In a dimly lit, cramped room, several terrified women huddled together. Beside them, a young girl lay on her back, her clothes disheveled.

This young girl was none other than Zheng Huiyi, whom the Prince Duan's mansion had been searching for in vain.

The door creaked open, and the conscious women recoiled in fright, desperately shoving their companions forward. The woman pushed aside, tears streaming down her face, tried to crawl back, only to be relentlessly pushed forward by the others.

The door creaked open, and several burly men with menacing faces rushed in first, followed by a middle-aged woman dressed in bright colors, heavily made up, and wearing a large red flower in her hair.

The woman entered the room, glanced at Zheng Huiyi on the ground, frowned slightly, and said disdainfully, "Splash her awake!"

"Whoosh—"

A bucket of cold water was poured over his head.

Zheng Huiyi shivered violently, snapping back to reality. Wiping the water droplets from her face, she cursed angrily, "You bastards! How dare you pour water on me! I'll skin you alive!"

Before she could finish speaking, a resounding slap landed across her face. Immediately afterward, a burly man grabbed her collar and lifted her high into the air.

Zheng Huiyi then opened her eyes and saw her surroundings clearly.

Memories flooded her mind like a tidal wave, and she recalled the terrifying experience of the previous night.

Last night, she escaped from the secret passage of Prince Duan's mansion. Standing at the corner of the wall, she hesitated and finally decided to seek refuge with her maternal grandfather.

Princess Duan's hometown is located in Lu'an, which is not far from the capital of Jin. It only takes three days to reach it by carriage.

As night fell and the city gates closed, she decided to find an inn to rest. However, on her way, a drunkard accidentally bumped into her. Enraged, she couldn't help but scold him, but the drunkard not only showed no remorse but also hurled insults and even tried to assault her.

Zheng Huiyi had grown up in the Duan Prince's mansion, where the mansion held a prestigious position in the capital. Therefore, she had never experienced fear and always believed that no matter what mistakes she made, someone would always clean up her messes. Thus, she didn't hesitate to argue with the drunkard on the street.

Unexpectedly, the drunkard, unable to win the argument, called for help.

Seeing that things were not going well, Zheng Huiyi quickly slipped into a dark alley, intending to escape, but she lost her way in the alley.

The alley was pitch black, and she was terrified. Just then, a carriage with lanterns slowly drove into the alley. She hurriedly went forward to ask for directions. After asking a few questions, the person in the carriage asked her to wait a moment and offered to give her a ride.

She was already dizzy with hunger and nearly exhausted after the ordeal. Hearing that the other party was willing to give her a ride, she immediately agreed and promised generous payment. The other party was also very hospitable and invited her onto the carriage.

However, shortly after getting into the car, Zheng Huiyi felt dizzy and then lost consciousness.

When she opened her eyes again, Zheng Huiyi immediately realized that she had fallen into a trap set by a flower seller.

She wasn't too panicked, after all, she was the daughter of the Prince Duan's mansion, the most noble woman in the capital city!

"Hey, do you know who I am? If you don't want to die, let me go right now, or I'll make you wish you were dead!"

Zheng Huiyi arrogantly raised her chin, her eyes revealing disdain, as if she already regarded the other person as dead.

However, the next moment, a loud slap landed on her face, making her dizzy and disoriented.

The female bandit wearing a big red flower sneered repeatedly: "I'd like to see who dares to make me regret this! This mouth of hers is so annoyingly noisy. Men, give her a good slap until she learns to shut up."

Before she could finish speaking, a burly man stepped forward, raised his hand, and slapped Zheng Huiyi hard across the face.

Zheng Huiyi was spoiled at home and could be arrogant outside because of the reputation of the Duan Prince's Mansion. But when faced with these female bandits who did not take her seriously, she suddenly felt unprecedented fear, and her arrogance and fearlessness collapsed instantly.

After being slapped twice, she was in tears and dared not be disrespectful again.

The woman gave a disdainful sneer: "I thought you were so tough, but it turns out you're nothing special. You're laughable."

However, she let her go for the time being.

The woman snorted coldly, turned her head, and swept her sharp gaze over the other panicked girls. Then she pointed at one of them and said, "Take her away, and keep the rest locked up."

The chosen girl hurriedly knelt down and begged for mercy: "Mother Luo, please let me go! I don't want to be a prostitute. I am a woman from a respectable family. If you can free me from this fate, I am willing to be your slave for the rest of my life to repay your great kindness."

Mrs. Luo covered her mouth and chuckled, "Look at this girl, she has such a sweet tongue."

She bent down and gently pinched the girl's cheek: "How could I bear to let such a beautiful and charming girl become a beast of burden? Listen to your mother, and I promise you will enjoy wealth and luxury. If you don't know what's good for you, I'll get angry."

The girl turned deathly pale with fright and kowtowed repeatedly, her voice pounding: "Mother Luo, please have mercy! I don't want to entertain guests, I want to go home, please have mercy..."

The smile on Mrs. Luo's face vanished instantly, and she snorted coldly, "What I hate most is ungrateful people. I was originally hoping to find you a good customer so you could get a good price. Since you don't know what's good for you, then I don't need to be polite to you. Liu San!"

A man with a ferocious face and lewd gleam in his eyes stepped forward. "Mother Luo."

Mrs. Luo pointed at the girl: "She is yours to be given to you. Train her well, but don't kill her."

Liu San immediately beamed with joy: "Thank you for the gift, Mother."

The other burly men also laughed and moved closer to the girl.

The girl was terrified and begged for mercy desperately, but who could show her any mercy?

Faced with an inescapable and tragic fate, the girl gritted her teeth and slammed herself against the wall with all her might.

A deafening, muffled sound echoed in the room.

The girl's head was bleeding profusely, and her body collapsed weakly to the ground.

Liu San hurriedly stepped forward to check the girl's breath, and curled his lip in contempt: "Mom, she's dead."

Mrs. Luo snorted in dissatisfaction, "What utterly bad luck! Just drag him to the mass grave and feed him to the dogs. Let's find a different target."

As soon as she finished speaking, Luo's mother's gaze fell on the girls again, including Zheng Huiyi.

Zheng Huiyi was already terrified; she had never experienced such a thrilling scene before.

In that world built on prosperity and power, the Prince Duan's mansion was like an unbreakable barrier, providing her with supreme protection and solid support. In the dazzling city of Jindu, although she could not do whatever she wanted, every noble who met her treated her with great courtesy, and no one failed to give her the respect and face she deserved.

She had always believed that her life would continue in glory until her peaceful death. However, life is unpredictable, and who could have foreseen that she would encounter such hardship?