This was the first time King Zhao had been hit in the face in his entire life.
âYe Xi Wu, how dare you touch this king!â Xiao Shen quickly recognized who she was, and his face was almost distorted.
King Zhao had a brutal and vindictive personality. If he hadnât been interested in Su Suâs looks before this, he would have wanted to torture her to death right this moment.
How dare she hit me! Iâll let a bunch of people play with this ungrateful woman to death! âGuards âŚâŚâ
Yu Qing, who was standing aside, was very surprised too. He had followed King Zhao for many years, so he naturally knew Su Suâs identity.
Yu Qing glanced at Su Su with interest and stopped King Zhao.
âCalm down, Your Highness. She is Ye Xiaoâs only legitimate daughter,â he advised with a worried look.
King Zhao was on the verge of losing his mind, and his gaze was sinister. âThis king wants her to die today!â
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Tantai Jinâs eyes were still fixated on her, but he lowered his gaze after some time. âOkay.â
His voice was low and hoarse, but Su Su just assumed that he was in a bad mood due to being humiliated.
She looked at King Zhao with a cold smile. âXiao Shen, I call you Wangye, you really think you can trample on the people of the Ye Family at will. Even Xiao Lin has to consider it properly, let alone you.â
âMy Ye Family is loyal to the throne and the empire2, but not to people like you. My father hasnât been fighting on battlefields for twenty years for you to humiliate the Ye Family like this! Tantai Jin is my husband, if you insult him, it will be the same as insulting me. You insulted me for no reason, yet you still donât allow me to resist?â
King Zhaoâs face was as dark as the bottom of a pot.
Inwardly, Yu Qing was in schadenfreude. He lightly coughed and helped add fuel to the fire. âI hope Wangye can think twice.â
It was King Zhao who had started todayâs incident first. Furthermore, with Third Miss Yeâs messy appearance, people who didnât know the situation would think that they were the ones responsible. The military power of the Great Xia Empire lay in Ye Xiaoâs hands. Who didnât know that the prosperity that the Great Xia had for more than ten years was all thanks to Ye Xiao?
Suppose something were to happen to his only legitimate daughter. In that situation, if Ye Xiao got angry and he really rebelled, Xiao Shen wouldnât be able to become the Emperor even if he wanted to.
The Emperor was still wary of the Ye Family. If Xiao Shen were a bit smarter, he would have known that he shouldnât touch Ye Xi Wu. Didnât he see that although Xiao Lin disliked Ye Xi Wu, the most he did was turn a blind eye?
Seeing that King Zhao still couldnât swallow his anger, Yu Qing whispered, âWangye, even if you want to teach her a lesson, you canât do it openly. Letâs find an opportunity next time.â
His sanity finally returned after being held back. He forced out a smile. âIt was just a misunderstanding.â However, the place where he had been hit was still painful when he stretched his face.
King Zhaoâs gaze looked sorrowful.
âNaturally, it was a misunderstanding,â Su Su said. See if you still dare to do it next time! She would eventually find a chance to smack King Zhao, this big b*stard, sooner or later.
As he watched Su Su and Tantai Jin leave, King Zhao held his reddened face and kicked the sedan chair in anger. âYe Xi Wu! This king will not let you go!â
*
Su Su felt uncertain in her heart too.
She wasnât actually sure whether Ye Xiao had left or not. The Great General Ye, her cheap father3, was always on the battlefield all year round and rarely cared for his own children. In the original ownerâs memory, Ye Xiao used his weapon like a God. He wielded the long spear like it was a formidable wind.
However, rather than focusing on his delicate daughter, he was keener on training his eldest son, who had exceptional aptitudes.
Su Su hadnât gone far with Tantai Jin when she saw Ye Xiao, who had an unpleasant look on his face.
She let out a sigh of relief. Thankfully, the wild beast looked after its young4, General Ye did not abandon her.
âXi Wu, where have you been?â Ye Xiao frowned and asked.
