Chapter 744: You Called a Name You Shouldn’t Have

"Your Highness, Your Highness, are you all right?" The butler only dared to approach after seeing that they had sheathed their swords.

"This is treason! Treason! Go mobilize the city guard!" Old Prince Feng gritted his teeth in fury.

"Yes, yes, but Your Highness, you..."

"What are you waiting for?!" Old Prince Feng roared.

The butler let go, warily took a few steps toward the entrance, and when he saw no one was going to stop him, he bolted out the door.

"A bunch of unruly commoners, daring to be so brazen in Nanyuan! This Prince will not let any of you off lightly." Old Prince Feng gripped the railing, his voice dripping with fury as he enunciated each word.

Ye Qianning casually cleaned her ear, completely ignoring his threatening words.

Seeing that the Old Prince was unprotected, Huo Tu decided this was his chance to make an impression. He strode over to Old Prince Feng’s side. "Your Highness, rest assured. With the Huo family here, we will ensure no harm comes to you."

Old Prince Feng shot him a sideways glance and snorted coldly.

This was the first time Huo Feng had ever seen someone dare to kill royal guards in public. To draw a blade against the royal family was considered treason—a capital offense punishable by the extermination of one’s entire clan, down to the ninth degree of kinship.

Huo Liran had been terrified just a moment ago, but then a thought struck her. ’She’s committed a terrible crime against the royal family. Ye Qianning is as good as dead. Her arrogance won’t last much longer.’

"Miss Ye."

A group of people burst in through the entrance.

Ye Qianning turned to look.

Jiang Chenyi and Jiang Yue rushed in with members of the Jiang family, each of them armed.

Jiang Yue ran in, a panicked look on her face. "Sister Ye, are you okay?"

"I’m fine. What are you all doing here?"

"Our family’s guards said you were surrounded by the Huo family here at the Immortal Sea Building." Jiang Yue looked her up and down, and seeing that she was truly unharmed, she whirled around. Her gaze landed on Huo Tu, and she pointed a finger at him. "Mr. Tu, the Huo family is a prestigious clan, is it not? If word got out that you repay kindness with enmity, wouldn’t you become an absolute laughingstock?"

"..."

"You damn brat, which of your eyes saw me repaying kindness with enmity?" Huo Tu yelled, though his voice lacked its usual force.

"Both of them saw it! All of you ganging up on Sister Ye, using your numbers to bully her! If the Huo family dares to lay a hand on Sister Ye today, my Jiang family will fight you to the bitter end!" Jiang Yue fumed, one hand on her hip, looking quite formidable.

"Jiang Yue, are you blind? These people aren’t from the Huo family," Huo Liran stepped forward to confront her.

Jiang Yue froze. Her eyes swept across the room, and it seemed they really weren’t members of the Huo family.

"I don’t care who they are! You still can’t bully Sister Ye!"

"Huo Feng, what’s going on?"

Jiang Chenyi was more level-headed. He took in the scene on the first floor: the place was a wreck, several people were dead, but Miss Ye appeared unharmed.

In contrast, the expressions on the Huo family members were grim. The old man in fine robes standing next to Huo Tu was clearly no ordinary person.

Huo Feng opened his mouth but didn’t know what to say.

"It’s Ye Qianning! She offended Old Prince Feng and arrogantly killed four of his personal guards! Not only that, she even tried to kill the Old Prince himself!" Huo Liran blurted it all out.

Jiang Chenyi froze for a moment. ’Old Prince Feng?’

His gaze subconsciously fell upon the old man beside Huo Tu, and he immediately ordered the Jiang family members to put away their weapons.

Jiang Yue also vaguely sensed that something was amiss. She took two steps back to get closer to Ye Qianning. "Sister Ye, what’s going on?"

"You and your brother should stay out of this. Just stand on the sidelines and watch the show," Ye Qianning said in a low voice.

"But..."

"Go on."

Jiang Yue nodded, silently moving behind Jiang Chenyi to relay Ye Qianning’s exact words to him.

Jiang Chenyi glanced back at Ye Qianning.

