Impersonating the Emperor? Served with Smelly Socks!

Feng Qinghuang stealthily stalked the figure not far away, circling behind the decorative rockery to steal a few glances, searching for the perfect moment! Her eyes darted around until she happened upon a length of rope nearby. She rejoiced inwardly—truly, the heavens were helping her!

She quietly picked up the rope, but at that moment, footsteps echoed from outside the rockery. It seemed the person was about to leave! Holding her breath and focusing her mind, she lunged out from behind the rocks with the speed of a thunderclap the instant he passed by!

With practiced movements, she bound his hands and dragged him back behind the rockery!

Huangfu Xuan had detected someone approaching long ago. However, sensing no killing intent, he composedly waited to see what the intruder intended, allowing himself to be tied up without resistance. After all, with his profound internal cultivation, he could easily break free whenever he wished!

And so, he was hauled behind the rockery by Feng Qinghuang!

Looking closer, he saw a peerlessly beautiful woman, though her gaze was bashful and her expression somewhat shifty. After dragging him in, she peeked outside as if she had a guilty conscience! Huangfu Xuan found it amusing—was this another young lady of a noble house trying to seduce him?

Feng Qinghuang scanned the area, and once certain no one had seen her kidnap him, she finally relaxed! Only then did she turn to inspect her "spoils of war," but upon looking, her lips couldn't help but twitch! Under the bright moonlight, his features were clear. This man had a pair of golden eyes.

Even bound, his haughty aura remained undiminished. With the grace of a dragon and the posture of a phoenix, he was as handsome as the sun god Apollo!

Though not as bewitchingly beautiful as the man from this morning, he was handsome enough to give anyone a nosebleed!

Seeing the lad's appearance, Feng Qinghuang began to feel a headache coming on. Could he be some prince? What rotten luck—to randomly snatch someone only for them to be a difficult character!

As she sighed inwardly, Huangfu Xuan’s patience finally ran thin!

Today in the palace had been chaotic. First, Princess Dantai Huang of Mobei went missing, and the First Prince of Mobei had come demanding her return. Then, Jun Qinglan’s palace caught fire, and the culprit had to be caught!

Today was his grand enthronement ceremony. The ministers and envoys from various nations were all waiting for him to attend the banquet, yet he had slipped out alone to clear his head and admire the moon!

And now, some woman who didn't know the height of the heavens or the depth of the earth had tied him up and was staring at him in a daze?! Just as he was about to use his internal energy to snap the ropes, he discovered that the more he struggled, the tighter they became! He frowned, looking coldly at the woman before him.

"Woman, release me immediately, and I may yet spare your life!"

"I" (Trẫm)?! Feng Qinghuang sized him up from head to toe. She had met that bewitching Crown Prince today; logically, the Emperor should be the Crown Prince's father. But the man before her was clearly several years younger than that monster. How could a father be younger than his son?

Furthermore, she heard today was the new Emperor's enthronement. Why would a newly crowned Emperor have the leisure to run out here alone to watch the moon?

Therefore, Feng Qinghuang was almost certain this guy was lying! She patted Huangfu Xuan on the shoulder and spoke:

"Alright, alright, stop acting! Impersonating the Emperor is a capital offense! Meeting like this is fate; since you’ve been caught by me, we are now best friends! Just tell me honestly how to get out of the palace, and I won't hurt you!"

As a kidnapper, Feng Qinghuang believed her tone was exceptionally gentle and friendly! If this guy still didn't show respect, she wouldn't be polite!

"Nonsense! I am the sovereign; why would I need to impersonate anyone! You had best release me at once, or I shall summon the Imperial Guards and have your entire clan executed!" His cold voice carried a raging fire. This damned woman—if it weren't for the auspicious day of his enthronement, he would have already had her seized! And best friends? Who was best friends with her?!

Seeing him shout so loudly, Feng Qinghuang’s patience finally snapped! She stared at him for a moment, took a few deep breaths, and calmed herself. Even if this guy was faking being the Emperor, he was likely a prince, probably the younger brother of that bewitching monster! Having already offended a Crown Prince, she shouldn't offend another major figure!

But this guy really didn't know what was good for him! Thus, she swiftly drew a dagger, pressed it against his neck, and barked a warning:

"If you don't push me, we can still be best friends! Tell me how to leave the palace immediately, or else..."

However, her threat didn't scare Huangfu Xuan; instead, it fueled his fury! This woman truly sought death! He roared angrily:

"Release me this instant!"

