Chapter 25: Lu Yanzhi, Killing You Is No Injustice
The Feng Family was a major aristocratic family, and a rare one at that—a family of scholars, respected and noble.
Feng Yu’s grandfather, Feng Yuan, was the current dynasty’s Grand Tutor. However, the title of Grand Tutor was only because he had instructed the Emperor and the princes; he held no real power. But his prestige among scholars was considerable, even surpassing that of the Lu family.
For several generations, the Feng Family had had many daughters, but only one son per generation.
Feng Yu’s father was Grand Tutor Feng Yuan’s only son. Unfortunately, he died at the hands of bandits ten years ago, creating a gap in the Feng Family’s second generation. That left only the sole male heir of the third generation, Feng Yin. This child was now the apple of the entire Feng Family’s eye.
It was said that Feng Yin had been born prematurely. He was small and scrawny, frail and sickly, and looked as if he wouldn’t survive.
It was Old Madam Feng who went to seek help from a master. The master read the boy’s fate and said his life was governed by yin energy, and he could only be raised to adulthood if he were raised as a girl.
So, Old Madam Feng named him Feng Tangtang, and the Feng Family had always raised him as a girl. It wasn’t until his father died that his name was changed back to a boy’s and entered into the family registry so he could preside over the funeral.
If you were to ask how Xiao Li knew all this so clearly, the answer was that the young lady Feng Yu in front of her had spilled the beans, just like that.
The physician examined Feng Yin. He only had superficial wounds and a sprain. He was given medicine, treated, and then left to rest and recover.
Once Feng Yin had fallen asleep, Feng Yu rushed to find Xiao Li, kowtowing and bowing, thanking her profusely.
Xiao Li didn’t even have to ask. Feng Yu had already spilled the beans about Feng Yin and his background.
Xiao Li: ... ’It’s obvious that little young master is truly cherished at home. Just because I saved him, this Feng family girl has completely let her guard down around me, telling me everything.’
Having learned what she wanted to know, Xiao Li made a rare show of kindness and offered a reminder. "Do you know why that horse went mad?"
Without even thinking, Feng Yu immediately replied, "Tangtang isn’t good at riding and archery. He wasn’t happy when I told him to pick a gentle mare and insisted on choosing that large stallion. As a result, he couldn’t ride it properly, which startled the horse, and then it went mad."
’So, because it was an ill-tempered stallion, it was only natural for it to go mad?’
Seeing Feng Yu’s attitude, it was clear she thought the whole thing was the little young master’s fault.
Xiao Li could only raise her hand. "Bring him in."
Soon, a middle-aged man with a hunched back was brought in.
Feng Yu was confused. "Princess, this is..."
Xiao Li was left speechless by her clueless expression. ’She clearly cares a lot about her brother, but she has absolutely no sense of danger.’
If it weren’t for how cute that little young master was, she really couldn’t be bothered to interfere.
With a single look from Xiao Li, the man was kicked to his knees.
Yang Jun drew his sword, pressing it against him. "Speak!"
The man trembled, then began to speak in a low voice. "That stallion is the wildest one we have here. It injured someone ten days ago, so we didn’t dare bring it out for the nobles to ride. It was originally just kept for breeding."
"Three days ago, someone found me and told me to lead the horse out today. I knew that only nobles would be here and was afraid someone would get hurt, but he gave me one hundred taels of silver and promised I wouldn’t be implicated."
"Following the agreed-upon secret signal, I led the horse out at the designated time. It just so happened to be chosen by a young master, and then the horse went mad."
"Who?!" Feng Yu was so angry the veins on her forehead bulged. She gritted her teeth and asked, "Who wants to harm my brother?"
The groom shook his head. "I didn’t ask for his name. He was dressed like a servant. I never saw his master, and I never saw him again after that."
Xiao Li waved her hand. "He’s yours. Take him and deal with it yourself."
Feng Yu trembled with anger, but seeing Xiao Li, she was also moved beyond words. "Thank you, Princess. If not for your reminder, we would have been kept in the dark forever. Once I’ve taken care of this, I will bring Tangtang to thank you properly."
Xiao Li couldn’t wait for her to leave.
Changing into a black riding outfit, Xiao Li called over Hong Yue and Lan Yue, pulling them in with an arm around each. "I’m leaving things to you two now. Don’t let anyone notice anything is amiss, understand?"
Caught in the sudden embrace, Hong Yue and Lan Yue froze for a moment before instinctively nodding. "We understand."
Xiao Li patted their heads. "Good girls."
Even after a while, both felt their cheeks burning. ’The Princess called us good girls!’
Xiao Li changed into an inconspicuous set of men’s clothes, disguising herself as a guard, and easily left the hunting ground.
She untied a horse, swung herself into the saddle, and galloped all the way toward the Capital City.
Xiao Jingyi had said it would take two hours to return from South Mountain by fast horse, but he didn’t know about a small path inside the hunting grounds that led directly to the main road, saving nearly half an hour.
Her bandaged hands gripped the reins tightly. Putting on her mask, Xiao Li’s eyes filled with a frenzied, triumphant excitement. "Giddy-up!"
No bandits dared to appear near the Capital City, so the journey back was smooth.
Using someone else’s identity, she quickly entered the city and headed straight for her Princess Mansion.
She didn’t go in directly, but instead returned to the Princess Mansion through a secret passage.
The secret passage ended in a small, seldom-used room next to the study. Xiao Li quickly slipped out and opened a long box that had been placed there long ago.
Even though it had been polished with great care, to Xiao Li, it was still crudely made. But it would have to be good enough for now.
She picked up the shotgun, a weapon that surpassed the era, and loaded it with homemade bullets.
Scene after scene from the "plot" flashed through her mind.
Raped. Pregnant. Forbidden to have an abortion. Forced to give birth.
Her innocence destroyed, her dignity crushed. She was forced to live a life worse than death, unable to even live properly.
’The source of it all, Lu Yanzhi... there is no injustice in my killing you!’
----
In the courtyard, Lu Yanzhi was reading a book, with Lu Qi and Lu Shu at his side as usual.
The weather was good today, so the two of them had brought out the books and were laying them out one by one on a table to air in the sun.
Basking in the sunlight, breathing in the scent of old books, and looking at their master reading intently under the corridor, Lu Qi sighed. "It’s so much more comfortable when that Princess isn’t around. It would be even better if she never came back."
Lu Shu frowned. "Haven’t you learned your lesson yet?"
Lu Qi said resentfully, "She can’t hear me. Anyway, I will never bow my head to her. She’s completely unworthy of the Young Master. She’s vicious, hypocritical, and breaks her promises. All she can do is beat me to threaten the Young Master. It’s all just a bluff! If she has the guts, she should just kill me!"
Xiao Li, who had already been aiming at Lu Yanzhi, slowly turned the barrel of the gun upon hearing this. ’A request like that is hard to refuse.’
BANG!
With the sound of a gunshot, Lu Qi’s arrogant expression froze on his face as a flower of blood blossomed.
"Lu Qi!"
Lu Shu caught him in terror. Seeing the bloody hole in Lu Qi’s chest, he was about to frantically call out to Lu Yanzhi when he heard another explosive crack.
BANG!
Lu Yanzhi, who had just stood up to see what was happening, also had a flower of blood burst from his back, and his entire body pitched forward onto the ground.
Lu Shu’s eyes were wide with terror, his gaze splitting with rage and grief as he roared, "Young Master!!"