His Highness the Madman gave in again today.

"You're not going to care about your second young lady? If he doesn't die, your second young lady has to die. You can only choose one. Who do you choose?"

"..."

Upon hearing this, Feng Mian's eyes reddened slightly.

She forgot.

The second young lady is so pitiful, she's only able to survive if the eldest young lady completes this assassination mission, but...

Feng Mian's face was full of conflict and sadness.

"Miss...this servant...this servant doesn't know, this servant doesn't want the Second Miss to die."

"So, you chose the second young lady?"

"..."

Feng Mian lowered his head, remaining silent and unwilling to speak.

Mo Sangyu chuckled lightly: "Alright, I was just teasing you."

After she finished speaking, she glanced outside.

After the people outside left, he added, "I won't kill him."

Killing him wouldn't do her any good.

"Really?"

Upon hearing this, Feng Mian looked up at her, a flicker of surprise crossing his face, but it quickly faded: "But what about the Second Miss?"

Second Miss?

Mo Sangyu did not answer, his expression indifferent.

"Don't worry about things that aren't your concern. Go to sleep."

"oh."

Feng Mian obediently went to her own cubicle.

Mo Sangyu returned to bed and sat down to meditate and regulate her breathing.

The person eavesdropping outside the door.

It is Yan Qing.

After hearing this, he angrily went to the study.

"Even that little brat Feng Mian knows how good our Highness is. But she's so wicked, forcing Feng Mian to make a choice. How can that Second Miss compare to His Highness? I'll kill her sooner or later!"

Inside the study.

Yuan Zhao and Gu Jinzhi were both present.

Feng Xingyu was working on a document with his head down. Hearing this, he didn't stop writing, and his expression didn't change much.

"What's going on?"

Yuan Zhao stood to the side, sword in hand: "So easily angered?"

Yan Qing carefully repeated what he had just heard to them.

"She's a real jerk."

After hearing this, Yuan Zhao shared Yan Qing's indignation: "That little girl is not bad; she knows how good our prince is."

Gu Jinzhi didn't react much, slowly skimming the tea foam with the lid of her cup, her tone flat: "She came here for this very reason, and now she's just telling the truth herself, what's so surprising? But..."

He changed the subject and looked at Feng Xingyu: "Your Highness, a few days ago Yueying reported that Mo Sangyu had passed a message to someone in the shadows, and then there was no further news. Now her sister is involved, and I am worried that she may have a new plan."

Upon hearing this, Feng Xingyu put down his pen, looked up at Gu Jinzhi, and his eyes were deep.

Just as he was about to speak, a slight noise came from the window.

The next instant, a dark figure flashed in.

It was the moon's reflection.

"Your Highness, someone has delivered a message to the Princess Consort. After reading it, she immediately went out. I've come to report this and will follow her now."

After saying that, she prepared to leave through the window again.

"etc."

Feng Xingyu suddenly spoke up.

Yueying paused, turned around, and lowered her head.

Feng Xingyu stood up, picked up a black cloak hanging nearby and put it on: "I'll go myself, I want to see what she's up to."

Gu Jinzhi's brows twitched slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he only said, "Your Highness, please be careful."

……

Mo Sangyu arrived at an abandoned earthen temple outside the city as promised.

She stepped into the dusty, cobweb-covered temple. In front of the dilapidated Buddha statue, a lean, muscular man with a sword at his waist stood with his back to her.

The man wore a plain iron mask, revealing only a pair of shrewd, restrained eyes.

Hearing footsteps, the man turned around, his gaze sweeping over Mo Sangyu like a hawk, carrying a hint of barely perceptible contempt.

Mo Sangyu remained unmoved, only subtly scanning the other party with his soul sense.

His true energy was contained and solidified, and his strength was probably similar to Yan Qing's.

The moment Mo Sangyu's soul sense swept over him, the man's eyes narrowed sharply, and he abruptly turned his head, scanning his surroundings warily.

