Where is the young master?

When training Huan'er, the reward is various kinds of chicken and rabbit meat, and the punishment is this dragon bone whip.

Pei Yu received personal instruction in torture from his mother, "The Fair-Handed Yama," Madam Pei. Her "whip-tip strength" could strike without breaking the skin, yet shatter the internal organs.

She certainly wouldn't treat Huan'er like that, but she could still whip her skin without causing any damage, while inflicting excruciating pain.

Therefore, Huan'er was extremely afraid of this dragon bone whip. As soon as the whip was revealed, it immediately knew that it did not meet its master's expectations.

Pei Yu's blow didn't land on it, but the white tiger Huan'er panicked and immediately leaped into the air with all four paws, charging fiercely towards the bronze ring.

Thanks to its well-practiced training, it easily leaped over the copper ring and landed with a light and agile movement.

Thunderous cheers erupted once again from the guests' seats.

Pei Yu also looked pleased with himself and bowed to the crowd.

At that moment, something unexpected happened.

After passing through the copper ring, the white tiger, which was lying prostrate on the ground, did not return to Pei Yu's side as usual.

This is also because Pei Yu was busy greeting the guests at the banquet and neglected its reaction.

It stood up, shook off its snow-white fur that was splattered like ink, and suddenly opened its blood-red maw, letting out a long, painful howl.

Of all those present, only A-Qiu kept a close eye on his condition, because she was the only one who knew that something was bound to happen to Baihu tonight; it was just a matter of when.

At this moment, the white tiger's head is directly facing the dragon throne of Emperor Xie Lang.

To the right of the White Tiger was Xie Tiao, the Crown Prince.

Consort Chen and Zhao Lingying, who were standing to Xie Lang's left and right, showed signs of concern.

A Qiu tried to remain calm and pretended to accidentally knock over a wine cup on the table. She quickly got up, pretending to go to the back hall to change her clothes, and slowly walked around to Xie Tiao.

She had seen it clearly when the white tiger turned its head and neck. Its bright green beast eyes were now shrouded in a layer of blood mist.

Those are signs of the "Burning Sutra Powder" accelerating and spreading with the flow of Qi and blood after it has been running and leaping at full speed.

The White Tiger is about to go berserk, and the Emperor and Crown Prince will be the first to suffer.

Before anyone could react, the long roar ended, and the white tiger leaped into the air with its four paws, pouncing directly towards the throne.

Consort Chen's Xiuyi sword instantly lit up, like a trace of autumn water, and swept past the emperor with unparalleled speed.

Zhao Lingying moved swiftly, and two beams of cold light shot out from her left and right sleeves.

Seeing that Xie Lang was protected by people on both sides and unable to attack or hurt him, the white tiger roared and turned back.

It circled to the right, heading straight for the seat of Crown Prince Xie Tiao in the Eastern Palace.

Everyone around paled, as there was no time to save him, and Xie Tiao himself did not know martial arts.

On the dragon throne, Xie Lang's eyes were bloodshot as he roared, "Crown Prince!"

A Qiu dawdled along the way, and now he was just a few steps away from Xie Tiao.

She saw it clearly: Baihu rushed to the emperor's front, was forced back by Consort Li's sword, and dodged a judge's pen that Zhao Lingying shot out from her left sleeve, but did not dodge the one on the right.

The judge's pen, forged from fine steel and adorned with exquisite patterns, was now inserted into its massive body.

Just as the white tiger charged toward the East Palace seat, A Qiu exhaled deeply, lifted the hem of her dance dress, and staggered as she pounced toward the white tiger.

To onlookers, her aim was excellent; she caught the exposed part of the judge's pen in one swift motion.

The white tiger, in pain and fright, roared furiously, sending A Qiu flying and stumbling towards Xie Tiao's seat.

Exclamations erupted again from the crowd. No one had expected that this dancing girl would be so fearless, rushing forward to entangle with the tiger. Meanwhile, Shangguan Yuqi, the strategist, had already pushed aside the table in front of her, drawn her sword, and stood up, ready to rescue her.

