in his eyes as Yin Gezhi slowly raised his hand to her throat. His Adam’s apple bobbed several times before he finally managed to squeeze out a complete sentence: “You even prepared an escape route for yourself?”

Feng Yue forced a smile and shrugged, allowing him to grip her throat as she spoke softly, “If I didn’t leave myself an escape route with you, wouldn’t that be like walking straight to my death?”

She hadn’t planned to let Yin Gezhi discover her identity so soon. After all, she still had many things to accomplish that would have been easier to do while keeping him in the dark. But today’s situation was entirely unexpected – every moment she delayed increased her chances of death. Since Yin Gezhi had suspected her from the beginning, he wouldn’t have believed any other excuse, nor would he have taken her away immediately.

So she decided to gamble – to bet on how much feeling he had for her, to bet on whether he would expose her on the spot or help her escape.

Fortunately, she won this gamble – Yin Gezhi still maintained his rationality. She escaped without falling into Yi Guoru’s hands.

But her victory wasn’t complete. Their months of living together day and night hadn’t left much of an impression on Yin Gezhi’s heart. The way he looked at her now suggested he wanted to kill her.

So having an escape route was truly necessary. Even if people loved each other desperately, there was no guarantee they wouldn’t end up as enemies one day.

She sighed and lifted the corner of her mouth: “Your Highness, shall we speak somewhere else?”

The man before her didn’t answer. Feng Yue paused and looked up at him.

His face remained cold, even colder than ever before. But Yin Gezhi’s lips were pale, so pale they looked sickly. Alarmed at the sight, she instinctively reached out to touch his forehead.

“Slap!” With a crisp sound, he knocked her hand away, his eyes filled with more disgust than ever before: “How filthy!”

Her breath caught for a moment, but Feng Yue broke into a grin and lifted her skirts to curtsey: “This slave was presumptuous.”

“Now that everything’s clear, why keep up this act?” He glared at her, seeming to struggle with his words, but each one cut like a knife: “Guan Qingyue, you, a female general of the Guan family, taking off your armor to put on silk and selling yourself in a brothel – don’t you feel you’re insulting all those soldiers who died in battle?”

Gripping her wrist, Yin Gezhi narrowed his eyes: “Such skill. A body of steel and iron – what did you take to lose all your internal energy?”

Feng Yue tilted her head, amused by his angry, hurtful manner: “This slave doesn’t understand what Your Highness is angry about.”

She lifted her wrist and slowly rolled up her sleeve, revealing the red silk ribbon she always wore bound there. Finding the knot, she began to untie it.

Not understanding her intention but enraged by her words, he seethed. This deceiver, this person who should have died on the execution platform, after gaining his trust, actually dared to say she didn’t understand his anger!

He opened his mouth to mock her but was distracted by the falling red silk.

He remembered this ribbon. She had worn it on her wrist for the first time at the Menghuai Building. Later, even when her hand bones were crushed, she didn’t remove them during bandaging. When he changed her dressings, she had glared at him fiercely.

What was she doing taking it off now…

Before he could finish the thought, a grotesque scar came into view.

His heart sank as Yin Gezhi stared at the scar’s location, hardly able to believe his eyes.

A cross-shaped scar across her wrist, as if someone had first cut horizontally through the flesh to find the tendon, then cut along its length to expose the surrounding tissue, finally removing a section of the tendon completely. Even if they met the greatest physician in the world, the tendon could never be reattached.

This was called “taking of martial arts” – a punishment used on martial artists suspected of betrayal. Those who betrayed the Great Wei royal family would have all their martial arts abilities stripped away.

For a moment, Yin Gezhi thought she might be joking, so he grabbed her wrist and pulled it closer to examine it carefully.

However, the scar was terrifyingly real. Up close, he could almost smell the cold bloodiness of Wei’s dungeon.

The blow that had struck his heart earlier finally showed its effect – his chest suddenly constricted, the pain making his lips even paler.

“You…”

“So what is Your Highness angry about?” The person before him was still smiling, though the smile didn’t reach her eyes. Her fox-like eyes glanced at him as she spoke softly: “This slave has lost everything – home and family. I truly have no martial arts abilities and pose no threat to you. Although I did conceal things, it was for survival. Now that I’ve voluntarily revealed the truth and have no intention of seeking revenge for past grievances, your anger confuses me… Do you think I’m cunning for escaping death, so you want to kill me again?”

His grip on her hand tightened as Yin Gezhi turned and headed toward the exit of the General’s mansion, pulling her along.

“Your Highness?” Feng Yue reminded him with a light smile: “This is the General’s mansion.”

Could they just walk out like this?

The person in front ignored her, his back looking somewhat terrifying. When people tried to stop them near the back door, Crown Prince Yin didn’t say a word – he simply picked her up and leaped past them.

“Your Highness, the General has ordered!”

