This is the person she willingly betrothed herself to in this life.

He is much older than her. No matter how spoiled and willful, how annoying and domineering she was, he was always patient, indulging her, forgiving her, and protecting her.

It’s just that his thoughts were a bit deep; he did use tactics on her, plotted against her, deceived her...

Towards him, Xie Wanqing had been angry, disappointed, but before he left the Capital, they had already reconciled, and she promised him she would obediently wait for his return.

As a result, he had been gone for only half a year, and the situation developed into this.

No one could have imagined such a development.

The two Princes conspired to scheme, and under the Emperor’s tacit approval, she was abducted by the Jin Thief.

If Lu Ziyuan hadn’t disregarded the war and rushed a thousand miles to rescue her from Jin Wuji, she would probably have already been taken into a camp of Jin Country by now.

Though her being abducted by Jin Wuji was indeed due to Lu Ziyuan’s negligence, the shock of survival against all odds was so overwhelming that Xie Wanqing couldn’t bring herself to remain cold and dismissive towards him.

She truly accepted her fate, thinking that since she couldn’t escape Lu Ziyuan, it was better to resign herself and continue entangling with him for the rest of her life.

But Lu Ziyuan wouldn’t agree, he wanted to exterminate and kill all, he wanted Pei Yuqing’s life.

How can this be!

She absolutely could not allow anything to happen to Pei Yuqing.

A gust of cold wind blew over, Xie Wanqing pulled her furry hat down a bit, shrunk her neck, and continued walking.

Forget it, let’s part ways here.

If she really saw Pei Yuqing, she definitely wouldn’t be able to leave again.

Even heaven favors her, allowing her escape to be so smooth, and she was forced by thieves to jump into the lake.

The icy, unfathomable lake bottom, it was only natural that they couldn’t retrieve a body.

As time went by, as long as she never appeared, they would eventually accept her death.

Only...

Only her parents and brothers, if they got the news, who knows how heartbroken they would be.

On one side, Xie Wanqing’s heart was in turmoil, yet she was determined to leave.

On the other side, at the government office entrance.

All the officials of Lu Zhou City had long been waiting there in the cold wind.

As soon as Lu Ziyuan dismounted, an obsequious official stepped forward to pay respects, only to be swept aside with a whip.

"Where are they?" His eyes were bloodshot, and the murderous aura around him was almost tangible, his gaze swept over the officials, "Lead the way!"

Though Lu Zhou was located at the frontier, the folk were bold and fierce, but the officials present were all civil officers, accustomed to comfort, had never seen such a God of Killing, and under his gaze, it was as if they were already seeing the hellish King of Hades.

They could no longer care about flattering and fawning, the Prefectural Governor personally stepped forward to bow and lead the way.

In the cold of winter, the sky was overcast, even though it was afternoon, inside the hall with the plaque "High and Bright as a Mirror" was brightly lit.

Three men were bound with their hands tied, kneeling on the ground. If Xie Wanqing were here, she would recognize them as the ones who attacked on the boat the previous night.

In the morning they had gone to the pawnshop to sell what they had stolen the previous night, and in the afternoon they were caught and brought here to kneel.

After stepping inside, the Prefectural Governor stood aside, gesturing to the three kneeling men below and smiling apologetically, "It was these three who pawned that Jade Ring." 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

More chaotic footsteps sounded outside, it was Pei Yuqing who arrived, closely following.

Lu Ziyuan didn’t turn around at all; he had completely lost any inclination for rivalry, his gaze fixed on the three men kneeling there.

Sly, rat-like faces, emaciated bodies, their appearances clearly not those of good people.

His heart sank, and his hand gripping the whip trembled slightly, unable to speak for several moments.

The latest arrival, Pei Yuqing, already understood the situation, his handsome, gentle face was expressionless, he bypassed the rigidly standing Lu Ziyuan, walked step by step to below the hall, squatted in front of the three, and asked, "Tell me, how did you obtain this item?"