It appeared that the white tiger was dragging A Qiu along, but in reality, A Qiu was using himself as a shield to avoid the sight of others. Then, A Qiu secretly exerted force in his hand, twisting and turning, directly pushing Zhao Lingying's judge's pen further towards the white tiger's heart. The pen was almost completely submerged in the tiger's belly.

Moreover, her technique was swift and fierce, almost crushing his internal organs in an instant, yet it was difficult for anyone to detect.

Even if an expert examines the tiger's injuries afterward, she can claim that the tiger's own weight pressed on the judge's pen, and that the dragging and running of the tiger exacerbated the injuries.

Just as she was hiding beside the tiger and secretly using her skills, two points of green light attacked, but they were aimed at the white tiger's head and eyes.

A flash of blue light disappeared in an instant. The white tiger let out a deafening howl, dragging her a few more steps forward before its massive body crashed to the ground.

A young man dressed in the color of an eunuch's robe flashed in, half-supporting the white tiger's corpse. With a grim face, he pulled A Qiu, whose hair was disheveled and whose expression was panicked, out from under the white tiger. He saw that half of her snow-white dance dress was already stained with blood.

This man was Xiao Chang'an, a disciple of An Daoling, who was the xiao (vertical flute) musician who provided the music for "White Silk." Although the musicians had finished their performance and left, Xiao Chang'an, as an eunuch, remained in the palace to serve.

The reason he was the fastest among the experts present to arrive at the rescue was not because he was paying attention to Baihu, but because he had been keeping an eye on A Qiu's movements.

The pounce and the block happened in the blink of an eye. Donggong Xie Tiao was stunned. When he came to his senses, he got up and went over to help A Qiu up himself.

A Qiu looked frightened and flustered, and said in a trembling voice, "Thank you, Eunuch Xiao, thank you, Your Highness."

Xie Tiao, still shaken, whispered, "Why do you need to thank me? I should be the one thanking you." Although A Qiu had already staggered to his feet, perhaps because of his shock, he still held onto A Qiu's sleeve tightly.

Xiao Chang'an's face was ashen as he struck Xie Tiao's hand heavily with his purple bamboo flute.

Although this strike did not use internal force, it was still quite powerful. Xie Tiao groaned in pain and hurriedly let go.

Xiao Chang'an bowed slightly to the Emperor and said in a deep voice, "Xiao Chang'an, a disciple of the Hidden World Sect of Dayuan Mountain, is here on the orders of my master, Li Wujiu, to pay my respects to Your Majesty!"

Ah Qiu suddenly realized. No wonder he didn't seem like a eunuch at all, and from the beginning he didn't admit to being An Daoling's disciple, only saying that he was temporarily following him to learn music.

It turns out he was a top disciple of the Hidden World Sect, and he was using An Daoling's influence to become his disciple, temporarily hiding in the palace.

Emperor Xie Lang was filled with shock and anger. The Crown Prince was the heir apparent, and if anything happened to him, it would be a serious matter! There were many experts present, but Consort Chen and Zhao Ling were focused on protecting the Emperor at the time, and Shangguan Yuqi, Madam Pei, and others were too far from their seats in the Eastern Palace to be able to help in time.

Unexpectedly, the ones who rushed to save the prince were a defenseless white-robed dancer and a disciple of a martial arts sect.

Seeing that the Crown Prince was unharmed, Xie Lang's face darkened, his anger raging. He shouted, "Why aren't you here? Drag this beast out!"

No matter how calm Pei Yu was, he was caught off guard by this series of shocking events.

By this point, she knew she had committed a terrible crime.

She knelt upright in the hall, without uttering a word, and kowtowed to the ground.

She had let a tiger into the palace, injuring the Crown Prince and the Emperor. The crime was clear and undeniable, exposed to all, leaving no room for excuses. She accepted her defeat and decided to cease her defense, kneeling to await the Emperor's judgment.

Madam Pei, Mu Huaying, also pushed aside the table in front of her and stood up. She reached out and pulled out the most elaborate and gorgeous cloud and emerald brocade hairpin from her hair and gently placed it on the table.