Ye Qianning waved for someone to bring her a chair and sat down with a leisurely air.

After a moment of thought, Jiang Chenyi had the Jiang family members withdraw. He and Jiang Yue remained where they were, their eyes on the corpses on the floor. ’If those men really are Old Prince Feng’s guards, Miss Ye is in enormous trouble.’

"Cousin... Cousin..."

The scene fell silent for a few seconds before a voice broke the stillness.

Everyone turned in unison to look at the entrance, and a wave of speechlessness washed over them.

’How is she still alive?’

Old Prince Feng’s expression darkened even further when he saw her. ’What’s going on? Are the guards who dragged her out dead, too?’

"Cousin, I won’t dare do it again..."

The corner of Ye Qianning’s mouth twitched. She silently glanced at Du Yi, who had been staring at her this whole time.

When Du Yi first saw Ye Qianning, his eyes were filled with scrutiny. The difference in appearance was too vast; no matter how he looked, she was nothing like the Young Miss he remembered from her childhood.

But as he watched, his expression grew increasingly agitated. Her face wasn’t the same, but her bearing, her way of doing things—it was just like the Young Miss.

When Ye Qianning shot him that cool glance, all confusion in Du Yi’s heart vanished. ’It’s her. It’s the Young Miss. That look in her eyes is exactly the same as when she was a little girl.’

Confirmation washing over him, Du Yi was overcome with emotion. He dropped to his knees with a THUD. "Young Miss, you’ve returned."

This act of kneeling stunned many of the onlookers.

The most stunned of all was Qin Fuwei, who had been stumbling over while crying and shouting. Her wails died in her throat.

"Get up," Ye Qianning said with a smile.

"Young Miss, Young Miss." Du Yi’s eyes grew red. ’It’s really her. This is wonderful.’

"Cousin, you... Why are you kneeling to her? Cousin..." Qin Fuwei couldn’t accept it. ’How could my handsome cousin kneel to this dark, scrawny girl?’

A trace of resignation flickered in Ye Qianning’s eyes. "Get up. You should probably deal with your own affairs first."

Du Yi froze for a moment, then instantly understood. He turned, saw Qin Fuwei, and stood up to haul her aside.

"Cousin, let go of me..."

"If you value your life, you’ll shut your mouth," Du Yi said, his eyes frigid. "If you speak again, I won’t hesitate to kill you right here and now."

"Cou—"

Qin Fuwei was terrified. She slapped both hands over her mouth, her eyes wide with disbelief. ’Cousin wants to kill me? For some ugly, dark-skinned girl?’

Huo Tu was the first to snap out of it. He turned and brought a chair over for the Old Prince. "Your Highness, please have a seat."

Old Prince Feng grunted, his face grim, and slowly sat down. His sharp gaze swept over Ye Qianning. ’I don’t care who she is. She dies today.’

’No one in all of Nanyuan has ever dared to challenge me. Even the Emperor himself has to show me some deference. For some little upstart to challenge my authority just because she has the Xianyue Sect behind her... Unforgivable.’

"Ye Qianning, you had royal guards killed in public! This is a heinous crime! If you kneel and confess your guilt to the Old Prince now, you might be allowed to leave a complete corpse behind!" Huo Tu was a sharp one; he had understood the meaning in Old Prince Feng’s eyes at a glance and now berated Ye Qianning.

Ye Qianning replied languidly, "I’ve already said it. You made the first move. We were merely defending ourselves."

"Enough of your clever talk. Attacking royalty is a death sentence."

"Do you dare to make a move?"

"Ye Qianning, don’t you get too arrogant—PFFT!"

Before Huo Tu could even finish speaking, he was sent flying by a blast of palm energy. Even Old Prince Feng next to him wasn’t spared. The force blew him away, chair and all, sending him tumbling across the ground for several turns...

This scene utterly terrified the members of the Huo family.

"Uncle!" Huo Liran was the first to run to him.

Huo Feng also rushed over to check on him.

Huo Tu’s face was a bloody mess, as if it had been slashed by a sharp blade.