Your Highness the Crown Prince, Yun Xi, was wrong...

"Your Highness! No! Let me go!"

Ye Yunxi's voice was laced with sobs. Her peach-blossom eyes were brimming with mist, tears swirling in their depths, yet she stubbornly refused to let them fall. She shook her head desperately, her slender waist twisting incessantly.

"Yunxi knows she was wrong! I really know I was wrong! Your Highness, please spare me, don't, don't tease me like this anymore..."

She was genuinely terrified that Qian Renxue would come up with something else she couldn't endure.

Qian Renxue leaned in close, her warm breath brushing against Ye Yunxi's flushed earlobes. Her nose was nearly touching the girl's cheek, and she could clearly smell the faint, fragrant scent of her hair, along with the sweet, pure aroma of the Nine-Tailed Sky Fox's essence.

Her voice was low and husky, carrying a hint of annoyed playfulness: "You know you were wrong? Who was it just a moment ago who boasted about cultivating to Title Douluo just to hang this Highness from a tree and whip me?"

Her fingertips applied slight pressure, gently tracing the sole of Ye Yunxi's foot.

"Ah!"

Ye Yunxi shuddered violently. The ticklish sensation from her sole shot straight up her spine to the top of her head. Her tears finally spilled over, splashing onto the silk pillow and blooming into a small, damp stain.

"I was wrong! I won't dare do it again! Your Highness, I was wrong, please, don't touch that... it's so ticklish, really so ticklish..."

She cried like a flower in the rain, her peach-blossom eyes red and swollen, her cheeks flushed a vibrant crimson. That pitiful, heart-wrenching appearance caused the fire in Qian Renxue's heart to vanish instantly, leaving only surging palpitations and a sense of heartache.

Yet, she refused to yield in her words.

She held Ye Yunxi's jade-like foot, her fingertips gently kneading the slender ankle with a touch so light it was as if she were playing with a rare, priceless treasure.

"Ye Yunxi, remember this: from the day I brought you back to the Crown Prince's Mansion, you have been mine. Run once, and I shall punish you once; run ten times, and I shall punish you ten times. In this lifetime, don't even think about escaping my grasp."

"I won't dare... I really won't dare run again..." Ye Yunxi sobbed, her voice broken and intermittent. Gone was the arrogance of the girl who had just threatened to whip her; only shame, indignation, and grievance remained.

"Your Highness, please spare me. I'll be good from now on, I won't cause trouble anymore..."

Just you wait. Once I reach Title Douluo, if I don't lock you in a secret room, I'll have lived this life in vain.

At this moment, her hands and feet were restrained, and her entire body felt soft and powerless.

Qian Renxue looked at the pitiful Ye Yunxi. She had intended to punish this disobedient little vixen, but seeing her cry made her feel even worse than if she were the one being punished.

"Good." Qian Renxue's voice softened, a hint of doting she hadn't even noticed herself coloring her husky tone. "If you don't run, I won't punish you."

As the words fell, she finally released the hands that had been pinning Ye Yunxi's wrists and slowly let go of the foot she had been clutching.

Regaining her freedom, Ye Yunxi immediately curled up and retreated to the inner side of the bed. She hugged her knees tightly, burying her face between them, revealing only a patch of reddened ear and long, raven-black hair.

Her nine fox tails also retracted instantly, wrapping tightly around her waist as if to protect herself.

Her escape plan would have to be shelved for now, and after one last look, Qian Renxue turned and left.

Once the door closed, Ye Yunxi opened her system panel.

"System, allocate all two thousand years of soul ring age to my first and second soul rings."

[Ding! Allocation successful!]

Hmph, four thousand-year soul rings. I have to say, having a thousand-year first soul ring is definitely enough to surpass quite a few people on this continent.

Is this Qian Renxue a pervert?

Always touching my feet like that.

Better to just keep resting than to let my mind wander; there will definitely be another chance to escape.

By nightfall, only a single warm, yellow palace lantern was lit in the Crown Prince's Mansion. Its soft glow cast a hazy, gentle outline over the curled-up figure on the bed.

Ye Yunxi was not sleeping soundly.

The door was pushed open gently, without a sound.

Qian Renxue walked in slowly, still wearing the same plain silk robe. The sharpness of the Crown Prince she displayed during the day had faded, and the aura around her was impossibly gentle.

She stepped with extreme care, even muffling the sound of her soles against the floor, fearing she might disturb the person on the bed.

She stood by the bedside, her gaze fixed on Ye Yunxi's face, lingering for a long time.

Looking at her reddened eyelids, her small hands clutching the silk quilt, and her curled-up posture that remained guarded even in sleep, a dense wave of guilt surged in Qian Renxue's heart, pricking her like fine needles.

From kidnapping her from the village to sealing her soul power and trapping her within these walls, and then the heavy-handed punishment earlier that day—she had locked this vibrant little fox in a gilded cage.

Ye Yunxi's eyes were meant to hold the winds of the wild.

What she wanted was to keep her by her side, not to turn her into a caged bird that had lost its spirit.

Was this obsessive possessiveness truly going too far?

Qian Renxue's fingertips hovered above Ye Yunxi's cheek. Her skin had already brushed against the girl's warm breath, but in the end, she pulled her hand back.

She hesitated for a long time before reaching out: "Yunxi, wake up."

Ye Yunxi opened her dazed peach-blossom eyes. When she saw that the person before her was Qian Renxue, her body instantly tensed: "C-Crown Prince? What do you want now?"

"Nothing. I just wanted to say something to you."

She paused, as if having made a great resolution, and spoke each word clearly into Ye Yunxi's ears: "You may leave the Crown Prince's Mansion. Go out for a walk, go out and have fun."

The words were like a thunderclap, shocking Ye Yunxi into instant clarity.

Running away was the thing she obsessed over most. She had thought Qian Renxue would keep her locked in this mansion for the rest of her life; she never expected this person to voluntarily let go.

Had she finally found her conscience?

Knowing that a woman and a woman is impossible!

"You... what did you say?" Ye Yunxi asked in astonishment, "You are willing to let me out?"

"Mn, let you out. The streets, markets, and restaurants of Tiandou City—you can go wherever you like."

She turned around, and a Moon-White Glazed Veil appeared in her palm before she knew it.

The veil was as thin as a cicada's wing, embroidered with delicate silver flowing cloud patterns. It was translucent but opaque, just enough to cover her face from the bridge of the nose up. It could conceal most of her brilliance without appearing abrupt, instead adding a touch of hazy beauty.

Qian Renxue handed the veil to Ye Yunxi.

"There is only one condition. Once you go out, you must wear this veil."

"Your appearance and your Nine-Tailed Sky Fox spirit are both top-tier sources of disaster in this world. If you don't cover your face, your charm will leak out involuntarily. Tiandou City is a mixed bag of people, and there are too many with ulterior motives."

"Your Highness the Crown Prince, you've finally found your conscience." Ye Yunxi blinked.

"What kind of talk is that? I have always been a good person. Besides, I am the Crown Prince; what is wrong with being a little willful?"

Qian Renxue gave a light huff and tossed the veil into Ye Yunxi's hands.

"Be obedient, it's not like I would ever do violence to you!"