Chapter 4 He said she could take clients.

Feng Ran was eventually taken away by the shadowy figures and brought to Hongyi.

However, her days with Hongyi were not easy.

"Still sleeping? Do you really think you're still a princess?" Hongyi delivered a vicious kick, showing no mercy.

"What do you want?" Feng Ran was jolted awake in the middle of the night. Opening her eyes, she saw Hongyi's contorted face, her gaze filled with disdain.

Hongyi yanked her from the makeshift bed and handed her a vase, ordering her to balance it on her head: "Keep your feet straight, hold it up. You can put it down after three hours, understand?"

"Don't even think about slacking off. There are informants everywhere. Every move you make is being monitored."

A chilling coldness crept up from the soles of her feet, making Feng Ran tremble uncontrollably. She could barely stand and collapsed onto the ground. Hongyi, witnessing this, merely caught the falling vase.

"Crack."

She slapped Feng Ran directly across the face.

"This time, it's just a slap. If you make another mistake, your head will be gone."

Feng Ran placed the vase back on her head, daring not to falter again.

Hongyi, her eyes flushed with a murderous rage, struck Feng Ran with a wooden stick, showing no restraint. A mocking smile curled her lips as she sneered, "Heh, weren't you so high and mighty before? Now look at you, fallen into my hands."

"Oh, and the prince instructed me to torment you well. If you don't behave, I can do as I please, as long as you keep breathing."

"The prince also said that once you're properly trained, you'll be sent to Chun Manyuan."

Feng Ran's eyes widened in shock. Xuan Yuanheng had actually given such orders.

Hearing Hongyi's words, her mind went blank.

Her true feelings had been utterly misplaced.

Xuan Yuanheng's instructions proved he truly hated her, that he truly wished her dead.

Feng Ran's feet were already a deep, bruised purple from the cold. She bit her lip, trembling, yet she forced herself to stand tall, holding the vase aloft.

But Hongyi felt it was never enough.

She detested Feng Ran. She had always been by Xuan Yuanheng's side, silently watching him, observing his every move, and that was enough for her.

But Feng Ran's appearance had disrupted everything. Seeing Feng Ran cling to Xuan Yuanheng, seeing them inseparable, Hongyi had felt an almost uncontrollable urge to kill.

She had been waiting for an opportunity, an opportunity to tear Feng Ran away from Xuan Yuanheng's side.

Finally, her persistence paid off. She had waited long enough. Feng Ran had fallen into her hands, and she could torment her as she pleased.

Hongyi had never considered sparing Feng Ran.

Feng Ran's current predicament was her just desserts.

It was as if heaven itself had favored her, granting her such a wonderful opportunity.

Hongyi produced a whip from somewhere and began to lash down, one strike after another, with no softness, no hesitation.

As Hongyi whipped Feng Ran, her expression grew more triumphant and ferocious.

"Heh, Feng Ran, you never expected this, did you? That you'd fall into my hands."

Hongyi stopped whipping and bent down, grabbing Feng Ran's hair and pulling forcefully. Her eyes were bloodshot as she forced Feng Ran to meet her gaze, whispering malevolently, "By the way, the prince instructed me to 'teach you' some skills. You'd better learn well."

"In three months, you'll be seeing customers."

Feng Ran looked at Hongyi, who was ranting like a madwoman.

She shook her head vehemently, refusing to believe a word Hongyi said.

Hongyi let out a cold, chilling laugh, "Heh, you don't believe me? Then, let me introduce you to an 'old acquaintance'. You'll surely believe what she says."

Feng Ran saw the wet nurse entering. This was the wet nurse who had always served her.

The wet nurse she trusted the most.

With a thud, the wet nurse knelt before Feng Ran: "Hongyi speaks the truth. After the prince ordered Hongyi to take you away, he issued a decree. The entire city knows about this matter."

Feng Ran remained silent, offering no reaction to the wet nurse.

The wet nurse stayed there, listening.

The wet nurse left, and Hongyi burst into laughter, sneering, "Feng Ran, hearing it with your own ears, you should give up now, shouldn't you?"

Terror filled Feng Ran's eyes, and her entire body trembled.

Xuan Yuanheng, Xuan Yuanheng, why would he treat her like this? What had she done wrong?

How could he treat her so?

For Yu Wan Yan, he had truly opened her eyes.

Thinking back on everything she had done for him, it all seemed so laughable.

Perhaps, all of this was her penance. She deserved it.

Who told her to lose herself for such a heartless man?

Feng Ran's body trembled, and she felt an icy chill pervade her. How absurd all of this was.

So, from the very beginning, she had fallen into his trap. Everything, absolutely everything, had been a trap. The affection she had believed in was entirely false.

She looked up and met Hongyi's bloodshot eyes. She backed away frantically, but there was nowhere to retreat. She could only be brutally whipped by Hongyi. The pain was so intense that she screamed, suffocating, regretting being born into this world.

Everything she was experiencing now, the words she had heard, she desperately wished they were false. She wished it was all a dream, and that upon waking, everything would return to normal.

Hongyi violently yanked her hair backward, but it seemed insufficient. Hongyi took water from someone nearby and splashed it directly onto her. Like a demon, she whispered triumphantly into Feng Ran's ear, "Feng Ran, this water is poisonous. It will slowly infiltrate your body, and eventually, you will rot to death."

Before Feng Ran could react, Hongyi held a needle and began to prick her fingers, one after another. The pain shot through her, making it impossible to breathe.

Her ten fingers were pierced with embroidery needles, a gruesome sight.

Hongyi raised her hand and slapped Feng Ran's face repeatedly. Feng Ran's originally fair face became red and swollen, and blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.

In the next moment, Hongyi forced a pill into her mouth, stating coldly, "This pill contains a potent poison. Your life will not last much longer."

Feng Ran refused to believe that all of this was Xuan Yuanheng's doing.

A sliver of hope remained in her heart that Xuan Yuanheng would appear. That he would trust her.

She stopped speaking, stopped resisting. She knew all too well that the more she fought back, the more she pleaded, the more viciously Hongyi would torment her.

Hongyi kicked her hard and said fiercely, "So annoying." With that, she left.

Feng Ran was unceremoniously dumped in the snow by Hongyi, curling herself into a ball.

Her hands and feet were swollen and stiff from the cold.

She had never experienced such humiliation and beating. Once the pampered darling of her family, she now found herself in an abyss of suffering because of Xuan Yuanheng.

Everything she had now, he had bestowed upon her.