Just now, he felt a strong threat.

That was a pressure emanating from the depths of one's soul.

Who is nearby?

The man carefully sensed that there was no one else in the dilapidated temple except for the weak woman in front of him who showed no signs of true energy.

Or is it just my imagination?

He was surprised and suspicious, but he never thought that such a threat would have anything to do with Mo Sangyu in front of him.

Did you bring the money?

Having ascertained the man's strength, Mo Sangyu went straight to the point and asked.

She wanted to finish quickly so she could go back and get her beauty sleep.

Suppressing his doubts, the man said coldly, "Are you sure that with this money, you can gain Feng Xingyu's trust and find an opportunity to strike?"

Trust isn't built in a day or two; it always takes some effort.

Mo Sangyu said indifferently, "Besides, you're all pressuring me so much, I have no other choice."

Hearing this, the man was skeptical: "You better not be lying to me. If you dare to try anything funny, I'll sell your silly sister to a brothel!"

"..."

A hint of murderous intent flashed in Mo Sangyu's eyes, but his expression remained unchanged: "Don't worry, I'm even more eager to settle this matter than you are."

The man stared at her for a few moments, seemingly trying to find a flaw in her face. Finding nothing amiss, he then took out a stack of silver notes from his pocket and handed them over.

Mo Sangyu took the money, quickly counted it, and immediately frowned: "I want 100,000 taels, and you're only giving me 10,000 taels?"

"One hundred thousand?"

The man scoffed, "Do you think the imperial court's money comes from thin air? Ten thousand taels? If you can't even handle this simple matter, then you're a useless piece of trash, and there's no point in keeping you around!"

Mo Sangyu raised her eyes and said sarcastically, "If you're so capable, why don't you go kill them yourself? You have to rely on a piece of trash like me."

These words clearly struck a nerve with the man.

His eyes suddenly turned fierce, and his breathing quickened for a moment.

If there were no other options, why resort to such a roundabout and troublesome method?

Previously, a ninth-rank expert was sent to assassinate him, but he was crippled by Feng Xingyu and barely escaped before dying from his injuries.

He's only a seventh-rank official; it's difficult to even get close to him.

Seeing that he remained silent, Mo Sangyu sneered, "Since you're no good either, then shut up."

"you!"

The man was completely enraged: "Don't go too far, or else..."

"Or else you'll kill my sister?"

Mo Sangyu approached him, her expression, which had been indifferent, suddenly softened into a smile.

"Besides threatening people, what else can you do?"

"I……"

"Do you know what happened to the last person who threatened me?"

Before the man could react, she conjured a dagger with her spiritual power and plunged it into his heart.

Then rotate the handle, allowing the blade to spin twice inside the wound.

Extremely ruthless.

"You...you dare to..."

The man let out a painful growl, his eyes filled with shock and disbelief.

He never imagined that Mo Sangyu would dare to kill him.

He didn't take Mo Sangyu seriously at all, so he wasn't on guard at all.

The knife pierced his heart meridian, and he knew he was going to die!

But he was unwilling to accept it. How could he die at the hands of such a weak woman?

His life force was rapidly draining away amidst the excruciating pain. The fear and rage of impending death compelled him to use his last remaining strength to gather the remaining true energy in his body and strike at Mo Sangyu.

Even if he dies, he will drag this treacherous and vicious woman down with him!

The two were too close, and Mo Sangyu really couldn't avoid it.

Seeing that the man's palm was about to strike, she simply closed her eyes, preparing to receive the blow.

Then, at the critical moment, a strong force suddenly pulled her backward, and she crashed into a cold embrace.

At the same time, the man opposite him crashed heavily onto the broken Buddhist shrine like a rag doll, then slid to the ground, twitched twice, and then fell completely silent.

Mo Sangyu steadied herself and looked up.

The man behind her was Feng Xingyu.

She was somewhat surprised, yet also felt it was within expectations.

