Li Ce was dressed in a flamboyant outfit. His eyes were calm, not even looking at these people in the eye. He looked up towards the bronze platform, raised his leg, and took a steady step forward.

Zhao Chun’er’s aides could not bear to see their efforts go up in smoke. They dashed forward to stop him. However, before they had even spoken, before the crowd had time to see Li Ce’s actions, the man’s throat was slit apart during his brief exchange with Li Ce. The man’s eyes widened and he collapsed on the floor. A loud thud was heard and dust scattered in the air.

Li Ce took out a pure white handkerchief, wiped the bloodstains off his wrist, and threw it on the ground. The blood-stained white handkerchief flew in the wind, somersaulting in mid-air.

No one dared to speak, look up, whisper, or even breathe.

Li Ce, who was unruly and lecherous usually, suddenly transformed into another person. The malicious aura and rage on his body was enough to scare the beasts away in a hundred mile radius. The untamed troops of the North Camp did not dare to resist upon seeing such a person.

“Get out of the way!” The pathway in the central street was vacated. Li Ce’s fierce-looking subordinates dashed over from afar, wielding knives. Taking one look at them was enough to send shivers up the people’s spines.

These people were known as the number one “ruffian troops” in the mainland. Their title was purely for show, as they had previously lost fights to the troops of the North Camp in the brothels. These were Li Ce’s private bodyguards. At this moment, their expressions were serious. Their rows were neat, they had knives in their hands. Determined, they dashed into the crowd.

Li Ce stood on the bronze platform, looking at the soldier from the North Camp that was carrying a torch. He raised the corners of his lips and said in a cold tone, “Scram!”

The man was shocked and his knees buckled. Obliging, he made his way down from the platform.

“Sorry, I’m late.” As the wind blew, Li Ce’s expression was apologetic. He frowned and stared at the young lady, whose face had been bashed up, in front of him. He felt countless stabs to his heart. He untied the woman and embraced her.

Zhao Chun’er, through her messy hair and blood-stained face, stared at Li Ce. A surge of joy rushed through her heart, having escaped death.

Was this person the one she was going to marry?

She was dazed, her brain unable to process things. She only knew that she was going to die, but had been saved by the one she was going to marry. Tears trickled down her face, and she started to wail loudly.

Li Ce frowned, carrying her by the waist and walking down the platform.

Zhao Chun’er had been freed. She held on to Li Ce’s waist tightly like an injured animal, her body trembling. However, the next second, the man experienced with love affairs, stopped in his tracks. He looked at her, dazed. He squatted down, half-carrying her in his embrace. He reached out his finger and swept aside her hair covering her face. There was still a lot of blood on her face.

His expression was gentle, seemingly scared of startling anyone. Gently, he asked, “You? Who are you?”

Zhao Chun’er let out inaudible sounds, unable to speak.

Li Ce realized that her jaw had been dislocated. With a peculiar method, he snapped Zhao Chun’er’s jaw back into place. The woman’s tears streamed out like a fountain, her sorrow erupting. Crying, she said, “I’m the eighth princess of Xia, Zhao Chun’er.”

Li Ce was stunned. He looked up and then . His troops were almost about to fight with the North Camp. The civilians knelt on the ground, trembling, and looked towards him. The sky was dark and the winds blew everywhere.

Li Ce gave a heartwarming laugh. He looked down at Zhao Chun’er, and said something that she did not understand. “I knew it. Who would be able to bully her?”

Subsequently, the Crown Prince of Tang stood up, disregarding the fact that he had a beautiful princess in his embrace. With a thud, Zhao Chun’er fell to the ground and rolled around like a ball.

He stepped over Zhao Chun’er, sprinting towards the two armies at loggerheads. He waved his arms in exaggerated motions, shouting towards the troops from the North Camp, “Relax, relax. All of you, calm down.” In the blink of an eye, he had reverted back to his original, unrestrained self. He stood in front of the troops, laughed, and said, “I heard that there was trouble here, so I came to take a look along with them. Don’t mind me, carry on! Carry on!”

The mood of the 50,000 troops behind him visibly relaxed, seeing their master’s change in expression. They put their arms around their comrades’ shoulders, shedding off their orderliness. It was as if what happened just now was a dream.

They walked over joyfully to the troops from the North Camp, patting their shoulders and saying, “How was it, brothers? Was that intimidating? We practiced for a few months. Haha, isn’t that good?”

The liveliness resumed. A group of soldiers ran towards Zhao Chun’er, who had fallen on her head.

The woman looked up and exclaimed in anger, “I’m the princess of Xia!”

The Xia officials heard the princess’s voice. They were stunned and ran towards her, adding to the chaotic situation.

Zhao Chun’er was helped to her feet by the Xia officials. Through the crowd, she saw Li Ce chatting heartily with the soldiers, which was unbecoming of a prince. Thinking about his actions and the words he said just now, everything felt like an arrow that had been stabbed into her heart. She allowed her subordinates to cover her up with a carpet. She bit her lower lip hard, almost causing blood to spurt out.

Chu Qiao, Chu Qiao, how can I not hate you?

