Chapter 18: He’s Thoroughly Dead Now, Right?
Dead?
Xiao Li leaned in closer. She wanted to check but was afraid the body might reanimate, so she could only cower timidly behind the newcomer.
"He’s completely dead now, right?"
Lou Yan sheathed his blade, glancing down at the hand gripping his sash tightly. "Stone dead. The Princess can let go now."
Xiao Li patted her chest, an expression of lingering fear on her face. "That was terrifying. It scared me to death. Thank goodness Eunuch Lou Yan arrived in time, or I would have been a goner. Ahem, ahem..."
’Oops, I almost forgot my throat was sore.’
She was suddenly choked by a cough, spitting out a mouthful of bloody foam.
But even in such a miserable state, Xiao Li didn’t forget to praise Lou Yan. "Eunuch Lou Yan, you executed an assassin and saved me from dire straits. When I get back, I will definitely tell my Brother, the Emperor, and have him credit you with a great merit. Ahem, ahem..."
Lou Yan glanced at her with his half-lidded eyes, his expression unreadable, but he didn’t respond.
Gu Ling had never left the Capital City at all. He had simply taken her to a secluded residence within the city.
As she was leaving, Xiao Li saw two corpses outside. They must have been Gu Ling’s men.
No one had come to Gu Ling’s aid when he was stabbed through the heart, which proved that his men had already been killed before that.
’So how long has Lou Yan been here, and how much did he watch?’
Leaning on the doorframe, Xiao Li slowly left the courtyard. ’This Lord Chief Incense... he’s rather interesting.’
Lou Yan had split up from the others to search. In his haste to find her, he had used Qinggong. Never mind a carriage, he didn’t even have a horse.
Xiao Li hadn’t expected that she would have to walk back in the end. But it didn’t matter. She was in a good mood, after all.
’I thought Gu Ling had escaped, but I never imagined he’d rush back to his own death. How wonderful...’
As she was thinking, the world suddenly spun. Before she lost consciousness, the last thing she saw was a pair of narrow, wicked, ink-black eyes.
They were chillingly captivating, and as deep as an abyss.
’Tsk, quite alluring.’
Lou Yan looked at the woman who had collapsed on the ground. Due to her life-and-death struggle, her clothes were in disarray and her hair was a mess. Through the torn collar of her dress, her snow-white, supple skin was visible, along with the stark and glaring purplish-red handprints on her neck.
On her dangling wrist were swollen, red bruises from being bound, with a trickle of blood winding down. She had injured herself trying to break free from the ropes.
When he arrived, she was still tied to a rack, relentlessly prodding at Gu Ling’s sore spots and driving him into a frenzy.
Seeing this, he hadn’t immediately stepped in to save her. An ignorant and arrogant princess bringing about her own demise was not worth saving.
But in a mere instant, she had turned the tables in a desperate situation. It was nothing short of stunning.
A princess who couldn’t even protect herself was useless; he wouldn’t deign to give her a second glance. But a princess who was both crazy and ruthless? She was dazzling.
Especially now, as she lay unconscious—covered in wounds, broken and disheveled—she became the most brilliant color in his eyes.
Finally, he slowly bent his lithe waist, extended a long, powerful arm, and steadily lifted her into his arms.
Her soft, delicate body was light, a perfect armful for him to hold.
Two subordinates leading horses over saw the murderous fiend holding the Princess securely in his arms. They exchanged a look. This... was truly bizarre.
-----
Although she had gotten Gu Ling killed, Xiao Li had truly suffered this time.
She hadn’t lost much blood, but her throat was injured. She could still speak at the time, but after fainting and waking up again, her throat felt as if it were blocked. She couldn’t say a single word.
Xiao Li: "..." ’Is this heaven’s punishment for my sharp tongue?’
’I can’t even speak now.’
Not only could Xiao Li not speak, but her neck was also swollen and covered in dark, frightening bruises.
The Emperor sent an Imperial Physician. After hearing the physician’s description, he came to see for himself, and he was absolutely furious.
He didn’t have much affection for this sister, but she was his sister nonetheless. Among all his siblings, Princess Xuanyang was considered one of the closest to him.
More importantly, Princess Xuanyang represented his imperial face. He was the Emperor. How could he maintain his dignity when his own sister had been bullied to this extent?
