"Fortunately, my etiquette tutor has retired and returned to her hometown. I haven't studied in ages. Why don't you come to the palace and teach me, Madam? I'm sure Father won't object."
Ye Yang watched Tang Yuehua with a faint smile.
Tang Yuehua opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but found her throat as if blocked. She couldn't utter a single word.
Refuse? The other party was the Crown Prince. If she refused, she would be openly showing contempt for the royal family—and ruin Moonlight Pavilion's motto, "teach without discrimination"!
Agree? That would mean she'd have to face this scheming Crown Prince for a long time to come.
An overwhelming sense of humiliation, anger, and helplessness swallowed Tang Yuehua in an instant.
In the end, she could only glare at Ye Yang, her face as pale as snow and her body trembling faintly, like a candle guttering in the wind.
Ye Yang, meanwhile, leisurely savored her distraught, trapped-between-a-rock-and-a-hard-place expression, the corners of his mouth lifting in an amused smile.
Time trickled by. Tang Yuehua's expression shifted several times: struggling, angry, helpless...
"That's enough."
Ye Yang's lazy, magnetic voice finally rang out, breaking the suffocating silence.
The teasing look on his face deepened. He leaned back slightly, as if he'd just enjoyed a splendid silent play.
"Look how nervous I've made you." He chuckled. His laughter rang especially clear—and especially grating—in the quiet room. "I was only joking."
Tang Yuehua jerked her eyes up and stared at him in disbelief, as though she couldn't trust her own ears.
The momentary release of tension brought no relief, only a deeper dizziness and weakness, leaving her barely able to stand.
A joke? His relentless pressure, his transparently obvious intentions, the weight of it pushing her almost to the edge of a cliff... It had all been just a joke?
"Master of Moonlight Pavilion, eldest daughter of the Clear Sky Sect..." Ye Yang rose unhurriedly and paced to the window. With his back to her, he gazed at the bamboo and flowing water in the courtyard, his tone carrying an air of casual superiority.
"Your status is noble, your talent unmatched. Would I really force you to do some lowly chore that's beneath you?"
"However..." His tone shifted, his voice dropping, edged with an unmistakable authority. "I hope you understand two things about what happened today."
Tang Yuehua's heart leapt again. She held her breath, listening intently.
"First," Ye Yang extended a long finger and pointed lightly into the air. "There's nowhere in this vast Heaven Dou City that I can't go, and no one I can't 'joke' with."
"You happened to cross my path today, Madam, and I'll let it go. But next time, if some fool runs into me again... whether they're from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect or some other stray cat or dog..."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over Tang Yuehua's pale face like a sharp blade. "My patience may not be as great as it was today."
"Your Moonlight Pavilion is so peaceful. I imagine you'd rather not have too much blood and filth sullying it, right?"
"Second." Ye Yang took a step forward, stopping just a step away from Tang Yuehua.
He bent slightly toward her ear and spoke slowly, in a voice only the two of them could hear. "Your noble bearing, your... charm, have certainly left a deep impression on me."
"'My heart is in the pavilion'? Heh. I look forward to the day when I see that heart of yours truly... stirred for me."
His gaze roamed brazenly over her chest, rising and falling faintly with tension, and her forcibly composed face. It was full of aggression and undisguised possessiveness.
"Though I never got to taste the tea today, seeing you so... captivating was well worth the trip."
[Beep! Intimidated Tang Yuehua. Authority +1. Mental Power +1] [Beep! Teased Tang Yuehua. Charm +1]
With that, Ye Yang no longer looked at Tang Yuehua's face, drained of color in an instant, caught between shame and anger but daring not to show it. He laughed aloud and turned to leave.
"No need to see me out, Madam. Get some... rest."
He strode calmly through the quiet room and pushed open the door.
The silent guard followed soundlessly, like a shadow.
Tang Yuehua stood stiffly in place, listening as the footsteps grew fainter and fainter, until they finally disappeared at the end of Moonlight Pavilion's corridor.
Only after she was certain they had truly gone did her rigid body suddenly sway. Unable to hold herself up any longer, she staggered and grabbed the edge of the cold rosewood tea table.
"Thump!"
She sank onto the cushion, her chest heaving as she gulped for air, as though she'd just clawed her way back from the brink of drowning.
Fine beads of cold sweat covered her forehead. The clothes on her back were soaked through, clinging to her skin and bringing wave after wave of chill.
Her eyes, usually as still as a deep pool, were now filled with lingering shock, unspeakable humiliation, and... a profound fear and dread.
She looked at the shattered teacup on the floor and the tea stains strewn across the table, then lowered her gaze to the pale-blue palace dress she had changed into. It still seemed to bear the touch of his gaze. An unprecedented sense of helplessness and icy dread seized her.
This Crown Prince... He was no benevolent heir, gentle as jade! He was a Ferocious Beast wearing human skin!
She had no doubt that if he wished, he could tear apart the composure she prided herself on and Moonlight Pavilion's lofty dignity at any moment.
The status of the Clear Sky Sect's eldest daughter seemed so insignificant before his unfathomable power and the authority of the empire's heir.
Tang Yuehua slowly closed her eyes, her graceful body still trembling faintly.
This unexpected encounter today had shattered everything she had once believed about Crown Prince Xue Qinghe.
How were she and Moonlight Pavilion—and even the Clear Sky Sect—to conduct themselves before this scheming, ruthless Crown Prince?
The night was as dark as ink. The prosperous lights of Heaven Dou City faded in the distance behind them as Ning Yuanfeng and several companions stumbled along a secluded path leading to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's residence.
"Brother Feng, will the Crown Prince... really let us go?" one of his companions asked in a trembling voice, repeatedly looking back.
"Shut up!" Ning Yuanfeng snarled irritably, his face deathly pale. "He said he'd 'remember' us in front of Tang Yuehua. That was a warning! As long as we keep our heads down..."
Before he could finish, several ghostlike shadows suddenly leaped down from the rooftops on either side!
"Who?!" Ning Yuanfeng cried out in terror. His Martial Soul, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, appeared in an instant, and two Yellow Soul Rings lit up.
But the attackers were faster—five men in black, each with five Soul Rings revolving beneath his feet!
Dazzling yellow and purple light exploded in the night. The terrifying pressure of Soul Kings became a cage made tangible, pinning Ning Yuanfeng and the others in place!
"Who are you?! We're direct disciples of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect!" Ning Yuanfeng shrieked, trying to cow them with the sect's name.
The masked leader let out a raspy sneer, his eyes icy. "The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect is exactly who we're here to kill!"
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