The mad princess forces love upon him, and the aloof imperial advisor trembles every night.

Pei Yu felt a mouthful of blood rise to his throat, but he swallowed it down and pointed to the door: "You... have paid the money, you can leave now."

"That won't do." Mei Shiliu's smile vanished, and her expression suddenly turned cold.

"There's still something we haven't finished."

Pei Yu suddenly became alert: "You've taken the money, you can't kill us now!"

"Of course... I won't kill him." Cangming's voice came from the entrance of the secret passage.

He walked in slowly, his black robes gleaming dimly in the candlelight, like an elegant black panther.

"Jinxue Pavilion - Never break the oath."

The moment he finished speaking, he moved.

Pei Yu didn't even see his movements clearly, only feeling a chill in his lower body—then, excruciating pain swept over his entire body like a tsunami.

He lowered his head.

I saw blood.

He heard his own screams—just like his father's, so desperate they were inhuman.

Outside the secret chamber, screams echoed from the Prime Minister's residence—the cries of men, the elderly, and even children—tearing through the last darkness before dawn, like the prelude to a bloody feast.

After an incense stick has burned.

All the males—regardless of age or whether they were legitimate or illegitimate—were dragged into the courtyard and thrown onto the bluestone slabs.

Beneath everyone's body was a patch of scarlet.

Pei Yu lay sprawled on the ground, the excruciating pain blurring his consciousness, yet he still struggled to lift his head—to look at the clansmen collapsed in the courtyard, at his father's unconscious face, at the Pei family's century-old legacy, all gone in a single night—

Vanish into nothing.

He felt a sweet taste in his throat and spat out a mouthful of blood.

Blood splattered on the bluestone, blooming into a poignant and beautiful flower.

"It's over... The Pei family... is... completely... finished..."

He uttered his last few words hoarsely before everything went black.

—————The Third Prince's Residence————

Chu Xuanjing's fingers were stroking Zhou Qingchen's slightly open collar, the skin beneath his fingertips as smooth and warm as jade.

Zhou Qingchen tilted her head back, a soft moan escaping her throat, her eyes reflecting the flickering candlelight.

"Ah Chen..." Chu Xuanjing whispered, his breath hot, about to lean in and attack—

"Third Prince, perhaps... we could stop for a moment?"

The sound came from the shadows behind the screen, calm and undisturbed.

Chu Xuanjing's movements suddenly froze.

Almost simultaneously, he pulled the brocade quilt over Zhou Qingchen and wrapped her tightly, then spun around off the bed, his voice sharp as a knife: "Who dares to trespass?!"

The candlelight flickered suddenly.

A figure in black slowly emerged from behind the screen.

The man's robes blended into the night, and a silver mask covered his face, revealing only his eyes—eyes tempered with cold stars and icy blades, where his gaze seemed to freeze the air itself.

"This is me." Cangming stopped, his voice low and clear.

Chu Xuanjing's heart trembled violently. He forcibly suppressed the shock, anger, and murderous intent that threatened to burst forth, and forced a stiff smile:

"So it's the Pavilion Master who has graced us with his presence. But... shouldn't you have sent someone to inform us beforehand?"

"Is Your Highness instructing me on how to do things?" Cangming said as he walked straight to the sandalwood round table, sat down, and took out a white jade cup from his bosom to pour himself a cup.

Chu Xuanjing smiled ingratiatingly and said, "What brings you here, Pavilion Master?"

"I remember," Cangming said calmly, picking up his cup with a detached and even voice.

"We have agreed with His Highness that 500,000 taels of gold will be used to help you eliminate Chu Xuanche during the sacrificial ceremony."

"Add another 500,000 taels, and I'll slaughter the entire Prime Minister's household for you."

He raised his eyes, his gaze behind the mask piercing Chu Xuanjing: "Now, before the sacrificial ceremony has even begun, Chu Xuanche has already suffered divine punishment, and his body has been buried."