’The Gu Family exiled? Heh. A bestowed death. Grant them all death!’
Xiao Li blinked. ’This has nothing to do with me, you know.’
Lan Yue was helping Xiao Li drink her medicine when a maid announced from the doorway, "Princess, the Prince Consort is here."
Xiao Li couldn’t speak, but that didn’t stop her from making a dismissive, crossing motion with her hands: *Throw him out!*
She wanted to make Lu Yanzhi suffer, not have him come see her suffering.
Lu Yanzhi was persistent, determined to see Xiao Li.
Xiao Li: "..." ’If I could speak, I wouldn’t let you annoy me like this.’
Lu Yanzhi finally made his way inside and offered Xiao Li a cup of tea. "Princess, have some tea."
When Xiao Li didn’t move for a long moment, he set the cup down. "Have you taken your medicine, Princess? Are you feeling any better?"
Still receiving no answer, he looked at Xiao Li. "Why aren’t you speaking, Princess? Is your throat still hurting?"
If looks could kill, Lu Yanzhi would have already died by a thousand cuts.
’I want to kill him right now! This instant! Immediately!’
Lan Yue handed her a brush and paper. Xiao Li angrily wrote: *What exactly do you want?*
Lu Yanzhi read it, ignoring her furious gaze. "I’ve only come to visit the Princess."
’Visit? More like watch the show.’
Xiao Li resentfully wrote a single, large, bolded word: **Get out!**
Xiao Li’s attitude could be described as terrible, but because she couldn’t speak, its lethality was sharply reduced. She was like a tiger with its fangs pulled out, all empty bluster.
Lu Yanzhi actually found her this way to be quite pleasing to the eye.
"Don’t be angry, Princess. It’s not good to harm your body with anger. Would you like some water?"
Xiao Li yanked the blanket over herself, turned her back, and pretended to sleep, too lazy to bother with him.
Lu Yanzhi stared at the lump under the covers. This was the weakest Xiao Li’s offensive power had been in days.
’But so what?’ he thought. ’Even if Xiao Li was kidnapped and injured, it doesn’t change the fact that she is a vicious woman.’
’The Pingnan Marquis Mansion was stripped of its title, exiled, and now has been sentenced to death. The source of it all was just a few disrespectful words from Gu Ling.’
’An assassination attempt? Who knows if she didn’t stage the whole thing herself?’
’Gu Ling is dead, the entire Marquis Ping Nan family has been exterminated, and the child in Xue Yin’s womb... they all died because of her.’
’For someone so arrogant, domineering, and reckless with human life, this suffering is well-deserved.’
’But, in the end, the Princess was kidnapped while she was out with me. If I showed no concern, the Emperor would likely find trouble with the Lu family again.’
’The act must go on. I have to take advantage of her weakness to make her lower her guard.’
It was a good thing Xiao Li didn’t know his thoughts, or she would have at least cursed at him: ’In your dreams!’
The Princess was injured in an assassination attempt, so naturally, people had to send gifts to express their condolences.
Xiao Li might not be much, but she was still a princess formally recognized under the Empress Dowager’s name and from the same line as the Emperor. Moreover, the Emperor seemed to care about her a great deal now. So the people below knew to act according to the circumstances and didn’t dare to slight her.
All sorts of gifts and medicines, big and small, were sent to the Princess Mansion, accompanied by words of concern and wishes for her speedy recovery.
So, did they not know the Princess had become crazy, ruthless, and even violent? Of course they knew. But she was a princess, and the Emperor valued her, so they had to prop her up.
It wasn’t strange that Xiao Jingyi sent a gift and visited, nor was it strange that Prince Chen had someone deliver a gift. But why did Princess Chen come to deliver a gift in person?
Xiao Li didn’t speak. She just sneered, wrote a note, and slapped it onto Yang Jun’s face: *If Princess Chen dares to take one step inside, all of you guards can get the hell out!*
She didn’t need to think to know that Liu Xueyin was here because of Gu Ling’s death.
’Coming to my door to provoke me time and time again... does she think I’m already dead?’
’If the gates of this Princess Mansion can’t even stop people like her, then all of these guards might as well just scram!’