âDad, I was pushed away by the crowd and got separated from you guys. Luckily, I managed to escape,â said Su Su.
Ye Xiao scanned her over. He was still astonished by what had happened at the banquet.
It was true that Xi Wu had learned swordsmanship, but regarding her performance today, even his eldest son couldnât compare to her. If it wasnât for his youngest daughter, he was afraid he would have died today at King Xuanâs residence.
However, this wasnât a good place to ask questions. Thinking of those strange creatures inside, Ye Xiao said, âLetâs go back first.â
His heart felt heavy. Demonic creatures had appeared. He was afraid the prosperity of Great Xia that had lasted for ten years would be over. The sky5Â was going to change soon.
After seeing Su Su, Chun Taoâs eyes reddened, and she said, âMiss, this maidservant thought something had happened to you, wuu wuu wuuâŚâŚ youâve scared this maidservant to deathâŚâŚâ
Su Su was amused and touched. âDonât worry, your Miss is blessed with a great life and wonât die so easily.â
Xi Xi choked back a sob. She brought a heater and cloak and covered Su Su tightly.
Su Su looked really disheveled. Her delicate hands looked horrible and were full of scratches. She had been entirely focused on escaping before, so she hadnât felt any pain and sheâd been numb from the cold. Now that it was warmer, she could feel a sense of prickling pain. She felt better after her whole body became warmer.
Tantai Jin was silent in the corner. Ever since they left King Zhao, he was exceptionally quiet.
The young man didnât even put on his previous weak and pitiful facade anymore. The lines on his face were as cold as the December snow outside. She wasnât sure if he had more humiliation or hatred in his heart.
Su Su looked at Tantai Jinâs hand. King Zhao had crushed his finger bones, so his fingers were hanging helplessly. His flesh was bruised with a hint of bluish purple. This year, the future world-shaking figure could only sink in all the miseries of the mortal world.
Su Su detested what he would do in the future, but once she thought of the crazy madam in the cold palace, she inevitably had some mixed feelings.
She recited the heart purifying mantra over and over in her heart. She didnât want to pity him nor think of what had happened to him in the past.
As the horse hooves clattered, Su Su suddenly thought of a question, how did the devil king actually awaken?
The Past Mirror couldnât be used to see cause and effect, so was Tantai Jin killed, or did he die by accident? It couldnât be that he couldnât think of a way out and didnât want to live anymore, right?! The latter possibilityâŚâŚ when she looked at the young manâs gloomy side face, she didnât feel at ease anymore.
Tantai Jinâs face didnât show any distress, he just looked extremely numb. He coldly thought that Ye Xi Wu had helped him because she felt that he would have disgraced the Ye Family. And unfortunately, she also had the âspring knot silkworm,â so she had to keep him alive no matter what.
He waited for Ye Xi Wu to settle the score with him just like before and scoffed at himself for being a useless piece of shit.
As expected, the girl did lean over.
But she didnât scold him. Instead, she hesitantly untied the jade from her waist and tied it on his body. âThis is for you. If King Zhao sees it, he should be more or less afraid,â she said.
This jade was given to her by the Emperor when Third Miss Ye was born. At that time, the Great General Ye was still on the battlefield, and Third Miss Ye had lost her mother at birth.
The Emperor pitied her and gave her such a piece of jade as a status symbol.
âNo matter how evil King Zhao is, he will still turn to ashes in a few decades. If his life is even worse, he might not even live until then. Although you canât do anything now, you must live longer than him, a little longer. The past is just the past. When people are still alive, they must always look forward,â she said.
She comforted him dryly with the hope that he would think broadly no matter what. If he couldnât think it through, all the beings of the three realms would fall into purgatory.
Tantai Jin pursed his lips. The moment when Su Su leaned over, his body had stiffened subconsciously, and he wanted to stay far away from her. But, unfortunately, the girlâs fragrance had permeated throughout the entire carriage, leaving him no place to escape.
