"Does it still hurt, Brother Hong?" Zhou Yiwen carefully removed the flying dagger stuck in Nangong Hong's small foot, then washed it clean with clear water, applied anti-inflammatory and hemostatic medicine, and wrapped a layer of gauze around it.

  "It doesn't hurt anymore." Nangong Hong comforted, but in fact it still hurt a lot. Although the gauze was wrapped around it, he could still feel the burning pain coming from his calf.

  "Hong Gege, what's going on tonight? How did you end up in Ganquan Palace? Do you know Yan Xijun?" Zhou Yihuan asked casually, but she was actually very curious to know how he knew Yan Xijun, because she had a crush on him.

  Nangong Hong exclaimed in surprise: "Huh, how did you know I was at Ganquan Palace? Didn't we meet in the forest?"

  Zhou Yi secretly regretted losing her temper and wished she hadn't said those things. Now, how was she going to cover up this lie?

  Miss Mo Li saw her distress and explained from the side: "Young Master Nan Gong, didn't you just come from that direction?"

  "Oh, I see! Actually, I came here tonight to repay a favor!"

  "Return kindness? Return whose kindness?"

  "Yan Xijun!"

  "Zhou Yi was shocked and asked: "What's going on? How did you know her? And how did you owe her a favor?"

  Nangong Hong slowly recalled, "Do you still remember the first few days you entered the palace? That night, I snuck into the palace to assassinate that dog emperor. Unexpectedly, that dog emperor had already taken precautions and arranged many hidden guards in secret. That night, my arm was also injured by his flying knife. My martial arts skills were no match for theirs, so I escaped. While escaping, I unintentionally broke into the Chuxiu Palace and even entered Jun'er's room."

  "At that time, I was forced to threaten her and ask her to show me the way. Later, the imperial guards also came to search for me, but with her help, I managed to escape. If it weren't for her, I'm afraid I would have been killed by Chu Yixuan long ago."

  "It turns out that the assassin who hid last time was real, I didn't expect that the assassin was actually you." Zhou Yihuan heard Nan Gonghong's words and suddenly understood everything. Yan Xikun had indeed seen Brother Hong before, no wonder Jia Lifen said she saw the assassin running into Yan Xikun's house.

  Zhou Yi Huan couldn't help but admire, Yan Xi Jun was indeed calm and composed at that time, telling lies without being nervous at all. Not only did she deceive many Shu girls, but even the emperor was deceived.

  "Yes, at that time I didn't think you would enter the palace either." Nangong Hong looked at Zhou Yihuan and said, "Huan'er is Zhou Bo's only daughter, how could he bear to let his daughter become a concubine in the palace?"

  Zhou Yi let out a sigh and said in a low voice: "I will enter the palace because of you."

  "What's the meaning of this?"

  "Hong Gege, you said two years ago why did you want to leave Zhou Fu? And also didn't come back, it's been two whole years."

  "Uh... that is...", Nan Gong Hong stuttered, unable to speak coherently. It was because of that matter two years ago. Old Man Zhou had said he wanted to give his only daughter to him as a wife, and at the time, he was shocked into silence, refusing outright without another word, no matter how they tried to persuade him. In the end, with no other choice, he chose to run away.

  "That year, you refused to marry me, and later many people came to propose, but Father didn't agree. He only appreciated you and liked you, his eyes were all on you, even I, his own daughter, wasn't in his heart. His heart was filled with the Southern Palace family, I really don't understand why he did this, is it just repaying kindness?"

  "I'm sorry, Huan'er, I've wronged you, and also wronged Uncle Zhou, even more so the entire Zhou family!"

  "You don't have to say sorry, I know you had a lot of difficulties, but why didn't you tell us when you left that year? Even if you hid it from me and didn't let me know, you should have at least told Father."

  "Father, for the sake of your South Palace family, he has put in so much effort. You said you wanted to learn martial arts, and without hesitation, he arranged for someone to send you into the Xuanwu Gate. He fully supported you, making you the new master of the Xuanwu Gate. You said you wanted revenge, and similarly, he helped you recruit soldiers and raise funds. To ensure your revenge went smoothly, he even sent me into the palace, just so that in the future, I could be your inside helper."

  "I know that Uncle Zhou has made great sacrifices for our Nan Gong family, and I also know that my ignorant behavior last time hurt you. For this, I can only apologize to you and say sorry. In the future, after I have avenged my grievances, I will definitely be filial to him and treat him as if he were my own father."

  "Why wait until later, Brother Hong? Take me out of the palace now, and as long as you marry me, Father will naturally have nothing to say. This is also a way of being filial to Father." Zhou Yihuan said eagerly, she had always liked him and often fantasized about becoming his wife. Two years ago, when he rejected her proposal, although she was heartbroken for a while, she later came to understand that there would be plenty of time and opportunities in the future to wait for him to discover her goodness.

  This time, after being forced into the palace by her father, she had already given up hope, thinking that she would never see Brother Hong again, and that she would die in this filthy harem. Unexpectedly, heaven opened its eyes and allowed her to run into him in the palace.

  Since it's hard to come by, she would strive to seize the opportunity, no matter how slim the hope was. She wanted Brother Hong to take her out of the palace and then marry her.

  "Huan'er, don't you understand yet? Two years ago I made it very clear that we grew up together since childhood, and my feelings for you are only fraternal, without any romantic love. I hope you can wake up." Nangong Hong said helplessly, why was Huan'er so infatuated with him, what did she see in him, and why was she so stubborn?

  Zhou Yi Huan was completely struck, her face filled with incredulity, but she still didn't give up, her voice trembling as she asked: "Huang Gege, don't you really have any affectionate feelings for me at all?"

  "Huan'er, I'm sorry! If you want to leave the palace, I can help you escape, but after leaving the palace, if you want me to marry you, it's probably... impossible!" Nan Gong Hong said resolutely, wanting to thoroughly dispel her notions, because he really didn't want to get entangled in any emotional affairs with her. At this moment, another stunning face flashed before his eyes, a gentle smile deeply etched in his heart.

  "Hehe," Zhou Yi welcomed with a silly smile, "Very good, Father doesn't abandon me, you disdain me, why should I leave the palace?"

  "It's a glorious thing to be the emperor's woman in this imperial palace, all women under heaven want to marry the emperor and take pride in marrying His Majesty. Although I'm just a small Baolin now, who knows when the emperor will promote me to Zhaoyi or Guifei, and maybe one day I'll win the emperor's favor and he'll make me the empress."

  She suddenly pulled out a small knife from her bosom, rolled up her sleeves, and made a ruthless slash downwards. The tip of the knife was immediately stained with a lot of fresh blood.

  Zhou Yi Huan raised her bloody knife, looking at Nan Gong Hong and said: "Nan Gong Hong, I swear to you tonight, Zhou Yi Huan will definitely become the Empress of Mother's Heaven in the future. One day you will regret it!"