Chapter 60: I Want Only Her

“You are indeed loyal.”

Pei Zhouwu suddenly tightened his grip again, his voice sounding fierce, with faint traces of fear even he himself did not detect.

Could the servants of the Qi Prince’s Mansion be so loyal, unafraid even of death?

No.

Old Prince Qi was debauched and showed no compassion toward the servants in his mansion. There had long been frequent rumors of him beating or killing servants over trivial matters. It made no sense for someone to risk their life for such a master.

This servant must have thought he wouldn’t dare to actually kill.

“When you face the King of Hell in the underworld, I hope you can still maintain such composure.”

His hand tightened, squeezing until veins bulged on the servant’s forehead.

“If… if you… don’t believe me, you… you can… investigate. I’ve been in the Prince’s Mansion for… seven or eight years, and I’ve never… never heard…”

The servant’s face flushed crimson; if this continued, he would truly suffocate.

Killing was not Pei Zhouwu’s intention.

His excessive anxiety was unintentional, compounded by an uncontrollable fear that churned within him, unsettling his mind.

“Take me to Prince Qi.” He loosened his grip but did not release the man. “Just remember: don’t shout or scream. I won’t expose you and get you punished.”

The servant caught his breath, gasping heavily.

“Alright, as long as you don’t kill me, young master, I’ll take you through a shortcut to the prince’s bedroom.”

Avoiding crowded areas and circling around half the garden, the servant finally led him to a spot behind a rockery outside a courtyard.

“That’s the prince’s residence ahead.” The servant trembled, wanting to hide but not daring to, then cleverly added, “I won’t shout or scream. I shouldn’t be here anyway. If I scream, they’ll know I brought you here, and they won’t let me off afterward. You promised earlier not… not to kill me.”

Pei Zhouwu ignored him, tossing the man aside and leaping onto the roof.

Looking down, the courtyard was empty.

Only faint sobbing could be heard from the main room, turning Pei Zhouwu’s face pale.

When the door was pushed open, it startled those inside.

A young girl sat tied to a chair, her shoulder half-exposed, while the fat and greasy old prince stood before her, holding a whip. He turned in fright to stare at Pei Zhouwu, who had barged in.

“Who… who are you?”

Pei Zhouwu’s face was covered, revealing only eyes as bright as stars yet cold as ice.

Only heaven knew how terrified he had been upon hearing the sobs.

He had thought…

Thankfully, it wasn’t Su Yueying.

He advanced step by step, his menacing aura frightening Prince Qi into retreating until he bumped into a cabinet and could go no further. Terrified, he begged for mercy, discarding all royal dignity and pride.

“Hero, great warrior, don’t be rash. Tell me what you want—money or people?”

Pei Zhouwu didn’t respond, instead picking up a small knife from a basket on the table. Bloodstains still clung to the blade, likely remnants of Prince Qi’s cruel games with the women he tormented.

“If it’s money you want, I have plenty. I’ll give you as much as you ask. If it’s people, I have those too. My mansion is full of beauties.”

Prince Qi was sensible enough not to shout for help at that moment.

No one could arrive faster than the knife in Pei Zhouwu’s hand.

“I’ve come for someone.” Pei Zhouwu stepped closer, pressing the knife against Prince Qi’s sleeve. “Give me the person, and I won’t kill you.”

Old Prince Qi trembled with fear, not daring to move a muscle.

“Alright, alright, alright, you tell me, how many do you want? I’ll give you however many you ask for. I have all kinds of beauties here—just pick whichever you fancy and take them away. You can…”

“I only want one person!”

Pei Zhouwu tightened his grip on the knife handle, suddenly turning and pressing the sharp blade against Old Prince Qi’s neck.

“Hand over Su Yueying.”

The icy coldness on his neck frightened Old Prince Qi into squeezing his eyes shut. He wanted to scream but instinctively covered his mouth instead.

He shook his head vigorously, his words coming out as muffled sobs.

“N-no, I don’t know, I don’t know any Su Yueying…”

“You don’t know?!”

“I’ll look, I’ll look for you. If there’s anyone named Su Yueying in my mansion, I’ll find them for you.”

“What are you pretending for, Old Prince Qi? You were about to forcibly take Su Yueying as your concubine, and now you’re acting like you don’t know her?”

“I really don’t know! I have no memory of it. I don’t recall any concubine of mine having that name. I… I’ll summon all my concubines, line them up from oldest to youngest for you to see, and check if there’s anyone you’re looking for.”

He didn’t notice that Pei Zhouwu’s grip on the knife had loosened slightly.

Old Prince Qi’s repeated claims of not knowing or remembering, combined with the earlier reactions of the servants upon hearing Su Yueying’s name, all fueled Pei Zhouwu’s self-doubt.

“You old scoundrel, I don’t believe a single word you say.”

He only believed Su Yueying!

A Ying was such a wonderful girl—she wouldn’t lie to him.

“Su Yueying was a maid serving your mother, brought to the Prince’s Mansion just two years ago. You coveted her beauty and tried to force her into becoming your concubine. Now you deny it like this—could it be that you’ve already harmed her?!”

“I…” Old Prince Qi felt choked, unable to speak.

