Chapter 44: It’s Just a Beating, What’s There to Cry About?
This was the first time Xiao Li had set foot in the wing where Lu Yanzhi was staying, and Cen An was still there.
Now that she had gotten what she wanted out of him, Xiao Li no longer restricted Cen An’s movements. He could come and go as he pleased, though he had to be escorted and was only permitted to visit Lu Yanzhi.
With no time constraints, he would often play chess with Lu Yanzhi after his examinations. They were evenly matched, and it seemed their relationship was quite good.
Xiao Li’s arrival made the two of them stop at once.
"Princess."
Cen An rose and stepped aside to bow. Xiao Li gave a slight wave of her hand in acknowledgment, her gaze falling upon Lu Yanzhi. "As expected of the Divine Doctor’s successor. The Prince Consort looks much better."
Before Cen An could reply, Xiao Li tossed a Buddhist Scripture over. "Since the Prince Consort is well enough to get up and play chess, I imagine copying this Buddhist Scripture ten times won’t be a problem. Copy it well. I’ll send someone to collect it tomorrow."
Cen An: "..." ’This princess shows not a single shred of affection for her Prince Consort.’
And despite being treated this way, the Prince Consort merely accepted it in silence, as if he had resigned himself to his fate.
Watching Xiao Li leave, Cen An couldn’t help but ask in puzzlement, "Has the Princess always been so domineering?"
The Princess’s beauty was undeniable. She had a radiant appearance, with exquisite and bewitching features. Adorned in brocade, jade, golden hairpins, and gemstones, she was all the more magnificent and glamorous. But after that initial stunning impression, it was somehow difficult to notice her beauty again.
Her beauty was inherently bright and flamboyant, but she possessed a pair of ink-black pupils like a bottomless, frigid abyss. No matter if she was laughing playfully or pouting coquettishly, her eyes always looked as if they were staring at a dead man.
After the initial awe, meeting her gaze sent a sudden jolt through one’s heart.
It wasn’t fear, exactly. More a sense that she was not a kind soul—someone to be kept at a respectful distance.
’Could a person like this really be the weak-willed princess the senior lady of the Lu family spoke of—the one who, unable to win Lu Yanzhi’s affection, let her love curdle into hate?’
Lu Yanzhi didn’t answer Cen An. He stared at the Buddhist Scripture before him, but an image of Liu Xueyin kneeling in a downpour unexpectedly surfaced in his mind.
The chess piece in his hand tightened...
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"Feng Yin, the girl just admires you. What are you running for?"
"That’s right! If you’re a man, you can’t be a wimp. Get over there."
"Don’t be shy. Once you get a taste of this sort of thing, you’ll be hooked."
"Hah, so spineless. I heard you were raised as a girl. You don’t actually think you are one, do you?"
"Heh heh, I have to admit, you do look even more delicate than a girl..."
Xiao Li was just out for a casual stroll and hadn’t expected to run into the young master of the Feng Family.
The men with him also appeared to be sons of aristocratic families. They were well-dressed and in their early twenties, but their lecherous expressions were utterly vile. One look was enough to tell they were up to no good.
The current scene was quite interesting.
At first glance, it seemed Feng Yin was part of the group, and they were all egging him on to go tease a young lady.
In reality, however, the girl cornered in the back was a picture of shy anticipation, completely compliant with their teasing as she waited for Feng Yin to be pushed toward her.
Meanwhile, Feng Yin, being shoved around by the other men, looked more like the one being teased.
He refused, his face flushing. "Stop it, you all. This is incredibly rude."
"I’m just here to find my brother-in-law. Where is he?"
"How can you joke about a young lady’s honor like this? It’s simply preposterous."
"You shut your mouth..."
He went from flustered and annoyed to angry, and finally, to furious. But the others saw his flushed skin and simply thought he was being shy.
One particularly sleazy man was staring, his gaze raking over Feng Yin with ill intent. Then, a wicked hand reached out toward the small of Feng Yin’s back.
Xiao Li couldn’t watch any longer. ’Poor little fool.’
"AHHH!!!"
The wicked hand was seized and bent back without mercy, followed by an instantaneous scream of agony.
"Agh, let me go! Who are you? What are you doing?"
The whole group turned to look. One with quick reflexes reached out to help, but Xiao Li simply lifted her leg and kicked him away.
SPLASH!
There was a small fish pond nearby, only about waist-deep. It wasn’t deep enough to drown anyone, but it was perfect for kicking someone into to clear their head.
One of them pointed at Xiao Li, his face a mask of rage. "You dare to attack us? Do you have any idea who my father is?"
As if Xiao Li, whose own father just happened to be the late Emperor, could be threatened by that?
She lifted her leg and delivered another kick.
"You..."
She didn’t give the rest a chance to speak, sending them all into the water one by one with a kick each.
The only one left was a dumbfounded Feng Yin, his handsome face filled with undisguised shock. "You... Prin... Young sir, you..."
It was no wonder Feng Yin was stammering. He had barely processed what was happening before Xiao Li had kicked them all away. And Xiao Li was dressed as a man.
He had almost said "Princess," but that didn’t seem right. Yet calling her "Young sir" felt wrong too. Even dressed as a man, her soft features and the curve of her chest made it obvious she was a woman to anyone who wasn’t blind.
Feng Yin’s face, which had just begun to cool, instantly flushed red again. ’Why did I notice that?’
"You dare hit this young master? I won’t let you off!"
"Guards! Guards!"
The four men clamored, calling for help as they climbed out. They tried to lunge at Xiao Li together, but she didn’t even move her hands, simply sending them flying back into the water with a few more kicks.
"Ah, how dare you! Ah... I’m going to kill you..."
The good-for-nothings lay in the water, seething with impotent rage. Xiao Li casually picked up a stick and, without hesitation, started laying into them.
THWACK! THWACK! THWACK!
"AH! AHH! AHHH..."
Each scream was more wretched than the last.
Feng Yin’s eyelids twitched violently. He reached out to stop Xiao Li. "Young... Young sir, that’s enough! Any more and you’ll kill them!"
Their heads were already bleeding.
The girl on the side was now trembling in fear. Xiao Li flicked the stick, splattering drops of blood onto the girl, who shrieked and fell to the ground. She stared in terror at Xiao Li, who looked like a demon from hell.
Xiao Li raised the stick high. "Anyone makes another sound, and I’ll beat them to death!"
The four men, trembling in pain, continued to howl like banshees. The stick in Xiao Li’s hand came down hard. The man who had been screaming the loudest collapsed, and it was instantly quiet.
The other three looked as if they were being choked, their blood-stained faces a mask of terror, unable even to cry.
’This person will really kill us. Why haven’t our servants come yet? Why has no one come to save us after all our miserable screaming?’
Now that it was quiet, Xiao Li smiled. "There, that’s better. You’re grown men. It’s just a beating. What’s there to cry about?"
The three of them twitched uncontrollably. Their entire bodies ached, but they were more terrified of this demon who had appeared out of nowhere.
’Father, Mother, hurry and save me!!!’
The clang of armor accompanied by footsteps approached as a squad of patrolling soldiers arrived.
The three men saw a glimmer of hope. One of them staggered to his feet, his face bloody and twisted in a ferocious sneer, and shouted arrogantly, "My father is Dong Guowen, and the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice is my uncle! Kill her for me! How dare she hit me? I’ll kill this lunatic!"
The other two helped each other up out of the pond. Their bloody faces, combined with their burning fury, made them look terrifying, like they were about to eat someone alive.
"That’s right, kill her!"
"Damn it! How dare you strike this young master! I’ll have you torn to pieces!"