Chapter 23: She’s Tired of Saying ’Perfect Match
Xiao Li felt much better after a few laps on her horse, though she’d also eaten her fair share of dust.
Hong Yue and Lan Yue brought water over for her to wash her face. Chen Pingting slowly rode up to her, looking down at her from horseback.
"Why did you come out alone?"
Xiao Li rolled her eyes at her. "If I were half a person, wouldn’t I scare you to death?"
Chen Pingting snorted coldly, looking at her with disdain. "I saw everything just now. You’re a married woman, yet you’re still hanging around with a disreputable crowd. You have no sense of propriety."
Xiao Li raised her chin proudly. "As long as Lu Yanzhi minds his husbandly duties, we’re fine. If he dares to flirt around, I’ll break his legs."
Chen Pingting was incredulous. "How can you say something like that? He’s your husband! Don’t you understand that a wife must obey her husband? And you’d hit him? You’re simply vicious."
Xiao Li gave a wicked smile. "Keep scolding me. I’ll go back and beat him right now, just to show you how vicious I can be."
"You..." Chen Pingting pointed at Xiao Li, furious. But then she remembered how Xiao Li had nearly beaten Lu Yanzhi to death twice. She knew Xiao Li really would do it, so she didn’t dare say another word. Still, she was boiling with suppressed rage.
"You... You’re infuriating!"
Chen Pingting tightened her reins and made a threat, "You just wait!"
Watching her ride away in a huff, Xiao Li let out a cold laugh. "The same threat works on two different women. My Prince Consort truly is remarkably charming."
Hong Yue and Lan Yue exchanged a look. They weren’t stupid; they could read the attitudes of Liu Xueyin and Chen Pingting.
’The Prince Consort truly has no sense of husbandly duty. He deserves a beating!’
-----
The journey had been exhausting, so the first day was spent relaxing with some horseback riding. Everyone rested in the evening, and the hunt would begin on the second day.
Although Xiao Li was a princess, she wasn’t very popular. Aside from the unavoidable greetings at the beginning, everyone else kept their distance, unwilling to associate with her.
The only ones who dared to approach her were Chen Pingting and Liu Xueyin.
"Xuanyang."
Liu Xueyin stood in the corridor, looking at Xiao Li with a complicated expression, her face a mask of ’I’m so disappointed in you.’ "How can you associate with such vulgar people? You are a princess."
Xiao Li’s brow furrowed. "Wait a minute, Liu Xueyin. By what right are you lecturing me?"
Liu Xueyin started, "I am Princess Chen, I..."
"Stop!" Xiao Li cut her off abruptly. "You’re honestly disgusting. My business has nothing to do with you, and you have no right to lecture me. Get the hell away from me, or I’ll beat you up too."
Xiao Li was thoroughly disgusted, but Liu Xueyin still felt wronged. She clenched her fists, her eyes welling with tears as she looked at her. "You think I want to meddle in your affairs? It’s because you won’t get a divorce! And yet you’re fooling around with these people. Where does that leave Brother Yan Zhi?"
"Where does that leave him? Fooling around?" Xiao Li took two steps forward with a smile, grabbed Liu Xueyin by the collar, and viciously slapped her across the face.
"SMACK!"
"Ah!" Liu Xueyin cried out, clutching her face. Before her shock and anger could even register, Xiao Li slapped her again on the other cheek.
"SMACK!" The sound was crisp and clear.
Xiao Li grabbed her hand and shoved it into her mouth to muffle the piercing scream. She moved closer, leaned down, and sneered like a demon. "Liu Xueyin, I warned you before not to run your mouth in front of me. You didn’t listen at all, did you? Even Gu Ling’s death couldn’t cure your rampant sanctimony. What about Lu Yanzhi, then?"
"THUD!"
Xiao Li slammed her to the ground, let out a disdainful sneer, and strode away.
Around the corner, Xiao Jingyu stood clad in black, his aura frigid. There was no telling how long he had been watching.
Xiao Li walked past him without a sideways glance, leaving him with a quiet, chilling remark, "Brother, please keep your Princess Consort in line. Lu Yanzhi is my Prince Consort. It’s not quite appropriate for her to be so concerned about him, is it?"
