Chapter 179: That Corpse is a Real Fraud
Su Ziqi.
Xiao Li remembered him. His calligraphy, as smooth and gentle as jade, was beautiful, and his answers to the questions were also quite unique.
It lacked the lofty, ostentatious flair of a noble family’s son, nor was it filled with the bitter resentment common among children from poor families. Instead, it was tranquil—a kind of detached perspective that seemed dispassionate but was, in reality, fair and transparent.
Su Ziqi was afraid of angering Xiao Li, and the others grew anxious as well, starting to fear for their lives.
Xiao Li handed the dagger to Lan Yue and took a handkerchief to wipe her hands.
"This Princess has no intention of choosing a Prince Consort. I selected you because I admire your talent. Sit down."
Su Ziqi nervously returned to his seat. Tang Shuyu and Lin Yici exchanged a look, their hearts pounding.
Xiao Li walked to her own seat and sat down. She ordered the music to play, the dishes to be served, and the wine to be poured.
Yang Jun came in. "Princess, Liu Yan has been found. He was drugged and thrown behind some bushes. I’ve already sent someone to fetch a physician, but from the looks of it, he won’t be able to join us for now."
Xiao Li said, "Get him treated. We’ll discuss everything else after he has recovered."
Another guard entered. "Princess, a white-haired, masked person appeared and abducted the man surnamed Lu."
Yang Jun suddenly realized what that strange feeling he’d had about Lu Ling was. "He’s the one who was controlling the Corpse Puppets on the mountain!"
Xiao Li’s expression was calm, showing no hint of surprise.
The white-haired person had given her a very strange feeling. She’d felt it from the very first glance.
She had a faint suspicion before, but Lu Ling’s appearance made that lingering hope in her heart die completely.
’People joke about their exes rising from the dead, but my ex-husband? He’s a corpse, and he literally rose!’
’As expected, my decision to dig up his grave at the Lu family estate was the right one. I should have dug him up, ground his bones to dust, and scattered the ashes to prevent any future trouble.’
’But it’s not a big problem now either. If he’s alive, I can kill him. If he’s dead, I can make him disappear.’
’His coming to me on his own initiative saves me the trouble of digging up a grave.’
While Xiao Li was dealing with other matters, Song Junzhan took on the role of host, first greeting the two people he knew and then having a drink with each of the others nearby. Of course, his cup was filled with water.
He seemed far more approachable than Xiao Li. Tang Shuyu, Lin Yici, and Shi Mo had all been to his teahouse for tea before, so they knew he was the teahouse’s Young Master, not a young lord from some aristocratic family.
It was only because of his presence that they had the courage to remain seated.
Just as the banquet’s atmosphere was becoming pleasant, the person at the door announced, "Princess, Prince Wei has arrived."
The words had barely faded when Xiao Jingyi entered, carrying a box and breaking into a wide grin. "Imperial Sister, Brother sent me to see how your selection is going."
He scanned the room, his eyes landing on the empty seat, and said with pleasant surprise, "Imperial Sister, don’t tell me you predicted my arrival and saved me a seat?"
With that, he shoved the gift into Yang Jun’s hands and plopped down brazenly, moving so quickly that the others didn’t even have time to bow to him.
Xiao Li waved a dismissive hand at the others, then shot Xiao Jingyi a disdainful glance. "You certainly make yourself at home."
Xiao Jingyi knew Xiao Li wouldn’t truly hold it against him and felt no discomfort at all. Instead, he looked at the seven men. "Imperial Sister, you’re picking seven?"
Others might not know, but he had heard something about Xiao Li telling the Emperor she was selecting male consorts.
’As expected of my Imperial Sister. She’s simply invincible.’
’Her taste in men isn’t great, though. They’re all decent-looking, I guess, but they’re a far cry from Lu Yanzhi. Only the one across from me looks like he could compare.’
Xiao Li picked up her chopsticks, took a bite of food, and finished chewing slowly before saying, "If you don’t want me to hit you, then stop talking nonsense."
Song Junzhan stood up. "I am Song Junzhan. Greetings, Your Highness, Prince Wei."
Xiao Jingyi sized him up and smiled. "At ease."
Song Junzhan turned to Xiao Li. "Princess, this is my first time meeting the Prince. I would like to chat with him for a moment. Would it be possible to arrange a seat for me over here?"
In the Long Sheng Dynasty, the right side was the position of honor. Placing Song Junzhan there initially was a sign that he was to lead the men Xiao Li selected.
But with Xiao Jingyi’s arrival and his taking a seat to the left, it was no longer appropriate for Song Junzhan to remain there.
