Li Zhiyue got goosebumps all over her body.

A grown man — who is he trying to look pitiful for?

Her face was cold and indifferent. “I believe my attitude last time was already very clear. If Young Master Xue doesn’t want things to get ugly, it’s best you don’t come looking for me again.”

Xue Ling’s eyes were full of deep affection. “Yue niang, I don’t know exactly what I did to upset you, but I swear to the heavens, my feelings for you are as clear as the sun and moon. I…”

“What use is being clear as the sun and moon? Why don’t you take those letters you wrote to me to the magistrate and have them appraised?” Li Zhiyue’s lips curled slightly. “The prefect should find that very interesting.”

Xue Ling’s expression stiffened.

The letters he wrote to Li Zhiyue were far too explicit.

If he handed them to the authorities, he’d be in big trouble.

At worst, he could be charged with harassing a young lady from a respectable family, possibly beaten with a cane; at best, people who didn’t know the full story would accuse him of being a toad lusting after a swan, and he’d get an undeserved bad reputation.

If Li Zhiyue still had the letters she wrote him, he wouldn’t be afraid.

But all those had been completely burned.

“Yue Niang, the moment we met, we fell for each other and confessed our love. We agreed that after I passed the imperial exams, I would formally come to the Hou family to propose. Why have you changed your mind?” Xue Ling shook his head. “My feelings for you have never changed. I will wait for you to change your heart.”

Li Zhiyue’s voice was cold. “You took many benefits from me before. Why don’t we count how much silver you owe me?”

“You, you, you…”

Xue Ling’s face turned ugly.

Clearly, Li Zhiyue used to cling to him, constantly coaxing and yielding to him, so why was she suddenly acting like this?

He retreated backward. “Yue Niang, calm down first. I have matters to attend to. I’ll leave now!”

With that, he quickly disappeared from the teahouse.

Outside, night had fully fallen.

A silver crescent moon hung in the sky, casting cold moonlight.

Li Zhiyue sat in the carriage, resting her chin on her hand, watching the street outside.

The roadside stalls were slowly closing; fewer pedestrians remained, occasionally a night watchman would walk by.

Suddenly, heavy footsteps echoed in the silent night.

The steps were uneven, coming toward them.

Mo Yu immediately poked her head out. “Hurry, faster back to the mansion.”

The coachman also sensed something unusual and whipped the horse’s back.

However!

Before the carriage could speed up, a dark figure suddenly leapt from the side and viciously kicked the coachman down.

The coachman cried out and tumbled to the ground.

The carriage turned sharply and headed toward the city gate at an unbelievable speed.

The capital city of Great Wei imposed a curfew every night at the fifth quarter of the hour of Xu, and the city gates were already closed.

But to allow some officials living outside the city to come and go, there was a small gate on the west side that would only fully lock at the third quarter of the hour of Hai.

It had just passed Hai time, so the small gate was still open.

The carriage rushed ahead and was stopped by two guards at the gate, but the man in black had no intention to stop.

He knocked the guards down and pushed forward.

“Miss…!”

Moyu’s face went pale with fear. She climbed up shakily in the carriage and quickly steadied Li Zhiyue, who was also struggling to keep her balance.

Li Zhiyue’s expression was cold.

She steadied herself, lifted the carriage curtain, and looked back.

Someone was chasing them but was still far behind.

If this villain drove the carriage into the woods and twisted through, losing those behind, it would be dangerous for her and Moyu.

She decided quickly, pulling the hairpin from her head and whispering, “Moyu, go distract him.”

Moyu’s face instantly went white.

The attacker was a burly man who smelled of blood.

She trembled all over with fear but knew if she did nothing, the consequences would be worse.

She climbed out of the carriage and spoke with difficulty, “Brave sir, the carriage is yours. Here’s silver for your escape. Please let us go.”

The man driving the carriage turned, his face fierce and menacing, about to speak.

Suddenly—

A gust of wind blew.

Li Zhiyue raised her hairpin and stabbed fiercely at the neck of the man in black.

But this man was no ordinary foe; his reflexes were lightning-fast.

He dodged slightly—the hairpin missed his carotid artery and pierced his arm instead.

He grabbed Li Zhiyue’s hair with his other hand. “You little bitch, how dare you try to ambush me!”

Moyu saw this and bit the man’s arm hard, grabbing his wrist.

Though the two women were weak, attacking together put some pressure on the man.

Li Zhiyue pulled out the hairpin and stabbed downward again.

When the man grabbed her wrist, she put all her strength into rolling toward the carriage floor. The three of them tumbled to the ground as the frightened horse dragged the carriage away rapidly down the road.

“Clop, clop, clop!”

Li Zhiyue heard the sound of horse hooves behind them getting closer.

The man in black clearly panicked.

He grabbed Moyu, who was closer, and pulled her over, then drew a dagger from his sleeve and pressed it hard against her neck.

“Let her go,” Li Zhiyue said coldly. “I know you want a hostage. Obviously, I’m a better choice than her. Let’s trade.”

“No…” Mo Yu cried, “Run, Miss!”

The man was no fool. Between the maid and the mistress, the mistress’s life was obviously more valuable.

He kicked Moyu aside and leapt next to Li Zhiyue, pressing the dagger hard into her pale neck, cutting a thin line of blood.

“Li Sheng, surrender now!”

A cold and sharp voice rang out in the night.

Li Zhiyue looked up and saw a familiar face.

A man on a tall horse — it was none other than Cheng Changyan, the Minister of the Court of Justice. He wore a black robe that flapped in the night wind, his dark eyes flashing with a cold, blade-like gleam.

He was chasing the criminal, and unfortunately, she had fallen into the villain’s hands.

“Minister Cheng, this case belongs to the Shuntian Prefecture, why is your Court of Justice meddling?” the man in black growled. “If you agree to close the case, I’ll let her go. Otherwise, we die together!”

Cheng Changyan’s eyes darkened.

Indeed, this case belonged to Shuntian Prefecture, but in recent years the prefect had been replaced by a royal relative who was good at drinking and feasting but had no method for solving cases, leading to many wrongful convictions.

The victims came to the Court of Justice for help.

As one of the three departments conducting joint trials, he had to step forward and investigate.

Unexpectedly, before he could uncover anything, the suspect fled overnight.

He hurriedly gave chase.

Seeing that Cheng Changyan was unmoved, the man in black pressed harder, and a drop of blood trickled down Li Zhiyue’s neck.

She was no delicate woman and endured without a sound.

In the night, that streak of scarlet seemed to frost over Cheng Changyan’s face like a cold storm brewing.

Behind him, Zhao Shaoqing shouted loudly, “Li Sheng, cooperate with the investigation. If you confess and help, you can redeem yourself and avoid execution…”

Li Sheng grit his teeth.

He had more than just this one case on his head.

If investigated fully, his whole family would be executed.

He pulled Li Zhiyue backward. “Stop with this nonsense. I give you three days. If you don’t close the case, I’ll chop her into pieces and send them to your Court of Justice!”

He grabbed Li Zhiyue and leapt toward the lake behind them.