It was Lu Jin who, while pacing backwards on the deck, unexpectedly bumped into Princess Yongning head - on.
Princess Yongning was named Chu Yuanyuan. Her father was the Prince of Huainan, who was also the younger brother of Emperor Chu.
She was truly a member of the royal family, with high status and great power. Living up to her identity, she was domineering and evil - minded.
The Prince of Huainan doted on his only daughter, showering her with all his love and favor.
She had a cute, innocent - looking round face, which was extremely alluring.
However, her heart was vicious, her means were ruthless, and she had also picked up her father's bad habit of being lustful.
All those who refused to submit to her were thrown into the hyena cages in the backyard of the Prince's mansion, left in a living hell.
In the entire Huainan fief, families with sons or daughters of good looks dared not let them go out.
This was enough to show how infamous and feared she was.
Her bad reputation had even spread from Huainan to the capital.
Fortunately, Huainan was far from the capital. People in the capital only saw Princess Yongning once a year.
They only had to worry about running into her once a year.
So, most of her arrogance and tyranny was confined to the fief of the Prince of Huainan.
But her appearance here today was because it was almost the New Year.
The Prince of Huainan was due to apply to Emperor Chu to enter the capital for the family reunion.
Chu Yuanyuan had always been reckless. She had come to the capital earlier than her father.
If Lu Jin had bumped into someone else, there might have been room for negotiation.
But he had the misfortune of bumping into Chu Yuanyuan. With a sharp look in her eyes, she flipped her wrist and released a coiling snake.
However, there was something strange about Lu Jin. As soon as the snake got close to him, it hissed and black smoke rose from its body.
Right in front of everyone's eyes, it turned into a puddle of sewage.
"How dare you use sorcery to kill Xiao Hei!"
With her round eyes glaring at Lu Jin, Chu Yuanyuan's face turned cold and green. She waved her whip and shouted, "I want you to pay for Xiao Hei's life!"
From just these two sentences, one could easily see her warped sense of right and wrong. She actually wanted a human life to pay for that of a beast!
"I didn't do it!"
Lu Jin had no idea why the snake had suddenly turned into sewage. In that moment of urgency, he had even forgotten the spells he usually practiced.
But Chu Yuanyuan wouldn't listen to his explanation. She attacked with great speed. Since Lu Jin had no martial skills, he naturally couldn't dodge!
"Princess Yongning, please forgive us!"
Pei Yunlu happened to come out of the compartment and tried to step forward to shield Lu Jin with her body.
But Chu Yuanyuan was charging forward aggressively. She didn't care who Pei Yunlu was. Her eyes were only fixed on the culprit who had killed Xiao Hei!
"Miss Pei!"
There was panic in Lu Jin's eyes. He couldn't dodge, but he was able to pull Pei Yunlu into his arms.
"Chu Yuanyuan, this is the capital, not Huainan where you can do whatever you want!"
Gu Xiao caught Chu Yuanyuan's whip in time. His usually playful face was now full of coldness.
No wonder he and Yan Zhao were cousins. Their cold and sharp auras were exactly the same.
"Are you crazy?"
He turned around and scolded Pei Yunlu.
Pei Yunlu bit her lips. Thinking that Lu Jin might get hurt, she had rushed out without even thinking.
"Miss Pei, are you okay?"
Lu Jin let go of Pei Yunlu, his eyes full of anxiety. "Are you injured?"
Pei Yunlu shook her head. "I'm fine."
She took a step forward and stood shoulder - to - shoulder with Gu Xiao. There was a look of apology in her eyes. "Mr. Lu bumped into you by accident. Please forgive him, Princess."
Even if Lu Jin hadn't bumped into her, and just because of Xiao Hei's sudden death, Chu Yuanyuan wouldn't easily let Lu Jin go.
She had always been self - centered and had never cared about human lives.
"Scoundrel, let go!"
Chu Yuanyuan tried to pull back her whip, but Gu Xiao held it tightly. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get it back.
She simply abandoned the long whip and tried to attack Gu Xiao bare - handed.
