Chapter 13: Your Highness, Please Come Down First

Cheng Liuyi’s entire face throbbed with pain. Without even looking in the mirror, she knew it must be red and swollen, utterly disheveled and disgraceful—completely unpresentable.

“Ah! Kill her! I want to kill her!”

Fuming with rage, Cheng Liuyi stamped her feet and lunged toward Cheng Xueyang to strike her again, only to be slapped twice more before she obediently held back. Instead, she shoved the people beside her forward. “Go! Tear her face apart for me!”

The Third Miss was hardly one for fighting. The heaviest thing she could grab was a porcelain bowl used for meals. Fragile and timid, she dared not approach.

Cheng Liuyi cruelly pinched the soft flesh at the Third Miss’s waist. “Why are you standing there like a fool? Attack her!”

Tears welled up in the Third Miss’s eyes from the pain, her eyes reddening. Gritting her teeth, she forced herself forward a few steps.

Cheng Xueyang slowly raised her hand and blew on it. “Next, am I to be the one you hit?”

The Third Miss’s scalp tingled with dread. Ignoring the threat from Princess Yunxiang, she broke into a run, brushing past Cheng Xueyang and escaping.

“Useless!”

Cheng Liuyi glared at the palace maids nearby. “Are you all dead? Why aren’t you coming?”

Seeing Cheng Liuyi using the ladies of the Pingnan Marquis’s household as her henchmen, the palace maids immediately tried to flee. But Cheng Liuyi’s people pushed forward relentlessly, forcing the noble ladies out.

The Dowager Princess of Shou, originally seated nearby, was shoved to the ground along with the commotion, rolling about in embarrassment. Several feet trampled her, causing her to wail in pain, filled with regret.

Ah! She shouldn't have added that invitation to her list.

At this point, the scene had descended into utter chaos.

The male guests in the outer courtyard were also alarmed.

Even swifter than the arrival of the Shou Prince was the appearance of two young figures: one rushing toward Gu Anyu, the other heading straight to the eye of the storm, Cheng Xueyang.

After satisfying her urge to fight, Cheng Xueyang saw too many people and darted out of the pavilion, choosing to hide for the time being.

But Cheng Liuyi’s palace maids dared not relent. Their mistress had been struck; if they failed to deliver a satisfactory outcome, death awaited them. No matter how Cheng Xueyang fled, they pursued relentlessly.

The noble ladies caught in the fray scattered, desperate only to be peaceful beauties, not wild enforcers.

When Cheng Xueyang reached the edge of the flower field, only the palace maids remained in pursuit. Their faces twisted with malicious intent as if they intended to devour her alive. Seven or eight of them, all sturdy, clearly handpicked by Cheng Liuyi, while half were blocked by Gu Anyu.

A wise man avoids immediate losses. Cheng Xueyang had no time to think further and plunged into the flower field.

“Ah—The Prince’s flower field!”

The Dowager Princess of Shou’s voice trembled. The prince valued this flower field above all. If he found out it was being disturbed, she would surely be scolded to death.

Cheng Xueyang had planned to use the flower field to stall for time, waiting for Shadow Captain Da to fully understand the Shou Prince’s household before coming to rescue her. She had already assigned the task before arriving.

But those palace maids were relentless, hot on her heels, nearly catching her.

Judging the time, she glanced at a kapok tree nearby and, tired of playing hide and seek, swiftly leapt onto the high branches.

Someone gasped, “My heavens, Princess Xuanyun can fly!”

Strictly speaking, she couldn’t fly, but her leaps were so swift, landing on tree trunks with each foot so fast it seemed like flight.

The palace maids surrounded her, but unable to climb so high, they shook the tree violently, trying to dislodge Cheng Xueyang.

The kapok tree was slender compared to others, and Cheng Xueyang swayed precariously atop it.

Suddenly, a figure streaked in like lightning—a tall, imposing man clad in ink-black robes fluttering in the wind, his expression cold and fierce, eyes like blazing torches radiating a chilling aura.

“Get lost.”

The arrogant palace maids shuddered and involuntarily stepped back.

The figure stood firm beneath the tree, a formidable presence that barred anyone from approaching, forcing them to watch helplessly.

Cheng Xueyang, perched high above, recognized the newcomer.

Using her vantage point, she scanned the surroundings and soon spotted Shadow Captain Da rushing over.

Too slow.

Well, this mansion was simply too vast.

Though the Shou Prince was a leisurely noble with no official post, the palace had awarded him generously, and the Empress Dowager doted on him. This mansion was immense, with this flower field alone occupying a considerable area.

Her gaze shifted back to the pavilion. The chaos had settled; the ladies stood in orderly formation, while the Shou Prince glared angrily at the half-destroyed flower field, speechless. The Dowager Princess of Shou, rolling on the ground, was too distracted to notice.

It was the Prince of Jing who helped the Dowager Princess to her feet, while the Crown Prince stood before Cheng Liuyi, laughing heartily at her swollen face without restraint.

Princess Yunxiang, in tears from fury, ran to the Prince of Jing to complain, “Brother, help me!”

Gu Anyu was safe as well. The palace maids who had tried to intercept her were either lying on the ground or driven off by a young man nearby.

That man...

Cheng Xueyang recognized him faintly—the newly crowned top scholar of the year she left the capital, He Yu, who lived with the Gu family.

Why did He Yu look at Gu Anyu with such dominance?

“Why did you get into a fight? What if you got hurt? If someone displeased you, why not tell me? Or did you think I couldn’t handle them?”

Gu Anyu bowed her head slightly, listening to He Yu’s scolding. “Don’t be mad. It happened so suddenly. I had nowhere to find you, so I had to handle it myself.”

Sniffle—He Yu was so stern, like an older brother reprimanding her.

Only then did He Yu notice the other matters. Hearing Gu Anyu was in a fight had nearly driven him mad; he had no time for anything else.

“Your Highness, please come down first.”

Gu Mo’s voice was low and rich, magnetic, almost enchanting. Though the commotion at the pavilion was more entertaining, he couldn’t help but withdraw his gaze and look down at her.

Gu Mo lifted his head, looking up at her. Their eyes met, and somehow memories from the past began to stir.

That summer, when the Imperial Sister was still in the palace, she was only twelve—innocent and full of vigor, always feeling trapped and bored in the palace, scheming to escape.

Her favorite place was the General’s mansion. The Grand General and the Junior General were exceptional warriors, training troops in the barracks and never idle even at home. The little young master, only a few years old, was made to stand at attention.

Cheng Xueyang often followed their drills with great enthusiasm, practicing punches meticulously. The Grand General saw her potential and took her as a disciple.

After she first managed to fight evenly with Junior General Zhao Hui, she became completely proud, convinced she had joined the ranks of masters and rashly set out to rid the people of evildoers.

She had learned that gangs in the East Street area were extorting money from the townsfolk. Bravely, she went to confront them.