Da Chun was alive! Su Jing Fei felt her heart burst with relief, and the tension in her body relaxed just a bit. She’d been so afraid to think about what could have happened to Da Chun, but knowing that her sister alive gave her a bit more courage to carry on. Through the next few hours, Su Jing Fei worked through the fog in her mind and focused on escaping. Luckily, she’d worn a bracelet that she had specially designed herself. The jade bracelet slipped down her wrist easily, and she grasped it in her right hand as her fingers deftly worked at pushing apart one side of the jade bracelet to reveal a sharpened metal insert. She’d been working the ropes for awhile and had gotten through a bit of the rope enough that she could pull herself out of them easily. But she had to wait for the lights outside the room to dim. This usually happened when the guards outside her room changed because she could usually hear them talking.

However, unexpectedly, another person paid her a visit. It was another another familiar face. Feng Eu Heng appeared from the doorway, looking pleased as she gazed down at Su Jing Fei’s pitiful state. “Hmph, serves you right.” Feng Eu Heng had a haughty smile as she moved to extinguish the candles before taking a seat. “I heard about everything you did to my sister, but honestly, she deserved it too. She always thought she was better than me, but now she’s married to a merchant’s son!” Feng Eu Heng laughed heartily, looking genuinely pleased at the thought of her sister’s suffering. “With you two gone, there’ll only be me left. The Feng family only has me to rely on, so a marriage with the imperial prince will be inevitable!” Feng Eu Heng clasped her hands together, looking excited at the thought of her own fantasy. “But, of course, I can’t let you go peacefully without letting you suffer just a little bit of humiliation like I did. Come in!”

Su Jing Fei’s hands clutched tightly onto the bracelet in her hand. The rope would come off easily, but should she risk exposing her escape prematurely? However, as minutes passed, no one came. Feng Eu Heng glared at the doorway, shouting once more. Yet still, no one came. Su Jing Fei had an idea of what Feng Eu Heng probably had in mind for her, but it seemed like things were not going according to plan.

“These idiots!” Feng Eu Heng said angrily as she stood up and headed for the door. However, suddenly the door swung open as a few people rushed inside. It was Feng Ruo Zhang and his guards. “Ye ye!” Cried Feng Eu Heng in alarm as she clearly had not expected her grandfather to show up.

“What are you doing here?” Shouted Feng Ruo Zhang, surprised by his granddaughter’s appearance. His face twisted in anger and annoyance. “You’re not allowed down here! You know that!” However, he seemed in a rush as he quickly disregarded her and turned his attention to Su Jing Fei who was still in the room. “Never mind, get out of here quickly and find your parents! And you, I’ll deal with you personally!” He pushes Feng Eu Heng out of his way as he ordered the guards to grab Su Jing Fei.

“Ye ye, what’s wrong?” Feng Eu Heng said worryingly as she tugged at his sleeve.

Feng Ruo Zhang looked deeply annoyed as he pushed his granddaughter’s hands away. “Stupid child! Your family is in danger! The imperial prince and the city justice official are coming to arrest us! They’ll be searching the entire residence, and we can’t have them finding anyone that shouldn’t be here!”

Just as Feng Ruo Zhang’s men reached Su Jing Fei, she quickly slipped out of their grasp, moving fast in the confusion to grab Feng Eu Heng while her other hand grabbed a dagger pin from her hair to press against the young woman’s throat. “Don’t move or else you wish to leave a deep scar on your neck,” threatened Su Jing Fei as Feng Eu Heng struggled to break free. At the sound of her words however, Feng Eu Heng stiffly froze, and Su Jing Fei quickly maneuvered her back against the wall closest to the door. Feng Ruo Zhang and his men watched her carefully as she did so.

“How did you get out of your ropes?” Feng Ruo Zhang growled in frustration. But something seemed to pop into his head as he glared at Feng Eu Heng. “You!”

“It wasn’t me, Ye ye! I don’t know how she got out!” Cried Feng Eu Heng in a panicked voice, but the pressure of the dagger against her throat scared the young woman back into silence.

“Where is my sister?” Su Jing Fei demanded, keeping an eye on the men before her. The guards looked to Feng Ruo Zhang for orders.

“I’ll take you to her, just put that knife away.” Feng Ruo Zhang said in a calm voice, as though he was trying to coax a child. Su Jing Fei almost wanted to laugh at his half-baked attempt to dissuade her from violence. But Su Jing Fei knew that only the threat of violence would allow her to get what she wanted.

“You can lead the way or being her here. Either way, Feng Eu Heng’s life is still in my hands until I get my sister.” Su Jing Fei calmly replied. Her dark eyes were resilient, unwavering under Feng Ruo Zhang’s growing red-faced anger.

“You don’t have the guts to hurt someone! You’re just a woman! A child! You wouldn’t dare.” He threatened angrily, though his reluctance to act showed that he didn’t quite believe his own words.

