Feng Yue instantly felt her waist tighten as she was squeezed so hard she could barely breathe!
“Your Highness!” She coughed twice, torn between laughter and tears. “Weren’t you not afraid? Please loosen your grip a little!”
His expression remained unchanged as Yin Gezhi’s arms stayed rigid, his tone calm: “You’re the one who’s afraid.”
“Yes, yes, yes, this servant is afraid.” Feng Yue nodded. “Then would Your Highness hold this servant’s hand?”
Pressing his lips together, Yin Gezhi reached out, found her hand, and slowly interlaced their fingers.
The mighty Crown Prince’s hands, which had wielded cold iron halberds and spilled enemy blood, were now ice-cold and trembling slightly!
Unable to contain herself any longer, Feng Yue threw her head back and laughed: “Hahaha—”
A chill ran down his spine as Yin Gezhi pinched her hard: “What are you laughing at?!”
“This servant… this servant isn’t laughing, hahaha…” Feng Yue rolled around with uncontrollable mirth, trying desperately to save his face, but Yin Gezhi during a thunderstorm was just too adorable. Like a hedgehog without its spines, all soft and still trying to be intimidating!
Yin Gezhi gritted his teeth and growled: “Shut up!”
“Alright.” Pinching her mouth into a duck bill, Feng Yue stifled her laughter and said seriously: “No more laughing. This servant promises!”
But before the words had even settled, another thunderclap rang out, startling the great Crown Prince into a slight tremor, his body instantly becoming rigid as iron.
“Pfffft hahaha—” Even pinching her mouth didn’t help anymore. Feng Yue knew disaster was imminent, but there was simply no way to hold back the laughter! So in for a penny, in for a pound – before he could react, she broke free and ran from the bed.
“Come back here!” came an angry roar from the bed.
Feng Yue dodged while wiping tears from her eyes: “This servant… this servant needs a moment before returning, lest Your Highness strangles me to death!”
Yin Gezhi ground his teeth, his body cold and immobile. He could only think about grabbing Feng Yue and squeezing her like a frog!
“Crack—” The thunder continued, and he closed his eyes, clutching the pillow tightly, trying desperately to fall asleep.
Some weaknesses were innate, truly not his choice. If he could, he would trade half his martial arts skills just to not be afraid of thunder!
Just as he was thinking this, he suddenly felt warmth on his body.
Yin Gezhi opened his eyes full of murderous intent, only to see Feng Yue wearing just a small undershirt, smiling tenderly as she lay on top of him.
Her body heat transmitted through his clothes from her exposed skin to his chest, and his brows suddenly relaxed slightly.
“Are you very cold?” she asked with a crafty smile.
Yin Gezhi wanted to say he wasn’t cold – how could a grown man of seven feet bow his head to a woman? But… she was so warm, warm enough to make his eyes narrow slightly, his arms holding her, utterly unwilling to let go.
Feng Yue smiled alluringly, slipping her hand inside his collar, feeling his ice-cold chest, and simply untied his belt, opened his clothes, and covered his entire body with hers.
Warmth instantly spread through his limbs. Yin Gezhi opened his eyes to look at her, suddenly feeling his heart beating violently in his chest.
Perhaps because he had been so cold, once warmth came, his heart couldn’t help but beat rapidly. He thought it wasn’t bad keeping her in the courtyard – at least on nights like this, she could warm him up.
The thunder outside seemed to have lessened. Yin Gezhi reached out, pressing on her waist, and let out a gentle sigh.
That night, they truly did nothing else, just slept soundly holding each other. Yin Gezhi even had a dream where someone whose name he didn’t know held him and comforted him in an odd voice: “Don’t be afraid, thunder is nothing, just hold onto me.”
The dream was full of fragrant scents, making him sleep extremely well – the best sleep he’d had in over a year.
When he opened his eyes the next morning, the first thing he saw was Feng Yue’s big blinking eyes.
It took a moment to remember what had happened the night before, and the Crown Prince’s face instantly turned ugly!
Feng Yue reacted quickly, pushing him away and rolling off the bed, covering her head saying: “Oh my, oh my, last night’s thunder scared this servant to death! Thank goodness Your Highness was here!”
That fake smile and exaggerated tone had a distinctly suicidal flavor to it. Yin Gezhi sneered, supporting himself on the bed frame and about to get up when he heard Guanzhi outside say: “Master, are you awake? This servant is coming in.”
His pupils contracted sharply as Yin Gezhi quickly reached out, scooped up the shameless woman wearing only an undershirt from the floor, and stuffed her roughly under the covers.
Guanzhi pushed open the door, carrying water: “The stone lanterns Miss Feng Yue bought are really good, not one fell over in last night’s wind and rain.”
“Next time you come in, knock first.” Interrupting him, the great Crown Prince said displeased: “What kind of manner is this, barging in!”
Startled by his master’s shout, Guanzhi slapped his forehead as he remembered there were others in the courtyard, and quickly bowed his head saying: “This servant acknowledges his error!”
“Fine. Get out.”
“Yes.”
After the water basin was placed on the rack, Yin Gezhi said irritably: “Get up and wash your face.”
Pulling down the covers to reveal a pair of rolling eyes, Feng Yue giggled a couple of times, reaching out to pick up her clothes from the floor to put them on.
