Target of Public Criticism

Peerless beauty, peerless grace.

Though Sha Xinyue stood within the Red Dust Imperial Palace, she had deliberately assumed a trace of the sanctity and purity befitting the vice hall master of the Desert Temple. She walked in without the slightest hint of worldly dust about her, noble and majestic, making the princes of the Blood Qin Empire feel ashamed of their own inferiority—yet stirring within them an instinctive urge to seize her, possess her, lock her away in a golden chamber, and dote upon her as they pleased.

To these lofty princes of the Blood Qin Empire, only such a woman was the perfect beauty they had dreamed of day and night.

Compared with Sha Xinyue, all the young ladies from the great clans and noble houses present were nothing but common rouge and vulgar powder, no different from girls in low-class brothels who had received tens of thousands of customers. They could not stir the slightest appetite in anyone.

The moment Sha Xinyue entered the Jade Flower Grove, the Ninth Prince, Prince Qinghe, impatiently rose to his feet and strode toward her in several large steps. "This young lady must be the daughter of Master Hu Tu, the Minister of Crafting—Hu Xinyue? I am Ying He. To encounter you today is my great fortune. Would you be willing to share a table and drink with me? I trust you are willing!"

Ying He's words carried a naked impatience of lust. Without caring about anything else, he demanded that Sha Xinyue drink at the same table as him, displaying the face of a pampered royal prince to the fullest. He gave Sha Xinyue no choice, nor left his brothers even half a chance.

Hu Xinzhu emerged from behind Sha Xinyue with a "Hehe" laugh. His eyes narrowed, and he smiled