My Prince said he'd break my legs.

Late at night, when everyone in the Liang family was asleep, Liang Zhiyi and Chunmei, carrying the box that Liang Qingwan had given her, sneaked off to a secluded spot in the backyard.

They dug a hole in the corner of the wall near the dog hole in the backyard, buried the box in it, smoothed out the soil, stomped on it a few times, and then piled some miscellaneous items on top. The two of them checked it until there were no traces of digging the hole before they stopped.

Chunmei patted the dirt off her hands: "Alright, girl."

Liang Zhiyi let out a breath and tiptoed back with Chunmei.

She also added a lot of silver notes and gold jewelry to the box, preparing for the future.

If the crown prince wins, she will take all the wealth and run away, living in anonymity.

If Prince Chen wins, then there's nothing to worry about. Her cheap father will get promoted and become rich, and she can enjoy the good fortune along with him.

She just couldn't bear to suffer.

Just as the two women walked away, a dark figure jumped down from the wall, skillfully dug a hole in the ground, and took the box away.

---

East Palace

Yu Zhao placed the box on the table: "Your Highness, this is the box that Miss Liang buried."

Pei Yue extended his slender fingers and flicked them slightly, revealing a dazzling array of gold, silver, jewels, and banknotes.

He scoffed, "You ungrateful little brat."

Yu Zhao muttered, "Isn't the Fourth Miss's family a wealthy merchant family? How come they're secretly hoarding money?"

Pei Yue sneered: "What else could it be? It's to prevent Prince Chen from failing in the succession battle so he can run away. He's very clever."

With a flick of his wrist, he closed the box: "Go, bring her here."

Yu Zhao stared at the box: "Your Highness, should we put this box back in its original place?"

Pei Yue glanced at him: "What do you think?"

Yu Zhao shuddered: "Yes, subordinate understands."

Even if you beat him to death, he wouldn't dare put the box back.

There's quite a lot of valuables in that box. Tsk tsk, if Miss Liang Si knew her hidden treasures were gone, she'd be devastated.

Half an hour later

Liang Zhiyi strategically took a few steps back, but her retreat was blocked by the guards behind her.

This prince hasn't contacted her for a long time; she thought he had forgotten about her.

Now she has been kidnapped by the Crown Prince and brought to the Eastern Palace, and she is currently in the dungeon of the Eastern Palace.

The pungent smell in the dungeon made her want to vomit. She raised her hand to cover her mouth and nose with her sleeve and looked at Yu Zhao.

"What does this mean?"

Yu Zhao smiled formally: "His Highness the Crown Prince is inside. Fourth Miss, please!"

Liang Zhiyi was somewhat frantic. Even if the prince wanted her to die, she couldn't possibly resist.

Why hasn't Prince Chen killed this damned crown prince yet?

She was sound asleep in the middle of the night when someone carried her away, blanket and all, and she was furious.

When she passed by Yu Zhao, she was so angry that she kicked him hard. Not daring to provoke Pei Yue, kicking the person next to him would be a good way to vent her anger.

Yu Zhao grunted. What had he done to deserve this? He'd been kicked by this ancestor again, and he couldn't even dodge it. He was afraid that if he did, this ancestor would whisper in the Crown Prince's ear when he gained power, and he'd be in deep trouble.

The guards led Liang Zhiyi to a prison cell.

Pei Yue was wiping a blood-stained instrument of torture, while in front of him was a person bound hand and foot to a pillar, covered in wounds and bloodstains, with fresh blood slowly flowing from various parts of his body, clearly having just been tortured.

Liang Zhiyi's legs went weak and she wanted to lean against the wall, but Pei Yue pulled her close, holding her waist and making her look directly at the prisoner.

Upon closer inspection, it became clear that the person's right cheek was devoid of skin and flesh, the hollow, bloody cheekbone completely exposed, and a pungent, foul stench of blood assaulted her senses.

She couldn't hold it in any longer and bent over to vomit everything in her stomach.