“My mother hasn’t changed the maids around her for decades. They’re all old, familiar faces who have served her for years. Besides, even if I’m a scoundrel, I still understand the meaning of filial piety. How could I dare to set my sights on someone from my mother’s courtyard?”

“You’re lying!” Pei Zhouwu gasped for breath.

The frequent trembling of his long eyelashes betrayed the unease welling up from within.

“If you don’t believe me, I’ll bring you the mansion’s servant registry. You can check it yourself.”

“Check.” Pei Zhouwu grabbed him by the collar, repeating sternly, “Check now, right now!”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a dull sound echoed through the night sky.

It sounded like a bell.

“Dong—!”

Another toll rang out, resounding across the entire city.

It was the bell from Xiangshan.

Perhaps the guards who had fainted had woken up and sounded the bell.

In that moment of distraction, Old Prince Qi suddenly slammed into Pei Zhouwu with all his might, tearing off Pei Zhouwu’s mask in the process. His heavy body, driven by full force, knocked Pei Zhouwu to the ground.

Then, he dashed toward the door, completely ignoring the woman still tied to the chair, pleading for his help.

“Guards! There’s an assassin!”

“Guards, guards!”

“There’s an assassin!”

Just as he stepped over the threshold, Old Prince Qi was struck from behind by a round stool, sending him tumbling to the floor with a thud.

As he struggled to get up despite the pain, the icy blade was already pressed against the back of his neck once more.

“Where are you going, Your Highness? Weren’t you going to check the registry?”

“Pei Zhouwu, you have some nerve! How dare you escape privately and assault a member of the royal family? The Pei family truly raised a fine son.”

As prominent figures in Shangjing City, Old Prince Qi had naturally seen Pei Zhouwu before.

Pei Zhouwu’s face, the kind that made men envious and women adore, was not easily forgotten.

“Why must Your Highness mention the Pei family? I have long been expelled from the Pei clan register. I am no longer a member of the Pei family now, so threatening me with expulsion from the Pei family holds no weight. Let us first deal with the matter of the register, or wait for the city defense troops to arrive, and we can die together.”

“…Fine, investigate it. Someone, go fetch the mansion’s register!”

…

Marquis Pei’s Mansion.

Mother Pei was so anxious she wished she could grow wings. With a pale face, she rushed to Father Pei’s study.

“Master!”

She pushed the door open and, upon seeing Father Pei, could no longer hold back her tears.

“Has A’Zhou escaped?” Father Pei rose from behind his desk and went to meet her. He had also heard the bell toll earlier.

From the moment Pei Zhouwu wrote asking them to expel him from the Pei family, he had anticipated this day. However, what Mother Pei said next nearly made him faint from shock.

“A’Zhou has gone to Qi Prince’s Mansion and taken Old Prince Qi hostage. They have already reported it, and by now the Shangjing City defense troops may have surrounded the Prince’s Mansion. Master, is there still any hope for A’Zhou? If he falls into the hands of the city defense troops, his fate will be imprisonment in the death row.”

In truth, Mother Pei also knew that the Pei family had already severed ties with Pei Zhouwu.

They could not intervene, they could not save him.

Otherwise, the entire Pei family would be implicated.

“Master, where are you going!”

Father Pei remained silent, only striding swiftly out of the study and heading straight for the main gate of the Pei mansion.

At that moment, in Qi Prince’s Mansion, guards and city defense troops with drawn bows had surrounded the entire courtyard. Prince Qi, trembling, sat at the stone table under the tree in the courtyard, flipping through the account books on the table page by page. There were several volumes in total, including not only the register of servants in the mansion but also ledgers of slave transactions over the years, and so on.

Pei Zhouwu stood closely behind him.

“Pei… Marquis Pei, I have gone through these account books and registers over and over. There are quite a few people with the surname Su, but there is no one named Su Yueying. You have already examined them carefully yourself. You see…”

Prince Qi pointed to a spot on the register, then, taking advantage of Pei Zhouwu’s inattention, threw himself to the ground to the side, shouting.

“Fire the arrows!”

Dozens of sharp arrows instantly flew toward Pei Zhouwu in unison.

Pei Zhouwu reacted quickly, flipping aside to hide behind the tree.

Though his body reacted swiftly, his mind was somewhat sluggish, having grown numb from repeatedly flipping through the account books without finding the name he sought.

He still refused to believe it.

The account books could be falsified, or perhaps there were other ledgers that had not been brought out.

In short, without A Ying’s own admission, he would trust no one!

Just as he was growing anxious, a familiar voice suddenly rang out from outside the courtyard.

“Pei Zhouwu!”

The vigorous voice made his pupils contract sharply.

It was his father.

He emerged from behind the tree, his numb expression gradually softening at the sight of his long-unseen relative.

“You scoundrel, you have already been expelled from the Pei family and are no longer a member of it. But if you commit crimes here today under the Pei family’s name, even I will not spare you.”

Father Pei snatched an arrow from someone beside him, drew the longbow, and shot an arrow at Pei Zhouwu.

Pei Zhouwu did not dodge.

Perhaps he had not expected his father to personally attack him.

The arrow was extremely fast, and in his moment of stumbling, it pierced deeply through his shoulder.

Blood sprayed.

His head buzzed.

The wound was painful, but it seemed not even one ten-thousandth as painful as his heart.

“No…”

He could not fall.

He had not yet found A Ying.