She turned around and saw Xuan Tian Ming sitting in a wheelchair being pushed by Bai Ze. The golden mask on his face and the golden pouch on his hip shined beautifully in the sunlight.

　　But she was not in the mood to appreciate it. Seeing Xuan Tian Ming, she quickly trotted over and anxiously said: “Xuan Tian Ming, something is off with seventh brother.”

　　Xuan Tian Ming, however, ignored what she said, as he stared fixedly at her neck. The purple lotus flower between his brow became squished together “Who strangled you?”

　　Feng Yu Heng stopped in place and subconsciously raised a hand to feel her neck then asked him: “Is it that noticeable?”

　　Xuan Tian Ming did not speak, but he she could clearly feel a chilliness spreading from his body.

　　Bai Ze replied for him: “It’s quite noticeable with five finger marks.”

　　“Third brother.” Xuan Tian Ming actually laughed and extended a hand to the young girl in front of him, “Come here.”

　　She placed her hand in his palm, “It’s fine. It was me that did not dodge. If I wanted to dodge, he could not hurt me.”

　　Of course, Xuan Tian Ming knew that if Feng Yu Heng wanted to dodge, there was not a person that could hurt her, but regardless of her intentions, she was now injured. Since his childhood, Xuan Tian Ming had never felt so vexed. His woman had been hit? Even if it was the King of Heaven that hit her, he would have to rip the skin from this King of Heaven.

　　“Then ummm…” The atmosphere became even darker, “Seventh brother has already gotten revenge for me. I only found out today that Xuan Tian Ye can’t beat seventh brother! Seventh brother is really strong.” She deliberately changed the subject, but she truly wanted to know what exactly happened to Xuan Tian Hua, “Can you tell me what exactly is going on with seventh brother? Something is off. I can tell.”

　　This time, she received a proper answer, as Xuan Tian Ming told her: “Every year, the four countries will send a special envoy to Da Shun. This year, Zong Sui from the East and Qian Zhou from the North chose new year’s day to pay tribute.” He said this while Bai Ze pushed him towards Fei Cui Hall, “Qian Zhou sent the eldest princess and her daughter, while Zong Sui sent a prince, but he brought along a portrait of his younger sister.”

　　Feng Yu Heng frowned, as though she had thought of something, “The safest diplomatic relation is a political marriage. Could it be that Zong Sui’s princess has come for a political marriage?”

　　Xuan Tian Ming nodded, “Indeed, that is correct. That prince brought a personal letter from the Emperor of Zong Sui. Not only did it request a political marriage, the princess had named seventh brother.”

　　As expected, it was something like this.

　　At this time, the two entered the hall, and a palace servant quickly came over and bowed to the two and said: “Your Highness, county princess, please be seated quickly. His Majesty and her Highness are about to arrive.”

　　Xuan Tian Ming tightly held Feng Yu Heng’s hand for a moment then let go, “Go.”

　　She nodded then returned to her own seat. Just as she sat down, the Emperor brought the Empress and his imperial concubines into the hall. The princes and everyone else stood up then kneeled towards the high stage, loudly saying in unison: “Long live your Majesty the Emperor. Long live your Highness the Empress.”

　　They then heard the Emperor loudly say: “Everyone, please be at ease.”

　　Thus the people below stood up.

　　Because it was the new year, it was inevitable that they would need to say some pleasantries. After the Emperor ordered for everyone to sit, he began his new year’s speech. He was long-winded and said a bunch of stuff, but it could be summarised as wishing for everyone to be well and for everything to go smoothly in the coming year.

　　Feng Yu Heng was not in the mood to listen to such things, as she kept on thinking about what Xuan Tian Ming mentioned in regards to the political marriage with Zong Sui’s princess. Normally, Zong Sui was a small country that had to provide Da Shun with tribute. Even if they wanted a political marriage, the candidate would be decided by Da Shun. How could they be permitted to name whoever they liked.

　　But based on Xuan Tian Hua’s expression today, it was clear that this political marriage was a foregone conclusion. This did not make sense!

　　At the top of the stage, the Emperor’s long speech had just concluded, and the Empress had begun. Feng Yu Heng felt as though she was at an awards ceremony from the military. It was exceedingly boring.

　　But she did not know if her thoughts of being bored had been seen through. While the Empress was speaking, she suddenly heard a “smack” sound, followed by the sound of splashing. Without any warning, a table snapped in two at the middle, as the plates of fruit fell to the ground, and tea spilled all over the third prince, Xuan Tian Ye.

　　People looked over in shock and saw Xuan Tian Ye suddenly stand up and angrily glare towards the ninth prince, Xuan Tian Ming. He loudly said: “What are you doing?”

　　Only then did everyone realize that the ninth prince, Xuan Tian Ming, was pulling back his whip. While pulling it back, he said: “The table really is not sturdy. It broke after being hit just once. I wonder if third brother’s neck is sturdier than this table.”

　　Once this was said, how could Xuan Tian Ye not understand why he would be hit. But even if he understood, he did not have the face to say it; moreover, what was the current setting? The Empress was speaking, yet this ninth brother dared to be so arrogant?

　　He was overwhelmed and wanted to have the Emperor and the Empress say something, but before he could say anything, he heard the Empress coldly say: “Ye’er, you’re truly becoming less and less sensible!”

　　Huh?

　　Once this was said, not only was Xuan Tian Ye stunned, everyone was stunned.

　　The one that was not sensible… should be his Highness the ninth prince, right?

