Zi Yun stumbled back, falling to the ground. "S-slave… slave didn't do it on purpose."
She saw those eyes, dark and deep like the night, opening a gaping maw to swallow her whole.
Scrambling with hands and feet, she pushed herself away from there, frantically getting up with the support of a chair and hurrying outside. As she reached the doorway, she instinctively glanced back inside. The figure behind the curtain was indistinct, just like before.
It was as if she had just experienced an illusion.
"What are you doing here?" Zi Yun trembled all over and turned her head, seeing a face contorted in rage.
She was so scared she quickly knelt and begged, "Your Majesty, spare me! Your Majesty, spare me!"
Xue Chang'an had not expected anyone to dare covet her person. She stepped forward, grabbing Zi Yun's arm and sneering, "You? You think you can compete with me for someone? What are you, nothing but a lowly servant. What right do you have to harbor such thoughts?"
Zi Yun was trembling with fear. "Your... Your Majesty, spare me. Slave knows her crime!"
Xue Chang'an flung Zi Yun away, her voice cold and furious, "Just you? And you want me to forgive your crime? Drag her out and beat her to death."
Zi Yun was paralyzed with fear, forgetting to beg for mercy, until a palace servant approached her and attempted to drag her out.
Only then did she snap back to reality. Beaten to death? She didn't want to die, didn't want to...
She wriggled and crawled, struggling against the servants who were trying to drag her out, for if they dragged her out, she would lose her life.
"Your Majesty, forgive me! Slave truly knows she was wrong, and will never dare again!"
She knelt at Xue Chang'an's feet, repeatedly kowtowing. She felt blood flowing onto her face, her forehead aching, but she dared not stop, for if she stopped, she would truly lose her life.
Xue Chang'an, annoyed, kicked Zi Yun away. "Still not dragging her out?"
The servants dared not delay and pulled Zi Yun towards the exit.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, spare me..." Zi Yun cried, her tears indistinguishable from blood.
As she was about to be dragged out the door, Zi Yun seemed to glimpse the person behind the curtain. With a desperate resolve, she shouted, "His Highness the Crown Prince, save this slave! Save me!"
Xue Chang'an's gaze turned icy, her expression filled with anger. "Drag her out and beat her to death immediately."
Zi Yun struggled, crying out, "His Highness the Crown Prince..."
"Wait..."
Just as Zi Yun was sinking into despair, a clear, cold voice drifted out, like a faint ray of light appearing suddenly in the dark night.
Xue Chang'an frowned, her eyes fixed on the figure behind the curtain, and said coldly, "Xue Jingyun, have you thought it through? Do you want to plead for a servant with me?"
"Plead? When did I say I was pleading?" The voice was as chilling as frost.
Zi Yun's eyes, which had brightened with hope, dimmed little by little.
Hearing this, Xue Chang'an smiled. "I knew it. How could you plead for a mere servant?"
After all, in her heart, besides Xue Zining, no one else could ever arouse her interest.
"Xue Chang'an, I do not wish to see blood in this Xue Palace!" Xue Jingyun said slowly.
Xue Chang'an was slightly taken aback. "This is probably the most Xue Jingyun has spoken to her here."
She looked at Zi Yun, who had already wet herself from fear, and couldn't help but smile. How could Xue Jingyun, such a young girl, possibly be interested in her?
She truly underestimated Xue Jingyun.
"Let her go..." Xue Chang'an suddenly said.
Zi Yun watched as the servants released her, knowing she was safe this time. She collapsed onto the ground, unwilling to move, her life hanging in the balance one moment to the next.
Xue Chang'an walked up to her and said, "Serve the people of this palace well. If there is a next time, I will skin you alive."
Zi Yun scrambled to her feet. "Slave obeys!"
Xue Chang'an left with a cold smile.
Zi Yun slumped onto the ground, covering her face with her hands, tears streaming down. She had almost died.
Thinking of this, she crawled into the inner hall of Xue Palace and kowtowed outside the curtain. "Slave thanks His Highness for saving her life."
"No need to thank me. It is merely karma. I did nothing," Xue Jingyun said, his eyes remaining closed.
Zi Yun trembled all over. She suddenly remembered that His Highness the Crown Prince had seemed to vomit blood earlier, and she had not disclosed that incident. Was this karma?
She kowtowed again, solemnly stating, "Slave is willing to serve His Highness, and only asks that His Highness protect this slave's life."
Now she understood how worthless her life truly was. Rather than live in constant fear, it was better to pledge allegiance to His Highness.
After a long pause, she heard that clear, cold voice again. "Aren't you afraid?"
"I am afraid, but I am more afraid of death!" Zi Yun said, looking up.
Xue Jingyun suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze exceptionally bright. But Zi Yun dared not look up again. "Go rest. You don't need to come here for now!"
Zi Yun curtsied and left.
Since she had decided to be under His Highness the Crown Prince's wing, she would do as he said.
"Tsk tsk, not bad. In just a short while, you've managed to win someone over to your side."
Xue Jingyun's expression was clear and cold. His handsome and refined face held a hint of frost, but his eyes showed a touch of gentleness. "A'ning, are you alright?"
A person landed before him, Wen Yuxi sat down and nodded. "I'm fine."
His gaze softened considerably, and Wen Yuxi knew it wasn't for him.
Indeed, when he looked at him, his gaze turned cold. "Why aren't you by her side protecting her?"
"Han Xiwen is there," Wen Yuxi replied.
Xue Jingyun's gaze turned completely cold, his tone extremely frigid. "Don't you know that Han Xiwen has ulterior motives?"
Wen Yuxi looked at him and said, "Your Highness the Crown Prince, she cannot remain under your protection forever. She needs to grow, needs experience. Let her do it herself, that's how she will become a qualified monarch."
"Xue Jingyun, she is already qualified."
Wen Yuxi shook his head. "Not enough. Her heart is still too soft. A true monarch is decisive and ruthless."
"I don't want her to become that way. She wouldn't be happy."
"Xue Jingyun, you interfere too much. How she acts is her own business. If she only cares about her own happiness, she will eventually be replaced, just like now, at the mercy of others, unable to change anything."
Xue Jingyun looked up at Wen Yuxi, his eyes filled with tenderness. "She is not perfect. She has flesh and blood, she has flaws. If she weren't such a person, would you support her like this? Wen Yuxi, you have to admit, it's this kind of her that is worth protecting."
Wen Yuxi smiled. "You are also right."
No one is perfect; everyone has flaws.
"However..." Wen Yuxi's expression turned serious. "Your internal energy, which you painstakingly recovered, has been depleted to almost nothing. It would be better to let them make a decision sooner rather than later."
"She knows what she is doing. I will support her until the last thing she wants to do."
Wen Yuxi shook his head. "You are also a madman, allowing her to act so recklessly."
"Loving someone is not about restraining them, but about giving them freedom, giving them a sky of their own to soar freely..."