"Why are you here?" Bai Yan asked excitedly as she ran to grab his arm when she saw him.

The girl's smile was as bright as the rising sun, and Huo Jin's heart felt as if it had been struck by something, instantly softening beyond belief.

But then he said in a low voice, feigning displeasure, "Still grinning like that? You almost got beaten up just now, you know that?"

She continued to smile at him, her smile incredibly sweet: "I know you called people to protect me."

The maid named Caizhu looked like she was a martial arts expert. She wasn't stupid, so how could she not know?

Huo Jin was momentarily dazzled by her sweet smile and forgot that he was holding Liu Yunrou's whip. Caught off guard, Liu Yunrou pulled the whip out of his hand again.

Liu Yunrou's sharp gaze fell on Huo Jin, and the whip in her hand was also pointed at Huo Jin and Bai Yan. "Why are you protecting her? If you continue to protect her, believe me, I'll deal with you too?"

Bai Yan's smile vanished, and she looked at Liu Yunrou with displeasure—this was Liu Yunrou who had killed Bai Ruifeng.

Huo Jin's gaze was equally cold.

"How dare you! Who do you think you are, to speak such words to our master?" The eunuch following behind Huo Jin raised his pinky finger in anger.

"I don't care who you are! If I don't like you, I'll teach you a lesson!"

Liu Yunrou didn't really understand the rules of the capital, and besides, Gu Cheng'an always spoiled her to no end in the Marquis's mansion. Although she wasn't called the principal wife because of her status, she was much higher in rank than Bai Ruifeng, the principal wife, in the mansion.

"Bai Yan, I will pay with my life!" Liu Yunrou stretched out her long whip and attacked Bai Yan again.

"Xiao Yan!" Bai Ruifeng exclaimed in surprise.

Huo Jin reached out and caught Liu Yunrou's long whip again, but this time he didn't do it to save her. Instead, he used all his strength. Liu Yunrou was a martial artist and was already holding the whip tightly. Now, Huo Jin pulled her up with great force. After rolling on the ground, she couldn't get up for a long time.

Unlike Qian Shi and Bai Chong, who were filled with worry, Bai Ruier was now full of pride.

Although she didn't know exactly what had happened, she knew that Bai Yan was in trouble.

She deserved it for trying to steal her things!

As for Gu Cheng'an, he knew Liu Yunrou's abilities and was determined to teach this second young lady a lesson.

He didn't care about Bai Ruifeng's feelings as a wife, so he cared even less about whether Bai Yan would get hurt.

He glanced at Bai Chong, his tone full of warning: "Lord Bai, since it is the Second Miss's fault, you must not protect her at this time."

Bai Chong cupped his hands in greeting: "Of course, of course."

“That unfilial daughter is unruly and has now committed such a heinous crime. It is only right that Miss Liu disciplines her!”

Bai Ruier also looked out the window, eager to see Bai Yan get beaten, but unexpectedly a man suddenly appeared out of nowhere and caught the whip in Liu Yunrou's hand.

Bai Ruier just frowned.

"Who is that?" Gu Cheng'an asked.

Unable to see their faces clearly from a distance, Bai Chong shook his head, while Madam Qian beside him said, "It should be the ninth uncle of the two sisters, a distant relative."

She glanced at Madam Song again and deliberately complained, "She killed someone and ran back to the mansion. I guess Ninth Uncle knows about it. He came to pick her up today to run away. No wonder he said he wanted to move out!"

"Judging from his status, he seems to be close to the royal family. I wonder if ordinary people can afford to offend him?" Madam Qian glanced meaningfully at Gu Cheng'an.

Gu Cheng'an frowned and sneered. In this capital city, apart from His Majesty, there was no member of the royal family he couldn't afford to offend.

At this moment, Liu Yunrou swung her whip again, but the man pulled her up with one hand and she fell heavily to the ground.

Then the man used the whip to loop around her waist, lifted her high, and slammed her down heavily to the ground.

Just by looking at the dust that flies up, you can tell how much pain it must cause.

Gu Cheng'an's expression changed instantly. He immediately stood up, lifted the hem of his robe, and ran outside.

Upon reaching Liu Yunrou's side, he said, "Arou."

He called her name with heartache, then carefully picked her up from the ground, unable to get up.

"How are you?" He held Liu Yunrou's face.

Bai Ruifeng stood to the side watching the two of them, her eyes lowered, but her hands clenched into tight fists.

Since arriving in the capital, Liu Yunrou has never suffered such a loss.

The man was also a martial arts expert. Now her arm ached, her whole body ached, and she felt as if all her martial arts skills were useless.

Now, she could only collapse helplessly into Gu Cheng'an's arms, her eyes filled with resentment as she pointed at Bai Yan and Huo Jin: "Gu Cheng'an, he bullied me, I want you to kill him!"

Gu Cheng'an then raised his eyes, his icy gaze shooting towards the man protecting the two sisters.

But the moment he looked up, he froze, exclaiming, "Your Majesty... Your Majesty!"

This included Bai Chong and Qian Shi, who had just stepped out of the room. Qian Shi had never met Huo Jin before and hadn't reacted much, but Bai Chong had attended court.

He took a few steps forward and, after seeing the man's face clearly, knelt down with a thud: "I did not know Your Majesty would grace my humble abode with your presence; I deserve ten thousand deaths!"

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty?" Madam Qian was only slightly stunned before she quickly knelt down behind Bai Chong.

Only Bai Ruier, after her gaze had been stunned for a moment, stared blankly at Huo Jin. She wanted to enter the palace only because the imperial concubines were second only to the emperor, but she never imagined that His Majesty would be so handsome, so... truly like a god descended from heaven.

"Your Majesty is so handsome!" Bai Ruier couldn't help but steal a glance.

The servants and masters of the Bai family knelt in a group. Bai Ruifeng was slightly taken aback, and quickly stepped forward to pull her sister up, saying, "Quickly pay your respects to His Majesty!"

Just as the two sisters were about to kneel down, Huo Jin reached out and helped Bai Yan up, saying, "No need for formalities."

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!