Chapter 89: Just Dig Him Up and Take a Look
"Xiao Xuanyang."
Xiao Li had just stepped out of her sedan chair in front of the Princess Mansion when someone called out to her. The voice was laced with fury; one listen was enough to know this person was not here on friendly terms.
She looked up and saw a woman dressed head-to-toe in pure white standing not far away. She was truly in white—even the mask on her head was white.
For a moment, Xiao Li almost didn’t recognize her.
"Chen Pingting?"
Seeing her clothes and headwear, Xiao Li’s eyelid twitched. ’Is this woman actually in mourning for Lu Yanzhi?’
Then again, this was absolutely something Chen Pingting would do.
Chen Pingting’s eyes burned with rage, her hatred surging. She strode toward Xiao Li, and when she was only three steps away, her expression turned vicious. She suddenly whipped out a dagger and lunged, roaring.
"Xiao Xuanyang, go to hell!"
As if Xiao Li would let herself be hurt. Before she even had to move, Yang Jun knocked the dagger from Chen Pingting’s hand and held his sword to her throat.
When her first strike failed, Chen Pingting didn’t try again. She simply glared at Xiao Li with bitter despair, her expression defiant. "Go on, kill me if you have the guts."
Xiao Li was speechless. "What is wrong with you?"
"You have the nerve to ask me?"
Chen Pingting’s eyes looked as if they might pop out of their sockets. She ground her teeth, looking like she wanted to eat Xiao Li alive. "You already divorced him. You already divorced him... Why did you still have to kill him?"
"Why did you have to kill him?"
Chen Pingting shrieked, tears streaming down her face, looking utterly desperate and pained.
Xiao Li couldn’t bear to watch. ’What a psycho,’ she thought.
"Killing him was a matter between him and me. Who the hell are you to come and question me? Don’t tell me you thought I’d spare his life just to fulfill your wish of marrying him?"
Tears poured down Chen Pingting’s face as she demanded angrily, "I just love him! What did I do wrong?"
"..."
Xiao Li was truly done with this kind of lovesick logic. It made her skin crawl. ’So because you "love" someone, you can do anything you want? What kind of reasoning is that?’
"Well, I just wanted to kill him. What did I do wrong?"
Chen Pingting’s expression froze. Incredulously, she asked, "You killed someone, and you think you’ve done nothing wrong?"
Xiao Li raised an eyebrow. "And you think coveting another woman’s husband is so glorious?"
Chen Pingting was so furious her face twisted. "You don’t love him, and he doesn’t love you! Are you saying I’m not even allowed to love him?"
As she spoke, she started crying again. "I love him so much. I knew I could never be with him, so I was content just to see him once in a while. But you—you had him, and you didn’t cherish him. You even killed him! How could you be so cruel?"
She spat out a furious threat, "Xiao Xuanyang, I won’t let you get away with this! I will make you join him in death, be cast into the eighteenth level of hell, and never be reborn!"
Xiao Li scoffed without reservation. "You can’t even manage things in the mortal world, and you want to meddle in the affairs of the Underworld?"
"Xiao Xuanyang!!!"
Her defenses shattered, and she howled with rage.
Xiao Li kicked out, sending her flying ten feet.
Looking down at Chen Pingting, who had collapsed to the ground, she said, "If you want to kill me, you can try anytime. But I’m only letting you off this once. Next time, I don’t mind doing a good deed and sending you to meet him."
CLANG.
The murderous dagger was kicked in front of her, its spinning blade cutting her hand.
It was a blatant mockery of her powerlessness.
Chen Pingting stared at her bleeding hand, then at the gates of the Princess Mansion. Hatred churned in her eyes as she swore a silent oath: ’Xiao Xuanyang, be arrogant while you can. I will make sure you die without a burial ground!’
Her resolve hardened, Chen Pingting entered the palace filled with hatred. Her mourning attire nearly gave the Empress Dowager a heart attack, but Chen Pingting’s next words brought her back.