Seeing that his shouting was about to draw the guards, Feng Qinghuang made a split-second decision. She hurriedly pulled off her shoes and stripped off her socks!

Huangfu Xuan watched her with cold golden eyes. What was this woman doing? Did she think that if he saw her feet, he would be forced to marry her? He let out a cold sneer. In Dongling, seeing a woman's feet was akin to destroying her reputation, usually requiring marriage. But he was Huangfu Xuan; if he didn't want to marry her, she could strip entirely and it would be useless!

Thus, he didn't call for help, merely watching her actions coldly. Just as he was thinking, Feng Qinghuang finished removing a sock and looked at him with a beaming smile: "Are you really the Emperor?"

"Of cou—" Before he could finish his sentence, the moment he opened his mouth, a stinking sock was stuffed right in!

Huangfu Xuan froze, silenced for several seconds before he finally reacted! His eyes widened, feeling his blood boil and his head spin! His golden eyes glared ferociously at the damned woman, the veins on his temples throbbing. He would surely have her sliced into a thousand pieces and ground into dust! "You—"

Seeing that he was still trying to speak despite the muffled sounds, Feng Qinghuang impatiently stripped off her other sock and decisively stuffed it in as well! His mouth was quite large; one sock wasn't enough to fill it, so she might as well use both!

The Emperor, already fuming from the first sock, nearly died of rage on the spot as he watched her shove in the second. If there was one thing Huangfu Xuan regretted most in his life, it was definitely underestimating his enemy, willingly letting himself be tied up, and arrogantly thinking he didn't need to call for help when she took off her socks, only to suffer this monumental humiliation!

With no more socks left, Feng Qinghuang put her shoes back on, gripped her dagger, and looked down at him from above:

"Finally quiet. Good! Now, tell me how to leave the palace, and I'll forgive your previous lack of cooperation! Furthermore, I guarantee that no one will ever know you were stuffed with smelly socks today!"

However, despite her words, the man only glared at her with murderous eyes, showing no intention of giving directions!

Just as Feng Qinghuang was considering a bit of torture, a flurry of footsteps approached, followed by the voices of palace attendants searching for someone:

"Your Majesty!"

"Your Majesty!"

Feng Qinghuang’s heart skipped a beat. Could it be that this man and that bewitching Crown Prince weren't from the same country?

He really was the Emperor? Moreover, the two of them looked nothing alike; they probably weren't related by blood. She suddenly remembered the monster's words: "How can one come to Dongling without leaving a gift..." Thinking of this, she swallowed hard. This... couldn't be?

While she was lost in thought, Huangfu Xuan quickly kicked the rockery, creating a loud thud that naturally attracted the attendants!

Before long, several eunuchs arrived behind the rockery. One look inside, and they were so terrified they were speechless: "Your..." The Emperor was tied up, his mouth stuffed with something! And the kidnapper was holding a dagger!

An inner attendant shrieked in terror: "Audacious! Release His Majesty at once!"

Feng Qinghuang suddenly felt her legs go weak. Offending a Crown Prince was one thing, but offending an Emperor too? The rest of her life would likely be spent on the run!

She quickly lowered her head and said to Huangfu Xuan: "What happened today was actually a misunderstanding. I only wanted to educate you, to tell you that one should never be too self-assured or underestimate their enemy, otherwise, they will suffer. Everything I did today was for your own good, so please, for the love of all that is holy, don't send people to catch me. I'm leaving now! Goodbye—actually, let's never meet again!"

With that, she grabbed her dagger and bolted! She could tell this man's martial arts were superior to hers; the only reason he had been caught was his own carelessness. The Feng family's ancestral binding technique could only be untied, not broken by force—the more one struggled, the tighter it got. So today, consider it a lesson for Huangfu Xuan.

"Guards! Catch the assassin! Catch the assassin!" The eunuchs screamed frantically before rushing forward to untie him.

Huangfu Xuan pulled the smelly socks out of his mouth with one hand and hid them in his sleeve, not letting the eunuchs see what had been in his mouth!

Then, he looked toward the woman who had already fled into the distance and roared: "Where are the Imperial Guards? Where are they all!"

With that roar, the sound of hurried footsteps converged from all directions. The Commander of the Imperial Guards rushed over, breaking into a cold sweat as he knelt: "This servant is here!"

"Seize that woman for me! Dead or alive!" he bellowed, his rage reaching the heavens.

"Understood!"...