Chapter 2: Codename 47! (1)

**Frozen Grand Hall, the Crown Princess Forced to Submit! (1)**

Midnight.

The night was thick as ink, the red moon like blood.

Inside the Li Kingdom's imperial palace, usually deathly silent at this hour, the sound of horses' hooves and whistles now thundered, flames soaring into the sky.

Gleaming blades were stained with blinding crimson; waving torches reflected pairs of eyes boiling with murderous intent.

Young palace maids, their lapels torn until they could barely cover their bodies, screamed and ran, desperate to escape their doom.

But their terrified, faltering steps could never outrun those towering warhorses.

The entire palace had become an Asura field of fire and blood; they were merely meat on a chopping block—where could they possibly run?

Soldiers laughed wildly as they cornered the women in dead ends, pinning them to the ground amidst the dense stench of blood.

The Emperor of Chu had decreed: tonight, military discipline was suspended. Everyone could enjoy the victory to their heart's content. And right now, they were enjoying their victory.

Deep within the palace, inside the Crown Prince's bedchamber, Chonghua Palace, surrounded by layers of heavy troops so tight not even water could trickle through.

Lin Ying, the Crown Princess of Li, her silk robes stained with blood yet still possessing a peerless bearing, pressed her cherry lips tightly together and dropped to her knees before the man in black armor seated upon the ebony dragon throne.

The lustrous white jade pendant at her waist struck the cold bluestone floor, emitting a brief, crisp sound—shattering into pieces, much like her pride.

"Please... let her go!"

The "her" Lin Ying spoke of was merely a girl of nine, not yet ten. Right now, her slender neck was clamped in the black-armored man's large hand; her little face flushed a bruised purple-red, her breathing faint, hanging by a thread.

The man in black armor—handsome features, lips red as blood, a heavy, savage aura between his brows—was none other than Chu Yang, the Emperor of Chu, who had personally led the campaign.

"Du Gu Chonghua went ten years without taking a single consort or concubine. One would think the Crown Princess's... bedroom skills are quite remarkable!" Chu Yang's face was calm as an ancient well, only the corner of his mouth curling into a cold, sinister sneer.

The Crown Princess Lin Ying's frail body beneath her snow-colored gauze skirt trembled uncontrollably. She slowly lifted her gaze, glancing at the little girl turning purple in Chu Yang's chokehold, and bit down hard on her cherry lip.

Though her legs were weak, she forced herself to stand straight. She curved her arms, her slender fingers gripping the blazing red sash at her chest, pulling it slowly—a motion that carried a grim determination.