Ye Zeyu tentatively spoke, but Ye Chengping acted just right, taking a step back and waving his hands repeatedly with a flushed face.

"Cousin, you're too kind. Please don't tease me. You must be tired from your journey. I've prepared some wine to welcome you. If you don't mind, please don't stay at the inn. Just stay at my place!"

Ye Zeyu agreed without hesitation.

"In that case, I won't stand on ceremony. Tonight, my brother and I must have a good drink!"

Qiao Zixian looked at Ye Chengping, who was completely at ease, and her beautiful eyes flickered slightly.

Just then, Zheng Yi stepped out of the carriage, cupped his hands in greeting to Ye Chengping, and said, "I am Zheng Yi, son of the Minister of Justice. I greet Prince Jing. I have been a great disturbance to your residence during my time in Jinzhou City."

Zheng Yi was arrogant and spoke casually.

Ye Chengping clearly did not invite him to go to the Jing Prince's residence, but he made it sound like it was a matter of course.

Ye Chengping was not annoyed by Zheng Yi's arrogance, but nodded good-naturedly.

"Of course, Young Master Zheng is here on the Emperor's orders, so I will certainly treat him well."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Yi clasped his hands in a fist salute to Ye Chengping again, appearing nonchalant, but his gaze suddenly lit up when it fell on Qiao Zixian.

"Your Highness, I've never been to Ganzhou City before. It's terribly hot inside that carriage. I think I'll ride to Prince Jing's residence instead!"

After Zheng Yi finished speaking to Ye Zeyu, he mounted Qiao Zixian's horse.

He brazenly pulled Qiao Zixian into his arms, even taking a deep sniff of her neck, his manner quite frivolous, befitting a dissolute playboy.

As Zheng Yi embraced Qiao Zixian, her face was lifted up, allowing the onlookers at the city gate to see her beauty.

Although Qiao Zixian's hair was disheveled and her mouth was stuffed with rags, her beauty was still undeniable.

"This woman is so beautiful!"

"Wasn't it said that Prince Yong'an came to Jinzhou to wipe out the Heavenly Immortal Sect? Why is he bringing such a woman with him?"

"I think I just heard Prince Yong'an say that the woman is the Holy Maiden Tianxian of the Celestial Immortal Sect!"

"No way? The Prince of Yong'an just arrived in Ganzhou and he's already captured the Holy Maiden of the Heavenly Immortal Sect?"

"If you ask me, that Celestial Immortal Sect is quite good. I don't know why the Emperor ordered its extermination!"

"Shh! Are you out of your mind?! How dare you say such a thing!"

…

In fact, the Celestial Immortal Sect did not commit any evil deeds in Ganzhou; it merely attracted many male followers and amassed wealth through them.

As for the money collected, it will all be used to build bridges and roads in Ganzhou.

During festivals, members of the Celestial Immortal Sect would also send grain to poor families.

It can be said that it has won the hearts of the people.

It was precisely because of this that Ye Jingchun could not tolerate the Celestial Immortal Sect.

As Zheng Yi rode on his horse, he would occasionally touch Qiao Zixian inappropriately. Although Qiao Zixian looked unwilling, she was unable to break free from Zheng Yi's embrace because her hands and feet were tied.

Along the way, there were many onlookers.

The news spread like wildfire, and soon everyone knew that the woman Zheng Yi was holding in his arms was none other than Tianxian, the Holy Maiden of the Celestial Immortal Sect.

However, not long after Ye Zeyu and his group entered the city, dozens of burly men wielding steel knives suddenly emerged from the crowd.

Although these dozen or so people were all strong and muscular, Ye Zeyu could tell at a glance that they were not martial arts practitioners, but just ordinary people who were strong in appearance.

It is precisely these ordinary people, with the purest minds, who rush out to rescue their holy maiden from humiliation.

Ye Ziyu didn't move, nor did the guards around him; they simply watched coldly as these people rushed out.

"Prince Yong'an, you have forcibly taken a woman from our land! Today, we will act on behalf of Heaven to punish you!"

One of them shouted, and before he finished speaking, he led the others to rush towards Ye Zeyu and his group.

Qiao Zixian looked at the people in front of her, sobbing and shaking her head, but in the blink of an eye, they all died on the street.

The people who killed them were not Ye Zeyu and his group, but Ye Chengping's guards.

"If anyone dares to run wild on my territory, they will suffer the same fate as these people!"

Ye Chengping, abandoning his previous gentle demeanor, turned cold and shouted at the surrounding people.

The message was strongly cautionary.

"Huh?! Why did Prince Jing kill all of them? He didn't even leave any survivors!"

Zheng Yi asked.

But Ye Chengping said calmly, "These people are of no value. We won't get anything out of them even if we keep them alive."

Then, he turned to Ye Zeyu with a serious expression and said, "Cousin, it seems that the woman you captured may indeed be the Holy Maiden Celestial Immortal of the Celestial Immortal Sect, and these people are very likely to be members of the Celestial Immortal Sect."

They claim to be acting on behalf of Heaven, but in reality, they want to save their holy maiden.

Ye Ziyu nodded slowly, his expression unreadable.

But Zheng Yi spoke up again.

"Now that you've figured out they're from the Celestial Immortal Sect, you should spare their lives! You might even be able to find out their lair from them!"

“Young Master Zheng is naive. These people dare to stop people in the street because they are prepared to die. Do you think you can get anything out of them? It would be better to make an example of them.”

Ye Chengping spoke with righteous indignation, and if Zheng Yi hadn't already known about Ye Chengping's relationship with Qiao Zixian, he really wouldn't have seen anything wrong with Ye Chengping.

Is it to make an example of someone?

This was intended to let the members of the Celestial Immortal Cult know the consequences of provoking them, and also to show other people the consequences of joining the Celestial Immortal Cult.

But Zheng Yi has become much smarter recently and knows that Ye Chengping is definitely not that kind-hearted. This move must simply be to kill him to silence him.

Thinking of this, Zheng Yi casually shrugged. "Whether they live or die is none of my business! Anyway, with Prince Yong'an around, it's not my place to worry about it!"

After saying that, he started touching and groping Qiao Zixian in his arms, looking every bit the dissolute playboy.

Qiao Zixian did not move an inch, and no matter how Zheng Yi humiliated her, she did not react at all.

Anyway, she's already slept with Zheng Yi, so why is she being so dramatic now?

However, her beautiful eyes were fixed on Ye Chengping, wanting to see how he would react.

Because she made a bet with Ye Zeyu.

Ye Zeyu said that Ye Chengping would ultimately choose power over her without hesitation, but she firmly believed that Ye Chengping would choose her!

From the moment they met at the city gate, Ye Chengping only glanced at her once.

Ye Chengping showed no unusual emotion in his eyes at Zheng Yi's humiliation of her.

So, does Ye Chengping really not care about her?

What happened to Chengping's deep affection for her that night? Was it all an act?