Yun Ruoyao was the first to run to Rong Yuehong’s side. When Yun Ruoyan flung Rong Yuehong aside, Yun Ruoyao couldn’t help but be reminded of Wang Kuang’s death within the imperial territory.

“Miss Rong, Miss Rong…” Yun Ruoyao shook Rong Yuehong, who had fallen amidst a patch of flowers, but her eyes were tightly closed and she didn’t react visibly.

“Yuehong, Yuehong, how are you? Wake up!” Yun Ruoyao was a little nervous: if Yun Ruoyan had truly killed Rong Yuehong, then the whole Yun family would suffer along with her!

The empress hurriedly walked to Rong Yuehong’s side and began to cradle her.

Yun Ruoyao darted to one side and turned to glare at Yun Ruoyan, who was standing with her hands behind her back. “You’ve really done it now!”

“Guards!” The empress called out, and four large warriors quickly appeared at her behest. “Arrest this girl!” She pointed at Yun Ruoyan and commanded.

The four warriors made a beeline for Yun Ruoyan.

“Uncle…” Li Qianhan immediately stood up, intending to help the girl, when Li Mo caught his hand. “The ugly lass has really caused a big mess for herself this time,” he continued anxiously.

Suddenly, Rong Yuehong coughed a few times from within the empress’ lap.

“Hong’er…” the empress called out anxiously. Rong Yuehong struggled to open her eyes, but she clearly wasn’t dead!

Yun Ruoyan truly had wanted to kill her, but she had noticed the emperor and empress as soon as they entered the inner garden.

And when Rong Yuehong said that her aunt was the empress, Yun Ruoyan had given up on killing Rong Yuehong on the spot. But how could she let her go so simply without at least collecting some interest?

After a long period of cultivating and fighting, along with Qiuqiu’s guidance, Yun Ruoyan was very skilled at manipulating spiritual energy. She’d used two-thirds of her maximum output to fling Rong Yuehong off the stage, but retracted it before it was able to cause significant injury to her.

At that moment, Rong Yuehong thought that she was about to die. This was the first time she’d received such a strong spiritual attack from an opponent, and brushing against death was a particularly unpleasant affair.

“Aunt,” Rong Yuehong began to cry as she looked into her aunt’s face, complaining, “Please, you have to stand up for me! That ugly girl from the Yun family actually tried to kill me!”

The empress calmed down after checking that her injuries weren’t critical.

“Don’t worry,” she consoled her. “I’ll definitely deal with that girl for you.” The empress stood up and turned to Yun Ruoyan. Seeing that she wasn’t yet restrained, she shouted at the four warriors once more, “Why haven’t you done anything?!”

The four warriors surrounded Yun Ruoyan and were getting ready to arrest her when the emperor walked up. “Hold it.”

The crowd finally realized that both the emperor and empress were present, and immediately bowed down to both dignitaries.

Li Xiu waved a hand to let the crowd rise. To the four warriors, he commanded, “Stand down!”

Instead of following his orders, however, they turned to the empress instead.

“Emperor,” the empress looked at her consort and said, dissatisfied, “This ugly girl from the Yun family actually dared to try kill someone within the palace. She has to be punished harshly!”

But Li Xiu only laughed. “Empress, it’s only a small bout. Don’t take it to heart.”

“Your Majesty, she tried to kill me!” Rong Yuehong pointed at Yun Ruoyan and exclaimed from afar, so loudly that it seemed as though she hadn’t been injured at all. The empress had fed her a bone quintessence pill, and most of the small injuries that she’d sustained had recovered.

“If I truly wanted to kill you, you wouldn’t be standing here right now. Don’t forget, you were the one who initiated the duel, and you were the one who said you wanted to kill me!” Yun Ruoyan countered as she began to defend herself. “Three years ago, when you lost to me, you had your father punish me on your behalf. This time, after losing to me once more, you’re counting on the empress to help? Who knew how petty you were, and to think you’re the heir apparent to the Rongs!”

“You…!” Not knowing how to refute these accusations, Rong Yuehong could only yell out, “You ugly wench!”

“So what if I’m ugly?!” Yun Ruoyan stood straight up, holding her head high. Coincidentally, a gust of wind blew toward her, fanning out the hair at her temples and revealing her birthmark for all to see. “I, Yun Ruoyan, live and die by my own strength!”

As if her words were a stone dropped into a pond, they left ripples in the hearts of all present. Even years later, others would recount the tale of how the ugly girl stood up to the emperor and empress herself, how her dignified aura had actually made the birthmark look like a mark of courage than of scorn.

