Chapter 42: The Knees Ached, and a Killing Intent Arose
Just as Lu Yanzhi guessed, Xiao Li was doing it on purpose.
Had Liu Xueyin not been kidnapped that day, she probably would have invited the Divine Doctor’s successor to the Liu Family long ago.
Xiao Li hadn’t thought of this at first, but with Cen An delivering himself right to her, she would be letting herself down if she didn’t act after all the frustration she had suffered.
’Look at that. Controlling a single Cen An is enough to make this pair of star-crossed lovers, with their love stronger than gold and deeper than the sea, kneel before me and beg for mercy. It’s truly marvelous.’
’A villainous side character? Heh, I’m the biggest villain of all.’
Xiao Li wanted to torment them, but she was in no rush.
Xiao Li had someone send a list to Lu Yanzhi. There were no pleasantries—just a list of demands: manors, shops, and silver.
The unspoken question: How much was Young Master Liu’s leg worth?
Lu Yanzhi saw the list. Although Xiao Li’s demands were exorbitant, the Lu family could afford them.
That’s right. He had no intention of telling Liu Xueyin; he would pay for it himself.
An hour later, a stack of deeds and silver notes was delivered to Xiao Li.
Cen An was released from the Princess Mansion.
Standing in the corridor, Lu Yanzhi watched Liu Xueyin lead the man away before he swayed and allowed himself to faint.
He was so devoted to his love that even Xiao Li was moved.
So, in honor of their "epic and heart-wrenching" love, Xiao Li sent a copy of the list to the Chen Prince Mansion.
’What’s mine is mine, and what belongs to the Prince Consort is also mine. So, if the Princess Consort comes to me asking for a favor, it’s only natural that Prince Chen foots the bill.’
Of course, as long as Prince Chen paid up, she could ask the Emperor to order the Ministry of Justice not to question the Princess Consort when they investigated the culprits.
Xiao Li had no idea what kind of internal struggle Prince Chen went through, but in the end, the payment was delivered.
One fish, two meals. Xiao Li’s one-sided grudge against Cen An was settled.
Two boxes—one from the Lu family and one from the Chen Prince Mansion. The wealth they contained was worth as much as her entire Princess Mansion.
But so what? ’It’s all illusory anyway.’
Xiao Li hadn’t acted with much fanfare, but plenty of people knew what had happened.
Especially Cen An, who had been "sold" twice... He was speechless.
He took a long look at the distant pavilion. "The Princess is truly formidable."
’To conjure a fortune out of thin air, extorting a windfall for herself just like that.’
Cen An took being used by the Princess surprisingly well. Far from being angry, he even approached her proactively.
"I have heard that the Princess has been unwell recently. Might I have the honor of taking Your Highness’s pulse?"
Having received her "payment," Xiao Li no longer held a grudge against Cen An, but that didn’t mean she liked him.
Without looking up, she said, "No need. I’m perfectly fine."
Cen An, however, seemed not to understand rejection and began his analysis anyway. "Your Highness is deficient in both qi and blood, and your heart’s pulse is faint and weak. This is a condition caused by excessive worry and a depleted heart."
Xiao Li finally turned to look at him, her eyes full of displeasure. ’Who would be happy to have a doctor stand before them and insist they’re ill?’
Her body was indeed in poor health, but she couldn’t care less.
"I’ve heard a saying: ’Fortune-tellers don’t give readings unasked, and doctors don’t make house calls uninvited.’ Did the Divine Doctor not teach you that?"
Cen An choked on his words, then immediately bowed in apology. "This humble one merely wished to prove my worth. It was a slip of the tongue. I beg the Princess’s forgiveness."
Then, Cen An was driven away.
Cen An’s medical skills were extraordinary. Everywhere he went, he was met with respect and gratitude. Even a great clan like the Lu family had treated him with the utmost courtesy after he saved Lu Yanzhi.
Yet this Princess blatantly wore her dislike for him on her face.
’She’s clearly ill, yet she detests a highly skilled doctor. Or does she simply detest me? But I don’t recall ever offending the Princess.’
