Chapter 45: Oh, the Young Master Lied
"Yeah, kill her!"
"Damn it, how dare she hit me! I’ll tear her limb from limb!"
"This fucking bitch! She’s so vicious. Just watch, I’ll grind her into a pulp."
As they watched the squad of soldiers approach Xiao Li, smug, wild grins spread across their faces. ’She dared to hit us? We’ll make sure she dies without a proper burial!’
But in the next moment, the squad leader’s reaction made their eyes widen in shock.
The leader stood before the fierce woman, but instead of attacking, he bowed deeply. "Greetings, Princess Xuanyang!"
The three men couldn’t believe it. ’What did that soldier just call her? A princess? Princess Xuanyang?’
’This woman is a princess?!’
The three men, who had just been screaming for her death, felt their blood run cold. A chill crept up their spines.
Their bodies ached, and they were filled with indignation. ’A princess can’t just beat us for no reason! But... she *is* a princess...’
In that instant, all their rage and murderous intent vanished, replaced by sheer panic and terror. ’It’s over...’
Xiao Li shoved the blood-stained club into the squad leader’s arms. "These four pieces of scum were harassing an innocent woman. I couldn’t stand it, so I taught them a lesson. Take them to the Ministry of Justice and lock them up. Don’t release them without a direct order from His Majesty. If their families have a problem with it, they can come find me at the Princess Mansion."
The squad leader clutched the club, his heart skipping a beat. ’The Princess is truly ruthless,’ he thought, looking at the blood covering the wood.
Then again, those men were no-good characters to begin with. They were idle thugs who bullied men and preyed on women, using their aristocratic backgrounds to get away with all sorts of evil deeds. They’d had a beating coming for a long time.
"As you command."
Seeing they were about to be arrested for real, the three men snapped back to their senses. The one who had been bragging about his uncle being the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Criminal Justice dropped to his knees with a THUD. Tears and snot streamed down his face. "Princess, have mercy! Princess, spare our lives! I was blind not to recognize Your Highness and have offended you! I beg for your forgiveness! We’ll never do it again!"
The other two were still indignant, feeling wronged to have been beaten for no reason. But the thought that their opponent was not only a princess but a vicious one at that stopped them from daring to argue back.
"Please forgive us, Princess! We’ll never do it again!"
As if Xiao Li would ever spare them.
"Aren’t you going to take them away?"
After the three men, along with the unconscious one on the ground, were dragged away, Xiao Li finally had time to deal with Feng Yin.
"Now then, young man, what were you about to say?" she asked, her expression all smiles, friendly and kind. Not a trace of her earlier ferocity remained.
But the blood on the ground was still bright red.
Feng Yin’s eyes held a mixture of confusion and fear. "Princess, why did you appear here? And why did you attack them?"
Xiao Li drew closer. "You’re a smart young man. I thought you would have understood."
Feng Yin was silent for a moment, then cupped his hands in a salute. "Thank you for your help, Princess."
Xiao Li raised her hand, fighting the urge to pinch his cheek. His face was so exquisitely carved, so perfectly beautiful, that it made her fingers itch with the desire to feel what his skin was like.
In the end, however, she only patted his shoulder. Her brilliant eyes, now softened, held a teasing light. "A boy needs to know how to protect himself when he’s out and about, you know."
A flicker of heat stirred within the complex depths of Feng Yin’s clear, bright eyes. He explained, "I don’t know them well. They’re friends of my brother-in-law. I would never do anything wicked."
At his words, Xiao Li suddenly chuckled. A mischievous, wicked smile played on her lips as she leaned in close, speaking in a voice only the two of them could hear. "Oh, but you’re lying, young man. You saw those things of mine, didn’t you? Do you know what they’re for?"
"Someone as clever as you can surely guess. So why didn’t you report me?"
"Harboring a criminal makes you just as guilty as them. You’re my accomplice now, you see..."