That cloud-emerald brocade hairpin was a gift bestowed upon noblewomen by the palace, and in this dynasty, it was the highest-ranking hairpin among the noblewomen.

Lady Pei removed her hairpins, leaving her hair completely unadorned. Only then did everyone realize that among the group of jeweled and dazzling noblewomen, she, the foremost noblewoman of the outer court, was actually remarkably plain tonight.

But only Pei Yu understood that this was because he had seriously injured the Grand Commander Sikong Zhao first, and then his father Pei Yuanli had been placed under house arrest in the palace.

Tonight, Mother came to apologize.

Madam Pei walked step by step into the hall, knelt down beside her daughter, kowtowed, and spoke in a clear, calm voice as always.

“Pei Yu has committed a grave error. As her mother, I have failed in my duty of proper upbringing. I request that you accompany me to the imperial prison.”

Xie Lang stood on the dragon throne, pointing at Pei Yu with his finger, so enraged that he couldn't utter a complete sentence.

Pei Yu's act of releasing a tiger nearly injured the emperor and the crown prince, almost completely ruining what was to be the first grand banquet of song and dance since the founding of the dynasty. Even if the crown prince was unharmed, the death of the white tiger before the emperor had turned the banquet into a slaughterhouse, and the auspicious omen into a harbinger of doom. Moreover, there were envoys from the Shuofang army present, coldly observing the internal strife within the Southern Dynasty.

Even though he knew perfectly well that Pei Yu could not possibly have done it on purpose, the damage was done, and the resentment was hard to undo.

Pei Yu had to go to the Imperial Prison to visit the birthplace of her mother, "The Slender-Handed Yama" Mu Huaying.

The fact that Mu Huaying, the former highest judicial official of Dayan, is now to be imprisoned in the imperial prison under his jurisdiction along with his daughter is truly ironic. It is also a laughing stock.

A Qiu imagined his master standing atop the Jinshui Tower, looking down at the heavily armored soldiers escorting the caged carts into the city gate, casually shooting a silver needle as thin as a hair from his fingertip.

One move can affect the whole situation; one move can throw the whole game into chaos. No one can surpass the master in this respect.

Even Madam Pei, the top expert in criminal investigation, was easily and unwittingly trapped in a predicament by him.

This is not just Mu Huaying's problem.

Even the usually gentle and quiet Consort Li Chen felt a headache coming on. Her delicate, arched eyebrows furrowed as she looked at the empty seat at the head of the table and asked, "Where is the Young Master?"

The Mid-Autumn Festival night on the tenth anniversary of the founding of the Dayan Kingdom.

Tonight, at this hour, all people under heaven celebrate together. The palaces are brightly lit, the high buildings are brightly lit, and the sounds of string and wind instruments can be heard faintly from outside the palace walls. The palaces on earth are like a fairyland.

At this moment, there was only one place in the palace that was cold, desolate, and chilling, completely incompatible with the atmosphere.

That is the Star Abyss Pavilion.

Pei Yuanli stood by the window in the building, gazing at the magnificent fireworks rising continuously in the sky above the palace. The colorful fireworks bloomed across the night sky, only to fade away in an instant—a truly wondrous sight.

About three zhang away from him stood a young master with an imposing presence. His eyes were bright and piercing, and he had a golden whip called "Ce Lin" at his waist and a famous sword called "Bai Zhan" on his back.

He was none other than Lie Changkong, the chief junior master charioteer under Gu Yi, also known as the "Heavenly Authority Charioteer".

On the carved large table between the two, a pot of tea had gone cold.

Pei Yuanli gazed at the night sky and said leisurely, "The Junior Tutor invited me for tea, and the tea has been sitting for a day and a night, but I still haven't seen the Junior Tutor."

He was truly patient; for a whole day and night, no one brought him food or drink, yet he remained completely unmoved.

However, Lie Changkong, who was accompanying him, also did not eat a single grain of rice. Because the house arrest of Pei Yuanli was so sudden, apart from Consort Chen and a few others, there was simply no time to prepare food and drink for the servants.

Fortunately, both of them were martial artists and didn't really care about this.