“You wish to test my ability to kill someone?” Questioned Su Jing Fei in a mocking tone. “Be careful what you wish for.”

“I don’t have time for games!” Shouted Feng Ruo Zhang angrily. “Guards!”

Su Jing Fei knew that time was running out for the Feng family and herself. She’d heard his words loud and clear after all. The city justice official and the imperial prince certainly had uncovered enough evidence to expose and arrest the Feng family, and Su Jing Fei was definitely on the Feng family’s disposal list of evidence in crime. She’d have to find Da Chun quickly and wait for the rescue to come! But in the meantime, she’d have to escape somehow!

Quickly breaking the bracelet in her hand against the wall, the jade broke into pieces and deposited a red powdery substance into Su Jing Fei’s free hand. Honestly, she hadn’t really known what else to put in the bracelet at the time but it was always good to have some chili powder on hand! She quickly swiped her hand across Feng Eu Heng’s eyes, causing the girl to scream as Su Jing Fei pushed her towards the guards. She didn’t hesitate to make her escape, running out the door as Feng Eu Heng continued wailing and crying in pain behind her.

Feng Ruo Zhang shouted at his guards to follow Su Jing Fei while he had some others help hold up the crying Feng Eu Heng. The young girl’s eyes were red and puffy with tears streaming down her face in an ugly expression. “Get her out of here and take her to her room,” Feng Ruo Zhang commanded the men before him. “Everyone else take care of getting rid of everything!”

“Master, what about the people here?” asked one of the head guards.

“Take them to the lake residence and drown them at the bottom of the lake. Make sure the bodies won’t be found!” He replied urgently as another head guard approached him quickly.

“Master, the city justice official and the imperial prince are almost here!” said the head guard with a frantic expression.

“Then stop idling and get to work!” shouted Feng Ruo Zhang angrily as he kicked one of the men nearby. “Go!”

The men moved in a rush to obey their master’s orders. In the meantime, Feng Ruo Zhang brought Feng Eu Heng back to her room where he was met with a surprised Zhao shi. “Father-in-law, what happened?” Zhao shi cried as she approached the wailing Feng Eu Heng who was set in bed. “Why is Heng’er like this?”

“Get her to quiet down!” Feng Ruo Zhang said in an irritated tone. He had no time to deal with this annoying granddaughter. He knew Feng Eu Heng was young and stupid which is why he initially supported Feng Eu Mei due to the girl’s intelligence and beauty. She was supposed to be the phoenix that carried the Feng family to higher power, but now that was ruined all because of that brat Su Jing Fei!

“Heng’er, what happened to you?” Zhao shi felt fearful for her daughter who seemed to have gone crazy. The young girl thrashed around on the bed before she suddenly went still, falling quiet as silence filled the air. It seemed she passed out from the pain.

“Good, she finally shut up,” Feng Ruo Zhang said as he moved to leave. He had to deal with a few more things before the city justice official and the imperial prince showed up. “Keep her quiet if she reawakens.”

“Father-in-law, who did this to Heng’er?” cried Zhao shi at Feng Eu Heng’s side, holding onto the young girl with trembling hands.

“Who else?” shouted Feng Ruo Zhang. “Su Jing Fei! But that vile woman wouldn’t have been able to do anything to Feng Eu Heng if you didn’t tell her where the bitch was being kept! You should’ve kept your mouth shut, stupid woman!” Feng Ruo Zhang knew what kind of person his daughter-in-law was. She was intelligent and outwardly kind, but her true nature was one full of hatred and jealousy. She most likely told Feng Eu Heng where Su Jing Fei was being held so that the young girl could enact revenge for her previous imprisonment. But Feng Ruo Zhang didn’t have time to be dealing with the grudges of women; he had far more important matters to attend to!

“The city justice official and the imperial prince have just arrived!” announced a servant just as Feng Ruo Zhang stepped out of the house.

Feng Ruo Zhang forced himself to remain calm as he approached the entrance to his residence. The doors were held ajar as unfamiliar guards forced entry inside. “What is the meaning of this?” Feng Ruo Zhang said angrily as he approached the entrance. He had expected a more civil entry of his household, not this rude force of entry. His anger exploded at the sight of Sun Rong Shu at the head of the chaos. “Sun Rong Shu, even if you are the city justice official, I am the city lord official! Your intrusion of my house with such violence is completely uncalled for!”

Sun Rong Shu turned at the sound of his name, watching as Feng Ruo Zhang threw a tirade in his direction. “Guards, seize him!” He commanded after finally hearing enough of the older man’s angry insults.

Feng Ruo Zhang looked shocked as the city justice official’s men grabbed him, holding him back as he fought to free himself. “This is crazy! Unhand me unless you wish to go against the Emperor! The Emperor appointed me as the city lord official, and this rude intrusion of my home is completely uncalled for!”