How could Xiao Li not understand his thoughts? She glanced at Xiao Jingyi and had someone arrange another table next to her own.
"Get yourself over here."
’Coming uninvited and just causing trouble.’
Xiao Jingyi obediently moved to the new seat and cast a meaningful glance at Song Junzhan. "Imperial Sister, this one?"
Xiao Li shot him a look.
Xiao Jingyi shut his mouth, but after a moment’s thought, he couldn’t resist leaning closer. "Imperial Sister, Brother is waiting in the palace. He’s even got the imperial edict ready."
Xiao Li was unconcerned. "Let him decree it. For every one he grants me, one will die. Once enough of them are dead, he’ll accept his fate."
Xiao Jingyi fell completely silent. ’When it comes to being ruthless, no one beats Imperial Sister.’
"Reporting to the Princess, the Nanqi King, Prince Yanping, and Princess Jia Ruo have arrived."
Xiao Li tilted her head back slightly but said nothing, because she didn’t need to. The three had already arrived.
A group of guards immediately surrounded the trio.
Jia Ruo was the first to lash out. "What is the meaning of this?"
Prince Yanping’s gaze swept over everyone before finally settling on Xiao Li. "Xuanyang, I heard you’ve already chosen a Prince Consort. As your older brother, am I not even welcome to come and offer my congratulations?"
Jia Ruo looked them all over and sneered without reservation, "You made such a huge fuss just to pick a bunch of runts and rejects. It’s utterly laughable."
She had offended everyone in the room with a single sentence.
’These two siblings were clearly here to gloat. And really, it would be terrifying if they actually came with good intentions.’
Xiao Li picked up her cup and tapped it lightly on the table. "This is why I say you people are just so contemptible. You come uninvited and have the gall to be pleased with yourselves."
Xiao Li’s lowered gaze swept over the two of them. She raised her cup, drained it in one go, and commanded, "Uninvited guests. Beat them to death for me."
Even though they knew they were a princess and a prince, the guards didn’t hesitate for a second. It wasn’t the first time they’d beaten them, after all. They drew their scabbards and struck.
"AHH!! Xuanyang, how dare you!"
Jia Ruo was struck once and furiously tried to fight back, but her meager martial arts skills were no match for these guards, who had been meticulously trained by Xiao Li. She was completely powerless to resist.
Prince Yanping’s martial arts were more formidable, and he could handle one guard, but Xiao Li had more than just one. Soon, he was overwhelmed and couldn’t even fend for himself, let alone protect his sister.
"Stop! Xuanyang, tell them to stop!"
Xiao Li had said to beat them to death, and the guards were truly striking to kill.
Xiao Jingzhao had also brought two highly skilled guards with him, but they had been isolated and defeated one by one from the start. One of them even had his arm broken.
"Xuanyang, Xuanyang, stop!"
Everything had devolved into this in the blink of an eye, and the Nanqi King, the only one still standing, began to panic.
"Xuanyang, give your older brother some face. Stop the fighting."
Xiao Li glanced at him but remained silent, only raising her hand when she saw that the people being beaten were no longer moving.
Yang Jun immediately ordered the guards to stop. He didn’t even need Xiao Li to tell him what to do next.
"Carry them all out."
The Nanqi King took a deep breath and forced a smile. "It seems we were intruding."
Xiao Li said nothing. The Nanqi King, left in an awkward position and not daring to lecture her, could only trail after them dejectedly.
The seven men seated below didn’t dare to breathe too loudly. Even Prince Wei, who had witnessed a few of Xiao Li’s ’grand scenes’ before, broke out in a cold sweat upon seeing her ruthlessness once again.
"Imperial Sister, I can understand you doing that to Prince Yanping and Jia Ruo, but you weren’t even a little courteous to our eldest brother?"
Xiao Li retorted, "Does he give me money?"
Prince Wei shook his head.
"When we were young, did he ever protect me as an older brother?"
Prince Wei shook his head again.
"So, he knows full well how many times I’ve fought with those two siblings, yet he still accompanies them, uninvited, to gloat at my expense. Why should I be courteous to him?"
’The fact that I didn’t have him beaten up along with them was already giving him plenty of face.’
Prince Wei was speechless. ’When you put it that way, Imperial Sister actually makes a lot of sense.’
At the same time, he felt that the fact he had come uninvited and was still allowed to sit meant that Imperial Sister was treating him incredibly well. He truly was the little brother she doted on the most.
’Happiness is all about perspective, isn’t it?’