He truly couldn’t make heads or tails of it.
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The sheer amount of money Xiao Li had extorted drew the Emperor’s attention, and she was summoned to the palace.
Before the Emperor could say a word, Xiao Li made her position clear. "What’s in my hands is mine. Brother, you are the wealthiest man in the world; surely you won’t fight me for these scraps?"
The words died in the Emperor’s throat, leaving him speechless. "..."
"What kind of person do you take me for? Do you think I’m hurting for that little bit you have?"
Pushing her luck, Xiao Li boldly held out her hand. "In that case, what fine things is my dear Brother planning to reward me with?"
If not for the distance between them, the Emperor would have slapped her. ’She really knows how to make herself at home.’
"And you dare ask me for a reward? You kidnapped that doctor, threatened the Lu family, and then blackmailed Prince Chen! I haven’t even taken you to task for it yet!"
"I told you to live a quiet life with your Prince Consort, but here you are, imprisoning people and extorting them. Do you have any respect for me at all?"
Xiao Li sidled closer, casually picked up a memorial, and flipped through it without reading a single character before setting it back down. "Brother, you know better than I do why Lu Yanzhi came back. If you want to back him up, then just issue an edict and let us divorce. The Lu family will be eternally grateful to you."
’But would the Emperor do that?’
Because of her troublemaking, the Lu family was forced to retreat again and again, giving the Emperor the chance to chip away at their power and suppress their prestige. Having tasted the sweet results, how could the Emperor bear to let Xiao Li and Lu Yanzhi divorce?
Sure enough, the Emperor feigned a scolding. "Nonsense. What would it look like for a Princess to get a divorce? I don’t care how you and Lu Yanzhi get along, but don’t you go too far. If the Lu family comes to me with a complaint, I won’t be able to protect you."
’Hypocrite.’
The Emperor was easy to fool, but getting past the Empress Dowager was another matter entirely.
While the Emperor was focused on dealing with the Lu family, the Empress Dowager was simply displeased with Xiao Li’s methods.
Even after Xiao Li made it clear that the Emperor would not be pursuing the matter, the Empress Dowager still wanted to teach her a lesson. Saying her behavior was perverse and undignified, she punished her by making her kneel in the corridor and copy Buddhist Scriptures.
Xiao Li: "..."
She could endure a scolding, but she could not endure being forced to kneel.
As two old court matrons forcefully pressed her down to her knees, pain shot through them, and killing intent sparked in her heart.
Xiao Li was an egoist who saw herself as separate from this world. She didn’t even consider herself and the body’s original owner to be the same person.
Killing Lu Yanzhi and Liu Xueyin was on her agenda because they were the main culprits, and only by killing them could she leave this world.
She’d kill Gu Ling because he’d brought it upon himself.
Xiao Li acted against people for her own reasons, not to avenge the original owner. That was why she hadn’t put the Empress Dowager and Chen Pingting—who had abused the original owner in her childhood—on her kill list.
’Those were the original owner’s grievances, not hers.’
’She would never take on the original owner’s karmic baggage and feuds.’
But while she previously couldn’t be bothered to care, now that they were bullying her as if she were the original owner, she could no longer tolerate it.
A low table was placed before her, holding a Buddhist Scripture two fingers thick. Her legs would be crippled by the time she finished copying it while kneeling—and she had been ordered to copy it three times.
The original owner might have done this before, but she wouldn’t copy a single stroke.
Chen Pingting, dressed in a showy pink court dress, sauntered over fanning herself. A smug smile graced her lips as she mocked, "Oh, if it isn’t our dear Princess Xuanyang? Why are you kneeling on the floor? You needn’t give me such a grand welcome, even if you are happy to see this County Princess."
Xiao Li put down her brush, her smile like that of a cunning fox. "Chen Pingting, come here. I want to discuss something with you."
Chen Pingting wasn’t blind; she could see the calculation in that expression. But then, Xiao Li silently mouthed two words: Lu-Yan-zhi.