His fingers unintentionally touched that piece of lustrous coloured jade. He couldnât tell whether it was warm or cool.
Looking from Tantai Jinâs angle, the girlâs face was dirty. Her ink-coloured hair was scattered down and wet from the melted snow. She wiped her face nonchalantly. Her hands were covered with scars. Because of her pale hands, the blood marks looked hideous.
He stared at her hair whorl, and endless mockery encircled his heart. How foolish. It was no wonder that such a stupid person would be lucky enough to come back alive.
He wanted to pretend to be weak, kind, and pitiful like he did before, and say grateful words to her. This was his expertise. But today, when he moved his lips, his eyes still looked cold, just like how it was in his bones. Finally, Tantai Jin closed his eyes as if he had given up and simply stopped looking at her.
*
Su Su rested for two days and finally regained her strength. Tantai Jin was still locked up in the east garden. The weather was getting colder and colder, so Su Su asked someone to send him two sets of quilts. The truth would be revealed when the Second Young Master and Third Young Master left the residence.
Thinking of his hands, she managed to stay heartless and didnât let the doctor treat them.
Their positions were different. So she couldnât have excess sympathy towards him.
This was no different from keeping slaves, regardless of disability. As long as they were still alive, it was fine. But, of course, Su Su would occasionally feel uncomfortable in her heart. Still, once she thought of those memorial tablets and the endless piles of corpses, she felt all better.
Su Su was worried that she had made Ye Xiao suspicious when she killed the Scarlet Flame Wasps that day. So she had prepared a script, waiting for Ye Xiao to call her over for questioning.
Who could have known that Ye Xiao wouldnât even return to the residence, and he had been out these last two days? The situation in the house had gotten inexplicably tense, and an atmosphere of fear surrounded the Imperial City of Great Xia. During breakfast time, Aunt Du said, âThe General hasnât been home for two days already, are those creatures really as powerful as what the rumors outside have said?â
âAunt is asking the Third Sister, didnât the Third Sister see them before?â Ye Lan Yin said and looked to Su Su. Her expression didnât look well as she was still annoyed due to her stolen dowry.
Su Su nodded. âThey were really ferocious, so everyone should go out less during this time.â
Aunt Du said, âI heard that those things came from the Zhou Kingdom. They raised those creatures, do they want toâŚâŚ. start a war again?â
More than a decade ago, the Zhou Kingdom was miserably defeated. So they had sent Tantai Jin, the royal prince, as a hostage.
The current Zhou Kingdom wasnât the same as before. After resting for some time, they had a well-trained and powerful army now. Their water sources and plants were abundant and prosperous, while Great Xia was covered with snow and ice. The Zhou Kingdom was already covetously eyeing Great Xia, so it was not impossible for them to suddenly attack the border.
What Aunt Du said made everyone a little worried. After all, if there really was a war, the men of the Ye Family would be the first to go to the battlefield.
âThe inner courtyard shouldnât presumptuously discuss politics,â the Old Madam interrupted Aunt Du unhappily. She shouldnât make everyone feel anxious before the war had even begun.
Under such a delicate situation, the biggest consequence at the residence was the change in discussions surrounding Tantai Jin.
In the afternoon, Chun Tao anxiously said, âThird Miss, those servants said that the hostage prince is a harbinger of calamity. They also said that if the Zhou Kingdom goes to war with Great Xia, the General will be the first one to behead the hostage prince, is this true?â Chun Tao was worried. In the little girlâs opinion, the hostage prince was her missâs husband, so she was terrified that such a thing would really happen.
Su Suâs hand paused in her writing. For the first time she realised how hard it was for someone to live in peace.
Even someone like Su Su, who didnât know anything about mortal warfare, understood that if the two countries went to war, Tantai Jin would indeed be attacked on all sides.
To the Zhou Kingdom, he was an outcast son that had been abandoned for over a decade, and to the Great Xia, he was a captive with no dignity.
If she didnât find a way to save him, she had to find a way to remove the evil bone before something happened to him.