“How filthy are you?” The fastidious lord was uncomfortable: “You’re going to wear clothes that were on the floor?”
Pouting pitifully, Feng Yue said: “This servant didn’t bring any other dresses!”
Looking at her with disdain, Yin Gezhi put on his clothes and got up, opened the wardrobe, and threw her a set of robes: “Wear these for now, I’ll have Ling Shu bring you yours later.”
Catching the robes and looking at them, Feng Yue sighed and obediently changed into them. However, her frame was so different from Yin Gezhi’s that the sleeves were far too long and the hem dragged on the ground. With no choice, she gathered up the sleeves and held the hem bundled in her arms, revealing a pair of slender legs.
Yin Gezhi narrowed his eyes.
It was still early outside, and there was nothing particular to do today. He felt they could just stay in the room, no need to go out.
At the Leng residence.
Early in the morning, Leng Yan received a letter. He opened it without much concern, but the contents made his face turn pale.
Zhou Zhenshan had disappeared, and many in court said he had fled from his crimes, but no one had proof. So the position of City Guard Commander was still being held for him. He had also clung to a glimmer of hope that Commander Zhou would return to sort out this chaos and point him toward a way out.
Who would have thought that Li Xun would say Commander Zhou had indeed fled from his crimes, the evidence was all in Yin Gezhi’s hands, and he too had been arrested. He hoped Leng Yan would come to rescue him, or else everything he knew would become court evidence in Yin Gezhi’s hands.
How could this be?!
Li Xun was Commander Zhou’s man, he vaguely knew this, but had Commander Zhou told him all the secrets? Surely not – what was he worth anyway?
His thoughts churning, Leng Yan collected himself and immediately got up to find someone.
Duanxian sat by Li Xun’s bedside all night, sometimes crying, sometimes smiling faintly, frightening Li Xun so much he didn’t sleep all night, completely breaking down, his eyes showing signs of madness.
He said: “I was wrong, I know I was wrong, I shouldn’t have killed you. But you’re already dead, why won’t you let me go?”
Duanxian smiled: “If knowing you’re wrong was enough, what would be the purpose of laws?”
“Laws…” He muttered twice, then laughed: “Laws are for governing common people, how could they touch me? You’re dead with no evidence. Unless you kill me yourself, who could convict me of any crime?”
Looking at the sky outside, Duanxian stood up and smiled at him: “I also want to kill you with my own hands, but someone told me not to cheapen my own life. Rather than killing you and paying with my life, I might as well just wait and watch you die.”
His eyes flickered slightly as Li Xun became somewhat happy: “You’re not going to kill me?”
“It would dirty my hands.” Giving him an eerie smile, Duanxian said: “I’ll wait to collect your corpse.”
If she wasn’t going to kill him, how could he possibly die?! Li Xun laughed until his face was distorted, watching her warily as she slowly left the room, feeling wild joy at surviving this ordeal.
However, this wild joy only lasted the time it takes an incense stick to burn. Just as he was loudly calling for the women in his courtyard to save him, a black-clothed person descended from above, hoisted him onto their shoulder, and flew out of the courtyard.
His unhealed limbs were twisted painfully, making him cry out, but the person paid no attention, carrying him to the small alley behind his mansion and throwing him in a corner.
Crying out in pain, Li Xun opened his eyes to look at the person before him, and again felt wild joy: “My lord!”
Leng Yan looked at him with pity and asked: “Are you alright?”
“Thank goodness my lord came to save me, thank goodness!” Li Xun’s voice trembled: “This official was about to be killed by them… about to die…”
“Don’t be afraid.” Leng Yan said kindly: “First tell me, what do you know?”
Slightly stunned, Li Xun looked at him in confusion: “What?”
“Didn’t you say you knew things that would become court evidence if they fell into Yin Gezhi’s hands?” Leng Yan frowned.
“I…” His mind was a complete mess, and Li Xun stammered “I” for a long time without saying anything useful. Leng Yan grew impatient and asked: “Did you tell Yin Gezhi anything?”
“No!” Li Xun tried to shake his head. But as soon as he turned his head, he felt a chill on his neck.
“That’s good.” Breathing a sigh of relief, Leng Yan smiled and waved for his men to withdraw their swords: “Then you can die now, no need to leave trouble behind.”
His eyes suddenly grew very wide as Li Xun stared blankly at the people in front of him. They turned away coldly, leaving without looking back.
Why? He couldn’t understand, why they had to kill him.
Afraid to breathe, he didn’t die immediately, just stared blankly ahead.
A pair of cheap embroidered shoes stepped onto the alley’s stone path. Li Xun raised his eyes slightly and saw “Little Qin” smile at him and say: “Go to hell then, all eighteen levels, not one less!”
Like a curse, he felt extreme pain throughout his body. Hearing these words, he finally twisted his body and fell to the ground. After a brief struggle, he breathed his last.
Blood spread everywhere, reddening Duanxian’s eyes. She stood at the entrance of the alley without leaving, looking at that filthy corpse, suddenly feeling very light. She raised her head to look at the clear sky, grinned, and knelt to bow several times toward the west.
“Qin’er, the great revenge has been achieved, may you have a good reincarnation. In your next life, don’t find such a useless person like me to be your sister.”