　　But the Empress had her own reasoning: “If the table broke, just bring in a new one. Everyone is still sitting down properly. What are you doing standing up so suddenly?”

　　Xuan Tian Ye looked at the Empress wide-eyed. What this something that a person could say?

　　The Empress lost it: “Ye’er!” Her voice suddenly rose, “Looking at this one like this, what are you trying to do? Are you trying to rebel?”

　　Thump! Xuan Tian Ye dropped to his knees “Son does not dare!” The Empress could say anything, but she clearly said rebel. He wanted to ask the Empress what she was doing. Unfortunately, he did not dare.

　　Everyone knew that the current Emperor and Empress had a very pleasant cooperation! The Empress was best at figuring out what was on the Emperor’s mind. So long as the Emperor gave a simple look, even if she did not ask in detail, she would know how to continue with the play.

　　Now that they saw the Empress express such an attitude, that meant it was also the Emperor’s attitude. If the Emperor had made his position clear, who else dared to say anything?

　　More importantly, the recent situation in the court made it very clear that the third prince would eventually be unable to receive the imperial will. Even in the two years prior, he had been placed in important positions by the Emperor plenty o times, but he did not receive many benefits or affirmation. More recently, the favored child, the eldest prince, was recognized time and time again by the Emperor. This also resulted in a loss of power for the third prince, as he had already become an abandoned child.

　　Xuan Tian Ye did not know that after that whip had been drawn, the people in his faction that had been observing the situation had already begun to drift away. Even Feng Jin Yuan began to hold reservations about continuing to support him.

　　He kneeled on the ground, his face burning hot, and he felt that this was a massive humiliation, but he did not have the power to fight back. From his childhood to this point, heavens knew how much he had suffered from being bullied by Xuan Tian Ming, but every time was the same as now. Everyone turned a blind eye and went to worry about Xuan Tian Ming, completely ignoring his feelings. Today was the same, on the first day of the new year, Xuan Tian Ming had trampled all over his dignity in front of the officials and their family members.

　　“Son recognizes his mistakes. Would mother Empress please hand down punishment.” He kowtowed deeply. A fishy sweet taste surged up his throat, but he forcefully pushed it back down.

　　“Un.” At the top of the stage, the Empress nodded, “It’s fine if you know your mistakes. This one looks forward to doing well. Ye’er, you especially must compete for consort Xu De!”

　　Hearing her mention consort Xu De, Xuan Tian Ye’s heart tightened. The fists hidden in his sleeves clenched tightly into fists. “Son will heed mother empress’ advice.”

　　“You may rise!” Finally, this matter with the Empress had been resolved, and the Emperor spoke up. “It’s the new year. Ming’er just needs to adjust to the atmosphere, but why do you seem so bored?”

　　Everyone began to roll their eyes. This Emperor and Empress were truly a pair. It was no wonder who the ninth prince’s personality resembled. It was completely like the Emperor’s.

　　Xuan Tian Ye stood up. With his hands lowered, he did not dare say another word. The palace servants to the side had already cleaned up the mess and brought in a new table. The Empress then added: “What are you still standing for? Sit!”

　　Only then did he dare sit back down. At this time, Xuan Tian Ye really wanted to turn around and see what sort of expression Xuan Tian Ming had. If possible, he really wanted to pick up a sword and fight a round with him. However, he knew deep down that even if he did this, he feared that he was not capable of being his ninth brother’s opponent. Moreover, the Emperor’s gaze was now on him. He did not even dare turn around.

　　After this small disturbance, the Empress’ speech continued, but nobody down below was in the mood to listen to the words that were said every year. Instead, everyone was thinking about why the ninth prince would suddenly take action against the third prince.

　　Someone quietly said: “Outside Fei Cui Hall, it seemed that his Highness the third prince had some conflict with county princess Ji An a little earlier. His Highness the ninth prince shouldn’t be venting anger for county princess Ji An, right?”

　　Someone else added: “It was more than just a conflict. I heard that his Highness the third prince was choking county princess Ji An’s neck.”

　　Once this was said, everyone looked towards Feng Yu Heng. Sure enough, they saw a clear sign of her having been strangled.

　　As for Feng Yu Heng, whether intentionally or unintentionally, she pulled her collar down by a bit. This allowed people to see the mark a little more clearly.

　　“His Highness the third prince went too far.” The situation in court had quietly changed over two months. Regardless of whether it was the officials in court or their women, everyone knew that the third prince, who had never received the Emperor’s favor, even seemed to have lost the Emperor’s trust. Thus they began to invent stories without any reservations. “Regardless of what enmity he has with his Highness the ninth prince, why has he gone to seek revenge with a girl?”

　　“That’s right! As I see it, he just could not beat the ninth prince, and that’s what caused him to fight with his future princess.”

　　“It’s a shame that my father once praised his Highness the third prince for acting in a stable manner and that he was a responsible person. Now, it seems that he is someone who only has the ability to argue with women.”

　　“Ah, be careful with what you say. What do you mean before. There is no before. Your father has never praised his Highness the third prince.”

　　With this, the face of the young miss, who had just spoken, turned white, as she repeatedly said: “Right, right, right. My father never praised him.”

　　Almost immediately, the third prince, Xuan Tian Ye, had become the god of plague that everyone dreaded and wished to avoid. He held his cup of tea and heard every word of what was said and engraved every single word into his heart. Sooner or later, a day would come for him to make up for the humiliation that he suffered today!

　　At this time, the Empress had finished her speech, and a eunuch at their side raised his head and announced: “The special envoy from Zong Sui, Li Kun will enter the court!”