“Good, good!” Li Qianhan couldn’t help but slap the table as he stood up. “Miss Yun, a toast to you.” He tipped a cup of wine at her.

Li Mo didn’t look at Yun Ruoyan. Instead, he continued to sip at his wine as if nothing that had happened here concerned him. His head was lowered, but the corners of his lips curled up slightly.

Li Xiu looked at Yun Ruoyan appreciatively. Her actions and words made him think of another person who was similarly unafraid of anything and anyone, and he slowly turned to eye Li Mo instead.

At the time, Li Mo’s entire body was sprawled against the table, as if he were drunk.

Li Xiu raised his brows as he turned to the empress once more. “Shall we leave the matter at that?”

“Miss Rong was the one who initiated the duel.”

“Right, and they’ve both been admitted to Kongming Academy. No matter what crimes they’ve committed, Kongming Academy’s the only one that can punish them.”

“Right, and isn’t Miss Rong hale and well?”

The mood appeared to be in Yun Ruoyan’s favor. The empress knew that punishing Yun Ruoyan now would surely lead to displeasure, and it was in her best interests to appear magnanimous instead.

Finally, the empress spoke up. “I only wanted to teach her a lesson. Since the emperor himself has spoken, let’s drop the matter.”

“Aunt!” Rong Yuehong tugged at the empress’s sleeve, and she looked back at her in displeasure.

Just now, Rong Yuehong had pressed her palms against the soil as she fell, and all that dirt was now clearly imprinted on the empress’s royal garments. Rong Yuehong herself didn’t seem to have realized a thing, and she was still looking at the empress with aggrieved eyes.

Although her niece was above-average in terms of both appearance and beauty, she was far too pampered. The empress clicked her tongue. “If there’s anything to blame, it’s that your skills aren’t up to par.” She shook her arm and dislodged her grip.

Rong Yuehong stared at her blankly for a moment before she processed the empress’ words—and then all her grievance and rage turned into a hateful stare she directed at Yun Ruoyan.

But Yun Ruoyan simply ignored her gaze. Instead, she gave Rong Yuehong a resplendent smile, one only a winner would have.

That ugly smile, like a poisonous needle, stabbed into Rong Yuehong’s eyes. She was so angry that she began to tremble. Ever since her birth, she had been loved and praised by all. Among others her own age, she had always been the best. Why was it that Yun Ruoyan would always foil her plans?

Yun Ruoyan was her nemesis and bane. She had clearly intended on killing her during their duel, and Rong Yuehong didn’t ever want to feel the fear of death again! Thinking about this, Rong Yuehong couldn’t restrain herself any longer. She began chanting silently before pointing toward Yun Ruoyan.

Yun Ruoyan had turned around and was headed back to her own seat when Qiuqiu suddenly warned her, “Mistress, there’s danger coming from behind!”

Yun Ruoyan turned to see a silver beam flying straight for her. With her rapid reflexes, she dodged the incoming blow, but it simply circled back and headed for her once more. All around her, people began moving away.

Yun Ruoyan looked to Rong Yuehong and saw her deep in concentration. Somehow, she’d come into possession of a high-grade concealed weapon and was using it on her!

“Hong’er, stop this immediately!” the empress chided.

But as if possessed, Rong Yuehong seemed to be unable to hear anything around her. She was wholly focused on getting rid of Yun Ruoyan.

As she dodged the silver beam, Yun Ruoyan looked around her for a place to hide. Her gaze suddenly landed on Li Mo, still sprawled at his table. Instinctively, she felt that Li Mo was the only one able to save her from her current predicament.

She ran rapidly in his direction, the silver beam chasing her from behind.

In desperation, she stooped by Li Mo’s side.

The silver beam continued chasing her, and Yun Ruoyan opened her eyes wide. Just as the beam was about to strike Yun Ruoyan’s forehead, a large palm suddenly appeared in front of her vision.

By the time Yun Ruoyan reacted, Li Mo had already caught the silver beam in his hand.

“My goodness, the Slaughtering King caught a high-grade concealed weapon with his bare hands!”

Everyone in the crowd began to shout. Catching a high-grade weapon was exceedingly dangerous.

Li Mo spread his palms wide, revealing a silver needle about three inches long.

“Return it to me!” Rong Yuehong’s eyes had turned red. She hurriedly ran up to Li Mo and extended her hand at him rudely.

“Here you go!” Li Mo laughed coldly. The silver needle flew out from his palm and stabbed right into Rong Yuehong’s dantian.