Chapter 109: Perplexity

In front of a main hall within the Prince Duan’s residence:

"Your Highness, why haven't they come out yet?" asked Gao Er, anxiously wringing his hands while "lying in ambush" in the darkness alongside Prince Duan, Zhao Ji.

"They should be out soon, shouldn't they? It’s been three hours, and it’s already dark," Zhao Ji replied, wiping cold sweat from his forehead.

Typically, a sparring match with the Princess of Xu would conclude within an hour, followed by the inevitable cleanup of the aftermath. In most cases, those who sparred with the Princess required ten days to half a month of recovery; the most severe case had taken a full three months to recuperate. Consequently, the Prince’s residence had already prepared a "stretcher team," waiting only for Li Sanjian to emerge so they could carry him away.

Having been inside for over three hours, everyone in the residence assumed Li Sanjian must have been ravaged into an unrecognizable state.

"Your Highness, Sanlang... do you think he might be dead?" Gao Er asked again.

"Probably not. But I reckon if he isn't dead, he’ll at least be crippled," Zhao Ji replied.

"What? Crippled if not dead? Your Highness... why don't you lead us to charge in and save him?" With Li Sanjian’s life hanging by a thread, Gao Er could no longer contain his anxiety.

"Wait a little longer, just a little longer," Zhao Ji insisted.

***

Young man and young woman, isolated, scantily clad, and confined to a single room—they were like dry tinder meeting a spark, ready to ignite a raging fire.

Li Sanjian, his eyes bloodshot, was frantically tearing at the remaining garments of the girl beneath him, seemingly possessed, his reason long abandoned.

"No, no, let me go! If you don't stop, I really... I really... Ah?" The Princess’s cheeks were flushed crimson. She pushed desperately against Li Sanjian’s burning chest with both hands, yet for some reason, the Princess—usually formidable and majestic in her martial arts—felt her entire body go limp. Her attempts to push him away looked less like resistance and more like a coy invitation.

Though a member of the royal family, the Princess was, after all, a girl of just fifteen. Where had she ever encountered such a situation? When had she ever been in such intimate contact with a man? Usually, when the Princess struck someone, no one dared to resist like Li Sanjian. Even if they were beaten to death, no one dared treat a Princess of Great Song this way, nor dared to touch a single hair on her head.

The Princess felt a mixture of fear, novelty, and a flicker of curiosity—wondering what exactly Li Sanjian intended to do.

With their