So what if she's my sister-in-law? You seduced me first.

Attacks at such close range are impossible to dodge. Ning Yu's eyes hardened as she looked at the man's carotid artery, gripped the hairpin tightly, and prepared to slash horizontally at the wound.

Just then, a mournful wolf howl, accompanied by a chilling wind, swept through the dense jungle.

Several short screams rang out, and the blade shot straight in. In the blink of an eye, heads flew into the air, and a long, black rope descended from the sky, instantly binding her waist and carrying her away from the spot.

All Ning Yu could see was that bloodied head with its eyes wide open in death. The moment she straightened up and turned around, her long black hair was blown by the wind, revealing her pale but resilient face.

On the hillside, a group of several hundred people, each carrying a long knife, stood at the head of the column. Two enormous wolves stood at the front, and a man dressed in a black and gold robe held a grappling hook in his hand, staring at them with a sinister expression.

Their eyes met. Xie Xun's gaze swept across her face, then settled on her bleeding arms and legs. His fingers, holding the long rope, twitched, and his eyes were filled with gloom.

The generals who had come with him dared not speak, keeping their heads bowed in silence. Only Qingfeng immediately descended the slope and handed the clothes to Ning Yu.

"Madam, please put your clothes on first."

Perhaps fearing something might have happened to her, they thoughtfully prepared clothes for her. Her cloak had long been lost, so Ning Yu was only wearing riding clothes. Her slightly pale lips parted slightly as she responded and put on the fur coat.

As she was fastening her clothes with her eyes lowered, a pair of black boots suddenly stopped in front of her. Following the black boots and long robe, she slowly looked up and met his face.

"Where are you hurt?"

Ning Yu shook her head, "When I fell, I only scraped my arms and legs, but I'm fine."

Xie Xun bent down and scooped her up in his arms. "Who did this?"

"The horse was suddenly startled, which must have been sabotaged. After I jumped off the horse, Princess Huayang pushed me off."

Ning Yu didn't say anything more. She wasn't sure how Xie Xun treated the people of the Prince An's Mansion, or whether he had any feelings for Princess Huayang. If he knew that she had dragged others down with her, she didn't know how he would treat her. So she decided to keep quiet.

"Then I was hunted down by this assassin and had to keep hiding."

Standing behind, Qingfeng glanced at his master's sidelong look and immediately ordered his men to take the corpse to the dark dungeon.

I had long heard that His Majesty had snatched a woman from someone's private residence, but I never knew she was so favored.

For a dignified emperor to condescend to embrace a woman covered in filth is an honor never before bestowed upon the favored concubines of emperors throughout history. Just who is this woman surnamed Ning?

Their eyes met and clashed silently, but no one dared to utter a sound as they hurriedly followed.

Nanyuan.

Upon hearing the guard's report, Prince An glanced at his daughter's corpse lying on the ground, and a barely perceptible murderous intent flashed across his seemingly kind face.

"Should we have a coroner examine the princess to determine the cause of death?"

"Absolutely not, Your Highness! Hua'er is a woman. If word gets out, what will become of the reputation of the Prince An's Mansion?"

Princess An wept, her face streaked with tears, her eyes filled with hatred. "How dare she bully a royal princess and even resort to underhanded tactics to kill someone! She must be connected to that vixen by His Majesty's side. Hua'er fell with her."

"This is the royal palace. Watch your words."

After the Prince of An uttered his reprimand, everyone in the tent fell silent, except for the Princess Consort of An's suppressed sobs.

"The lady beside His Majesty also got spooked and fell off the cliff. If she wanted to harm Hua'er, she wouldn't risk her life. It's clearly your stupid daughter who was set up. You spoil her all day long. If she didn't use her brain, she would have lost her life."

As he finished speaking, tears welled up in Prince An's eyes, but quickly disappeared, leaving a deep meaning in his cloudy eyes.

The assassin's sword tassel, which had humiliated Hua'er, remained in the cave at the bottom of the cliff. The person behind this assassin was plotting against that lady, but instead harmed Hua'er.

The Prince An's mansion isn't so easily bullied. He won't rest in peace until this person is brought to justice, and what about that lady—

If it weren't for her, Hua'er might not have run to that cliff edge, her narrowed eyes flashing with malice.

After Ning Yu returned to the main tent, a row of imperial physicians stood outside waiting for her.

Xie Xun carried her and placed her on the soft couch. The female official outside the screen immediately came in with a medicine box. She first glanced at the external wounds, cleaned them, applied ointment, and simply treated the abrasions before letting the imperial physician in.

The imperial physician hunched over and sat down on the stool beside the couch, draping a thin silk handkerchief over Ning Yu's wrist. Just as he was about to touch her fingers, Ning Yu hissed and withdrew her hand.

Xie Xun, who was standing next to her, wondered what was wrong. "Does it hurt?"

The new emperor, Xie Xun, was ruthless in court. With just a slight coldness, he exuded a powerful and awe-inspiring aura that was terrifying. No one had ever seen him with such a gentle side. The imperial physicians and palace servants in the tent were all stunned.

Ning Yu didn't know how to answer Xie Xun's question. She lowered her head and said after a while, "I accidentally aggravated the wound on my arm."

As she spoke, she rubbed her head wearily. "I'm fine. There are too many people. Let them leave. I want to sleep for a while."

Xie Xun was right next to the female official when she was examining her and saw the abrasions and bloodstains on her body. However, he was still worried and wanted the imperial physician to take a closer look.

Hearing her say that, a strange look flashed through his mind, and he squinted at her.

Ning Yu was feeling uneasy. She tugged at his sleeve, and he paused, looking at her beautiful face. Out of kindness, he dismissed her.

The imperial physician was immediately relieved and left with the female official's medicine chest. The servants inside the tent also quietly bowed and withdrew.

"Don't you want the imperial physician to examine you?"

The cold voice startled Ning Yu like a death knell. She leaned against the soft pillow, shaking her head uncomfortably. "I'm so tired."

It wasn't that she didn't want the imperial physician to examine her; it was that she accidentally smelled aphrodisiac perfume while fighting the assassin.

Although that tiny bit wouldn't be of much use to her, if the imperial physicians were skilled enough to detect it, it wouldn't do her any good.

After all, she and Huayang fell off the cliff together, and the fact that Huayang was bullied could not be kept secret. Who knows what kind of nasty things would be said about him.

Moreover, she knew that there was nothing wrong with her body, so she didn't need the imperial physician to examine her. She just needed to apply ointment on time to treat the abrasions on her body.

A shadow fell in front of her. Ning Yu saw the person sitting on the edge of the couch. Just as she was about to turn her back, he lifted her up and put her on his lap.

Xie Xun lowered his eyelids to look at her, "Tell the truth."

Knowing she couldn't hide it from him, Ning Yu remained silent for a while before speaking softly, "After I fell off the cliff, the assassin who was chasing me scattered a strange fragrance in the air. I accidentally smelled some of it. The assassin didn't catch me, turned back, captured Princess Huayang, and took her to the cave."

As she spoke, she raised her eyes to see his expression, and a chilling coldness appeared in his eyes. She didn't know why, so she remained silent.

The arms around her waist tightened, Xie Xun's chin rested on her hair, his face dark and he remained silent.

"My martial arts skills are not high, so I didn't dare to go in to save people and ran away. Later, the assassin caught up with me again, and I fought with him. Then His Majesty arrived."

Xie Xun hugged her too tightly, so tightly that she felt a pain in her stomach. She reached out and punched him, saying, "Loosen up, it hurts."