The sorrow in her chest sapped all the strength out of her. Her tears had dried up. She looked up slowly at the dark clouds in the sky. She had no strength to shout.

“Today, at this place, I swear that in this life, I will witness your isolation from the world. I will watch you lose everything you have, watch you die pathetically. If not, I am not a human being!”

As the winds blew, the curtains closed. The dramatic events had come to an end.

As Li Ce searched the entire city, Chu Qiao was not far away from him. She was less than 300 steps from Sun Di’s residence.

In the courtyard used to welcome guests, there was serenity. The moonlight was pale. The exquisitely designed building blended itself amongst the dense rows of crabapple flowers. The bamboo windows of the building were slightly open. Zhuge Yue sat in front of his study, seemingly in deep thought. He sealed an envelope and handed it to Yue Qi, who was standing by the side. He looked at him from the side of his eye, uttering calmly, “Who dares to question the orders? Tell him to come in and let me see.”

Yue Qi’s expression turned pale. He looked down and remained silent. He got the message: If anyone came in, he would be courting his own death.

Zhuge Yue lowered his head. Emotionlessly, he said, “Go.”

Yue Qi opened the door hurriedly and left the room.

A short while later, rustling sounds came from outside. Zhuge Yue put down his brush and turned around, seeing Chu Qiao standing by the crescent-shaped door of the inner study. She was dressed in white, and held on to the door. Her frame was small and her face was pale. She stood there silently, her hair scattered all over her face.

“You’re awake,” Zhuge Yue remarked. He pointed towards the inner study and continued, “There’s warm food there, go have some.” Seeing that Chu Qiao did not move, he frowned and continued, “You have not recovered. Go back, lie down and rest.”

Chu Qiao did not move. The green silk curtains appeared cold in the autumn weather. The wind blew past the trees, causing rustling sounds to be heard, just like a drizzle. Chu Qiao stared at him silently, not speaking a word.

Zhuge Yue stood up and walked towards the inner study. As he passed by her, he grabbed her wrist, feeling the thin circumference. He frowned and dragged her into the room.

“Zhuge Yue,” Chu Qiao whispered, her voice carrying a pleading tone.

Zhuge Yue stopped in his tracks but did not turn back. Chu Qiao’s voice sounded out from behind his back, “I need to go.”

The wind blew, causing Chu Qiao’s outfit to fly in the air. Although she was quite tall, Zhuge Yue’s outfit appeared oversized on her. Zhuge Yue ignored her and said, “It’s dangerous outside. I don’t have any female outfits currently. You can wear this outfit first.”

“Zhuge Yue, I really need to go.”

Zhuge Yue turned around, ignoring her again. “Have you drank the medicine that the physician advised you to drink? If your fever has not subsided, rest some more.”

“Zhuge Yue, I really…”

“If you’re not willing to eat this, I’ll tell someone to prepare other food.”

“Listen to me…”

“You’ve been here for quite some time. Have you been outside before? There are a few restaurants which serve good food. I’ll tell someone to get something for you.”

“Zhuge Yue, listen to me,” Chu Qiao grabbed him and said desperately, “I’m thankful that you saved me, but I need to leave now. I need to find Yan Xun. Yan Bei is unstable, I need to go back right away, I…”

As she spoke, Zhuge Yue hit her hand away, turning around to leave.

Chu Qiao was shocked and held him back, saying loudly, “Zhuge Yue, I…”

“Zhuge Yue, Zhuge Yue! Are you done? Do I owe you money? Must you call me by my full name?” the man turned back and raised his eyebrows. His lips were red; the look in his eyes was like a shining star. Enraged, he continued, “Yan Xun and yourself. Yan Bei. Your brain is filled with other people. Have you thought of yourself before? Of me?”

Chu Qiao was stunned. Zhuge Yue stared fiercely at her, his eyes spurting fire. Just like this, they exchanged stares for a long while, allowing their carefully hidden thoughts to express themselves bit by bit. The atmosphere was cold. Their breathing was low, but no one was able to speak a word.

After a long while, Chu Qiao avoided the topic that made her feel uncomfortable. She whispered, “What do I call you then? Fourth Master Zhuge? Zhuge? Yue?” As she finished her words, she felt a chill up her spine. She felt the goosebumps on her arm and said, “Don’t tell me you want me to call you Fourth Brother?”

Zhuge Yue did not even look at her, turning around to leave the room, hell-bent on leaving this place.

Chu Qiao, seeing that he was leaving, chased after him. Clumsily, she stepped on the tablecloth, causing the soup to spill over her body.

Chu Qiao grunted and fell on the carpet. Zhuge Yue turned back and put the boiling bowls aside, seeing that Chu Qiao’s arm had turned swollen from the burn. Despite this, she did not say a word.

Zhuge Yue’s expression was as if he wanted to kill someone. He carried Chu Qiao and took big strides out of the room. He sprinted past two corridors and into the shower room. Not caring about whether his clothes got wet, he scooped up some cold water and poured it over Chu Qiao’s arm.

“Does it hurt?”

Chu Qiao bit her lip and shook her head, remaining silent.