“Go against the Emperor, you say?” spoke a calm low voice. Li Wei Sheng made a quiet appearance, but his expression was nothing less than frightening. Although the young man looked respectful in outward appearance, his demeanor and aura felt quite sharp and threatening. His words were even more frightening to hear. “You claim to speak on the behalf of the Emperor?”

Feng Ruo Zhang’s face paled with fear at Li Wei Sheng’s accusation. “N-No, not at all, your Highness! This lowly one is merely saying that this rude intrusion of one’s home is uncalled for! As the city justice official appointed by the Emperor himself, there must be some propriety and respect. But Sun Rong Shu has always been jealous of my position! Please don’t be convinced by his lies!”

Li Wei Sheng stared at Feng Ruo Zhang’s pitiful appearance, watching his show of desperation with unwavering eyes. “Let him go.” Li Wei Sheng commanded the guards that were at Feng Ruo Zhang’s side. The men immediately released Feng Ruo Zhang, making him fall to the ground. The older man scrambled quickly into a kowtow position before Li Wei Sheng; sweat covered his face and made dirt stuck to his body from where he had fallen. Feng Ruo Zhang felt anger at suffering such a humiliation, but he believed that he had swayed the imperial prince with his words. All he needed to do was speak some more accusations to convince the young man!

“This lowly thanks the imperial prince for his mercy!” Feng Ruo Zhang shouted as he prostrated himself and looked up at the young man with a pleading expression. “Sun Rong Shu has always been jealous of my position as city lord official, and he seeks to replace me. Thus, he probably conjured up lies to convince you of crimes that I have not committed. Please seek the truth and pass justice, your Highness!”

“Tell me, Feng Ruo Zhang,” Li Wei Sheng addressed the older man by full name as his gaze remained fixed on the kowtowing figure. “What crimes do you believe Sun Rong Shu are accusing you of?”

Feng Ruo Zhang pursed his lips, feeling frustrated that he couldn’t speak up. If he said anything, it would only implicate himself, so he was silent and remained prostrated before the imperial prince. He felt a growing anger at the humiliation he had to endure; years of working his way up to city lord official and here he was, still having to kneel at the feet of those above him!

“So you refuse to acknowledge my question,” Li Wei Sheng spoke calmly. “Do you think yourself so highly as to ignore a question from this imperial prince?”

“N-No! Never, your Highness!” Feng Ruo Zhang frantically replied. “This lowly one has no knowledge as to the crimes that Sun Rong Shu has accused me of, so this lowly one did not know how to answer!”

“I see,” replied Li Wei Sheng as he stared down at the prostrated man. “So you feign ignorance at your own crimes. Tell me, does the name Xia-Wu sound familiar to you?”

Feng Ruo Zhang gulped, feeling sweat slicken his face. That was the name of the courtesan house that Feng Ruo Qian frequented! He knew that the courtesan house had been infiltrated by Sun Rong Shu, but the Feng family had nothing to do with the running of Xia-Wu…

“Did you know that Xia-Wu had ties with the black market of Xinyi?” Li Wei Sheng asked calmly. “After Xia-Wu was taken under the city justice official’s care, there were quite a few witnesses who knew of Feng Ruo Qian’s frequent visits to the establishment. Some say he even did quite a bit of business there.”

“My son is a stupid man who doesn’t know what he was doing,” pleaded Feng Ruo Zhang, fully knowing that it was Feng Ruo Qian who had someone gotten them caught up in this mess. He had told Feng Ruo Qian to stop visiting such infamous establishments, but the stubborn man wouldn’t listen! “He is an ignorant man who most likely didn’t know he was working with anyone from Xinyi’s black market!”

“Oh really? Stupid enough to forge land titles and sell young girls to Xinyi’s black market traders?” Li Wei Sheng was growing impatient with Feng Ruo Zhang’s desperate attempts at ignorance. “Years of forgery, history, and connections tie the Feng family to Xinyi’s black market that could only be built on a foundation long before Feng Ruo Qian had carelessly abused the Feng family’s name and power. This one is tired of playing guessing games. Feng Ruo Zhang, you stand accused of treason against the imperial family and the country of Chu. You are to be arrested along with the entire Feng family where your crimes will receive judgment from the Emperor himself!”

The guards at Feng Ruo Zhang’s sides grabbed ahold of him once more, pulling him to his feet. He was in a daze at the sudden accusation, looking at the imperial prince with a shocked expression. Seeing the young man’s cold eyes and sharp features caused Feng Ruo Zhang to finally realize his mistake. Li Wei Sheng never had any intentions to let him nor his family go! He had been merely watching Feng Ruo Zhang humiliate himself like an idiot, playing the ignorant fool! He gave a despaired shout, knowing that everything was over. The Feng family was ruined and destined for hell!