The man had been having people watching her, so he naturally knew her whereabouts long ago.

She was surprised that he would come along in person.

"Don't misunderstand, I'm not trying to save you."

Feng Xingyu felt a little uncomfortable under Mo Sangyu's gaze, so he turned his head and explained in a cold voice.

"I know, you're saving yourself."

Mo Sangyu spoke frankly: "I wasn't panicked at all just now. Anyway, no matter how badly I was injured, you would absorb it all, and I wouldn't die."

Feng Xingyu: "..."

His breathing was slightly heavy, but he quickly regained his composure.

"With your meager, unorthodox skills, I really don't know who gave you the courage to kill a seventh-rank martial arts cultivator?"

"I gave it to myself."

Mo Sangyu stepped forward and kicked the man's corpse twice, saying indifferently, "Dare to threaten me? I don't care what rank he is."

Feng Xingyu stared intently at her.

At this moment, he seemed to not quite understand this woman.

Which side is she on?

"Your Highness, please dispose of the body."

Mo Sangyu searched the man and found several large silver notes and a gold token.

"You yourself..."

Before Feng Xingyu could finish refusing, Mo Sangyu tossed him the token: "Here, take this and melt it down. It's worth a lot of money."

"..."

After finishing her sentence, Mo Sangyu left first.

Feng Xingyu stared at the token in his hand, his expression gradually turning cold.

Back at the Prince's residence.

Gu Jinzhi, Yan Qing, Yuan Zhao, and the others were still waiting for news in the study.

Seeing that Mo Sangyu and Feng Xingyu entered the main courtyard almost at the same time, the expressions on the faces of the group were somewhat strange and hesitant.

Yan Qing, in particular, was visibly shocked when he saw Mo Sangyu walking past them with a stack of conspicuous silver notes in her hand.

"Where...where did she get so much money?!"

Yan Qing lowered his voice, his tone full of surprise and doubt: "And Your Highness, what are you doing...?"

Wasn't Your Highness secretly following him?

How come they all came back together!

Feng Xingyu ignored him, walked straight into the study, and closed the door behind him.

He handed the pure gold token in his hand to Gu Jinzhi.

In the candlelight, Gu Jinzhi glanced at it only once, and his expression suddenly became serious.

The token features an intricately carved dragon design and a small "御" (Imperial) character mark.

He ran his fingertips over the hidden mark, then brought it close to the candlelight to examine it carefully for a moment before slowly putting it down.

"Imperial Guard, Dragon Pattern Secret Order."

Gu Jinzhi's voice lowered, carrying a hint of coldness: "This is His Majesty's most secret bodyguard, directly under the Emperor's command, and only obeys his orders. Whoever holds this order can monitor all officials and execute them first and report later."

The air in the study seemed to freeze instantly.

Yuan Zhao gasped, "The Emperor has sent all the Imperial Guards?"

Yan Qing's fists clenched so tightly they cracked: "They really want to kill His Highness? Why? What did His Highness do wrong?"

"Stop talking."

Gu Jinzhi stopped Yan Qing from continuing and looked at Feng Xingyu, asking, "Your Highness, where did this token come from?"

"She gave it to me."

Feng Xingyu's face remained expressionless, but the darkness in his eyes seemed to deepen, like unyielding ice: "She killed that person, found it on him, and gave it to me."

"What?"

"That demoness killed the Imperial Guards and... handed this token to His Highness?"

This sounds really hard to believe.

But that's just how it is.

"What exactly is she trying to do?"

Yuan Zhao was completely baffled: "She killed the emperor's woman and is now trying to curry favor with us? But what's her motive? She knows we can't do anything to her, so she has no reason to do this. Could it be that she wants us to protect her sister?"

"Her sister is in the capital, how can we help her protect her?" Yan Qing subconsciously didn't want to help her.

"It shouldn't be. If she wanted to protect her sister, she wouldn't have killed that person."

Gu Jinzhi asked, "Your Highness, what do you think?"