’That psycho Liu Xueyin must have water for brains. Maybe only a man as unscrupulous and brainless as Xiao Jingyu could handle her.’
’Perfect match.’ She was tired of saying those two words.
Xiao Li’s two slaps made Liu Xueyin back off for the time being, but the news that Princess Xuanyang had struck Princess Chen spread like wildfire.
The incident only added "vicious" to Xiao Li’s already fierce reputation, piling on more infamy.
The next day, as everyone prepared to enter the forest for the hunt, Xiao Li overslept and arrived late. From a distance, she saw Chen Pingting consoling a veiled and very frail-looking Liu Xueyin.
’So, did we really have to go on this hunt?’
Just like in the stories, Chen Pingting had become friends with Liu Xueyin. After all, they both deeply loved the same man, so they naturally had much to talk about. They were also united in their hatred for the "evil princess," Xiao Li.
Xiao Li couldn’t help but wonder, ’If I were to set Chen Pingting up with Lu Yanzhi, wouldn’t it be more fun to watch the two of them tear each other apart?’
’Too bad. I would never grant Chen Pingting that satisfaction.’
"Imperial Sister, let’s go!"
Xiao Jingyi rode over with his entourage, which consisted of a few guards and those four oddballs.
Xiao Li found it strange. "There are so many sons of aristocratic families and young nobles. You don’t have any other friends?"
Xiao Jingyi was handsome. He was young and had a noble upbringing free of hardship, so he lacked a certain tough, masculine air, but he was still a dashing and comely youth.
Instead of associating with the other brilliant prodigies, he hung around with four of the mortal world’s strangest oddities. It looked awkward no matter how you sliced it.
Xiao Jingyi lowered his gaze and fiddled with his bow. "Of course I do. But they’ve been busy lately. Besides, I’m mainly here to keep you company, Imperial Sister. It wouldn’t be appropriate to bring them."
Xiao Li raised an eyebrow but didn’t call him out on his insincere words.
’This cheerful, fun-loving Young Prince didn’t seem so carefree and happy after all.’
In truth, Xiao Li had only asked casually. If the matter was too profound, she had no intention of prying.
Xiao Li was indifferent to hunting. She had no qualms about killing prey, but harmless rabbits and deer didn’t stir her desire to kill.
Xiao Jingyi, on the other hand, was full of enthusiasm. He shot arrows the whole way, and although his archery wasn’t great, he still managed to get two rabbits and a deer in a short time.
’Honestly,’ Xiao Li suspected, ’these animals were probably raised in captivity. Why else would they just stand there foolishly, waiting to be shot?’
’You could probably catch them by hand. Using an arrow felt like overkill.’
The four men behind them were also having a great time, firing arrows everywhere. The rabbits remained untouched, but the men themselves were unsteady on their horses. Not only did they miss everything, but Zhao Yuan got spooked and shot an arrow into the sky. It came down and landed in Sun Buwu’s butt, which resulted in the other three chasing him down for a beating.
Xiao Li watched the whole spectacle, utterly delighted. She laughed so hard her stomach hurt.
"HAHAHAHA... HAHAHA..."
’How could people be so stupid and comical?’
"HAHAHA..."
The incident itself wasn’t that funny, but with those four involved, it was absolutely hilarious.
Xiao Jingyi reached out to steady Xiao Li’s back, saying helplessly, "Imperial Sister, please stop laughing."
She was laughing so hard she was practically convulsing and almost fell off her horse.
Xiao Li laughed for a long while before she finally draped herself over her horse, clutching her stomach. Tears streamed from her eyes, but she was in too much pain from laughing to wipe them away.
The four men looked at each other. Zhao Yuan, red-faced, muttered foolishly, "The Princess has a nice laugh."
Qian Yu and Li You shot him a glare. Even Sun Buwu, while clutching his butt, made to kick him.
"Shut up! You idiot!"
’The Princess was beautiful, sure, but was she someone he could afford to admire?’
’That aura, that look in her eyes... she was clearly a poisonous peony. Be careless, and you wouldn’t even know how you died.’