"Aunt, I want to marry my cousin."
She would become a concubine, then a Noble Consort, and in the future, the Empress Dowager. She would become the most revered woman in the world and crush Xiao Li under her heel for all eternity.
Chen Pingting was brimming with ambition, having set a grand goal for herself.
Too bad Xiao Li didn’t know. And even if she did, she would have only one thing to say: ’Psycho.’
-----
Xiao Li knew the matter of the imperial examinations was a lost cause, so naturally, she wouldn’t meddle any further. Her priority now was to find Lu Yanzhi and Liu Xueyin.
Having killed them once, her hatred had dissipated. She wasn’t going to hunt them down for revenge again, but she just wanted to know if they were actually dead or not.
Liu Xueyin was missing, and there was no telling where to find her. Lu Yanzhi, on the other hand, had been buried. Hmm... ’Should I consider digging up his grave?’
She hadn’t killed Prince Chen, though.
Previously, Prince Chen hadn’t offended her, so she never put him on her little death list. But now that he was a fugitive, she could probably kill him in the Emperor’s name. She wondered what would happen if she killed Prince Chen.
The thought was rather tempting...
Xiao Li didn’t have divine powers, so she couldn’t find Liu Xueyin and Prince Chen for the time being. All things considered, digging up the grave seemed like the most practical option.
"Yang Jun, go find out where Lu Yanzhi is buried."
Yang Jun didn’t even need to check. "The Lu family sent him back to their ancestral home in Dongling to be buried in the family tomb."
Xiao Li: "Dongling, huh... How many days would it take to get there?"
Yang Jun: "By fast horse, five days. By carriage, half a month."
Seeing Xiao Li seriously contemplating this, Yang Jun’s mind raced before he tried to dissuade her tentatively, "Princess, Dongling is the Lu family’s ancestral home. That’s their domain. Because of Lu Cang’s death, they likely harbor extreme hatred for the Imperial Family. On top of that, you personally killed Lu Yanzhi. If you go to pay your respects, I’m afraid you’ll be met with trouble."
To say "trouble" was an understatement. He should have just said the Lu family clansmen would probably murder her, a princess, on sight.
But Xiao Li wasn’t afraid.
"Who said I was going to pay my respects? We’re going to dig up a grave. It’s not something we can do with a lot of fanfare. It’s best if we’re stealthy..."
Yang Jun’s brain nearly short-circuited. "Huh?"
’Dig up what? Did I hear that right?’
But seeing the mischievous look on Xiao Li’s face, it seemed... probably... possibly... he hadn’t misheard...
"Princess... surely it hasn’t come to that..." Yang Jun clutched at his conscience. "Death absolves all debts. Mr. Lu is already dead. There’s no need to dig up his grave and desecrate the corpse."
"Who said I was going to dig up his grave and desecrate the corpse?"
Xiao Li gave him a strange look. "Am I that kind of cruel, twisted person?"
She smiled. "I just think that after being husband and wife for three years, it’s a real shame I couldn’t personally see him off. So I’ll just dig him up for a look, say hello, that’s all. Nothing more to it."
Yang Jun could hardly believe his ears. ’Do you even hear what you’re saying?’
His expression was indescribably complex. ’So, digging up a dead person to say hello *isn’t* twisted?’
Yang Jun walked out of the room looking as if he’d been hit by a frost, appearing haggard and world-weary.
Rong Qing happened to walk over just then. Yang Jun patted him on the shoulder with a sigh of deep emotion, once again thanking the Princess for finding him a good brother to share the trauma with.
’This increasingly bizarre princess... I can’t handle her on my own.’
Rong Qing: "???"
’Why is this guy getting so weird? He’s always patting my shoulder and giving me these strange looks. It gives me the creeps.’
Though he didn’t know why, Rong Qing still sidled away slightly, making a mental note to keep his distance from now on.