Only when she vomited up all the stomach acid and had nothing left to vomit did Pei Yue slowly take a handkerchief and wipe her lips.

Pei Yue gently patted her back, his thin lips parting slightly: "Guess what crime he committed?"

Liang Zhiyi's legs went weak and she couldn't stand. She leaned against Pei Yue, her hands unconsciously gripping his robes tightly. She dared not look at him anymore and turned her head to the side.

She was on the verge of tears: "I...I don't know."

She was so startled that she forgot to use honorifics and kept saying "I, I, I," but Pei Yue didn't seem to care.

Pei Yue chuckled, not continuing the topic, and asked her, "I heard you're engaged recently. What, are you thinking of getting married?"

Liang Zhiyi was taken aback. Was that why he was angry?

Recalling his previous conversation with her about taking her as a concubine, she immediately realized that Pei Yue was warning her.

This mad dog's possessiveness is fucking insane.

She shook her head vigorously and answered truthfully, "No... no, it's not that. My father was discussing marriage with the Guan family, but the Guan family's property was confiscated, so the matter was dropped."

Pei Yue lowered his head and breathed into her ear: "Then guess why the Guan family's property was confiscated?"

Guess?

She didn't need to guess to know what was going on; it turned out she was the one who had implicated the Guan family.

Liang Zhiyi felt depressed. Judging from the current situation, Pei Yue would never let her go, and she was afraid that she would be tied to him from now on.

Pei Yue didn't need her answer at all. He stood up straight, staring straight at her, his cold gaze making Liang Zhiyi shiver.

"Go back to the Liang residence and stay there properly. If you misbehave, I will deal with you personally."

She readily accepted his words and nodded vigorously, "I...I understand."

Pei Yue was very satisfied with her performance and carried her to the front hall like a little chick.

Then... he left her in his bedroom.

Liang Zhiyi was terrified the whole way. She was afraid of being seen alone with Pei Yue in the East Palace in the middle of the night. If word got out, she would lose all face.

Pei Yue glanced at her, but instead of having anyone serve him, he took off his outer robe and lay down on the bed.

"Don't worry, in the front hall, there are only two kinds of people... those who are loyal to me and the dead."

He meant that the servants in the front hall of the East Palace dared not say a word.

Liang Zhiyi lowered her head, not daring to look at him, and whispered, "Your Highness, may I go back now?"

Pei Yue ignored her and patted the spot next to him: "Come here, it's almost dawn. Keep me company for a while, and I'll have someone take you home when it's light."

Liang Zhiyi was immediately jolted and took several steps back. She wasn't stupid; lying in bed with a man who was interested in her, she knew exactly what would happen.

Pei Yue looked displeased: "What?"

Liang Zhiyi bit her lip hard, composed herself, and when she looked up again, tears streamed down her face: "Is Your Highness going to humiliate me like this?"

Pei Yue frowned and retorted, "When have I ever humiliated you?"

"If Your Highness truly cherishes me, you should openly and legitimately bring me into the Eastern Palace, and be with me in a proper and proper manner... instead of remaining in this ambiguous state."

Hearing this made Pei Yue feel inexplicably happy. Regardless of whether Liang Zhiyi was speaking from the heart, she was going to become his woman.

He smiled wryly, unusually agreeable: "This was indeed something I hadn't considered carefully. You should be given a title. I will grant you one in a while. Go back and wait."

He sat up, propped himself up on his right leg, and placed his hand on his knee. He instructed, "Yu Zhao, escort the Fourth Miss back."

His voice wasn't loud, but Yu Zhao, being a trained martial artist, could hear it even from outside.

Sure enough, Yu Zhao responded from outside, "Yes."

The sound came in, but the person stood outside motionless. Unless Miss Liang came out herself, he could not go in without being told.

"Thank you, Your Highness."

Liang Zhiyi breathed a slight sigh of relief, turned around and left as if she had been granted a pardon, even forgetting to bow.

But it doesn't matter. She was so scared tonight that she didn't bow to Pei Yue, and it seemed like he didn't care.