Unexpectedly, Gu Xiao dodged, and she crashed into the railing of the cabin. A big bump appeared on her forehead.
"Princess!"
When the guards of the Huainan Prince's mansion saw that Chu Yuanyuan was injured, their eyes turned red and they all attacked.
But they were just ordinary guards after all. They were no match for Gu Xiao, who had spent five years on Xiao Mountain.
Gu Xiao knocked them down to the ground in a few moves.
"Useless things!"
Chu Yuanyuan covered her forehead and kicked and scolded them viciously. She glared at Gu Xiao. "Who are you? How dare you offend this princess!"
Although she came to the capital once a year, she had specifically memorized the people here.
She had never seen this man before, but there was a faint sense of familiarity.
Gu Xiao was too lazy to talk to her. But one of Chu Yuanyuan's guards whispered something in her ear. Soon, she suddenly realized. "So you're the son of the Marquis of Wuan!"
The Marquis of Wuan, who guarded Xiao Mountain, had countless elite soldiers under his command. One of his men could fight against a hundred of her Huainan soldiers.
Although the Prince of Huainan usually allowed her to cause trouble, he would also warn her who she could and couldn't provoke!
Chu Yuanyuan clenched her fists in frustration. Her round face turned ashen.
In the end, she knew better than to continue.
"For the sake of the Marquis of Wuan, this princess won't argue with you." She snorted. "But I will never let the two of you go!"
The latter half of the sentence was naturally directed at Pei Yunlu and Lu Jin.
When the guard had mentioned Gu Xiao's identity, he had also mentioned the identities of Pei Yunlu and Lu Jin.
Although Minister Pei was an old official, he was just a civil official after all.
Chu Yuanyuan didn't take him seriously at all.
Especially Lu Jin, who was just an ordinary scholar.
"Come on, arrest the two of them!"
She shouted, and the guards immediately obeyed and went to arrest them.
But Gu Xiao still blocked the guards. "Chu Yuanyuan, I've said that this is the capital, not Huainan where you can act recklessly!"
Chu Yuanyuan glared angrily. "Gu Xiao, I've already given in again and again. If you protect these two people again, I'll kill you too!"
She had completely revealed her true intentions.
If Pei Yunlu and Lu Jin fell into her hands, they would surely be doomed!
"Chu Yuanyuan, you're really something!"
Yan Zhao had just arrived when he heard Chu Yuanyuan's "bold words".
Seeing Pei Yunlu's face turn pale suddenly, his eyes became even colder, and his killing intent was obvious.
But to outsiders, it seemed that he was angry for Gu Xiao's sake.
Of course, Gu Xiao himself thought so too!
With Yan Zhao's arrival, Gu Xiao became more confident.
But the cold look on his face softened a little, and he slowly returned to his usual relaxed and carefree look.
Chu Yuanyuan frowned. Why were all the people here today those she couldn't afford to offend?
She was afraid of Gu Xiao because of his family background and the Marquis of Wuan behind him.
But she was afraid of Yan Zhao because of her father's teachings.
Back then, the Prince of Huainan had suspected that the Emperor had taken back the General's Mansion of Protecting the Nation, but Yan Zhao still had private wealth.
He had even secretly sent people to suppress Yan Zhao, but unexpectedly, although Yan Zhao was young, he was extremely evil - tempered.
He had killed all the people the Prince had sent, skinned them, made them into lanterns, and then sent them back.
The Prince of Huainan had been ruthless in his youth, but as he got older, he preferred a peaceful life.
He didn't dare to provoke this young wolf cub like Yan Zhao, who was both openly and secretly ruthless.
Chu Yuanyuan was also ruthless, but her most ruthless act was to throw people into the hyena cages in the backyard of the Huainan Prince's mansion.
But Yan Zhao had easily made human - skin lanterns five years ago, and his bad reputation had only grown in the past five years.
Compared with Yan Zhao, Chu Yuanyuan's tricks were really not enough.
Following her father's instructions, Chu Yuanyuan took a step back and asked doubtfully, "Yan Zhao, are you also here to protect them?"