"The Prime Minister's mansion, with all its male members... just lost its lineage half an hour ago."

"The next step is what you want: the complete extermination of the entire family, leaving no one alive."

His tone paused slightly, then turned icy: "But why hasn't the promised final payment of one million taels of gold from the Third Prince been delivered to Jinxue Pavilion yet?"

He put down his teacup, and a soft "ding" sound rang out like a thunderclap in the deathly silent room.

"Third Prince...does he intend to break the contract?"

Countless thoughts flashed through Chu Xuanjing's mind like lightning—the power of the Jinxue Pavilion was deeply entrenched, with its tentacles reaching across the court and the martial arts world. If they were to truly turn against each other, the consequences would be unimaginable.

He forced a smile and said, "The Pavilion Master must have misremembered."

"When the Pavilion Master first made the suggestion, I only said 'we need to consider it further,' without giving a definite answer."

"How can the word 'deliberation' be considered an agreement?"

"But His Highness did not refuse." Cangming's voice remained calm, yet carried a barely perceptible hint of mockery.

"In the rules of the Ember Snow Pavilion, silence means consent, and hesitation means approval."

Chu Xuanjing clenched his fist tightly in his sleeve, his nails almost digging into his palm: "So, Jinxue Pavilion is now trying to force a sale?"

"Oh."

Cangming suddenly chuckled softly.

The laughter was hoarse and lacked warmth; instead, it sounded like a venomous snake slithering across withered leaves.

"Of course not." He slowly rose, picked up his white jade cup, and lightly traced the rim with his fingertips.

"All the deals made by Jinxue Pavilion are always mutually agreeable."

"However... I dislike it most when others owe me money."

"Especially... the prince's tent."

He walked to the window, turned his head, and the moonlight, like a silver veil, outlined his sharp jawline and cold, thin lips:

"If Your Highness insists on denying this debt, I will turn around and leave right now, without any further entanglement."

"only……"

He tilted his head slightly, his gaze seemingly sweeping across the trembling brocade quilt on the bed before returning to Chu Xuanjing's pale face.

"May Your Highness, when you sleep peacefully each night, not suddenly feel a chill on the side of your neck;"

"I hope that Your Highness will not catch a glimpse of the shadows outside the window while you are tenderly with your beloved;"

"I also hope that... Your Highness's path to the throne will not be marred by any unexpected 'accidents' in the future."

After he finished speaking, there was a deathly silence.

Chu Xuanjing felt his throat was dry, as if it had been rubbed by sand.

He stared at Cangming's eyes, deep and unfathomable like an ancient well behind the mask, as if he saw countless ways he himself would die a miserable death—

He was poisoned at a banquet, assassinated in his carriage, or "suddenly fell ill" in his bedchamber. He was even "sent down by divine justice" like his eldest brother, leaving his body incomplete.

The Snowfall Pavilion has a million ways to make him regret it.

Finally, he closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, all that remained in his eyes was the dejected defeat of compromise and the deep-seated humiliation.

"...Yes...this prince made a mistake." His voice was hoarse, like sandpaper scraping. "Chasing Wind."

A voice responded from the shadows: "Your subordinate is here."

"Go to the private treasury, take out one million taels of gold, place it in the central courtyard, and ask the Pavilion Master to... count it." Every word seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth.

Cangming nodded almost imperceptibly, his tone remaining calm and even: "Third Prince, a straightforward person."

Chu Xuanjing took a deep breath, suppressing the metallic taste rising in his throat, and barely maintained his princely demeanor:

"Although the Prime Minister's family has not yet been completely executed, I believe that... Jinxue Pavilion will not break its promise."

"Of course." Cangming's tone finally carried a very faint curve. "Jinxue Pavilion has never failed to accomplish anything. Nor has it ever... been owed a debt."

A moment later, Zhuifeng reported: "Master, the gold is ready."