He remained deaf to their calls. Yin Gezhi moved quickly, carrying her in his arms, gripping her shoulders and the backs of her knees as if afraid she might escape halfway, all the way back to the envoy’s residence.

“Gan Jiang.”

As soon as they entered the gates, he called out.

Gan Jiang emerged from the shadows, looking confused at the scene before bowing: “At your service.”

“You helped her because she’s Guan Qingyue, Guan Canghai’s daughter?” Yin Gezhi’s tone was calm, but Feng Yue could see his eyelashes trembling slightly.

Hearing these words, Gan Jiang immediately fell to his knees with a “thud,” looking at Feng Yue in panic.

Feng Yue waved her hand with a smile: “It’s been exposed.”

“I deserve death!” Gan Jiang knocked his forehead against the ground and said with his head bowed: “I am willing to accept punishment!”

Such a loyal person – he had wondered how they could betray him, and now he knew. He should have realized it earlier. Besides himself, Gan Jiang had also received kindness from Guan Canghai!

“Master?” Guan Zhi stood at the door, looking very confused: “What happened?”

Yin Gezhi didn’t answer. He gave Gan Jiang one more look, then picked up Feng Yue and entered the room, forcefully closing the door.

Feng Yue was thrown onto the couch. She rolled with the momentum and fearlessly lay down, while Yin Gezhi slowly sat down at the edge of the couch.

“Why did you come to Wu?” he asked.

Feng Yue smiled: “To kill people!”

As soon as the words left her mouth, she saw his face darken dramatically. She raised an eyebrow and continued with a grin: “Don’t worry, I never intended to do anything to you. Most of the people I needed to kill are already dead – now only General Yi remains.”

“You don’t want to kill me?” He glanced at her sideways.

Hearing this question, Feng Yue burst into laughter, rolling around for a while before looking up at him: “Does Your Highness feel guilty, thinking I would seek revenge against you?”

Even if she wanted to kill him, it wouldn’t be now. And she certainly wouldn’t say it out loud! Did he think she was stupid?

Yin Gezhi pressed his lips together. He had too many questions he wanted to ask, but looking at her face, his throat felt blocked, and he couldn’t voice any of them.

Feng Yue sat up and knelt properly before him, speaking candidly: “Since my identity is exposed and you can’t kill me, let me speak frankly. Having barely escaped the massacre of my family, staying in Wei would be dangerous, so I planned to come to Wu first and kill those who needed to die. If I could find evidence of my father’s collusion with Yi Guoru, great; if not, I’d return to Wei and kill those who needed to die there.”

“Meeting you was unexpected – I never planned to cross paths with you, as you’re too cunning, and I feared I wouldn’t be your match. But when we did meet, with nowhere to retreat, I could only play along. However, from beginning to end, I haven’t done anything to harm you – I even helped you deceive the Wu Crown Prince. You should be able to tell right from wrong, right?”

His fist remained clenched as Yin Gezhi stared at her steadily. Looking at her fearless expression, at her slightly nervous yet deliberately casual eyes, the anger in his heart remained stuck, unable to dissipate.

“The evidence of your Guan family’s crimes – I was the one who sent it to the capital,” he finally said harshly after a long while. “You don’t hate me?”

Feng Yue curved her lips, blinking as she said: “Between Your Highness and me, there is only interest, no love nor hate.”

Only interest, no love nor hate.

Yin Gezhi lowered his eyes and suddenly laughed.

“This slave loves Your Highness, and wants to stay with Your Highness for life.”

“This slave has admired Your Highness for so long, thinking of you day and night, tossing and turning.”

“Because this slave loves you.”

Such sweet words, coming from those delicate red lips, truly could bewitch one’s mind. He had said he didn’t believe, didn’t believe, yet somehow he seemed to have believed. Like a fool, his mouth stayed firm while his heart softened, allowing her to run wild in his heart, unwilling to let her get hurt or knocked about.

But now she said, there was no love nor hate.

The mighty Crown Prince Yin, who had known countless women but never taken any to heart, who had already broken free from the bonds of someone from three years ago, never expected to fall so completely into the hands of this lowly courtesan.

Truly fallen beyond redemption!

His head pounding, Yin Gezhi took two deep breaths with reddened eyes, then closed them tightly and said: “You now represent no benefit to me, only threat.”

“Being able to live on as a threat to you isn’t bad either.” Feng Yue said with a smile: “After all, General Yi won’t have a good ending, right?”

Too smug – Yin Gezhi shook his head and asked with a cold smile: “How do you know he definitely won’t have a good ending?”

“Because neither the Crown Prince nor you want to let him off, right?” Feng Yue narrowed her eyes: “However, the Crown Prince definitely won’t let him die, and if your hands are stained with his blood, Your Highness, it would be hard to explain.”

“Why not let this slave handle it? This slave has nothing left to lose, nothing to fear.”