Her smile was radiant, alluringly bright, yet it concealed a deep-seated wickedness. She was like a demon luring a soul astray, as if invisible chains were reaching out to bind his lost, innocent heart.
A rich fragrance wafted from her as her lips moved...
THUMP! THUMP!
A strange, deafening tremor.
"Mr. Feng! Mr. Feng!"
"Sob... what do I do? Mr. Dong and the others were all arrested! What am I going to do? Mr. Feng, please help me! Sob, sob..."
A tug on his sleeve snapped Feng Yin out of his daze. He realized the Princess was already far away, and he was still just standing there.
He yanked his sleeve back and took two steps away from her, his expression cold. "Miss, please conduct yourself with dignity."
Without a second glance at her tear-streaked, miserable face, he strode away.
He had been unable to break free when those four men had cornered him, but that didn’t mean he was a fool.
----
In two days, it would be the Mid-Autumn Festival, which was also the Empress Dowager’s birthday.
Prince Wei had returned just yesterday from a trip, under the Emperor’s orders, to retrieve a birthday gift for the Empress Dowager. Today, he had come running to find Xiao Li.
Xiao Li didn’t care what he had been doing, nor did it matter to her whether he came to visit. But Xiao Jingyi’s enthusiasm for her was undiminished, and he had insisted on taking her out.
She never expected that they would run into this kind of trouble after being out for only a short while.
Xiao Jingyi had also watched the men get dragged away. The sight of all that blood on their heads was terrifying.
"Imperial Sister, your health is poor. Why did you have to get involved yourself?"
To be honest, he’d been startled too. He thought his Imperial Sister was only good at scolding people, but he never expected she could be so vicious when she fought. She had clearly been aiming to kill.
Those men were all spoiled brats from minor aristocratic families. Even he wouldn’t have dared to beat them so brutally. His Imperial Sister was truly brave beyond compare.
Xiao Li just smiled. "I’ve been cooped up at home for too long. It was a good chance to stretch my legs."
Xiao Jingyi was speechless.
A thousand thoughts rushed through his mind, but they all boiled down to one: ’My sister is on another level.’
"Those four are from mid-tier aristocratic families. Individually, they’re nothing, but you took on four at once, Imperial Sister. Even our Brother, the Emperor, will find it hard to completely shield you."
Xiao Li scoffed. "Who needs his protection?"
She snapped her folding fan shut. "Didn’t you say you were treating me to some fine food? Let’s get going."
Xiao Jingyi stared at Xiao Li’s departing figure—her posture ramrod straight, her gait confident and composed. He had almost forgotten what she used to be like, but he was certain it was nothing like this brazen, unrestrained woman.
"Coming!"
Xiao Li was no naive, innocent girl. She didn’t yearn for the supposed simplicity of this ancient era. But Xiao Jingyi’s invitation had been so sincere that she’d felt indifferent and decided to come out anyway.
Once on the street, seeing the bustling marketplace and feeling a different kind of wind on her face, she suddenly thought that perhaps it was good to get out for a walk after all.
Although she hadn’t fallen into complete despair over her inability to break free from her situation, the fact that she had been so enraged she’d vomited blood meant it was impossible for her to be completely unaffected.
Especially over the past two days, having found no way to break the stalemate, her heart had grown so quiet it felt almost desolate.
She didn’t want to be controlled by such emotions, but the time she’d spent in Princess Xuanyang’s body had ultimately given rise to her own inner demons.
It was a suffocating, unsolvable feeling.
However, most of that suffocating misery vanished the moment she saw Feng Yin. And after beating those men to a pulp, her mood had become thoroughly pleasant.
’It’s true what they say,’ she mused. ’Misery needs to be redirected. Once you pass on the pain, happiness naturally follows.’
Xiao Li’s good mood lasted right up until she was summoned to the palace by the Emperor.
Xiao Jingyi was a loyal brother. Even knowing he was walking into a scolding, he was willing to go with her.
Xiao Li gave him a meaningful look. "Not bad. You’re a proper younger brother."