"What does Yue Jinghua's matter have to do with me?" With a single tug, Fa Xiaoyi pulled a dancer clad in a thin veil from the inner chamber into his arms, her giggles sweet and coy.
"Has the prince forgotten? She is your betrothed since childhood, the future Princess Xiao Yi," the peach-blossom handsome man narrowed his fox-like eyes, starting the conversation.
Long fingers lifted the beautiful concubine's chin, malevolence flashing in Fa Xiaoyi's eyes as he snorted irritably.
Upon hearing this, the beautiful concubine retorted, "Boss Xie, you must be jesting. How could someone like Prince Xiao Yi ever marry a talentless and ugly woman like Yue Jinghua?" Her words were dripping with sourness.
Speaking of "Yue Jinghua," she had also caused quite a stir in Polo City twice before.
The first occasion was for her "beauty."
"Yue Jinghua" visited Lie Family Mansion at the age of ten.
Back then, the Old Castle Master of Lie Family Mansion was still around, and Lie Rou returned to the castle as Lady of the Duke from Dragon Battle Country.
"Yue Jinghua" and her younger brother, like a pair of celestial siblings, basked under the spotlight, riding into the city in a luxurious carriage.
The entirety of Lie Family Mansion came out to welcome them, a display that attracted the admiration of the city's dandy young men, and from then on, the reputation of the foremost beauty of Longzhan Country spread far and wide.
The second time, however, was for her disgrace. After her family's bankruptcy and her disfigurement, "Yue Jinghua" faced rejections from thirteen Dark Academies within Shang Kingdom's territory in just one year.
In the end, she shamelessly begged at the Empress Dowager of Shang Kingdom and only managed to secure a trial entry into Xuanji Royal Academy thanks to her family's previous generation's protection.
"Now that you mention it, I see that my betrothed is quite the famous figure," Fa Xiaoyi's fingers involuntarily tightened, leaving reddish marks on the smooth skin of the beautiful concubine.
The beautiful concubine gasped in pain, her wide eyes in disbelief that the renowned playboy prince could actually be betrothed to the city's foremost ugly woman.
"Prince, please spare me, I had no idea about the princess," the beautiful concubine trembled, partly due to the pain on her jaw, but also struck by the chilling aura emanating from the man.
"Who said she's my princess?" As he relaxed his fingers, a sound of bone cracking was heard, and the beautiful concubine screamed in agony, fainting on the spot.
Fa Xiaoyi kicked the woman aside with disgust, "Xie Yu, where did this news come from?"
"From a family letter of Lie Family Mansion, absolutely true. She was abducted by thugs and is still missing. This makes a great excuse to break off the engagement, tsk tsk, those were thugs we're talking about. If I recall correctly, Yue Jinghua had quite the curvaceous figure," the peach-blossom man flashed a sinister smile, his words laced with mockery.
Fa Xiaoyi fell silent, finishing the fine wine in his cup in one gulp, his gaze drifting idly to the street below.
The bustling street was crowded with people.
A boy was surrounded by four or five others, barely in his teens with delicate features and a plump appearance, a red mole on his forehead like that of a New Year's painting child deity.
Fa Xiaoyi looked over and immediately recognized the youngster, "Yue Chen?"
"Isn't it? The reclusive child of the Yue Family, tsk tsk, seems like he's caught the attention of a few local bullies. Sigh, of all places to make trouble, it just had to be in front of Qianbin Building. I hope they don't sully my street," Xie Yu took a long stride as if about to leap over the railing.
But his figure suddenly stopped, mouth agape in an "O" shape, fingers trembling uncontrollably, "Yue… Yue Jinghua."
How could Yue Jinghua, the ugly girl rumored to be abducted and missing, appear here?
Over there, Yue Chen was cornered by a few city youths at the street corner, being punched and kicked.
The streets were crowded, with everyone rushing to watch the commotion, yet not a single person offered to help.
Yue Chen enjoyed planting flowers and plants, and went early today to buy flowers at the flower and bird market in the city without Lie Rou's knowledge.
Little did he know, he had just bought a pot of flowers when he ran into a few youths who had just returned from their trials at Hundred Beast Mountain. Not only was the flower pot broken, but it also dirtied their clothes.
The group recognized him and started jeering, "Isn't this the cheap little brother of the dead ghost Yue Jinghua?" These people were friendly with Lie Meng and had just returned to Polo City before him.
After the thug incident, Lie Meng once let it slip when drunk, and everyone knew that the trial, in reality, was nothing but a setup orchestrated by some interested parties within the Lie Family Mansion.
Yue Chen was young, and his sibling relationship with "Yue Jinghua" was not particularly deep. Yet, when he heard this news, he was stunned and only wished to return to the castle quickly to inform Lie Rou.
But this group was like a persistent plague, entangling him tightly and heaping verbal insults upon him.
Even the most patient person has limits, and Yue Chen, in a moment of anger, clashed with these people.
In the Lie Family Mansion, with no one to guide him, his Dark Energy was mediocre at best, merely at the Human Dark Second or Third Layer.
All of the youths who returned from the trial had the cultivation of the Human Fifth and Sixth Layer. Under their joint attacks, Yue Chen was quickly beaten black and blue.
Elsewhere, Yue Jinghua, after several days of traveling, finally returned to Poluo City.
She searched through "Yue Jinghua's" memories, recalling the locations of the Lie Family Mansion and Xuanji Academy.
She also remembered that "Yue Jinghua" had gone to participate in the trials, and after obtaining the Dark Pill, she was to report to the Xuanji Royal Academy.
Little did she know that as she had just reached the bustling street leading to the academy, she saw Yue Chen being beaten and a crowd hurling insults at the Yue siblings.
If it had been anyone else, seeing their younger brother being humiliated and themselves being spat upon, they would've become furious to the point of losing their composure and rushed to fight, regardless of having Dark Energy or not.
However, Yue Jinghua, standing within the crowd, did not do so. She simply blended into the crowd, observing Yue Chen's reaction.
Yue Chen, "Yue Jinghua's" "little brother." Although called "little brother," he had not a single blood tie with Yue Jinghua. His origins were unknown; he was a child that "Yue Jinghua's" wastrel father had picked up from the streets before going bankrupt.
It was widely rumored that Yue Chen was the bastard son of Duke Xue Ying. Only someone with a kind nature like Lie Rou would take him in and acknowledge him as an adopted son.
In her memories, after being adopted, Yue Chen seldom spoke; "Yue Jinghua" had never even heard him speak.
Even now, amidst the group beating, Yue Chen's handsome face was being battered to a pulp, yet the young man still kept silent. He only shielded his head with his hands, his eyes revealing a stubborn glint.
"Doesn't even know how to cry out for help, a typical case of autism," thinking about returning to the Lie Family Mansion to deal with a mess and now this problem child, Yue Jinghua sighed without words.
After sighing, she suddenly felt alarmed, her eyes flashing sharply, as she accurately caught sight of two eye-catching figures standing at the railing of a restaurant on the west side of the crowded street.
One of them, dressed in peach red, seemed to be making a gesture with their hand resembling an orchid, legs crossed nonchalantly, and their mouth opened wide enough to swallow an egg.
The other person had a gloomy face, dressed in plain clothes, but emitted an undeniable noble aura. At the moment, his gaze was directed at her.
After getting a clear view of the person, Yue Jinghua suddenly tensed and exclaimed in surprise: "Liao!?"